Walter Cox

• GIVN: Walter
• SURN: Cox
• Sex: M
• Born: 4 Sep 1852 in Manti, Sanpete, Utah, United States
• Died: 14 Apr 1940 in Fairview, Sanpete, Utah, United States
• CAUS: Decompensating Heart¹
• Buried: 17 Apr 1940 in Fairview, Sanpete, Utah, United States
• AFN: 17HQ-NJ
• _UID: F6CB43882A0111DAB9B700A0CC5D9B65DBF9
• _FSFTID: KWCR-Y79
• Baptised LDS: 14 May 1865 9 Oct 1876
• TEMP: EHOUS 9 Oct 1876
• TEMP: EHOUS BIC
• Record last updated: 31 Aug 2014
• TIME: 21:42
• Notes:

  The Big Cox Swing
  
  The 'Big' swing on the Walter Cox farm was originated by 3 lively teenage boy cousins. Fred (Walter), Roy and Orville M (Orville M) Cox were cousins of very close age and best of friends. They went to school together at Logan (Utah State Agricultural College) where they learned skills to help with their lives on the farm.
  
  One of the subjects they learned was blacksmithing. Walter was glad to have a son with such a skill. His father had been a pioneer blacksmith and now his son was taking an interest. Anvils and bellows were necessary to the trade but were not readily available here. Each of the boys had made an essential tool while in Logan in 1897 so they had a vice, a clamp and a hammer to start with. Walter decided to help the skill along he would equip a shop on his farm.
  
  He had to take some cattle to market in Missouri and on his return trip he brought back the bellows and the anvil 'in his lap'. The anvil weighed some 200 pounds and was too heavy to be shipped. He had to bring it home as hand baggage. He always said he carried it home from Missouri 'in his lap'.
  
  Orville M. (Walter's brother) designed the swing and the 3 boys erected it in front of the new farm house. It underwent 2 or 3 design changes, and gave hundreds of high, lazy rides courtesy of a man pulling a rope to towns people and relatives of many generations. It was the center of many an outing and party.
  
  The blacksmith shop served many purposes in addition to repair and manufacture of farm equipment. The boys made clamp on ice skates in the shop. Every one in town sooner or later came to a skating party on the pond near the farm and used those skates.
  
  The skating party often finished with a candy pull. Always there was dark honey from the family bees available to boil on the big coal range in the cozy kitchen until it was just right to pull. Cutting and dividing of the golden honey candy signified the end of the party. Everyone took some home. (Any that was left was awfully sticky the next day. Then everyone was happy.)
  
  Parties on the farm always ended about 10:30. There were chores to be done tomorrow.
  
  Nancy Mackay, 1964
  
  Epilog
  
  Later on Stanley, the youngest, managed to break the mechanism, but parties were no longer held there as most of the family had left home by then.
  
  20 years later, a grandson, Carl, saw the swing while very young. When Carl bought his place in Alpine, by American Fork, with the help of his father Stanley he put up a modernized version on 26 foot poles. There is a picture of the swing in Alpine, with Stanley getting ready to do his pulling (back to us), Carl (behind the far pole) squatting down just finishing his pull to put Carlene high in the air.
  
  The swing is no longer in Alpine - one of the owners of the house decided they wanted to take the swing when they moved from there, and its current location is unknown.
  
  If anyone wants to build a swing like that, there is a model in the museum in Fairview, and Carl can draw up plans for a modernized version.

• Notes:

  (Research):IGI film 170511, Ref # 2183, shows Sarah Jane Lewis sealed to Walter Cox, 23 Apr 1896, Manti. Requires temple recommend and indication of being related to see this film in the FHL. The record has Walter Cox born 4 Sep 1852 in Manti. It is our Walter.
  
  Orville S Cox Age: 36 Birth Year: abt 1814 Birthplace: New York Home in 1850: Sanpete, Utah Territory Gender: Male Family Number: 9 Household Members: