Independence Day

Hello Dear Reader,

The 4^th of July was another wonderful holiday for the children. Each summer Grandpa (Laning) and Grandma (Caroline) Hall took their children on the train to visit relatives in Lake Shore and Provo Bench (Orem). They usually spent the 4^th in Spanish Fork.

The girls always had pretty new dresses and sometimes new hats. The family watched the parade, looked at the animals on display, ran in races, and had their dinner at the park—with homemade ice cream. Mary hated the races as she always lost. The children got balloons. At night, Laning had fusees (red flares used as warning devices) he brought from the railroad. So with the fusees, firecrackers, spit devils, sparklers, and cap guns they had their own fireworks.

Love,

Aunt Genni

More Fun

Hello Dear Reader,
One year the children begged Grandma (Caroline) Hall to let them hang their stockings up early for Christmas so they could fill each other’s stockings with small gifts they made. They tried to disguise their presents by putting odd things, like empty thread spools, in the packages and wrapping them with all kinds of funny wrappings. They didn’t use boxes for their gifts back then. When they placed their gifts in each other’s stockings, Grandpa (Laning) Hall joined the fun by putting a small lump of coal in each one.

Because they had no fireplace, the children hung their stockings on a chair. The girls’ were long beige-colored stockings that held a lot of candy, nuts, and a big orange. The other presents they received appeared on Christmas morning on the chair where their stockings were hanging—near the Christmas tree.

Grandma Hall told the children Christmas stories throughout the season, never forgetting the story of the birth of the Savior on Christmas Eve.
Love,
Aunt Genni

A Favorite Holiday

Hello Dear Reader,
Union Pacific Railroad brought Santa into Milford on the train each year. The day he was to arrive, the family bundled up in their warm coats and went to the railroad station. They waited at the depot watching anxiously for the big engine that carried him. It was very exciting for the young ones. When Santa Claus did arrive, he gave each child candy and nuts from his bag.

One year Grandma (Caroline) Hall told the children they could have one gift from the Sears and Roebuck catalogue for Christmas if it didn’t cost more than three dollars. They looked at the catalogue for hours trying to decide what to get. Then, on Christmas morning, the children received more than they had expected. It’s no wonder that Christmas was one of their favorite holidays.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Fun and Entertainment

Hello Dear Reader,
What did Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter do for recreation and entertainment when she was a child? Well, because the Halls lived on a hill in Milford, the children spent hours coasting down it in their wagon and other contraptions they made. They sometimes climbed atop their neighbors shed and jumped off onto the seat of an old car to see how high they could spring up into the air. Mary had roller skates and skated everywhere she could. She wore out more than one pair of skates.

Grandma (Caroline) Hall, when the weather permitted, sat on the porch and watched the children do “acrobats.” If Grandpa was home and joined her, it was even better. The children loved to perform for their parents. I suppose most children like an audience. I did when I was young!
Love,
Aunt Genni

Hello Dear Reader,
I have been sorting through a lot of papers, eliminating duplicates and organizing the rest. It has been interesting to compare stories and see how they vary. As I post to this blog I usually compare 2 or 3 different versions of each incident and decide which might be the most accurate. As I do this I get a good idea of what life was like for Wes and Mary Carter.

Last semester I wrote a family history paper on Jasper and Evaline Fifield Hall. It was hard work but I think I solved some mysteries, corrected some misinformation, and ended up with a pretty good story. The reason I decided to go back to school was to learn how to write well and honestly.

After I finish school (I hope by the time I’m 70) I plan to write a book or two about our interesting ancestors. The paper on Jasper and Evaline will be a chapter in one of my books. Anyway, I thought I should tell you not to take everything you come across as the truth. Sometimes finding truth requires digging. Keep what you find but keep looking—and be sure to document everything!
Love,
Aunt Genni

Buddy the Crow

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandpa (Laning) Hall found a baby crow while the family lived in Milford and took the bird home to his children. He (or she) could walk but he couldn’t fly. They named him, "Buddy." They fed him bread and milk and he seemed to thrive on it. He also swallowed colored glass which amazed the children. One night Laning picked Buddy up and tossed him up on the roof of the house. It wasn’t long until the crow could fly up there by himself. He began to fly down and light on the children’s shoulders. They loved their crow. The neighbor children, however, were frightened of the bird and soon the police came and said he would have to be tied up.

Caroline said, “We gave him to a couple living twenty miles over the mountains. They put him in the back of their car where he couldn’t see out.” Two weeks later, as she was hanging out clothes she heard a cawing sound and a crow lit by her hand. It looked bedraggled so she didn’t recognize it at first, but it was their crow.

Buddy stayed around and got into all kinds of mischief. When a neighbor found him in his chicken coop he shot the bird. The children buried him out in the desert and many of their friends came and mourned with them over the loss of their dear pet.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Milford Miscellany

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter recalled the Indians that came begging at their house when they lived on the outskirts of Milford. One squaw, with a sick papoose, asked for gas and oil. Mary's mother, Caroline, finally discovered that what she really wanted was Castor Oil.

When Mary turned eight it was time for her to be baptized. The baptisms in Milford took place in the old swimming pool. She was baptized August 6, 1928 by Raymond Taylor. She recalled chasing a frog around the pool before the services began. After her baptism she was confirmed the same day by George Graff.

Caroline always had pretty flowers in their yard, and a vegetable garden whenever she could. Mary loved the tall Cosmos. The family had lots of milk, vegetables, home canned fruit, and homemade bread to eat but very little meat.

The family didn't own a car. When they traveled they went by train. They had free passes because Grandpa (Laning) Hall worked for Union Pacific. Each summer they visited their relatives in Lake Shore and Provo.
Love,
Aunt Genni

The Flood

Hello Dear Reader,
Despite the wind that always seemed to blow over the hill the Halls lived on, they were glad they lived there the year it flooded in Milford. Water ran down Main Street like a river. The merchants put sand bags against their store doors trying to keep the water out—all but the owner of the grocery store who used sacks of flour instead of sand. Grandma (Caroline) Hall stood under an umbrella with Mary, on the hill, and watched some boys ride a telephone pole down the street.

Uncle Norley, Mary’s younger brother, remembers Mr. Raymond Taylor, owner of a clothing store, sweeping and shoveling mud out of his store after the flood receded. The mud was about ankle deep. The Halls were saved all the work because they lived on that windy hill. Sometimes what seems like a trial turns out to be a blessing.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Cry Baby

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandma (Mary) Carter went through four grades of school in Milford. When they were young, she and her sister, Lois, walked atop the old cemetery fence all the way to school. They were impressed by the collection of colored glass and rocks on the Mexicans’ graves.

When the cold wind blew Mary pulled her crocheted tam down over her face and peered out through the holes created by stretching the crocheting.

She said that she cried her way through all four grades. She recalled her sister, Lois, being pretty disgusted with her when she had to take Mary home sobbing over nothing. Lois, on the other hand, was a tomboy and won all the boys’ marbles at recess.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Dirty Laundry

Hello Dear Reader,
After the adventures of living in a railroad car the Hall family moved to a section hand house right beside the tracks. Grandma (Mary) Carter remembers hearing tramps talking outside their windows at night. She remembers hearing train whistles and the sound of engines coming and going all night long. After they moved to a quieter area the family missed the noise and couldn’t sleep for the stillness. But each time they moved their living situation improved a little.

It can be very cold and windy in Milford. Once, when they lived on a windy hill, Grandma (Caroline) Hall left a tub of dirty clothes on the back porch. The wind picked up and sailed their dirty clothes all over town. That was embarrassing! Thank goodness the Halls had a sense humor.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Life in Milford

Hello Dear Reader,
While the Hall family lived in Milford Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter’s little sister, Carol, was very ill with German measles. Complications set in, followed by pneumonia. Much to the sorrow of the family little Carol died at the age of three. At the same time, Norley, the baby, was seriously ill with blood poisoning. But the Church brought comfort to the family and, through a priesthood blessing, Norley was healed.

Milford was a railroad town; they moved there because Mary’s father, Laning, worked for Union Pacific Railroad. They lived in seven different places in Milford. Their first home was house car right on the tracks. The switch engine bumped them around a lot, usually in the evening just as the family was getting ready to eat. Everyone in the family grabbed something to keep it from tipping over or ran to hold the cupboard doors shut to avoid a major disaster. I can imagine the frustration of Caroline as this happened not just once but on a regular basis. But the family considered it exciting and laughed each time it happened. What a good way to handle a bad situation.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Stories and Poetry

Hello Dear Reader,
Before I continue with Grandpa (Wesley) Carter’s history I think I’ll tell you a little about Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter’s childhood. Some of this may seem familiar as she wrote some things to share (as Christmas presents) with her descendants a few years ago.

Grandma (Mary) was born in Springville, Utah County, Utah on August 2, 1920. Mary’s family moved a lot when she was a child. They lived in Springville, Benjamin, Spanish Fork, and Milford. Her earliest memories were of times in Milford.

Mary considered her childhood a happy adventure. Her mother, Caroline, took time to read stories and poetry to her family—and read with great feeling. Lila (Francis) Madsen, Mary’s cousin, recently reminded me that “Aunt Carrie” memorized a poem every day. She set a good example of continuing to learn no matter what one’s age.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Update

Hello Dear Reader,
On February 13th Turtle asked who the people in the picture are. I finally answered her in the comments but have found that you can “hover” your mouse above each picture and it will tell you what that picture is labeled. From now on I will try to correctly label the pictures so that you can readily identify them.

I have begun work on my website. It will take me some time to get it ready to publish but I am working on it. It is a labor of love because it is about our ancestors. I hope you are enjoying learning from the snippets that I am posting here on this blog. More good things are to come.
Love,
Aunt Genni

More Trivia

Hello Dear Reader,
Are you ready for some more family trivia? Here's some: Aunt Ag, one of Grandma (Caroline) Hall’s twin sisters, had one brown eye and one blue eye. Her mother, Annie Maria Ferguson, was Relief Society president in Lake Shore for a total of 21 years. William Furlsbury Carter was a drum major in the Nauvoo Legion Band. Grandpa (Jasper) Hall had a garden that covered about an acre. He won several prizes for his vegetables at the State Fair. (I still need to do more research on that.)

Grandma (Annie Blake) Carter broke her arm three different times before she was six years old. Mary Lake (Annie Blake’s mother) lived at Sanacott, on the estate of Sir John Eden, with her grandmother when she was a child. Sanacott is in Devonshire, England. You can find it on the internet. It apparently is a bed and breakfast now. Wouldn’t it be fun to go there and stay where one of our ancestors lived?
Love,
Aunt Genni

Valentine's Day

Hello Dear Reader,
Valentine’s Day was special for us as children. We bought valentines for all the children who lived on our street and signed our names on the back of them. As I recall, when we were very young we didn’t use envelopes. On Valentine’s Day evening, about dusk, we went to each house, placed the valentines for the children on the porch, yelled, “Valentine,” and ran so they wouldn’t see who had left the cards. It was very fun! When we got home, we looked at all the cards that had been delivered to us and tried to catch the children who were still delivering their valentines.

Some of the “older” boys (Kent and his friends) sometimes punched a small hole in a valentine, tied a piece of heavy thread through the hole, and quietly put the valentine on someone’s porch. Then they hid while one held the other end of the thread. When they yelled, “Valentine” and the child of the house went out to the porch to pick up the card, the boys pulled the card amazing and frustrating the child. Fun times! I hope you have a fun Valentine’s Day today.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Back to Provo

When the Great Depression hit America the Carter family moved back to the house at 8th West and 5th South in Provo.  Grandpa (Wes) Carter was happy to see his friends again, especially a good friend by the name of Bill Gay.  But the summers seemed long to him because, due to the shortage of jobs,  farmers were no longer hiring children.

He put his free time to use, however, and learned how to carve.  From wood he made paddle-wheel boats, water wheels, rubber guns, sling shots, and boomerangs.  He also made a propeller that would turn in the wind. 

In the winter Wes made a harness for his dog, Blackie,  from some old discarded belts and boots.  Blackie pulled Wes on his sled all winter long.  The dog took him as far as three or four miles to play with another friends, Vincent Brown. 

On his thirteenth birthday Grandpa (Ed) and Grandma (Annie) bought Wes a pair of clamp-on skates which he used to skate on Little Dry Creek.  His grade-school days were nearly over.

Love,

Aunt Genni

Winter Amusements

Hello Dear Reader,
The Carter family lived on the side of the mountain in Spring Canyon. It snowed quite a bit the winter they lived there and Grandpa (Wes) had a little sled. I remember his telling me that he could go out his front door, get on his sled and ride all the way to school. Of course, in the afternoon, he had to pull the sled up the mountain to get home.

That winter he made himself a pair of skis out of barrel staves. There was an old coal dump not far from where they lived. Wes went there and skied down the dump on his homemade skis. He had left his friends in Provo but amused himself and created some memories of the months they lived in Spring Canyon.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Guilt

Hello Dear Reader,
In February of the year the Carter family lived in Spring Canyon, Wes’s older brother, Ed, had his fourteenth birthday. Grandma (Annie) Carter made a birthday cake. Wes found the cake when no one else was at home and, being a hungry little boy, began to eat until about half of it was gone. Ed came home, saw that his cake had been cut, and cut himself a small piece. He was enjoying his birthday cake when Annie got home and caught him in the act.

I suppose that Annie had planned a birthday celebration for Ed with the whole family. I can imagine her dismay to find the cake mostly gone. Baking a cake was a big deal back then. There were no cake mixes. Grandpa (Ed) Carter gave Ed a good licking--what a birthday! Wes never admitted that he had eaten any cake and always had a guilty conscience about it.

Confession is good for the soul Dear Reader.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Spring Canyon

Hello Dear Reader,
When Grandpa (Wes) Carter was eleven years old his family moved to Spring Canyon in Carbon County so his dad and older brothers could work in the coal mine. They piled their furniture in the back of an old Rio truck that they borrowed from Karl Pratt’s (Wes’s brother-in-law’s) father. Wes rode all the way sitting on top of the furniture. Now, with modern roads, it takes about an hour and ½ to get to Price (about 9 miles farther from where they would have turned off) so that had to be quite a trip. They lived in Spring Canyon for about a year.

When Wes’s older brothers, Elmo and Bill, came home from the mine black with coal dust they bathed, as was the family tradition, in a number three tub. It was Wes’s chore to wash their backs. He thought he was a big shot (Wes’s words) to be associated with his brothers while they took their baths. It’s amazing how little things can create happiness.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Baseball and Basketball

Hello Dear Reader,
Ed and Annie Carter moved around a lot when their children were young. One year they moved to Knightsville for the winter so Grandpa (Wes) Carter’s dad, Ed, and older brother, Elmo, could work in the mines. When they returned to Provo they moved to 800 West 500 South in Provo. Wes’s Grandpa Blake and his wife, “Aunt Belle,” moved in with them once more and Wes went to the old Franklin School again.

Wes was the biggest kid in the class and said he could lick everyone else. He was the best ball player and was always chosen first when teams were made up. About this time he became interested in basketball too. He remembered going to the old men’s gym on BYU’s lower campus to play ball against BYU’s training team. He said, “We beat them 12 to 10 and I made all 12 points. I was a real hero.” He was in the 3rd grade and was playing with kids in the sixth grade. He had been held back two years, but still—way to go!
Love,
Aunt Genni

Grass

Hello Dear Reader,

When the Carter family moved to the house on Center Street and 9^th West the front yard was grown over with weeds. Grandpa (Wes) was eight years old but felt embarrassed by the neglected yard.  He spent his spare time that summer spading up Johnson grass and weeds and hauling them off in his coaster wagon to a vacant lot about a block north of their property.

Wes was a hard worker. He picked strawberries that year to earn his own money and could pick as many strawberries as any grownup in the field. He earned enough to buy his clothes for school and grass seed that he planted, creating a nice front yard for his family.

Grandpa always took a lot of pride in his property. He taught us to get the weeds out by the root. I wish I had had more of an opportunity to work with him planning and planting.  I have a desire to be a good gardener but I’m afraid I don’t have talent for it like Grandpa had.

Love,

Aunt Genni

Starting School

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandpa (Wes) Carter’s first years of school were difficult for him. He started school at the age of six in the first Timpanogos School on the corner of 5th West and 4th North. He was bored and found it hard to concentrate so he didn’t do well and was held back. He then realized he needed to apply himself if he were to ever get through school. He did better the next year until he was accused of stealing a gold watch that belonged to the principal.

Wes was innocent of the theft but the principal didn't believe him and had him in his office every day for two or three weeks. The principal then called the Provo Police Department and a motorcycle policeman questioned Wes every day for the next several weeks. The interrogation continued for three years—in the principal’s office and on the street.

You can imagine what this did to the little boy. It was hard for him to study. He was humiliated—every student knew that he had been accused of stealing the watch. And when Wes heard a motorcycle he nearly went to pieces. Thankfully, about this time, his family moved to his Grandpa Blake’s house on the corner of Center Street and 9th West in Provo. Grandpa (Wes) now attended the Franklin School where his teacher, Agnes Farrer, kindly questioned him, believed him, and stopped the harassment. She sparked Grandpa’s interest in school and helped restore his self-confidence. What an influence for good a teacher can be.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Toys

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandpa (Wes) Carter loved balls. Using part of his 25¢ allowance he always bought a sponge rubber ball at Woolworths’ on the Fourth of July. He bounced the ball against the outside of the house and practiced catching it. He also loved marbles and was a great competitor. One of the older boys liked to play with him and sought him out saying, “Come on, Snotty. Let’s play marbles.” The nickname embarrassed Wes but he told the story to his children saying that “Snotty” was a really good marble player. Finally, when he was over 70 years old, he admitted that he was the famous marble player, “Snotty.”

As a child Wes also had yoyos, whistles, and other toys that appeal to little boys (and girls). He learned a saying he remembered his whole life that went like this:
I bought a wooden whistle and it “wooden” whistle.
I bought a steel whistle and it “steel wooden” whistle.
I bought a tin whistle and now I “tin” whistle.

Love,
Aunt Genni

Mischief

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandpa (Wes) Carter could be mischievous when he was little. His older brother, Elmo, had some ducks that swam in the irrigation ditch (Little Dry Creek) just a few yards from their house. Wes loved to chase the ducks watching them flap their wings and hearing them quack as they ran toward the water—all to Elmo’s chagrin.

Sometimes Wes also annoyed neighbors Jimmy Woods and his wife “Aunt Clara.” When walking by their house he dragged a stick along their picket fence making an irritating tack, tack, tack noise. He also at times picked green apples from their trees, impaled the apples on a stick, and flung them towards the cattle grazing in the fields. Despite the annoyance Jimmy and Clara were kind to him when he went to their place to get eggs, or milk when the Carters’ cows were dry. Aunt Clara fed him cookies or cake with a glass of cold milk and invited him to bring a bucket to pick up black walnuts that had fallen from their trees. He then felt bad that he had ever upset them.

He liked Mr. and Mrs. Woods but after a few days, Wes would be back at his old tricks, irritating them yet again. He wasn’t mean spirited he was just amusing himself.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Home and Family

Hello Dear Reader,

I thought you might like to see a photograph of the little house that the Carter family lived in at 950 West 500 North, Provo, Utah. Ed and Annie and their children moved to this house in 1918. They were still living here when, on September 5, 1922, Annie B. Carter gave birth to her ninth child, Ruth Angela. Grandpa (Wes) Carter said, “What a joy for a little boy to have a baby sister.” He was nearly five years old when she was born. He referred to her as “a special little doll” and felt she was very well named (the family called her Angie) because of her angelic features and sweetness.

Wes loved all of his brothers and sisters and said each one was a great influence in his life. He appreciated them for their kindness and help as he was growing up. They were all very special to him. Families can be a great blessing.

Love,

Aunt Genni

Chores

Hello Dear Reader,
One of the chores Grandpa (Wes) Carter had as a child was helping sort potatoes in their old root cellar. The family used a kerosene heater to try to heat the area as they worked but it didn’t put out enough heat to keep them warm. Wes remembered coming across icy rotten potatoes that made his bare hands feel frozen.

Each spring the family worked hours planting crops. Wes rode old Brownie, the family’s horse, while his dad or older brothers guided the cultivator making furrows. The rows seemed countless to the little boy.

Later in the year Wes went with his father and brothers into their fields to harvest hay. The others considered it work but he considered it play. As the older boys and men threw hay onto the wagon, Wes tramped it down, packing it so they could get a larger load. When they unloaded the hay into the barn he had great fun jumping from the loft onto the newly mown hay.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Water

Hello Dear Reader,
The Carters had no electricity or water in their house when Grandpa (Wes) Carter was growing up. They used buckets to carry well water into the house. Then the old wood stove was used to heat the water for the family’s use. They used pans, a teakettle, or the boiler that was attached to the back of the stove (or all of the above) to boil water for bathing, laundry, cleaning, and doing dishes.

The family took turn bathing in a number three round tub. Wes liked to be first to bathe. Two or three people frequently used the same water and he was afraid others would pee in the water like he sometimes did. (I could have said, “urinate,” but that’s not the word Grandpa would have used.)

Their toilet was an outside two-holer. They used an old Sears catalog for toilet paper. Sometimes the person using the outhouse would sit, looking at the pictures in the catalog, so long other family members resorted to throwing rocks at the structure to get the occupant out of there.

Count your blessings, Dear Reader.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Good Food

Hello Dear Reader,
The wood stove seemed to be the center of the home when Grandpa (Wesley) Carter was young. His brothers, Elmo and Bill used a two-man hand saw to cut wood for the stove. The family had access to plenty of firewood as Provo River was only a short distance from their farm. The river was bordered by cotton-woods, boxelders, ash trees, scrub oaks, hawthorns, Douglas firs, junipers, and other varieties of trees.

Annie, Wes’s mother, was a good cook. She used the sawed wood to keep the stove going and probably cooked most of the day every day in order to keep her seven children fed. Grandpa (Wes) told me about her making hominy, sauerkraut, and sausage--all from scratch. She canned fruits and jams in late summer. She also made bread—probably lots of it. He said, “Oh, the aroma when we would come into the house and smell the freshly baked bread just coming out of the oven—and how good it tasted with butter and honey and a glass of cold milk. Even after he grew old Grandpa loved a supper of bread and milk.
Some good things never change.
Love,
Aunt Genni