FRANK JONES and
ELIZABETH WILMOT (WORTH) JONES

Page 2 of 7

Lizzie lived through two nation-wide economic depressions. The first depression began in 1893 and was brought on by many factors including the failure of the wheat crop in 1890 and a run on gold in the US Treasury by European investors. This and other things caused the general public to withdraw their money from the banks. In Nebraska, a long-term drought meant crop failure and this caused farm prices to fall. Many farmers sold out or gave up their property and left the state. According to Charles H. Morrill, for whom Morrill County was named, the crops in Nebraska in 1893 were almost completely destroyed by the lack of rain and hot winds. This scene repeated itself from 1894 through 1897. By 1898 things began to turn around. A quote from the website, "Those who managed to hold on during the hard times were rewarded by returning prosperity in the early years of the twentieth century[1]."

Lizzie remembered the depression and drought of the 1890s[2]:

"They (Dad and the boys) farmed quite a little bit. They raised some corn. They had something called spelt at one time. It was something like oats. They had a field just north of the house there. It was just up and nice and green and come a sand storm. You wouldn't have ever known there was any grain there. It was just buried. Seems to me like they put some corn in there then, course it would be late, and used it for fodder. I don't know that we had very many cattle. Didn't anybody have big herds. Every now and then there would be a big ranch throughout the country.

"I remember one time there was very little milk in the house. Somebody shipped in stuff by the barrel to Taylor to pass it around to people who needed it. Well, Dick Scarlett, you've probably heard of him. Anyway he went with dad and they went down there to get some aid. Get some of this stuff. Well they got their heads together and thought, well he had some cattle, some cows and not much to feed them and they didn't know whether he'd be eligible cause he had only 2, 3 head of cows. (There was apparently also food  being given away.) This old Dick, he was with dad, and dad said they had some kind of counter there and Dick jumped clear over that counter and got that fella by the neck and shook him and said, "You'll just get some food rounded up here and send up there to those kids, if you know when you're well off." And I guess he did.

"Anyway that was turning of the tide. They had decided to make that irrigation ditch and stuff like that. And while dad was down there, this man said, I don't remember who he was, but he was a well known character, said I'm coming up to your house and board with you while we start this project. But dad said he was coming to a poor place because he didn't have much room in the house. And the guy said don't worry about that. And he brought a load of shelled corn. From then on, why we had plenty. That's the only time we really got clear down to nothing."

The Newton Irrigation District was formed and the Newton canal was constructed north of the North Loup river. It diverted water from the river through a ditch dug in fields in the river valley. The irrigation ditch brought water for gardens and crops that helped feed families and the animals they cared for until other forms of irrigation were invented. It provided water for the gardens that fed the Worth family and helped them stay on the ranch instead of giving up and moving on.

This story Lizzie told probably happened in about 1900-1903 when Dewey was just a little guy. Walter was 13 years older than Dewey.

Lizzie's childhood memories:

"We had that irrigation ditch through. We had to watch Dewey didn't fall in the ditch, which was quite a responsibility for a kid. Anyway one day Walter didn't have much to do and mother said he could take care of Dewey and she could rest. So he got busy doing something else and forgot him and he happened to think about him and when he seen him he was just starting to wade into the ditch. I guess Walter was pretty well scared. He came to the house crying, come so near to letting Dewey drown.

"They used to cut corn and after they cut it they'd bring it in by wagon. I don't know what they fed it to, probably the hogs or something, anyway, we had to cut that corn. They took Dewey with them. I didn't have to put Dewey to bed that night but I just happened to think about him. Last they seen him he had laid out under the seat in that wagon, so they rushed over there and there he was, asleep under the seat. Walter rescued him. He probably would have slept in the wagon all night!"

Lizzie's memories of her parents, George & Flora Worth[3]:

"We always went to Sunday School. Everybody used to go to Sunday School. We'd have church when a minister came out there, every few weeks I think. He came out and stayed and that's about all the church we got. We took turns in the neighborhood a having them. They had Sunday school in the our school house, West End, when it was down at that corner. I'm pretty sure we had Sunday school there. Somebody, can't think of her name, but anyway she could sing. She liked to do that. Where ever she settled, she soon had a Sunday school started. Families would get together for picnics. We'd sit on the ground of course. Didn't have any picnic tables.

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[1] Charles H. Morrill. The Morrills and Remininscenses, 1918, (https://history.nebraska.gov/publications/drought-and-depression-1890s-nebraska : accessed 10 October 2017), Nebraska State Historical Society.

[2] Jones, Elizabeth Wilmot (Worth), Sargent Nebraska. Audio recording (cassette tape) of Lizzie Jones interviewed by Mary (Russell) Hollowell, 1979. Privately held by Mary (Russell) Hollowell, Grand Island, Nebraska, 2017.

[3] Taped interview, Elizabeth Wilmot (Worth) Jones, 1979.