WRIGHT, JUBAL A. AND JENNIE V.

by Jennie Boyce Wright

Entry F462 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

J.A., Jennie and Harold Clayton Wright.

Jennie V. Wright, June 1984.

Mr. Wright was born in Platsmouth, MO.,
October 3, 1892. His parents were Mr and
Mrs Jubal A. Wright, Sr. Jube had 11
brothers and sisters. They lived on a farm in
Missouri for years, then moved to Nebraska
in year 1909 on the Charlie Phillip ranch, 2
miles south of the Dismal river south of
Mullen. His parents passed on within 10
years after moving to Nebraska. Jube and his
younger brother, Joel, took over the ranch.
They farmed, raised cattle and hogs. He met
his bride, Jennie V. Boyce of Mullen a few
years later.

Mrs Jennie V. (Boyce) Wright was born at
Gordon, NE., July 29, 1899. Jennie was the
third daughter of John H. and Jeanette
Boyce. The family moved from Gordon to the
J.H. Boyce ranch 17 miles southwest of
Mullen in 1900, when Jennie was one year
old. She grew up on the ranch, and went to
good country schools - one room and all
grades and one teacher. Those were good
learning days - good teachers, women and
men. Her first teacher was Maston Cox. He
boarded at her parents. They usually had to
keep the teachers, but a neighbor, Charlie
Erny, kept them too. She went to grade school
in the country, stayed home and helped with
the work. Teachers were so scarce, that in
1917 she obtained a permit to teach school
and taught for 2 1/2 years. She rode horse back
5 miles the first year to the Jess Campbell
school. The next year she taught the Jess
Furrow school, but she stayed with Ben and
Agnes Kemp. She rode home on the weekends
on horse back. The next year she taught at
the Dan Dyer school south of the Dismal for
1/2 year after marriage.

Jennie's years growing up on the ranch
were very interesting. Her father used a two
horse drawn walking plow to break the sod,
plant the corn and other crops. They had no
cellar or basement to store things so dug a
hole in the ground for potatoes, cabbage and
other vegetables. Put hay over them, then
dirt, and sometimes the winters were so cold
and long, a lot of them froze anyway. They
used to have blizzards that would last three
days, high winds and heavy snow. It would
kill hundreds of cattle, sheep, horses and
hogs. Drifts were twenty or more feet high
and snow would stay on all winter. They had
nothing for the cattle to eat but hay and that
didn't give them the strength to live through
those terrible storms.

Now the heating system was no furnaces
and gas stoves. They didn't turn up the
thermostats or turn it off. It was old fashion
stoves, one cook stove and pot belly heating
stove that ate and burned any and everything
we put in them - mostly cow chips, wood,
and coal when they could get it. But cow chips
was the main fuel - to cook with and keep
warm. It kept two busy, one to carry them in
and one to carry the ashes out. We burned a
lot of buffalo horns, too. My father and some
of us children would go six miles south to the
Dismal river and gather fallen trees by wagon
team, and he also went nine miles north to the
Burlington tracks and got ties that were
taken out to burn.

Our meat was wild and tame rabbits,
prairie chickens, tame chickens, beef, tur-
keys, wild and tame ducks and geese. My
folks would strip some beef and put it up in
the attic to dry. That was good raw or
creamed.

Our silver was not stainless steel. It was
wooden handle dark metal. We had to polish
them every morning, as they got so dark and
terrible looking. We used bonami or ashes, or
brick dust to clean them.

No bath rooms. Had a small building
outside. The modern word those days was the
"Ladies Walk". And bath tubs, never heard
of them. We used a wash tub until we got too
big to get into them, then used the wash pan
- called out bath a spit bath. And for night
use instead of going outside for the bath room
they used the "Ladies Chambers" with
handles, which came in real handy.

Kerosene lamps were used for lights. One
for each room and they had to be filled every
morning.

Water was carried in a pail to the house
from the windmill. A barrel was at the
windmill the mill pumped into and the
buckets were filled from that.

The model T Ford - two seated was the
first car. My oldest sister's husband from
Hyannis, NE had one, so my father bought
it and that really thrilled my brother and I.
We had a real toy that run by itself if the sand
wasn't too deep. A shovel was always in the
back seat and we were ready to get behind
and push the car over the hump. There were
no paved roads. My father kept the key in his
pocket, so we found out we could start the
Ford with a fence staple. They wouldn't go
very fast, so had no accidents then. This was
the only one in the country for years. The
lights on the car was carbide, the tank set on
one fender and wasn't very bright. Some-
times a lantern was hung on the front ofthe
Ford to see down the road.

Our family went to church every Sunday.
My father would hitch the team to the wagon
and away we would go. My folks would set in
the front seat and the rest of us set on a quilt
or hay in the back and some times put chairs
in to set on. We had our services in the school
house. Also, had Christmas programs, box
suppers, pie suppers and other entertain-
ment at the school house.

In 1919 on September 3, Jubal Wright and
Jennie were married at the court house in
Mullen by Judge Web Bowers. (He was Kent
and Susie Bower's dad.) They lived on his
parents place south of the Dismal for 29
years. Their son Harold Clayton Wright was
born 1925 at Omaha. He grew up
down south of the Dismal. When school
began he and his mother would come to
Mullen for the school year, as the country
school was too far away. The family moved
north of Mullen on the Johnson place for a
few years, then to the John LeLaChuer place
for one year and then to town in the early
'40's. They bought the old Clevenger house.
Mr. Wright worked on the Hi-way depart-
ment for several years. Jennie had the first
nursing home in Mullen. She kept several old
people and boarded school boys. She had the
nursing home for around 10 years. It wasn't
long till they put in the trailer court. The
court had lots for 5 trailers. Now they have
7 lots for trailers and places for motor homes
and campers with plenty of shade.

They were both very active in the Assembly
of God church. Jennie was a teacher and
played the piano for the services for years.
Failing health finally took over. Jube spent
sometime in the Jennie Manner Home in
Broken Bow, NE and passed on July 10, 1975.
He is buried in Cedar View Cemetery. Jennie
is still running the "Wright Trailer Court"
and living in the same house they moved into
when moving to Mullen. She still attends
church when able and does lots of crocheting
and knitting.