It is referred to in the history books as the "Great Depression." There were runs on banks and people stood in food lines. Some cars were known as "Hoover Wagons," when the farmers were too impoverished to buy gas and used a team of horses to pull their automobiles. On top of the financial devastation in the United States and around the world, the Midwest was suffering from the "Dust Bowl" years, brought on by drought and erosion resulting in the fertile top soil dispersing as far away as New York during the vicious winds that blew. It is possible that without 24/7 news, the people in McDermitt, Nevada, may not have been totally tuned in to the rest of the United States but they, and generations to come, most certainly did not escape repercussions of those infamous years during the 1930s. Brothers Sylvester and Joe Sr. Jaca came from Spain in 1890, homesteaded the Old Jaca Place south of lower Oregon Canyon Creek, and were well on their way to a large livestock operation of 15,000 head of cattle and 60,000 sheep. Sylvester's wife Florentina and their oldest son immigrated 12 years later. Sylvester, Joe Sr. and their sons, Juan, Joe Jr. and Santy built the house on the ranch known today as the Lucky 7, before Joe Sr. moved on to California. Eventually Jaca holdings included the Bryson Field, Crooked Creek, Battle Creek, the Potomac Place, the Bowden, Hoppin Springs, Chino Homestead, the Still Place, the Chipmunk and Guadalupe Meadows. Juan Jaca married Ramona (Urritia) in 1909 and raised four children - Phil and Joaquin, who later partnered on a ranch at Jordan Valley, Ore.; Mary (Mendieta); and the youngest, Juanita, born in 1918. Then came the Great Depression and after several years of poor livestock market prices, along with several years of severe drought, the Jacas sold Hoppin Springs to the government for reservation land, and paid their bill at the Anacave General Store (later Quinn River Merc) in McDermitt before losing their holdings except for Crooked Creek and the Bowden. Ignacio and Tomasa Albisu, both from Spain, were married in 1908 and ran livestock in Golconda, Nevada, before moving to McDermitt, where Ignacio leased the State Line Hotel to support his large and still growing family. This led to legal issues as the Prohibition Amendment of 1920 was in effect and he was bootlegging illegal spirits to Boise, Idaho! Eventually, Ignacio and Tomasa had nine children, Concho (Olavarria) and Eusebio, who were born in Golconda, Victor and Bautista, Mary (McGuire) and Elario, followed by Donato, Santy and Frank all born in McDermitt. By 1927 Ignacio was back in the livestock industry, running cattle and horses, on his land just south of McDermitt. Even with their large family, they always had room around their big dinner table for any of the town kids that wanted to be there! Victor Albisu married Juanita (Jaca) and he and his brother Bautista (Boat) purchased the town's gas bulk plant, service station, and restaurant, along with the generators and water tank that supplied McDermitt with power and water, from Marvin Currey in the late '30s. Victor and Juanita's second son John, (McDermitt Combined School Alumni class of 1961) was born in January of 1944 - joining his older brother Jim. The family grew to include Frank (MHS 1962) and Marlene (MHS 1967). John says that he was a nice little Catholic boy who "hated" school, which was unfortunate because he had to start a whole year early in order to have the six students that were required to keep the school on the Oregon side of town open. He thinks that his teacher, Mrs. Hereford, probably felt more like a babysitter, and that there was no way he could have been a "good" student. Through the years his parents emphasized education (his dad completed sixth grade and his mom eighth grade) and he feels that he had good teachers that were experienced and knowledgeable. However, he still looked forward to summers and hated going back to school in the fall! John is grateful to have had his share of mentors while growing up, among whom Dave and Avie Echart, and Vern and Opal Easterday seemed like extra sets of parents. It was a challenge to keep the huge generators, located next to the water tank behind today's McDermitt Motel - the town's sole source of electricity until the sixties - running. They would switch from one generator to the other to try to keep a constant flow of power to the homes and businesses and John remembers his dad jumping out of bed during the middle of the night to get a stalled generator going again. They finally traded in the older of the two for a bigger generator, but the whole project was a big headache ,and none of the family was sorry to see Harney Electric make an appearance in the early '60s, taking over the responsibilities of power while the community took over the water and sewer. Graduating in 1961, John enrolled in college at UNR in Reno, finding it a great experience both academically and socially. Coming from a small school it was good to make new friends and visit their homes. Reading was hard for him (a possible explanation as to why as a little guy he hated school!) so he made sure he attended classes and took a lot of notes. He graduated four years later with a Bachelor of Science in Ag Mechanics and Ag Business. By then John was facing military service and received advice from his brother Jim, who was serving in Vietnam at the time, to "Do your best to keep away from here!" John decided to join the National Guard and as Winnemucca didn't need anymore recruits he joined in Nampa, Idaho. He went to Fort Lewis in Seattle, Wash., and then on to Fort Leonardwood in Missouri for basic training. He says it's the farthest he has ever been from home! Returning to McDermitt, John leased the gas station, hiring high school kids from town, the Cordero Mine and the reservation to help serve customers. He remembers John Falen coming in to fuel his maroon Chrysler when trading cattle in the area, long before the Falens moved from Idaho to the Home Ranch. John's brother Jim bought the bulk plant from their dad and uncle and with John helping him, the second set of Albisu brothers delivered fuel to farms and ranches from the bulk plant that was in the Albisu family for over 50 years. In the late sixties, John met his future wife Rosie Scibior (MHS 1970). As she was still in high school they waited for her to graduate and complete a beautician course in Reno before they married April 5, 1972. While running the station John added to his holdings by purchasing different pieces of land (including 1,000 acres that he bought from his cousin Patti Albisu) over the years. He and Rosie make their home on a piece of property on the south side of town (he gives Rosie credit for the beautiful landscaping around the house) and he built a self service U-GAS Station on the highway. It was just in time for the mid '70s gas shortage, making it impossible to have fuel delivered to the station. By the time the rationing ended, gas was over a dollar a gallon and the pumps he had purchased only went to $1.00! He finally closed it and the gas station canopy was turned into a hay barn to store the hay from his fields, for the cattle that he then owned. John and Rosie raised two boys, who are second generation McDermitt Combined School graduates. The oldest, Ty (MHS 1993), graduated from Diesel Mechanic School in Elko and has worked for Newmont Mine at Twin Creeks and Midas for 17 years. He and his wife Shannon (a nursing school student in Elko) are the parents of John and Rosie's two blessed grandchildren, Hunter and Kinsey. Their younger son Joe (MHS 1995) graduated from Albertson's College in Caldwell, Idaho, and is presently teaching in San Diego, California. John believes that working as a buckaroo, haying on local ranches and helping his dad in the service station as a kid taught him good work ethics that carried him through college and his adult years. "Kids need to be around family and learn to work." Most important, he says that he cannot "emphasize" enough the importance to him of Rosie, his parents. and his late brother, Jim, who were all there during the ups and downs - the bitter and the sweet! He would tell today's students, "The Lord gave you two eyes and two ears. You need to keep them open to see and hear the advice of your elders who have experience, and your peers who have innovative and new ideas. He only gave you one mouth and you should most likely learn to keep it shut a good part of the time!" John says that through the years, his youthful attitude of "Don't get mad - Get even!" has been replaced with "Forgive and Forget - your health and happiness depend on it." He has leased his operation to rancher Nick Wilkinson and - sorry Rosie! - he doesn't see much traveling ahead - he's happy to help a neighbor work cattle and brand, then kick back and relax at home![[In-content Ad]]
