Mama Carr Peddling Apples and The Christmas Tree

Peddling Apples

Those who knew Minnie Carr, “Mama Carr” to most of us (I was surprised to learn that the Peterson branch refers to her as “Grandma Carr”) remember that she was always up to something, whether it was work or play.

Her youngest child, Juanita Carr, now Rush (my mother) remembers when Mama Carr started selling dried apples. She had a horse and wagon that she would load up with dried apples and peddle them door to door. In rural Oklahoma back in the late ‘30’s and early ‘40’s. Juanita was born in 1933. Mama Carr would take Juanita with her sometimes. Juanita remembers her mother telling her stories and pointing out places of interest on their routes. One of Juanita’s memories is of her mother pointing out some ruts, etc. on what appeared to be an old trail; it turned out be a part of one of the old cattle (and sheep) trails for getting livestock to market, possibly the East Shawnee Cattle Trail that went through Fort Gibson. Mama Carr used a portable scale for weighing the apples. Juanita has that scale on her wall as a keepsake. Also, the library table in her living room that she has many photos of family on is the table she studied at growing up.

The Christmas Tree

One Christmas Mama Carr was going to get a Christmas tree, she told Juanita to stay home. Apparently when Mama Carr wanted to go somewhere that she did not want to bring Juanita, she would ask one of her grown daughters, already married, to keep an eye on Juanita. Apparently, one or two of them did not like this and/or thought Juanita was “spoiled” so their caretaking was not always the nicest Juanita had been treated, so Juanita took off running after her mama. Apparently Mama Carr did not push the horse too hard, because Juanita was able to catch up to her mother. Seeing her daughter’s determination, she allowed her to come along that day. Mama Carr had a great reverence for life and animals and plants. She would not cut down a whole tree, she would take a branch.