Marvin and Nina (Stearns-Smith) Banta
the early years
Marvin and Nina were raised in Lamar, Colorado, a small rural community in the southeast corner of Colorado. Both families (Banta and Stearns-Smith) came to Lamar from Kansas sometime between 1910 and 1915.
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| The Railroad Station at Lamar |
Lamar is a small town in southeast Colorado with a population of 8,000. Founded in 1886, as a railroad town, it served as a transportation hub for the cattle ranches and farms in the area. During the time they were growing up in Lamar, the city grew from a population of about 2,500 in 1915 to over 4,000 by 1930.
It is a rural area, Here is a link with lots of information on the city of Lamar. https://www.city-data.com/city/Lamar-Colorado.html#b
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| Nina and Grandma Smith, Girard, KS circa. 1912 |
Nina's father, Grant Stearns-Smith, widowed just weeks after Nina was born, struggled to find his way during the first few years that followed. During this time, Nina was raised by his parents, Carrie (Stearns) and James Smith of Girard, Kansas. However, he found peace and a renewed will to live after meeting Evelyn Gilbert in Lamar Colorado. They married, in October 1912, eventually bringing Nina from her grandparents' home to live with them in Lamar. She shared with me how difficult that day was for her when Dad and Evelyn, both strangers to her at the time, came to take her to their home 450 miles away in Lamar.
Grant and Evelyn soon grew the family providing Nina with a little brother James and Katherine. They were close to Evelyn's family and got together often for celebrations and family outings. Nina was especially fond of her Aunt Pauline, Evelyn's sister.
The Banta family: Theodore, Verona aka "Gee Gee" and their children: Clarence, Marvin, Belle, and Vernon left Bucklin, Kansas for Lamar, Colorado when the family was very young, sometime between 1911 and 1915. They remained very close with Verona's family (the Willards) and often traveled 180 miles back to Bucklin for family visits. The photo below was taken on one of these visits. The three Banta children are on the right, with Marvin on the far right. Missing is Clarence, the eldest of the Banta children, who had died two years earlier at the age of 12 during the Great Influenza Pandemic.
At the Pioneer Grade School, Nina Stearns-Smith and Belle Banta became very good friends and spent much time together.
Some time around the high school Marvin Banta and Nina fell in love. He was a high school football star and was recruited to play for the University of Alabama. After graduation, money was tight, and Marvin was not able to get himself to Alabama for college. Nina, on the other hand, was off to Park College, in Independence, Missouri to study nursing. It was the alma mater of her father and mother (Class of '06); all expenses were being paid by Grandmother Carrie Stearns Smith and Aunt Catherine back in Girard, KS.
Their separation did not last long, for before September ended, Marvin had hopped a sheep train to Missouri, found Nina, and proposed. They were married on September 20, 1928, in Independence, MO without the knowledge or blessing of their parents. On the contrary, Nina's parents and grandparents were quite upset.
Marvin's sister Belle also married about this time, to their good friend Doyle Zeiler. The four headed to Bucklin for a family gathering and it was captured in the photo below. From the left is Doyle, Effie Willard (Willie's wife), Belle, Willie (Verona's brother), Lenora (Grandma Willard), Nina, Verona, Samuel (Grandpa) Willard, and Marvin. In the front are Phyllis and Elsie.
On July 17, 1929, Grandma Willard died. Verona and Theodore, left Lamar to care for 83-year-old Grandpa Willard.
The picture above, is iconic, showing our two young marrieds, in love and on their way. They knew life would not be easy but they chose love over all else. Little did they know how difficult life would become when just a few months later the stock market crash would plunge the county into The Great Depression.
Marvin and Nina's first child, James Willard Banta was born October 31, 1929, as Wall Street was crashing. Daughter Marion was born 15 months later on January 22, 1931. The picture on the right shows our four fast friends and their young families, getting together in 1933. Doyle's father owned a meat market in Lamar and rented Marvin and Nina an upstairs apartment. Nina shared fond memories of how he would routinely leave a package of meat for them on his way home.
Another blessing was the McDonald family. Marvin's paternal grandmother was widowed when Theodore was only two. She later married John McDonald and had two sons with him: John B. and Charlie McDonald, Marvin's half-uncles. They were both foremen at sugar mills in Gering and Lyman Nebraska respectively. The work was seasonal, but when the harvest came in, Marvin could count on working at one of the mills. Uncle Charlie's daughter, June (McDonald) Timm, shared with me her memories of these times. She remembered Marvin and Nina would come over to visit on Sundays. She was young, about ten or eleven years old, and she remembers little Jimmy and Marion as toddlers, and the music the family would play. She said Nina played the most beautiful piano and that she still had the sheet music from that day. June and I connected on the internet, and she was a great help in connecting the dots of the Banta history, but that story is for another blog.
During the off-season, work was difficult to come by and the young couple traveled from Colorado to Kansas to Texas, and back up to Nebraska picking up odd jobs. Marvin took jobs selling cars, ranch hand, telephone lines, grave digging, and working at the sugar mills. One of his friends at the mill left for California and later sent Marvin a letter, telling him that he should come to California to work in the sugar mills in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In December of 1935, Marvin and Nina loaded up their belongings into a "five dollar jalopy" and headed west on the Lincoln Highway (US 50) to California, starting the next chapter of their lives.
PS: one of Marvin's favorite stories was of the Fleagle Gang They were ruthless bank-robbing killers who had robbed a bank in Lamar and later became the first people convicted through the use of fingerprints. Check out the story at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleagle_Gang
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| The Gilbert Family with Grant and Nina Stearns-Smith circa. 1914, Lamar Colorado Grandpa Gilbert 2L, Pualine Gilbert 3L, Evelyn 4R, Grant Stearns-Smith 3R, Nina front, Grandma Gilbert 2R, |
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| Stearns-Smith Family circa 1919 Evelyn, Grant, Katherine, James, Nina |
Grant and Evelyn soon grew the family providing Nina with a little brother James and Katherine. They were close to Evelyn's family and got together often for celebrations and family outings. Nina was especially fond of her Aunt Pauline, Evelyn's sister.
The Banta family: Theodore, Verona aka "Gee Gee" and their children: Clarence, Marvin, Belle, and Vernon left Bucklin, Kansas for Lamar, Colorado when the family was very young, sometime between 1911 and 1915. They remained very close with Verona's family (the Willards) and often traveled 180 miles back to Bucklin for family visits. The photo below was taken on one of these visits. The three Banta children are on the right, with Marvin on the far right. Missing is Clarence, the eldest of the Banta children, who had died two years earlier at the age of 12 during the Great Influenza Pandemic.
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| Grandma (Lenora) and Grandpa (Samuel) Willard & Grandkids Phyllis & Elsie (Mabelles children), Belle, Vernon, Marvin Circa 1921 |
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| Nina Stearns-Smith (L) and Belle Banta (R) |
Some time around the high school Marvin Banta and Nina fell in love. He was a high school football star and was recruited to play for the University of Alabama. After graduation, money was tight, and Marvin was not able to get himself to Alabama for college. Nina, on the other hand, was off to Park College, in Independence, Missouri to study nursing. It was the alma mater of her father and mother (Class of '06); all expenses were being paid by Grandmother Carrie Stearns Smith and Aunt Catherine back in Girard, KS.
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| Lamar High School - Class of 1928 Nina (2nd row 6R), Marvin (back row 5L) |
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| Marvin and Nina Banta circa 1928 |
Their separation did not last long, for before September ended, Marvin had hopped a sheep train to Missouri, found Nina, and proposed. They were married on September 20, 1928, in Independence, MO without the knowledge or blessing of their parents. On the contrary, Nina's parents and grandparents were quite upset.
Marvin's sister Belle also married about this time, to their good friend Doyle Zeiler. The four headed to Bucklin for a family gathering and it was captured in the photo below. From the left is Doyle, Effie Willard (Willie's wife), Belle, Willie (Verona's brother), Lenora (Grandma Willard), Nina, Verona, Samuel (Grandpa) Willard, and Marvin. In the front are Phyllis and Elsie.
On July 17, 1929, Grandma Willard died. Verona and Theodore, left Lamar to care for 83-year-old Grandpa Willard.
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| Willard and Banta Family circa 1928 |
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| The Kiss |
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| Doyle, Belle, Nina, and Marvin Billy, Marion, Jimmy in front |
Another blessing was the McDonald family. Marvin's paternal grandmother was widowed when Theodore was only two. She later married John McDonald and had two sons with him: John B. and Charlie McDonald, Marvin's half-uncles. They were both foremen at sugar mills in Gering and Lyman Nebraska respectively. The work was seasonal, but when the harvest came in, Marvin could count on working at one of the mills. Uncle Charlie's daughter, June (McDonald) Timm, shared with me her memories of these times. She remembered Marvin and Nina would come over to visit on Sundays. She was young, about ten or eleven years old, and she remembers little Jimmy and Marion as toddlers, and the music the family would play. She said Nina played the most beautiful piano and that she still had the sheet music from that day. June and I connected on the internet, and she was a great help in connecting the dots of the Banta history, but that story is for another blog.
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| Nina and Marion |
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| Marvin, Marion, and Jimmy |
In December of 1935, Marvin and Nina loaded up their belongings into a "five dollar jalopy" and headed west on the Lincoln Highway (US 50) to California, starting the next chapter of their lives.
PS: one of Marvin's favorite stories was of the Fleagle Gang They were ruthless bank-robbing killers who had robbed a bank in Lamar and later became the first people convicted through the use of fingerprints. Check out the story at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleagle_Gang
More later,
Jerry
Your family story is amazing!
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