On Jan. 1, 1906, Carrie Guerin married Allen H. Boice at Langlois Ore. The bride told her friends, “I’m going to have a dozen children.”
The babies soon started coming, so the couple built a large, L-shaped house with a covered porch and four bedrooms upstairs. The main floor contained a spacious living room with an open fireplace, a cozy parlor, and an adjoining alcove with a sewing machine, except when replaced to display the Christmas tree.
The expansive kitchen held an extra-long dining table and a massive, black-iron, wood-burning stove. It was always warm and filled with aromas of something cooking. Carrie baked brown bread daily in smooth round coffee tins, and everyone took turns churning fresh butter.
The Boices raised their six girls and six boys in their comfortable home, which became a popular gathering place, accommodating a constant round of social activities.
In 1930, Allen Boice won election as a Curry County commissioner. Six years later, he became the county judge, serving 12 years before his death at age 68.
Carrie sold the big family home. It fell into disrepair and was torn down in 1986.
Sources: Strain, Patti. Floras Creek Precinct and the Boice Family of Curry County. Hal & Patti Strain, 2003, pp. 265-67; Schroeder, Walt. Characters, Legends and Mysteries of Curry County, Oregon. Curry County Historical Society, 2007, pp. 64-69.
