RANGELY | Rangeley Gene Collier visited Rangely last weekend to see the town he was named after.
His father traveled from Oklahoma to Rangely in the 1940s to work in the oil field. After driving hours in his Model A, he worked only one day and decided to go home. For the day’s wage he made $8, which in turn he had to pay $6 for room and board. A year or so later, while his wife was giving birth, she was thinking of the name and Rangely came to mind. She had not planned on naming him that, it just came to her.
For a long time, Rangeley had quite a dislike for his name. His first day of school his teacher couldn’t pronounce his name and it left a bad taste for him for many years.
In the last couple years he has grown to be fond of his name and realized he needed to come see his namesake.
He is a singer/songwriter and wrote a lovely song about Rangely. On Saturday, he made his way to the TANK and graced everyone with his song. It is an enjoyable love song. He has wondered if the reason Rangely came to his mom’s mind was because his dad might have told her a story about the town when he came home. He was thrilled to see the town his dad visited so long ago.
By BRITTNY CAMPOS | Special to the Herald Times
