Edward Raymond Kelsey

Aportado por

Nicole Elder Dyer

Compiled by Anna Mae Kelsey Shults

My father, Edward Raymond Kelsey, was born in Springville, Utah, November 12, 1886 in the west room of the Harrison house. When he was three years old, the family moved into a lovely brick house just one block west. Dad lived in this house all of his growing up years.

Dad’s parents were Selina Beddoes Kelsey and William Henry Kelsey, Jr. My Grandmother Selina was born the 31st of December 1864 at Willenhall, England.

When Dad was a young man, he worked in a railroad station after school – while there, he learned telegraphy. He used to be a good ice skater; I remember him telling me about how he used to love to skate on the Utah Lake just west of his home. He’d get into trouble with his schoolteacher because he’d slough school to go skating. Dad also enjoyed dancing – he used to dance with Mom at Pack’s Pavilion in Spanish Fork.

Dad completed his education when he was eighteen in 1904. He grew restless and wanted to get out in the world. He was a fireman on the railroad for many years but he grew restless of this so he spent a period of time just traveling around. In those days, he would be called a hobo. He traveled up through Oregon and Washington. He told me about the hobo jungles which were always located by a river. There would be tins left there by other hobos. He was adventuresome and I’m sure these days would stand out in his mind.

In 1911, Dad bought forty acres of ground in Burley, Idaho from his father who had bought it at a state land sale around 1907 or 1908. In 1914, Dad sold this land which he’d never seen. In the fall of 1914, he decided to go to Idaho and try to get into some kind of livestock business which had been the big ambition of his life. He bought forty acres of land in a different location at Burley.

On February 16, 1915, Dad left Springville with a team and wagon, traveled alone and arrived in Burley February 25th. He cleared the land of sagebrush and raised a crop of wheat and barley that same year. In the fall of 1916, he purchased another forty acres joining the first forty on the west and in 1918 he purchased still another forty acres on the south.

On November 14, 1916, Dad married my mother, Florence Creer from Spanish Fork, Utah. They had gone together before he left for Idaho. He met the train at Minidoka. On the way home, they were married by a judge in Rupert. He describes his first home as a 12x16 squatter’s shack – Dad had it all fixed up with a stove, cot, oak table, carpet on the floor when he brought his new bride there. They lived in this one room for one year. The second year, he added on another room, so now they had two rooms. Their first four children were born there: Helen, Ted, Bill and Bob. In time, they moved another nicer home onto the place and eventually added on to it. They lived the remainder of their years in this nice modern home. Erma and Nan were born there. The little first house remains on the place and now serves as a pump house and storage.

Dad went through all the building stages that a new settler goes through; straw sheds for everything, the corrals were in keeping with the straw sheds. As the years went by, he kept improving, always tearing down and trying to build something better. Like other early settlers who stay with the land, there comes a time, later in life, when he can build the kind of buildings of which he has always dreamed.

From the time he was a young man he was always interested in horses. He spent many hours at a time in the saddle carrying out the operation, maintenance and development of his grassland and taking care of his livestock. He was a member of the Cassia County Sheriff’s Posse for many years. He had a black and white pinto pony named Jim. Jim could do many tricks such as kneeling on one or two legs, lying down, etc. He also had a horse named pal and a Palomino horse. He was deeply saddened at the death of Princess, his horse in the early 60s. After this, he purchased Rusty, a big boned bay to ride the range to look after the cattle. When Rusty began to shy so much, he purchased a strawberry roam. He said one time, he wanted to die on his horse.

Dad had many interests; he was always interested in politics – he kept up with all the local and world affairs. He served as Precinct Committeeman in Declo for twenty-two years. He was instrumental in organizing the Declo Light and Power and was president of the company for many years. When asked about retiring when he was interviewed for the Livestock Hall of Fame, he said, “I get too much out of life to think about it.” A highlight of his life was when he was selected Grassman of the year Award in 1963. He was seventy-eight at the time.

Dad occupied his spare time collecting antiques – at one time he was the proud owner of an old coffee grinder, bear trap, saddle, lanterns, bridles, etc. A shotgun used in the wild west was also in his possession. He kept his antiques in a cabin near the home. The century old cabin was hauled, after being dismantled piece by piece, from Cassia Creek. The cabin had been used there for a living quarters, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop and bunk house for freight drivers in its day. Old newspapers lined the cabin originally with an 1881 dateline. When the cabin was moved, each log was numbered as dismantled and reset on the farm site. The numbering still shows. The cabin was donated to the Cassia County Historical Society after Dad’s death; it now rests on that site and has been restored as a schoolhouse.