Christmas Memories
Digressing from Kenneth’s story, I thought it would be fun to see a few photos from early Scott family Christmases. These are all the photos we have digitized so far. If anyone would like to contribute more, please email them to me and I’ll post them on the blog.
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| An early Christmas in the home of Elzumer and Carrie Mae, Kenneth's parents |
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| Gerald? What is the story? |
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| This looks like Wayne, right? |
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| Date? Place? Memories? |
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| Porter Street? Date? |
Flash forward to the future...I couldn't resist including this picture!
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| Front: Mary, Mary Lee, Cindy, Debbie. Back: Walter, Richard, Jeanene, June, ca. 1958. Porter Street? |
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Back to Kenneth's autobiography:
First Home in Blackfoot
Our first home was in the Cobra Apartment in Blackfoot. We spent our first Christmas there. Later we moved to a house across the street from Mary’s parents.
Gerald’s Birth
Gerald was born on July 6, 1926 in the Whittle home, there being no hospital in Blackfoot. That was a mighty happy occasion for us. It was good that Mary could be close to her mother and learn from her years of experience how to take care of this precious young man.
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| Gerald Leroy Scott |
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| Mary and Gerald |
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| Gerald and Mary |
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| Kenneth recreated with Gerald the picture his father took with him as a child |
Manager of Livestock Credit Corporation
In 1927, I was asked to become manager of the Livestock Credit Corporation with headquarters in Blackfoot. I resigned as bank receiver and accepted the new position which proved to be a very good move. I became well acquainted with the officials of the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank at Spokane, Washington--the source of our loan funds and also with two very capable bankers who were members of my board of directors and who gave me invaluable counsel and training in the extension of sound credit. They were Edgar Largulier and John Galbraith. Ultimately it led to my being called to Washington D.C. to help organize and become an officer of the national Production Credit System.
The territory of the Livestock Credit Corporation extended west to Caldwell, Idaho, and throughout southern Idaho--with some range sheep loans in Utah and Nevada. I made occasional trips to visit our large borrowers and local bankers whom I often helped by financing some of their large livestock borrowers whose credit needs exceeded the loan limits of the local bank. Occasionally, Mary would accompany me on short trips up to Yellowstone Park or over into Jackson, Wyoming or to the Twin Falls, Idaho, country.
Move to Pocatello; Richard’s Birth
In 1928 we changed the headquarters of the Livestock Credit Corp to Pocatello--a more central point for our business. Mary and I rented a furnished house from Dr. R. O. Young. Incidentally, we were able to move our household items in two trips with our car.
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| Kenneth's and Mary's home in Pocatello in 1930s according to Richard, who took the photo several years ago. |
Shortly after this our second son, Richard Gordon was born on Nov. 7, 1928 in the hospital in Pocatello. The blessings and joys of our home were multiplying.
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| Richard Gordon Scott |
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| Gerald and Richard |
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| Richard and Gerald |
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| Gerald and Richard sledding |
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| Mary with Gerald and Richard |
Parents Move to Pocatello
By . . ., the volume of loans in LCC had increased so much that I needed additional help in the office to handle them. We persuaded Father to become Vice President of our company and he and Mother and Roland and Marvin moved to Pocatello.
Brother Roland
Roland, while still in high school, was showing evidence of natural leadership ability, along with a very cheerful and friendly manner. Mary has recalled the times she saw him in such a role where there were work assignments, for example, when a group of students were asked to gather up some trimmed limbs and haul them away in a truck. She said, “There was Roland on the truck, directing his schoolmates to put all the limbs on the truck and with his cheerful remarks having everyone doing the work without complaint.” Roland’s natural ability to play the piano led to his organizing a dance band that successfully performed.
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| Roland (1910-2003), Kenneth's brother, on a family hike |
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| Roland Scott |
Brother Marvin
Marvin had become quite expert with the trombone, in fact, he won the high school tryouts that enabled him to go to Chicago to compete in the finals for the entire country. Unfortunately, he became quite ill from food the day before the contest--but even with that serious handicap, he won second place.
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| Marvin Scott in band uniform with trombone |
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| Elzumer, Marvin and Kenneth |
While Marvin was attending his first year of study at the McMinnville,
Oregon Baptist College, he contracted a serious kidney illness and passed away on May 19, 1936. He was buried in the family plot in Pocatello.
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| Marvin Scott (1916-1936), Kenneth's brother |
[It is sad to realize that only two of Elzumer's and Carrie Mae's children, Kenneth and Roland, survived until adulthood.]
Walter’s Birth
On March 31, 1931, Mary and I were blessed with another fine son, Walter Conrad, in the Pocatello hospital.
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| Walter Conrad Scott |
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| Walter and Kenneth |
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| Walter and Gerald |
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| Kenneth with Richard, Walter and Gerald |
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| Mary with Gerald, Richard and Walter |
Cook and Housekeeper Hired
We engaged the services of Juanita, a country girl who was a fine cook and housekeeper, to help Mazy with these three lively sons.
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| Juanita is to the left of Kenneth according to Richard, who said she was his favorite of all the hired help they had. |
Juanita took over the job of teaching Walter to walk and had him doing that when he was only 8 ½ months old. During this period, Mary and I would quite often play nine holes of golf early in the morning and come home to a warm shower and a delicious breakfast that Juanita would have ready. Mary was good at golf and we enjoyed those games together.
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| Kenneth and Mary with golf clubs, circa 1940s |
Mary’s Parents Move to Pocatello
While we were living in Pocatello, Mary’s parents moved to Pocatello and were living there when we later moved to Washington, D.C.
Attended World’s Fair
In 1932, Mary and I, traveling in our new Chevrolet Sedan, drove to Chicago to attend the World’s Fair. That was a great experience for us. We stayed with my Uncle Charles Scott in west Chicago and rode the elevated train to and from the fair, as that city traffic was far too much for a country couple from Idaho.
Gerald’s Need for Glasses
When Gerald was about a year old, we discovered that the coordination of his eyes was weak causing them to turn in when they became tired--impairing his eyesight seriously. We arranged to have him receive special treatments which continued regularly with frequent changes of glasses until he finished college when his eyes were strong enough for regular glasses. We have always been grateful that there was expert knowledge and special equipment available and that we had the means to make it available to that fine son.
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| Richard and Gerald with glasses |
Family Recreation
One of the things our family liked to do when we lived in Pocatello was to go to the foothills in the fall and pick wild
choke cherries. They made delicious jelly.
Gerald and Richard joined the Pocatello school band at an early age. Gerald played the trumpet and Richard the clarinet.
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| Richard on drum, Gerald on trumpet |
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| Gerald on trumpet, Richard on clarinet, in band uniforms |
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| Richard and Gerald |
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| Richard on clarinet, Walter at the piano, and Gerald on trumpet |
Richard’s first instrument had “closed” keys as his fingers were too short for a standard instrument. His instructor would hold Richard on his lap and say, “Bo, Ritchie, Bo!" They continued their private lessons until they became quite skilled with their instruments. The local theater in Pocatello announced a contest for young musical students. Gerald signed up Richard and the evening of the contest, we all attended. Mother Whittle heard someone who saw Richard come on the stage with several others say, “That little boy surely can’t play very well. They have just let him come along to humor him.” When it came Richard’s turn to play, he walked out on the stage and played, “The Bells of St. Mary’s” without a mistake, and got a big hand from the audience as well as one of the prizes.
