General Note: Part of the CWA Pioneer Interviews Collection. Title supplied by cataloger. Consists of an interview of Rufus Wall, an early-day resident of Pueblo, Colorado. An African-American, Wall was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1862. Running away from home at the age of 9, he eventually made his way to Las Animas, Colorado ca. 1875. Shortly after his arrival there he found employment as the valet and cook of Captain Charles W. Hotsenpillar of the 19th U.S. Infantry stationed at Fort Lyon. In 1882 he made his way to Pueblo, working as the chef at the Victoria Hotel. Wall spent the next 50 years of his life in Pueblo, working at times a chef and later as a janitor. In 1921, he lost both his wife and young son to a flood that ravaged Pueblo. Despite his loss he worked heroically to feed and shelter other victims of the flood, and at the time of the interview in 1934 was caretaker for a residence in Pueblo.
Web Location: https://www.historycolorado.org/oral-histories