Grandpa Rex and his Original Automobile

 

This is Grandpa Rex ... Mom/Margie's dad. 

In his history, he wrote "In 1937, I got a job as a bookkeeper and parts manager for a Chevrolet garage that opened in town. After a few months, I purchased my first car. It was a new 1937 2-door sedan and was I proud. Up until that time it had been necessary to wash the truck, after getting it unloaded, in order to go out on a date. During this time, I met a girl I was interested in by the name of Zada Howell. I started dating her and finally asked her to dance. She took me and said the answer was yes. Needless to say, we arrived at the dance just as it was letting out. We decided to get married on April 13, 1938, in the Manti Temple. About that time the manager of the garage was having financial problems; he didn’t know how to operate a car dealership and he wanted me to work part time only. I told him as I was getting married that I would have to look for another job. I did get a 30-day appointment with the Soil Conservation office in Salt Lake. After that job, I helped dad with trucking. I was in debt on my car for $400.00 and no job, but we got married anyway."

In reading family histories, it is always interesting to see what is important enough to that individual to include in their write up. This wasn't the first mention of vehicles in Rex's autobiography. In an earlier recollection of life as a teen he said "We would also take a horse and buggy and go over the mountain and stay for up to a week " and "We hauled coal for our own use by team and wagon. It would take us two days to make the trip of about twenty miles each way." Can you imagine? Two days for a 20 mile trip! 

1937 Chevy

While cars were invented in the late 1800s, it wasn't until the 1920s when they became more commonplace in the U.S. But then there was the Great Depression (historically dated from August 1929 – March 1933). Things must have been looking up a little by 1937 when Grandpa Rex made his purchase, although you can see in his history above, that finances were still strained. Grandpa Rex notes that he still owed $400 on his car ... it would have been interesting to know the original purchase price, and how it was financed. He doesn't specifically mention what type of car it was, but Mom/Margie thought that he would likely have purchased a Chevy as he was working for a Chevrolet garage. Googling "2-door sedan, 1937" ... it does look almost identical, although almost all the cars from that time seemed to have a similar shape and style.

Here's another picture ...

I love Grandma Zada's handwritten notation on it!

Here's a few more notes about vehicles from Grandpa's history ...

• While dad was working in Draper, Utah in 1934, he purchased a 1929 used Model A Ford passenger car. We would hook a small trailer behind it and would haul coal for our winter supply.
• In the spring of 1935, dad decided to quit the job in Draper and go into the trucking business. Just before quitting he traded the Model A for a used 1933 Chevrolet 1 ½ ton truck. He had my cousin teach me how to drive it by trucking hay from Delta, Utah.
• In 1936 dad purchased a new 1 ½ ton Chevrolet truck. We would also haul anything we could load on the truck.

Grandpa Rex didn't include any more information about this, or any other cars purchased for the family. In 1944 (seven years after the car purchase, so it was likely they still had this one) WWII was going on and Grandpa had to go into service. Grandma Zada never learned to drive, so who knows what would have happened to the car during the almost two years that Grandpa Rex was gone.  And while there were no more car memories written up, you can check out the trailer that Rex and his dad built for the young couple to live in! Home Sweet Norman Home. A home on wheels, which did end up traveling a bit!

Check out a compilation of Westra cars over the years.

Grandpa Rex - High School Yearbook

 

In today's digital age, you never know what you might find with a simple Google search. For another post (Zada's Graduation) I entered in "North Sanpete High School 1936" and some images came up. The yearbook page featured above was 1931, not 1936 but ... even in the small search image I thought the person in the top/right looked familiar. It's Grandpa Rex in his junior year at high school (the same school Grandma Zada went to four years later. This was featured on a Mt. Pleasant blog. 

If you think Grandpa Rex looks young - you are right! Mom remembers "My dad was very smart in school and skipped a grade because of that. So he graduated from High School at age 16, as I remember----I haven't done the math. I think he said he only weighed 120 lbs when he graduated--so was young and small."  From Grandpa Rex's own history, he wrote ...

I recall that bout a month after I started my fourth grade of school, two other kids and myself were called into the principal’s office. We were all wondering what we had done wrong. We were told that we were promoted to the fifth grade. As I have looked back to that time, I have often wondered if it was a good thing. I was small for my age anyway and shy. Being with older student all my school life, I have never received any exposure to social life while in school.

I adore these older yearbook pages that feature a quote or other information along with the school picture. I remember when I found a year book page for Grandma Lucille (1929) and the included quotes/text.  So in addition to the page featuring Grandpa Rex, I'm including the other pages, the other students in his class (76 are indicated here). It's fun to see the different hairstyles, clothes, poses and things they wrote to be remembered by ...

Check out some of Dad/Lamar's yearbook pages too!

Baby Book ~ Est 1937

 

All of the Westra Siblings have a "baby book" outlining the facts and dates surrounding the first few years of life. Above, there are the six baby books featuring the Westra Siblings ... and the extra? The smallest one on top ... belongs to Joseph Lamar Westra! Who knew they made baby books back in 1937?!  While the books span years, all have similar prompts inside. Also tucked in the pages/babybook box are additional memorabilia and notes. A couple of the extras that were interesting to me...

 a little baby announcement ...

MARTY?

I think we should all start calling Dad/Lamar "Marty"!

... and a formula, for formula. In May2022, a baby formula shortage is in the news. Old "recipes" like this have been circulating around the internet, and if parents can't find formula on shelves, it might be something to try. 

Back to the baby book ... here's a quick look at the pages for little Marty Westra (I mean, Lamar). The original scans are in Dropbox, in the Photos and Histories by Family folder - under Lamar, if anyone wanted a closer look at the details written up in Grandma Lucille's handwriting.

Check out The History of Joseph LaMar Westra and the birthstories of all the Westra siblings.

Graduation Day for Zada - 1936

 This will be backdated (1936)

Grandma Zada ... spelled Zadia in her younger years, as reflected in the diploma above, graduated from high school in 1936. In her history she says she would have liked to go on to college "but those were depression years and college education was quite a luxury."

One of Zada's classmates kept the program from their commencement ceremony (thanks Harold). Graduating class of about 70 students. No information as to the speakers or songs, but we do learn the exact date/time and location, as well as the school/class colors, flower and motto.

In one of her poems, Grandma Zada had written ...

In the English class in my High School Days 

I composed a poem that the teacher gave praise. 

It was so much fun to get a good mark in her class 

By keeping and reading the poem to the class. 

We aren't sure who Grandma Zada's friend is in this picture, but it is her handwriting indicating "graduation" on it in a photo album.

Grandpa Rex also attended North Sanpete High school, 

graduating a few years earlier.