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
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
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
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
Thursday, February 5, 2009
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
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
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Home and Family
Hello Dear Reader,
I thought you might like to see a photograph of the little house that the Carte
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
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
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
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
Monday, February 2, 2009
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
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
Sunday, February 1, 2009
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
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
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