A Charming Piece of Early Granger Humor
What survives today is only a partial copy of a charming piece of creative writing, but even in its incomplete form it is a precious glimpse into the wit and imagination of a young Granger woman.
The author, Nellie Bangerter Schmidt, was the daughter of Frederick and Alice Bangerter and grew up in the close-knit farming community of Granger. Known by family and friends as a bright and creative spirit, Nellie delighted in wordplay and storytelling. In this clever little “Granger News” piece—likely written in the 1920s after her 1915 marriage to Andreas Schmidt—she playfully wove the surnames of many local families into a humorous description of the town she loved.
Granger News
by Nelly Bangerter SCHMIDT
A NEWMAN came to Granger recently and found it to be a beautiful place with many HILLS, large and small ones, and even the BUNKER HILLS. Also many small PARKS and one very large one with the BREEZES coming from the south and east. A few TREES were transplanted near the river HUDSON. The BROWN BIRDS CAROL in HARMON…Y , from the highest note down to the LO… SEE.
Granger is a very clean community with no rubbish around because there are plenty of people who WOODBURY it. And their fires leave no ASH… BY, because they are STOKERS. It is a well-fortified place because there are plenty of CANNONS in case of WARR. No one has seen a HAILSTONE larger than an egg, but here in Granger are HALES weighing over 100 pounds each.
It gets cold, but there are plenty of COATS around. In summer, the store has DECKER ice cream cones. The community has a lot of RICHES and ORR and DI(a)MONDS. There are also plenty of HALLS to meet in.
The people are very interesting to talk to because they have BINNALL over the world. There aren’t any old maids because the girls know where to catch the bows, because they have BAWDENS (Beau-dens).
The people are greatly blessed because they have SOLOMON living among them to GRANT them their (W)RIGHTS. When they want to meet, there are plenty of BULL-OCKS around. All they need to do is BANG and GET-R.
The people like prohibition because they are tea-TODDLERS. They are also very religious because they have PAUL and PETERSON and even ADAMSON among them—and even the LEHMAN can walk.
The people of Granger are very HARDY and above PARR, and very beautiful because they are FAIRBOURNE…
Request for a Copy
Because this version appears to be only a partial transcription, we would love to locate a complete copy of Nellie Bangerter Schmidt’s original “Granger News.” If anyone has a newspaper clipping, handwritten copy, scrapbook page, or family record containing the full piece, we would be grateful for the opportunity to scan or photograph it. Preserving treasures like this helps keep the stories and humor of early Granger families alive, and copies could become part of our growing West Valley City history artifacts and museum displays.
Oh Nellie!
Even in this incomplete form, Nellie’s playful writing offers a delightful glimpse into the spirit of early Granger. By weaving the surnames of neighbors and families into her story, she captured both the humor and the close connections of the community. Pieces like this remind us that history is not only found in major events, but also in the creativity, laughter, and everyday lives of the people who called Granger home. Through small treasures such as this, the voices of the past continue to speak to us today.
