APPENDIX D. 100th Birthday to be Celebrated

APPENDIX D

The following newspaper article is typical of the many that were written in local and regional newspapers during the last ten years of Grandma Carter's life.

100th Birthday to be Celebrated

Mrs. T. Carter of Wells, North Benton County Talks of Olden Days

Recalls Plains Trip

Celebration Sunday at Home, But Birthday is Not Until Tuesday

by Ianthe Smith

One of the most interesting women in the Willamette valley is Mrs. Tolbert Carter, who will celebrate her 100th birthday at her country home in Benton county near Wells Sunday with a family reunion and dinner featuring the early part of the day.

In the afternoon, from 2 until 4 o'clock, open house us to held. Many friends plan to call upon Mrs. Carter and extend greetings of the day.

Mrs. Carter's birthday is not until next Tuesday, but she chose Sunday as the day to celebrate when her five children, her 27 grandchildren, 29 great grandchildren and her three great great grandchildren will cluster about her hearthside in honor of the occasion.

Is Native of Missouri

Mrs. Carter, sitting in her low rocking chair before her fire in the large fireplace avers that life has been kind to her and full of many interesting experiences.

Interesting are the tales she weaves as she sits and rocks and reminiscences as she seems to draw color and fire for her stories from the glowing embers of her fireplace.

Mrs. Carter, who says she does not feel her age, is a native of Missouri, having been born in Ray county, December 18, 1834.

In 1845, Mrs. Carter's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leander Belieu, and seven children started the long trek across the plains to what was known then as the Oregon country. The Belieus joined a wagon train, with most of the wagons being drawn by oxen.

The journey lasted six months. They started in May and in October came into Oregon. They first located near Dallas in Polk county.

Education Contrasted

Privations, hardships and stress of the trip across the plains were intermingled with pleasant events and exciting experiences, Mrs. Carter related.

In speaking of the educational system now enjoyed by children, Mrs. Carter contrasted this with schools of the years when she was struggling with learning to read. It was impossible in the trip across the continent to load many luxuries into the "prairie schooner" and not many books were brought "west't. What education she could obtain was under hardship. Law books, dimly and poorly printed classics were her primers. "My education from books doesn't amount to much," Mrs. Carter said, "but I've learned a lot from life."

Outlives Three Houses

Mrs. Carter was married to Mr. Carter in 1850 in Polk county and two years later they moved to Benton county, where they located on a farm near Palestine hill. Mr. Carter was prominent in early Oregon politics and server as a member of the state senate for two terms, having been first elected in 1878. Mr. Carter died in 1899.

Since her husband's death, Mrs. Carter has continued to live on their farm. She has outlived three houses, the present home having been built a good many years ago, in 1880.

For 80 years Mrs. Carter has carried water into house, for household purposes, from a spring situated 50 feet from her back porch in a fence corner.

Shops Here

She does her own housework and prepares her own meals. Her home is a veritable treasure house of antique furniture and dishes.

Mrs. Carter takes pride in her house and boasts that until three weeks ago she did her own laundering. Her son, Perry, and his wife, who live in a house adjacent to hers, look after the wood and heavy chores about the outside.

While Mrs. Carter enjoys riding in automobiles she says she had no desire to take an airplane ride. She prefers to do her traveling near the ground, she said. She makes frequent trips to Corvallis to do her shopping.

Mrs. Carter slyle winks at her interviewer when asked about bobbed hair, short skirts and styles in vogue now among women as compared with the modes of her younger days.

She says she has not had a strong inclination to bob her hair nor shorten her

skirts, for if she did people would think she had reverted surely to her second childhood.

Mrs. Carter has five living children

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