PEARSON, John & BETTY LOU

  "We met at Gayway Park in Beulah; she was somebody who might could dance," says John. Betty Lou lived in Pueblo, but came up with high school girlfriends to enjoy Beulah and attend the dance. There were cabins to rent above the Beulah Inn.    "Our grandmas were our chaperones and they were good ones, too," remembers Betty Lou. Dancing is what people did back then. "My dad danced up till the night he died." There was a dance hall in Beulah, Good Pasture, and Burnt Mill. Families loaded up in wagons and went to dances. It was the way to enjoy life and be with friends. At midnight the kids who woke up could eat homemade cake. John made a date with Betty Lou that night, but he later stood her up.    We had a date that next Monday. I (John) went to the air base looking for a job. There was a bunch of machines. The guy who hired me asked me which one of these machines I could run? I answered, "which one do you want me to run?" I was hired right then. I was staying with my grandma at Goodpasture. Goodpasture included Cedar Grove School, the Dance Hall, Goodpasture Methodist Church, a blacksmith shop where I worked, and the General Store. Next to the General Store was an Ice Cream Parlor where my grandparents lived. I found Betty Lou again.    John and Betty Lou were married in 1943 and have been married for 60 years. They have two sons, Rusty and Marty, five grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren ranging in age from 4 months to seventeen years. The Pearsons owned "The Host" restaurant located at the crossroads of Pine Drive and Central Avenue for ten years. They sold it in 1994. "It was a dinner restaurant. Our grandkids did the dishes, our son Marty was the cook, and our daughter-in-law, Veena, was the hostess. John did the books."    John Pearson was born on Cedar Grove Ranch. He and Betty Lou lived there on 160 acres with breathtaking views. The original homestead included the site of Cedar Grove School. John and Betty Lou lived in Pueblo while their boys were in school to support their son's athletic participation in school. They came back to Beulah thirty years ago.    

Betty Lou's family came from Vermont to Canon City at first, then realized that Pueblo was where they wanted to settle their family. Betty Lou got a job at the Minnequa Bank. "Ladies had to run the bank since the men were called away to war." Betty Lou was making $65 a month and John was making $135 a month at the Army Depot. "We felt like we were rich and we bought a house for $6,000." Later when her sons were grown, Betty Lou began working at the Colorado State Fair where she worked for 28 years. She found the job at a bridge game where she asked if the State Fair ever hired anyone. Betty Lou was asked if she could type. Betty Lou answered yes, and then quickly rented a typewriter to brush up on her skills not used since high school. She became the Entry Superintendent for the Colorado  State Fair, began to travel, and established the Creative Arts Building. "I did all the departments except Horses and Cattle. I was scared of pigs though. One jumped over a fence at me where I was clerking and I jumped out!"    John Pearson's grandpa, mother and aunt were all teachers. His family is from Sunrise, Nebraska. His dad and grandpa went to Canada for a while and came here in 1911. John's grandpa fought in the Civil War. John Pearson was fourteen when he worked as a Soda Jerk at Whitman's Drug Store in Pueblo. At sixteen years old John worked at the railroad as a messenger. John worked nights, seven days a week, at twenty-four cents an hour. John asked his supervisor, "Don't you run the railroad in the daytime?"    "Sure we do," his supervisor replied. "In thirty years you just might be up for a daytime job." John went to Business School at Colorado University in Denver. He was a Soda Jerk there, too. "You don't learn a lot being a Soda Jerk, but you sure have a good time!" John worked at the Pueblo Army Depot until after the war. Then he worked for CFI. John worked at Minnequa Bank, and for the next thirty years he worked for Betty Lou's dad at Twombley's Store in Pueblo.    

John and Betty Lou Pearson are active in church and community. They enjoy cruises, traveling, and each other. Family is important to John and Betty Lou. "We were lucky to have our family around when we were growing up," remembers Betty Lou. "Sometimes that isn't possible for children nowadays." The Pearsons are young at heart and close in heart. They enjoy life in Beulah to the fullest. John and Betty Lou are an inspiration to our community.