My father, Evan Osborne Kimber, son of Charles Jr. and Sarah Elizabeth Morgan Kimber, was born on July 10, 1884. He was the sixth child and fourth son of a family of nine children, four girls and five boys. Oz, the name which my father was called throughout his life, was born on the east side of Grouse Creek, Utah, across the field from Blanthorn’s place at the end of the lane.

Charles Jr., Dad’s father, was a member of the church before sailing from England with his parents and other members of the family. They pioneered to Tooele, Utah and homesteaded on Grouse Creek, settling on the property known as the Kimber ranch.

The summer of 1891, Charles Jr. sold the house on the Ballingham property and moved his family to Huntington, Emery County, Utah, where he began the business of buying and selling horses. This was quite an adventure for a seven-year-old boy to travel with his family by wagon and team via Grantsville and Tooele. En route, they stayed at Grandfather Kimber’s (Charles Sr.) ranch for a few days.

They lived in Huntington for a year and returned to Grouse Creek in the late summer of 1892 where they lived in a log house midway in the lane east of Blanthorn’s. They later moved to a house built by Charles Jr. on the property known as Aunt Lizzy Cook’s place.

Dad was baptized by his grandfather, Charles Sr., at the Kimber ranch in the fall of 1892. He built a dam across the irrigation ditch to make a place where the water was deep enough for Oz’ baptism. He wore Grandfather’s overhauls and jumper. They were extremely large for him as Grandfather weighed more than 200 pounds.

The fall of 1892 was memorable for Dad, with his baptism the highlight of an eight-year-old, but this occasion was over-shadowed by the death of his mother. She died in the house on the Cook property onOctober 26, 1892 during childbirth. She left nine children. The baby, Sarah Elizabeth, died two months after birth.

Charles Jr., his sons, George and Billy, and (old) Uncle Tom Warburton returned to Huntington the winter of 1892 to herd and sell horses. They lived in tents this trip to Huntington.

The other children, Elmer, Nell, Ann, Lou, Frank, and Oz stayed at the Kimber ranch with Uncle George and Aunt Lizzy Cook.

Dad was enrolled in school at Grouse Creek at the time of his mother’s death. He had to leave school to go with his brothers and sisters to live at the ranch while his father was in Huntington. School was held in a one-room log building below Ted Hadfield’s house.

Clara Larsen, from Brigham City, was an early teacher of Dad’s. She taught eight grades in one room. Penelope Betteridge also taught school in this one-room school with Dad as a student. Dad attended this school until the present rock schoolhouse was built. He went to school one year in the new schoolhouse in Grouse Creek. Mabel Warburton was his teacher. He also attended school at Etna’s schoolhouse for one year.

During Charles Jr.’s stay in Huntington the winter of 1892 he met and courted Josephine Laird. They were married in June 1893 in the Salt Lake Temple.

The family of children moved from the ranch back to Grouse Creek the summer of 1893 to live with their father and Josie in the house on the Cook property.

In the fall of that year, Charles Jr., Josie and children, except George, moved to Huntington, where they lived in the Woodard house. Later they moved to the Brazier house, where Chloe was born on July 18, 1894.

Charles Jr. moved his family back to Grouse Creek in the fall of 1894, living at the Kimber ranch for a year and then moved to Huntington, where they lived in the Brazier house where Mary was born onFebruary 15, 1896. She died in her teens at the Morgan place in Grouse Creek. (The family moved several times from Grouse Creek and Huntington. These dates may not be exact.)

The summer of 1896 found the family living on the Kimber ranch. Charles Jr., sons George, Elmer and Billy, hauled logs from Red Butte and built a two-room log house at Jim Douglas’s place across from Sam Simpson. They moved into the new house before it was complete, living in one room, wrapping tarp around the walls to keep the weather out. Uncle Ted, Charles Jr.’s brother, chinked up the logs and put little poles on the roof, then straw and mud. Sometimes their log houses had dirt floors and Dad remembered his mother sending them for rabbit brush, which was bound together and used for a broom. Later two lean-to’s were added to the back of the house to be used as a bedroom and kitchen. The family lived there for a long time.

When old enough, Dad went to work for Uncle Will Morgan, haying and herding fifty head of horses. He worked at the Kimber ranch often and went riding with his father gathering wild horses. They drove the horses to Ogden, a trip which usually took three or four days.

At age fifteen, Dad went herding horses at Dean’s pass with his brother, Billy. Henry Cleveland hired them to herd horses for foreman Egar Parsons. When Henry Cleveland sold out and moved to Snake River, Dad and Billy took the horses to the Meadow Creek. Dad was relieved of this job, so he came home.

In June 1899, Dad had typhoid fever. While recovering, he was taken to the “old” hall on July 3 to watch construction of the bowery. “Everyone went to the dance, leaving me alone. I had to crawl across the floor to get a drink of milk because I was too weak to stand.”

Dad lived at the Douglas ranch and drove the school wagon for his room and board. (The Douglas ranch is now owned by Reese and Dwight Warburton.) He drove the Douglas and Warburton girls to the Etna schoolhouse and attended classes with Amy Warburton. George Johnson was their teacher. Amy taught school part of a year, after graduating from the eight grade.

Dad went to work for Jim and Dave Douglas in 1902, leasing their horses and stacking hay. He worked for them nearly three years, had a disagreement and resigned.

His next job was working for Jim Fletcher for a year or two, with a wage of $35.00 a month. The Fletcher ranch was later owned by Uncle Karl Warburton. Dad left the employment of the Fletchers because they wanted him to feed horses at Meadow Creek. He didn’t want to spend his time alone out there in the mountains.

While working at the Douglas ranch, Dad rode horseback to Grouse Creek to a dance. As he was walking to get his horse after the dance, Ernest, Tom, Ella, and Amy Warburton stopped and asked him to ride back to Etna in their buckboard. Dad tied his horse behind the wagon and rode in the seat with Amy and Ella.

He attended dances at Etna school, walking Amy home after the dance, leading his horse. On one occasion when Dad was living at home, he said Amy rode to a dance at Grouse Creekwith Hank Smith, her half-brother. After the dance, Dad asked her to go home with him, so he went home, hitched a team and wagon to take her home. They dated regularly for three years before they were married.

Dad left the Fletcher ranch to work at the Jackson mine for Frank Drake with George Kimber, his brother, as foreman. He worked seven days a week for $2.00 a day. (At one time, he said he earned $65.00 a month.) He left the mines and went to work for Miller-Lux at the Horseshoe ranch. He was saving his money to get married.

When Dad and Mother went to Salt Lake City to get married, Grandfather Warburton drove them and Grandmother Warburton to Lucin in the buggy to catch the train to Salt Lake City. Dad and Mother were married in the Salt Lake Temple on April 8, 1909. Grandmother accompanied them through the Temple.

Mother and Dad’s first home was a log house, built by Uncle Will Morgan, located on the east side of Grouse Creek, across from the Frost place. The building was still standing in 1972 and was being used as a machine shop by Ted Kimber.

The first year they were married, they raised 2,000 bushels of grain and five tons of potatoes, which they picked by hand. Potatoes sold for sixty cents a hundred pounds.

During the first summer they were married, Mother and Dad homesteaded on the flat, living in a tent. It took two years to build a house on their homestead. The flat is located south of Grouse Creek and east of the Kimber ranch, once owned by Charles Kimber Sr.

Dad’s homestead now belongs to Ivan, who has cultivated it into a productive ranch with pump wells. This was always one of Dad’s dreams to have plenty of water on this land and raise crops.

Three days before Ernest was born, Uncle Tom and Dad went to Nevada riding for wild horses to sell. They returned in time for Ernest’s birth on March 26, 1910. Ernest was born in the northwest room downstairs at Grandmother Warburton’s big rock house, with Grandmother as midwife.

The summer of 1910, Dad, Bill Kimber, Alma Toyn and Art Richins bought net wire and went to Delno, Nevada to build corrals, where they rode for wild horses. Dads horse fell with him, fracturing his collar bone. Dad came home and Dell Hart took him, Mother and Ernest to Lucin where they caught the train to Ogden to see a doctor. After treatment they returned home and Dad went back to riding with his shoulder and arm in a sling. The doctor’s bill was $1.00.

When Ernest was a baby, Mother helped Dad put up hay on the Ed Shaw place (Winfred’s lower field). Ernest sat on the ground nearby.

Dad, Mother and Ernest were living in Uncle Bill Kimber’s house south of the store the summer of 1911. Dad hauled poles off the mountain for the telephone company. He also hauled and traded seventy poles and one horse to Uncle Charles Toyn for a house, which Dad tore down and hauled the lumber to the flat to build a house. Sand was hauled from the Tanner place at Etna to mix the plaster for the walls. Mother mixed the plaster and Dad plastered the walls.

This same summer, 1911, Dad worked for George Richins, who was the road supervisor for the county.

Dad, Mother and Ernest lived in the Alfred Toyn house east of the cemetery the winter of 1912. Ivan was born in this house on January 2, 1912, just after midnight. Grandmother Warburton was the midwife.
Dad did not have a steady job this winter, he worked at odd jobs and lived on what they had. They lived in the Toyn house just a short time before they moved to the flat in the summer of 1912. They lived there for over a year building fences, planting and harvesting crops.

Uncle George and Aunt Mabel Richins sold their house by the store to Grandmother Warburton when they moved to Malta, Idaho. She sold it to Dad and Mother.

Grant was born on June 9, 1913 in Warburton’s rock house at Etna in the Northwest room downstairs, with Grandmother as midwife. She also cared for Ernest and Ivan. Mother had the measles when Grant was born. Ivan was just a little over a year old. He crawled upstairs, caught cold and got pneumonia. The Bishopric came and administered to Ivan and Grandmother Warburton fixed an onion and quinine poultice to put on his chest. After that when he vomited you could smell it, it had gone right through. That brought him out of it.

Lorna was born on October 30, 1915 in the southeast bedroom, upstairs in Grandmother’s house, with Grandmother as midwife. The family had moved to the house by the store because of a water shortage on the flat.

On May 4, he went to the Horseshoe as a rancher, later trading this job with Joe Stewart, who was a rancher at the Miller-Lux ranch.

Dad moved his family to the Miller-Lux ranch on November 11, 1918 so Ernest could attend school. He would take Ernest over to Charles Ballingham’s place to catch the school bus on Monday morning and pick him up at the bus stop on Friday. Ernest stayed with Aunt Lizzy Cook during the week.

Ida was born on February 8, 1919 at the Miller-Lux ranch, with Grandmother as midwife. The family lived here until January 1920 when they moved to Grouse Creek by the store. They moved because Dad and Ray Fenstermaker were unable to get along. “. . . even had a fist fight.”

The spring of 1921 Dad, Hugh Roberts and Clarence Richins went to the Gamble ranch to work. Dad worked for $3.00 a day with his team, four head of horses.

The summer of 1922 was the first contract Dad had for stacking hay for the U.C. company, with Elmer and Billy as partners. Mother cooked for the hay men with Edna Richins, her niece, assisting. It was a long difficult summer for Mother, she was expecting a baby in November and the hay job was long, beginning in July and did not finish until the end of September.

Dad contracted the H.D. ranch for about three years and then took a contract for the Vineyard ranch, leaving the H.D. to his brother, Elmer. The Vineyard ranch is located between Wells, Nevada and Twin Falls, Idaho. It was a smaller ranch, but nicer fields.

Effie was born on November 3, 1922 in the house by the store, with Grandmother Warburton again acting as midwife, housekeeper and baby sitter. Mother was never well enough to care for her baby so Aunt Pauline, who was nursing a baby, would come to visit Mother and to nurse Effie.
The family was living in a two-room house with the boys sleeping in a tent. Dad had some money put away and he wanted Mother to go away to the doctor, but she didn’t think it was necessary and didn’t want to leave her family.

Mother died on December 1, 1922 from Brights Disease, a kidney infection. Grandmother Warburton stayed until after the funeral, caring for the family. It was a cold day on the day of the funeral.

It was difficult for Dad to let Effie go to live with another family, but he was unable to care for her. She was given a good home with Uncle Charles and Aunt Nell Toyn, Dad’s sister. She lived with them until she married and had her own home.

I was only three when Mother died, but I vaguely remember some of the grief my Father went through after Mother’s death. He had a great responsibility being Father and Mother, but he met this challenge by making many personal sacrifices. Dad never remarried because he felt he had a responsibility to his children, but as years went by, he said he regretted not finding a companion. After his children had gone from home, he spent many lonely days by himself.

After Mother died, Dad kept us together and tried to provide a home and some of the necessities. I remember getting up to a warm kitchen and a hot breakfast before we went to school.

Dad was knowledgeable about the necessities for keeping his family fed. He would bottle bushels of peaches and pears and make crocks full of pickles for our winter supply. He continued to make soap as he had seen Mother do. He probably assisted her in many of these projects. Someone once told me he admired the capabilities of his wife and took a great interest in her talents as a mother and homemaker. Dad often told me she was a talented and gifted woman.

There were many kind relatives and friends who assisted Dad in caring for his family and home.

Dad served as second counselor in the MIA and president of the Elder’s Quorum after Mother died. He said he worked away from home too much to hold positions.

Dad did not go to church regularly but would see to it that his children attended. He was an introvert when it came to participating. Dad’s religion was in his heart. He came closer to living the pure religion than many that show outward activity. He was a quiet man with deep inner thoughts. Dad always dealt fairly with his fellow man, at times going beyond a fair deal at great material losses.
Dad had a lot of love and respect for his own father, who was a deeply religious man.

On February 1923, Dad was riding his horse down the road, it was muddy and the horse slipped and fell, fracturing Dad’s leg below the knee. Heber Simpson took Dad and Uncle Elmer to Lucin to catch the train to Ogden. They both rode in the baggage car because Dad was on a stretcher. An ambulance was at the Depot to take Dad to the Dee Hospital.

It was eight days before they could see the fracture. The fracture was so severe the surgeon had to put a plate over the break. A spot on Dad’s leg drained for years until some bone screws worked their way out of the surgery scar. The ether caught fire during surgery when they were administering it to Dad. He was pulled off the operating table onto the floor, saving his life.

When Dad was released from the hospital, he stayed with Ann Wakefield, his sister, in Ogden. When Dad returned to Grouse Creek Grandfather Kimber met him at the train in Lucin and he stayed with Grandfather and Josie for a few days.

The family had been boarded out while Dad was in the hospital. Lorna and I stayed with Chloe at Etna, Ernest with Aunt Nell Toyn, Ivan with Aunt Lou, and Grant with Tom Warburton. We were all so homesick for Dad to come home. Ivan said that he was so homesick they let him go stay with Grant at Uncle Toms’. In April, Dad collected his family and took us home. It was a humble dwelling, but home to us.

Our house always had the welcome mat out and we had a lot of company. Dad enjoyed company and particularly when he could interest someone in a marble game. Our yard by the door would be packed down and would make a good place for a marble ring. Dad was an excellent “marble shooter”. He also enjoyed basketball and baseball, remaining active in those sports for years.

Dad braided rawhide ropes. He braided horsehair ropes from the hair pulled from the tails of horses when they groomed them. Dad had a lot of respect for his livestock even at times when they aggravated him. He often carried on a one-sided conversation with his animals. His strongest words to them would be, “You darned old fool,” or some such expression. Uncle Dell Warburton paid tribute to Dad at the time of his death by saying, “I have never heard Oz take the Lords name in vain.”

The summer of 1923 Lorna and I stayed with Grandmother Warburton while Dad and the boys went haying at the H.D. ranch. Ernest was thirteen, Ivan eleven, and Grant ten. Ernest drove team on the buckboard to help hay. Hattie Paskett and Cora Toyn cooked for the hay men that summer. Lorna and I stayed with Grandmother two or three Summers until we were old enough to go with Dad on the hay jobs.

Dad worked for the U.C. Company haying on the Vineyard ranch for fourteen years, seven years haying, one year of drought, and haying another seven years. The boys worked along with Dad in the hay fields and Lorna and I enjoyed a nice summer vacation riding horses and swimming in the river until we were old enough to assist in some of the cooking.

In 1938 Dad leased the Frost ranch in Grouse Creek but still resided in the house by the store. A year later, he moved to one room in Mrs. Frost’s house but still continued haying the vineyard ranch. He leased the Frost ranch for ten years and then bought it after Mrs. Frost passed away. He also bought Aunt Lindy’s place in 1961.

Ivan purchased the Lee place by the reservoir at Etna. After two or three years, he bought a ranch in Clover Valley, Nevada. Dad, Ernest and Grant took over the Lee place and bought 100 head of cattle. This was the beginning of their cattle business.

Grant and Naomi moved to Grouse Creek from Brigham City in 1948, moving into the Frost house with Dad. Grant and Naomi provided a comfortable home for Dad and much enjoyment through being able to share the growing years of their children.

There were many peaks and valleys in Dad’s life, it seemed the valleys came too often. He shared many heartaches with his children, feeling the depth of their grief. He had one granddaughter stillborn, three grandsons, one son-in-law and two daughters buried. Two of the grandsons carried his name, Darrell Osborne and Karl Evan.

In 1947 our seven-year-old son, Karl Evan Carter, died of polio. In 1949 Ernest and Mae’s son, Blaine, also died of polio.

Norma Jean, his granddaughter, was hospitalized with polio at this same time but she survived. She was left with some muscle paralysis in one leg.

After the death of Lorna’s husband, Gordon, in 1948 he lived with Lorna and Norma Jean until Lorna remarried a few years later. During this time he managed Lorna’s ranch and took care of his place at the Frost ranch.

Dad’s 90th birthday found him in good health except for a crippled knee, some arthritis in his hands and shortness of breath.

Dad soon started having physical difficulties. He was unable to attend the Kimber reunion that summer due to illness. He was under a doctor’s care and spent two weeks in the hospital in September. After his release he spent two weeks with Norma Jean to be near the doctor. Grant and Naomi took him home again, but his health deteriorated rapidly as the result of numerous little strokes. Grant, Naomi and other members of the family gave him loving care and comfort before he passed away in his own home on his dearly beloved Grouse Creek, Tuesday, October 28, 1975.

Written by daughter, Ida Kimber Carter