Jesse Reed Welker

Jesse Reed Welker: This story is taken from various family sources, including the life sketch of Jesse R. Welker given at his funeral by a granddaughter, Leslie Oakey Bedke. The history you are reading was compiled and summarized by Sue Welker with much help from Dean.

Jesse Reed Welker was born July 1, 1915. He was the fourth child of twelve born to Samuel and Sophronia Ricks Welker. His first home was a one room frame house located on Sophronia’s father’s farm ½ mile east of the Sugar City, Idaho, Sugar Factory. Before long, the family built and moved to a two room house on a five-acre plot in the Salem area. The family raised a large garden while living here. Jesse’s dad would deliver vegetables to the people in Rexburg twice a week. Sometimes Jesse and his older sister Hazel would go with their dad in a one horse buggy and help deliver the vegetables door to door.

In the fall of 1922, Jesse’s parents bought a farm at Moody Creek, south and east of Sugar City. Here are some of Jesse’s memories of that time in his life. “I was about six or seven years old when we moved from Salem to our Moody Creek farm. Dad used to shear sheep each spring. After we moved to Moody, he set up a shearing plant on the farm and also started a small flock of his own. I used to like shearing time to come because I could be out around the men and play on the big wool sacks.

“Dad also ran threshing machines for different people each fall until after Christmas. Finally Dad purchased a very large steam engine and thresher of his own. It was a terrific experience for me to sit on the big engine and play engineer or go with the horse drawn water wagon to get water for the steam engine. “I remember Dad always had horses around that we could ride. It was always one of my greatest joys. However, he always had a job for us. I liked herding the sheep and cows on the roadside or upon the edge of the foothills. I know I have often got a boot in the pants for not doing the job as well as I should. “I think I was about fifteen when we lost the Moody Creek farm and moved to the Frank Davis farm in Sugar City.”

Jesse attended elementary school in Sugar City. He and his brothers helped support the family doing odd jobs around the area. One of Jesse’s jobs was to drive the children to and from school in a sleigh or wagon depending on the weather. He was dismissed from school fifteen minutes early to harness the horses.

The fall that he was to begin high school, Jesse sold a pig to raise money for his expenses. In October school was dismissed for the annual potato harvest. When Jesse returned to school after working in the harvest, he found that his books had been stolen. He had no money with which to replace them, so he decided to quit school and go to work.

Soon after this the family moved to Burton (near Rexburg.) It was at the Burton church that he met young Mary Kauer, who became his sweetheart and then his bride. Jesse and Mary were married September 11, 1934, in the Logan Temple.

The first years of their married life were years of struggle. Jesse did farm work for various farmers in the area. In the fall of 1935 there were no jobs to be found. Jesse and Mary sold their pigs which had been planned for their winter’s meat, sold the wood they had planned for firewood, and used the money for wood to build a trailer house. In December they were ready to go to California to look for work. They had a four month old baby (Carol,) a Model A Ford, the trailer house that Jesse had built, and $17.22.

They went to Imperial Valley, California and Jesse found work picking oranges, digging around fruit trees, hauling hay, etc. They parked their trailer in the yard of Clyde and Mary Norris. Mary remembered that these were “wonderful people.” They stayed in California for four months and moved back to Rexburg in April of 1936.

Jesse did farm work for various people during the next several years. He was a hard worker and his dependability made him much in demand as a laborer. In 1941 Jesse went to work at a small grain elevator in Rexburg, owned by Lorenzo Jensen. He was soon managing the small business. In May of 1945 the grain elevator was sold to Bert Stanger of Idaho Falls, who wanted Jesse to stay on and manage it. Jesse agreed, provided he could purchase one-fourth of the business. The agreement was made, and Jesse was given the privilege of naming the new business. He chose the name Farmers Feed & Supply Company.

Through the years Jesse built up the business and gradually acquired more ownership. In 1956 he became owner of half the business, and in 1966 he bought the remaining equity from Mr. Stanger and became full owner of the company, which was now a thriving business.

Dean remembers the work and sacrifice of his dad to make the business successful. “I remember the years when Dad worked at the warehouse and rode an old bicycle to work. He took his lunch, usually a dill pickle and a crust of bread, in a metal lunch box. I worried that he would drop his lunch while riding the bike. I remember how farmers would often call him on holidays and Sundays because they had run out of feed for their animals. Dad would always drop everything and go to help the customer. He put in long hours and worked hard.”

The Farmers Feed & Supply Company featured Purina products. The Purina Company published a magazine entitled The Checkergraph which had a feature article about Jesse Welker in a 1956 issue. The article concluded with this very deserved tribute to Jesse: “Through the years Jesse added services to meet the needs of livestock men in his area. Step by step, grinding and mixing facilities were added--then steam rolling--and in 1954 pelleting and molasses facilities. Jesse Welker’s reputation for honesty and fair dealing is known far and wide; through his faithful application of basic Purina principles of doing business.”

While the business was growing, so was the family! Nine children were born to Jesse and Mary. Their names and dates of birth are: Carol Jean, August 6, 1935; John Reed, December 1, 1936; Ralph Dean, June 2, 1938; Marie, November 12, 1939; (Marie only lived one and one half hours) Mary Lee, January 21, 1941; a stillborn son, May 16, 1943; Jessie Rae, July 27, 1946; Judy Ann, February 2, 1949, and Gwen Lyn, July 6, 1951.

As the family increased in number, so did the need for more room at home. When Jesse and Mary were first married, they rented two rooms from “Uncle” Joe Taylor and then from Aunt Polly. The following are the first family homes that Dean remembers or remembers hearing about.

“I was born on June 2, 1938, into what may be called a log cabin in our present day, but at that time it was about the average kind of a house for that particular area. The small house we lived in was a two-bedroom log house. In keeping with the trend at that time it was painted white. It was located at about 350 West 1st South. We moved when I was about two years old.

“Our next home was on South 4th West . It was across the road from Grandma and Grandpa Welker’s on a canal. “The family moved to 3rd West and 4th South next door to Al Holmes, a blacksmith. We lived here when Mary Lee was born in 1941. This house was slightly bigger than our others had been. It was also made of square-cut logs piled and nailed on top of each other. The inside of the house was then plastered and finally painted. This home had three rooms--a bedroom, a front room (where Reed and I slept) and a kitchen-dining room. The bathroom facilities were out in back, the same as had been the case in all the homes so far.”

The move to the next house was very exciting. Jesse and Mary were able to buy this house, instead of renting. The home on 5th West was purchased from Mary’s Uncle Emil Kauer. Dean was about six years old when the family moved to this home. He wrote about his remembrances: “We bought this house for a good price and moved up from a log house to a brick one. This was really a house. Never before had we had so much room. There were two regular bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen-dining room and a cold room where we kept milk. (This was later converted to an indoor bathroom.) We also had a partial basement. This was entirely new because we had always had an earth cellar before, where we kept our canned fruits and vegetables. The basement area in our new brick home was too much to forget. My brother Reed and I were not content in leaving that big space down there without using it for more than a fruit room, so we put up a partition and called the newly formed second half of the basement ‘our room.’”

Five acres of land came with this wonderful house and the family started keeping animals--a cow, pigs, chickens, and rabbits. There was also a big garden spot. In the fall 1947, Jesse arranged with the city of Rexburg to hook onto the city water. (The house was on the boundary line for the city limits.) The city officials told Jesse he could hook onto the water, but he would have to dig his own trench. So dig he did. With a pick and shovel, working evenings after his day’s work, Jesse dug the six feet deep trench to put in the water line. The trench was a block long. The water was hooked up in the spring. How wonderful it was for the family to have an indoor bathroom! Mary wrote about it in her life story: “It sure seemed good, I didn’t have to carry all that water to wash, bath, clean and such.”

A still bigger home was in the future. Jesse and Mary sold the first red brick home along with 2 ½ acres of land and built another red brick home on the remaining 2 ½ acres. They moved into this home at 455 South 5th West on Dean’s 12th birthday, June 2, 1950. Mary described it this way. “We built a new home on 5th West, six rooms and a bath on the main floor and one bedroom and bath in the basement. It also had a big play room, laundry room, furnace room, and storage room in the basement. We lived in this home for about twenty years.” Many memorable family gatherings were held in this beautiful home. Jesse and Mary also hosted Farmers Feed and Supply Company get togethers here.

In 1970 Jesse and Mary had their “dream home” built. This beautiful white brick home at 690 West Main Street was located next to the Rexburg Golf Course. It was roomy and had an elegant, but homey feel. A few years after Jesse retired in 1975, they bought a second lovely home in Boulder City, Nevada, where they spent the winter months. They had gone from renting two rooms to owning two luxurious homes--the reward of hard work and careful planning.

Jess, as he was known in the business world, was very active in community and civic work during his years as a businessman in Rexburg. He was a member of the Rexburg Lions Club and served as president of that organization. He was also Chamber of Commerce director, Fair Board chairman, and Whoopee Days chairman. (Whoopee Days were celebrated in Rexburg for the Fourth of July.)

In 1952, the year that Jess was in charge of the Whoopee Days celebration, the scheduled carnival cancelled its appearance just ten days before the “Fourth.” Jess did not want the children to be disappointed, so he looked around for an alternative activity. He learned of a carousel for sale in the Ogden, Utah area. Dean tells the story: “I remember Dad and Mother going to look at a carousel that was for sale in the Ogden area. They returned home, and with help from others, solicited donations from local businesses to purchase the carousel. ( The asking price of $5,500 was raised in just twenty-four hours.) Then Dad organized trucks, mostly his own, to haul the carousel to Rexburg. I remember unpacking the wooden horses from the sawdust used to pack and protect them. The carousel was put back together and ready to run for the Whoopee Days activity.”

The carousel was damaged in the Teton Dam flood in June of 1976. It was further damaged by vandals and was out of commission for several years. Concerned citizens recognized the value of this historic carousel and decided to restore it as part of Idaho’s Centennial celebration. The grand opening of restored carousel was held in July of 1990. Jesse and Mary Welker and a few other “VIPs” were honored at this time and given first ride on the merry-go-round! The carousel stands today on the southwest corner of Porter Park in Rexburg, Idaho. It is an historic asset to the entire state of Idaho and a great delight to the children, including some of Jesse’s own descendants.

Jess Welker was a charter member of the Rexburg Boat Club. Again Dean tells the story: “ I remember Dad and a group of friends building boats. It was about that time that a group got together and organized the Rexburg Boat Club. They first rented some property by Island Park Reservoir, but they eventually bought part of what was called ‘I. P. Bill’s Island.’ It became Dad’s task along with others to tow the docks down the lake and reset them on the island. Dad, Reed, and I made trips on several days dragging the docks. Dad also went to California in the truck to bring back Styrofoam supports to go under the docks.”

Jess was one of the early group who worked to get a golf course in Rexburg. He, Reed, and Dean along with another man set the stakes for the fairways and greens on the new course. He loved to play golf on the Rexburg Golf Course and built his dream home next to it.

Jesse was a very generous person. He helped support grandsons and some nephews on church missions. Back in the days when wards had to raise part of the money for new church buildings, Jesse could be counted on for substantial donations. He also contributed heavily toward the purchase of a church welfare farm on the Rexburg bench.

Jesse took care of his own parents in their old age, making sure their needs were met. It was important to Jesse that he keep in touch with his own brothers and sisters. He often instigated (and financed as necessary) family reunions for them. He once purchased a little trailer house for his sister LaRue so that she could pursue her fishing/camping interests. No doubt many other unknown kind deeds were done. When Jesse knew that his own days were “numbered,” he had a great desire to go visit his brother Keith in California one last time. To the family’s amazement, he bought another motor home (having sold his previous one) and in a weak, but determined state drove the motor home to California and back. Mary went with him, but she had lost her sight at this time, and couldn’t even be a backseat driver!

Jesse loved to travel. He spent many hours on the road driving the truck to pick up or deliver grain and hay. After retiring he made many trips on his motorcyle up into Canada and down the Baja Peninsula into Mexico. He and Mary often traveled in their motor home. Before they bought the home in Boulder City, they spent a few winters in Quartzite, Arizona, living in their motor home.

On one particular trip in the motor home with Orville (Jesse’s brother) and Afton, they drove to Guatemala and left the motor home locked up at the airport while they flew to Brazil. Several days later they learned there had been an earthquake in Guatemala, so Jesse flew back to get the motor home. It was gone--confiscated by the Gautemalan government and used as housing. The Guatemalan authorities would not release the motor home and kept insisting they had the right to keep it. Jesse asked to be paid for it. At that point he was loaded into car and taken for a long drive. He wondered if he would ever get out of the country alive. He was taken to the motor home and told to leave the country immediately, which he did with a great deal of relief

Jesse and Mary’s travels took them around the world to Spain, Switzerland, France, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Argentina. Jesse was pleased to be able to return to Hong Kong with his good friend Tom So. Tommy had been born in China and still had family there. He especially wanted to see his mother and sister before they died. Jesse went with him to Hong Kong, not knowing if they would be able to get into China as tourists were not being allowed in at this time. To their delight, they were allowed to enter China and Tommy had his reunion.

Jesse liked going to California to watch major league baseball games. This was particularly enjoyable to him when he could see a game in which his grandnephew Jeff Kent was playing. Jeff is the grandson of Keith (Jesse’s brother) and Donna Welker. He played second base for various major league teams and Jesse loved watching him play!

Jesse was extremely talented at woodworking and in his retirement years enjoyed this hobby very much. Many family members have examples of his beautiful work in their homes. He made lamps, bowls, tables, frames for clocks, bed headboards, little chairs, etc. Probably everyone’s favorite is Grandpa’s famous rocking horse!

The new home on West Main was purposely designed with an oversize garage to have room for a shop. Jesse spent many hours out in that shop, wearing his work apron, surrounded by sawdust. In the winter months the wood working tools were loaded and taken to the home in Boulder City, where he had a shop out behind the house.

Jesse and Mary enjoyed sixty years of marriage and were devoted to each other. Jesse treated his wife like a queen, always making sure her needs were met. Mary saw this trait in him early. In her own autobiography she wrote, “We met in the old Burton church. He was blonde with blue eyes. That was enough to make me care. Besides that he was very good to me when I needed help. He was the only person that came to see me after Dad died. I would see other people at church and such, but Jesse came once a week. In the summer he worked at Rigby. Saturday night he would walk to Rexburg so we could go to church on Sunday.”

Dean says this about his parents’ relationship: “My parents always got along well. I don’t remember my father ever saying a cross word to Mother and the same thing may be said for her.”

A story about Jesse’s devotion to Mary was read by Leslie at his funeral. “When Grandma was Relief Socity president back in the days when they still had ward bazaars, she and the ladies had spent many hours making this special quilt to sell at the auction. Grandpa had to leave early as he had a Purina meeting. Grandma remembers her secretary beginning the quilt auction with bids of $2 and then $5 and so on. Finally the secretary informed the bidders that if they didn’t up their bids they weren’t going to get this quilt because they’d all been outbid by someone who had offered $100 for it. No one could top the bid; that was a lot of money in those days. Grandma was surprised when her secretary handed her the quilt and told her to take it home Grandpa had bought the quilt for her before leaving for his meeting.” Also read at the funeral was this tribute to Jesse from his daughters. “Our real memories are centered on our last month’s experiences in our parents’ home and sharing the hard times with our dad. We were particularly impressed with his ability to suffer pain and go on uncomplainingly. His independence and his stubborness kept him going and trying to help Mother. He was concerned more with her and how she would be affected than by his own discomfort. When he finally fell and had to go to bed, he felt somehow he was letting her down.”

Jesse and Mary always were supportive of family. They attended graduations, baby blessings, baptisms, weddings, mission farewells and reports, and any other family event even if great travel distances were involved. They loved having family visit and many wonderful holidays were shared in their home. Jesse took great pride in his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Shortly before his death he figured out that his descendants and their spouses now numbered over one hundred people. He found great joy in that knowledge.

Jesse was a devoted husband, a dedicated family man, and a successful and respected businessman. He was a leader in the community and accomplished things that still stand today. After a valiant struggle with cancer, he passed away quietly in his home on December 16, 1994. He was seventy-nine years old.

In his own life story written in 1962, Dean paid this tribute to his dad. It is a sentiment that would be agreed on by all of the family: “My final goal is that of being as good a man as my father is. I think there is no better man in the world than he has been to his family and other people.”