Demar on the world stage

It is sometimes difficult to envision the world in which our ancestors lived. With the help of History Lines, I've placed my Grandfather Demar McCracken on the world stage to better understand what he experienced during his short life.

Grandpa was born on July 1, 1897, in Smithfield, Utah. His mother, Margaret Emily Downs, was 42 years old. His father, Thomas McCracken, was 46 years old at the time. Demar was the youngest of seven children. His older siblings, Violette, Margaret, Bertha, Sarah, and Mary, were 21, 16, 11, 8, and 7 years old. His brother Thomas had passed away as an infant.

Some of Demar's friends and neighbors arrived with the Mormon settlers in handcart and wagon companies who were escaping religious persecution in the east. Others simply sought their fortune in a land rich with resources, as Utah's mountains and rivers made it a great location for both agriculture and mining.

During Demar's lifetime, the United States was beginning to establish itself as a world power, and began to intervene in international affairs in places like the Philippines, Hawaii, and Cuba. Unfortunately this caused a lot of tension, resulting in several conflicts including the Spanish-American War of 1898. As a result the U.S. emerged as a major player on the world stage. The citizens of remote Idaho probably heard less than accurate reports about the war through "yellow journalism", or newspaper articles that contained exaggerated information to promote the war and sell subscriptions.

Though medical technology had advanced quite a ways in the 19th century, Demar's mother still assumed significant risks when she gave birth to him. At this time, the average American mother gave birth to six children, and while doctors were more available to help in these pregnancies than in generations past, a majority of births occurred in the home. Although hospitals of the day made use of the modern invention of forceps, chloroform as anesthesia, and advances in laceration repair to reduce pain and risks, these were most likely not available to births assisted by midwives and country doctors in 1897. A significant number of infants and mothers died during childbirth from preventable infections due to unsanitary conditions. 

Demar's older sister, Margaret Emma, passed away at the age of eighteen when Demar was only two.

Demar and his childhood friends lived on farms and ranches and were expected to help their parents with chores from a very young age. In his spare time Demar enjoyed swimming, horse racing, card games, checkers and board games, and hopefully reading. 

When Demar was five years old, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully designed and flew the world's first heavier-than-air, human-piloted aircraft. That initial flight lasted less than a minute and didn't actually gain much public attention. By 1905, though, Demar probably knew about the Wright Brothers as their increasingly sustained flights became a national sensation.

The following year Henry Ford changed transportation forever by founding the Ford Motor Company with revolutionized manufacturing on an assembly line. Not only did Henry Ford provide a decent wage for his workers ($5 for a 9-hour day), but the introduction  of the Model T a few years later also allowed millions of middle-class Americans to afford automobiles.

During his childhood, Demar attended public schools between the months of October and April, most likely with one teacher assigned to multiple grade levels, depending upon the number of students. Most public school systems included kindergarten by this time, but it was optional. Subjects included math, history, science, spelling, literature and geography. For most of the early to mid-1900s, black and white children learned in "separate but equal" schools, but this was not a problem in the Teton Valley where all of the students in Demar’s school were Caucasian. 

On Christmas Eve of 1906, the very first radio show, a Christmas concert, was broadcast. This was a major milestone in communication, and made news around the world. In coming years eight-year-old Demar would be able to enjoy this new technology for news and entertainment.

Margaret Emily Downs passed away in Tetonia at the age of 52 when her son Demar was only nine.

Demar lived in a time when the importance of proper hygiene was becoming known to the average American. Nevertheless, in Tetonia Demar probably continued to bathe once a week, or even once a month in the winter, using homemade soap to get rid of dirt and improve bodily odor. It became common practice at this time to regularly brush teeth and dental floss was introduced, although it is debatable if it was available in Tetonia. Deodorant was invented in 1888, although the McCracken family may not have indulged in this luxury.

Demar's future wife, Lucille, was born 13 years after Demar in Rigby, Idaho. 

Throughout Demar's lifetime fashion and clothing in the United States were constantly changing, but not on the ranch in Idaho where the normal apparel for young men were denim jeans and a button-down shirt.

On the night of April 14, 1912, when Demar was fourteen, the RMS Titanic sank into the North Atlantic Ocean. Tetonia folks would have read about this tragic accident in the newspaper days or weeks afterwards. 

Mormons made up the majority of residents in the Teton Valley, although Demar was not a member of the predominant religion.

When Demar was sixteen years old, The Great War (World War I) began. By the time it concluded four years later, more than nine million combatants and seven million civilians had died. On the home front, most Americans questioned the United States' involvement in the war, but when American soldiers entered the fray, patriotism ruled the day.

Demar was nineteen when President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill that created the National Park Service, and the first official park was nearby in Yellowstone.

That year Demar's father, Thomas McCracken, passed away in Tetonia at the age of sixty-five.

A terrible flu pandemic struck the United States and the entire world in 1918 when Demar was twenty, killing over 650,000 Americans, as the medical community desperately searched for better treatments or a vaccine. Fear caused many people to wear masks any time they went into town.

During the 1900's, advanced medical knowledge and procedures trumped those from earlier generations. Physicians administered many new vaccines that eliminated diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, smallpox, and measles. In Tetonia, doctors most likely still served the majority of their patients on house calls.

When Demar was twenty-two years old, the United States Congress passed the 19th Amendment, allowing women to vote.

The film industry was developing in the country in the 1920’s, but the majority of entertainment in Tetonia was live community music and theater with some families enjoying radio news programs which broadcast live theater productions, music, and comedy in their own homes.

On July 12, 1926, Demar was twenty-nine when he married Lucille Chase who was fifteen at the time. This was not an uncommon age for a girl to wed. They were married in Tetonia. The typical American couple started dating in their late teens or early twenties, and married within a few years, although the courtship of Demar and Lucille was a much shorter one. Once the knot was tied, the average American couple had an average of three to four children, but the numbers were typically higher in Mormon communities such as Tetonia. Divorce was very rare.

On October 14, 1927, Demar's son, Harold Arthur, was born in Tetonia when Demar was thirty years old.

In 1928 scientist Alexander Flemming's accidental discovery led to the invention of penicillin which revolutionized the medical world by saving lives and reducing the number of amputations during World War II by halting infections. Flemming's invention meant that many of Demar's friends and neighbors, who would have otherwise died of infection, came home alive from World War II.

Over the course of Demar's lifetime, the means of transportation available in America changed immensely. Although Demar preferred a good horse to get from place to place, automobiles gradually became more affordable to citizens. Similarly, airplane travel became available to the general public, although Demar never took to the skies.

After the stock market collapsed at the end of the 1920s, the United States experienced an economic free fall that would come to be known as the Great Depression. Demar was in his thirties during this period, and just about everyone he knew was impacted. The unemployment rate for much of the 1930s was more than 25%. 

When Demar was thirty-three, the Empire State Building was completed. Although he never saw this marvel, Demar would have likely heard about the completion of this building on the radio. 

That same year, on April 6, 1931, Demar's daughter, Ramona Mary, was born in Tetonia. 

In response to the struggling economy of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed a series of acts and federal programs known as the New Deal. These programs included the Civilian Conservation Corps, which helped develop national parks and forests across the country and provided jobs for young men, including Demar.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo in an airplane across the Atlantic Ocean. Five years later, Earhart disappeared during an attempted solo flight over the Pacific Ocean.

The world changed dramatically during Demar’s lifetime. Monumental events such as the introduction of public radio, women earning the right to vote, World War I, the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, medical advancements, quick access to world news and the availability of the automobile and flight made the world a different place indeed by the time Demar departed this life.

Demar passed away when he was 40 years old in Tetonia after an extended battle with skin cancer.

Decoration Day

"Decoration Day" was the most important holiday of the year to my Grandmother, Lucille Chase McCracken Beard. Although the calendar declared the day as "Memorial Day", Grandma insisted on "Decoration Day". Since she would also joke about changing the name to "Rainy Day" as the clouds seemed to gather on this day year after year, I thought the unusual title was of her making. I have since learned that the last Monday of May originated as "Decoration Day" clear back in 1868. In 1882 the term "Memorial Day" came into use, but that name was not widely accepted until after World War II, and never accepted by Grandma.

Whatever the name, it was a very important family day. By the time we arrived in Tetonia, Grandma and Uncle Leon had cut lilacs branches and had them soaking in canning jars ready to be displayed on the graves of loved ones at the Cache Clawson and Hayden Cemeteries near Tetonia. 

A family picnic was planned, an event attended by every mosquito in a ten state region. Our car windows looked like those in the picture on the left. Stepping outside Grandma's house reminded us of the OFF Mosquito Repellent commercial where the man put his arm into a glass box swarming with the pests.

OFF Mosquito Repellent Commercial

But that didn't stop Grandma. She was devoted to remembering her ancestors and was an avid genealogist in the days of handwritten pedigree charts and family group sheets.

I know Grandma would want the family to gather today and ornament the graves with lilacs, but distance no longer allows us to do that. Please join me in a brief "Decoration Day" visit to the Idaho cemeteries where family members who have gone before have been laid to rest.

Frederick William Hurst Pencil Sketches

These pencil sketches are more examples of the artistic talent of my Great, Great Grandfather Frederick William Hurst.

Valedictorian

Did you know that Grandma Beard (Lucille Chase McCracken Beard) was a scholar? 

She attended schools in Clark and later in North Leigh where she earned the honor of valedictorian of her graduating class in 1925. This was an eighth grade graduation which is the equivalent to completing high school in our day. 

There is the mistaken notion that the education received was substandard. Granted, the school year was shorter - from October 1st to April 1st, corresponding with the agrarian calendar. And, of course there are many topics taught today that did not exist in the early 1920's. Obviously, Grandma did not study technology or computer design and graphics. The arithmetic she learned focused on story problems and practical application for the time which differ greatly from advanced math classes in high school today.

The curriculum, nevertheless, was rigorous. At the end of the seventh grade students could challenge the graduation exam, but most students took the exam at the end of grade eight to confirm that the subject matter was understood and prove they were eligible for a diploma. 

The Idaho department of education could not provide a copy of the 1925 eighth grade exam. An example of an eight grade exam given in 1911 can be seen below. Give it a try.

The North Leigh School that Grandma attended was built in 1910 and is still standing. If walls could talk there might be some fun tales about Grandma to hear. The building has been renovated and is now a private home.

Pucker up

In the sixties, cat clocks with a moving tail like this one were very popular. They hung on the walls of several of my friend's kitchens. Unfortunately, I can't remember what the McCracken household clock looked like, but I can tell you this, we didn't need a clock to know when it was 5:30, time for Dad to come home from work. There was a sure way to know that he would soon come in the door, a sign far more dependable than a clock. 

You are probably guessing that the sign involved delicious aromas filtrating through the house. Well, yes, but not what I was thinking of. Could it be something about reminders to set the table for dinner? Uh, uh. Was that the time that Mom called the kids inside from playing in the yard with friends? Good try, actually all of those are true, but they were not the most telling sign that Dad would soon walk in the door. Give up? 

 

When Mom scurried into the bathroom and put on lipstick, we knew that Dad would soon be home. Then she'd brush her hair and pinch her cheeks to add a little color and practice her smile in the mirror. 

Sometimes kids wonder how their parents feel about each other. The McCracken kids knew that Mom loved Dad, the lipstick said it all.

By the company he chooses

My Mom had a great memory for poetry. This segment of an Irish poem was one of her favorites which she often quoted:

It was a year ago, September,

A day I well remember.
I was walking up and down
In drunken pride.
When my knees began to flutter
And I fell down in the gutter
And a pig came by and lay down by my side.

As I lay there in the gutter
Thinking thoughts I could not utter,
I thought I heard a passing lady say,
"You can tell a man who boozes
by the company he chooses..."
And the pig got up 

And slowly walked away.

Missionary - World War I

The Hurst family has a rich heritage of missionary service. One of the memorable missionaries is the stepson of my Great Grandfather Samuel Harris Hurst. 

When Samuel married his second wife, Minnie Klossner Risenmay, the missionary zeal of the Hurst family was combined with the missionary spirit of the Risenmay family. Minnie's first husband, Christian Risenmay had served in the Swiss German Mission, while she maintained the home front, caring for their four children during his absence. Here is Christian's Missionary Certificate signed by Wilford Woodruff in 1895.

Christian and Minnie's son, George Henry, followed directly in his father's footsteps. Can you imagine the family's joy and trepidation as he received his call to the Swiss German mission as well, particularly in view of the threat of war. One of my all-time favorite photos is of George as a young missionary in 1913.  

His "Minister's Certificate" (shown below) was signed by Joseph F. Smith in 1912.

The missionary adventures of George in Germany would make an interesting movie plot. 

To understand and appreciate his experiences, we must remember what was happening in the world in 1913 when he entered the mission field. Tension was high in Germany as political, territorial and economic conflicts escalated through an extended series of diplomatic clashes. Suspicions brewed about spies infiltrating the governmental circles in Germany. Such was the political climate when George was sent to labor in Germany. 

We must not imagine a modern day scenario of a young missionary departing home to step into the arms of a waiting mission president. On the first day that he and his companion arrived in Frankfort, no one came to meet them. They had been instructed to go to a certain location to meet with church leaders, but no one was there at the address given them. Unsure of how to proceed they sought lodging in a hotel and luckily as they headed out the next morning a young Latter-day saint girl recognized them and led them to where the Elders had moved. They had probably relocated to escape police detection.

Unlike missionaries in recent years, the missionaries of the early 1900's were left to their own methods to learn a foreign language. George would write in his notebook what we wanted to say in English. Then he would ask a German-speaking missionary to translate it and he would memorize the translation. This method proved quite effective. He wrote in his journal that his first Sunday in Germany he spoke in English, but by the second Sunday he spoke in German. His diligent study and work paid off for he became proficient enough in German to function as the branch president in Bielefeld before the end of his first year.

The American missionaries were licensed through the German government to preach, yet due to the political unrest and distrust of foreigners, they were  constantly harassed by the police.  In was necessary to conduct baptisms of new converts under the cover of darkness to escape detection by the authorities. If caught gathering, they would be banished from the city. 

The first week that George was in Braunschewig, the police detained him at the meeting house and gave him 1 1/2 hours to pack his clothing, settle up his rent and be on his way out of the city, or go to jail. The police accompanied George to his boarding house and informed the landlady that he was a Mormon, and was being banished. She tried unsuccessfully to sway the cop, telling him that the missionaries were fine gentlemen, but the officer did not relent, saying he was just following orders to get the missionaries out of town or lock them up. 

In large measure George's mission was spent seeking refuge, fleeing from area to area to escape prosecution. When banishing missionaries from a city, the cops would take note of the direction of their departure and then notify the authorities in the next town that Mormons were on the way. This made proselyting next to impossible as they would be picked up immediately upon arrival in the district. To thwart this tactic of the police, George would purchase a ticket going in the opposite direction from his intended destination and double back, skirting the city.  In many areas of the mission only German-born elders were assigned to preach as they were safe from banishment.

This focus on the Mormons by the police had little to do with religion and everything to do with political suspicions and distrust of foreign businessmen. The elders had the appearance of English businessmen.

Several times George recorded going early to church meetings and locking himself  in a closet close to the pulpit, where he could hear the service. He longed to participate but knew he would not be safe preaching, for the police would attend the meeting, sitting in the back to watch for American-born missionaries.

As the beginning of World War I approached, while tracting in Hannover on June 12, 1914, George was arrested. He was meeting with a potential convert, explaining the gospel to her in her fourth floor apartment. She had warned him that there were many listening ears in her building that would report him, but his desire to share the gospel message exceeded his fear. He had just been there a little while when a heavy knock came on the door.  A big cop in uniform stood there and just said, "he is a Mormon" and told George to follow him. He was taken to police headquarters where he was given twenty-four hours to leave town. The policeman bade him good-bye and said he was sorry, but had to do what he had done.

The American Consul in Berlin eventually recommended that the missionaries cease tracting for their own safety as suspicions increased and news of war spread . The recommendation was well founded as George and his companion had been arrested as English spies twice and had been released after showing their American passports. 

July 28, 1914, World War I officially was declared. The young elders watched the conflict escalate as the Germans mobilized and trainloads of soldiers left for the battle lines. Later, they watched the trains return filled with wounded soldiers coming back from the front. 

When all Americans were ordered to leave Germany there were so many trying to get out of the country that it became very difficult to get passage. 

The Mission President gave instructions to the elders of what must be done before leaving. They were to set apart German members to take over the leadership of the branches, baptize any applicants, and organize the new leaders to carry on without missionaries.  George expressed great sadness with this assignment. Leaving the good German saints he had grown to love without missionary leaders to build and strengthen their young faith in this time of trouble was a bitter task, but it had to be done. 

Before he could leave, it was necessary for George to return to Berlin to complete departure paperwork. On his way there he was arrested once more and taken to police headquarters. Fearful of being detained, George was relieved when the authorities apologized after checking his papers. They told him to go home and have the U.S. join them in whipping France, England and Russia as those nations were trying to conquer all of Europe. The United States was not yet aligned with the Allies at this time. 

Finally, on Sept. 13, 1914, George left Berlin and traveled to London where he met the Conference President.  Some of the fleeing missionaries were reassigned to other fields of labor and others were released to go home. George was in the latter category, returning to America after twenty-two months of service.

He sailed for home on the big ship Lusitania on October 3, 1914, in the third class section.  

The Lusitania was attacked by a German U-boat the following year, sinking in only 18 minutes, an event that contributed to the United States' entry into the war.

George's perilous missionary experiences led him to rely on the Spirit for his safety and protection. This practice of prayer and faith stayed with him the remainder of his life as he continued to serve the Lord in many capacities, including being the Bishop of the Woodville, Idaho, Ward for twenty-four years.