Walter is the grandson of John Henry and Louise Barbara Back Potter. I have been corresponding with him for a couple of months. In addition to the message below, he also sent me a floor plan of their house as he remembers it. Walter Kyle lived with John Henry and Louise Barbara Back Potter from the time he was born (1924) until he was 13, when Louise Potter had a stroke. He then went to Springfield to live with his mother, who had married Holland T. Bennett. I sent him a questionnaire with the following questions to find out a little bit more about John Henry and Louise Barbara Back Potter. 1) What was a typical week like living with his grandparents? What did they do in their free time?Living with Grandma & Grandpa was just like living with mother, etc. Grandma had rules that were to be obeyed or you got the paddle. She was a wonderful person, full of love and understanding. At the same time she was firm. She did not believe in the old saying "spare the rod and spoil the child". I got my share of paddling (usually 4 or 5 times a day). Henry Back and I always seemed to be in trouble. Grandma was a heavy lady and she couldn't chase me. At times, I would hide under her bed. All she would do is sit down in a chair by the bed and say "I can wait as long as you can". Shortly, I would crawl out and bend over her knee for my spanking. Afterwards she would make me hug her and say "I love you, Grandma", and everything would be OK.There seemed to be very little free time. They were always busy doing something. In the summertime, Grandpa took care of the gard! en , and Grandma canned everything. She also made lye soap once a year. When Grandpa wasn't busy, he liked to sit in the shade and whittle.Grandma was the secretary-treasurer of the Woodman Circle Lodge. They (the ladies) would meet at our house. After the meeting, they would stay and quilt a while. I was the one who went under the quilting frame to pick up dropped needles and thread. 2) Were they religious? Which church did they attend? How often?Grandma loved Jesus. They didn't get to go to church Grandma couldn't walk very far because of her legs. They belonged to the Evangelical Church. 3) Did they travel to see relatives? Did they ever go to Oklahoma to see other Back relatives?They did not travel. Travel to Grandma was to Uncle Curley's for Christmas dinner. I was told that John Potter was in the Oklahoma land rush. He staked out a claim, but had to abandon it and go back home to take care of Louise because she was sick. He didn't go back. 4) Did Louise talk about Germany and family back in Germany?Grandma talked very little about Germany. 5) Did everyone call John Henry by both names, or was he just John Potter? Was he quiet? Did he smoke, drink, etc.? Did he work all the time (I noticed that he was listed as a night watchman in the 1930 census)? How long did he operate the oil delivery business, and what did he do with the business when he quit?Everyone called him John Potter. I was known in Boonville as "John Potter's little boy." He was a quiet man. He didn't smoke or drink, except with Uncle Dom Barnert who made black cherry wine. They would set and talk and have a glass. Grandpa would put a small amount in a glass, and fill it with water for me. John Potter did chew tobacco. His favorite was plug tobacco called "Day's Work". He bought it by the carton and had a wad in his mouth most of the day. I admired him and his tobacco chewing and was always after him to teach me to chew. Finally, he cut off a small piece and gave it to me to chew. We were sitting on the steps. I didn't know it but he! was watching me out of the corner of his eye. I was chewing up a storm and was getting sicker all the time. He never told me that I wasn't supposed to swallow the tobacco juice. That was the last time I begged him for a chew. He taught me a lesson about chewing. I never did chew tobacco again.After the chicken house closed, Grandpa retired. As for the oil business, he just went out of business because of electric lights, natural gas, etc. The only thing we used coal oil for was a heater for the bathroom, and Grandma kept an oil lamp burning at night in the kitchen. 6) Was Louise a strict disciplinarian, as I have heard? What name did others refer to her with (Louise, Barbara, other)?If you got in trouble, you got a spanking, and she did that with love. Most people called her Louise. Grandpa called her "Lou". 7) What was their house like? Did they grow their own food? Did she make her own clothes? Did they have electricity and/or running water?The house was frame. Uncle Bill (William John Potter) built the porch across the front of the house. We did have running water and electricity. Grandpa planted a good-sized garden (he had a green thumb) and planted by the moon. Grandma canned everything she could. Everything was stored in the basement (which had three rooms, dirt walls and floors). Wood and coal were stored in ½ of one room. The other half had bins where potatoes, apples, squash, etc. were stored. In the other two rooms there were shelves where all the items Grandma canned were stored. She canned everything from apple jelly to vegetable soup. 8) I noticed William Potter living with them in 1930. Did he live there very long? Uncle Bill started living at home after his divorce, and he lived there after Grandma died. He married Louise Burlage then and they lived there until he (William Potter) died. 9) Did Herman Potter ever live with them? Did he move back to Boonville after his first wife died? What kind of work did he do?Uncle Herman did not live with them. He married Louise Burlage and they bought a house not too far from Walter Potter. Grandpa sold the house on 1st Street and moved in with them. Please share this with other members of your family. This is the kind of information that no one thinks to ask. I'm glad I was able to find Theresa Persinger (Curley Potter's granddaughter), who gave me Walter Kyle's address and phone number. -- Bill ScrogginReply to: itcscrog@aol.com