Tuesday, April 19, 2011

William John Glade: A Family Biography by Florence Glade Wells, Part 2

When the LDS Hospital was built on 8th Avenue and “C” Street, in 1908, they had sewer, gas, electric and water lines put in. So the residents on the upper avenues could take advantage of that. But for Father, to take advantage of that, would have to be put on hold. Their first child was born January 236, 1894. They named him William Lester Glade. When Lester was a year and a half old, Father was called on a mission to the Southern States. Although Mother was pregnant, they accepted the call. They rented their home to Father’s brother, James and his family. They paid $15.00 to $20.00 a month rent which went to the Building Society for house payments. Mother and Lester went to live with Grandmother Hamilton and Mary. They were well taken care of and their second child was born, a daughter named Mary Hamilton Glade, after grandmother.

Father served a two year mission successfully in the States of Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. He traveled without purse or script.

When father arrived home he remodeled the home. He added two rooms onto the back and put in a bathroom. This brought in water, sewer and lights.

A screen shot of the Google Map of the home that is probably 327 C Street, after comparing the images with the information on Zillow. The William Glade home is to the left, and the James Glade home is to the right. If any family member has additional information or corrections, please leave a comment.

William was always a hard worker, and was not afraid to tackle much of the remodeling himself. In order to supplement his income and provide additional means for his growing family, he built a duplex at the rear of his home. This building still stands and has provided a home for many of his children and grandchildren when they were first married. Stephen and I took advantage of that and our first four children were born while living there. He charged us $35.00 a month rent.
After his mother died, he remodeled that home, which was two doors north of our home. He made it into four three-room apartments. To take care of our growing family he was always remodeling our home. He added three bedrooms upstairs and two sleeping porches. He modernized our home and put in central heating.

In the year 1927, Father again remodeled our home at the cost of $2400.00. He completely changed the front of the house with two large bay windows, and a front porch. The way it looks today. We had a beautiful dining room and front room. The windows were beautiful with sheer curtains and red drapes. Lovely rugs were on the hardwood floors. We were always proud of our home, and felt comfortable bringing in our friends.

On July 1, 1930, father retired from ZCMI, having worked there for thirty two years. The presented him with a gold signet ring.

After retirement he was always working on the upkeep of his apartments. As his sons were growing up, they were taught how to help him with the building and maintenance. He taught himself how to make furniture. I was the one he chose to help him do paper hanging and painting.

In their home at 327 C Street, eleven children were born. Mary was the only one born at Grandmothers. Of the twelve children, I was number nine. I will list their names so you will know your aunts and uncles. Lester, Mary, Beulah, Harvey, Virginia, Elizabeth (Bette), Melissa, James, Florence, Edwin, Benjamin, and Hazel. I will not write up their histories because they are written in two other volumes written by Mary Walton and Melissa Behunin.

Our family was a typical LDS family. We were a large family with limited income. Each child, as they were old enough, would go to work and give Mother some money out of our paycheck for her household expenses. She was very thrifty and if anyone of us would run out of money and needed a loan, she had some hidden cash and would always help us out.

To be continued...

Part 3

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