My parents came from Italy in the 1900s. My Dad came to Wyoming and
worked in the mine in a little town called Glencoe. My mother came a little later.
She worked for people that lived in Diamondville, Wyoming where she met my
dad. They were married by the Justice of the Peace in Kemmerer, Wyoming. They
lived in Glencoe after they were married. My mother ran a boarding house for the
miners off and on, and my dad worked in the mine. To this marriage the Lord
blessed them with 6 sons & 6 daughters. I was the sixth child born. They named
me Batista Joseph Covolo. I was born in a coal mining town named Kemmerer,
Wyoming on Sept. 29, 1919. I was blessed in the Catholic Church. My godmother
was Mrs. Peratoni, and my godfather was Batista Abriane.
When I was a small boy, I had a birth defect, a club foot which the doctor
said caused my foot to be twisted. I had many operations on my foot. I wore a
brace from the bottom of my foot to the top of my knee for a long time. I was in
St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. It really cost my mother and dad a lot of
money. My oldest sister, Angelina, had a socket slip in her hip. They couldn’t do
nothing here, so they thought that was a doctor in Italy that could help, but it
turned out that the Italian doctor couldn’t. Angelina had to wear a lift in her shoe
for the rest of her life. So my dad invested his money in ground, which Alivera and
Angelina went over and sold. They said it sure was a beautiful place.
When I was a young boy I spent most of my life in Glencoe and Blazon
where I went to school. I loved school, but I was kind of bashful. I loved to play
baseball, basketball, and marbles (which some of the time I got lucky and won)
and wrestle.
I really loved to ride horses. Some of the time I would get in the back of the
saddle and flank the horse and make him buck to show that I was a cowboy. Even
though I had saddle sores that lasted for weeks, that didn’t stop me. I loved to
ride and break horses and had a lot of fun trying to catch wild horses out on the
Cumberland Flat. I remember after Uncle Louie bought the ranch down here in
Bridger Valley from Frederick Fore, I was in school and tried to play sick so I could
go home and ride the horse when my oldest brother Joe would bring hay for the
cows in Glencoe.
My dad bought a bunch of milk cows from Batista Caroll in Hamsfork (12
Holstein cows in all) which Alivera, Mary, Gino and myself had to help milk by
hand. My sister, Alivera, could milk a cow faster than any of us. We really had fun
having milk fights-squirting milk at each other. My dad at the beginning brought
the cows home to be milked and then walked two miles to work in the coal mine
in Blazon. I wasn't the only one that had to bring in the cows, some of the others
did too. I remember we didn’t bring the milk cows in one night. Gino and I didn’t
have a horse, so we had to walk. Since we didn't bring the cows home, we had to
sleep in the wash house under the miner clothes to keep warm and no supper for
punishment. My dad made cheese from the milk, which he sold to help support
the family. We had a horse named Bessy which we used to pedal the cheese.
Times were rough and money was hard to get. He peddled cheese to
Diamondville and Kemmerer and sold it. I remember when one fellow stole a
cheese and hid it in the old wash machine, but my dad knew who took it and
made him bring it back. I can still remember how they used to treat the foreign
people like they were dirt under their feet but most of them that stood up for
themselves were treated a little better.
My dad and oldest brother, Joe, came to Bridger and plowed grain with
horses that was bought. They didn’t have tractors like they do now. They had a
few old timers but not enough money buy them. After the ground was plowed,
they stacked the sagebrush in piles and burned them. Leveled the ground and
seeded it with hay for the cows. I spent quite a few summers on the ranch raking
hay and Mary and Alivera pitched hay like men. We spent a lot of time on the
ranch that my Uncle Louie bought and made it with my dad’s help.
I went to school in Lyman in sixth grade with Mildred Youngberg, Florence
Zanolli, Clyde Sarvgacke Slogowskie, Blain Brough, Joe Tackull, Carl Fackrell, Darius
Bradshaw, Blanche Field and a few more. I went to school and graduated from the
eighth grade and when my parents passed away I quit school in the 9th grade and
went to work in the coal mine called Starmine and worked with my Uncle Louie.
They came to Wyoming to work in the mine with my dad. My dad paid his hotel to
come ad later he sent for his youngest brother Mario. But he didn't stay here
long. He went to California and settled where he married his first wife. They didn’t
have children. Lived alone a while and married again where he raised a family 2
boys and 1 girl. They all live in California. Louie more or less stayed with my dad
and worked in the mine and kinda helped my dad.
I lost my mother and dad and oldest brother in a short time in year 33 and
34. My oldest brother got hurt in the Superior coal mine crushed his skull and was
let go so long that when he got operated on it in Soda Springs, it was too late.
When I was 16 years old, I went to work in the Star Mine with Louie and then I
worked in Oakley, Wyoming in the coal mine. They never worked but 2 days a
week that wasn't enough so I got a job hanging in the Hamsfork for $1.50 a day.
When that was done, I went to California to my sister Angelina's and got a job
gardening which lasted a little while then I came back to Wyoming.
I went to Superior where Albert and Alivera were living and tried to get a
job from the U.P. Coal Company. After keeping after them and got the job. I run
a racket and undercutter. While I was there I studied for shot fire paper and
fireboss paper, and I passed both tests which I have the papers. I learned first aid
when I left the mine. I worked there until after the war broke out with the Japs. I
was called and took my physical in Rock Springs. I was in health except for that
one foot, so they wouldn’t take me. I finally quit the mine and leased the ranch
from Louie, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to get away and
earn some money and go back to school, and get a trade because the ranch was
no future. Vincent Foianini came over one day and said let’s go to California, so
we both left. The first job that I had was working in a meat packing plant for
Swift’s on graveyard cleaning hooks for the meat to hang on to move. I decided
that wasn’t the job for me as it was hard to catch a bus and it was crowded. So I
went to the ship yard and got a job at Western Pipe and Steel as a machinist
helper and worked my way up to a journeyman. I also went to school at night at
the Union College in San Mateo, California and received a certificate. Made it
nice because I got a job in the machine shop. I put in 600 hours and made the
grade. I worked on a ship that carried the troops to fighting zones overseas, then
they asked me if I wanted to go to the machine shop which I did and worked
there until my Uncle Louie got sick so I came back to help (Bruno, Mabel and
Albert, and Gino still lived at home with Louie). I bought the place in Mt. View
from Louie that I am on now and went back to the coal mine in Superior.
I met my wife in October of 1945 and got married of June 27, 1946, and
Danny was born March 25, 1947. I worked there until I got my back hurt. I had an
operation where they fused my back with a bone out of my hip. I stayed on
compensation for a while then they promised me a light job which I couldn't work
and took them to court then I moved back to Lyman and couldn't work for quite a
while and finally went to work for the RCA Electric plant in Lyman and was hired
to be a relief man but one of them figured he should have my job so I let them
have the whole thing. Moved back to the ranch had a few sheep and cows. Then I
finally got a job for the Forest Service and worked helping spray bug trees and
helping take care of the horse pack strings that hauled goop to the spray crews
then they finally wanted me to take care of the bulldozer that piled the trees that
they burned the boss wanted me to go to Tooele, Utah to work but I couldn't go. I
had the place to take care of and I worked for the BLM cutting fire breaks with the
chain saws and Warren Taylor of Mt. View helped and I was inspector for the bug
trees and I worked on the Highway weighing gravel for the state. My last job I
went to Little America and worked there for 8 years on the diesel trucks. I got a
eye hurt working with a fellow. I was on the nuts on a wheel, stepped down and
he turned on the impact wrench and a socket came off and hit me in the eye. It
was welded together by a specialist, and I don't have much sight left in it. Then I
got a job at FMC, the trona mine. I done quite a few different jobs and I worked
waterpumps, belts motors, etc. I worked there close to 13 years and retired in
1985 and have been on the ranch ever since tending sheep and cows and haying 2
places. I got sick so I let Dennis and Danny lease place. Danny 22 cows. Dennis
took 27 cows which they have to replace and for so much an acre until the lease is
up and then replace all the cows and the lease is been up for quite awhile. While I
didn't have much to do I decided to try my luck for education to see if I could get
my G.E.D. and I passed the test to my surprise.
I joined the LDS church in 1959 and served as a home teacher was put in as
an Elder and High Priest. I went inactive for a while. One day, while working at the
trona mine, my coworker almost got crushed on the crusher belt. I knew I had to
get him off but how? I felt myself lifted over the belt and was able to drag him off
the belt to safety. I know that it wasn't my own strength. After I pulled my partner
from the belt in the mine that soft voice came to me. I knew I had to take my wife
and family to the temple. I went through the temple in 1978 and was married in
the temple. I have been to the temple many times and in the temple to witness
some of my grand children married. I am grateful I could do this. I have been able
to know 22 great grand children. I am still able to live on the ranch. I always
wanted to attend church and be sealed to the family I had, my mother and dad,
and family sealed to me.
While on the ranch Dennis was born August 27, 1952 and Leisa was born
November 17, 1962 in Evanston.