Memorials › George Curtis West

George Curtis West

21 Nov 1890 – 24 Oct 1985

Birth21 Nov 1890
Death24 Oct 1985
CemeteryPleasant Grove City Cemetery
Pleasant Grove , Utah County , Utah , USA
Added bySRBentz on 27 Oct 2009
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86669

Bio

George Curtis West, was the second son and third child of George Daniel West and Cassa (Carrie) Ann Walker. He was born in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and attended Central School there, in the old school which is now the Pioneer Museum. Miss Poulsen was the teacher he remembered. When he was a small boy he herded cows near Utah lake for 24 cents per month. As he became a little older, he was a water boy for the Powerhouse built at the mouth of Battle Creek. His job would start at 6:00 a.m. and he would walk up Battle Creek and behind Little Mountain every day to carry water to the workmen. He was paid very well, $1.00 per day. His father also worked on this project. About 1913 or 1914, he drove a team for James O. Bullock at the power plant. about 1915 he worked in Idaho Falls, Idaho for a sugar company, firing boilers. In 1906 he joined the National Guard and had a tour of duty at Idaho Falls, Aberdeen, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, and all through the Northwest. Jack Newman was my companion. In 1910 he drove a team to Soda Springs, Idaho, and joined a sheep outfit. From my savings in this job, he made a trip to Omaha, Nebraska, as he had always wanted to see this place. He was working in the Judge Mine in Park City, Utah, just before World War I. In 1917 I enlisted in the Army and trained in Vancouver, in California, and in Washington, D. C., then was shipped to France. While in France, I ran into Joe Wadley, and Oliver Thorton who had enlisted when I did in Pleasant Grove. He served in France for one year as a corporal. He was not in active fighting but our outfit was near the front when the war ended. He was a cook part of the time for the officers. he caught the flu and pneumonia and was laid up for several weeks. We had been sleeping in artillery stables where it was very damp and cold. he returned on the SS Mongolia which sunk the first German submarine. Upon returning he herded sheep for $32 per month for Lester Kirk. He spent years in various jobs including mining, prospecting and finally contracting which was the last type of work he did. As a boy, he remembers the Indians camping near Battle Creek. They also camped in the meadows near the Nerden farm. He used to visit Grandfather Henson Walker's home near the city park. He used to hold many parties at his home. The entertainment was games and singing. People were very sociable and most of them held dances in their homes. Grandma Walker used to have all her grandchildren visit her house, and used to call for me to go to Primary. She and his mother had beautiful voices and sang in the choirs. He used to sing duets with his mother. My father had a fine voice and used to sing in duets and in quartets at parties. He played an accordion. He used to usher at Clark's Opera House in Pleasant Grove. There they had home dramatics and musicals. Medicine men shows were held there where the "cureall" medicine were hawked. He remembered when the Philippine War was on and when it ended. Scarlet fever, typhoid, and diphtheria were the diseases that were most prevalent during his childhood. He figured we must have caught it from our water which for years was taken from the streams. Later, wells were dug and we hauled water from them in barrels. We had no inside plumbing or water in our home. The lighting was done by coal oil lamps, and the heat from wood fires. He remembered the first automobile that arrived in Pleasant Grove. We ran all the way to town to see it. He does not remember the make. He recalls the Old Fort in the East part of town which was used for protection against the Indians. We used to gather aspen logs from Battle Creek Canyon by wagon. His father and he used to hunt sage chickens. On one trip he remembers the sage hens and one deer he shot with a double-barreled muzzleloader. He would load one barrel with a fine shot and the other with a buckshot just in case we ran into a large game. He attended the missionary course at the BY Academy to prepare for a mission, but the World War broke out and I joined the services. During the Depression of 1930, he herded sheep for $75 per month. This gave me a steady income during this time. On Jan. 12, 1932, he married Antonetta Smith in Pleasant Grove, Utah. He's retired and keeping me busy with my home and in the summers enjoyed fishing and going into the mountains. They have no children. He died Oct 24, 1985, in Springville, Utah, and was buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery by his wife.

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