1953
Erik, DeAnna, Kathryn and Jeffery Laubs. This was taken by Mom when she and Dad went to visit Elvin, who was in the Navy and I think they were in San Diego. This happened when we lived in Needles California back in 1953.
My Grandparents
Oliver Lealand Laub and Melba Arthena Larson are my grandparents. I never met my Grandfather, and have few memories of my Grandmother. I always knew my grandmother as a happy person, her laugh was contagious.
I would like to thank Aunt Cleo for sharing her memories with the rest of us, so we could see, and learn about our heritage, and a view of what life was for our parents, and grandparents.
The struggle, the hard ships, the love and appreciation for family that others may view as different. Our Ancestors might have made choice that we wouldn't and we may never understand.
As I finished reading the whole story it really made me think and opened my eyes of where I come from. I could see characteristics of my grandparent in me. I can see things that my father did in teaching me and my siblings that he learned growing up.
I know just as Aunt Cleo put it, "There are 13 of us, thirteen children called Melba Larson and Lee Laub Mom and Dad. If each of us wrote the story or our parents lives you would find we saw them through 13 different views. The oldest of us can remember things that the youngest of us could not understand. The Youngest saw things through eyes of a different generation and yet knew their parents in ways we older ones never did."
Thanks Aunt Cleo for sharing. Anyone else who wants to share we would appreciate it. Just email them to me and I will post them.
kimberly.l.thurston@gmail.com
I would like to thank Aunt Cleo for sharing her memories with the rest of us, so we could see, and learn about our heritage, and a view of what life was for our parents, and grandparents.
The struggle, the hard ships, the love and appreciation for family that others may view as different. Our Ancestors might have made choice that we wouldn't and we may never understand.
As I finished reading the whole story it really made me think and opened my eyes of where I come from. I could see characteristics of my grandparent in me. I can see things that my father did in teaching me and my siblings that he learned growing up.
I know just as Aunt Cleo put it, "There are 13 of us, thirteen children called Melba Larson and Lee Laub Mom and Dad. If each of us wrote the story or our parents lives you would find we saw them through 13 different views. The oldest of us can remember things that the youngest of us could not understand. The Youngest saw things through eyes of a different generation and yet knew their parents in ways we older ones never did."
Thanks Aunt Cleo for sharing. Anyone else who wants to share we would appreciate it. Just email them to me and I will post them.
kimberly.l.thurston@gmail.com
Oliver Lealond Laub "In Memorium"
by LaVerna Laub Brighurst Johnson
THE SMELL OF CEDAR, THE SCENT OF PINE, THE SAVOR OF SAGEBRUSH FIRE ARE PARCEL AND PART OF THE DAD WE LOVE, PART OF THE LOVE WE SHARE.
A LOVING FATHER WHO CARED AND SHARED, HE TAUGHT US A LOVE OF THE HILLS; A LOVE OF THE SKIES AND THE STARS AT NIGHT, A LOVE OF THE HUNTER'S THRILLS.
HE WAS BORN TO STRUGGLE, TO FIGHT, TO WIN, NOT BORN TO AN EASY LIFE, HE WAS BORN INDEPENDENT, NOT TO GIVE IN. HE WAS BLESSED WITH A PATIENT WIFE.
A WIFE WHO LOVED HIM AND STOOD BY HIS SIDE IN TIMES OF JOY OR SORROW; WHO SHARED HIS DREAMS FOR 35 YEARS, A MOTHER WITH FAITH IN TOMORROW.
THIRTEEN CHILDREN WERE BORN TO THEM AND PROUDLY BORE HIS NAME, AND THIRTEEN VERSIONS OF DAD'S FULL SIZE WOULD BE THEIRS, AND NONE WOULD BE THE SAME.
HE TAUGHT THERE WAS JOY IN THE SWING OF THE AX, PEACE IN A JOB WELL DONE, HAPPINESS FOUND IN THE HEART OF A FRIEND WHO IS WITH YOU, RIGHT OR WRONG.
THE OLD FASHIONED VIRTUES ARE THE ONES HE LOVED BEST, THE ONES WITHOUT POMP OR SHOW. THE HONEST OF HEART WHO FOUND SIMPLE FARE BEST WERE THE ONES HE DELIGHTED TO KNOW.
A WEAKNESS OR FAULT CAN BE BIG OR SMALL, CAN BE FIERCE AS IT CAN BE, BUT A FAULT IN THE EYES OF A LOVING CHILD IS OFTER HARED TO SEE.
THE LIVES WE, HIS CHILDREN , LIVE TO SERVE BEST TO BRING INTO FOCUS HIS REASON FOR LIVING, AND WE PRAY THAT WE'LL BUILD ON THE BEST THAT HE GAVE, THAT HIS NAME WILL GROW WITH OUR GIVING.
WE PRAY WE MIGHT LIVE THAT WE'LL HONOR HIS NAME. WE'RE THE LEGACY HE WOULD BEQUEATH. IN HIS PASSING WE GATHER TO BIND TIGHT OUR LOVE THAT ENCIRCLES HIS NAME LIKE A WREATH.
THE SMELL OF CEDAR, THE SCENT OF PINE, THE SAVOR OF SAGEBRUSH FIRE ARE PARCEL AND PART OF THE DAD WE LOVE, PART OF THE LOVE WE SHARE.
A LOVING FATHER WHO CARED AND SHARED, HE TAUGHT US A LOVE OF THE HILLS; A LOVE OF THE SKIES AND THE STARS AT NIGHT, A LOVE OF THE HUNTER'S THRILLS.
HE WAS BORN TO STRUGGLE, TO FIGHT, TO WIN, NOT BORN TO AN EASY LIFE, HE WAS BORN INDEPENDENT, NOT TO GIVE IN. HE WAS BLESSED WITH A PATIENT WIFE.
A WIFE WHO LOVED HIM AND STOOD BY HIS SIDE IN TIMES OF JOY OR SORROW; WHO SHARED HIS DREAMS FOR 35 YEARS, A MOTHER WITH FAITH IN TOMORROW.
THIRTEEN CHILDREN WERE BORN TO THEM AND PROUDLY BORE HIS NAME, AND THIRTEEN VERSIONS OF DAD'S FULL SIZE WOULD BE THEIRS, AND NONE WOULD BE THE SAME.
HE TAUGHT THERE WAS JOY IN THE SWING OF THE AX, PEACE IN A JOB WELL DONE, HAPPINESS FOUND IN THE HEART OF A FRIEND WHO IS WITH YOU, RIGHT OR WRONG.
THE OLD FASHIONED VIRTUES ARE THE ONES HE LOVED BEST, THE ONES WITHOUT POMP OR SHOW. THE HONEST OF HEART WHO FOUND SIMPLE FARE BEST WERE THE ONES HE DELIGHTED TO KNOW.
A WEAKNESS OR FAULT CAN BE BIG OR SMALL, CAN BE FIERCE AS IT CAN BE, BUT A FAULT IN THE EYES OF A LOVING CHILD IS OFTER HARED TO SEE.
THE LIVES WE, HIS CHILDREN , LIVE TO SERVE BEST TO BRING INTO FOCUS HIS REASON FOR LIVING, AND WE PRAY THAT WE'LL BUILD ON THE BEST THAT HE GAVE, THAT HIS NAME WILL GROW WITH OUR GIVING.
WE PRAY WE MIGHT LIVE THAT WE'LL HONOR HIS NAME. WE'RE THE LEGACY HE WOULD BEQUEATH. IN HIS PASSING WE GATHER TO BIND TIGHT OUR LOVE THAT ENCIRCLES HIS NAME LIKE A WREATH.
Rose Marie's Mother's Day
Poem 1990
I KNOW I WAS ROTTEN
WHEN I WAS A KID
BUT I TURNED OUT OK
AT LEAST I THINK I DID.
YOU'RE STEADFAST AND STRONG
YOU SEEM TO KNOW AND SEE ALL.
WHEN I STAND BY YOUR SIDE
I FEEL TEN FEET TALL.
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH
BUT THERE'S ONE THING
MISSING
THAT'S TIME SPENT
WITH YOU
JUST HUGGING AND
KISSING
I KNOW I WAS ROTTEN
WHEN I WAS A KID
BUT I TURNED OUT OK
AT LEAST I THINK I DID.
YOU'RE STEADFAST AND STRONG
YOU SEEM TO KNOW AND SEE ALL.
WHEN I STAND BY YOUR SIDE
I FEEL TEN FEET TALL.
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH
BUT THERE'S ONE THING
MISSING
THAT'S TIME SPENT
WITH YOU
JUST HUGGING AND
KISSING
The Wind Beneath My Wings
words and music by
Larry Henly and Jeff Silbar
(The words in this song express all the feelings I have for my Mother. Cleo)
It must have been cold there in our shadows,
to never have sunlight on you face.
You were content to let us shine,
That was your way,
You always walked the step behind.
So we were the ones with all the glory,
While you were the one with all the strength.
A beautiful face without a name--for so long,
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.
Did you ever know that you're my hero,
And everything I would like to be?
I can fly Higher than an Eagle,
Cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
It might have appeared to go unnoticed,
But I've got it all right here in my heart.
I want you to know the trugh,
Of course I know it,
I would be nothing without you.
Did you ever know that you're my hero,
And everything I would like to be"
I can fly higher than an eagle,
For you were the wind beneath my wings.
Thank you! Thank God for you
The wind beneath my wings.
Larry Henly and Jeff Silbar
(The words in this song express all the feelings I have for my Mother. Cleo)
It must have been cold there in our shadows,
to never have sunlight on you face.
You were content to let us shine,
That was your way,
You always walked the step behind.
So we were the ones with all the glory,
While you were the one with all the strength.
A beautiful face without a name--for so long,
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.
Did you ever know that you're my hero,
And everything I would like to be?
I can fly Higher than an Eagle,
Cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
It might have appeared to go unnoticed,
But I've got it all right here in my heart.
I want you to know the trugh,
Of course I know it,
I would be nothing without you.
Did you ever know that you're my hero,
And everything I would like to be"
I can fly higher than an eagle,
For you were the wind beneath my wings.
Thank you! Thank God for you
The wind beneath my wings.
"I'm as Good as Anyone Else!"
Mom met a soul mate there of her age. He was and earl riser and lonely too. He eventually moved in with her. They were both in their seventies, She told us kids not to worry, They were both too old to do anything they shouldn't. There were such a cute couple,, and good for each other. They laughed a lot and played Bingo. He was Mel and she was Melba.
They "went to work" each morning. (That was what they called playing Bingo.) They allotted just so much of their monthly incomes to spend each day. If they won they shared and if they lost they went home. Mom kept careful track of her winnings and losses and saw to it that she broke even each month so as not to get in trouble with gambling.
She kept zip lock baggies in her purse to take home the food she had too much of at lunch so there was always something good left for dinner.
They had many elderly good friends to meet each morning. Mom and Mel were up at 4:30 and on the move. She was having the time of her life! If anyone came to visit they also had to be ready to play a game of Bingo with her as her work would not wait.
Mom said another of her and Mel's jobs was to listen to each other sleep. Mel was there for her that Sunday morning and awoke when her breathing pattern changed and stopped.
Elvin had be down Saturday, June 9, 1990, and had a good visit. He had gone to "work" with the pair and Mom won $60 dollars at Bingo. Then Elvin drove back to his home in Pahrump.
Mom called Kathryn in the early evening worrying about storms back in Kansas the TV news had been reporting, hoping she wasn't getting flooded out.
Mom had developed an upset stomach earlier in the day that wouldn't go away and retired to bed an hour earlier than usual. We know now she was having a heart attack... too late. At 3:30 in the morning her sweet hear stopped beating. Mel was there listening bu could not help.
I know it is not rational but I have found to forgive Mel for his lack of knowledge of basic CPR! Jimmy and I have taken him home with us. He lives in his motor home in our front yard where Jimmy has made a special place for him. My mother would have wanted us to.
We laid her to rest in St. George beside Daddy in the place she had prepared for them both. She and all those other Moss Backs, together again, as equals.
During her 77 years, Mom got to see all the progress from the horse and buggy to seeing men land on the moon. She was there for the inventions of radio, television, portable telephones, answering machines, and microwave ovens. She told us when she was a little girl with outdoor toilets, she had a can-o-pee under her bed. She had to laugh when her daughter begged her for a con-o-py over her bed.
We didn't know until we were old enough to understand, Mom had a bit of inferiority complex and would let small mined people hurt her.
In St. George she took us kids to Church one time when Jeff was the baby. We were not in regular attendance on Sundays since we seldom had transportation.
Daddy smoked cigarettes. The scent of smoke must have clung to out clothes. A lady in front of us was seen to sniff the air then remark loudly to the person next to her, "People who smoke should stay home."
It was a rare instance when we were able to get Mom out to Church again. She usually say to it we older children took the younger ones and walked the two miles as often as possible.
One day Mom said she did n;t like to go to the classes in Sunday School. "Every time I go the teacher gives the lesson and stares straight at me. I don't have to go and be treated like that."
"That is how you and I differ, Mom," I told her. When I go to class I think the teacher is talking to those around me."
Sometime after Daddy died and Mom was feeling SO low, she went to her doctor for a check up. When she walked into his office he looked at her and said, "How are you today, Mrs. Laub?"
Sometimes, she thought, people deliberately slurred the two words and called her "Mrs. Slobb", She looked the doctor in the eyes and said, "I'm as Good as anyone else!" The doctor had a good laugh and she and he became fast friends.
On day one of her younger sons asked her how old she was, Mom told him, "See those hills out there? I remember when they rose out of the ground like loaves of bread." He went to school and reported to class that his mother was as old as the hills.
He felt betrayed when they laughed at him. Had Mom known it was an assignment to interview a parent for home work she'd have been more careful. From then on we were all proud to brag that our mother was as old as the hills.
My mom told me once. "Do you know what Happiness is? It is when you Eleventh child calls you on Mother's day and says Thank you for not having an abortion".
There are those who thing Mom should have been at Church instead of playing Bingo. Maybe so. I personally think God understood and loved this women who had problems of almost 100 children and grandchildren to worry after. I vote with Him ---- she did a real good!
They "went to work" each morning. (That was what they called playing Bingo.) They allotted just so much of their monthly incomes to spend each day. If they won they shared and if they lost they went home. Mom kept careful track of her winnings and losses and saw to it that she broke even each month so as not to get in trouble with gambling.
She kept zip lock baggies in her purse to take home the food she had too much of at lunch so there was always something good left for dinner.
They had many elderly good friends to meet each morning. Mom and Mel were up at 4:30 and on the move. She was having the time of her life! If anyone came to visit they also had to be ready to play a game of Bingo with her as her work would not wait.
Mom said another of her and Mel's jobs was to listen to each other sleep. Mel was there for her that Sunday morning and awoke when her breathing pattern changed and stopped.
Elvin had be down Saturday, June 9, 1990, and had a good visit. He had gone to "work" with the pair and Mom won $60 dollars at Bingo. Then Elvin drove back to his home in Pahrump.
Mom called Kathryn in the early evening worrying about storms back in Kansas the TV news had been reporting, hoping she wasn't getting flooded out.
Mom had developed an upset stomach earlier in the day that wouldn't go away and retired to bed an hour earlier than usual. We know now she was having a heart attack... too late. At 3:30 in the morning her sweet hear stopped beating. Mel was there listening bu could not help.
I know it is not rational but I have found to forgive Mel for his lack of knowledge of basic CPR! Jimmy and I have taken him home with us. He lives in his motor home in our front yard where Jimmy has made a special place for him. My mother would have wanted us to.
We laid her to rest in St. George beside Daddy in the place she had prepared for them both. She and all those other Moss Backs, together again, as equals.
During her 77 years, Mom got to see all the progress from the horse and buggy to seeing men land on the moon. She was there for the inventions of radio, television, portable telephones, answering machines, and microwave ovens. She told us when she was a little girl with outdoor toilets, she had a can-o-pee under her bed. She had to laugh when her daughter begged her for a con-o-py over her bed.
We didn't know until we were old enough to understand, Mom had a bit of inferiority complex and would let small mined people hurt her.
In St. George she took us kids to Church one time when Jeff was the baby. We were not in regular attendance on Sundays since we seldom had transportation.
Daddy smoked cigarettes. The scent of smoke must have clung to out clothes. A lady in front of us was seen to sniff the air then remark loudly to the person next to her, "People who smoke should stay home."
It was a rare instance when we were able to get Mom out to Church again. She usually say to it we older children took the younger ones and walked the two miles as often as possible.
One day Mom said she did n;t like to go to the classes in Sunday School. "Every time I go the teacher gives the lesson and stares straight at me. I don't have to go and be treated like that."
"That is how you and I differ, Mom," I told her. When I go to class I think the teacher is talking to those around me."
Sometime after Daddy died and Mom was feeling SO low, she went to her doctor for a check up. When she walked into his office he looked at her and said, "How are you today, Mrs. Laub?"
Sometimes, she thought, people deliberately slurred the two words and called her "Mrs. Slobb", She looked the doctor in the eyes and said, "I'm as Good as anyone else!" The doctor had a good laugh and she and he became fast friends.
On day one of her younger sons asked her how old she was, Mom told him, "See those hills out there? I remember when they rose out of the ground like loaves of bread." He went to school and reported to class that his mother was as old as the hills.
He felt betrayed when they laughed at him. Had Mom known it was an assignment to interview a parent for home work she'd have been more careful. From then on we were all proud to brag that our mother was as old as the hills.
My mom told me once. "Do you know what Happiness is? It is when you Eleventh child calls you on Mother's day and says Thank you for not having an abortion".
There are those who thing Mom should have been at Church instead of playing Bingo. Maybe so. I personally think God understood and loved this women who had problems of almost 100 children and grandchildren to worry after. I vote with Him ---- she did a real good!
What Mama Wants, Mama gets
She was quietly proud of all us kids. We wanted to excel in life so she could be proud of us and not have to ever hear again --- "Here comes Melba and her brats, don't answer the door." her children and grandchildren's accomplishments made her last twenty years feel like all that work was worth her years of hard labor.
We all wanted to spoil her to the best of our abilities. Elvin always said, "What ever my Mama wants, I'll try to see she gets it." She bragged to her friends, "I have 13 kids and we are best friends. If I wanted a Cadillac and asked them for it, they'd get it for me." Fortunately, she never wanted a Cadillac.
Mom slowed down her travels the last year and half of her life. After Wayne, one of the twins, was killed in an auto accident in 1988, I saw a change in her pattern. She didn't want to see he children go first. she could hardly make herself drive over the new highway Wayne had helped build between Las Vegas and Bull Head City just before his death.
She took up the occupation of worrying. I told her to quit that. I had always bragged about her in Relief Society when I taught my Family Education lessons. I told everyone how my mother was my hero. She would take care of the problems she could handle and not worry about thing she couldn't change. i said, "Don't make a liar out of me now, after all these years." She laughed. It always surprised her to find just how wise we children found her to be.
Daddy always had jobs that required him to be up at four or five in the mornings. Mom was always there to fix his breakfast and pack a lunch. Then they would sit around the table laughing and talking until he left, a comforting sound to sleeping children. The memories of the smell of bacon and coffee in early hours still makes me homesick.
Although it had bee years since Daddy died and the last child moved out, Mom found herself still waking up early. When the sun went down she found herself expecting someone to come home. She missed her early morning talks and tasks.
She then was living in Bullhead City across the river from the boom town of Laughlin. to our surprise she began taking the ferry across the Colorado River from Arizona to the Nevada side to Sam's Town Casino. There she enjoyed an Early Bird ninety nine cent breakfast and game of Bingo. She was happy to finally find something she could do other that sit around feeling gloom and doom.
We all wanted to spoil her to the best of our abilities. Elvin always said, "What ever my Mama wants, I'll try to see she gets it." She bragged to her friends, "I have 13 kids and we are best friends. If I wanted a Cadillac and asked them for it, they'd get it for me." Fortunately, she never wanted a Cadillac.
Mom slowed down her travels the last year and half of her life. After Wayne, one of the twins, was killed in an auto accident in 1988, I saw a change in her pattern. She didn't want to see he children go first. she could hardly make herself drive over the new highway Wayne had helped build between Las Vegas and Bull Head City just before his death.
She took up the occupation of worrying. I told her to quit that. I had always bragged about her in Relief Society when I taught my Family Education lessons. I told everyone how my mother was my hero. She would take care of the problems she could handle and not worry about thing she couldn't change. i said, "Don't make a liar out of me now, after all these years." She laughed. It always surprised her to find just how wise we children found her to be.
Daddy always had jobs that required him to be up at four or five in the mornings. Mom was always there to fix his breakfast and pack a lunch. Then they would sit around the table laughing and talking until he left, a comforting sound to sleeping children. The memories of the smell of bacon and coffee in early hours still makes me homesick.
Although it had bee years since Daddy died and the last child moved out, Mom found herself still waking up early. When the sun went down she found herself expecting someone to come home. She missed her early morning talks and tasks.
She then was living in Bullhead City across the river from the boom town of Laughlin. to our surprise she began taking the ferry across the Colorado River from Arizona to the Nevada side to Sam's Town Casino. There she enjoyed an Early Bird ninety nine cent breakfast and game of Bingo. She was happy to finally find something she could do other that sit around feeling gloom and doom.
Visiting Kids
All the children grew up and married with lives of their own. Mom's friend Sandy would travel with her. he encouraged her to be independent and not let the kids tell her she was old and should stay home in a rocking chair in case they needed her.
Mon and Sandy would travel to land sales promotions and Mom would put down payments on property and make monthly payments so she would have something of growing value to have in her old age.
Mom believe land was something one should have. She bought 2 lots in the town site just opened in Lake Havasu, Arizona. She bought one in Riviera, Arizona. Today those two towns have grown beyond her dreams. Riviera has been incorporated into the city of Bullhead City. She bought 2 lots in Berlin, New Mexico, one each in Mead View and Dolon Springs, Arizona.
Then Sandy was killed in a car wreck as he was turning into the driveway at mom's home in Las Vegas. She was devastated again.
Around 1980 she made the decision to leave Las Vegas and the old homestead where all the memories pressed in on her. She was determined to start a new life and not get stuck in limbo. there was living to do and she was going to do it.
She prepared to move to her Riviera property in Bull head City, Arizona, thirty miles from me in Needles, California. On it Elvin fixed his mother a home she loved and was proud to live in. She bought herself a car and visited anyone she felt like visiting. She had wheels and knew how to use them.
There was Kathryn in Kansas, LaVerna in Southern Utah, Elvin's and Wayne's families in Pahurump, Nevada, Emma lea in Rocklin, CA. and Erick was her pit stop at Bunkerville, Nevada when ever Mom drove to St. George, Willard, Deanna, Jeffrey, Kenny, and Tammy all lived in Las Vegas. I was in Needles. Rose Marie was in Hawaii, one place her car couldn't take her. But she flew over a few times.
Mom told people she had thirteen children and could spend one month with each one and never be at the same home twice for Christmas for 13 years.
She was our best friend, When we children get together we talk about "My Mother". There were a FEW times when we said, "Do you know war YOUR mother did?" If I ever whined or sniveled about my husband's imperfections, mom always stuck up for him. she thought he spoiled me rotten. he has lost his best allly and I, my friend.
Mon and Sandy would travel to land sales promotions and Mom would put down payments on property and make monthly payments so she would have something of growing value to have in her old age.
Mom believe land was something one should have. She bought 2 lots in the town site just opened in Lake Havasu, Arizona. She bought one in Riviera, Arizona. Today those two towns have grown beyond her dreams. Riviera has been incorporated into the city of Bullhead City. She bought 2 lots in Berlin, New Mexico, one each in Mead View and Dolon Springs, Arizona.
Then Sandy was killed in a car wreck as he was turning into the driveway at mom's home in Las Vegas. She was devastated again.
Around 1980 she made the decision to leave Las Vegas and the old homestead where all the memories pressed in on her. She was determined to start a new life and not get stuck in limbo. there was living to do and she was going to do it.
She prepared to move to her Riviera property in Bull head City, Arizona, thirty miles from me in Needles, California. On it Elvin fixed his mother a home she loved and was proud to live in. She bought herself a car and visited anyone she felt like visiting. She had wheels and knew how to use them.
There was Kathryn in Kansas, LaVerna in Southern Utah, Elvin's and Wayne's families in Pahurump, Nevada, Emma lea in Rocklin, CA. and Erick was her pit stop at Bunkerville, Nevada when ever Mom drove to St. George, Willard, Deanna, Jeffrey, Kenny, and Tammy all lived in Las Vegas. I was in Needles. Rose Marie was in Hawaii, one place her car couldn't take her. But she flew over a few times.
Mom told people she had thirteen children and could spend one month with each one and never be at the same home twice for Christmas for 13 years.
She was our best friend, When we children get together we talk about "My Mother". There were a FEW times when we said, "Do you know war YOUR mother did?" If I ever whined or sniveled about my husband's imperfections, mom always stuck up for him. she thought he spoiled me rotten. he has lost his best allly and I, my friend.
Broken Eggs
There was a time in my married life when my husband decided he liked chickens. He build me a coop and bought a couple hundred chickens, whether I wanted them or not.
One day shortly after Mom had been down for a visit, bringing Rose and Tammy to play with my 4 children. Jimmy and I found a place near the front of the chicken coop where a shallow hole had been scooped out and a large batch of broken eggs were buried. Naturally i though of Rose Marie who was known for her impetuous personality.
On the next visit from Mom and the girls, we were sitting at the table eating lunch when I remembered the broken eggs.
"Rose," I said, "Do you need to tell me about anything you did the last time you were here that I should know about?"
"What do you mean, " she asked guiltily, "Do you mean the time Mike and I took a package of instant pudding to the bushes and made a bowl of it to eat without asking?"
"No."
"Oh, do you mean the time Mike and I snuck a pack of Jimmy's cigarettes out of the drawer and smoked them in the bushes?"
"No!" this was getting interesting.
"Well, do you mean the time we walked to the river and filled our pop bottles with water and wrote dirty words in the road?"
"No!" Rose was getting a panicky look on her face. "Do you know anything about a bunch of broken eggs?"
Mam gave a surprised giggle. "I know what you are talking about. I did that. I gathered the eggs for you and tripped as I left the coop. i did a big flip onto the ground trying not to drop the bucket. it sailed over my head in a circle and smashed right there in front of my face. i didn't want the dog to eat them and get a taste for eggs so I scooped a hole in the sand and buried them." We had us a good laugh. i don't think Rose Marie thought it was so funny being tricked into confessing to all her past sins.
One day shortly after Mom had been down for a visit, bringing Rose and Tammy to play with my 4 children. Jimmy and I found a place near the front of the chicken coop where a shallow hole had been scooped out and a large batch of broken eggs were buried. Naturally i though of Rose Marie who was known for her impetuous personality.
On the next visit from Mom and the girls, we were sitting at the table eating lunch when I remembered the broken eggs.
"Rose," I said, "Do you need to tell me about anything you did the last time you were here that I should know about?"
"What do you mean, " she asked guiltily, "Do you mean the time Mike and I took a package of instant pudding to the bushes and made a bowl of it to eat without asking?"
"No."
"Oh, do you mean the time Mike and I snuck a pack of Jimmy's cigarettes out of the drawer and smoked them in the bushes?"
"No!" this was getting interesting.
"Well, do you mean the time we walked to the river and filled our pop bottles with water and wrote dirty words in the road?"
"No!" Rose was getting a panicky look on her face. "Do you know anything about a bunch of broken eggs?"
Mam gave a surprised giggle. "I know what you are talking about. I did that. I gathered the eggs for you and tripped as I left the coop. i did a big flip onto the ground trying not to drop the bucket. it sailed over my head in a circle and smashed right there in front of my face. i didn't want the dog to eat them and get a taste for eggs so I scooped a hole in the sand and buried them." We had us a good laugh. i don't think Rose Marie thought it was so funny being tricked into confessing to all her past sins.
How Does One Go On?
These were the hardest and saddest years for Mom. How was she to go on? After all those years of being a housewife and mother, she had to find work to help support the family. She got a job making salads for the salad bar at Hill Top House, a restaurant owned by old friends. She sold Avon. She sold Tupperware.
She soon felt she had lost control of her children. Without help of Daddy to back her authority, her children thought she had not the right to tell them what to do and were going wrong directions.
Tammy, who has always been Mom's baby, was sent to live with LaVerna's family for her freshman year of High School. The separation was hard on both Mother and Daughter. Tammy came home with a new found respect for Mom and things went better for them.
Kenny was a rebellious enough teenager to move into a big card board box in the back yard of his 16 year old future wife's home. Mom could not understand how to handle these teenage problems. Without Dad there everyone was in turmoil.
The best thing about teenagers is that they soon grow up. That is part of the "Great Plan." Teenagers have to enter a period of time where the are so obnoxious parents are glad to send them off into the world. If they remained as sweet as they were as toddlers, how could a mother's heart ever stand the pain of watching them leave home as adults.
Now that we are all old enough to understand life, we appreciated and love Mom so much more for all the sacrifices she made and for the grit and courage it took to carry on.
I am even thankful for her friend Sandy who cam along to give moral support and tell her she was a person.... not just a Mother.
She soon felt she had lost control of her children. Without help of Daddy to back her authority, her children thought she had not the right to tell them what to do and were going wrong directions.
Tammy, who has always been Mom's baby, was sent to live with LaVerna's family for her freshman year of High School. The separation was hard on both Mother and Daughter. Tammy came home with a new found respect for Mom and things went better for them.
Kenny was a rebellious enough teenager to move into a big card board box in the back yard of his 16 year old future wife's home. Mom could not understand how to handle these teenage problems. Without Dad there everyone was in turmoil.
The best thing about teenagers is that they soon grow up. That is part of the "Great Plan." Teenagers have to enter a period of time where the are so obnoxious parents are glad to send them off into the world. If they remained as sweet as they were as toddlers, how could a mother's heart ever stand the pain of watching them leave home as adults.
Now that we are all old enough to understand life, we appreciated and love Mom so much more for all the sacrifices she made and for the grit and courage it took to carry on.
I am even thankful for her friend Sandy who cam along to give moral support and tell her she was a person.... not just a Mother.
One Car Accident
This home in Las Vegas is also where the years of smoking cigarettes and working in the dust on the heavy equipment jobs caught up with Dad.
Working at the Nevada Atomic Test Site didn't help his lungs either. He would drive his Bulldozer into the area of Ground Zero after Atom bobs were exploded above ground. He wore a radiation meter on his coveralls. When it reached a high contamination reading he would be sent home for a few weeks until his radiation meter read cool again.
After one of dad's first experiences of participating in an above ground nuclear test explosion, he wrote home to Mom and said how sick most of the men were who had taken part. Most of the men Had returned to the dormitories violently ill with vomiting. Elvin had just come out of the Navy and Dad had got him a job at Mercury with him. Daddy said how glad he was Elvin's job required him to be inside that day so he was not sick too.
Many of these men later in life developed a variety of Cancers that ended their lives. We all suspect these above ground test caused the diseases that caused their ends on this Earth to be pain ridden. Of course the government denies any wrong doing.
By age fifty eight Dad was always sick with pneumonia symptoms. it was finally diagnosed as Emphysema. With this dreaded lung disease he experienced failing health and the depression that comes with it.
In 1967 at age 60, Dad was killed in a one car roll over accident. That was probably the first time Mom and the small kids weren't in the car with him when he was traveling to Utah. He was on his way to see a cousin friend of his youth.
There were no speed limits on the Nevada highways. Dad passed a car as he was traveling over the Mormon Mesa near Glendale, Nevada. His speed was estimated at over 100 miles per hour as he passed, became airborne and lost control of his car. The car rolled several times and Dad was killed instantly as he was ejected from the vehicle.
Dad had 6 strong sons who carried him to his final resting place. The L.D.S. Chapel in Las Vegas was packed with many friends as well as family. Many people loved him and did not know the turmoil his soul had been going through as his health worsened in the last year of his life. God took him speedily so his suffering would be at an end.
We buried him in St. George where all his parents and grand parents are buried.
Jeffery had just come out of the service from serving in Viet Nam. Emma Lea, Kenny, Rosemarie, and Tammy were still in school.
Working at the Nevada Atomic Test Site didn't help his lungs either. He would drive his Bulldozer into the area of Ground Zero after Atom bobs were exploded above ground. He wore a radiation meter on his coveralls. When it reached a high contamination reading he would be sent home for a few weeks until his radiation meter read cool again.
After one of dad's first experiences of participating in an above ground nuclear test explosion, he wrote home to Mom and said how sick most of the men were who had taken part. Most of the men Had returned to the dormitories violently ill with vomiting. Elvin had just come out of the Navy and Dad had got him a job at Mercury with him. Daddy said how glad he was Elvin's job required him to be inside that day so he was not sick too.
Many of these men later in life developed a variety of Cancers that ended their lives. We all suspect these above ground test caused the diseases that caused their ends on this Earth to be pain ridden. Of course the government denies any wrong doing.
By age fifty eight Dad was always sick with pneumonia symptoms. it was finally diagnosed as Emphysema. With this dreaded lung disease he experienced failing health and the depression that comes with it.
In 1967 at age 60, Dad was killed in a one car roll over accident. That was probably the first time Mom and the small kids weren't in the car with him when he was traveling to Utah. He was on his way to see a cousin friend of his youth.
There were no speed limits on the Nevada highways. Dad passed a car as he was traveling over the Mormon Mesa near Glendale, Nevada. His speed was estimated at over 100 miles per hour as he passed, became airborne and lost control of his car. The car rolled several times and Dad was killed instantly as he was ejected from the vehicle.
Dad had 6 strong sons who carried him to his final resting place. The L.D.S. Chapel in Las Vegas was packed with many friends as well as family. Many people loved him and did not know the turmoil his soul had been going through as his health worsened in the last year of his life. God took him speedily so his suffering would be at an end.
We buried him in St. George where all his parents and grand parents are buried.
Jeffery had just come out of the service from serving in Viet Nam. Emma Lea, Kenny, Rosemarie, and Tammy were still in school.
Pushed Over the Edge
There is a story Kathryn, Kenny and Emma Lea told of time living in Las Vegas. Elvin thinks this story may be painful to be told, but this was life the way it was lived. Things were not always as we wish they could have been.
One weekend when Kathryn was the teenager left in charge of the kids while Mom and dad were gone for the day, there came a point where Jeffery teased her once to often. What he did was not important. it was just another minor offense added to the thousand other times the younger brother had tormented his sister in his disrespectful teenage way. It seemed Jeff was set to see how far he could push her.
The final straw came over something as trivial as a can of Tuna Fish and crackers.
As heated words came to blows Kathryn went to the closet where Dad kept his hunting guns. She grabbed a rifle, loaded it, and aimed it at Jeff. She was so angry as she pointed it at him the look on her face must have let him know she was not fooling.
Kathryn said it was hard to explain what feeling came over her as she aimed the gun and watched Jeff's face drain of color leaving only bright freckles and wide blue eyes staring in fear.
A feeling of triumph came to her seeing the object of constant torment at such a disadvantage. She was not herself as she realized she was in control and gloried in knowing she finally had Jeff without the scornful look on his face.
Meanwhile, as the battle first broke out with little Kenny and Emma Lea watching in horror, they ran for help! they had watched as the pacifist Kathryn finally turned on her tormentor, the ran to Elvin as fast as they could with wide eyes and fear on their faces.
One weekend when Kathryn was the teenager left in charge of the kids while Mom and dad were gone for the day, there came a point where Jeffery teased her once to often. What he did was not important. it was just another minor offense added to the thousand other times the younger brother had tormented his sister in his disrespectful teenage way. It seemed Jeff was set to see how far he could push her.
The final straw came over something as trivial as a can of Tuna Fish and crackers.
As heated words came to blows Kathryn went to the closet where Dad kept his hunting guns. She grabbed a rifle, loaded it, and aimed it at Jeff. She was so angry as she pointed it at him the look on her face must have let him know she was not fooling.
Kathryn said it was hard to explain what feeling came over her as she aimed the gun and watched Jeff's face drain of color leaving only bright freckles and wide blue eyes staring in fear.
A feeling of triumph came to her seeing the object of constant torment at such a disadvantage. She was not herself as she realized she was in control and gloried in knowing she finally had Jeff without the scornful look on his face.
Meanwhile, as the battle first broke out with little Kenny and Emma Lea watching in horror, they ran for help! they had watched as the pacifist Kathryn finally turned on her tormentor, the ran to Elvin as fast as they could with wide eyes and fear on their faces.
Jeff's Road Trip
When Dad moved his children to Las Vegas in 1957, Jeff hated to leave behind all his friends.
By the time Jeff turned 12 the next year in May, he had a small motorcycle. Summer came and jeff decided it was time to head back to utah for a visit.
Mom said she and Dad came home from a shopping rip to the store and found a note left for themon the piano. it was from Jeff. It read: "Never worry never fear, you're going to miss you little dear." he then informed them he was headed for Utah on his scooter and don't worry about him.
They immediately set off to findhim. From Las Vagas to St, George was a good two hours in a car going 60 miles per hour. mom envisioned all the bad things that could happen to a young boy on such a mode of transportaion.
They found him safely in Utah having a great time with a friend instead of somewhere alongside the road. there is no doubt Dad was relieved to find him. I wonder just what was said to his little buddy who was beginning to grow his own wings.
By the time Jeff turned 12 the next year in May, he had a small motorcycle. Summer came and jeff decided it was time to head back to utah for a visit.
Mom said she and Dad came home from a shopping rip to the store and found a note left for themon the piano. it was from Jeff. It read: "Never worry never fear, you're going to miss you little dear." he then informed them he was headed for Utah on his scooter and don't worry about him.
They immediately set off to findhim. From Las Vagas to St, George was a good two hours in a car going 60 miles per hour. mom envisioned all the bad things that could happen to a young boy on such a mode of transportaion.
They found him safely in Utah having a great time with a friend instead of somewhere alongside the road. there is no doubt Dad was relieved to find him. I wonder just what was said to his little buddy who was beginning to grow his own wings.
Hysterectomy / Soft Bread
After the last child was born and the family moved to Las Vegas, Doctor Reichman told Mom she had to have a hysterectomy. Thirteen pregnancies left Mom in poor contition. She was told this would put her out of action for heavy work for at least 6 weeks.
Mom worried about how her family woudl get along while she was in St. George recovering form the operation. In preparation for her absence, mom made a large batch of bread for her hungry children.
The operation was a success. After her hospital confinement she went home to Las Vegas to discover all her bread was still there, hard and moldy. Everyone had enjoyed the fangled store bought soft white bread. It was ears before Mom would bake another loaf of bread.
Mom worried about how her family woudl get along while she was in St. George recovering form the operation. In preparation for her absence, mom made a large batch of bread for her hungry children.
The operation was a success. After her hospital confinement she went home to Las Vegas to discover all her bread was still there, hard and moldy. Everyone had enjoyed the fangled store bought soft white bread. It was ears before Mom would bake another loaf of bread.
Tammy's Needles Vacation
Dad would come to Needles to watch boxing matches that were blacked out in Las Vegas. After one of those summertime visits we talked Tammy in staying with us for a week or two when Mom and Dad went home. Our 4 small kids were thrilled that she stayed and everyone went off happily together to make plans for fun.
Suddenly Tammy realized the enormity of what she had asked for. She saw the car leave the driveway and start down the road. Out the door she flew just screaming and crying! Too late. They did not see her. She sobbed herself to sleep that night.
The next few days she began to settle in and play with the kids. She kept a Kleenes tissure ever in her hand to wip a silent ear away every now and then.
After 4 or 5 days Dad missed his baby and called to say "Hello" We were not supposed to return her for a few more days but that phone call brought back that empty longing for family, the tears started gushing! She had to keep teh whole box of kleenes in her hands. She was inconsolable.
I felt bad that Tammy was feeling so unhappy and tried to lift her spirits. "Tammy, won't you stay just a few more days?"
"I want to go home!"
"But Tammy we want you to stay and play with your cousins."
"I hate it here! I hate your house! I hate your kids! I hate your dog! I hate your cat! I hat everyone!" and she burst into fresh torrents of tears. i could not help but laugh at this tiny thing pouring out misery and hate.
Suddenly Tammy realized the enormity of what she had asked for. She saw the car leave the driveway and start down the road. Out the door she flew just screaming and crying! Too late. They did not see her. She sobbed herself to sleep that night.
The next few days she began to settle in and play with the kids. She kept a Kleenes tissure ever in her hand to wip a silent ear away every now and then.
After 4 or 5 days Dad missed his baby and called to say "Hello" We were not supposed to return her for a few more days but that phone call brought back that empty longing for family, the tears started gushing! She had to keep teh whole box of kleenes in her hands. She was inconsolable.
I felt bad that Tammy was feeling so unhappy and tried to lift her spirits. "Tammy, won't you stay just a few more days?"
"I want to go home!"
"But Tammy we want you to stay and play with your cousins."
"I hate it here! I hate your house! I hate your kids! I hate your dog! I hate your cat! I hat everyone!" and she burst into fresh torrents of tears. i could not help but laugh at this tiny thing pouring out misery and hate.
A Wig for Tammy
Tammy, the last born, was as different from Rose Marie as night from day. her disposition was one of peace maker. She was our Kewpie Doll. She never fussed and always had a smile. But she had the dickens of a time growing hair those first 4 years of life.
When her hair came in it was short, pale blond and kinky. We had fun rubber her fuzzy little head which looked almost hairless from a distance. We loved her so! She had the perfect personality for the teasing she had to put up with.
Kathryn became concerned when Tammy was getting ready to enter Kindergarten and still had a short fuzzy hair. She took her babysitting money and bought a wig for her baby sister. mom got such a kick out of that, seeing her baby in that ridiculous wig. It took only a glance to convince Kathryn she should let nature take it's course. It was not long before the real hair began to grow long and think putting Kathryn's fears to rest.
When her hair came in it was short, pale blond and kinky. We had fun rubber her fuzzy little head which looked almost hairless from a distance. We loved her so! She had the perfect personality for the teasing she had to put up with.
Kathryn became concerned when Tammy was getting ready to enter Kindergarten and still had a short fuzzy hair. She took her babysitting money and bought a wig for her baby sister. mom got such a kick out of that, seeing her baby in that ridiculous wig. It took only a glance to convince Kathryn she should let nature take it's course. It was not long before the real hair began to grow long and think putting Kathryn's fears to rest.
X-Lax the new Chocolete Bar
When Deanna was left behind to finish her schooling at Dixie High , she always looked forward to seeing Mom and Dad when they went back to look after the old homestead and check on Grandpa Larson. She missed her brothers and Sisters!
Deanna loved to take little Rose Marie to her apartment and enjoy her for a day. On one such visit when Pose was 4 or 5, she decided she wanted to find her Mom and Dad. She left Deanna's house quietly and walked away one hot summer afternoon. When Deanna realized her baby sister was missing she began frantically looking everywhere.
Mom said she and Dad found Deanna waling down the middle of the hot city black tipped street, bare foot and crying because she had lost Rose Marie.
Deanna got into the car with them to search together. They drove towards the home which was 2 miles form Deanna's They finally saw Rose Marie playing in the yard of Emma lea's little girl friend who lived 2 blocks form the old home.
Rose Marie was born running. She was never afraid of anything! Still is not. Deanna took her to the city pool in St. George for a swim, Rose had never been to a pool before, she was not old enough to talk well let alone swim yet.
Deanna said Rose ran ahead of her and jumped off the deep end and disappeared under water. Deanna was dumbfounded as she watched Rose sink out of sight. She dove right in behind the child.
Diving down to the bottom she found Rose who had her eyes open and a smile on her face. Deanna quickly hauled the little girl to the surface. Rose Marie took a few gasps of air to Deanna's relief. "Fun! Fun!" Rose sputtered.
On these trips home Dad enjoyed being in the financial position where he could give his child money for a treat before leaving town. mom and Dad and Rose stopped for breakfast at the old Dick's Cafe. Rose was given change for a chocolate candy bar as she stood at the check out counter.
On the way back to Las Vegas Ros began complaining about not feeling well. Mom noticed the candy bar Ros was eating was actually a bar of x-lax, a laxative! Before they go to Las Vegas Rose was one miserable little girl. Mom was one mad Mama for anyone selling that to a small child.
Deanna loved to take little Rose Marie to her apartment and enjoy her for a day. On one such visit when Pose was 4 or 5, she decided she wanted to find her Mom and Dad. She left Deanna's house quietly and walked away one hot summer afternoon. When Deanna realized her baby sister was missing she began frantically looking everywhere.
Mom said she and Dad found Deanna waling down the middle of the hot city black tipped street, bare foot and crying because she had lost Rose Marie.
Deanna got into the car with them to search together. They drove towards the home which was 2 miles form Deanna's They finally saw Rose Marie playing in the yard of Emma lea's little girl friend who lived 2 blocks form the old home.
Rose Marie was born running. She was never afraid of anything! Still is not. Deanna took her to the city pool in St. George for a swim, Rose had never been to a pool before, she was not old enough to talk well let alone swim yet.
Deanna said Rose ran ahead of her and jumped off the deep end and disappeared under water. Deanna was dumbfounded as she watched Rose sink out of sight. She dove right in behind the child.
Diving down to the bottom she found Rose who had her eyes open and a smile on her face. Deanna quickly hauled the little girl to the surface. Rose Marie took a few gasps of air to Deanna's relief. "Fun! Fun!" Rose sputtered.
On these trips home Dad enjoyed being in the financial position where he could give his child money for a treat before leaving town. mom and Dad and Rose stopped for breakfast at the old Dick's Cafe. Rose was given change for a chocolate candy bar as she stood at the check out counter.
On the way back to Las Vegas Ros began complaining about not feeling well. Mom noticed the candy bar Ros was eating was actually a bar of x-lax, a laxative! Before they go to Las Vegas Rose was one miserable little girl. Mom was one mad Mama for anyone selling that to a small child.
Kenny's Driving Lesson
Kenny's story of driving to the river with his dad is a great one. About the time the family moved to Las Vegas Dad was home for the weekend. Ken couldn't ave been more than 9 years old when Dad took him for a drive to the river. Dad had a few drinks in his system and feeling no pain. Ken loved Dad's new big car. It had automatic transmission. "Do you want to drive it?" Dad asked.
"You bet!"
Dad pulled off the paved road, put the car in neutral, and pointed the nose of the car up the sloped graveled road side.
"It's easy, " Dad told him as he had Kenn get behind the wheel. Dad put the automatic transmission into gear. "Just put your foot on the gs pedal and gently press with your foot."
Kenny said he put his foot on the gs. Since the car had a slight uphill climb off gravel, the car did not take right off. Kenny tromped his foot on the gas, In a cloud of dust the came alive shooting across the road onto the other side heading for a fence.
Ken could hardly see over the top of the steering wheel. he was scared out of his wits and took his foot off the gas. Dad was able to steer the car until he reached the brake and came to a stop.
Ken said Dad's face was white and he was now cols sober with his surprised eyes wide open. Dad gave Ken a lopsided grin and patted his hand over his fast beating heart. "I think I'll drive," he said.
"You bet!"
Dad pulled off the paved road, put the car in neutral, and pointed the nose of the car up the sloped graveled road side.
"It's easy, " Dad told him as he had Kenn get behind the wheel. Dad put the automatic transmission into gear. "Just put your foot on the gs pedal and gently press with your foot."
Kenny said he put his foot on the gs. Since the car had a slight uphill climb off gravel, the car did not take right off. Kenny tromped his foot on the gas, In a cloud of dust the came alive shooting across the road onto the other side heading for a fence.
Ken could hardly see over the top of the steering wheel. he was scared out of his wits and took his foot off the gas. Dad was able to steer the car until he reached the brake and came to a stop.
Ken said Dad's face was white and he was now cols sober with his surprised eyes wide open. Dad gave Ken a lopsided grin and patted his hand over his fast beating heart. "I think I'll drive," he said.
Skinny Dipping
Danna said it was like that badjoke, she went home after school one time and the family had moved leaving no forwarding addreww. She moved into Grandpa Larson's basement for a while. She later shared an apartment with a girl friend. Deanna paid her own way from then on until her marriage a few years later.
Deanna had a good friend named Anne McGravey. they went through teh silly years together, making fun happen where ever they went. One dark evening they climbed the mulberry trees on the lawn of the St. George Tabernacle, there they proceeded to cry lik little children who were afraid to come down just to get reactions from people coming out of meetings.
Deanna told me of the time she and Anne took a drive to the river soon after they got a drivers license at age 16, As they crossed the bridge Deanna noticed some young boys skinny dipping.
Always with a trained mind for mischief, Deanna told her friend to drive back to where the boys had hung their clothes on the bushes. She go out and retrieved all the clothes! Left nothing!
After driving for another 15 minutes, pity came to Deanna's thoughts at last. The two girls went back to return the clothes and found some pretty downcast boys who were sure they were doomed to walk home in the buff.
Deanna had a good friend named Anne McGravey. they went through teh silly years together, making fun happen where ever they went. One dark evening they climbed the mulberry trees on the lawn of the St. George Tabernacle, there they proceeded to cry lik little children who were afraid to come down just to get reactions from people coming out of meetings.
Deanna told me of the time she and Anne took a drive to the river soon after they got a drivers license at age 16, As they crossed the bridge Deanna noticed some young boys skinny dipping.
Always with a trained mind for mischief, Deanna told her friend to drive back to where the boys had hung their clothes on the bushes. She go out and retrieved all the clothes! Left nothing!
After driving for another 15 minutes, pity came to Deanna's thoughts at last. The two girls went back to return the clothes and found some pretty downcast boys who were sure they were doomed to walk home in the buff.
Two Families
It was in 1957 when Dad moved his family to the Las Vegas home on Nellis Blvd. In 1957 Nellis was just a graveled road, a short cut we took to by pass Las Vegas to get the the Salt Lake Highway when Jimmy would take me to visit my parents in St. George.
Las Vegas is where the second half of the family were raised to adulthood. The children taken to be reared in these new surroundings where Dad would be able to spend more time with his family than we older ones had been given. were Kathryn, Jeff, Emma Lea, Kenny, Rose Marie, and Tammy. that is a sizable family of children itself!
When we have family reunions, we older children get our feelings hut because the children who grew up in Las Vegas seem to shut us out. there seems to be a dividing line. I guess they don't remember any of our good times with them. But WE remember. how we loved them and hated to leave them behind when we went out into the world to start families of our own!
Kenny is the exception. He is still that happy smiling little brother who has so much love to share with everyone that he over looks us older folds strange ways. He has, however, recently mentioned since we older ones are developing aches and pains as we pass over the 60 year old line that he would like a new younger family.
When the family suddenly packed up and moved to Las Vegas Erik was off on his own and Deanna was a Senior in Dixie High School. She was working as a waitress after school and on weekends. She was not home much and wanted to finish the yer and graduate with her friends. She was left behind.
Las Vegas is where the second half of the family were raised to adulthood. The children taken to be reared in these new surroundings where Dad would be able to spend more time with his family than we older ones had been given. were Kathryn, Jeff, Emma Lea, Kenny, Rose Marie, and Tammy. that is a sizable family of children itself!
When we have family reunions, we older children get our feelings hut because the children who grew up in Las Vegas seem to shut us out. there seems to be a dividing line. I guess they don't remember any of our good times with them. But WE remember. how we loved them and hated to leave them behind when we went out into the world to start families of our own!
Kenny is the exception. He is still that happy smiling little brother who has so much love to share with everyone that he over looks us older folds strange ways. He has, however, recently mentioned since we older ones are developing aches and pains as we pass over the 60 year old line that he would like a new younger family.
When the family suddenly packed up and moved to Las Vegas Erik was off on his own and Deanna was a Senior in Dixie High School. She was working as a waitress after school and on weekends. She was not home much and wanted to finish the yer and graduate with her friends. She was left behind.
Arrested
From 1954 until 1957, so stated Dad as he completed filling out his Clearance Questionnaire, he worked on different jobs around Las Vegas as well as Mercury, always as a heavy duty operator.
I learned a few other facts from his Clearance Questionnaire that was too young to comprehend at the time they happened even though I heard Mom and Dad talking about them.
Dad had been arrested twice in his life time. Once in January of 194 when Dad was unemployed and had all those children to feed. He was arrested for killing a white faced calf to take home for the family to eat.
Mom told me about it years later. She got a call from the sheriff in Mesquite, Nevada to come get him. Dad was let off with a suspended sentence when he told the judge if he locked him up, the State would have to feed his family and t would cost a lot more that if they would let him go.
This happened right after Dad was laid off from his Washington County Road Department job.
Dad's second arrest was basically the same thing. it was a deer he was arrested for not tagging at the time it was shot during deer season in 1955. Dad was fined $15 for that. daddy was upset about that one. When he was out of work he saw nothing wrong in augmenting the family food supply with a few deer now and then, he got his $15 worth back many times over.
When I got married in 1955 the only meat I knew how to cook was venison. there was none to be had in the store meat counters so my husband had to put up with me learning to cook beef for him.
the annual deer hunt was not only necessity to provide meat supply for the coming year, but a bonding time for all those who got to the get when Dad wanted them to go. The grown sons remember fondly of nights around the camp fire telling about the big one that got a way.
I learned a few other facts from his Clearance Questionnaire that was too young to comprehend at the time they happened even though I heard Mom and Dad talking about them.
Dad had been arrested twice in his life time. Once in January of 194 when Dad was unemployed and had all those children to feed. He was arrested for killing a white faced calf to take home for the family to eat.
Mom told me about it years later. She got a call from the sheriff in Mesquite, Nevada to come get him. Dad was let off with a suspended sentence when he told the judge if he locked him up, the State would have to feed his family and t would cost a lot more that if they would let him go.
This happened right after Dad was laid off from his Washington County Road Department job.
Dad's second arrest was basically the same thing. it was a deer he was arrested for not tagging at the time it was shot during deer season in 1955. Dad was fined $15 for that. daddy was upset about that one. When he was out of work he saw nothing wrong in augmenting the family food supply with a few deer now and then, he got his $15 worth back many times over.
When I got married in 1955 the only meat I knew how to cook was venison. there was none to be had in the store meat counters so my husband had to put up with me learning to cook beef for him.
the annual deer hunt was not only necessity to provide meat supply for the coming year, but a bonding time for all those who got to the get when Dad wanted them to go. The grown sons remember fondly of nights around the camp fire telling about the big one that got a way.
5 Acers Nellis Blvd.
When Tammy was a few years old Dad bought 5 acres on Nellis Blvd. in Las Vegas across the street from Nellis Air Force Base. At that time the Base was situated far into the desert out of town. Dad's property was out in the boon docks again with more weeping lizards. Dad's acreage contained a sand dune he had to grade smooth before he could build his house.
When Dad decided to move the family to Las Vegas, the freeway was being planned for construction. The state needed part of our 5 acres. They gave Dad enough money to his Las Vegas Dream.
Deanna was a Senior in high school. Dad was working full time at Test Site in Nevada with Elvin just coming out of the Navy. Willard was just entering the Navy with twin Wayne choosing to join the U.S. Air Force.
Dad felt luck when the Nellis Air Force Base decided to upgrade it's officer's housing. The Base sold off the officer's old but well made homes o build new quarters. Dad was able to buy one of these and have it moved onto his acreage. Th then got a second one to put on the lot behind his for Elvin who had sent all his Navy pay home to Mom to use if she needed it. She did. There was none left when Elvin was released from the service and married shortly thereafter.
Mom and Dad were always thankful for Elvin's generosity that helped see them through some tough times until Dad hired on with the government at the Atom Bomb Testing Site.
When Dad decided to move the family to Las Vegas, the freeway was being planned for construction. The state needed part of our 5 acres. They gave Dad enough money to his Las Vegas Dream.
Deanna was a Senior in high school. Dad was working full time at Test Site in Nevada with Elvin just coming out of the Navy. Willard was just entering the Navy with twin Wayne choosing to join the U.S. Air Force.
Dad felt luck when the Nellis Air Force Base decided to upgrade it's officer's housing. The Base sold off the officer's old but well made homes o build new quarters. Dad was able to buy one of these and have it moved onto his acreage. Th then got a second one to put on the lot behind his for Elvin who had sent all his Navy pay home to Mom to use if she needed it. She did. There was none left when Elvin was released from the service and married shortly thereafter.
Mom and Dad were always thankful for Elvin's generosity that helped see them through some tough times until Dad hired on with the government at the Atom Bomb Testing Site.
Cleo's Wedding
When i got married on Dec. 17, 195, LaVerna had been married since August of 1954. Mom was already the grandmother of LaVerna's oldest son.
Mom had to wear a maternity dress to my wedding as she was expecting baby #12. She was so embarrassed. I thought she looked beautiful in her pink maternity top.
Even though I desired a Temple marriage for time and eternity, I had fallen in love with a non-Mormon. I too chose to marry a man out of the Church with everyone clucking his tongue in disfavor.
Mom was determined to give me the best wedding she could with what little she had to give, so I wouldn't have to experience the pain she had gone through with her own mother's disapproval.
My future husband told me to charge my wedding dress and he would pay for it. My Homemaking teacher, Miss Turkey, asked if she could make my bridal veil. my girl friends volunteered to furnish the punch and serving ware. Mom asked a lady to decorate the cake for $25. dollars after mom baked the layers and furnished empty thread spools to separate the tiers.
Then, although she was 5 months pregnant and I'm sure very tired, Mom cooked a special Turkey dinner for my new in-laws to enjoy the day of the wedding. Daddy even stayed sober enough to walk me down the aisle and give me to a man he didn't think worthy of my little finger. What more could a girl want for her wedding?
Four months after my wedding, #12 Rosemarie was born.
One more surprise! This event was followed less than two years later by the birth of #13, Tammy. She was the last of the children, rounding the family out to 6 boys and 7 girls.
LaVerna and I both had children close to our 2 younger sister's ages.
Mom had to wear a maternity dress to my wedding as she was expecting baby #12. She was so embarrassed. I thought she looked beautiful in her pink maternity top.
Even though I desired a Temple marriage for time and eternity, I had fallen in love with a non-Mormon. I too chose to marry a man out of the Church with everyone clucking his tongue in disfavor.
Mom was determined to give me the best wedding she could with what little she had to give, so I wouldn't have to experience the pain she had gone through with her own mother's disapproval.
My future husband told me to charge my wedding dress and he would pay for it. My Homemaking teacher, Miss Turkey, asked if she could make my bridal veil. my girl friends volunteered to furnish the punch and serving ware. Mom asked a lady to decorate the cake for $25. dollars after mom baked the layers and furnished empty thread spools to separate the tiers.
Then, although she was 5 months pregnant and I'm sure very tired, Mom cooked a special Turkey dinner for my new in-laws to enjoy the day of the wedding. Daddy even stayed sober enough to walk me down the aisle and give me to a man he didn't think worthy of my little finger. What more could a girl want for her wedding?
Four months after my wedding, #12 Rosemarie was born.
One more surprise! This event was followed less than two years later by the birth of #13, Tammy. She was the last of the children, rounding the family out to 6 boys and 7 girls.
LaVerna and I both had children close to our 2 younger sister's ages.
Kindergarten / Emma Lea-Kenny
When Emma Lea entered Kindergarten she was so shy she did not want to leave Mom. She cried each morning as if she were being forced off to a concentration camp. Kenny who would soon turn 4 was excited about the whole idea of going to school and he made a fuss because he DID want to go.
On morning as Mom was trying to force Emma Lea out of the car at school and Kenny mad because he was being held back against his will, Mom said, "All right. Here is the lunch box."
Kenny went on into class as if he belonged and had a great day. When Mom and Emma Lea went to get him at the end of school day, Kenny marched out proudly with his empty lunch pail and the pictures he had colored. What a great day!
After that Ken was content to stay home and Emma Lea was willing to go to class to see what she was missing.
On morning as Mom was trying to force Emma Lea out of the car at school and Kenny mad because he was being held back against his will, Mom said, "All right. Here is the lunch box."
Kenny went on into class as if he belonged and had a great day. When Mom and Emma Lea went to get him at the end of school day, Kenny marched out proudly with his empty lunch pail and the pictures he had colored. What a great day!
After that Ken was content to stay home and Emma Lea was willing to go to class to see what she was missing.
Poor Man's House / Another Perspective
Back in St. George around his old friends, Dad took his first drink again. Being an ex-alcholic he thought he could take just one drink and be able to handle it. He couldn't
During this time after we moved back to our poor man's home in St. George and I was a selfish teenager, Dad listened to me when I was complaining bout being poor. We had no indoor bathroom like everyone else in town had. He got tears in his eyes and told me I did not know what being poor was like.
He told me there were times when he thought it just was not worth it coming home to all these kids who did not appreciate him. There was never enough money to please everyone. But he had made a promise to himself that he would never do what his father had done to his family and desert us. Those were pretty sobering thoughts for me.
After I married I read a magazine article written by a man who described marriage and children to him was like taking a horse and harnessing it to a work wagon. That horse had to pull that heavy load for the rest of his life. At First I was shocked! Having children was a joy added to our lives!
And then I THOUGHT. I began to see from another perspective the weight of responsibility it is to a person's life once a child is born. No longer care free. Some fathers and mothers don't take kindly to the yoke they are hooked to. How lucky we children were to have had parents who didn't give up.
During this time after we moved back to our poor man's home in St. George and I was a selfish teenager, Dad listened to me when I was complaining bout being poor. We had no indoor bathroom like everyone else in town had. He got tears in his eyes and told me I did not know what being poor was like.
He told me there were times when he thought it just was not worth it coming home to all these kids who did not appreciate him. There was never enough money to please everyone. But he had made a promise to himself that he would never do what his father had done to his family and desert us. Those were pretty sobering thoughts for me.
After I married I read a magazine article written by a man who described marriage and children to him was like taking a horse and harnessing it to a work wagon. That horse had to pull that heavy load for the rest of his life. At First I was shocked! Having children was a joy added to our lives!
And then I THOUGHT. I began to see from another perspective the weight of responsibility it is to a person's life once a child is born. No longer care free. Some fathers and mothers don't take kindly to the yoke they are hooked to. How lucky we children were to have had parents who didn't give up.
Miss Utah
We were in Needles only 6 months before Dad's job ended and we headed back to St. George. But what a 6 months! Daddy was sober. he was home every night and we had a fun family life.
Needles was where i met my future husband while I was a Senior in High School. I Married him 2 years later when he got out of the Navy and came for me in St. George.
Just before our family moved to Needles, LaVerna was crowned Miss Utah for 1952/53. Not only was LaVerna beautiful but had brains, talent and personality. She always knew just what to say and do correctly. Anyone who met her admired her.
During the fall of 1953 while we were living in Needles and she was going to school at BYU, LaVerna represented Utah in he the Miss Universe pageant in Long Beach, CA..
I tended the children while Dad took Mom to the pageant. They were so proud of their eldest and had a wonderful time together alone. This was during Daddy's sober years of the AA.
Dad took Mom to the Ocean to play on the beach for the first time, We have pictures of them holding a star fish. Dad's pants legs are rolled up and they both look young and happy.
Dad's job ended in February of 1954. It was time to say goodbye to Needles. I had been having such a good time making new friends and living in a house with indoor plumbing that I returned to St, George unwillingly!
Needles was where i met my future husband while I was a Senior in High School. I Married him 2 years later when he got out of the Navy and came for me in St. George.
Just before our family moved to Needles, LaVerna was crowned Miss Utah for 1952/53. Not only was LaVerna beautiful but had brains, talent and personality. She always knew just what to say and do correctly. Anyone who met her admired her.
During the fall of 1953 while we were living in Needles and she was going to school at BYU, LaVerna represented Utah in he the Miss Universe pageant in Long Beach, CA..
I tended the children while Dad took Mom to the pageant. They were so proud of their eldest and had a wonderful time together alone. This was during Daddy's sober years of the AA.
Dad took Mom to the Ocean to play on the beach for the first time, We have pictures of them holding a star fish. Dad's pants legs are rolled up and they both look young and happy.
Dad's job ended in February of 1954. It was time to say goodbye to Needles. I had been having such a good time making new friends and living in a house with indoor plumbing that I returned to St, George unwillingly!
Move to Needles, CA
Dad worked on and off at the Test Site until he moved this family to Needles, Ca., His job began in Needles in 2/53 and lasted until 2/54. The family didn't move down until school was out for the summer of 1953.
We made the move into the hottest town in the nation on one of the hottest days I had ever experienced. the station wagon's engine overheated near the dry lake South of Rail Road Pass. We had to park alongside the road to let it cool down. I thought Dad was forcing me into Hell with this move. It turned out to be a good move for me.
For the first and only time in our school careers, while we lived in needles, we lived close enough to school to run home for lunch. How special it felt to rush home for a hot meal and a mother waiting for us!
The twins were Juniors in high school and so good looking and full of mischief. Wayne became a ladies man of sorts. Willard became interested in the hobby of Ham radioing. I helped him as he taught himself to learn the Morse code and recite the dih dah dits of the Morse code alphabet.
Willard took up this hobby in earnest after the cops brought him and Wayne home one evening reporting to Mom and Dad that these boys had been caught playing the old trick we three had found so funny while in St. George. One twin would stand on each side of the street and pretend they were pulling a a chain across the lanes as they held their arms out and leaned back in a pulling mime. As cars would slam on their brakes we would jump down into the dark sides of the road and laugh our heads off. I guess the people of Needles had no sense of humor, especially the cop car they played this gag on.
Willard fixed himself up some form of Ham radio transmitter on which he could tap out the alphabet. His messages went out over the air waves and he got post cards from fellow Ham operators all over the United States.
Later when Willard entered the Navy be became a wireless operator aboard the ship at sea.
We made the move into the hottest town in the nation on one of the hottest days I had ever experienced. the station wagon's engine overheated near the dry lake South of Rail Road Pass. We had to park alongside the road to let it cool down. I thought Dad was forcing me into Hell with this move. It turned out to be a good move for me.
For the first and only time in our school careers, while we lived in needles, we lived close enough to school to run home for lunch. How special it felt to rush home for a hot meal and a mother waiting for us!
The twins were Juniors in high school and so good looking and full of mischief. Wayne became a ladies man of sorts. Willard became interested in the hobby of Ham radioing. I helped him as he taught himself to learn the Morse code and recite the dih dah dits of the Morse code alphabet.
Willard took up this hobby in earnest after the cops brought him and Wayne home one evening reporting to Mom and Dad that these boys had been caught playing the old trick we three had found so funny while in St. George. One twin would stand on each side of the street and pretend they were pulling a a chain across the lanes as they held their arms out and leaned back in a pulling mime. As cars would slam on their brakes we would jump down into the dark sides of the road and laugh our heads off. I guess the people of Needles had no sense of humor, especially the cop car they played this gag on.
Willard fixed himself up some form of Ham radio transmitter on which he could tap out the alphabet. His messages went out over the air waves and he got post cards from fellow Ham operators all over the United States.
Later when Willard entered the Navy be became a wireless operator aboard the ship at sea.
Kenneth is Born
7/1951 - 11/31/1951: Dad got his first job at Mercury, Nevada as the government started up their A Bomb testing grounds.
No sooner did I get my act together dealing with Emma Lea when I discovered Mom was pregnant again! This time I was mad at Dad!
I worked for J. C. Penney as a window dresser. I did my best to make Mom's life easier as I went to school and worked odd jobs to earn my own money for school clothes and school needs.
When Kenneth was born on January 8, 1952 I was 16. Daddy was away working at Test Site so Mom needed me more than ever. Because she worked so hard all day, Mom needed her rest at night.
After mom passed through the nursing stage with Kenny, she depended on me to wake up in the middle of the night to take the baby bottle in for the baby when he cried.
I hated this Job! All who know me know what a grouch I am when I first awake. Here was this little brother I didn't want who demanded I get up in the middle of the night when ever her made the magic noises. Life was not fair!
I would stagger into his bed with a bottle and offer it to him. I glared at him. he would look at me and smile the widest grin and flap his arms and kick excitedly, wanting to be picked up and played with. he was the best baby in the world. The only times he ever cried was when he was hungry or wet... or felt lonely at 2 am.
I tried real hard to not like him. Who did he think he was anyway? I even poked him with the safety pin once when he made me get up during the night to change his wet diapers then had the nerve to be happy and smile at me. i thought he should at least cry.
I didn't pole him very hard. But he did pucker up with the saddest look. tears slowly formed in those big brown eyes and her cried the most heart breaking sobs. I was so ashamed of myself. I picked him up and kissed him and felt that heart melting love for him that I had felt for Emma Lea.
He had me now! I began to look forward to our meetings at 2 am where I was the only one in the whole world who could see that happy smile and the arms and feet flying in excitement.
From then on I was a changed person forever. No longer was i ever ashamed to tell people I had 10 brothers and sisters. I loved to see their shocked faces When i got married and Mom was expecting her twelfth child, i thought it was a hoot to have her there in her beautiful maternity top. Let people gape. We were going to get another special spirit from Heaven!
No sooner did I get my act together dealing with Emma Lea when I discovered Mom was pregnant again! This time I was mad at Dad!
I worked for J. C. Penney as a window dresser. I did my best to make Mom's life easier as I went to school and worked odd jobs to earn my own money for school clothes and school needs.
When Kenneth was born on January 8, 1952 I was 16. Daddy was away working at Test Site so Mom needed me more than ever. Because she worked so hard all day, Mom needed her rest at night.
After mom passed through the nursing stage with Kenny, she depended on me to wake up in the middle of the night to take the baby bottle in for the baby when he cried.
I hated this Job! All who know me know what a grouch I am when I first awake. Here was this little brother I didn't want who demanded I get up in the middle of the night when ever her made the magic noises. Life was not fair!
I would stagger into his bed with a bottle and offer it to him. I glared at him. he would look at me and smile the widest grin and flap his arms and kick excitedly, wanting to be picked up and played with. he was the best baby in the world. The only times he ever cried was when he was hungry or wet... or felt lonely at 2 am.
I tried real hard to not like him. Who did he think he was anyway? I even poked him with the safety pin once when he made me get up during the night to change his wet diapers then had the nerve to be happy and smile at me. i thought he should at least cry.
I didn't pole him very hard. But he did pucker up with the saddest look. tears slowly formed in those big brown eyes and her cried the most heart breaking sobs. I was so ashamed of myself. I picked him up and kissed him and felt that heart melting love for him that I had felt for Emma Lea.
He had me now! I began to look forward to our meetings at 2 am where I was the only one in the whole world who could see that happy smile and the arms and feet flying in excitement.
From then on I was a changed person forever. No longer was i ever ashamed to tell people I had 10 brothers and sisters. I loved to see their shocked faces When i got married and Mom was expecting her twelfth child, i thought it was a hoot to have her there in her beautiful maternity top. Let people gape. We were going to get another special spirit from Heaven!
Emma born / and a Changed Heart
Emma Lea was born five years after Jeff. I was 14 years old at the time and at an age to think it was foolish for my mother to have another baby.
Everyone who saw us out together as a family with 9 children would stare in awe and utter disbelieving noises. It was embarrassing!
Daddy came home drunk one night shortly before Emma Lea was born. He was in the mood where nothing Mom did or said pleased the man.
When he was like this he always ordered an omelet to be cooked. By the time it was finished Dad would be fast asleep. After everyone else was asleep and in bed, Dad would wake up, go to the kitchen and eat his cold omelet.
This one evening Mom could not get Dad to settle down. He spent the evening in their bedroom accusing her of being unfaithful while he was out of town. Daddy never hit Mom. But his words hurt just as much as a slap.
Listening to my mother cry and not be able to defend her was one of my saddest nights. It was then and there that I vowed to be my Mom''s best friend.
After this Mr. Hyde Father slept off the effects of the alcohol, he always was contrite and the best husband and father one could want.
He is the one who taught us to play marbles, mumbley peg with a knife, and even got on Elvin's bike and rode it backwards for us.
Emma Lea was born almost on my birthday. She came to us on April 26, 1950
I still resented her birth. LaVerna was just leaving home to begin her life with summer jobs then off to College. She had always been Mom's main helper. Now I was expected to be her main girl. I was not ever good at heart as LaVerna. I hated getting up to feed a baby I didn't even want in the house.
Then a wondrous miracle occurred. As I tended this unwanted sister; she smiled at me. There was complete love and trust in her eyes. For the first time in my life I felt the quickening deep love of another human being. She needed me. My heart was over flowing.
After that Emma Lea was my special pet. I would protect her from Mr. Hyde.
When I married and left home it was difficult leaving 5 year old Emma Lea behind. She was shy and had just entered Kindergarten. I knew she would face some hard times dealing with her father as she got older and his binges continued. But she had the protection of Mom, a lioness who would fight for her. Emma Lea soon forgot me. I was able to take with me the gift of love she had bestowed on my soul. She still holds a special place in my heart.
Everyone who saw us out together as a family with 9 children would stare in awe and utter disbelieving noises. It was embarrassing!
Daddy came home drunk one night shortly before Emma Lea was born. He was in the mood where nothing Mom did or said pleased the man.
When he was like this he always ordered an omelet to be cooked. By the time it was finished Dad would be fast asleep. After everyone else was asleep and in bed, Dad would wake up, go to the kitchen and eat his cold omelet.
This one evening Mom could not get Dad to settle down. He spent the evening in their bedroom accusing her of being unfaithful while he was out of town. Daddy never hit Mom. But his words hurt just as much as a slap.
Listening to my mother cry and not be able to defend her was one of my saddest nights. It was then and there that I vowed to be my Mom''s best friend.
After this Mr. Hyde Father slept off the effects of the alcohol, he always was contrite and the best husband and father one could want.
He is the one who taught us to play marbles, mumbley peg with a knife, and even got on Elvin's bike and rode it backwards for us.
Emma Lea was born almost on my birthday. She came to us on April 26, 1950
I still resented her birth. LaVerna was just leaving home to begin her life with summer jobs then off to College. She had always been Mom's main helper. Now I was expected to be her main girl. I was not ever good at heart as LaVerna. I hated getting up to feed a baby I didn't even want in the house.
Then a wondrous miracle occurred. As I tended this unwanted sister; she smiled at me. There was complete love and trust in her eyes. For the first time in my life I felt the quickening deep love of another human being. She needed me. My heart was over flowing.
After that Emma Lea was my special pet. I would protect her from Mr. Hyde.
When I married and left home it was difficult leaving 5 year old Emma Lea behind. She was shy and had just entered Kindergarten. I knew she would face some hard times dealing with her father as she got older and his binges continued. But she had the protection of Mom, a lioness who would fight for her. Emma Lea soon forgot me. I was able to take with me the gift of love she had bestowed on my soul. She still holds a special place in my heart.
Elvin Joins the Navy
3/1951 -6/1951: In Searchlight, Nevada Dad was helping to build roads as a dozier operator.
Dad always enjoyed taking Elvin to work with him when ever he could.
Elvin spent time with Dad in Searchlight. This town had a bad reputation for having prostitutes. When Dad go home for the weekend as he always did, he was already tight from drinking while he let his 16 year old son drive the car to get them home.
Dad was telling Mom what had been happening on their time off after work. The town was small and no wholesome places were available for a young boy. Taking his son where he shouldn't be, the 16 years old was leaning up to bar with Dad when some lady of the evening approached Elvin with an invitation. dad got a big laugh form the look on Elvin's face. Elvin was not happy with the insult.
From what I remember of what happened next, Dad kept teasing Elvin. Elvin accused his father of consorting with prostitutes and soon they were locked in a wrestling hold and rolling on the kitchen floor.
Dad wasn't going to let his son be disrespectful. at the same time Elvin wasn't going to take it anymore. he could not stand by and let his mother be insulted either.
Before our horrified eyes we watched Elvin get the better of his Dad. Elvin told me was an unwilling participant. He never struck his father. That was not in his nature to want to hurt his hero. Elvin said the only reason he was able to pine his Father down was because of the alcohol that weakened Dad.
Dad's little boy had grown up and was now physically superior to his father. Defeated, he looked in Dad's eyes was heartbreaking to see.
Elvin had be devastated by what had happened. He very soon thereafter joined the Navy, hardly waiting until he was 17.
I know Dad felt terrible over this turn of events. So did Elvin. His letters home were so full of homesickness and pleading for someone to write.
Mom's hands full with a new baby and felt she could not write an interesting letter if she tried. She asked me to write for her. I finally took pity on the boy. I wrote and told him he was lucky to be grown and gone.
He wrote back and told me off proper. Elvin told me what an ungrateful girl I was and someday I would know jut how bad it is when you leave home and all who have been dear to you. "But please write again. Sent with love, from Elvin.
I was a little miffed to say the least. But I did write again eventually, No more whining in the next letter though!
Dad always enjoyed taking Elvin to work with him when ever he could.
Elvin spent time with Dad in Searchlight. This town had a bad reputation for having prostitutes. When Dad go home for the weekend as he always did, he was already tight from drinking while he let his 16 year old son drive the car to get them home.
Dad was telling Mom what had been happening on their time off after work. The town was small and no wholesome places were available for a young boy. Taking his son where he shouldn't be, the 16 years old was leaning up to bar with Dad when some lady of the evening approached Elvin with an invitation. dad got a big laugh form the look on Elvin's face. Elvin was not happy with the insult.
From what I remember of what happened next, Dad kept teasing Elvin. Elvin accused his father of consorting with prostitutes and soon they were locked in a wrestling hold and rolling on the kitchen floor.
Dad wasn't going to let his son be disrespectful. at the same time Elvin wasn't going to take it anymore. he could not stand by and let his mother be insulted either.
Before our horrified eyes we watched Elvin get the better of his Dad. Elvin told me was an unwilling participant. He never struck his father. That was not in his nature to want to hurt his hero. Elvin said the only reason he was able to pine his Father down was because of the alcohol that weakened Dad.
Dad's little boy had grown up and was now physically superior to his father. Defeated, he looked in Dad's eyes was heartbreaking to see.
Elvin had be devastated by what had happened. He very soon thereafter joined the Navy, hardly waiting until he was 17.
I know Dad felt terrible over this turn of events. So did Elvin. His letters home were so full of homesickness and pleading for someone to write.
Mom's hands full with a new baby and felt she could not write an interesting letter if she tried. She asked me to write for her. I finally took pity on the boy. I wrote and told him he was lucky to be grown and gone.
He wrote back and told me off proper. Elvin told me what an ungrateful girl I was and someday I would know jut how bad it is when you leave home and all who have been dear to you. "But please write again. Sent with love, from Elvin.
I was a little miffed to say the least. But I did write again eventually, No more whining in the next letter though!
Bread Making
By the time I was 12 I had been taught to make a batch of bread in the big mixing bowl. There was no recipe written. Under Mom's instructions I filled the bowl with flour until it filled to there, adding to it a small handful of salt. I then took a certain pan and heated water in it until it was warm. then I added the water a large handful of sugar and a package of yeast. This stood until the yeast started to bubble good then stirred the yeast mixture into the flour. I added enough water extra to make a soft pliable mound of sough. this dough was plastered with a handful of bacon grease or lard, covered with a clean dish towel and allowed to rise until doubled in bulk. I would then get to punch this down getting dough clear up to my elbows. After rubbing it with grease and allowing the dough time to rise double in bulk again I would punch it down getting all the air bubbles out. We had one large pan we mad a batch of dinner rolls in. I'd squeeze tiny dough balls, roll them in bacon grease and repeat until there were about 24 rolls. then I would form about 6 loaves of bread. these would all rise nicely again then be baked in the wood burning stove when the oven temperature was just right. Later we got an electric range we would use during the hot summers.
After I learned to make bread Mom could leave town for a weekend and know we children would not starve. She felt it a Mother's duty to teach her daughter the art of bread making.
After I learned to make bread Mom could leave town for a weekend and know we children would not starve. She felt it a Mother's duty to teach her daughter the art of bread making.
Boy's Jobs / Girl's Jobs
Dad had definite rules for man's work and women's work. The men took care of anything outside and the women took care of the chores inside of the house.
That meant Elvin, Willard and Wayne had the jobs of chopping wood for the stoves and milking the cows work with Dad.
When I was six Dad was outside digging weeds from our front yard. We kids were having fun grabbing the chunks of weeds and knocking the sod out of the roots when ever Dad would spade a big chunk form the ground. In my eagerness to be first to grab the next chunk, i looked up laughing and bent over to just as Dad brought the shovel down with force and got me right between the eyes. Blood began gushing and i was howling in pain. I could not see for the blood in my eyes, Dad scooped my up and carried me into the house afraid he had blinded me. he was so scared. i remember thinking that was the first time I could remember Daddy carrying me. It was a comforting feeling, He lay me on the kitchen table while Mom worked on stopping the bleeding. I was fortunate, I did not lose my eyesight as mom was afraid would happen, but I still have the scar on the bridge of my nose. It is covered by the glasses I wear. i don't think this incident brought on my early nearsightedness.
When Dad was between jobs he was never idle. there was always a vegetable garden growing. a fence to build, a field to plant for the milk cow. Slowly his 5 acers were put in order with a chicken coop and corral for the cow. he planted trees and grape vines and a lawn. he did his best to prepare so things would go smooth while he was away on a job.
The boys had to get up early each morning to milk the cow. The cow had to be milked again the last thing before dark.
One day the cow began mooing and stumbling around, unable to keep standing upright, She finally laid down and died. Mom was broken hearted to watch he beloved milk source die from eating Loco weed from the field.
I remember times Dad would sit at the table hardly touching the food on his plate and he watched all of his children eating and talking. He was overcome with the painful pleasure of knowing he was able to provide food for a large healthy family. So many times in his childhood he had not know the feel of a full stomach at mealtime.
That meant Elvin, Willard and Wayne had the jobs of chopping wood for the stoves and milking the cows work with Dad.
When I was six Dad was outside digging weeds from our front yard. We kids were having fun grabbing the chunks of weeds and knocking the sod out of the roots when ever Dad would spade a big chunk form the ground. In my eagerness to be first to grab the next chunk, i looked up laughing and bent over to just as Dad brought the shovel down with force and got me right between the eyes. Blood began gushing and i was howling in pain. I could not see for the blood in my eyes, Dad scooped my up and carried me into the house afraid he had blinded me. he was so scared. i remember thinking that was the first time I could remember Daddy carrying me. It was a comforting feeling, He lay me on the kitchen table while Mom worked on stopping the bleeding. I was fortunate, I did not lose my eyesight as mom was afraid would happen, but I still have the scar on the bridge of my nose. It is covered by the glasses I wear. i don't think this incident brought on my early nearsightedness.
When Dad was between jobs he was never idle. there was always a vegetable garden growing. a fence to build, a field to plant for the milk cow. Slowly his 5 acers were put in order with a chicken coop and corral for the cow. he planted trees and grape vines and a lawn. he did his best to prepare so things would go smooth while he was away on a job.
The boys had to get up early each morning to milk the cow. The cow had to be milked again the last thing before dark.
One day the cow began mooing and stumbling around, unable to keep standing upright, She finally laid down and died. Mom was broken hearted to watch he beloved milk source die from eating Loco weed from the field.
I remember times Dad would sit at the table hardly touching the food on his plate and he watched all of his children eating and talking. He was overcome with the painful pleasure of knowing he was able to provide food for a large healthy family. So many times in his childhood he had not know the feel of a full stomach at mealtime.
Dishes
Because Mom's Mother was on the bossy side, my mother never pushed her will on people. She never was one to tell us kids what to do or when to do it. She would say, "Cloe, would you like to do the dishes for me?" Of course I didn't! if only she would have ordered the job done! Sometimes bossy works best.
In our home it was Dad's rule that Mom cooked the meals for her hard working husband and many children. When the food was prepared my father insisted it was right for Mom to sit down and let us girls do the rest. If she wasn't going to demand respect, he was there to teach us she deserved it.
LaVerna and I set the table and Mom placed the food in the middle. If anything else was needed after Mom sat down someone else was expected to get up and bring it to the table. We learned to respect our mother.
LaVerna and I were expected to the dishes. I was such a poor unwilling helper. It was discovered we would have to take turns in order to be fair to long suffering LaVerna. Dad built a special step stool so we little kids could reach the sink by the time we were 6 years old.
How I hated the dishes! LaVerna constantly had to keep an eye open for the food encrusted pots and pans when it was my turn to wash the dishes lest she was required to wash them during the next shift. Quite often I would accidentally place a dirty pan in the oven, or behind the stove, where, "Goodness me! I didn't see that!"
I was so short standing up to the sink that dirty dishwater dripping down my elbows! Dad did not let me get away with shirking my duty. If he was not home I knew I'd better do my chores or trouble would be waiting on my shoulder when Dad returned. He drub me out of bed at 2 am. once to do my assigned dishes. Mom never said, "Come do the dished now!" She let me use my own judgement as to when I would get to them. Quite often bed time rolled around and I was just too tired to wash a dish! Daddy never spanked but I melted with the least disapproval from his stern unhappy look.
I needed glasses and no one found this out until I was in the fifth grade. Daddy was forever making me wash my dishes over again and telling me I should be ashamed for not sweeping the dirty floor better. When I was told I was half blind at age 10 it was a relief to know! At least Mom and Dad understood why I was so bad at the jobs I was assigned to.
Want to hear a real sad story? Once Dad told me I was a poor excuse of a girl for not sweeping the floor clean when i was told to help my mother. He grabbed the broom from me when i had finished and swept a huge piece of debris onto a dust pan. i had no idea I had missed all that! No matter how hard I tried I could never sweep or wash the dishes to please him. This was before we learned about my eye sight. I could only see a fuzzy floor let alone anything that might be considered dust. I was always being told to rewash the dished when it was my turn to wash. I could not see the small pieces of food unless I held the dish to my nose. For years after the event, if I thought about that remark made to me, I would break out in tears. I failed my Father! One would have to be pretty bad if one was a poor excuse of a girl.
In our home it was Dad's rule that Mom cooked the meals for her hard working husband and many children. When the food was prepared my father insisted it was right for Mom to sit down and let us girls do the rest. If she wasn't going to demand respect, he was there to teach us she deserved it.
LaVerna and I set the table and Mom placed the food in the middle. If anything else was needed after Mom sat down someone else was expected to get up and bring it to the table. We learned to respect our mother.
LaVerna and I were expected to the dishes. I was such a poor unwilling helper. It was discovered we would have to take turns in order to be fair to long suffering LaVerna. Dad built a special step stool so we little kids could reach the sink by the time we were 6 years old.
How I hated the dishes! LaVerna constantly had to keep an eye open for the food encrusted pots and pans when it was my turn to wash the dishes lest she was required to wash them during the next shift. Quite often I would accidentally place a dirty pan in the oven, or behind the stove, where, "Goodness me! I didn't see that!"
I was so short standing up to the sink that dirty dishwater dripping down my elbows! Dad did not let me get away with shirking my duty. If he was not home I knew I'd better do my chores or trouble would be waiting on my shoulder when Dad returned. He drub me out of bed at 2 am. once to do my assigned dishes. Mom never said, "Come do the dished now!" She let me use my own judgement as to when I would get to them. Quite often bed time rolled around and I was just too tired to wash a dish! Daddy never spanked but I melted with the least disapproval from his stern unhappy look.
I needed glasses and no one found this out until I was in the fifth grade. Daddy was forever making me wash my dishes over again and telling me I should be ashamed for not sweeping the dirty floor better. When I was told I was half blind at age 10 it was a relief to know! At least Mom and Dad understood why I was so bad at the jobs I was assigned to.
Want to hear a real sad story? Once Dad told me I was a poor excuse of a girl for not sweeping the floor clean when i was told to help my mother. He grabbed the broom from me when i had finished and swept a huge piece of debris onto a dust pan. i had no idea I had missed all that! No matter how hard I tried I could never sweep or wash the dishes to please him. This was before we learned about my eye sight. I could only see a fuzzy floor let alone anything that might be considered dust. I was always being told to rewash the dished when it was my turn to wash. I could not see the small pieces of food unless I held the dish to my nose. For years after the event, if I thought about that remark made to me, I would break out in tears. I failed my Father! One would have to be pretty bad if one was a poor excuse of a girl.
Meanest Damn Woman
Daddy always told his friends in jest, "That's the meanest damn woman I ever married! She was shocked one day when she heard me argue with my sister LaVerna as to how many times Daddy had been married. It was a revelation to me to learn that Mom was his one and only. Surely if Mom was the meanest of the bunch, there had to be at least two more wives around someplace.
Over the years I remember Mom many times working in the kitchen preparing a meal. Lady's always wore dresses. Slacks and shorts were unheard of in the fashion of the day.
Dad would get that gleam in his eye and reach out, putting his hand under the hem of her dress and tweak the back of Mom's leg. She would turn red, slap his hand, and say, "Now stop that, Lee!"
Dada would beam and say, "That's the meanest damn woman I ever married."
Over the years I remember Mom many times working in the kitchen preparing a meal. Lady's always wore dresses. Slacks and shorts were unheard of in the fashion of the day.
Dad would get that gleam in his eye and reach out, putting his hand under the hem of her dress and tweak the back of Mom's leg. She would turn red, slap his hand, and say, "Now stop that, Lee!"
Dada would beam and say, "That's the meanest damn woman I ever married."
Erik's Faces
After the first five of us children were born, LaVerna, Elvin, Cleo, and twins Willard and Wayne, Mom was given a five year break. Then Erik, Deanna, Kathryn and Jeffery followed each other into this world with regularity.
Erik was used to seeing his Mom fat and slow on the foot because of her pregnancies. He began to think he could get away with teasing her. he was safe as long as he stayed out of her reach.
When Mom was in the last months before Jeff was born, Erik would delight in going outside and get Mom's attention through the window. The red headed scamp would make ugly faces and just have laughing fits because he knew he was safely out of reach.
Then the day of revenge came. Our new baby was here and Mom could run again! I'll never forget the look of surprise on Erik's face the last time he ever tapped on the window and stuck his tongue out and his thumbs in his ears. Mom was out the door in a flash. She not only chased him down the road, but gained on him, caught him, and gave him a spanking he had earned.
Erik was used to seeing his Mom fat and slow on the foot because of her pregnancies. He began to think he could get away with teasing her. he was safe as long as he stayed out of her reach.
When Mom was in the last months before Jeff was born, Erik would delight in going outside and get Mom's attention through the window. The red headed scamp would make ugly faces and just have laughing fits because he knew he was safely out of reach.
Then the day of revenge came. Our new baby was here and Mom could run again! I'll never forget the look of surprise on Erik's face the last time he ever tapped on the window and stuck his tongue out and his thumbs in his ears. Mom was out the door in a flash. She not only chased him down the road, but gained on him, caught him, and gave him a spanking he had earned.
Flies and DDT
remember the fly problem, Thanks to the out house, flies were every where during the hot summer days and nights. On cloudy days we could always tell when it was going to storm. flies would fly in a continuous circle in the room, never landing to rest. At night they went to bed. Our ceilings were covered black with flies.
When DDT was invented and used as a fly spray, Mom would fill the hand pumped sprayer with DDT, cover all dishes for protection and spray each day.
As I got older and Mom was gone leaving me in charge, i would do this job of spraying for flies. The can of poison warned of all the dangers of DDT but I thought anything was worth the risk to be free of those terrible pests!
After covering the food and dishes with towels, I would hold my breath and start pumping that sprayer as fast as I could then run out of the room for another breath and run back in for another go at it. DDT would drip onto my hand and on down my elbow onto the floor as I sprayed each room.
After spraying all the rooms, we would stay outside for at least a half hour while the flies gasped their last breaths and the thick deadly mist dissipated. Then it was necessary to wash and scrub everything that could be touched by human hands so the little children would not get sick like the can warned us. We would sweep up the flies and dispose them, only to have to repeat this process again the next day. There seemed to be a never ending supply of flies. I still say to this day, if using that DDT takes a few years off my life from using it as a child, it was well worth the sacrifice!
My mother made the comment once that she couldn't have been too bad of a mother since none of us children died of food poisoning during the hot summers. After reading some of he old letters and seeing the high infant mortality rate in those days before modern medicine and refrigerators, I can see why she was so proud to have raised all 13 to healthy adulthood.
When DDT was invented and used as a fly spray, Mom would fill the hand pumped sprayer with DDT, cover all dishes for protection and spray each day.
As I got older and Mom was gone leaving me in charge, i would do this job of spraying for flies. The can of poison warned of all the dangers of DDT but I thought anything was worth the risk to be free of those terrible pests!
After covering the food and dishes with towels, I would hold my breath and start pumping that sprayer as fast as I could then run out of the room for another breath and run back in for another go at it. DDT would drip onto my hand and on down my elbow onto the floor as I sprayed each room.
After spraying all the rooms, we would stay outside for at least a half hour while the flies gasped their last breaths and the thick deadly mist dissipated. Then it was necessary to wash and scrub everything that could be touched by human hands so the little children would not get sick like the can warned us. We would sweep up the flies and dispose them, only to have to repeat this process again the next day. There seemed to be a never ending supply of flies. I still say to this day, if using that DDT takes a few years off my life from using it as a child, it was well worth the sacrifice!
My mother made the comment once that she couldn't have been too bad of a mother since none of us children died of food poisoning during the hot summers. After reading some of he old letters and seeing the high infant mortality rate in those days before modern medicine and refrigerators, I can see why she was so proud to have raised all 13 to healthy adulthood.
New Outhouse / Bathing
4/1949 - 9/1950: Dad used his heavy equipment operating knowledge to get a job with the Washington County Road District. After about a year and a half there, Dad came home saying he was being laid off so the man in charge could hire his nephew.
That year and a half with a steady pay check was good for Mom and Dad. To be laid off unfairly like Dad was, was another proof to Mom that the town was full of Moss Backs.
Dad immediately go a job for Simms Construction Co. in St. George as a dozer operator, a cat skinner. After 4 months the business sold and again Dad was off looking for work.
We couldn't afford shoes in the summer and wouldn't have worm them if we could have. What we would have liked, if we could have afforded one, was an indoors bathroom. As we got neighbors, we learned they would take bets on who would be first to the outhouse in teh mornings. This did not sit well with Mom at all!
When LaVerna; the oldest our our 13, went off to college at BYU and called home, the big family news was that Dad had just built us a new two seater out house!. All the kids took turns to excitedly tell her all about it. I'll bet not too many other girls got that kind of news from home in 1952.
The family bath was taken on Saturday nights, usually, during the winter a fire was built in the wood burning stove in the kitchen. The rest of the house would be freezing! The tub was brought into the house and placed on the floor near the hot stove. Hot water was poured from full pans heated on the stove and cool water was added from the only household tap. located over the kitchen sink.
Several children took turns bathing in the same tub of water. The water got thicker and darker gray with each body scrubbed. Mom would pour a final rinse of clean warm water over us as we stood waiting to get out of the tub. Our shampooed heads were always rinse with vinegar scented rinse water to help strip it clean and make it easier to comb out.
To give us modest children privacy from prying eyes, a folding drying screen was placed around the tub with a blanket draped over it. When we got too tall for the screen to hide anything, we took the tub to our bed rooms to bath in the cold frigged air.
When Mom died she still had the old folding frying screen we older children remembered with fondness. We drew names for her worldly possessions, what few she had, and Erick's name was drawn for the screen. When he was given the prize, he did not know what it was and did not want it. It proves to my point that each of us say life differently from our position in the chain of family.
On my wedding day I took my last bath in the old #3 galvanized tub.
Soon thereafter, Dad finally was able to build the wonderful indoor bathroom! The last two of Mom's babies did not ever get to know the thrill of reading the Sears Roebuck catalog before choosing which page to use for toilet paper.
That year and a half with a steady pay check was good for Mom and Dad. To be laid off unfairly like Dad was, was another proof to Mom that the town was full of Moss Backs.
Dad immediately go a job for Simms Construction Co. in St. George as a dozer operator, a cat skinner. After 4 months the business sold and again Dad was off looking for work.
We couldn't afford shoes in the summer and wouldn't have worm them if we could have. What we would have liked, if we could have afforded one, was an indoors bathroom. As we got neighbors, we learned they would take bets on who would be first to the outhouse in teh mornings. This did not sit well with Mom at all!
When LaVerna; the oldest our our 13, went off to college at BYU and called home, the big family news was that Dad had just built us a new two seater out house!. All the kids took turns to excitedly tell her all about it. I'll bet not too many other girls got that kind of news from home in 1952.
The family bath was taken on Saturday nights, usually, during the winter a fire was built in the wood burning stove in the kitchen. The rest of the house would be freezing! The tub was brought into the house and placed on the floor near the hot stove. Hot water was poured from full pans heated on the stove and cool water was added from the only household tap. located over the kitchen sink.
Several children took turns bathing in the same tub of water. The water got thicker and darker gray with each body scrubbed. Mom would pour a final rinse of clean warm water over us as we stood waiting to get out of the tub. Our shampooed heads were always rinse with vinegar scented rinse water to help strip it clean and make it easier to comb out.
To give us modest children privacy from prying eyes, a folding drying screen was placed around the tub with a blanket draped over it. When we got too tall for the screen to hide anything, we took the tub to our bed rooms to bath in the cold frigged air.
When Mom died she still had the old folding frying screen we older children remembered with fondness. We drew names for her worldly possessions, what few she had, and Erick's name was drawn for the screen. When he was given the prize, he did not know what it was and did not want it. It proves to my point that each of us say life differently from our position in the chain of family.
On my wedding day I took my last bath in the old #3 galvanized tub.
Soon thereafter, Dad finally was able to build the wonderful indoor bathroom! The last two of Mom's babies did not ever get to know the thrill of reading the Sears Roebuck catalog before choosing which page to use for toilet paper.
Baptism
It was August of 1946, I was 10 years old. LaVerna 13, Elvin soon to be 12 when Grandma came to the house to visit Mom one afternoon to ask why none of us children had been baptized yet. It was a wicked shame to have children that far past the age of 8 and none of them baptized. Mom had her hands full with so many children that she had neglected this aspect of our lives.
Grandma gathered LaVern and Elvin and me into her truck and took us to the Bishop where we were given personal interviews. Our next stop was the St. George Temple where we were baptized in the font that sat on the backs of 12 oxen statues. We were given while jump suits to wear for the ceremony. It was all very spiritually exciting.
Grandma had on a beautiful white long dress that she wore while in the Temple. After we were baptized, Grandma talked to someone quietly then told us we were going to have a special treat. she had been given permission to take us into an elevator to the top floor of the Temple. There we looked through a round window at the town to the North and the red hills. She told us we were to remember the Temple was special for us as our grandfathers on both side of the family had helped to build it in St. George's pioneer days;. I was awe struck. I was filled with such a reverent feeling.
On the ride home, I remember LaVerna and I sitting in the back of Grandma's truck with the wind whipping through our damp hair that had just been washed clean from all sins. We talked about what we had just done in promising Jesus we would always try to follow him. We made vows to stop saying swear words. This was harder on me than LaVerna because she was always good and never swore anyway.
The twins were baptized on the 4th of July of the next year in 1947. Grandma must not have taken them on the tour. They still said words I was now shocked to hear.
Grandma gathered LaVern and Elvin and me into her truck and took us to the Bishop where we were given personal interviews. Our next stop was the St. George Temple where we were baptized in the font that sat on the backs of 12 oxen statues. We were given while jump suits to wear for the ceremony. It was all very spiritually exciting.
Grandma had on a beautiful white long dress that she wore while in the Temple. After we were baptized, Grandma talked to someone quietly then told us we were going to have a special treat. she had been given permission to take us into an elevator to the top floor of the Temple. There we looked through a round window at the town to the North and the red hills. She told us we were to remember the Temple was special for us as our grandfathers on both side of the family had helped to build it in St. George's pioneer days;. I was awe struck. I was filled with such a reverent feeling.
On the ride home, I remember LaVerna and I sitting in the back of Grandma's truck with the wind whipping through our damp hair that had just been washed clean from all sins. We talked about what we had just done in promising Jesus we would always try to follow him. We made vows to stop saying swear words. This was harder on me than LaVerna because she was always good and never swore anyway.
The twins were baptized on the 4th of July of the next year in 1947. Grandma must not have taken them on the tour. They still said words I was now shocked to hear.
Cloe Gets Glasses
When I was in the fifth grade I was given an eye test at school where it was discovered I had very poor eye sight. It seems amazing that even i did not realize something was wrong. I always had to sit on the front rows at school. I would get up and go to the black board to see what the teacher had written and expected me to copy. When I was asked the time by Mom, I would climb onto a chair and practically put my nose on the clock in order to read it.
The school nurse took me home and told my mother I was almost blind. This certainly made us both feel frightened.
Since we had no money for eye glasses, the County Welfare Dept. paid for me to ride a Greyhound Bus to Salt Lake City where I would see an eye doctor. I was 10 years old, sent to the big city all alone with a five dollar bill! I was to stay with Aunt Jessie who was at work when I arrived. i had to take a taxi to her address and have her landlady let me into the apartment. When it was time for my appointment Aunt Jessie took time off for me. My glasses were ordered and ready the next day.
I'll never forget those ugly round gold framed glasses!
Forget the ugly, those spectacles placed on my face opened a whole new world to me I did not know existed. It seemed, when I looked down, my feet were as far away as Alice's were when she was chasing the White Rabbit down the hole and changed sizes after eating a bit of mushroom.
When I was twelve Grandma Emma was going to Salt Lake City to visit her youngest daughter who was now married and expecting her first child. she thought it was time for me to return for a check up with the eye doctor and wanted me to go with her.
She cam to the house to suggest I go with her. Daddy said, "No." He didn't have the money to send me and did not like to accept charity.
Grandma and he got into an argument over this and she went away never to speak to him again in this life time. She died two years later.
The week after Grandma left town, Daddy's sister Phyllis and her family came by for a visit on their way home to Hill Air Force Base near Salt Lake City. By now Daddy had time to think it over and sent me with his sister to meet Grandma.
Grandma Emma sometimes just could not contain herself when she thought we children were not cared for properly.
The school nurse took me home and told my mother I was almost blind. This certainly made us both feel frightened.
Since we had no money for eye glasses, the County Welfare Dept. paid for me to ride a Greyhound Bus to Salt Lake City where I would see an eye doctor. I was 10 years old, sent to the big city all alone with a five dollar bill! I was to stay with Aunt Jessie who was at work when I arrived. i had to take a taxi to her address and have her landlady let me into the apartment. When it was time for my appointment Aunt Jessie took time off for me. My glasses were ordered and ready the next day.
I'll never forget those ugly round gold framed glasses!
Forget the ugly, those spectacles placed on my face opened a whole new world to me I did not know existed. It seemed, when I looked down, my feet were as far away as Alice's were when she was chasing the White Rabbit down the hole and changed sizes after eating a bit of mushroom.
When I was twelve Grandma Emma was going to Salt Lake City to visit her youngest daughter who was now married and expecting her first child. she thought it was time for me to return for a check up with the eye doctor and wanted me to go with her.
She cam to the house to suggest I go with her. Daddy said, "No." He didn't have the money to send me and did not like to accept charity.
Grandma and he got into an argument over this and she went away never to speak to him again in this life time. She died two years later.
The week after Grandma left town, Daddy's sister Phyllis and her family came by for a visit on their way home to Hill Air Force Base near Salt Lake City. By now Daddy had time to think it over and sent me with his sister to meet Grandma.
Grandma Emma sometimes just could not contain herself when she thought we children were not cared for properly.
Jeffery's Born
In 1946 when redheaded Jeffery was born a year and a half after Kathryn I was beginning to tire of so many new arrivals. The house was so small! When Daddy was asked what he was going to name this ninth child, he told them "Quits!"
When Jeffery appeared, Mom gave him the closest she would come to the name Quits, Quinten.
Daddy went through an ornery period of his life. Since Dad was working out of town and home for weekends, he had made up his mind that new baby Jeff with the bright red hair could not be his child. Mom put up with some pretty bad insults. Mom had a sister with red hair. Why did Dad suspect a red headed family acquaintance?
It didn't take Dad long to rue his actions. Jeff proved to be one of his most fun children. Jeff was born with the gift of gab and became Dad's buddy. Jeff wanted Dad to himself and sometimes resented Mom when she was allowed to go on their rides to town. he seemed to know just the right way to handle his father.
When Jeffrey grew to manhood, even though he had blue eyes, red hair, and freckles, he was the one child who resembled Lee Laub the most in looks and actions.
When Jeffery appeared, Mom gave him the closest she would come to the name Quits, Quinten.
Daddy went through an ornery period of his life. Since Dad was working out of town and home for weekends, he had made up his mind that new baby Jeff with the bright red hair could not be his child. Mom put up with some pretty bad insults. Mom had a sister with red hair. Why did Dad suspect a red headed family acquaintance?
It didn't take Dad long to rue his actions. Jeff proved to be one of his most fun children. Jeff was born with the gift of gab and became Dad's buddy. Jeff wanted Dad to himself and sometimes resented Mom when she was allowed to go on their rides to town. he seemed to know just the right way to handle his father.
When Jeffrey grew to manhood, even though he had blue eyes, red hair, and freckles, he was the one child who resembled Lee Laub the most in looks and actions.
Telepones / Gambling
When telephones were finally installed out our direction and we were able to get one of our own, we had to share the party line with several other families. Many times when we picked up the phone to use it, a faceless voice would be on line. We'd have to replace the receiver until they were through talking. Listening in to a party line conversation was considered rude and unethical.
One day, however, when Mom picked the receiver up and placed it to her ear, what she heard caused her ears to burn. She listened on.
Someone was talking about HER! Some "Better Than Thou" person said Melba Laub was not a fit mother, always leaving her children alone. She had a mind to go to the authourities and report her and have those children taken away.
Mom cried. She was humiliated and hurt. She told Dad from now on he could go with out her. She was not going to leave her kids again!
After that Dad began taking one or two of his oldest or youngest for company if it was possible.
LaVerna recalls going to Las Vegas with Daddy and stayed with his sister Mabel while Dad was at work. When it was time to get his pay check and go home to St. George, he stopped at teh casino to cash his check.
Dad took most of his cast to LaVerna and said, "here is my money, don't give it to me no matter what I say."
"OK, Daddy"
He soon came back with the smell of alcohol on his breath and wanted more money.
"Oh, no Daddy. I can't let you have it!"
After demanding again she gave him more. Soon he was back demanding all of it.
"Oh no Daddy. I promised not to let you have it!"
He got it and went back inside. LaVerna was sad to think she had failed him.
They were soon on their way home without the week's wages. The closer they got to St. George, the worse Dad felt about what he had done. He remarked to LaVerna that we was afraid to face her mother.
There was not that much traffic coming from Utah to Las Vegas at the time. Daddy watched the lone pairs of headlights coming toward him now and then. "See those lights? those are your mother's eyes waiting for me." I think he learned his lesson about gambling away all his wages that evening. So did LaVerna. She grew up with a firm aversion to the temptation of gambling.
One day, however, when Mom picked the receiver up and placed it to her ear, what she heard caused her ears to burn. She listened on.
Someone was talking about HER! Some "Better Than Thou" person said Melba Laub was not a fit mother, always leaving her children alone. She had a mind to go to the authourities and report her and have those children taken away.
Mom cried. She was humiliated and hurt. She told Dad from now on he could go with out her. She was not going to leave her kids again!
After that Dad began taking one or two of his oldest or youngest for company if it was possible.
LaVerna recalls going to Las Vegas with Daddy and stayed with his sister Mabel while Dad was at work. When it was time to get his pay check and go home to St. George, he stopped at teh casino to cash his check.
Dad took most of his cast to LaVerna and said, "here is my money, don't give it to me no matter what I say."
"OK, Daddy"
He soon came back with the smell of alcohol on his breath and wanted more money.
"Oh, no Daddy. I can't let you have it!"
After demanding again she gave him more. Soon he was back demanding all of it.
"Oh no Daddy. I promised not to let you have it!"
He got it and went back inside. LaVerna was sad to think she had failed him.
They were soon on their way home without the week's wages. The closer they got to St. George, the worse Dad felt about what he had done. He remarked to LaVerna that we was afraid to face her mother.
There was not that much traffic coming from Utah to Las Vegas at the time. Daddy watched the lone pairs of headlights coming toward him now and then. "See those lights? those are your mother's eyes waiting for me." I think he learned his lesson about gambling away all his wages that evening. So did LaVerna. She grew up with a firm aversion to the temptation of gambling.
Grocery's
One time Mom and Dad went off on a deer hunt which included Uncle Kay and Aunt Helen. When it was time to go home a big storm came that caused a big rain for a day or two. In attempting to leave camp, the dry washes were now full of rushing flood waters. They could not get out.
When our parents did not show up as expected we children were very worried, probably not so concerned for their safety but we had run out of food.
I called the nearest store I knew Mom and Dad shopped at, The Market Basket near the Temple. I gave them a food order and asked them to deliver it and charge it to my folks. I explained my folks were out of town. To my relief they actually delivered the order. From that day forward I never feared running out of food when left in charge.
Living out where we were quite often we had no transportation while Daddy was at work. Mom was happy when Jim's Mobil Market began coming our directions. Jim Andrews had a big truck set up as a small grocery store and made the rounds all over town. We could hear his long loud honk as he came near our house sitting out there alone form everyone.
Jim would let us kids trade our soda pop bottles in for 3 cents each and patiently wait for us to select our penny candies. He would let Mom charge up a small amount, knowing it would be paid as soon as Dad got back to town with a pay check.
When our parents did not show up as expected we children were very worried, probably not so concerned for their safety but we had run out of food.
I called the nearest store I knew Mom and Dad shopped at, The Market Basket near the Temple. I gave them a food order and asked them to deliver it and charge it to my folks. I explained my folks were out of town. To my relief they actually delivered the order. From that day forward I never feared running out of food when left in charge.
Living out where we were quite often we had no transportation while Daddy was at work. Mom was happy when Jim's Mobil Market began coming our directions. Jim Andrews had a big truck set up as a small grocery store and made the rounds all over town. We could hear his long loud honk as he came near our house sitting out there alone form everyone.
Jim would let us kids trade our soda pop bottles in for 3 cents each and patiently wait for us to select our penny candies. He would let Mom charge up a small amount, knowing it would be paid as soon as Dad got back to town with a pay check.
Ticks
One evening while Mom and Dad were off on the annual deer hunt getting our winter supply of meat, I was sitting listening to the radio in the evening.
I remember feeling a bump through the hair on top of my head. "La Verna, look at this and see what it is," She looked. She was shocked! "A huge tick!"
We were both grossed out to think a tick was attached to my scalp and so FAT! I wanted her to take it off.
She remembered Mom and Dad talking about ticks. You never pull a tick out of the skin because the head may be left behind causing a dreaded fever and possibly death.
She found Mom's book on Medicane and looked up TICKS. There was all the information confirming her fears. Now I was scared. I was going to die!
She called Uncle Kay's home as no one answered at Grandma's. Uncle Don and Aunt Agnes were visiting from Price, Utah. When she heard how frightened we sounded, Aunt Agnes had Uncle Don take her down to the house 2 miles away immediately.
Before help arrived LaVerna determined to save me from the fever we both knew was sure to come and take me away. The medical book's instructions said to make the tick back out, taking his head with him, by touching it with kerosene.
Laverna poured a little Kerosene from what we had for our lanterns onto the tick. Nothing Happened! The offensive creature was still firmly attached.
I was whimpering and not positive LaVerna knew what she was doing. I had every confidence that she would eventually figure it out.
The second method of dislodging a tick was to strike a match and touch the tick with the tip of the extinguished match stick.
Aunt Agnes came through the kitchen door just as LaVerna was getting prepared to light the match. Aunt Agnes gave a yell and rushed to my rescue. she later told everyone she arrived just in time to stop LaVerna from striking a match to my head that was doused in Kerosene and sure to go up in flames.
Aunt Agnes called Doctor Reichman. The tick had been drowned and killed in the Kerosene treatment.
I was taken to the Doctor's office where the tick was cut out. As he explained to me what he was doing I pictured him taking big square plug out of my head like we did watermelons to see if they were ripe. Not a pretty thought. he did assure me I would not die and LaVerna had done well.
I remember feeling a bump through the hair on top of my head. "La Verna, look at this and see what it is," She looked. She was shocked! "A huge tick!"
We were both grossed out to think a tick was attached to my scalp and so FAT! I wanted her to take it off.
She remembered Mom and Dad talking about ticks. You never pull a tick out of the skin because the head may be left behind causing a dreaded fever and possibly death.
She found Mom's book on Medicane and looked up TICKS. There was all the information confirming her fears. Now I was scared. I was going to die!
She called Uncle Kay's home as no one answered at Grandma's. Uncle Don and Aunt Agnes were visiting from Price, Utah. When she heard how frightened we sounded, Aunt Agnes had Uncle Don take her down to the house 2 miles away immediately.
Before help arrived LaVerna determined to save me from the fever we both knew was sure to come and take me away. The medical book's instructions said to make the tick back out, taking his head with him, by touching it with kerosene.
Laverna poured a little Kerosene from what we had for our lanterns onto the tick. Nothing Happened! The offensive creature was still firmly attached.
I was whimpering and not positive LaVerna knew what she was doing. I had every confidence that she would eventually figure it out.
The second method of dislodging a tick was to strike a match and touch the tick with the tip of the extinguished match stick.
Aunt Agnes came through the kitchen door just as LaVerna was getting prepared to light the match. Aunt Agnes gave a yell and rushed to my rescue. she later told everyone she arrived just in time to stop LaVerna from striking a match to my head that was doused in Kerosene and sure to go up in flames.
Aunt Agnes called Doctor Reichman. The tick had been drowned and killed in the Kerosene treatment.
I was taken to the Doctor's office where the tick was cut out. As he explained to me what he was doing I pictured him taking big square plug out of my head like we did watermelons to see if they were ripe. Not a pretty thought. he did assure me I would not die and LaVerna had done well.
Elvin's Broken Leg / Whistle Slaves
Elvin was a dependable boy for Mom and Dad. We all looked for jobs to earn extra money and help out as we got old enough.
One summer when Elvin was about 14 he worked in the fields for one of the farmers he had made friends with. Elvin was driving a tractor when it over turned with him and broke his leg. The tractor pinned Elvin under it. The farmer had gone home and Elvin was alone.
A stranger found him and carried Elvin to the hospital then called Mom. This passing motorist said he was driving to his fields when he heard someone whistle a loud shrill whistle.
He backed his truck up to where the noise was coming from and found Elvin laying there in a muddy ditch unable to move.
I don't remember who the Good Samaritan was, but he took Mom to the hospital where Elvin's broken leg was set and encased in Plaster of Paris.
This was the summer the twins and I were to remember for years! We were thoughtless children and our poor bedridden brother got no special sympathy from us.
He liked to boss me and tell me what to do. My personality was such as to rebel at that tact. Finding Elvin was unable to catch me and punch me if I did not obey his orders, I felt free to stick my tongue out at him and keep out of his reach. It drove him nuts and I was delighted, never thinking about what was to be my fate when he got use of his let again.
Elvin would not wait fr the leg to heal. He could not take it! We had a red Radio Flyer wagon. He took his crutches into the wagon with him and a pillow. He then ordered the twins to pull and push him when ever he whistled for them.
With transportation and two slaves, they were ordered to take him to find me. I was safe in another room when I looked up to find my angry brother descending on me. I was trapped. he slugged me several times while I screamed for Mom.
She told me I was just going to have to learn to be nice. So much for a Mother's protection. I did learn to curb my sassy mouth somewhat. To this day I find my mouth has a mind of its own sometimes as I say the wrong thing and would feelings unintentionally.
That summer of being Elvin's slaved, Willard and Wayne thought, had worked out well for their big brother. so well in fact they decided to have their own underlings.
Deanna tells how the two boys called her and Erik to them and told how it was going to be. When ever either Willard or Wayne needed them they would whistle. One whistle meant come, two whistles meant come fast or we will whip you.
Even if a twin wanted a drink of water he would whistle. Deanna knew she had to drop whatever she was doing and come running.
Deanna finally went to Mom to let her know just how mean she was treated. She grew up thinking the twins were the worst brothers ever.
With adulthood we can look at the children we were and forgive our childhood hurts. We love to talk of our war stories now. Mom used to listen to us adults talk about all the things that went on in our youth and wonder where she had been.
One summer when Elvin was about 14 he worked in the fields for one of the farmers he had made friends with. Elvin was driving a tractor when it over turned with him and broke his leg. The tractor pinned Elvin under it. The farmer had gone home and Elvin was alone.
A stranger found him and carried Elvin to the hospital then called Mom. This passing motorist said he was driving to his fields when he heard someone whistle a loud shrill whistle.
He backed his truck up to where the noise was coming from and found Elvin laying there in a muddy ditch unable to move.
I don't remember who the Good Samaritan was, but he took Mom to the hospital where Elvin's broken leg was set and encased in Plaster of Paris.
This was the summer the twins and I were to remember for years! We were thoughtless children and our poor bedridden brother got no special sympathy from us.
He liked to boss me and tell me what to do. My personality was such as to rebel at that tact. Finding Elvin was unable to catch me and punch me if I did not obey his orders, I felt free to stick my tongue out at him and keep out of his reach. It drove him nuts and I was delighted, never thinking about what was to be my fate when he got use of his let again.
Elvin would not wait fr the leg to heal. He could not take it! We had a red Radio Flyer wagon. He took his crutches into the wagon with him and a pillow. He then ordered the twins to pull and push him when ever he whistled for them.
With transportation and two slaves, they were ordered to take him to find me. I was safe in another room when I looked up to find my angry brother descending on me. I was trapped. he slugged me several times while I screamed for Mom.
She told me I was just going to have to learn to be nice. So much for a Mother's protection. I did learn to curb my sassy mouth somewhat. To this day I find my mouth has a mind of its own sometimes as I say the wrong thing and would feelings unintentionally.
That summer of being Elvin's slaved, Willard and Wayne thought, had worked out well for their big brother. so well in fact they decided to have their own underlings.
Deanna tells how the two boys called her and Erik to them and told how it was going to be. When ever either Willard or Wayne needed them they would whistle. One whistle meant come, two whistles meant come fast or we will whip you.
Even if a twin wanted a drink of water he would whistle. Deanna knew she had to drop whatever she was doing and come running.
Deanna finally went to Mom to let her know just how mean she was treated. She grew up thinking the twins were the worst brothers ever.
With adulthood we can look at the children we were and forgive our childhood hurts. We love to talk of our war stories now. Mom used to listen to us adults talk about all the things that went on in our youth and wonder where she had been.
Babysitting
Because Daddy was gone from home so much and missed Mom's company, he often requested her company if he needed to go out of town for a few days. They usually took the youngest one or two children.
Mom went reluctantly only after Daddy insisted we were old enough to be left alone and he needed her too. We had the telephone number of our grandparents and Uncle Kay in case of emergency.
By ages 12 LaVerna and I each were experienced baby sitters, in charge of keeping things under control and kids red while our parents were gone.
These baby sitting experiences were not always wonderful experiences. Elvin certainly did not think LaVerna should tell HIM what to do. Those of us were born and old enough to remember, still talk of the great red jello fight that ensued after LaVerna told Elvin he could not help himself before she had supper on the table for everyone.
Mom went reluctantly only after Daddy insisted we were old enough to be left alone and he needed her too. We had the telephone number of our grandparents and Uncle Kay in case of emergency.
By ages 12 LaVerna and I each were experienced baby sitters, in charge of keeping things under control and kids red while our parents were gone.
These baby sitting experiences were not always wonderful experiences. Elvin certainly did not think LaVerna should tell HIM what to do. Those of us were born and old enough to remember, still talk of the great red jello fight that ensued after LaVerna told Elvin he could not help himself before she had supper on the table for everyone.
Pine Valley Camping
Dad never did like big city living. If he could be out in the woods and able to make a living, that was where he wanted to be. He would take us kids with him sometimes so we could enjoy the day and cook our meals over a camp fire. the smell of fresh Cedar is still one to bring back pleasant memories.
Always Dad saw to it that we spent at least a week during the hot summers camping in Pine Valley. The Pine Valley camp grounds were not on black top roads. We usually put our tent up at the camp site near the play ground that had been built by President Roosevelt's CCC Camp. There were rustic swings and teeter totter.
On the way up to the mountain we'd stop at the local bottling company for two wooden crates full of 24 assorted bottles of Hires root beer, Nephi grape, and orange soda pop.
We always had watermelon to put into the creek to keep it cold. This was also where the soda pop was kept icy cold.
Each camp ground had a fire pit, table with benches, and a wooden cupboard to store food in beside the stream. All perishables were kept in the cold water surrounded by stones to keep the food from washing down stream.
The cold stream was used for wading in and fishing for the younger ones while Dad took his older children off to learn the art of fishing in the small trout filled lake.
Today the campgraound roads are black topped and campsites have been upgraded. People crowd the camping spots, cupboards gone, playground gone, and it costs a daily fee just to stop for a picnic. Our family could have not been able to afford to stay. It is a shame.
Always Dad saw to it that we spent at least a week during the hot summers camping in Pine Valley. The Pine Valley camp grounds were not on black top roads. We usually put our tent up at the camp site near the play ground that had been built by President Roosevelt's CCC Camp. There were rustic swings and teeter totter.
On the way up to the mountain we'd stop at the local bottling company for two wooden crates full of 24 assorted bottles of Hires root beer, Nephi grape, and orange soda pop.
We always had watermelon to put into the creek to keep it cold. This was also where the soda pop was kept icy cold.
Each camp ground had a fire pit, table with benches, and a wooden cupboard to store food in beside the stream. All perishables were kept in the cold water surrounded by stones to keep the food from washing down stream.
The cold stream was used for wading in and fishing for the younger ones while Dad took his older children off to learn the art of fishing in the small trout filled lake.
Today the campgraound roads are black topped and campsites have been upgraded. People crowd the camping spots, cupboards gone, playground gone, and it costs a daily fee just to stop for a picnic. Our family could have not been able to afford to stay. It is a shame.
Doc Watson
Dad then got contracts to build barbed wire fences for cattlemen and ranch on the Arizona strip.
I remember once when Daddy came home form the strip with a load of Cedar logs in the back of his truck. He was ill and burning up with a fever, yet shaking with chills.
Mom covered Dad up as he lay on the living room sofa where he could keep warm near the stove. She spooned hot soup through his fever cracked lips and placed cold cloths on his forehead. Dad coughed violently and Mom put a mustard plaster on his chest. She was sure he had developed pneumonia.
There was no money for food or medicine.
Elvin had been working for the town's druggist, Doc Watson. Doc had a field out the street from us where Elvin had been hired on to help. Elvin needed some of the money he had earned and asked for part of his pay. When Doc asked him what he wanted the money for, Elvin said his dad was sick and there was no food.
Later that evening the druggist himself came by the house to check on Elvin's story. What Doc Watson saw in that poor home reminded him of hard times he had known himself in his youth. He stepped through the door to the kitchen and say there was no food. Doc took Elvin grocery shopping.
A few hours later Elvin was returned with not only medicine for Dad but bag after bag of groceries. It was more exciting than Christmas! There was even a sack of wonderful and rare oranges! The only times we got an orange before was in the toe of our Christmas sock hung Christmas Eve. What a treat.
Today I grow oranges in my yard. My grown children and grand children don't thrill with the picking of the fruit from our own trees and peeling into juicy flesh as I do. Each time I bite into an orange section and get juice squirted onto my face as I savor each bite, i remember the day that kind man came into our home. I am sure he saved my Daddy's life. Then he taught hungry children about going the extra mile. "As ye have done it unto the lest of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Surely not a Moss Back!
I will never forget Doc Watson. i have had opportunities to emulate the lesson learned that day.
I remember once when Daddy came home form the strip with a load of Cedar logs in the back of his truck. He was ill and burning up with a fever, yet shaking with chills.
Mom covered Dad up as he lay on the living room sofa where he could keep warm near the stove. She spooned hot soup through his fever cracked lips and placed cold cloths on his forehead. Dad coughed violently and Mom put a mustard plaster on his chest. She was sure he had developed pneumonia.
There was no money for food or medicine.
Elvin had been working for the town's druggist, Doc Watson. Doc had a field out the street from us where Elvin had been hired on to help. Elvin needed some of the money he had earned and asked for part of his pay. When Doc asked him what he wanted the money for, Elvin said his dad was sick and there was no food.
Later that evening the druggist himself came by the house to check on Elvin's story. What Doc Watson saw in that poor home reminded him of hard times he had known himself in his youth. He stepped through the door to the kitchen and say there was no food. Doc took Elvin grocery shopping.
A few hours later Elvin was returned with not only medicine for Dad but bag after bag of groceries. It was more exciting than Christmas! There was even a sack of wonderful and rare oranges! The only times we got an orange before was in the toe of our Christmas sock hung Christmas Eve. What a treat.
Today I grow oranges in my yard. My grown children and grand children don't thrill with the picking of the fruit from our own trees and peeling into juicy flesh as I do. Each time I bite into an orange section and get juice squirted onto my face as I savor each bite, i remember the day that kind man came into our home. I am sure he saved my Daddy's life. Then he taught hungry children about going the extra mile. "As ye have done it unto the lest of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Surely not a Moss Back!
I will never forget Doc Watson. i have had opportunities to emulate the lesson learned that day.
Wood Cutting
One of the jobs Dad had during the years he was making his living driving his own truck, was going to the Arizona Strip where he cut Cedar trees. He would bring huge loads of wood to town to sell to people for their wood burning stoves. Elvin was his best helper and buddy.
During evenings dad would tell Mom of all that happened to him while on these wood cutting trips south of St. George, he's talk of close encounters with cougars, number of deer seen flat tires, and engine problems such as belts broken that he tied back together with bailing wire found near the road.
He talked of strange names and places. He drove through Shit Creek near Wolf Hole towards Bundyville
Unfortunately for his fire wood business, townspeople began getting new fangled electric and gas stoves for their kitchens. Soon the need for his service was gone.
During evenings dad would tell Mom of all that happened to him while on these wood cutting trips south of St. George, he's talk of close encounters with cougars, number of deer seen flat tires, and engine problems such as belts broken that he tied back together with bailing wire found near the road.
He talked of strange names and places. He drove through Shit Creek near Wolf Hole towards Bundyville
Unfortunately for his fire wood business, townspeople began getting new fangled electric and gas stoves for their kitchens. Soon the need for his service was gone.
Hound Dog
On the way back to St. George with his motley crew who all needed baths badly, Dad stopped in Cedar City to get gas. We had taken with us our dog Pluto, a Bloodhound.
LaVerna and I lay there out of sight within sound of Dad's voice. We could not believe the tall story our father was telling some stranger who had commented on the Bloodhound. It was all we could do to not let our giggles be heard as Dad bragged about what a good hunting dog old Pluto was.
Why that hound could track and chase a Cougar up a tree and hold him there until Dad could get a shot off. Yes Sir, that dog had saved his life many a time. he had been offered $500 for him but would not dream of parting with good old Pluto for any amount.
LaVerna and I both knew good old Pluto had not left our home since Dad brought him to us when a tiny pup. The only thing Pluto was good for was for was to let the younger kids ride him and roll with him all over the front yard.
Elvin has read this portion of story and told me Pluto was a natural big cat hound. dad had brought him home from Pine Valley where Claude and Elva Bracken, (Mom's cousin) lived.
Claude feared for the young pup;s life. The mother hound would trail a cougar and corner it for the hunter. Little Pluto would continue the chase and get in harm's way. That was why Dad had been given the half grown hound to take home.
However, that does not alter the fact of the tall tale told that night while pumping gas.
Elvin also told me a story I had not been aware of concerning that trip and the pine nuts gathered then sold in individual bags.
A man who had bought one of the bags came to Dad and asked where he had found those pine nuts. I was great surprise to this man when he found a good sized gold nugget mixed in with the nuts. Elvin said Dad went back to that area on the border of Utah and Nevada many time over the following years hoping to find his illusive gold mine. Of course he never did. he dd get a few good deer for the family's meet supply.
LaVerna and I lay there out of sight within sound of Dad's voice. We could not believe the tall story our father was telling some stranger who had commented on the Bloodhound. It was all we could do to not let our giggles be heard as Dad bragged about what a good hunting dog old Pluto was.
Why that hound could track and chase a Cougar up a tree and hold him there until Dad could get a shot off. Yes Sir, that dog had saved his life many a time. he had been offered $500 for him but would not dream of parting with good old Pluto for any amount.
LaVerna and I both knew good old Pluto had not left our home since Dad brought him to us when a tiny pup. The only thing Pluto was good for was for was to let the younger kids ride him and roll with him all over the front yard.
Elvin has read this portion of story and told me Pluto was a natural big cat hound. dad had brought him home from Pine Valley where Claude and Elva Bracken, (Mom's cousin) lived.
Claude feared for the young pup;s life. The mother hound would trail a cougar and corner it for the hunter. Little Pluto would continue the chase and get in harm's way. That was why Dad had been given the half grown hound to take home.
However, that does not alter the fact of the tall tale told that night while pumping gas.
Elvin also told me a story I had not been aware of concerning that trip and the pine nuts gathered then sold in individual bags.
A man who had bought one of the bags came to Dad and asked where he had found those pine nuts. I was great surprise to this man when he found a good sized gold nugget mixed in with the nuts. Elvin said Dad went back to that area on the border of Utah and Nevada many time over the following years hoping to find his illusive gold mine. Of course he never did. he dd get a few good deer for the family's meet supply.
Pine Nuts
One of the first thing I remember about Dad's new truck was after Kathryn was born and Laverna was in the 6th grade. I was 8 and in the third.
Daddy put all side boards on the truck and a tarp over it for a tent of sorts, He took all of us kids out of school a week for 10 days of pine nut picking in the forest. I"m not sure where we went, Elvin told me it was north of Enterprise, Utah
What a glorious time we had sleeping in the back of the truck on a mattress as we drove along, looking at the stars.
Dad would find a place that was loaded with pine cones popping with large pine nuts. There he would set up camp. Mom had a new baby plus Erik and Deanna were not all that old. I don't recall her complaining.
Mom's job was to be camp cook. Dad built the fire pit with large stoned to contain the fire. There was an iron griddle set up to cook on. Daddy got to show off his Dutch oven cooking skills too.
The rest of us were to gather the pine nuts. Dad said they would bring in a fortune that winter. Dad and Elvin would gather the cones in burlap bags to work over later while the rest of us got on hands and knees picking loose ones from the ground.
Each evening as we sat around the camp fire Dad would roast a pan of salted nuts for us to enjoy. We laughed at little Erik who wanted to help too. The tiny handful of nuts he brought to his mother to roast for him were dried sheep pellets.
One day as we were out picking pine nuts from the ground, I go thirsty and went back to camp by myself. As I walked alone in the quiet solitude, I began to think I had walked a very long way. Something whispered to me to turn and o back the way I had come. After another half hour I finally found the camp that I had passed unknowingly. No one but myself knew just how lost I had been. I was so upset I did not want to leave camp again all day.
In the camp fire glow our family grew close as we exchanged stories and Daddy told us poems he had memorized.
"Last night there was a Golden ring around the moon, Tonight no moon I see. The skipper laughed a scornful laugh, A scornful laugh laughed he. Ha Ha!
I can still hear him as a real moon sailed through the clouds overhead.
Daddy put all side boards on the truck and a tarp over it for a tent of sorts, He took all of us kids out of school a week for 10 days of pine nut picking in the forest. I"m not sure where we went, Elvin told me it was north of Enterprise, Utah
What a glorious time we had sleeping in the back of the truck on a mattress as we drove along, looking at the stars.
Dad would find a place that was loaded with pine cones popping with large pine nuts. There he would set up camp. Mom had a new baby plus Erik and Deanna were not all that old. I don't recall her complaining.
Mom's job was to be camp cook. Dad built the fire pit with large stoned to contain the fire. There was an iron griddle set up to cook on. Daddy got to show off his Dutch oven cooking skills too.
The rest of us were to gather the pine nuts. Dad said they would bring in a fortune that winter. Dad and Elvin would gather the cones in burlap bags to work over later while the rest of us got on hands and knees picking loose ones from the ground.
Each evening as we sat around the camp fire Dad would roast a pan of salted nuts for us to enjoy. We laughed at little Erik who wanted to help too. The tiny handful of nuts he brought to his mother to roast for him were dried sheep pellets.
One day as we were out picking pine nuts from the ground, I go thirsty and went back to camp by myself. As I walked alone in the quiet solitude, I began to think I had walked a very long way. Something whispered to me to turn and o back the way I had come. After another half hour I finally found the camp that I had passed unknowingly. No one but myself knew just how lost I had been. I was so upset I did not want to leave camp again all day.
In the camp fire glow our family grew close as we exchanged stories and Daddy told us poems he had memorized.
"Last night there was a Golden ring around the moon, Tonight no moon I see. The skipper laughed a scornful laugh, A scornful laugh laughed he. Ha Ha!
I can still hear him as a real moon sailed through the clouds overhead.
Dad's New Truck
6/1945 - 41949: When we moved back from Henderson, Dad took the money he had saved and put a down payment on his own truck. The man who owned the grocery store in town carried the papers on the truck.
Actually, back then, Daddy was used to doing business with a handshake instead of signed papers. A man's word was his bond.
Daddy paid a sum each month until the truck was paid off. He had used our home and 5 acres as collateral. Daddy didn't not always received receipts when he mad his payments. After Dad had the truck was paid off, Mr ... sent a lawyer's letter saying Dad was in arrears of his payment and was foreclosing on the note.
Mr.... was a fine upstanding man in the town. He never drank or smoked. He went to Church and paid his tithing. He held a Church calling and sat up in the stands each Sunday.
Dad was very fortunate to find a wonderful lawyer, a man who never asked for more in payment for services rendered than he thought Lee Laub could pay. He was able to find enough evidence to back up Dad's claim to having paid the man. Other people surfaced who had been taken unfair advantage of by him.
Mr... saved us children from being kicked out into the street by one of those Moss Backs Mamma was always telling us about.
I finally asked Mom what she meant by the term Moss Back. She said it was a person who looks down on others, always thinking of themselves right, and unwilling to change.
Actually, back then, Daddy was used to doing business with a handshake instead of signed papers. A man's word was his bond.
Daddy paid a sum each month until the truck was paid off. He had used our home and 5 acres as collateral. Daddy didn't not always received receipts when he mad his payments. After Dad had the truck was paid off, Mr ... sent a lawyer's letter saying Dad was in arrears of his payment and was foreclosing on the note.
Mr.... was a fine upstanding man in the town. He never drank or smoked. He went to Church and paid his tithing. He held a Church calling and sat up in the stands each Sunday.
Dad was very fortunate to find a wonderful lawyer, a man who never asked for more in payment for services rendered than he thought Lee Laub could pay. He was able to find enough evidence to back up Dad's claim to having paid the man. Other people surfaced who had been taken unfair advantage of by him.
Mr... saved us children from being kicked out into the street by one of those Moss Backs Mamma was always telling us about.
I finally asked Mom what she meant by the term Moss Back. She said it was a person who looks down on others, always thinking of themselves right, and unwilling to change.
Kathryn vs. Deanna
Mom was expecting when we moved back to St. George from Henderson. Kathryn was born Oct. 9, 1944.
Dad was unemployed so he was there for a change to cook our meals while Mom was in the hospital for 10 days. We thought it was pretty exciting watching Dad create interesting pots of food for us. After all, he was a man and that was woman's work. After the first pot of what he told us when we asked, "Slumgullion Surprise", we developed faith in his concoctions and ate with out too much complaining.
We were glad when Mom was back on the job again.
Kathryn was just the opposite of Deanna. She had Daddy's brown eyes as opposed to Deanna's bright blue. Kathryn's skin was darker than Deanna's fair. Kathryn's coppery brown hair grew slowly and was never long and curled into ringlets. She was larger boned than Deanna's slim frame. where Deanna loved to play with dolls, Kathryn always had an aversion to them.
It was not fair. Kathryn and I had much the same problem as we watched Deanna get all the admiring words from visiting friends and family.
Kathryn was as beautiful as Deanna ever was, but in a different way. Like choosing between Vanilla and Chocolate ice cream. Who is to say which is best? They are both wonderful!
Their personalities were so different. Deanna was all smiles and dainty ways. Kathryn was full steam ahead. she knew how to have fun. daddy thought she was his special one. His tomboy.
Dad was unemployed so he was there for a change to cook our meals while Mom was in the hospital for 10 days. We thought it was pretty exciting watching Dad create interesting pots of food for us. After all, he was a man and that was woman's work. After the first pot of what he told us when we asked, "Slumgullion Surprise", we developed faith in his concoctions and ate with out too much complaining.
We were glad when Mom was back on the job again.
Kathryn was just the opposite of Deanna. She had Daddy's brown eyes as opposed to Deanna's bright blue. Kathryn's skin was darker than Deanna's fair. Kathryn's coppery brown hair grew slowly and was never long and curled into ringlets. She was larger boned than Deanna's slim frame. where Deanna loved to play with dolls, Kathryn always had an aversion to them.
It was not fair. Kathryn and I had much the same problem as we watched Deanna get all the admiring words from visiting friends and family.
Kathryn was as beautiful as Deanna ever was, but in a different way. Like choosing between Vanilla and Chocolate ice cream. Who is to say which is best? They are both wonderful!
Their personalities were so different. Deanna was all smiles and dainty ways. Kathryn was full steam ahead. she knew how to have fun. daddy thought she was his special one. His tomboy.
Back to St. George
In 1943 Dad had the good fortune to get the garbage disposal contract for this new community. Unfortunately for hi he had that alcohol problem.
Elvin told me the farm I remembered going to with Dad so he could feed some pigs from the produce picked up during grocery store pickups was the old Whitney ranch and it went with the sanitation job.
Dad sold out after 6 months for a small sum to the Basic High School custodian who I am sure became a millionaire after we went back to St. George. This was ever a thorn in Mom's side knowing they could have been rich!
Back to no indoor plumbing and a roof that leaked. Dad was never home when it rained and never listened to Mom's complaints about the leaking roof.
Finally Dad was there during a cold winter down pour. We had pots, pans, cans, bowls, cups, anything we could find sitting under the leaking spots through the house an on beds. It was hard to find a spot to sleep without getting soaked.
At least the roof was fixed!
Elvin told me the farm I remembered going to with Dad so he could feed some pigs from the produce picked up during grocery store pickups was the old Whitney ranch and it went with the sanitation job.
Dad sold out after 6 months for a small sum to the Basic High School custodian who I am sure became a millionaire after we went back to St. George. This was ever a thorn in Mom's side knowing they could have been rich!
Back to no indoor plumbing and a roof that leaked. Dad was never home when it rained and never listened to Mom's complaints about the leaking roof.
Finally Dad was there during a cold winter down pour. We had pots, pans, cans, bowls, cups, anything we could find sitting under the leaking spots through the house an on beds. It was hard to find a spot to sleep without getting soaked.
At least the roof was fixed!
Food Stamps
When Mom and Daddy went grocery shopping they had to use food stamps issued during the War. Stamps were issued for each man, woman, and child in each family. They were stamped for the commodities that were scarce because of the source of supply interruption.
In Mom's papers saved, we found food stamp books issued to some of children. Mine contains stamps for coffee, sugar, flour, fruit and "spare" items. On the back of the book is an admonition to save the empty tin cans and meat fat for the war effort.
Here we were in the middle of all this excitement. If it wasn't for my constant fear of being bombed, things would have been perfect.
In Mom's papers saved, we found food stamp books issued to some of children. Mine contains stamps for coffee, sugar, flour, fruit and "spare" items. On the back of the book is an admonition to save the empty tin cans and meat fat for the war effort.
Here we were in the middle of all this excitement. If it wasn't for my constant fear of being bombed, things would have been perfect.
Virtue and Honesty
Church was held in the school across the street. LaVerna and I would dress up and go to Sunday School. this is the first I remember of every going to Sunday services anywhere. I believe Mom went once or twice but couldn't tolerate trying to keep all 7 of us kids quite.
In this school room environment I first felt the special Spirit stir within me during the passing of the Sacrament. this was where my heart was touched, making want to be a good girl.
In school I was taught the virtue of honesty. Teachers taught about Honest Abe walking a great distance to return money to a customer when he was accidentally charged too much.
I was told how George Washington confessed to his father, "I cannot tell a lie, it was I who chopped down the cherry tree"
A pane of glass was broken out of the front door, a many panned French door. Daddy bought the new glass and used puty to replace the window. he and Mom then left to go shopping. As they left us kids there Dad said, "Don't anybody touch this glass while I am gone."
I had to see why Dad did not want me touch the new pane. I found out why when it fell out of it's frame and broke.
Quick! Where to hide? I had a long wait and plenty of time to make my escape and ponder my disobedience.
I finally found the courage to be like George Washington and tell my father the truth. "It was I who touched the pane after you told me not to."
Maybe the story in the school text book did not tell the rest of the story. I got spanked for my honesty! At least that felt better than the guilty conscience I was suffering waiting for their return home.
In this school room environment I first felt the special Spirit stir within me during the passing of the Sacrament. this was where my heart was touched, making want to be a good girl.
In school I was taught the virtue of honesty. Teachers taught about Honest Abe walking a great distance to return money to a customer when he was accidentally charged too much.
I was told how George Washington confessed to his father, "I cannot tell a lie, it was I who chopped down the cherry tree"
A pane of glass was broken out of the front door, a many panned French door. Daddy bought the new glass and used puty to replace the window. he and Mom then left to go shopping. As they left us kids there Dad said, "Don't anybody touch this glass while I am gone."
I had to see why Dad did not want me touch the new pane. I found out why when it fell out of it's frame and broke.
Quick! Where to hide? I had a long wait and plenty of time to make my escape and ponder my disobedience.
I finally found the courage to be like George Washington and tell my father the truth. "It was I who touched the pane after you told me not to."
Maybe the story in the school text book did not tell the rest of the story. I got spanked for my honesty! At least that felt better than the guilty conscience I was suffering waiting for their return home.
Movies
Mom would let us go to the Saturday afternoon matinees for 10 cents each. Some times Mom would come too.
War Bonds were always sold during the movie intermissions.
Sometimes, the nights Mom would go, they had drawing for a $50 War Bond or a set of dishes or some other exciting thing to help the war effort.
Movies were shown to help people be patriotic and want to help do their part to win the war. news Reels shown let us see how our brave men were doing on the fighting front.
We were shown the atrocities the Germans and Japanese were doing to the innocent people of Europe and Pacific Islands. The news showed babies being thrown into the air and caught on the wicked German's bayonet blades. Of course we wanted to help the war effort!
I had nightmares of being bombed by the enemy.
War Bonds were always sold during the movie intermissions.
Sometimes, the nights Mom would go, they had drawing for a $50 War Bond or a set of dishes or some other exciting thing to help the war effort.
Movies were shown to help people be patriotic and want to help do their part to win the war. news Reels shown let us see how our brave men were doing on the fighting front.
We were shown the atrocities the Germans and Japanese were doing to the innocent people of Europe and Pacific Islands. The news showed babies being thrown into the air and caught on the wicked German's bayonet blades. Of course we wanted to help the war effort!
I had nightmares of being bombed by the enemy.
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