“My brother Bill, William Pratt Gardner, was born on October 28, 1907. Four years later on August 1, 1911 my youngest sister Julia Madge was added to the family. (Bill and I watched ever so closely for the stork but never saw him come). John Donald was born on August 25, 1917 and Vern Dwight on April 3, 1919. This completed our family. Don and Vern were born after our family moved to Lewisville, Idaho.My sister MayBelle and I attended school in Kilgore one year and in Spencer two years, driving a horse and buggy spring and fall and boarding out during the winter. One winter mother lived in Spencer and dad lived on the ranch but it was too expensive to keep two houses going. When I was in the fourth grade they built a small one-room school about two miles from our place. We attended this school for three years and the average attendance was usually under ten children. My older sister May went to high school at Lewisville where she stayed with my grandparents.
In 1917, Dad sold the ranch and moved to Lewisville where he bought a house and five acres of ground within the city limits. For three summers he still took the cattle back to the ranch during the summer. The summer I was sixteen I cooked for Dad, Bill and Joe Ericson who had cattle along with my Dads. They rented grazing land from Woods’ Livestock Company, the outfit which had purchased the ranch. I completed the 7th and 8th grades and also the first and second years of high school at Lewisville Midway High School.
In the spring of 1923 Dad and Mother decided to move to Glenn’s Ferry, Idaho where my uncle Owen lived. Leaving Bill and I to finish school, the rest of the family loaded our possessions into two covered wagons and started out. While they were camped at American Falls one night part of the chickens got out of the crate and they had to chase chickens through the sage brush. They camped out at the Burley Fairgrounds one night and Dad met a Mr. Miller who owned a farm where the present Burley Airport is located. Mr. Miller was looking for a renter so he and Dad came to a deal and my family never did go on to Glenn’s Ferry. Everyone was tired of traveling anyway. There was a small house on the property but Mr. Miller bought another two room house and had it moved and joined to the original house, making four rooms. Mother was always handy about fixing things up so she soon had windows and doors and cupboards where they should be.
A few more things I should add before I go any further. Along with skating in the winter at the Halfway Ranch, we learned to ski on homemade skis. I had a pair of bought skis at one time. I wore my regular shoes for boots. The snow was so deep we could ski right over the fences. The Fourth of July celebration was held in Kilgore in a valley area between two hills.
My dad bought his first, and probably only, car from a peddler who came through Spencer. Dad didn’t know how to drive and the peddler didn’t give any instructions so Dad drove the car home to the ranch without a single lesson. Bill and I were along for the trip. I don’t know what Mother said when we drove up but I’ll bet it was plenty!
Grandma Petersen came to help whenever Mother had a new baby. I remember doing the washing, along with Bill’s help, when Mother had Don. I also remember the mailman picking up cream at our place to take on in to DuBoise to sell for us. We paid him for his time.
Getting back to our move to Burley, Bill and I came on the train when our schools were out and Dad met us at the station. It was a dull summer as we didn’t know anyone except some people by the name of Lake who lived at the fairgrounds. I went with Orson Lake a few times that fall and winter. My junior year I attended high school in Burley.
On November 7, 1923, Dad was hurt when his team ran away after pulling out of a dry creek bed near the house. He was thrown out of the wagon on to the double trees and he was kicked by the horses. His neck was broken and he died two days later in the Burley Hospital without regaining consciousness. Mother sold the stock and machinery and moved into Burley. Dad had $1,000 of insurance. With the money, Mother bought a house in Rupert, Idaho. I finished out the year at Burley high school and then graduated from high school in Rupert in June of 1925. I stayed with some neighbors for the few weeks to finish the year in Burley.”
-Beatrice Gardner Straubhaar
Excerpt from Straubhaar Family History, July 1990
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