Central Standard: A Time, a Place, a Family

COUNTRY LIVING

Country Living My parents were married on Friday, August 19, 1932. This routine statistic becomes more interesting when you consider the setting. One of the local newspapers, the Davis County Republican, pointed out in a lengthy article that the couple exchanged vows “before a crowd of several thousand persons in an elaborate public ceremony on the stage in front of the amphitheater at the Davis County Fair.” The article goes on to say that the wedding was “the closing feature of the night program” and that “the newlyweds are members of prominent families in the northwest part of Davis County and both are well known.” This well-known couple was “attended by Miss Lily Herteen and Kenneth O. Hunter.” Kenneth Hunter was my mother’s brother, and Lily Herteen was the woman he would marry two years later, although in 1932 she was about to begin her last year of high school. When Uncle Kenny was ninety-one years old, he remembered that Aunt Lily had given my mother a dress as a wedding present, but he had no recollection of how she could have afforded such a generous gift in the depths of the Great Depression. To heighten the suspense of the event, the fair board had withheld the names of the happy couple until the last possible moment, and, the Republican article continues, “speculation was rife as to whom the principals might be.” My father always said that he hadn’t even informed his parents, although my mother denied the truth of this claim. Neither of the “prominent families” had to hire an organist, since “the entire cast of Ernie Young’s ‘Rainbow Review’ provided a colorful setting for the ceremony, and furnished the music for the wedding.” Then, in an event my mother had not anticipated, “The bridegroom became the center of attraction immediately after the ceremony when members [female] of the revue swarmed all over him.” My mother always admitted that this swarming had infuriated her. My father wisely chose not to comment on his reaction. Upon hearing of this unusual wedding, one question comes to mind: Why would two members of “prominent families” subject themselves [ c o u n t r y l i v i n g ] 17 to this strange ceremony? The answer lies in the fact that “prominence” in Davis County, Iowa, during the Depression did not imply wealth. The couple did it for the gifts and the money. The Republican article provides a complete list of the items donated by local merchants. These included such luxuries as a sack of flour from Kline’s grocery, a dishpan from the firm of Carroll and Carroll, one pair of overalls from Ray B. Baumgarten, a princess slip from J. H. Taylor, a linen lunch cloth from the Davies Store, and “1 good broom” from the Benner Tea Company. An insurance agency provided a five hundred dollar insurance policy, although my parents owned no property to insure . But best of all, the Davis County Fair Association gave the newlyweds a check for fifty dollars. I don’t know what they spent it on, but I’m sure it wasn’t a trip to Europe. With this auspicious ceremony behind them, Pete and Jerry arranged to rent a small farm the next spring from one of my mother’s uncles, just a short distance down the road from where my father had grown up. The house was small, but it would easily hold every household item the couple possessed. Having made these plans, they moved in with my father’s parents and waited for spring. When the snow began to melt and the creeks began to rise, they combined the money they had managed to save while still single and bought two milk cows and a team of horses. My father preferred to work with mules but couldn’t find a suitable team. In retrospect, one can now see that 1933 was probably the worst year in the history of the United States to begin farming. The price of farm products was low. The cost of production was high. Anyone with a passing acquaintance with arithmetic could calculate that it would have been impossible to make a profit. If you add to this equation the productivity of the farm my parents had rented, their chances of success appear to have been even less likely. Like most farms in northwest Davis County, this one’s scenic value far surpassed its agricultural value. It consisted primarily...