Item Detail
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Cook, Alice Cooley
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1888-1969
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MSS 827
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Biography
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Alice Cooley Cook was born May 28, 1888 to Daniel and Mary Alice Rydalch Cooley in Grantsville, Utah. She spent her early childhood on a ranch and in 1914, married Robert Hunter Cook, with whom she had six children. Alice died December 18, 1969.
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Part of the J. Allen Parkinson collection, this is a four-page photocopy of a holographic biography, titled Life Sketch of Alice Cooley Cook. It is located in the fourth folder of the collection, which is labeled, Biographies, CA-CU. The manuscript begins with Alice's birth, as she is described as having been a tiny baby that required hours of care, love, and attention. She learned to ride a horse at a young age and loved to help her father on the farm, as she milked cows, fed stock, and worked in the hay field. She was also taught the basics of housekeeping, as she was often called to live with her Grandmother Cooley to care for her. Alice had many friends when she was young, and the manuscript writes that she continues to enjoy seeing them or talking to them on the phone. It was a great virtue of Alice's that she was eager to help others in need, and that her home was always open to those who were ill. She had a love for young people, and she and her husband would often entertain them with food and music. She was a good cook and was also kept busy rearing her family because she married young; she sewed for them, and is described as a lover of pretty things, because of her intricate embroidery. She had a good memory of the people in her community, of even those who had died long before. At the time this manuscript was written, Alice still resided in the home she lived in for many years, and although she was happy. Her life was not as pleasant as before her husband died in 1957.