Friday, January 8, 2021

TODAY WE PRESENT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF OLIVE INGRAM BOSWELL

Olive Ingram was born on a cold winter day in 1894. That was in a little farm house southwest of Nephi, Utah. She was the eighth child of a family of ten. Her parents were Ann Ellen Park and Edward Ingram. At age three, the family moved to Nortonville, five miles north of Nephi. She attended the school there along with the Booth, Jones and Tolley kids. Her parents then moved to a house on the corner of 8th North and Main, the present location of Verizon. She went to the Central School until 14, then went to work cleaning homes. She started holding hands with Verno Boswell, who was also born in Nephi, the first child of Owen and Mary Anderson Boswell. They wanted to get married, but they were only 18, and the parents didn't permit it, so they waited until they were legal adults-age 21.Their kids were Blanche, Eldon, Ralph, Ruby and Jennis. They all pitched in to wash clothes using the old scrub board and a flat iron, heated by a coal stove. They did well and built a home on the corner of 8th North and 100 East(shown in photo) and had a massive garden, so plenty of canned food for the winter, and to the north east was a large barn. Olive had a green thumb and Verno became and excellent carpenter, and sometimes teased for "having the cleanest barn and corral in town". He was adamant that his kids work hard, and they did. This writer became familiar with Ralph Boswell, who not only became the Principle of the Central School, but also a farmer, living and farming where the Juab High School is now located. He helped teach me how to drive a tractor, as back then, fourth east was out of City limits. He had other reasons to force me to learn work ethics. His father died working for the State Road at age 59, leaving his mother a widow. Ralph Boswell always checked on his mother, and she was bothered by some local "Jones kids" who was playing in her barn. Yes, we not only played there, but a little dishonesty was involved. We hit all local barns where pigeons perched during the night. We would catch them, put them in a gunny sack and enter them in the County Fair, where we got .50 cents for this second place ribbon on Sept. 4th, 1958. Don't panic, we fed them good and returned them to the right barn. Ralph had been in fighting in the Pacific and knew how to deal with those "Hellions" down the street. He made me work hard which I now thank him and his family for. I also pay tribute to all three sons of Mrs. Boswell, as they served in the military; two in World War Two and Jennis in Korea. They all returned home safe. Verno and Olive kept busy, like they taught their kids. In their spare time they always helped neighbors; assisted for several years in the North Ward Reunion Committee and Olive sang in the North Ward Choir; taught Primary, and a cook at the Juab County Hospital(where Laurel Groves is now) She worked a full eight hour shift on her seventieth birthday. I know I am about 60 years late, but to Mrs. Boswell and all of the kindred of Olive, I apologize for being one of the culprits playing in her barn, and know she is presently a hard working Guardian Angel in Heaven, and not "The Barn Woman" we once called her when she caught us red handed. 




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