Short Stories

Elisha Joseph Garrett was born March 10, 1883 in Siloam Springs, Arkansas to Benjamin and Susan Lewis Garrett. He married Rosa Parks, on June 15, 1914 and moved to Trego County, Kansas. To this union were born 2 sons, Myron and Keith Garrett.

Elisha was a farmer and rancher for 62 years. He was a member of the United Presbyterian Church, the Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, the Isis Shrine of Salina, Kansas. He was a past President of the First National Bank of WaKeeney, Kansas.

Memories of, and as told to, a grandson: Elisha was a hard worker. He also enjoyed having a good time. He and Grandmother liked to travel a lot. They usually traveled, accompanied by friends. They would leave their to young sons at home, with the hired help to take care of them.

Granddad loved boating. They had a boat they used in the Cedar Bluff State Park, Dam and Reservoir. When they got older, they would take my folks & their family, or my uncle & his family to help them get in & out of the water.

My dad told me stories of my granddad, when he used to have & run several coonhounds. The coons got scarce at home, then they would travel 30 miles or more 1 way just to find coons to hunt. My Grandmother usually went along, she loved hunting & fishing. He told of times the dogs would get up a skunk & they would get out the tomato juice & use on the dogs to improve the air , The dogs would travel in the car with the people.

My father also told me of how Granddad raised hogs. The pigs would get out & explore Grandmother's flowers & garden. Then guess what!! One time they took a baby pig, "one too many for mama to feed," bottle fed it & raised it as a pet. The pig had the run of the place and slept in a box on the enclosed porch. The kids played with the pig. When the pig got bigger, he got rougher to play with. He would walk right through the screen on the screen door if nobody was there to open it for him. When someone played with him, he would grab them by the pants leg & wrestle with them. One day a salesman came to the door & the pig came up on the step also. My granddad did not want to waste time talking to the salesman & told him to kick the pig off the step. The pig grabbed his pant leg & rolled him off the step. The salesman never looked back as he scrambled to his feet & the car. "He had gotten the message".

Granddad took the pet hog to the sale barn to sell. The hog did not act natural, but looked up in the crowd. The buyers thought that there was something wrong with him. Granddad told them that he had been raised from birth as a pet. A man from St. Peter, Kansas, Graham County, bought him for his daughters to play with. My dad always wondered how this turned out.

I had several good times with both grandparents in their later years, boating & playing cards, and other family get-togethers. They loved to go to Cedar Bluff Reservoir & go boating. When they got older, they would usually ask one of their sons to take them & help get the boat in in the water. They would take their farm truck with the stock racks up on it. They would throw a tarp over it & that would serve as their shelter or tent. They had a short ladder to get in & out with.

Grandmother's portable stove gave me my first and last taste of coffee. I did not like the taste, but the smell of it cooking was great. She smiled & told me that she gave me dish water instead when she found out I did not like it. My family and I had a lot of good times with them there.

The above is a life remembered by Gayle M. Garrett, son of Myron E. & Ada Garrett and a grandson of Elisha & Rosa Garrett.


Rosa Vesta (Parks) Garrett was born October 14, 1896, to Henry S. & Mary Byrd Parks at Goodson, Missouri. She departed this life at the Long Term Care Unit of Trego-Lemke Memorial Hospital in Wa Keeney, Kansas on February 23, 1985.

She was united in marriage to Elisha J. Garrett on June 15, 1914, at Siloam Springs, Arkansas. They moved to Trego County, Kansas where they lived 63 years together. Elisha passed away February 13, 1977. Rosa remained on the farm until 1982 when she bought her home in Wa Keeney.

Memories of, and as told to, a Grandson: Rosa has told the story many times of how she & Elisha got married & came to western Kansas. Rosa said that she & Elisha didn't really know each other, "just good enough" to know each others names. On the day Elisha was leaving Arkansas he saw her, & he asked her if she had any plans for the day. She said no, & he said he was leaving for Western Kansas to farm on that very day. He stated he was coming by himself, & asked if she'd be interested in going with him. They were married that day & left for Kansas.

Rosa's first love had to be fishing, (some of my best memories involved fishing on the river banks with her & at Cedar Bluff Reservoir ). You could usually find a coffee can in her refrigerator with fishing worms in it. Some of my best memories were fishing on the river bank & at Cedar Bluff Reservoir with her.

I had several good times with both grandparents in their later years boating, and playing cards, and other family get-togethers. They loved to go to Cedar Bluff Reservoir and go boating. When they got older, they would usually ask one of their sons to take them & help get the boat in in the water. They would take their farm truck with the stock racks up on it. They would throw a tarp over it making it serve as their shelter or tent. They had a short ladder to get in & out with. I spent many a weekend there with my parents.

Early in the morning, I could smell the coffee cooking on Grandmother's portable propane stove. I drank or sampled the only coffee I ever tasted there. I did not like the taste, but the smell of it cooking in the early crisp morning air was great. She smiled & tried teasing me that she watered it down with dish water when she found out I did not like it. My parents and I had a lot of good times with them there.

She loved hunting also. "Even if she had been soaking wet, she would not have weighed 100 Lbs." but Rosa still used a 12 gauge shot gun. She also did taxidermy, "self taught", if she decided to do something nothing, stood in her way.

She loved raising flowers, her favorite being African violets. She also liked roses.

She was a past Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star, a past Guardian of the Job's Daughters, a member of the Presbyterian Church in Wa Keeney, and a member of the Legion Auxiliary.

Rosa & Elisha enjoyed traveling & boating together. Rosa & Elisha always traveled, accompanied by friends They were on the road a lot when their two sons were quite small. The kids were left to be taken care of by the hired hands, & the house help.

Grandmother loved to play cards. When they grew older, Dad, Mother, sometimes myself, and, in later years after I was married, my wife Arlene would go also to her house and play cards or take her to a card party held at the old Pleasant Valley school house.

The words above are the memories of their oldest grandson Gayle M. Garrett.    There are always some good memories.

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