I love nicknames. There's usually a story behind them too. 

Just like family heirlooms.

And in this month's Shades of the Departed Magazine, I share both a Pointer family toy heirloom and a nickname of my husband's paternal grandfather, Forrest Pointer. The heirloom and nickname share the same family story. I also reveal in the article a toy once owned by Forrest's wife, Myrtle Haley, when she was young.

Below are additional photos of this Pointer family toy heirloom, Forrest's tractor, the toy Toy just had to have. And check out the article in Shades of the Departed. It just might give you some ideas about researching your toy family stories!

~Caroline 

Okay, Pearl is getting a little better with her farm accounting. Not great, but much better. I know she gets even better with it all because I cheated and read ahead. ;) And it makes sense because we generally get better with our tasks the more we do them, right?

One word comes to mind when I read these entries. Well, many come to mind, but WORK seems to be the overall theme here. Lots of work. This was clearly a working farm. A hard-working farm. In fact, I'm tired just reading and transcribing these entries. 

Now, she mentions they bought a bull from the Franklins. There are a couple of Franklin households right there in Collins so I imagine this is who she bought the bull from.

Another thing that stands out to me in these entries is the fact that the livestock aspect of their farm seems to be larger than the farming aspect. And another thing is that Great Uncle Donald insisted they were poor. Very poor. But? They rented a telephone in 1918. They bought an organ too. Or maybe she donated money towards their church's organ because $6 is pretty cheap for an organ. That seems more plausible. She's not clear about this. [And I need to get my hands on some Story County and Collins newspapers to figure this out. You know that if the church needed a new organ, that was in the papers.]

But? Clearly they worked hard for what they had, and I find some of these and future entries very interesting. [Remember: I cheated and read ahead.] And I'll explore them a little more in later posts. And I wonder who got the fur lined coat? And what was the title of the book that was bought March 9th? And whose was it? Was it a good read? And whose glasses were those? Yours, Pearl? Were they the ones pictured above? Or did you purchase drinking glasses?

Pearl continues to tease me. But? She keeps me coming back for more. Well played, Pearl. Well played. [Did you play the organ, too, Pearl?!?]

~Caroline

[Pages 21 & 22 are blank.]

[Page 23;  The pages are lined and pre-numbered.]

                    Jan. 1st 1918
                        Bought

Jan     2        Expenses                          $4.60
  “       9        store bill                                  .50
  “       12         “                                           .78
  “       5        work on wagon                  $5.00
  “       “         coal + tar paper                 $11.50
  “       15      salt + blanket                      5.25
  “                 store bill                                 .60
  “       23          “      “                                 .45
  “       “         glasses                             $6.00
  “       26      traded with butter              $5.23
  “       29      bought bull of                    $50.00
                    Franklins
Feb.   1        store bill                            $5.75
  “       “         harness                               1.65
  “       “         fur coat lined                     $15.90
  “       “         store bill & shoe
                    repair                                   1.35
  “       8        apples                                   .25
  “       13      store bill                            $1.35
  “       12      shoe repair                            .70
  “       “         wash machine                   $6.00
  “                 store bill                               1.58
  “       18      organ                                $6.00
  “       20      fish + other expenses        $3.85
  “       23      expenses                          $2.88
  “       25      harness                            $50.00
  “       “         show repair                             .75
  “       28      harness oiled                    $1.00
Mch.   2       horse shoeing                   $1.75
  “       9       shoes & book                    $4.56
  “       13      telephone rent                   $9.00
  “       23      wheat                                 $5.
  “       26      potatoes                           $3.00

[Page 24]

Apr.    2       Seed & tankage                $15.50
  “       23      lumber + wire                    $20.
  “       27      potatoes                           $1.96
  “       29      toothbrush + paste                 .65
May    5       expenses, coal + 2            $28.05
  “       14      hog waterer                      $20.
  “       5       sheep                               $85
  “       “        lumber sawing                   $9.00
  “                 thrashing bill                      $50.
  “                 pasture                             50
  “                 hog                                   $35
Sept   2       sheep                               $28
          28      oil and tank                       $36
Oct     5       sheep                               $50
                    potatoes                           $40
                    gates                                $22.50
                    tankage                            $5.50

I bet I hate road drag work almost as much as Harve and Pearl Pointer. <grin> On top of all his other chores and farm work, Harve and his neighbors had to drag the roads around their farms. At least, the county paid them for their work. But still. Could you imagine dragging roads? Back then? With horses...and...and...stuff? On top of the farm work?

Oy vey.

And then Pearl kept the accounting for all of it so they could get paid. I'm sure that's just what she wanted to do at the end of the day after cooking, cleaning, making cream, sewing, and washing. [According to Great Uncle Donald, they made their butter for a while, but then started buying it from the creamery they sold the cream to. Smart move, Pearl. Smart move.]

I can hear their sighs from here. [Mine is almost as deep as theirs.] So I thought I'd give you a little of what Great Uncle Donald, who passed away a little over a year ago, remembered about dragging the roads around the farm before I list out Pearl's road dragging accounting. He refers to his Dad, Harve, dying. Harve died in an accident in 1927 when Great Uncle Donald was about six and a half years old.

~Caroline

And now for Pearl's accounting of it:

[page 20; The pages are lined and pre-numbered. And the word "Paid"  in large handwriting is written across the entries.]

            (Work on Road (1923)

Feb. 15 & 16 This 1 day digging snow
                        1/2 day getting dump boards
Apr. 9              1/2 day fixing bridge.
July 3               1/2 day

July 14             1/2 day get boards for culverts
July 16              1 day putting in culverts
July 17              1 day putting in & getting boards.
July 18              1/2 day putting in culverts
July 30              1/2 day putting in culverts
Aug. 17             1/2 day getting scrapers
Aug. 18             1 day work
Aug. 20             1 day work
Sept 3               1 day work   Pay Hands Poll Tax
Sept 6               1/2 day work
Sept 11             1/2 day get dump boards
Sept 13             1 day work
Sept 14             1 day work
Sept 15             1/2 day work      27 loads gravel
Sept 24             1 day work         13 loads gravel Hands
Sept 25             1 day work         17 loads gravel
Sept 26             1/2 day work      12 loads gravel
Oct 2                 1/2 day work
Oct 5                  1 day work         graded
Oct 11                1 day work         18 loads gravel Goodman
Oct 10                1/2 day work
                                                           $90.00

Remember how I mentioned I didn't know much about farms except you shouldn't name the farm animals?

Apparently, that's harder not to do than I thought. 

The following is a listing of everything that was sold on the Pointer farm in 1918.

Not only did Barney the Mule get sold, but he went for a decent price considering what the livestock went for that year. Was it hard for Pearl to sell Barney? Of course, I'm assuming the mule was Barney and that the mule was not sold to a guy named Barney. Totally possible, but I've perused this farm book, and some other animals with names were sold. 

*big sigh* It's tough to let them go when you name them.

~Caroline

[p.19]

Jan 1st, 1918
Sold
Jan 2   sold mule Barney     $140
Jan 9   sold boar                   $35
Jan 22 sold bull                     $75
Jan 28 sold cow & calf         $85

Feb 7   load of corn                 $36
Feb 8   lard                              $1.80
Feb 15 spotted heifer            $44.50
April 17 spoted cow an calf  $80.00
April 23 load of oats              $53.80
May 4 chickens                      $12.59
May 15 6 hogs                       $230.19
June      load oats                   $51.
June 25 load oats                  $46.35
               hog                           $25
               wheat 47 bu             $92
               oats                          $244.59
Sept 10 1 hog                        $55.94
Nov. 2       chickens               $12.00
Nov. 4       1 sheep                 $26.00
Nov. 16     19 hogs 18cts      $596.48
Dec 1        hog at 17cts         $36.72
Dec 2        7 hogs at 15.55   $231.09
Dec 7     load corn                 $39.42
Dec 16  chickens                  $12.20
Dec 23  corn                          $668.57
Dec 28  hog to Heintz           $40

p.18

Gave J.C. Belcher Sun.
Mch. 4 1917, Paid interest of 1916
with a check from Irv Good
$175.75 also personal check for
$4.75 and note for balance.
note of $150.
-----------------------------------------------------

1917
Give J.C. Belcher Mch 1-
for $150. borrowed $50 at the
bank for 6 mo. Mch 10,

______________________________

Mch 1 (1918) paid J.C.
Belcher $500 on place.

______________________________

Borrowed $145 Apr 18 - '18
for 90 days.
                     Paid

[above is crossed out with an X]


______________________________
                                      1918
Turned pig out Nov. 11
  "           "     "   Nov. 12
                                       1924
______________________________
 '19
Apr 26 Borrowed               $140 for
             60 days.
             Paid note of $14 put
             $75 in bank, bought
             $200 liberty bond

______________________________
Paid Dan Bear $30 for
pasture rent until Aug.27
______________________________
Loaned bank $300
Dec 3 1919 for 6 mo.

My Thoughts
Again, Pearl has graced us with her semi-organized record-keeping in the Pointer Family Farm Books. <grin> Clearly, keeping the Pointer farm afloat financially took finesse from Harve and Pearl. And help from their neighbors and family too. 

Pearl mentions several financial dealings with J.C. Belcher. She is referring to John Conrad Belcher, Jr., Harve's uncle who, along with his wife Mary (Shearer) Belcher, happened to raise Harve after Harve's mother, Emma (Belcher) Pointer, died when Harve was about 2 years old. And these financial dealings take place just a few years before J.C. dies 7 Aug 1918.

Pearl also has a connection to the Shearer family as well. Harve's aunt, Mary (Shearer) Belcher's sister was Julia Anne (Shearer) Williams. And Julia Anne was Pearl's paternal grandmother. Confused? I made a [pretty] family tree to illustrate it for you below. [And I'm guessing this is how Pearl and Harve first met. Maybe Thanksgiving? Maybe Christmas? Or maybe on someone's birthday, Harve met the woman he just had to make his own? Who knows for sure?] Anywho, I also included some other pics to help bring these folks back to life. [Because someone's got to.]

Pearl also mentions a "Dan Bear." Pearl's sister, Mary Etta Williams, married Daniel Bear, son of John and Elizabeth (?) Bear. And there's a nasty family rumor that involves Pearl, Harve, Mary, Dan, a baby boy, a possible murder [or maybe a possible suicide], love, lust, betrayal, and a once-seen-but-can't-be-found-now letter supposedly once kept hidden underneath Pearl's sewing machine. But I'll leave that for later. [I'm evil like that. Plus? A story like that deserves to be fleshed out -- right and proper -- with something more than possiblies, maybes, rumors, and whispers.]

And then Pearl mentions an "Irv Good," and thanks to this handy dandy map from HistoricMapWorks.com as well as other Good family notations made so far in these farm books, we know the Good family was a neighbor of the Pointer family. It's unclear if George W. Good is Irv. Good or a relation [who is maybe found in neighboring Marshall County, IA] because I just haven't even tried to connect the Good family's dots. [Yet.] 

~Caroline

About D-Day from Great-Uncle Donald's memoirs:

"A few more months at camp McCoy then back on a troop train headed for the east coast, like Camp Shanks New York. Where we were stuffed into an old Liberty Ship named Hawaiian Shipper and headed for Belfast Ireland. That was anything but a vacation cruise. The cargo space was dull of bunks at least four high and barely enough room to walk between the rows and it got pretty stuffy down there. I surmised that nothing could survive down there but GI's and rats. We then went on a zig zag course across the Atlantic in a convoy. The zig zag course was not to go in one direction long enough for the German U Boats, submarines, to be able to get a bead on our ships with a torpedo. Having a German torpedo come into your bunk house wasn't really a pleasant thing to look forward to either. They also warned us to be careful while up on deck, because if you got washed overboard that no one would pick you up and in the North Atlantic water you would only live for a few minutes. We welcomed the fresh air so we went up on deck when ever we could."

"I think it took us about twelve or thirteen days  to get there as I remember we were about thirty miles from Belfast Ireland. We were next to a small village there but I can not remember the name of it. By this time it must have been late nineteen forty three or probably nineteen forty four and we were still training and waiting for D Day which was sure coming but no one knew when. About a month before D Day we headed out, the whole Division I guess took off and convoyed to some port in Wales where we kept a pretty low profile and got everything ready and loaded for the big invasion of Europe. As I recall the weather was miserable rainy and chilly there. I do not remember for sure how long we left before D Day anyway the morning of June sixth we were off the shore of Omaha Beach in Normandy France. I didn't land until June seventh."

~Caroline

p.17

Paid Miles Nov. 26th 1913
$55 for coal, tile and
lumber in full to date.

[Line drawn here.]

Paid Vasey Bros. in
fuel                       Nov. 15- '18

[Line drawn here.]

Feb. 25 - 1919 Paid        $302.50
interest and $500 on prin.

Feb. 28 - 1920 paid        $275
interest and $500 on principal

[Line drawn here.]

May 13 loaned Farmers Savings
Bank $50 for 6 mos.
paid
[Above entry is marked out with an 'X'.]

[Line drawn here.]

Mch 1- 1921 paid                   $247.50
interest and $500 on prin.

[Line drawn here.]

Feb. 25, 1922 paid                 $220.00
Interest.

[Line drawn here.]

Mch 2, 1923 paid interest        $220.00
$1000 on principle

[Dotted line drawn here.]

1924 paid Int.

My Thoughts
According to their mortgage paperwork, Harve and Pearl purchased their farm 14 Feb 1912. And most of the entries above are mortgage payments on the farm.

The first two entries are early notations on items bought and how they were paid for. The purchase for tile and lumber in 1913 is not surprising since they had just purchased their farm in 1912.

It's important to note that this is the second to last page before a more organized record-keeping system for the farm books is begun by Pearl. I don't know much about farms [other than you shouldn't name the farm animals], but one of my older sisters married a farmer, and she learned to do the farm books from his paternal grandmother. Perhaps Pearl learned a better system from a family member or friend, or perhaps out of necessity she devised a better system. Either way, the more interesting revelations can be found after just one more page of mortgage payments and loans.

~Caroline

Lester Laverne Pointer sent this letter to his mother, Pearl [Williams] Pointer 16 Jan 1942. He is pictured to the left with his wife Ethel May Garvey. Weren't they a gorgeous couple? This photo would have been taken around the same time this letter was written, which was a little over a month after Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor and America entered WW2. He does reference America entering the war.

Below is a transcription of the letter.

[Envelope]
3 once cent stamps with George Washington on them.
Postmarked 16 Jan 1942, Norfolk Virginia, 5:30PM

[written in ink;]

L.L. Pointer
AAB "A"
N.H.S.
Norfollk, Va.

Mrs. P.M. Pointer
Collins
Iowa

[Letter, p.1, in pencil]

Jan 15, 1942.
AAB "A"
Naval Air Station
Norfolk, Virginia

Dear Mom:
     Another year has come & gone.
How time flies in this old world.
     Before I forget it I will thank you
for the Christmas gift you sent me.
I also received several other gifts
from people I know here. Much to my
surprise I also received three birth-
day presents. Didn't know anybody
knew when my birthday was.
     Not knowing much about this
weather here in Virginia, I don't know
whether were having an average winter
or not. So far it hasn't snowed any
but I don't know whether they ever
have much snow here. It has been
raining every now and then.
     If the war had started two weeks
later, would have been home for a
few days Christmas. My leave had
been approved of and I was all set
to go until the turn of events changed

[Letter, p.2, in pencil then ink]

the situation.
     Have no idea how much longer
I will be at my present location.
I would just as soon stay here as
anywhere else, but guess it don't
make much difference.
     What became of brother Forrest or
do you know? I haven't heard from
him since before he went home on leave.
Presume he is to occupied to worry
about writing. Has Donald been
caught up with by the draft board?
Or any of the rest of the family.
     Would have sent Rama a Christmas
card but didn't know her address.
She has never written since she
moved to Colorado. Grandpa sent
me her address just the other day. [End of writing in pencil. The rest of the letter is in ink]
     Since starting this letter
I have received a letter from
Toy. Doubt whether we catch      [Toy is Forrest, his youngest brother also in the U.S. Navy]
up with each other for a
year or so.
     Got "paid off" on the thirteenth
and finally got my discharge

[Letter, p.3, written in ink.]

yesterday. The only way they
would discharge me was if I
would immediately reenlist.
Well I've got four more years
to do as of the fourteenth.
     It snowed here the other day
for the first time and has
since all melted and the weather
is quite warm. It was 42 degrees
yesterday at seven thirty.
     Have today off and am getting
the fender fixed on my car
that you said ruined the looks
of it when I was home. Have
one day out of six off now
instead of the weekend.
     Am sending my discharge
home in a few days as I wish
to be able to travel as light
as possible should I have to

[Letter, p.4, ink]

go anywhere. Before long you
will think that I'm using the
house for a store room.
     My address is unchanged.

Your son
Lester.

Here is short clip from Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Peal Harbor Address given 8 Dec 1941, which is a little over a month before this letter was written by Lester Pointer.

[Note: p.14 & 15 were left blank.]

p.16
Cows
Bred Estelline       Jan   1  1915
  "     Roan Cow     "      16 1915
  "     Spot             Feb. 13  1915

[Line drawn here.]

Mule born Apr. 9th 1918
Colt     "       "   27       "

[Line drawn here.]

Two horses in Fred Livings
pasture May 13 1925
2 colts in Apr. 26, 1925
took colts out July 20, 1925.

My Thoughts
Not many thoughts on this entry other than thank God it wasn't road work entries. [Don't look at me like that. You know you were thinking that.] Anywho. Because I didn't grow up on a farm I really had no idea that ones livestock had to be kept up with so much. I mean, I knew ranches have to remember where they put their herds and such. [I *am* from Texas after all.] But I imagine with all you had to do in a day, it'd be handy to make a notation about who was born when and where you put them out to pasture. Could you imagine if you didn't? Where the hell did I put that colt?

~Caroline

Road Work (1926)

p.12

Aug   24    1/2 day
   "    25    1      "       11 loads Tiffany
   "    26    1/2   "        4    "       "
   "    27    1      "       18   "       "
   "    30    1/2   "       6     "       "
   "    31    1      "       12   "       "
Sept   2     1      "       21  "    Goodmans
  "     10    1      "       26   "         "
  "     13    1      "       17   "      Hands
  "     17    1     "        12   "         "
  "     18    1     "         8    "        "
  "     20    1     "  
  "     21    1     "        15   "          "
  "     25    1/2  "       
  "     27    1     "  
  "     28    1     "        24    "      Tiffany

[A line is drawn here.]

Oct   1     1/2 day
  "    2       1   "
  "    6       1   "
  "    7       1   "
  "    8     1/2  "                      $91.50

[A line is drawn here.]

Oct   9      1/2 day
  "    11      1   "
  "    12      1   "

My Thoughts
It's kind of a pain in the rear to do these road work entries. And I'm sure Pearl is in heaven shaking her head at me. I bet at the end of a long day on the farm in 1926, the last thing Pearl wanted to do is make these entries. Just as I'm sure, Harve was not real excited to have to do road work on top of all his other responsibilities on his farm. So I should really stop my belly aching, right?

I've not figured out why there's an amount of $91.50 listed. And I'm not sure the significance of the Aug and Sept entries having more detail as far as the loads of dirt are concerned. Looks like in these months they rotated between the Tiffany, Goodman, Hand, and Pointer farms. Perhaps October is the month where the Pointer farm received the loads of dirt. And maybe when you were on the receiving end of the loads of dirt, you got paid. I dunno. *shrugs*

What I do know is that I'm tired just thinking about all those loads. What a workout, no?

~Caroline
[Update: 3 May 2012, Many thanks to a Pointer cousin who pointed out [no pun intended] that Great Uncle Donald talks about dragging roads on the farm in his recordings, I found out that while the county at the time did not drag the roads, they did pay you for it. Therefore, the $91.50 probably came from the county for dragging the roads.]