Myrtle Alice Sumpter-Caron

She was raised Cherryville, Missouri and completed grade school there. At age 14, she became a substitute teacher at a school on Little Indian Creek, Washington County, Missouri. After she married they lived on old Horseman farm between Sligo and Dillard and Florence Self place in Cherryville. They also lived on Yankee Branch on old Bill Brakefield farm which, at one time, had been owned by Myrtle's Great Aunt and Uncle, Jim & Mindy Short. She preferred country life to living anywhere else. Since one of her daughters, Martha Gertrude, had tuberculosis, the country air and sunshine were necessary to her health. Myrtle was a very sufficient woman and in order to help the family, she raised 2 or 3 vegetable gardens each year. She canned fruits and vegetables and also dried fruits. She and the children often picked blackberries, huckleberries, dewberries and wild strawberries. From these Myrtle made cobblers, jellies and jams. She loved flowers and grew everything from anteriums(bleeding hearts) to zinnias. She also had hanging baskets in and around the house. She was an avid reader and enjoyed reading pulps which often included mysteries, westerns and detective stories. She liked to fish even when not catching anything. She enjoyed needlework, quilting and making clothes for her children. She enjoyed visiting with her neighbors in her spare time. Her best opportunity for doing this was at the "Store" in Cherryville, along with most other people from outlying areas.