Carl Besse Alternate spelling Karl

Birth: He was born in 1915 at New York.  

Family Information: Son of Anna Besse.  

Description: In 1943 he was 5'9" tall, weighed 155 pounds and had brown eyes and black hair, with a dark complexion.  

Pre-Colony History: In 1920 he was living in Florida with his parents.  

Home in Colony:  

Job in Colony: In April 1928 Ben Roe had many boys and girls interested in the garden work -- four of the boys, about twelve years of age, were quite competent workers -- Karl Besse, Jesse Armacost, Roy Swenson and Fred Busick. Those fellows were taking on responsibility and doing excellent work, along with smaller boys and girls who helped out with lighter work.

In November 1928 Carl, Chris Jensen, Ward Shoemaker and Robert Roe were on the job in the garden, using wheel hoes among the growing plants.

In April 1929 he was helping Taylor build a brooder house west of the hotel. The plans had been made after consulting with Mrs. Grantham (manager of the Fairview Poultry Farm at Slagle, LA) and Mr. Mimms (the agricultural extension agent of Leesville, LA) and called for it to be 20'x48'.

In June 1929 he, Elmer Jensen, John Armacost, and Paul Ashlock were pulling beets and carting them to the hotel and cannery.  

Other Info: He was often part of the program at the theater.

In April 1928 Miss Wilson was teaching piano classes to several boys and girls in the colony. The members of the Boys' Harmonica Club had had six weeks of classes and included Carl Besse, Roslyn Armacost, Robert Roe, Charles Wichmann, Kenneth Thurman, Isom Shoemaker, Roy Swenson, Fred and Roscoe Busick.

In November 1928 Carl and Mrs. Besse returned to the colony from a summer's vacation.

In February 1929 he performed the "Soldier's March" in a recital presented by Mary Erma Wilson and Mrs. Brattland. In April 1929 he was taking violin lessons from Blanch Porter.

In May 1929 he and his mother were shelling some beans for their dinner.  

Post-Colony History: In 1930 and 1940 he was living in Kansas with his mother and her second husband, Samuel R. Stewart.

In 1943 he was living in Denver, Colorado and employed by the US Bureau of Reclamation.  

Death: He died in 1992 at San Francisco, California.  

Sources: New York State Birth Index; US Social Security Applications and Claims Index; US Census: 1920, 1930, 1940; US Draft Registration: WWII; "Llano Colonist": April 7, 1928, April 14, 1928, November 17, 1928, December 1, 1928, February 28, 1929, April 6, 1929, April 27, 1929, May 25, 1929, June 8, 1929; "Vernon Parish Democrat": February 28, 1929, June 6, 1929; California Death Index; US SSDI