Meet three of my family members...
Shirley Barber Webb
The picture below was taken when she was a senior in high school, with her sleeve placed to hide the severe burn she received on her neck in Chemistry class.
My Grandmother Shirley Barber Webb was born in December of 1934. She was not born in a hospital, she was born at her home in Hurricane without a doctor present because the doctor wasn't able to make it on time. She has three brothers and one sister. Throughout her childhood, she fell ill extremely often. The doctors thought she had Scurvies at one point, and she was also diagnosed with Jondis. As she grew up, there was no television or electric washers or driers. She remembers having to wash her siblings diapers for her mother on a small washboard. Her childhood home didn't even have an indoor restroom in it! Her father finally built an indoor restroom when she was 17. She recalls that Christmas, when their neighborhood Santa came, he fell in the sewage her father was preparing in order to build the restroom because he didn't watch his step! In her elementary school years, she remembers the atomic bomb testing that occurred in Nevada, and how all the kids would rush outside to watch the smoke and dust billow. As a 12 or 13 year old girl, she delivered newspapers for her small town. One year they had a contest to see who could fold and stack the newspapers the fastest and the neatest, and the winner won a trip to go to Salt Lake City! My grandma was the only girl who participated, and she won the competition! However, because she was the only girl, they didn't let her go on the trip, they took the boy who got second place! She says that she is still frustrated about that... She remembers how their community would go to the orchard and pick fruit, and she is proud of the fact that she was able to pick more fruit faster than any boy that ever participated. She attended Hurricane High School, and was on the Journalism Staff and the Pep Club Presidency. During her senior year, she met my Grandpa. Her parents didn't want her to see him, but she said "Don't worry, he's just some boy! It's not like we'll ever be married!" Who would've known? Grandma knew that grandpa wasn't too bad of a guy when he was still interested in her after her neck was severely burned during her senior year in her chemistry class. She went to College for a short period of time, but soon realized that she could not afford it and was forced to drop out. After my grandparents were married, they moved back and forth from Henderson, Nevada and here because of my grandpas occupation. Finally, they settled in a house in the "middle of nowhere". Although now, the home is smack dab in the middle of town!
This is a photo of the home when my grandma and grandpa first purchased it. My grandma told grandpa that she wanted the house to either be bulldozed or blown up because it was in the middle of nowhere and looked like a shack!
This is a photo of the home today! They were able to add on to it, and the rest of the town just built itself around it. Grandpa had a barber shop connected to the home, that is now rented out. There is a K-Mart is behind it, and an Arbys to the right! It's crazy how St. George has changed!
A Slideshow of my Grandma Webb through the years...
Shirley Barber Webb by Slidely Slideshow
Howard Putnam
My Grandpa Howard Hoggan Putnam was born July 18, 1923 in Woodruff, Rich County, Utah in a log cabin. As he grew up, horses were the way that people got around. When my grandpa grew up in Woodruff, there were only a few public buildings. These included: a post office, T.J. Tingey's store, Bert Brown's store, the school house, the chapel, the opera house, a dance hall, and a stake building. Growing up, he loved music and singing, as well as reading, history, and geography. In the summers, his family would travel away from civilization to their ranch three miles up the road to stay there until the school year resumed. They would wake up extremely early (5:30 am) and work on the ranch all day long. During the school year, he would often have to rise at 4:30 am in order to complete his chores and get to school on time. As he was growing up he lost two brothers due to illness. In High School, he lived in Rock Springs, Wyoming and attended South Rich High School. He remembers playing his baritone horn to see off the first boys leaving for World War II. The song was "Goodbye Dear, I'll be Home in a Year", although many never saw home again. When he graduated, he enlisted in the military service. He entered Fort Douglas in February 1943. In May he was sent to South Africa to retrieve Prisoners of War. He spent the summer guarding them in Arizona, and in November they were shipped to England to prepare for D-Day 1944. Unfortunately, while in England, he was in a vehicle accident, which caused severe damage to his mouth. This resulted in 9 months spent in the hospital and his being discharged from the army in March of 1946. In October 1946 he served a mission in the eastern states. During part of his mission, he traveled around performing four to five shows a day, part of which consisted of gospel music. He returned home in November 1948. In 1949 he attended Brigham Young University, where he was a member of a few different choirs. He was married on September 17, 1951 to Martine Lou Harris Putnam. In 1957, he spent a year teaching at Dixie College. He then proceeded to teach music in public schools. Martine and Howard both moved to Nevada, where my grandpa taught choral music at Moapa Valley High School from 1961-1965. When they returned to Utah, my grandpa became the music director at Dixie College until he retired in 1986. He also served two years on the St. George City Council, a year on the Washington County Fair Board, and as co-chairsperson for one year. In 1993, my grandpa and grandma served a mission together in Nauvoo, and a second mission together here in St. George. However, exactly one year and two days before I was born, my grandma, Martine Lou Harris Putnam, passed away from an aneurysm. My mom became pregnant with me just weeks after she passed, so they always call me "Grandmas Angel." In 1997 my grandpa remarried to a woman named Mary Esther Gardener Staheli Putnam. My grandpa just celebrated his 90th birthday in July, is still married to my grandma, Mary Esther, and I'm pretty sure he's still healthier than me!
My Grandpas Legacy
Savannah "Van" W.C. Putnam
Savannah W.C. Putnam was born in the mid 1800s in Bountiful. Those who knew him called him Van. His biography in our family book Footprints in the Sands of Time was written by his granddaughter Delia Putnam Montgomery. In the fall of 1870, Van and his father, Artemas Walton Putnam, left the rest of their family for a time to go to Twelve-Mile Creek to prepare a new home for their family. In the fall of 1871, they were able to bring Louisa, the mother, and the sister, Laura from Bountiful to the new settlement at Twelve-Mile Creek. While Artemas built a nice family home, the rest of the family lived in a small cabin that Van had prepared in a short amount of time. The exquisite home took two years to build, and by the time Van and the rest of his family were settled, more families were starting to make the Creek their new home as well. One of these families just so happened to be the Cornia family. When Van and the Cornias oldest daughter, Clarissa, first met, they became instant friends. It is recorded in our family history book that by the Creek, there was a large rock under a plank leading to the water, where Clarissa and Van would write notes to each other. Shortly after they met, they were married on May 18, 1874. This occurred when Clarissa was 16 and Van was 23. On March 23, 1875, their first son, Clarence, was born, but he unfortunately passed away at birth. On October 12, 1878, the day before Clarissas twenty first birthday, the family entered into polygamy. Savannah was married to seventeen year old Marie. Due to the night time raids of the U.S. Marshals, trials and tribulations battered the Putnams because of their decision to enter into polygamy.There were two times when Van was able to narrowly escape the U.S. Marshals, but in 1891 they captured him on his way to church with his family. On November 28, 1891, Van was sentenced to one month in jail with a $100 fine because of his decision to enter into polygamy with his family. On December 1, 1891 he entered the prison. He stayed in cell number ninety one with a kind man who was convicted of murder. He was released on January 1, 1892 when he was finally reunited with his beloved family. On September 18, 1892 Clarissa passed away due to severe illness. After her death, Van was devastated, so he, Marie, and his children sold the farm and rented a small home elsewhere. It is recorded that WWII ended on November 11, which was the same day as Vans birthday. On January 4, 1940, Van passed away after falling into a coma. He was 89 years old. Marie passed on November 8, 1948, and was buried next to Savannah.