My Year in Colorado

[This comes from a narrative written by Emmilou Collins Edmonds Adams around the year 2000. Portions in brackets [] were added for clarification.]
 
After Mother died [in October 1927], Carolyn and I went to live with Grandmother Prince [Susan Green Prince 1867-1953]. She lived in Colorado in the Denver area. It was in a somewhat rural area on the road out toward Golden. In the household were also Aunt Mallie [Mallie Alta Prince Jones 1898-1980] and Uncle Jim [James Pinkney Prince 1902-1983].
 
I really don’t remember very much about that winter. I know the house had a basement where the furnace was. I remember it was cold and I would try to dress under the covers.
 
I remember Aunt Mallie would read to us some. I remember a book about an ant colony (or was it a bee colony?) It impressed me how the insects worked together as a unit.
 
I missed my mother and my daddy. I’m sure that Daddy made a trip to see us at least once, though I don’t remember it. Because of pictures, I’m sure Aunt Winnie [Winnie Prince Goodwill 1895-1982]and her family visited the following summer, as did Uncle Arthur [Arthur Nathaniel Prince 1889-1983] . It was while he was there that we went up into the mountains. One place that we stopped, Uncle Arthur was standing on the side of the road away from the car. Carolyn was standing with him and I was afraid for her because of the drop off on the other side. He was not holding her hand. I told grandma about it and she called her back. Just as she was crossing the road a car came around a curve and struck her. We took her to the hospital in Boulder, which was the nearest hospital. Uncle Jim took me home while the others stayed there. Carolyn died [the] next day. She had a skull fracture.
 
Daddy started for Denver as soon as possible after he heard of the accident--by train, of course. He read of her death in the newspaper before he arrived. It must have been terrible for daddy to lose Carolyn less than a year after mother died. Years later Grandmother lost another grandchild because of another type of accident while visiting her. That must have been very hard on her.
 
Carolyn died in August, just a few days before her fifth birthday. That fall I started to school. I remember the first day they had us try to write the first letter of our name. It isn’t easy write, not print. Can you imagine starting with the letter “E”? I”m not sure whether it was with pencil , or pen and ink
 
After a day or two they took me out of school. I thought it was because I was going to have to be vaccinated, but as I think back on it, I’m sure grandma knew that I was going to St. Louis to be with Daddy.
 
I spent the next summer with grandma there and I think maybe I never spent another until I was thirteen or fourteen, but I had a love for Colorado that I feel to this day.