Sharing our Links to the Past
|
|
This series of articles was written by Elsie over a period of three years. Chapters 1-12 were written monthly during 1991 and compiled into one volume for Christmas. Volume 2 (Chapters 13-17) came out in December 1992. Volume 3 (Chapters 18-21) appeared in December 1993. Placing them on the Internet allows for a wider distribution. They are valuable because they contain historical information, some of which is not found elsewhere. These chapters are produced on four pages as follows: The Earliest Years (This Page) 1. My Younger Years Young
Adulthood (Page Two) The Young
Family (Page Three) Widowhood
(Page Four) 1. MY YOUNGER YEARS I have often said that my younger years were hard and sometimes sad, but as I look back now through the years, I see that I had a good home and good parents that provided well, with a strong spiritual guidance. Our Home We had a big two-story home on Fifth Avenue between H and I streets in Salt Lake City which my father had built. He built a grocery store as part of the house, and that store was our livelihood. The store was on one side of the house with the grocery storeroom immediately behind it. and beyond that, the dining room. On the other side of the house was the parlor which was approached through a large porch. Beyond the parlor was a hallway, the bath and the stairway which led to the bedrooms upstairs. Clear across the back of the home, behind both the storeroom and the living part of the home was the large kitchen with a pantry at one end and a big back screened-in porch. Dad could lean back in his chair at the end of the table in the kitchen and see through the dining room and storeroom and tell who was coming into the store. When he heard the bell ring, we sometimes would be asked to go and wait on the customer. Upstairs over the store was a long attic where Dad hung lines for clothes when it rained. It was in the attic that the boys worked on the new invention, the crystal set, which was the forerunner of the radio.Also upstairs was a large dorm for the boys. Carl, the artist, built himself a little studio beyond the dorm under the slanting roof. The girls and the parents had two nice bedrooms on the other side. It was a happy home. We all had plenty of chores to do as we had a big family. Children were added about every two years until my mother and father had eight children, five boys and three girls, in this order: Dick, Ivan, Ruby, Carl, Roy, Elsie, Lucille and George. Of this family, I am the only one still living. (Mother died when I was seven and Father remarried. His second family will be discussed in another installment). Dad had built a little cottage just behind our home. He rented this out. To the side of the cottage was a lawn and clothes lines, then a little garden, a stable for our horse and buggy and coops for the chickens. Chickens provided eggs for the store and plenty for us and was my mother's pet project. She kept the fertilized eggs in home-made incubators in the kitchen and dining room. I often saw the little chicks break through the eggs, the trays sitting on the oven door to keep warm. From the money she earned on the chickens, she bought a beautiful upright player piano. It was for the children to learn to play, but we often put rolls in the player and watched the keys play music without hands, just listening in wonder. We had fruit trees and berry bushes, from which we had delicious bottled fruit and jams and jellies. We also had pickles, and chili sauce. Fruit of every variety was bottled in two-quart bottles and placed in the dirt-floored cellar under the store. We got to this cellar by pulling up a trap door behind the grocery counter. Our Store In the cellar, as part of the supplies for the store, were big hams, round cheeses, bologna, salted cod fish, kippered herring, smoked salmon, small kegs of dill pickles, gunny sacks of potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, onions, apples, oranges, anything you wanted to preserve in a perfect temperature, cold but not freezing. For milk and butter we had a large ice box for the store and a smaller ice box for ourselves. The ice man came around regularly. He chipped off a big piece of ice and carried it with tongs , hefting it over his shoulder, protected by a leather pad. The ice would take over the entire top part of the ice boxes. As it melted we could use that space to store other food. While the man would deliver the ice the kids always gathered around the horse-drawn truck to pick up any chipped pieces that fell off. Our milk had cream on top which we often whipped to put on top of desserts. When Dad brought up a round of cheese from the cellar, he would put it on a stand with a big, wide cleaver in the center that lifted up. Sometimes I would cut the cheese for a customer and I could nearly always judge the exact amount the customer wanted. But one day, I misjudged where my middle finger was and nearly cut the end of it off. I still have the scar. The candy case was every kid's delight. It displayed all types of candy which cost either a penny or two for a penny. We often came from across the house to wait on an eager child who only wanted a penny's worth, or a stick of gum. Think of the temptation we kids had and the patience my father had and concern for his profit as we often passed right by the candy counter and could easily slide the glass door to take a toasted marshmallow, a chocolate bon-bon, a caramel, an orange stick or a peppermint stick. But more than the candy, Roy was tempted and often grabbed a handful of peanuts in the shell. Once Dad saw him and called out, "Roy, what have you been into?" With the peanuts in his hands behind him, he said, "I didn't take anything!" 2. OUR CHRISTMASES Having such a big family, my parents had developed a tradition for Christmas that was unique but delighted everyone. For weeks before Christmas we were all busy making decorations for the big square parlor and the live Christmas tree. From the red and green construction paper we cut and made a chain of loops and draped them over the front and side window curtains. Sometimes we also draped them from the chandelier to the corners. With needle and strong thread, and using a big bowl of red cranberries and another of pop corn, we strung up yards of the red and white cranberries and pop corn to drape around the branches of the tree. We had wax red and green candles to pinch on the tree. When lighted, they showed off the tinsel and whatever else we had, and the sight was beautiful. It did not last all evening, however, as it does nowadays with electric lights. I don't remember being afraid they might catch fire. A stove in the corner kept us warm, and we hung our big, long, black stockings on a hook behind the stove. A chair for each person was set in a semi-circle on Christmas Eve. We brought our gifts to be opened the next morning, some homemade from school or Primary and some carefully purchased with our little earnings. We had a treat of cookies and candy and then we were off to bed, wondering what Mom and Dad would fill our stockings with or what present awaited us in the morning. On Christmas morning, when Dad had the rooms warm and the phonograph going with Christmas music, he called us, and we came bounding down the steps, ready to run into the parlor. But, no, first we had to eat breakfast, then line up at the dining room door according to age, with Dad and Mom in front. Our stockings lay on our chairs, full of oranges, apples, mixed nuts and hard candy. Then we could open our presents and show everybody. Quite often there was a sled for the boys and nearly always new pajamas for everyone made by my mother. Once I got a beautiful, big doll with a pretty dress. One year my artist brother Carl made a big Horn of Plenty that reached from the floor to half way up the wall. That year, all the toys and presents came tumbling out, and Carl probably played Santa Claus. We were on a gradual hill from Fifth Avenue to South Temple, and lots of kids were out Christmas morning with their sleds. It was good sleigh riding from Fifth down the hill. Also, from Virginia Street on the East side down First Avenue we could ride a schooner, which is a long sled, and it would hold at least a dozen of us. We usually had lots of snow at Christmas, and we enjoyed the gradual slope, sledding all the way down the alphabet streets, or as far as we wanted to walk back. Playing Games If I got a set of jacks and a ball I was happy, and the boys got marbles. Occasionally they would let me play with them, but the boys were pretty tough. If we had a good January thaw, we could get out in the street and play softball. I loved softball and would get in on the game, if it was with the younger boys. Later on in the spring, we wanted to stretch our legs and run. We had a game called "Run, Sheepy, Run." We would spread out all over the neighborhood, and there were plenty of vacant hills and lots we could hide in. One or two went out to find us, and if they could not, they would holler, "Olly, olly, oxen free." On Saturday afternoons when we had nothing else to do, we would end up at the store and ask Dad for some potatoes and onions, dig a hole in a vacant lot, make a fire, and then when we had hot coals, we would drop in the potatoes and onions and bake them until they were done and black. With a little butter, we'd eat the potatoes with a spoon and the onions like an apple. I guess there was nothing that ever tasted better! I was kind of a tom-boy, chasing after my brothers all the time!
3. PLAYING WITH OUR DOLLS If the girls got store-bought dolls for Christmas, they held them as a treasure and loved them. But the dolls were not as soft and flexible as the ones the girls get nowadays. The homemade ones that our mothers made were more cuddly and soft, and we would learn how to make simple little clothes for them. For paper dolls we would spend hours cutting out beautiful ladies from fashion magazines and could set up a whole family, using our imagination and make-believe. Then as the hollyhocks came out in the early summer, we would cut off the blooms with delight, which made the skirts for flower dolls. The flower had a little knob which served as the doll's head. The hollyhocks had many colors and were large and small, so we were able to make a wonderful collection of ladies. We played with the dolls in a cozy nook across the street under some trees, and we were in a make-believe world again. The boys were busy shooting their aggies or crystals (marbles), kneeling on the sidewalk or floor, often in our way. They built their own private den, like a lean-to by the side of the pantry. That's where they met and planned their mischief or great strategies. We were not allowed in the den, but did get a peek when they weren't around. Hiking We often got the wanderlust to hike up City Creek Canyon which must have been miles from our home. We were on 5th Avenue and we hiked up at least to 21st Avenue, then west and around the hills until we reached the big opening to City Creek. It was cool, inviting and beautiful. The great creek with its shrubs and trees helped to irrigate the land of Salt Lake City. One Saturday, just below City Creek, we wandered over to the State Capitol building that was in the process of construction and nearly finished. No workmen were around. We went inside, then took an outside stairway to the first ramp surrounding the great dome. After we had circled that, we saw a long ladder inside the dome. With no one to deter us, we started to climb it. I was so scared when I looked down, but I couldn't go back because I had my brothers Roy ahead and Carl behind. When we got to the top they opened the door to the observation tower on the very top of the dome. The gust of wind nearly blew us back. We went on top and walked around and saw the whole city. Breathtaking puts it mildly. Going back down was almost worse, but our guardian angels must have been with us. On the way back I couldn't resist the brilliant colored autumn leaves so I picked an armful. Suddenly a man called to me as I passed his house and said, "Do you know you have poison ivy in your arms?" Of course, I dropped the leaves, but I had a real case of poison ivy rash all over my arms and neck for a week or so after. Chores But all was not fun and games when you are part of a big family. We had to do our share of work in the house and store. Mine was most anything that needed doing: dishes, shining the stove, emptying the ashes from the parlor stove, and running errands. When I was about 10 years old, I wanted to cook a dinner all alone. I called my stepmother, Aunt Ada, and she encouraged me to try it. I took my customary walk to the meat market and bought round steak. I cut it in cubes and browned it with cut-up onions and vegetables and made gravy. I was pretty proud of that. I liked to cook, especially when I learned to make new dishes in Home Economics in junior high school. One job I hated was on Monday, wash day. When I came home from school, my poor stepmother had been scrubbing all day, boiling the whites in a big oval tub on the stove, stirring with a long stick. Then she would go from the scrub board to the first rinse water where the clothes were wrung dry by hand. Then to another tub to rinse in bluing water . By the time I got home, Aunt Ada was usually on the socks. The big black, long stockings were wrung with a hand wringer. I helped Aunt Ada with the wringing. When the last sock was hung and the water emptied, we placed the tub stands on the back porch. Then my job was to scrub the big, long linoleum floor. It was porous, not like the smooth, vinyl floors we have now. Immediately, after scrubbing and wiping, we would put newspaper down so the kids wouldn't track dirt on the clean floor. 4. SKATING AND THE THEATER Skating Skating seemed like the greatest sport in the world to me. I yearned for a pair of skates, but I had to earn money to buy them. One of my first jobs was to clean the bathroom and kitchen at Bishop Reynold's home on Fifth and H streets, Saturday mornings. I got 25 cents. They also had me carry a gallon of milk in a container from Third Street to their home, all uphill for a dime. I did some baby sitting as I got older, all evening for 25 cents. This wage gradually went up to 50 cents and I got a dime more if they stayed past 1 a.m. Tithing Finally I got my skates, but not before I had paid tithing on my earnings. Dad had a tithing book with a page for each one of us. He kept an account for us, and paid it when he paid his. In this way it was as natural to pay tithing as to eat. The testimony of this principle grew in me as I saw the many blessings from it, and I was thankful for this early training. When I was older I cleaned house for Almeada Hall all day Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for $3. I also cleaned house for A.G. Gunn whom my brothers did sign painting for. This kind of work did not appeal to me, and that's when I decided to go to the telephone company as a telephone operator. Back to Skating! We had good sidewalks to skate on. But to get full motion, we would go down to South Temple and First East where we had wide paved streets and not too much traffic. From South Temple to First South it was a gradual decline, and we would skate from side to side, as we moved down hill. We had a wonderful time with easy effort. On that street was the Social Hall where the Church had many of its plays and entertainment. Right behind it was the Randall-Dodd Buick Motor Company where I worked as a secretary later on. Traffic was light. We got there by street car or by walking. The Salt Lake Theater On State Street. and First South Street, Brigham Young had built the famous Salt Lake Theater which we frequented often. Young people could see the grand operas and plays for only 50 cents. We got our ticket and took the outside stairs to the third balcony which was called the Peanut Gallery. That's where I got my love of opera and good plays. Salt Lake was the crossroads of the West, and great performers were glad to come to our theater which was always filled with an eager audience. We would take our popcorn and candy to the Peanut Gallery where we sat on long benches with backs. Further down State Street there were movie houses with second-run pictures. The first-run movies from Paramount and MGM, etc. were on Main Street. We would watch the silent movies as a pianist or organist provided the background music. Actors I remember seeing included Norma Talmage, Irene Dunn, the Barrymores, Charlie Chaplin, and Buster Keaton. During World War I we not only got a movie, but a news reel, which was something new. They used subtitles for the words on both the movies and the news reels. We also had a wonderful old vaudeville theater, the Pantages. We saw all kinds of different acts including stand-up comedians, playlets, dances and singing. It was fun to watch Al Jolson and other old-timers. If we had any money left we would wander over to Kelley's and get a soda or sundae. Sometimes my brothers Roy and Carl would take me with them to these theaters. Other times I would go with acquaintances. 5. TRAVELING YEARS AGO How did we travel years ago? Our main methods were by foot, by streetcar, by horse and buggy and by train. There was even a brief encounter with that newer method: the auto. Traveling By Foot Our schools and churches were usually within walking distance, never more than seven or eight blocks. And drugstores and other shops, too, were close. If we walked to downtown Salt Lake, it was about two miles. All that walking took a toll on our shoes, and Father thought up an unique incentive to wear our shoes longer. He said he would give us a dollar if we wore our shoes for an entire year. He even said he would resole them as often as needed during that year. He had the "last" (a shoe form on a rod) , leather, and short nails, and he could put on a new sole in no time. He was good at putting on the soles, though sometimes the nail got through to the inside and hurt. But he could fix that. My brother Carl took Dad up on the offer, and wore the same shoes for a year. They looked pretty shabby! Being an artist, he drew a picture of his shoes after a year of wearing. I wish I had that picture now! Those shoes really looked as though they had taken a beating! The tops were wrinkled and shabby, the laces thin and the toes showing through. But he got his dollar! Traveling by Streetcar If we wanted to go to downtown Salt Lake, we usually took the streetcar. The streetcar looked like a train, and rode on rails, but it was powered by an overhead electric line. I never remember paying more than a dime to ride. This included transfers which meant we could go as far as Liberty Park where they had swings, slides, boat rides on the lake, the merry-go-round, and, on holidays, a band as well. Traveling by Horse and Buggy We also had a horse and buggy. The boys often delivered groceries in a knapsack thrown over the horse. When we wanted to go farther out to the hills and canyons, or to visit our relatives, the horse was hitched up to the buggy, and whoever could squeeze in would get to ride. This wasn't very often because the grocery store Dad owned took most of his time. Dad would say, "I'm here and I can't get away." But occasionally on a holiday or Sunday afternoon, we could coax him to go. Of course we went to Sunday School at 10 in the morning and Sacrament Meeting at 6 in the evening. We never questioned that. For greater entertainment, we would take the Saltair train to the Great Salt Lake resort. We would swim in the salt water. You really never swam, though. The water, being so full of salt, would hold you up like a tire full of air. You just floated. At Saltair we could see animal shows, go motorcycle or car racing on a race track, spend money on every imaginable booth and gimmick, and dance at night in the big pavilion. We'd chew Saltair Taffy on the way home. Then there was the Union Pacific train which we used to visit my mother's relatives in Fairview, about 100 miles south of Salt Lake. There were three sisters, Aunt Sarah Bushman, Aunt Ida Anderson and Aunt Ella Barker. They all lived with their families on farms. It was great fun for a city girl to watch butter being churned, cows being milked and to have plenty of cream biscuits and berries as well as horses to ride. Traveling by Auto My older brothers talked my dad into buying a Ford sedan. After all, they said, we should get up to date and find out what it was like to ride in a motor-drawn carriage. You can imagine what it was like for my dad to teach himself to drive. There were few driving lessons in those days. The autoŐs days came to an end one day when he took me down to buy fresh produce early in the morning. We were coming out of a driveway into a main street, when he put his foot on the gas pedal instead of the brake. Out we shot, nearly hitting a few cars and a streetcar. Of course, we didnŐt go as fast as we do now, but it seem wreckless speed to him. He was a nervous bundle when we got home. He said he could never learn to drive the car, and he sold it. To Glimpses, Chapters 6-10, Young Adulthood Home Page
| Elsie Gladys Lundquist McNabb
|
|
© 1998-1999 Wallace F. and Frances M. Gray. All rights reserved. This Web site may be freely linked. Please send comments and suggestions and report broken links to us at grayfox@sedona.net |