Olga "Leona" (Hayes) Stevens

Birth: She was born in 1912 at North Dakota.  

Family Information: Daughter of Thea and Charley Hayes.

Sister of Helen (Hayes) Swenson and Erma Hayes.

Married Bernie Stevens in 1931, while living in the colony.  

Description:  

Pre-Colony History: In 1920 she was living with her parents and sisters in North Dakota. In 1930 she was living with her father and sisters in Vernon Parish, Louisiana.  

Home in Colony: By November 1932 she and her husband were living in the Sugar Bowl Unit in South Louisiana.  

Job in Colony: In April 1932 she and her husband moved to the Rice Ranch to become mangers there.

In 1933 she was working in the hotel kitchen, helping prepare meals.  

Other Info: In March 1933 she attended a good-bye party for the Sanford family, along with Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Banta, Mrs. June Black, Sybil Black, Mr. and Mrs. DuProz, Mr. and Mrs. Hess, Mr. and Mrs. Brannon, Cyrus Horney, Mr. and Mrs. Marve Sanford, Lou Colt, and the Messrs. Githens, D. Sanford, Beanfellow, and Starkweather.

In May 1933 she celebrated Marvin Sanford's birthday, along with DeForest and Smith Sanford, Anita Brannon, Florence Anderson, Mrs. Ivy Hoag, Mr. and Mrs. DuProz, Cy Horney, and Bernie Stevens.

Post-Colony History: In October 1933 she and Bernie had visited the new site, near Mena, Arkansas and were impressed with it's possibilities. Fred and Florence (Roe) Hamel joined them at that location in February, 1934, along with four of the Roe children and definite organization plans were agreed upon and adopted.

The colony there was similar to Newllano, but it was decided that on the first of December every year, they would divide all available colony money, excepting necessary running expenses for the following year, between themselves. The work there was mostly agricultural after their arrival, though the sawmill provided lumber and cash.

In December 1935 and 1936 she and Smith Sanford visited the colony (and her father, who at that time lived near the colony) for a few days. It was reported that she and Bernie had been living at the Commonwealth College (actually she was at the Ozark Colony) near Mena, Arkansas after they'd left the colony some three years or more prior to that. The couple were in charge of the guest house there and Bernie handled the electrical and mechanical repair and upkeep work.

They remained at the site at least through 1936, though at some point before 1939 she and Bernie divorced and she re-located to Oregon where she married Isaac Maddox on September 26, 1939.

Death: She died in 1988. Her last residence was Oregon.  

Sources: US Census: 1920, 1930; "Llano Colonist": April 16, 1932, November 12, 1932, February 25, 1933, March 4, 1933, May 6, 1933, June 24, 1933 (The Story of Llano), December 29, 1934, February 2, 1935, October 19, 1935, December 19,l935, December 26, 1936; Oregon Marriage Index; US SSDI; Oregon Death Index