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Note: N20346 Beth Sweat Stinger
Contributed By Jena Madsen Stinger · Sep 20, 2014, 10:29 AM · 0 Comments
LIFE HISTORY OF BETH SWEAT 1923-192002 By her sister Veda Sweat Cox Beth was born 22 July 1923 at the hour of 10:30 am at the home of her paternal grandparents. Her father was Elmer Sweat, born 25 September 1987 in Center, Wasatch County, Utah. Her mother was Wilhelmina Jane Wilde born 11 September 1892 in Coalville, Summit, Utah. At the time her family was living in Fruitland, Duchesne, Utah. The nearest doctor in the Uintah Basin was in Roosevelt some distance away, so her mother came to Heber Valley and the home of her husband’s parents in Center, to await the arrival of her second baby. Beth had a sister Veda who was two years old at the time she arrived in the family. Beth was blessed 12 August 1923 by her grandfather Lewis Sweat Sr. at the Center Ward . Wilhelmina chose short four letter names for her girls because her own name was so long she didn’t want her daughters to have the problems she had with such a long name. She said her doctor said he needed one prescription page for her name and then another to write the prescription.
When Beth was about one year old she got pneumonia which meant another trip to Heber to see the doctor. Elmer and Wilhelmina decided they needed to move back where they would be nearer doctors if they were going to raise a family. They sold their homestead in Fruitland and purchased a home in Center where all of Elmer’s brothers and sisters (except one sister) and his parents lived. When they first arrived they lived for awhile in a house across the street from the one they had purchased. This house belonged to Elmer’s father at the time and was empty. They moved into the new house and lived there about four years. It was between Elmer’s two brothers Alvie to the west and Lewis Jr to the east and before Mina was born his sister Emeline and her husband Rodney Mahoney moved into the house across the street . They purchased the house and a piece of land around it from Emeline’s father. So for that four years Beth lived with Uncles, Aunt’s and cousins close by. The property we lived in had an orchard so there were memories of climbing apple trees looking for bird’s nests, wading in the water when Daddy irrigated and evenings standing out in the correl watching Daddy milk the cows. Beth wanted to try milking and was able to get milk out when I (Veda) couldn’t.
Mina was born while we lived here on 8 April 1925 and Boyd was also born here 11 February 1927 he was named Boyd “E” Sweat, Mina was named for her mother and Boyd for his father but since his father wasn’t too fond of his name he would only consent on the use of his first initial.
In 1928 Elmer and his brother Orval purchased a ranch that was further east and across the road from the place Elmer and Wilhelmina were living. They divided the land and Elmer took the east end and Orval took the west end. There was a two room house on Elmer’s land so he brought a log cabin from somewhere and added it to the north east end of the house then covered the whole with siding and here his family lived until all grew up and left home. The Center Ward Chapel was across the street and the school house was on the west end of that lot. Now the young family was looking forward to growing up among family, friends and with school and church within walking distance.
Unfortunately this was not to be the case. In March 1929 Wilhelmina (who was pregnant) got pneumonia. She lost the baby, a boy who lived only a short time as he was premature. He is listed as stillborn in the civil records since the doctor was unable to get to the home before his death. Coming from Heber to Center about 5 miles in a model T type car took time even though they had a telephone to call him. In those days there was not a hospital or if there was it was small and all women still had their babies at home.
This however was just the beginning of misfortune. Elmer caught a bad cold made worse by taking his hat off at the dedication of the baby’s grave and he got pneumonia. Then on 7 April 1929 Wilhelmina died and Elmer was in bed with pneumonia and could not even attend the funeral. This event left lasting memories with Beth and Veda the younger two Mina and Boyd just didn’t remember because of the trauma of it all. I do not know if Beth ever wrote down this event but I know she did talk about it up until just before her death. Beth wanted to go to the funeral but some of the Aunt’s there helping thought her too young (she was not yet 6 years old) so she took off and started to walk over to the Ward. She was brought back and locked in a closet in the kitchen area. Veda didn’t like that so unlocked the door. Finally her mother’s sister Aunt Rhoda Dickerson and her husband just said we will be responsible for the children they can go with us and sit with us. I didn’t mention that before this episode Beth and I went outside and quietly sat on the walk under the west living room window where we heard our poor father sob as they took his sweetheart by his bed in the casket. We both have pictures of us at the grave.
One incident I remember from when we lived in our first home in Center. Mama played the organ and accompanied many different singers in the Wasatch Valley so she wanted her girls to learn to play the organ too. So Beth and I would take turns one playing while the other would knell down and work the pedals with their hands. This was before it got to the piano lesson time, which came after Mama’s death. By then Daddy had purchased a piano and Beth decided she didn’t like to practice 1 hr a day. When her father told her she would sit on that piano bench for one hour if she didn’t start practicing. Well, she sat there for an hour an never touched the keys. She won that battle but was a bit sorry when she as an adult could not play the piano.
Beth seemed to always be more ill than any of us every childhood disease we had. When we had measles she was so sick and had such a high fever that her skin would just peel off. I remember them shaking her sheets and then just sweeping up dust pan full of dried skin. Daddy built a little bed for her so she could be near the heater in the living room. Once she got stung by a bumble bee and had to sit on one chair with her foot up on another chair and they would put some kind of purple medicine on her leg. It was more than one day before it healed.
For awhile after Mama died we had a lady come and be with us when Daddy was gone. Her daughter was not friendly with any of us. People talked about Dad having this woman around so he just had to let her go find another job. Then our cousin Lois Sweat would come after school and be with us until Dad got home. She mixed bread and did the ironing and some house cleaning as well as take care of the four of us.
Beth started school in the fall of 1929 . The school district closed the smaller schools in the county soon after that and she rode the bus from our home to the Central School on Main street in Heber. [The school in Heber was later the police department and I understand now they will be tearing it down and building a new Civic Center on the block by 2015] She attended Wasatch Junior High School while it was still part of the High School. Then graduated from Wasatch High School in 1941. Before I go on with her education I must mention a few more things. Beth was always willing to try all the things the boys usually do and Dad was willing to show her how. He taught her how to handle a gun and to shoot it, clean and take care of it she got quiet good at that. She felt a ease handling a 22 rifle and believe she may have had a chance to shoot Dad’s 45 pistol. She and her friends would go “eastering” over on the red ledges where they rolled eggs down the hills and climbed all over the place. This area is now [2014] an exclusive Gated community with golf course and million dollar homes.
After Beth graduated from High School I talked her into going to Salt Lake to the LDS Business College. We learned we could work for our board and room while attending school so began our life long friendship. Beth worked in a doctor’s home on east side of Salt Lake which at that time was where the well to do people lived.. She told how she could not eat with the family but ate in the kitchen. The lady of the house would ring the dinner bell when Beth would then serve them the next course, or do what she was asked to do. It was an interesting but learning experience.
World War II came along and the men went off to war so businesses were screaming for workers so though Beth was near graduation she went to work she worked for some time for Dupler’s Fur Company doing the hand-sewing finish on fur scarf’s and coats and whatever else they had to mend or hand finish. Later she went to work at the Family History Library where she worked most of her working years. She made many friends and learned to love Family Research. She and I rented a basement room from a Mr and Mrs Stains on 9th East and 6th South. She lived on there after I got married. This was our dating years and even dated guys the other had dated.
Beth’s friend Fern was one of the girls she met while working at the Family History Library. I think Beth introduced Fern to Dee. She had dated him but he did not appeal to her. She became engaged to Ted McKowen. They spent their dating years with Fern and Dee but after two big disappointments she said goodbye to Ted and try as he may she would not change her mind. Beth then came to live with Zen and I in Pocatello, Idaho where she met and married Herschel Stinger.
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