Rich Shine was born and raised in Smeltertown. His father, John Shine Sr., and his wife Doris were deeded 25 acres of farmland in Smeltertown, near CR150 and Colo. 291 in 1936 by his father, Frank Shine Sr. and his wife Frances, both immigrants from Austria. Frank Sr. worked the mines in the region and bought the land in 1909, several years after the opening of the smelting plant. The name Shine is actually derived from the Austrian name Sajn and was changed at Ellis Island upon entry to the U.S.
Frank Sr. and Frances had a daughter Frances and three sons, Frank Jr., Ralph and John Sr. who worked for the Denver and Rio Grande RR and later for the Chaffee County road and bridge department. He was also a horse trainer and farmer.
Rich, who now lives with his wife Lynn in Greenville, North Carolina, attended the two-room Smeltertown Elementary School. He recalled the day-to-day labors of working a farm including irrigating crops, hauling water from a spring for in-home use. He also remembered he and his brother Sonny (John Shine, Jr.) pretending to be horses when pulling the single-wheeled cultivator guided by their mother in the half-acre vegetable garden. The family also raised cattle, hogs, chickens, and rabbits, and grew corn, potatoes, string beans, and other vegetables, as well as wheat, alfalfa, and barley.
He’s also a musician who began taking accordion lessons from Mrs. Upp at age six and as a teen taught himself to play the piano and his dad’s guitar. At age 12, Rich began playing the accordion with several Salida-area dance bands including the “Melody Makers” (Howard Galls’ band) and the “Star Dusters” (Ernie Kimberland’s band), and recalls playing at the former Smeltertown nightclub (Sam’s Club) which is now Casa Tango Dance Studio (see page 16). Rich also remembered a celebration honoring Beaver Struna and John Shine Sr. in 1982 which included multiple accordions played by Smeltertown residents John Struna, Madeline Shine, Louis Struna, John Tancik, Joe Yaklich, and many others.
He eventually left Salida and became a renowned speech pathologist specializing in preschool and young children who stutter, and retired as professor emeritus from East Carolina University.
In 2005 the Shines donated use of their land to Colorado Farm to Table, a not-for-profit organization started by Tony Madone that raises food for food banks throughout Colorado and needy families in the region. They still continue to visit Salida in the summer. A bit of trivia – during the demolition of the old Salida High School in 2012, the Shines provided the use of an old sand pit on their property for the disposal of much of the rubble. Rich invites classmates to come to the Shine Family Farm to visit part(s) of their revered high school. – By Mike Rosso
