Dorothy Carter Jones reminisces about parents' life in Fairfax
Dear Forum Staff,
I have been enjoying the "Remember When" articles in the Forum. Could the two blacksmith shops have been McMahon's and Stoner's? My grandfather, E.R. McMahon had a blacksmith shop when he first came to Fairfax, and I remember Stoner's Black­smith Shop. I only remember grandfather McMahon in the hardware and implement business.
I am submitting an article relating stories about my parents (John and Madge Carter) when they were growing up in the early 1900's, if you think it reflects the "Remember When" theme.
Sincerely Dorothy E. Jones, Placerville, CA

Reminiscing on the early 1900's
"As a child growing up on the farm east of Fairfax with my five siblings. I remember many of the stories our parents (John and Madge Carter) shared with us about their experiences in the early 1900's.
Dad was the eldest son of the George L. Carters. When he was 16, his parents were remodeling their farm home, so he hauled lumber from town to the farm with a team of horses and wagon, a distance of approximately 10 miles. After the home was completed, Grandpa Carter took dad and his older sister to the World's Fair in St. Louis, via train.
After graduation from Mt. Salem Elementary School, dad attended Fairfax High School (pre-Daleview days), while boarding with his recently widowed grandmother Carter. One Halloween night dad and some of his high school friends escorted a cow into the superintendent's office and left her there to greet the superintendent the next morning. I'm not sure if the culprits were reprimanded or not. Maybe the superintendent stretched his sense of humor on that occasion.
Although Dad left high school upon completion of his junior year to assist in planting and harvesting the crops on his parent's farm, he was always proficient in the three R's. After a few years he purchased a farm from his uncle Tommy Walkup, where our family was raised.
When dad was batching, he sometimes extended hospitality to a tramp, sharing a meal and letting the transient sleep on a rug near the heating stove. Also it was quite common to find a tramp asleep in the hayloft in those days.
Saturday night was the traditional time to go to town with a team and buggy. Dad enjoyed driving a fast team of horses and, had on occasion, challenged other fellows to a buggy race. When the Nodaway River was overflowing on one particular Saturday night, dad drove his team, pulling the buggy across the river to get to Skidmore. That was persistence!
Our mother, Madge McMahon, grew up in Fairfax, as the eldest of six children, whose parents were Edward and Zella McMahon. After finishing high school, she attended the Conservatory of
Music in Maryville, majoring in classical piano. When she graduated from the conservatory, she taught piano to children in Fairfax and the surrounding area. She served as pianist for the Fairfax Methodist Church and was employed by Earl Hackett as pianist for the silent movies at the local theater.
A Union Revival Service was being held in the Methodist Church, with the combined choirs from the local churches participating, and mother serving as pianist. She and her brother, Fred, had visited relatives in the country on one particular day, and were returning to town when they had a flat tire. Who should come along in his Model T but John Carter!
He stopped and offered his assistance. Uncle Fred said Madge was due that evening to play for the revival at the church and it would be helpful if he (John) could take her on to town. This was the beginning of our parents' romance. They were married the next February.
Because Uncle Fred had contracted infantile paralysis when John and Madge were planning to be married, they chose not to have a church wedding. So on February 26, 1919, John drove his team and buggy to Skidmore and boarded the train to St. Joseph. By pre-arrangement Madge boarded the train in Fairfax to go to St. Joseph and meet John. They were married by a Justice of the Peace in the lobby of the Roubidoux Hotel. The next day they shopped for furniture, then boarded the train for Skidmore, where the team and buggy were waiting for them in the livery stable. It was a cold trip to Grandpa Carter's farm, where grandpa and Grandma were awaiting their arrival. Our mother told us her mother-in-law rubbed the circulation back into her hands as they were numb with cold!
The next day, February 28, our parents (Mr. and Mrs. John Carter) drove the team and buggy the short distance to dad's farm where they began their 51 years of marriage, engaging in diversified farming and raising six children."
Respectfully submitted, Dorothy Carter Jones