She wanted everyone to share her love of the area.
Carrie Margaret Keyser was born on April 21, 1903 in Limestone, West Virginia. She moved with her family to Ohio when she was a toddler. As a child, she attended the Center School in Northampton, but later on chose not attend high school citing financial restraint. In 1918, she worked for Marathon Tire and Rubber in Cuyahoga Falls and boarded in town at the manager's home. In the years that followed, she worked for a diverse number of employers, including the Russel Farley Company for 14 years. During this time, she met her future husband Fred Swain. After nine years of courting, they married in 1932. The couple settled in Cuyahoga Falls in 1945 and did not have any children. Fred and Carrie took over the Keyser Farm in 1956 when Carrie’s parent passed away. Even though Carrie wanted Fred to farm the land, he did not have the desire to and it became a non-working farm. After retirement from the Lawson Milk Company, Fred and Carrie filled their time with community involvement and improving their farmhouse. Fred passed away in 1969.
She led a life of giving and preserving for future generations.
Carrie went on to immerse herself in civic contributions:
Chairwoman on the Northampton United Fund Drive in 1960
Member of the Northampton Hill and Vale Garden Club
2nd VP of Cuyahoga Falls Business and Professional Women's Club
Founding member and at one time president of the Northampton Historical Society.
Led the restoration of the Botzum Cemetery on Yellow Creek Road
Led the drive in 1975 to buy the old Center School, so well known to the Keyser’s, and had it moved to the Keyser property that now belonged to the town where it was restored into a schoolhouse museum for all to enjoy. Sadly, a tornado destroyed the Center School museum in July of 1992.
Carrie sold her family’s farmhouse and the farm to the City of Cuyahoga Falls in 1993. The land became known as Keyser Park. This was dedicated in memory of her father, Alva Keyser. There are walking trails in the park named "Dutch's Path" and "Carrie's Walk". Carrie passed December 28, 1995 in Akron, OH. She is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Cuyahoga Falls next to her husband Fred.
