Carrie's Untold Story

Caroline, Carrie and Grace were walking home from school.

"Carrie, run along and get some water from the creek." Ma told her.

Ma didn't feel well, she was almost home, just had to get over the hill.

"Ma, are we having chicken for dinner tonight?" Grace asked.

"Yes, we are. Grace could you go help your sister?" Ma asked.

She steadied herself on the fence.

Carrie walked over the hill, carrying water was annoying in the hot weather because she couldn't splash it on herself. Ma says its wasting.

As she turned toward the house, she smelled smoke and saw flames.

"Ma, Grace!" She screamed and ran toward the house.

Grace appeared at the top of the hill, "Whats wrong?" she asked.

Carrie pointed to the house and they ran toward it.

Ma was inside the house.

"Ma, come out of the house." Grace cried.

The fire was coming from the kitchen, so the girls ran to the back door.

Carrie turned to Grace, "Grace quickly go to the creek and get as much water as you can and keep bringing buckets here quick."

Grace ran to the creek as Carrie kept dumping buckets of water on the fire.

She heard Ma trying to push the door open.

Then Carrie heard two wagons.

One was Pa and Mr. Edwards, the other Laura and Almanzo.

"What happened" Laura asked.

"There is a fire and Ma is inside." Carrie coughed.

Laura and Carrie went to help Grace with the water.

Meanwhile Pa, Almanzo, and Mr. Edwards tried to put the fire out.

Pa finally broke down the back door and carried Ma out.

The girls went to check on Ma.

After the fire was out, they went to see the damage.

Only the kitchen was damaged.

A few weeks later, a bachelor came to town. His name was David Swansey.

By this time, Carrie had graduated and was head of the newspaper press.

Carrie, little fragile girl, was now a grown woman and falling in love.

Ever since she was born, she was very sickly.

She had numerous health problems, including asthma.

That didn't stop her from obtaining her goals.

She began as a teacher and soon became a journalist.

She was running the DeSmet News and Printing Press.

David had two children, Mary (Maria) and Harold.

Carrie and David soon began courting.

Pa was having a crisis, his little girl was growing up.

He was going to lose another daughter.

Another matter was, Laura had given them their first grandchild.

He had grown to love Almanzo as a son in law, he would also love David.

The boy, sitting right in front of him, had asked permission to marry his small baby Carrie and Charles knew it was the beginning of the end.

In Charles eyes she was still his baby girl, but she had in fact grown up to be a beautiful young woman.

He remembered when she and Laura were at school and had gotten lost in the snow storm.

Everyone else had left the table and only Pa, Ma, Carrie, and David remained.

Carrie was staring intently at Pa, just as Laura had.

"Please say yes Pa." Carrie said.

He looked at the girls longing eyes.

"Well son, I give you my permission to marry Carrie. Now, lets go for a little walk."

As the words escaped his lips, the room breathed a sigh of relief.

Walking out into the crisp night, Charles sensed the boy tense up.

"Son, I know you're a good person by the way Carrie talks of you, and you seem like a wonderful Pa to your two children. You better treat my daughter with respect."

"Yes sir I intend to."

"Now I believe there are some pies waiting for us." Pa said.

They shook hands and went back inside.

These words seemed so familiar with Almanzo.

Inside, Carolie and Carrie set out the plates and pie.

The next morning, Carrie and David went to the church social.

David popped the question and Carrie said yes.

Carrie, David, and their two children moved to Keystone, SD.

David got a job helping build Mt. Rushmore.

Carrie got a job at the Newspaper Printing Press.

Soon the Swanzey family fell on hard times.

Maria and Harold had to go work at a factory.

The factory life was very dangerous.

There wasn't a day, when at least one child was harmed by the machines.

Maria got a job at a sewing factory.

Harold got a job at a factory building farm equipment.

The food was awful.

Maria and Harold had to stay there at least a year.

Carrie did not like having her children work in a factory, but David said it would help them.

They did not know what the factories were like.

The factories worked these children too hard.

Carrie and David finally got their kids out of the factories and gave them jobs at the local convenience store.

They later moved to Colorado to help with Carrie's asthma.

In the late 20's, they returned to Keystone, SD.

Mary later joined Carrie until her death in 1928.

After Carrie and her husband moved to Keystone, South Dakota; David was in charge of creating and completing Mt. Rushmore.

Carrie and David lived in Keystone until their deaths in the 1940's.

Near the end of her life Carrie worked in the railway after her husbands death.

Carrie died in 1946.