My dad's father and mother, Fritz and Mabel (Hutchings) Halbert, on their wedding day, 29 Febuaray 1920. Fritz was 26 and Mabel 16 when they were married. The couple were wed at Palmer, Missouri, and eventually had five children: Woodrow, Noel (my dad), Freda, Pearl and Polly.
Fritz and Mabel lived for several years on a rented farm at Quaker, Missouri, until Mabel died as a result of giving birth to her last daughter, after which time Fritz moved with his kids to a 40-acre farm at Scrap Branch, located 2 miles northwest of Palmer, Missouri. Fritz, with the help of his brothers Britz, Harvey and Earl, built a house, barn, sheds, other outbuildings and a fence on the property in the summer of 1932. Even though Fritz didn't own this farm either — he was only renting the property — he was still allowed to build on it. Since Fritz was building on property he didn't own, it stands to reason that he didn't overly concern himself with the quality of construction; after all, he couldn't sell the buildings and he couldn't take them when he moved (except to tear down the building and take the lumber). My dad confirms this notion by describing the house that he lived in on Scrap Branch as being "just a shack".
Both Quaker and Palmer, Missouri, are located in the southwestern corner of Washington County and are in the Harmony Township.