Honeymoon

Hello Dear Reader,
As they went back through Provo Caroline dropped Wes and Mary at Hotel Roberts in Provo. That’s where they spent their honeymoon—for one whole night.

Each time we went by the old hotel, which was at 192 South University Avenue, Grandma (Mary) would say, "That's where we spent our honeymoon.

Sadly, the hotel was torn down in 2004. An article in the Deseret News said, "The hotel. . . built in 1883 was once host to myriad of social events. 'It was the social center of Provo for so many years. . .Every women's luncheon, every club meeting, all the BYU social activities — before they moved to the upper campus — were always held there.'"

Love,
Aunt Genni

The Wedding

Hello Dear Reader,
Wes and Mary set their wedding date for October 16th. Meanwhile they made plans and spent as much time together as they could. Sundays were special as they alternately went to dinner at the Halls’ or the Carters’.

When the “big day” eventually came Grandma (Caroline Ferguson) Hall and Mary picked Wes up at his home and they proceeded to the Salt Lake temple where they received their temple endowments and were married for time and all eternity.

Love,
Aunt Genni

Proposal

Hello Dear Reader,
After Wes met Mary at the train depot in Salt Lake they stopped at a café for breakfast before continuing their journey to Lake Shore. Mary snuggled up to Wes’s side and he asked her to be his wife. He said, “Of course she accepted.” They were in love.

The following Sunday, when Mary’s father (Laning Hall) returned home from his job on the railroad, Wes asked him for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Wes said (tongue in cheek), “. . . with my dynamic personality, how could he refuse?”
Love,
Aunt Genni

Separation

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter went to Nevada in the summer of 1940 to stay with her sister, Myrl. Grandpa (Wesley) Carter took her to the train depot in Salt Lake to see her off on her six-week trip. I haven’t found any information about what the two of them did while they were apart. I know that Mary was very close to her sister and spent time with her on more than one occasion.

Wes, meanwhile, was probably saving any money that he would have spent on dates, gas, or such. He went back to Salt Lake City to pick her up when she returned. He said her train arrived early in the morning. She had probably traveled most of the night.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Big Spender

Hello Dear Reader,
Occasionally Wes (Carter) took Mary (Hall) to a show, or a movie as we would refer to it today. The price was 25¢ apiece. Their treat was a package of Walnettos which cost 5¢and a 5¢ package of peanuts. Wes said, “In those days I was known as a man about town and a big spender.”

In the summer Wes played softball for the Pioneer Ward M-Men team. His team won the regional championship and went to Salt Lake to compete in the All-church tournament. Wes said, “Of course, I took Mary along. She proved to be my [best] fan and supporter. By then we were going very steady.”
Love,
Aunt Genni

Courting

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandpa (Wesley) Carter was still working for Christiansen Construction Company for $3 a day. He was paying for a car, helping support his family, and courting his wife to be. But he always managed to have a few dollars in his pocket at the end of the week. He and Mary often went to Saturday night dances for the price of $1 per couple.

If you go to the playlist at the bottom of the blog you will find a few added songs beginning with number 9. These are some of the songs that Mary (who loved dancing) and Wes (who was a great dancer) danced to while they were dating.
Love,
Aunt Genni

The Checker Challenge

Hello Dear Reader,
When Grandpa (Wesley) Carter went to Lake Shore to pick Mary up for a date Grandpa (Laning) Hall was waiting and invited him to play a game of checkers. One of Wes’s responses was, “I don’t know much about it so I’ll pass.” Another time he said, “No Sir, you’re too good for me.” In this way he avoided humiliating himself. Mary said, “And Daddy liked him better than anybody.”
Love,
Aunt Genni

Obstacles

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandpa (Wes) continued to see Grandma (Mary) at Anna Stone’s house. He said he could tell that she wasn’t really interested in Boyd Christiansen so he started flirting with her and after a few weeks they started dating.

Mary went home to Lake Shore on weekends. Wes, by saving his meager earnings, had bought himself a 1938 Plymouth coupe. The car eliminated one obstacle to their courting as he could then go to Lake Shore each weekend to see Mary as well as seeing her three or four other times during the week.

The next obstacle was Grandpa (Laning) Hall with his checker board.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Lanky

Hello Dear Reader,
I thought you might like to see a picture of Grandpa (Wesley) Carter in action. Here it is:

He was pretty lanky.

Love,

Aunt Genni

Softening Attitude

Hello Dear Reader,
I don’t exactly know how it came to be that Mary attended some of Wes’s basketball games. He was doing great in church tournaments playing on the “M Men” team for Pioneer Ward in Provo. Mary was beginning to see some appealing characteristics in Wes—his ability to work hard, his kindness to the underdog, his way with people, and his determination to succeed.

She was a little shocked to see him in a basketball uniform though. He was tall and thin. He looked skinny to her. Not too long ago that she mentioned his appearance to me again. She kind of laughed and said, “I thought he looked really strange. Well, he wasn’t too bad, but basketball shorts used to be really short and he had a really long neck.”
Love,
Aunt Genni

Attraction

Hello Dear Reader,
Boyd Christiansen must have thought the young lady, Mary Hall, who worked for his sister was attractive because it wasn’t long until he had a date with her for a dance on New Year’s Eve. Actually it was a triple date—Boyd’s friend, Wes Carter, took one of Mary’s friends who will remain unnamed and Harold Webb, another friend, took Mary Ellen Argyle as blind dates.

As it turned out Mary Ellen was six inches taller than Harold and was afraid to get out of the car. Wes said, “And I was stuck with a girl whose face would stop an eight-day clock.” But Boyd and Mary seemed to have a wonderful time. Mary was less than impressed with Boyd’s friends, however, and thought Wes was the rudest person she had ever met.
Love,
Aunt Genni

The Rescue

Hello Dear Reader,
As they worked together, Boyd Christiansen and Grandpa (Wes) Carter continued to be good friends. During the Christmas holidays in 1938 they went skating on Utah Lake with another friend Don Waterlyn. Boyd and Wes skated along together until the ice broke and they went into the icy water. They tried to climb out but the ice kept breaking under their weight.

Boyd had presence of mind enough to tell Wes to take off his coat. Boyd took his off as well. They threw them to Don who tied the sleeves together to form a makeshift rope. By throwing the “rope” back Don was able to pull Boyd and Wes out of the water. By the time they reached shore their clothes were frozen stiff and they could hardly walk. They were lucky. I personally know of four people who drowned in Utah Lake by unknowingly skating onto thin ice or into warm springs.

When Wes got home Grandma (Annie Blake) Carter made him get in a tub of hot water. Wes didn’t even get a cold.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Gaining Life Experience

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandpa (Wes) Carter said, “. . . . Our team was good enough to go to the Church Regional playoffs. We got beat in the final game by the Provo 4th Ward in a double-overtime. The 4th Ward was good enough to go on and win the all-church championship.”

Wes continued to work for Axel Christiansen. They built a triplex for Anna Stone. Anna was Axel’s daughter and Boyd’s sister. Wes’s salary was $18.00 a week for six days. In other words, Wes made $3.00 a day. But he was learning a lot and gaining experience.
Love,
Aunt Genni

More About Grandpa (Wes) Carter

Hello Dear Reader,
Here are excerpts from two newspaper articles in Grandpa (Wes) Carter’s scrapbook: “With the first half of “M” Men play completed in Utah stake (with the exception of two postponed games), Wes Carter, sharpshooting forward of Pioneer [Ward] leads the scoring with 46 points chalked up in three games. The Pioneer star has tallied an average of 15.3 points per game. His total is a few points better than Bill Mangum’s. . . “

“A great little ball player, Wes Carter, nearly upset the applecart for Fourth. Carter rustled the ball with finesse and came through at the basket with nine field goals and a foul pitch for 19 counters. He was the outstanding player of last night’s games.”

High School was over but basketball wasn’t. It seems he just got better and better.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Meanwhile . . . Church Basketball

Hello Dear Reader,
Meanwhile, Grandpa (Wes) Carter went to work again for Boyd Christiansen’s dad, Axel Christiansen. Mr. Christiansen was impressed enough with Wes’s ability as a carpenter than he spent many hours teaching him the building trade. This prepared Wes for his lifetime occupation of building.

There was not much for Wes to do in the way of activities, outside of work, so he played M-Men basketball. “M-Men” stood for “Mutual Men.” These were young men ages sixteen to, I think, about twenty-one, and basketball was part of the Mutual program. Church sports were a big deal back then. I guess they still are in some areas. I haven’t kept up with such things for years.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Household Domestic

Hello Dear Reader,
After some temporary jobs Mary (Hall) went to work in Provo for a lovely woman by the name of Anna Stone. She was a household helper and learned many things from Mrs. Stone. One of Mary’s tasks was doing laundry . Anna was very fussy and taught Mary to be an excellent ironer. Clean, beautifully pressed laundry was something Mary took pride in the rest of her life.

She also did housework for Anna, helped with the cooking, and tended children. I believe that she actually lived with the Stones during the week and went home to Lake Shore on weekends. Meanwhile, she also continued to date.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Doubtful Ketchup

Hello Dear Reader,
Another job Mary (Hall) had following her high school graduation was working at the cannery in Leland south of Spanish Fork. Del Monte owned the cannery at that time and they were bottling ketchup. I suppose Mary found the job pretty disgusting—she wouldn’t eat ketchup for years afterwards.

I asked her about it one time and she said they just threw in the tomatoes whether they had worms in them or not. Yuck! No wonder she didn’t eat ketchup. Thank goodness standards are higher now—I guess they are anyway.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Fruit Orchards

Hello Dear Reader,
After high school Mary (Hall) had to face reality and find work. Jobs were scarce. One of her summer jobs was picking and sorting fruit for her uncle, Jess Cordner. Jess had married Mary’s Aunt Jen (Sarah Jane). Their fruit orchards were apparently in Orem, or on the Provo Bench, as it used to be called. Utah produces wonderful fruit. It's something about the cool nights and mountain air.

I don’t remember much about the Cordners but I do remember going to Provo Bench to see Mary’s Aunt Ag and Uncle Allen Bellows. They also had orchards. I loved going to see them as they were very kind to me.
Love,
Aunt Genni

High School Graduation

Hello Dear Reader,

  Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter graduated from Spanish Fork High School on May 20, 1938. She had enjoyed her school years and developed many friendships and memories that she retained the rest of her life. For graduation she had a pale green chiffon formal and said,” [I] felt very glamorous.”

Love,

Aunt Genni

Embarrassment

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter participated in some extracurricular activities in high school although she was restrained somewhat by having to ride the school bus back to Lake Shore each afternoon. She played basketball in 1936-37, baseball in 1937, and sewed opera costumes for an opera that was put on that same year.

Her cousin, Lila, was the lead singer in the school opera in 1938. Mary could never have done anything like that. Besides not being a great singer she got embarrassed too easily. She probably got that from her dad (Laning). He really didn’t like to see his children perform in public—their performances embarrassed him.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Dating Dilemmas

Hello Dear Reader,
Mary (Hall) continued to have lots of dates in high school. Sometimes her family circumstances were an embarrassment to her. Although the lane they lived down seemed a half mile long, it wasn’t. But it was muddy a lot.

One time Mary had a date with Shavey Argyle. In order to pick her up, he rolled his pants legs up to his knees and trod up the muddy lane after her. Mary put on her galoshes and they started out. The mud was so sticky that it sucked her galoshes right off her feet.

They were going to an “Elder’s dance,” one of those put on weekly by the Elders Quorum. They went to the Argyle home first and tried to clean the mud off their legs and feet so they would be somewhat presentable. She said, “It was horrible!”
Love,
Aunt Genni

Rabies

Hello Dear Reader,
Some notes in her yearbook say Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter) was the prettiest girl from Lake Shore and a lot of kids thought she was “fun,” had “a nice personality,” was “a sweet kid,” and was one of “the grandest kids.”

But apparently one young man made a nuisance of himself in his feelings towards her during high school. Mary Ellen Argyle, her best friend, recalled, “Your pet saying, ‘I hate him,’—another one, ‘He’s got hydrophobia.’” Mary seemed to think someone by the name of Johnny Moore was pretty cute though.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Starving Teenager

Hello Dear Reader,
One of Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter’s memories of high school was the lunch line. She said, “That soup line at school was a real treat—hot soup for 2¢, or an orange and a cookie for 2¢. What a bargain for a starving teenager." She remembered what it was like to be hungry. Maybe that’s one of the reasons she always made sure there was plenty to eat at her house.
Love,
Aunt Genni

More Tobacco Tales

Hello Dear Reader,
Perhaps one reason Grandpa (Laning) Hall was so against smokers was that his own father was a chain smoker—Jasper rolled his own Bull Durham cigarettes. As soon as he lit one cigarette he would roll another and place it over his ear. He usually had one cigarette in his mouth and one behind each ear.

As he grew older he became somewhat senile and did things that frightened his in-laws and grandchildren. When Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter’s friends asked her what was wrong with her grandfather her standard reply was, “Oh he’s got nicotine of the brain.”
Love,
Aunt Genni

Old Nicotina

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandpa (Laning) Hall teased his girls a lot about their boyfriends. One time Lois, Grandma (Mary) Carter’s sister, had a date with a young man that smoked. The whole family smelled tobacco on him when he came to pick Lois up. They nearly went into shock.

When Lois got up the next morning Laning said, “Well how was ‘Old Nicotina’ last night?” Lois started screaming, had a tantrum, and ran into the bedroom. She flung herself on the bed and pounded her fists on her pillow. The whole family listened to her bawl. Grandpa just called him “Nicotina” and Lois never went out with him again. As far as I know, none of the rest of them ever dated anyone who smoked either.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Challenges

Hello Dear Reader,
When Lois and Mary were old enough to date their father, (Laning Hall) gave them a bad time. He was a champion checker player but he was also a tease. Every young man that came calling was challenged to a game of checkers. The purpose of this was to see if the boys had enough brains to be worthy of Laning’s daughters. The girls stood and fumed while their dad soundly trounced whoever they had a date with.

One time Mary had a date with someone she “couldn’t have cared less for,” but wanted to see a movie that he had invited her to. Her dad dragged him into the living room and made him play checkers. Mary asked her mother, “Why does he want to test him? I wouldn’t have him if you’d give him to me.”

It didn’t matter. Whoever came calling played checkers with Laning. I think the ordeal was worse for the girls than it was for their dates.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Cutting a Dashing Figure

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter and her cousin, Lila, loved to try to ice skate. They didn’t have shoe skates, only clamp-on skates. They needed something to support their ankles. Sometimes they bribed their little brothers to take off their high-top shoes and stay in the house. They clamped the skates onto their brothers’ shoes and wore them to go skating on Wride’s Pond.

They had lots of fun. One time they decided they were going to be figure skaters. They tried going backwards, forwards, and all around. Although they were probably just barely moving, as Mary recalled, they thought they were really doing great. I guess greatness is all in the mind.
Love,
Aunt Genni

Transportation by Sleigh

Hello Dear Reader,
Sometimes, in winter when the snow was deep, school buses didn’t run. One year when Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter was in high school it was cold (below zero) and snowy so a big sleigh was brought to the school in Spanish Fork to transport all the kids who lived way out in the country.

When Mary arrived at her house she saw her dad was home pacing up and down waiting for her. She decided to put on a show for him. She said, “Oh, I’m frozen, I’m frozen. I can’t stand it. I’m just stiff I’m so cold. Grandpa (Laning) Hall said, “Throw her in the snow. Throw her in the snow.” Apparently it was a common belief that to treat frost bite the victim should be rubbed with snow. Grandpa tried to wrestle her down but she fought him for all she was worth. She wasn’t that frozen.
Love,
Aunt Genni

High School Fun, Fun, Fun

Hello Dear Reader,
Grandma (Mary Hall) Carter’s best friends through high school were her cousin, Lila Francis, and Mary Ellen Argyle. Mary and Mary Ellen took every class together from the seventh grade through graduation. They shared fond memories of their school days together.

Mary loved riding the bus seven miles from Lake Shore to Spanish Fork every day. She said, “It was an education in itself. We had such fun—singing songs, telling jokes, sitting by someone special, or just giggling with our girl friends.” Mary enjoyed people and loved being with them. She thought having fun was an important part of life and hosted many parties and get-togethers.
Love,
Aunt Genni