| Description |
was able to do this. Typical of "Proving Up", was Edgar and his wife Talula and their family. They spent 5 summers living on the Homestead, enjoying the beautiful mountains near Colton, Utah. They built a log cabin from native trees, built fences, roads, their own crossing bridges across the wash as they could get in easier, as well as making many other improvements. The children enjoyed the beautiful lambing grounds and summer feed for part of the sheep. They were also able to get summer range permits on the mountains and winter range in the West Desert. This area all became like second borne to their family as they spent many weeks and months herding the sheep and enjoying the beauties of nature. There were always new trails to explore, fishing holes to be fished, and lambs to be tended. Then the Great Depression hit. Many of the men were going broke, losing everything they had. They were unable to sell their wool or the lambs so they could meet their obligations. The Nelson Brothers, were able to mortgage there sheep to a bank that would give them $10.00 (ten dollars) a month to live on. The Nelson Brothers pulled together. They did their own herding, while their family took care of their homes and their small farms, raising gardens to lake care of their food and doing what they could to make it through the years. Talula raised a beautiful garden; tomatoes and carrots were taken to the school in exchange for a bowl of soup to go with the children's dry sandwichs, if they were lucky enough to have a sandwich. She tried to sell tomatoes to the neighbors, but they didn't have any money either, so the tomatoes were shared with the neighbors. Through their diligence and hard work they were among the few that were able to pull their sheep through these hard years. They were eventually able to get on the road back to prosperity. Their sheep herds were able to provide jobs for other men along with the meat and wool they produced. Family history of Edgar L. Nelson, Family history of Augusta G. Nelson 93 |
