Frank E Smith

Frank E. Smith Born July 17, 1914-October 6, 1995
My grandpa Smith was born at home in West Jordan Utah the eleventh child of August Otto and Ettie Hannah Palmer Smith.
He had to work to help the family so as a young boy his job was to get up before his mother and bring in wood and stack it near the stove to use throughout the day.  he also started the fire to heat the room before everyone got up for the day. His mother would then get up and cook breakfast for everyone.
Grandpa worked in the field with his father and brothers. They would hoe long rows of sugar beets and and vegetables by hand. Grandma would also help in the field. Grandpa told the story of his mom and how she would thin the beets, and each time that she would get to the end of the row, she would stop and nurse the baby. When she was done nursing she would start thinning the next row of beets.
The brothers had to irrigate all of the fields and orchards. They would cut the hay with a team of  horses pulling a mower. Then they would rake the rows of cut hay with a hay rake. Over the next few days the boys would turn the hay until it was dry. Once the hay was dry, the wagon would follow and they would load the dry hay and haul it to the south end of the barn. A big hay fork would then lift the hay by pulleys and ropes and swing it into the barn, dumping it into a big haystack. Along the east side of the walkway there were lids that opened up over the hay mangers. It was easy in the wintertime for the to feed the cows by walking into the barn, opening the lids, and forking the hay down the shoots.
The barn was built on flat ground on top of the hill, straight in from the driveway. On the east side of the barn was the area where the cows entered from the corral. The barn extended over the feeding troughs. It was there that they milked the cows. The family raised their own pigs, chickens, beef and ducks. They raised oats, wheat and sugar beets. They shared crops and some of the work with the Palmer and Naylor families They raised a lot of cabbages. Grandma would make sauerkraut in 55 gallon vats. The vats were placed in the root cellar to keep it cool. Also in the cellar were things she made for Grandpa such as head-cheese, blood pudding and his home brew.
As a teenager grandpa and his brothers would help their father and their Palmer cousins with their team, bring the rock from the quarry to build the pillars of the West Jordan Cemetery.
Grandpa traveled as a hobo back to the world fair in Chicago. He hopped a train and went to the fair. His mother sewed pockets inside his clothing to allow him the keep his money safe. His brother Dell was so upset about his brother traveling by himself that Dell stopped eating until grandpa returned. During his trip, grandpa lost his money (or ran out)  and had to get off the train to find food. He went to a home near the tracks and asked them for a sandwich. he told the lady he was not a hobo but needed a sandwich and would be willing to send her money to pay for it when he got home. She gave him her address, but he lost it and he always felt bad he didn't repay her as he promised.
When grandpa was attending Jordan High School, he told the story of the student body wanting to have a dance having won State Championship. He said that the principal wasn't going to allow the dance so grandpa and a couple friends took off running. When the principal started chasing them they ran and locked him between the gates in the hallway. The other students got to have the dance but grandpa and his friends were punished. He got in trouble and hit with a ruler and sent home one day. After walking home his parents beat him with the belt. His parents said that if he got in trouble in school he would be in trouble at home.
The year after the depression ended Grandpa received his mission call to serve in the Central States Mission. Grandpa told a story about while on his mission about a woman who was a member but was married to a man who was very critical of the Church.  The husband would not have anything to do with the missionaries. One day the man became very ill but needed to slaughter a pig in order to have money to live on. He was too sick to kill the pig and wouldn't let anyone help him. Grandpa said he finally just went over to the farm. Put on the farmers old clothes and slaughtered the pig. The man got up and was furious but, when he went out and saw the pig all dressed out he commented that he had never seen a better job of dressing a pig. It softened the heart of the man and he was nice to the missionaries after that.  
He met Very Irene Walton at bill's Hamburger. They were introduced to each other  by Mary Jensen. Vera was a city girl being raised in Salt Lake City. Grandpa pulled up with friends and pointed her out and said "That's the girl I am going to marry"
He used to tell the story of betting his friends he could eat 21 hambergers. They said he couldn't but he did and they had to pay for them all at 5cents each.
Grandpa and Grandma Married August 8, 1938 in the Salt Lake Temple.
Resources:
Listening to stories as a child.
The Family of August Otto Smith/Schmidtke/Schmidt and Ettie Hannah Palmer: Published December 2013