Bio, Carter - Sam & Betty, Eagle County, Colorado Contributed by JJean Winthers October 10, 1999 Sam and Betty CARTER From the Vail Daily's Locals Corner - 19 July 1999 By Jean Winthers (used with permission) Betty Terry and Sam Carter met at a dance in Edwards that Betty attended with her older sister, Wanda, and Wanda's boyfriend, Russell Carter, Sam's older brother. Wanda married Russell, and when she was 14, Betty married Sam. Betty and Sam Carter have been married for 47 years, and still live on the site of the original homestead in a scenic, peaceful little draw off Squaw Creek which a neighbor named Carterville, because "Carters have always lived there." Joe and Cora Carter, Sam's parents, took up the homestead in Squaw Creek Valley in 1904, but lived in Leadville while they were "proving up" on the claim. "My Dad was one of the first here," Sam said. "He came down here with horses and a wagon until the house was built." In the 1920s the Carters moved to Squaw Creek permanently and built a two-story white clapboard house. That house has since been torn down, but nearby stands the cabin that Betty and Sam built in 1954. "We built our own house with logs we cut on the mountain and hauled to Carl Eaton's sawmill, which was just above here," Sam said. The pretty log home they built from scratch stands on two acres of the original Carter homestead, with a splendid view of what was once Emma Fenno's ranch and is now the Cordillera mountain golf course. Wanda and Russell also built a cabin on the two acres adjoining Betty and Sam's home site, where Wanda, now a widow, still lives. The four acres are all that remain of the original Carter homestead, now surrounded on all sides by Cordillera property. Betty's grandparents, John and Melinda Terry, came from Wisconsin and settled in Lake Creek about 1930 when her father, Ute, was 12 years old, above what much later settlers called Pilgrim Downs. Ute grew up to marry Nina Priest, whose parents, George and Bessie, lived near Edwards. Grandmother Melinda died the year Betty was born, but Grandma Nina Priest was always on hand to nurse the seven Terry children (three girls and four boys) when they were ill. "I had pneumonia one time and she put a poultice on my chest," Betty recalled. "It smelled awful. I think it was onions and mustard, but it cured the pneumonia. We never went to the doctor. I think the nearest one was in Minturn in those days. "Grandma Nina delivered all of us children. Wanda was born in a tent, and was so small, at four-and-a-half pounds, that Grandma put her in a lettuce crate and put it in the warming oven of the stove." Betty's grandfather, John Terry, was a colorful character whom Betty remembers well, for he lived with them on the homestead after his wife's death. "Both Grandmother and Granddad were part Cherokee," Betty said, "He liked the Indian ways and always slept in a tent, even in the coldest weather. He used to say he played with Billy the Kidd, and maybe he did. "Granddad taught all of us girls how to dance, too, and he always wore a cowboy hat, cuff links and a string tie. But he didn't like getting white hair. Once we came home from town, and his hair was coal black. He had boiled up sagebrush and dyed his hair with it." Sam Carter was one of eight brothers and sisters (three girls and five boys). His mother, Cora, was the daughter of Emma Fenno, who owned the Fenno ranch in the Squaw Creek valley, west and across the creek from the Carters. Emma Fenno, who was a widow, bought the Swenginer ranch at Squaw Creek in 1909, and through the years her seven children married into other early families in Squaw Creek, including the Carter, Case and Beardon families. Sam, born in 1923 in Leadville, and his brothers and sisters all attended the Squaw Creek School, which still stands about a half-mile below the Carter homestead. When Betty's family moved to Squaw creek when she was in the fifth grade, she also went to school there, although by that time Sam was long out of school and working on the farm. The Squaw Creek School closed around 1948. Betty recalled her early school days in Edwards, and the long walk to and from school. "My brothers drove a buggy, and we girls were supposed to ride with them," she said. "But as soon a we got out of sight of the house, the boys kicked the girls out and made us walk the rest of the way. We had to walk home too. I also spent two years living with my Aunt Leona (Terry) Brett, who lived right across from the school." The dances held at Edwards and the Brush Creek schoolhouse, as well as other community centers in the valley, were big events in the lives of the early settlers, and one of the few forms of entertainment. Betty recalls how her mother, who loved to dance, would walk long distances to attend a dance. "We would walk to the Brush Creek schoolhouse over the mountain," she said. "One time mother had new shoes and by the time we got to the dance, she had such bad blisters she couldn't dance." The Carters had several springs on their homestead, and hauled water from the creek for home use. They had to rely on the weather to supply moisture for their crops of lettuce, potatoes, alfalfa and grain. It wasn't until 1960 that Russell and Sam dug a 20-foot well, by hand, and piped water into their homes. Produce was delivered to the train stop at Wilmore, where Interstate 70 now cuts through the lake. The Carter family lost their father, Joe, when he was killed in 1943 near the homestead. "He was riding a horse to water with a little grandson on with him," Sam said. "He leaned over to put the boy off and the horse spooked and he was thrown from the horse and kicked to death. We think maybe a bear scared the horse, and if he hadn't tried to put the boy down he would have been all right." Bears still visit the homestead, just recently pulling down a hummingbird feeder. Sam and Betty raised three daughters, two by Sam's first marriage. Their daughter Leora, lives in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. This Fourth-of-July, which also happens to be Betty's birthday, over thirty relatives gathered to celebrate, including sisters, brothers, daughters, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. "We've had some great times here," Betty said with a laugh, recalling how the children and grandchildren loved to sled down the slope opposite the house during the winter. Now the hill belongs to Cordillera and sledding is no longer allowed. "One time they decided that hill wasn't exciting enough, and took the bobsled down the driveway to the road. They went so fast that several of the little kids were thrown right up into the tree branches on the curves and the driver (who later became a son-in-law) ended up down by the creek. It was a miracle that the only injury was cut kneecap," Betty said. Four Carter brothers served in World War II. Now Sam, a sister and a brother, who live elsewhere in Colorado are the only ones of the original Carter bunch. Betty has two brothers and three sisters who all live in Colorado except for one Arizonan. The Carters are now retired, but keep busy with crafts and volunteering at the Eagle Senior Center. Betty like to do Tri-Chen painting, an art form where the drawing comes already outlined on the board, but the details need to be painted in. She has become so skilled that she won a first prize in one show. Sam makes and sells wooden whirly-gigs which Betty paints. Some of his creations include children on a swing, a brightly colored cardinal and cartoon and animal characters. Squaw Creek has changed through the years with the rest of the valley, but Sam and Betty Carter remain content for the most part with what is left of their life-long home in Carterville. "It ain't like it used to be. It's hard not being able to hunt and fish on our own land like we always did. I don't like the traffic, but I'm even getting used to the roundabouts," Sam said philosophically. Betty added, "If we're going to live here, will have to expect to put up with it. I can't imagine living anywhere else." =================================================== Contributed for use by the USGenWeb Archive Project (http://www.usgenweb.org) and by the COGenWeb Archive Project USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. 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