Bette Ann Power Hagenstein grew up in southern California & she spent many summers at her Uncle Norris Griggs’s cabin on Packer Creek near the Rim. She said, “It was a magical time. We picked wild strawberries, caught grasshoppers and fished.” In 1944-45 she went to the 11th grade in Pinedale and then returned to CA to finish HS and take begin pre-nursing classes. She was accepted to Knapps College of Nursing in CA & while waiting for the new semester to begin she returned to Pinedale, started dating Paul and never turned back. She said, “Paul courted me on his mare Flicka who could walk to town in 25 minutes. One time during the war when things were hard to get, I had a new coat. We went up to the old Rendezvous grounds in Paul’s old car. Some friends & I were riding on the running board & as we went through the barbed wire gate, my coat caught and ripped all the way across the back. I thought the world was going to come to an end over my new coat!” Bette worked at the Pinedale Phone Company. She said, “It was the old system of plugging everyone in. You were the information center & had to take down everyone’s messages. They called me ‘Mert”.
In August, 1948, Bette & Paul were married. She said, “And I’ve been nursing cows ever since!” Bette has done everything that you do on a ranch. She baled hay for years and loved watching the hawks swoop down for the gophers. She enjoys cloud-watching. She said, “I love the outdoors. I love this country and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.” She recalled one year when they were calving. At night she would check the calving shed every hour or so. One night she looked towards the airport and saw blue lights going up into the air and moving towards her. She said, “Just before our place they turned east and woof they were gone. No sound whatsoever. That was my first UFO. Fascinating. Another time we saw the lights over Pinedale moving down the creek towards our place. Then they turned west and were gone without a sound. We’re always watching the sky.” In 1993 Bette was named Green River Valley Cowbelle of the Year. She smiled & added, “I think they were desperate!”
Bette grew up in a musical family & sang ‘Pistol Packin’ Momma’ at Bond Rallies. For many years Bette, Miriam Kerback and Donna Sievers sang together as ‘The Mad Hatters’. They were the only singers and entertainers around. In 1965 they were invited and performed for the Governor’s Kickoff Dinner for Wyoming’s 75th Anniversary in Cheyenne. Bette added, “It was on a Saturday night and we had to go straight back to Pinedale for church choir Sunday morning.” She & Paul also had 13 years of Dance Club. Couples paid $30 for a week of lessons from professional dancers. Bette said, “Then we had dances with themes like Circus Party, Sadie Hawkins, Hawaiian, Hard Times, Beatnik. It was a wonderful thing, innocent fun and great entertainment. One time Ruth Reinow and I worked for days making a bull head out of plaster of Paris for our costume. She was the front and I was the rear. Another time Paul was a ‘Guru’ and played a flute while Gloria Garbutt did a snake dance coming out of the basket. Once at the old Grade School gym the electricity went out & we had no power for the record player. Miriam (Kerback) played for the rest of the night in the dark so we could continue dancing. She could play anything.”
Growing up Bette was in every school play and loved it. She was in plays in Pinedale too. She said, “One time I had a long cigarette holder, a fake diamond ring and a silk scarf. The cigarette was lit and when I flopped it over my hand my scarf began to smoke! When we needed a helicopter sound, we recorded my old mixer with it’s bent blade making a flopping noise.”
Bette & Paul have 2 daughters – Valerie who lives here now with their only grandchild, Sam; and Leslie, a Nurse Practitioner who is married to Rod Rozier. Bette said, “I wouldn’t want to live any other place. I love Pinedale & all of our friends. Paul & Bette will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary next August.
Paul said, “Bette is one of the miracles in my life. She’s a great lady.” By Judi Myers
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