JAMES, EUGENE AND DOROTHY (OLSON)

by Eugene and Dorthy James

Entry F219 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Eugene James Family. Back row: Kim, Roger, Oley
Peggy, Dorothy, Eugene and Lana.

Eugene James was born to Fay and Sallie
(Holland) James on 1920. Fay
came to Mullen in 1888 with his parents from
Virginia. He and his parents homesteaded
northeast of Mullen. Sallie came to the
sandhills from Texas and worked for Hugh
Boyers and carried mail north of Mullen. She
and Fay were married in 1904. They were
living in town to send the other children to
school when Eugene was born. They bought
hogs and ran a dairy and furnished milk for
the town. His dad bought buttermilk from
the local creamery for their hogs. Eugene was
run over with a wagon loaded with the barrels
of buttermilk when he was 3 years old. The
wheel passed over him diagonally from his
shoulder to his hip and left him unconscious
for several days. No bones were broken. In
1925 he had polio. He moved back to the
ranch with his parents in 1927. He attended
the Virginia School south of the homeplace
and high school in Mullen where he graduat-
ed in 1938.

Eugene worked with his parents and was
in partnership with his dad until he retired
and they moved to town in 1956. On February
3, 1957 Eugene was married to Dorothy
Olson, daughter of Mick and Lela Daily. She
was a widow with 3 small children Roger, 8
years old, Lana 6 years and Olen 3 years.
They lived on the ranch where Eugene
continued ranching. The children attended
country school. In 1958 they had a son, Kim
and in 1963 a daughter, Penny. Roger and
Lana attended high school in Mullen. After
Roger graduated in 1967 they moved to town
for the other children to go to school. Eugene
commuted to the ranch each day for his work.

Roger joined the Air Force in the fall of
1969, Olen in 1972. After Olen finished his 4
years and Kim graduated in 1976 Olen
returned to the ranch to work for his folks.
Eugene and Dorothy moved to town to the
home they had built in 1974.

Roger married Yvonne (Bunny) Nelson of
Newman Grove, Nebraska in 1970. He has
spent the past 18 years in the Air Force. They
lived in Japan for 5 years. Their 2 daughters
Tabatha (Tabi) in 1973 and Tamara (Tami)
in 1975 were born over there. He was
stationed at Offutt Air Force Base at Omaha
when they returned to the states. Their son
James (Jimmy) was born in 1976. They have
lived there the past 11 years, except for one
year that Roger had to spend in Korea. He
is now stationed at Denver, Colorado. His
family resides in Papillion, Nebraska where
Roger will return when he retires in 2 years
from the Air Force. He has had his own tree
service in Papillion and works at it part time
in Denver. Yvonne is a physical therapist
assistant at Papillion hospital.

Lana married Ray Pearman, son of Bink
and Thelma Pearman of Mullen, Nebraska in
1972. She had attended Grand Island Busi-
ness School and worked in Lincoln. Ray went
to Tech School at Milford, Nebraska. He has
his own mechanic business in Arnold, Neb-
raska, where they now live. They have 3
children Angela (Angie) born in 1976, Riley
1980 and Traci Jo 1983.

Olen married Julie Simonson, daughter of
Tom and Glenco Simonson of Mullen, Neb-
raska in 1973. He was stationed at Offutt Air
Force Base and they lived in Bellevue,
Nebraska. They have 3 children Megan born
in 1979, Jeremy in 1981 and Mikki in 1984.
They still live on the ranch and work for his
parents.

Kim graduated from Doane College in
1980. He worked for an managed Eakers
Clothing Stores in Colorado for five years. He
now works at Great West Insurance in
Denver, Colorado.

Penny graduated from Doane College in
1985. She took one year manager training in
Apparel Department at K-Mart and now
works in the Financial Aid Department at
Southeast Community College. She was
married in June 1987 to Phillip Chappell of
Lincoln. He is a student at Lincoln Southwest
Community College and works part time at
K-Mart.

Eugene and Dorothy live in Mullen and are
still ranching on the land homesteaded by his
grandfather and father because by the time
they'd worked at this business long enough
to know better, they were too broke to quit.