© 2024 | Jefferson Public Radio
Southern Oregon University
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
541.552.6301 | 800.782.6191
a service of Southern Oregon University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

As It Was: Charlotte Rose Henry Recalls Her Childhood Home

Charlotte Rose Henry was born in 1922 in Redding, but the first home she recalled later was in Cottonwood, Calif., across from the family’s store.

The small Rose General Store had a gas pump out front and sold groceries, firewood, livestock feed, yardage, rope, overalls, tools, and more.  Charlotte’s grandfather, William L. Rose, built the store in 1910.

Charlotte’s family home was small like the store and with a large yard, where they raised chickens, bummer lambs, and an array of dogs and cats.  One year her father invested unsuccessfully in a flock of sheep, losing money when the market fell.  Another time, a customer offered to pay a bill with a pregnant pig.  Before Rose got the sow home she had given birth to five piglets, but only one survived, which Charlotte and her siblings bottle fed.

A stove in the kitchen heated the house and provided hot water that ran in coiled pipes through the stove.  On cold mornings, everyone dressed near the stove, and Charlotte said she became adept at dressing “inside the flannelette nightgown” beside the stove.
 

Source: Henry, Charlotte R. "Trivia: That's the Way It Was in Cottonwood." The Covered Wagon, 1994, pp. 61-65.

Gail Fiorini-Jenner is a writer and teacher. Her first novel "Across the Sweet Grass Hills", won the 2002 WILLA Literary Award. She co-authored four histories with Arcadia Publishing: Western Siskiyou County: Gold & Dreams, Images of the State of Jefferson, The State of Jefferson: Then & Now, which placed in the 2008 Next Generation Awards for Nonfiction and Postcards from the State of Jefferson.