Percy Harold Rex letter to his son Harold. March 22, 1937.

P H Rex standing in front of his wife, or his mother's, flower garden in Randolph, Utah. About 1937. It had to be a Sunday!

 

Randolph, Utah
March 22 - 37.
My Dear Boy,

I will try and write you a few lines again it seems these weeks  roll around before we know it and two weeks go by before we get a letter off to you it is almost shameful the way we treat you by not getting a letter off each week. I understand you are getting a letter from Evanston real often now so that may help to break the time up a little that we fail.
I hope you are well and continue to enjoy your labors as in the past we are all fine up here with the exception of Mothers stomach it still bothers her some she feels just fine at times then others she is not so well. Grand mother Rex is pretty good for her age, I wonder if you have ever written to her and sent her a picture of yourself she would think it very nice of you if you can spare the time to do so as I think she has enjoyed a letter from some of her other grandsons and I think my son one of the finest boys she has. I hope that neither of them ever do what some of the other Grandsons do. I think if you could see the way these little fellows crawl out in the morning when

 

I call them you would be rather ashamed of the way you were in the morning at getting up [on] time. I think you will remember me telling you to get on the U.S. Government Payroll well I managed with a tip from the Bishop to get on and did my first days work to day at $5.00 per day not so bad for a man on the shady side of fifty.

We are having some real March weather  snow, wind and slop around the yards. I think that if I had money enough to travel one month out of the year it would be March as it is so hard on the face and lips I would go to the warmer climate.

We had stake conference here yesterday a spiritual feast we had apostle Merril up and he gave us 2 very fine talks it was just grand to sit in the new Building every thing clean and nice some 428 people there and room enough for 125 to 175 more we have been using it for everything since we got into it to save the expence [sic] of heating the other up.

Clair E. Carrel Johnson and Blain Marshall are out in the mission field by now and Sheldon K. and William Smith go in the Mission Home on the 29 of March but they will be out in field by the time you get this. If you ever get down in the mouth because you are so far away you had better read an article in the Feb Era written by Brother [illegible words] I had better close now asking the Lord to let his richest Blessings be with you at all times to inspire you to greater work are the Blessings we ask for you [illegible]

Note: I didn’t add punctuation to this letter of P.H. Rex’s, but enjoyed its lack thereof as he wrote his thoughts to his son.

Bessie Morgan Rex's history of her Grandfather Nicholas Groesbeck. 1935.

I purchased this picture of Salt Lake City's Kenyon Hotel on e-Bay last year. It was cut from a pamphlet of some sort. The Kenyon Hotel Nicholas Groesbeck built undoubtedly stood on the same corner (2nd South and Main Street) years earlier. Nicholas Groesbeck died in 1884. This card states that the main building opened 1899. The Annex opened in 1900.

The following brief  history of Nicholas Groesbeck was written by his granddaughter Bessie Morgan Rex in 1935 when she submitted her application to become a member of Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. I posted it here three years ago. A close read of her hand written account reveals many interesting facts about her grandfather.

"Nicholas Groesbeck joined the church at the age of 19. He was baptized by Patriarch Hyrum Smith. He lived in Springfield, Ill, but made many trips to Nauvoo, and was intimately acquainted with the prophet, acting as his bondsman at one time. He knew Abraham Lincoln who acted as his counsel on several occasions.

"When he came to Utah he brought considerable merchandise, and engaged in general merchandizing. He later turned to real estate and mining, and provided the money to develop the noted Flagstaff Mine in Little Cottonwood. He later sold it and purchased real estate in Salt Lake. He built the Kenyon Hotel at a cost of $200,000. He became interested in the development of coal & iron, & was director of the Deseret Savings and several railroads. He was recognized as one of the outstanding financiers of his day.

"Elizabeth Thompson Groesbeck was very good to those who needed help & when her husband gained wealth she spent her time helping the poor & meeting immigrant trains to give them food & clothing.

Nicholas Groesbeck's biography begins here. An index to all of the posts about Nicholas Groesbeck is found here.