Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Parley Anderson

As previously mentioned, my grandmother, Vera Anderson's father, Parley Anderson was a sheep rancher and spent much of his time in the mountains with his herd. Of Parley, Vera said, "I remember of him telling that his dad [Andrew Ole Anderson] had a large sheep herd. He let each son take the herd for a year to give them a start. Dad bought a home [in Glenwood, Utah] and got married with his. He was always real proud, because he had a home of his own when he got married [in 1900]."

Vera recalled how the Great Depression affected their family, "One day we woke up and all of the banks were closed. A check was no good. The only money you had was what you had in your pocket.

My dad lost his sheep, pasture ground, home and a mountain range call Boobie Hole of which he was part owner. Nothing was worth anything. If you had an egg, you could trade it for something. Everybody had to have a garden, chickens, and cows to get by. My dad said, 'It must be the worst time on earth, but maybe we will learn lessons.'

LeGrand and I were married during the Great Depression. We lived with my parents. LeGrand continued to play in the orchestra, because there were no jobs around. We had borrowed the money to pay for our furniture, and the bank came and took it back when we couldn't pay. In a short time the government came and killed the animals you had--but maybe one. LeGrand came home one day with one half of a calf, one half of a cow, and one half of a pig which had been butchered. We had to preserve them the best we could as well as render the lard. The Depression gradually eased it's way out, but we had to live differently than we do today."


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