Stories from the Family of Orson Pratt Alred and Sarah Jane Rich Allred by Harvey Rich Allred and other family members

the_early_life_of_harvey_r_allred__TEXT.txt

                              The Early Life
                                    Of
                             Harvey R. Allred

                        STORIES FROM THE FAMILY OF
                  ORSON PRATT AND SARAH JANE RICH ALLRED
                                    by
                Harvey Rich Allred and other family members

Father and Mother were both born and raised in the Bear Lake area and spent
most of their younger lives in St. Charles, Idaho.

When Father started courting Mother, she was so bashful and shy that she
would cross the street to keep from meeting him if she saw him coming in
time. The first time Father went to see her he went without an appointment
and just as a casual visitor. He sat there visiting with the family in
general for awhile, then Mother went to bed. She said later that she
thought he just came to see Hyrum.

They had a lovely courtship during which they attended many dances. It was
the custom to dance the plain quadrille. In those days it was considered
immodest to dance as partners close together; however, the pressure was
finally brought to bear regarding dance rules and they started allowing one
or two waltzes during the evening. This practice was carried on for many
years but in time the plain quadrille was almost a forgotten art.

They were married 25 November 1887 in the Salt Lake Temple.  They set up
house-keeping in a little log cabin where Father was born almost exactly 20
years before and their first child, Theras Orson, was born there 30 July
1888.

Soon after Father built a small log cabin about one mile south of
St. Charles where their next two children were born, Elden Pratt. 15
September 1890 and Orrin William 12 February 1893.

When Orrin was born Elden went over to Aunt Adelin's place and said. "I've
got the cutest little brother." Aunt Adeline-said, "I'll bet he isn't half
as cute as you are."

In the spring of 1893 they sold their property in St. Charles and moved to
Star Valley where they spent the remainder of their lives.  Several of
their folks were moving in that direction. Father's dad, William Moore,
lived very close to Father, he being the youngest of the family. Father's
brothers: Nelson, Seymour, Medwin and Byron, and Mother's brother, Hyrum,
all were attracted to this lovely valley. There was plenty of good land to
be had by the homestead act and some to be bought at a cheap price. There
was lots of wild game to attract the daring hunter and plenty of good
fishing so all in all it looked very attractive. They forgot to consider
that they would face many tough winters. Nevertheless, they were a very
hardy bunch and were not afraid to face the hardships.

Father and his brother, Nelson, bought a farm from Hi Holland. It consisted
of 90 acres along the Salt River. Father took the lower half and Nelson the
upper half where he built a log cabin on the southwest corner.  Grandfather
bought a 40-acre plot next to the south of Nelson's and Father bought 5
acres from him so he could have his home close to him and could help him
during his declining years.  Father established his home on this 5-acre
plot where he first built a 14 x 16-foot log cabin with dirt floor and dirt
roof which later became the horse stable.

He next built a one-room cabin which still had a dirt roof but it had a
wood floor and one small window which faced north. This building was
fronted right on the street line of the road that ran north and was at that
time the main road to Afton. This road was later abandoned and the other
road that ran east became the main road to Afton.  This log cabin had a
front door facing west and a door facing east. This east door opened into
the cellar which joined onto the house on the east. This log building later
became the granary and was also used partly for a workshop. He had a
grindstone in there where we ground the hay knives and other things. It was
in this old building where Ronald got his finger into the cogs of the wheel
that turned the stone. He was playing with the machine letting his fingers
rub on the cogs as it turned. He got too close and his finger went into the
cogs.  The finger was broken in several places. but the doctor fixed it up
the best he could. It remained crooked the rest of his life, but he could
use it and was better than no finger.

They lived in this log building until Father could build a better
place. The next was a nice log building with hewn logs, wood floor and
shingled roof. This had two nice windows, a front and back door and a
shanty on the back which was sometimes used for a summer kitchen.

Their next child. Sarah Lorilla, was born in this log house 9 April
1895. Father then built two log rooms on the north forming a T. The east
part of this was finished first and that is where I, Harvey Rich, was born
20 May 1897.  I remember when Father started finishing the west room, the
first thing he had to do was to saw the logs through to make a doorway into
the new room.  I remember he sawed the two top logs out with a one-man
saw. Then Theras crawled through and handled the other end of the two-man
log saw to cut the rest of the way down.  I remember watching Father hew
the logs on the inside of this room making them level.  This was done with
a broad axe. This made quite a nice wall which they covered with factory,
then wall paper. This was later covered with lumber running up and down.

This room was used as a parlor for several years and was quite nice. We
spent many happy hours in this room with Father playing the organ and the
rest of us singing. Father loved music and taught us all to sing and play
some instrument.  We spent many happy hours all taking part in music.  My
first attempt at music was beating out the rhythm with my fist using the
bottom of the kitchen oven as a drum.

Our home was a happy place for all of us to remember. Mother was such a
good homemaker and always was so concerned about our welfare. They always
taught us to love the Gospel and be ready at any time to respond to any
call made of us by those in authority in the Church. Each of the boys in
the family was taught to play in the old Fairview brass band and we had
many happy experiences doing that. At that time it was not customary for
girls to play in the band so they missed that opportunity.

The rest of the family was born in the home as it was at this time. Gladys
Orissa was born 24 January 1902. When they came and told me I had a baby
sister I said, "I wanted it to be a her." Luanna Elizabeth was born 26
February 1904. She was always a loveable child. Lera Adeline was born 7
June 1907. When she was born, I remember Father asking the doctor what his
bill was and the doctor said, "Five dollars". That is such a contrast to
what maternity costs are these days.  Ronald was born 15 December 1909. I
remember Father saying when Ronald was born. "He has come to take care of
us in our old age". This proved to be true for Mother but not for Father.

We had many good times in the old Fairview ward.  The baseball games were
always a highlight.  Competition was keen between Fairview and Afton.  In
fact. it was so keen that sometimes fights would develop.  Nevertheless,
they were usually settled peacefully.

Father was a good ball player and he always arranged the work so that all
the boys had at least one-half day per week for ball playing. Sometimes
they took half a day off on Wednesday also. Father always played catch. He
used to catch without a mask with only a pair of his gloves. He thought a
mask was too much in the way until someone hit a foul tick and hit him in
the nose.  They thought he was going to bleed to death.  After that he
always wore a mask.

All the older boys were good players but by the time I was old enough to
play much, Father had passed away and there seemed to be so many chores to
do that I didn't have time to play much ball. I never did get very good at
it. Ronald became a good player. One time he was playing in the field and a
high fly came into his area, but he couldn't get there in time to catch
it. The manager. Ezra Child, said, "If that had been your father he would
have got that fly" because he seemed to have a way of knowing when a ball
was hit where it was going and he was always there when the ball got there.

We used to have lots of good dramas in the ward. Father and Mother took
part in many of these plays. I remember when they played the one entitled
"The White Lie".  Mother played the lead in that one. There wasn't much
else for people to do in those days for entertainment, so fley made their
own. This was really a blessing as it brought people closer together. I
sometimes feel that we are missing alot of happiness today because of the
commercialized age in which we are living. Piped-in entertainment deprives
people of creativity.

I've heard the older boys tell about things that went on in the old log
building that first served as a meeting place for every thing in the
ward. This building stood in the field at the north end of main street. The
stage was on the same level as the rest of the building and when the
curtain went down at the end of an act, some of the children found that in
their excitement they had worked themselves forward and onto the stage with
the actors.

This old log building was later moved south about one and one-half blocks
and turned so it faced east. It then became the old co-op store. Years
later we used it for a play place and tried to play some basketball in it
but it was way too small.  All we had for lights were a few kerosene
lanterns hung on the wall. This later became Charlie Brown's general store.

The new church building which replaced the old log building was a great
improve- ment but still had many disadvantages.  It had one big room with a
good stage at one end and a nice class room behind. The big room was used
for meetings of all kinds.  For Sunday School we would draw curtains to
divide the classes.  This made some confusion but we got along. The primary
and kindergarten classes were held on the stage and the room behind. I
fondly remember anxiously waiting for the curtain to raise and the big play
to begin. It was all such a thrill. Childhood memories are so vivid and the
joys of those days have no comparison with the more sophisticated
arrangements we have today.

My first school days were spent in this building.  For desks we used what
our fathers could build out of common lumber.  They were built with a
sloping top for writing and studying and this top would raise up to give
access to a storage place for books, etc. A few years later a three-room
school house was built north of the canal and that is where I finished
elementary schooling.

I think it would be good to tell something about this old church house and
some of the activities there. The large room in which all meetings were
held was heated by a huge stove, over eight feet tall which stood in the
center of the room. The pipe from this stove went straight up and into a
chimney which rested on the ceiling beams. This stove would take large
blocks of wood about three feet long. In the winter it was often kept red
hot and we usually had to keep rather close to keep warm. The little room
behind the stage had a smaller heater.

The lighting for the building was at first furnished with kerosene lamps. I
remember the big light in the big room had a circular wick about three
inches in diameter. By capillary attraction the oil was brought up to the
flame.  There were smaller lamps around on the walls wherever needed. When
Albert Barrus was bishop, he was the one who arranged to have gas lights
put in. There was a generator in a little room on the stage. They put
gasoline in a tank there and it was generated into gas which went through
pipes to lights hanging from the ceiling. These were good lights but when
they decided to equip the room for basketball, all the gas lights had to
come out.

In those days they didn't have a custodian. The janitor work was all done
by members of the priesthood. The deacons were assigned in their turn to be
what was called "on duty".  They would go there at a preassigned hour and
prepare the building for the meeting that was scheduled. This worked quite
well but sometimes someone forgot his duty, then things were not ready on
time. Father used to go to some meetings extra early just to make sure
someone didn't forget.

The water for the sacrament was served in one cup which was passed from
person to person for each to sip from the same cup. Even though it was
rather unsanitary we seemed to live through it. The deacon would carry a
heavy pitcher along to refill the cup when needed. I remember how heavy
that pitcher was for me when I first started passing the sacrament.

Fuel for the fires was always wood which was furnished by members of the
ward.  Each family was to furnish a load a year. The men and boys would all
turn out for a wood-cutting bee where all the wood was sawed and split by
hand. We all had a good time getting together for those events. We would
usually have some kind of celebration following the wood-cutting bee.

My parents were very poor when they were establishing their new home in
Star Valley. I remember seeing some rawhide on some posts in the field and
asked Father what it was for. He told me they were so poor they could not
afford to buy wire to fasten the posts and poles together so they tied them
with rawhide (rawhide is made by cutting deer skins in strips, this was
applied while green and then as it dried it became very tight and strong).
The field was first fenced in this manner.  The land we had was good,
fertile soil but being close to Salt River it had many swales and knolls
which had been caused by the river changing course many times in the
past. This made irrigation more difficult and made it necessary to cut the
land into small pieces for cultivating.

Since Father was the youngest of his father's family, he wanted to stay
close to his father so that he could help take care of him in his declining
years. They planned their homes near each other. Grandfather, William Moore
Allred, built a nice two-room frame house about one hundred yards south of
Father's home.  It was on the corner where the two roads to Afton parted.
The one road that went north past Father's home was at one time the most
travelled road, but it later gave way to the road that went
east. Grandfather had a barn that bordered on the main road where we spent
lots of pleasant times playing. There was a ramp built on the south side
which was used to roll hay up into the loft above. They would pull the
wagon load of hay up to the ramp, tie the guide ropes to ropes which had
been placed under the load, then a single pull rope was thrown over and
tied to the doubled rope on the other side. This pull rope extended through
the barn to a team of horses outside and they pulled the load up while one
guided it with the guide ropes.  One day they were doing this and Theras
thought he would have some fun by hanging to the ropes as it went
up. Father was guiding the load and Grandfather driving the pull-off
team. Theras would come up until he could see Father, then say "peek-a-boo"
and slide back down. The last time he forgot to slide back quickly enough
and went right on over. As he went down the other side, he said, "Oh,
Pa". Grandfather thought he said, "Whoa" and stopped with the load right on
top of him. Father said "Go on" and the load rolled on over and off from
him.

One day Orrin, Lorilla and I were playing up in this barn and Orrin looked
down the feed hole and thought he saw a terrible animal just ready to come
up after us. He gave the signal and we all three climbed out the hay hole
in the roof and up onto the roof of the barn calling for help as loud as we
could.  Theras came to the rescue and couldn't see anything in the
barn. Orrin looked through a crack and said.  "It isn't there now". Theras
drove the old cow into-the stall and Orrin called out, "There it is now",
so that settled that.

Many little things happened as we went through the routin es of life on the
farm. and that all added interest. I cannot relate them all but here are
some.

Theras was noted for being sometimes forgetful, or perhaps we should say he
had other things on his mind.  He was going to mow a certain piece of hay
ground and as it was such a large piece, Father told him to cut it in
half. There was a large knoll in the center and he was told to go over that
knoll. So that he would not forget Theras kept saying, "Go over that knoll,
go over that knoll". He went all the way around the piece saying, "Go over
that knoll".

Elden was quite the carpenter when he was a little fellow. He would build
little things around the house using box lumber and little brads, etc. One
day Father went to Afton shopping. One thing he wanted to buy was some
brads for Elden and he wanted to surprise him. He left Elden in the buggy
outside the store while he walked up to the clerk and said, "I want to buy
some brads for my carpenter son". He looked around and Elden was there by
his side grinning, so the surprise was off.

In those days when a part was played on the stage representing a Dutchman,
it was usually a comedy part and they always seemed to think a Dutchman had
to be fat, so he was always made up that way.  One day Father was fitting
some wood together and as it didn't fit just right, he put in what is
usually called a shim.  Elden said, "What's that?"  Father said. "A
Dutchman!"  Elden said. "An honest Dutchman?"  He meant, was it a real
dutchman.

Father was quite fleshy in his later years and at one time he drove into
the yard of some friend in the Valley. Their little girl saw him get out of
the buggy and she ran into the house and told her mother there was a
Dutchman out in the yard.

When Lorilla was little, she had white hair that had a tendency to stand
out rather bushy when not properly cared for. I was in the field with
Father one day and as I saw his thistles that had gone to seed I asked
Father what it was. He was not sure what I was referring to so I
said. "That thing that looks like Lorilla."

There was a little dialogue that took place between Grandpa and Theras
which is quite interesting to recall. Grandfather was quite hard of hearing
in his later years. This is the way the dialogue ran:

  Grandfather: "Theras!"
  Theras: "Sir!"
  Grandfather (louder): "Theras!"
  Theras (louder): "Sir!"
  Grandfather (real loud): "Theras?"
  Theras (real loud): "What?"
  Grandfather: "I declare, Theras. you're getting harder of hearing than I am."

Lorilla and I were great pals in our growing up years. We used to play
marbles together. We usually had a teeter-tooter in the back yard where we
spent lots of time playing.  At one time Lorilla was coaxing Mother and
Father to get a hired girl to help do the housework and Elden said she
wanted a hired girl around so she would have someone to teeter with. We
used to go to dances alot and she usually tried to teach me to dance more
gracefully. I guess I wasn't a very good student but we had lots of good
times anyway.

When word came that Lorilla had her first baby, it was such a shock to Lera
that she turned to Gladys and said. "Gladys, are you 'scart?'"

I always loved to have Grandfather come to see us.  He usually brought me
candy but he wouldn't give it to me if I had been playing with the pups. I
was usually playing with the pups if there were any pups so quite often I
didn't get any candy.  Grandfather was a very good man and I always loved
him.  I also loved Grandmother and Grandfather Rich, Mother's father and
mother. They lived in St. Charles, Idaho and would usually come to see us
about once a year. It was quite a trip with team and wagon.

At one time Father and Theras were riding the old gray mare to band
practice.  Father had the bass horn and Theras the baritone. The old mare
must have had a heart attack or something worse. Anyway, she dropped dead
right under them. She lit on the baritone horn and mashed it flat.  They
straightened it somewhat, but it was not much good after that.

In those times there were lots of ground squirrels that were a nuisance to
everyone. Nevertheless, we did have alot of fun shooting them with 22
rifles or trapping them with steel traps or shooting with sling shots that
we called flippers.  We couldn't always hit where we aimed but we had alot
of fun trying. It was such a thrill to see those squirrels come out of
hibernation in the spring. They would usually come out before the snow was
gone and we could see them sticking up in the snow like pegs. That was a
pretty good sign that spring was not far away and after a long, cold winter
we were all ready for a change. I used to watch out in the fields and count
all I could see at first, then soon they would get to be so many that I
couldn't count them.

The squirrels used to be pests when they became so numerous because they
would take a good profit out of the grain crop. We had to figure out ways
to get rid of as many as possible. We had one piece of ground that seemed
to be more infested than other places, so at one time we decided to wage a
war on that plot of ground. When it came time to mow the hay there, we all
got around with clubs and as the mower came nearer to the middle of the
piece, the squirrels couldn't find their holes and were at our mercy. When
the dust all cleared away we counted 93 dead squirrels.  Later the whole
valley organized a war on them with poison. Everyone scattered poison
everywhere even in the hills because the squirrels were everywhere. Well,
we got rid of the squirrels but we also killed nearly all the sage chickens
that had been such a good game bird for everyone who loved to hunt. They
ate the poison grain wherever they found it. I was very sorry to see that
happen because we so much enjoyed that hunt.

During the summer months we often went into the canyons to get summer
firewood and when we did, we usually were able to find and kill
chickens. Father had an old 45-70 rifle which he used to hunt deer with.
We would relead the shells with a light load with a molded round
bullet. This made an ideal load for the chicken hunt and Father was a good
shot with this old gun.

At one time when Theras was courting his future wife, Florence Porter,
Father planned for some kind of celebration on his birthday.  He decided to
have Florence come down for dinner as a surprise for Theras.  He asked
Elden if he thought of anything Theras would like better and Elden said he
didn't know anything better unless he had her stay for supper too.

At one time we children were home along. Mother and Father had gone to Bear
Lake. We were all sitting around in a sort of circle playing games in the
evening and suddenly there was a rumbling, then shaking sound. One of us
said, "What's that?" And one of the older ones said, "It's an earthquake!"
Gladys said, "Will it come in?" Needless to say we were all very upset and
frightened. Aunt Miranda knowing we were home alone called us on the phone
and advised us to come "2 to their place and stay the rest of the night
because there may be a bigger one come later in the night. We were all glad
to accept the invitation.

The next day we were still very nervous.  As we'd walk through the house
any ratter we heard sounded like-another earthquake. Mother and Father were
camped at Camp Giveout and it really shook them. The horses jumped around
and tried to run away. They were anxious to get home the next day to find
out how we fared the ordeal.  Some of the little children were afraid it
would come again in the night and steal their shoes, so they found a good
place to hide them.

There were many happy times spent in the old home. Father taught us to all
take part in music and it gave us an opportunity to develop our
talents. None of us ever became extra good in music, but we had alot of fun
trying to do our best.

There were sad times as well which none of us can hope to escape in this
life.  but we were taught to accept the inevitable as part of life and
urged to endure to the end.

When I was eleven years old, I had a serious sick spell. Lorilla and I went
swimming in a leftover water hole in dried up Salt River. It was a cool day
and I'll never forget how cold I got while I was changing from my wet
clothes to my dry ones.  Well, soon after that I started with a pain in my
side. This kept getting worse until it was hard for me to breathe, then my
joints began to ache. I was confined to a chair for some time and it was at
this period of my sick spell that the first automobile was seen coming down
the road. Someone said, "Here comes an automobile". I made it to the door
to see the auto, but I had to be helped back to my chair. My sick spell
developed into rheumatic fever, inflamation of the bowels and bladder and I
was confined to my bed for six weeks.  I am forever grateful to Mother for
the loving care she gave me and for the power of the Priesthood for my
recovery.  I have had such good health since.

I think it would be good to mention about the methods of farming in those
days.  The main method of plowing the fields was with the old hand plow. A
man would walk behind and hold the plow in place while the team pulled it
along. One man would have the lines tied over his back and guide the team
when necessary. One man would do well if he plowed one acre of land in a
day and he was plenty tired when he got through.

The seed was sowed by broadcast, then covered by harrowing over the ground.
Some of the seed didn't get very well covered and some got covered too deep
so the method was not very efficient.

Haying time was a time of lots of hard work. As I came into the picture,
the use of the scythe had been abandoned and the hay was all cut with a
mowing machine.  This was a good cutting method and is still being used in
modified form on many sophisiticated machines. The gathering of the hay was
a slow process. My first memory of this was seeing the hay all pitched onto
a hay rack by men with pitch forks. The load was then taken to the yard and
rolled onto the stack with ropes.  The next method used was the hay
loader. This machine was hooked to the back of the wagon and pulled along
the winrow of bay. The loader picked up the hay and by means of a carrier
deposited it onto the hay rack where a man stacked it on the load as he
wished. It used to fall to my lot to drive the team that pulled the
loader. I sat on a seat on the front end and was always afraid of
falling off. In fact I did fall off once and had to roll out from under the
wagon before the hay loader got to me with its teeth ready to pierce me
like it did the hay.

The harvesting of the grain was the most fascinating of all the farming
projects but it was very slow and time consuming compared to the methods
used today. When the grain was ripe it was cut with a binder. This was a
complicated machine but_it did a good job. It would tie the grain in
bundles and kick them out on the ground.  These bundles had to be put in
shocks to dry before they could be stacked. If they were stacked too soon,
they would heat in the stack and sometimes turn black. When the bundles
were ready for the stacking, they were hauled to a central place and put
into a round stack with the butt end of the bundles to the outside. This
would protect the grain in the heads from the weather.  When everyone got
their grain in, it was time for the threshing machine to make its
appearance. This was the most exciting time of the year.  Each farmer would
take his turn according to previous arrangements. Help had to be arranged
for, which usually took about twelve or fifteen men including the regular
men who travelled with the tresher. The power was supplied by horse power
which had eight teams hooked to sweeps. They walked around and around in a
circle. The power was transmitted to the thresher by a tumbling rod
consisting of one and a half inch rods ten feet long. These were connected
together with universal joints and connected to the thresher.

When the machine started to run, there was not time for anybody to be
idle. Each man had his assignment and he had no way of shirking without
getting covered up. The big job for the women folks was to feed this large
crew and they were always plenty hungry. Breakfast had to be ready long
before daylight and everything ready to roll when daylight came. It was all
excitement and, of course, all hard work but we got a kick out of the whole
thing anyway.

Bands of gypsies used to come through the valley most every summer.  They
seemed to like to camp in the hollow southeast of our home.  They always
came begging for food or anything we could give them.  Father was always
good to them. One time he gave them a chicken to eat. He shot it with his
22 rifle and the woman grabbed it before it quit jumping around. I guess
they went pretty hungry at times. I remember they used to kill ground
squirrels to eat if they could get them.

The farm did not supply enough income for the family, so Father used to
sell different kinds of things. He once tried the nursery business, but
that did not work very well. He tried selling Bliss Native Herbs which were
supposed to cure everything from gout to headache. Then he got into the
selling business with the W. T. Raleigh Company. They had all kinds of
household needs such as extracts and spices and many home remedies. Father
was a good salesman and everyone liked to see him come. He carried a case
with all kinds of samples so neatly arranged that they were very
attractive. One product he sold was Golden Cough Syrup. He had a little
poem that he would challenge each child to learn. If they had it learned
when he came next time. he promised them a package of gum. The poem ran
like this:

  Little Willie Wiggle had a case of croup
  He whooped and coughed so very hard, he fell into the soup
  But now little Willie coughs no more, his face you see is jolly
  Why? He took some golden cough syrup, and now he praises Raleigh.

Gladys says she remembers that she won some gum by memorizing the poem.

Life was not intended to be all sunshine and roses. Hardships usually come
to all of us at some time. Sadness also comes along with other things to
help make us stronger. Sadness came to this little family when our baby
sister, Luanna.  died at the age of two years. She was such a lovely child,
had a sweet singing voice and could carry a tune perfectly. She used to
sing "Shine on", a song in the old Sunday School song book. Her passing was
a very saddening thing for all of us and especially Father and Mother. They
felt that she must have been too good to live in this wicked world, so was
taken to a better place.

The worst blow of all came to us when Father was taken from us. He was 38
years old when he was taken with appendicitus.  He had several attacks of
this, then decided to take the doctor's advice and have the appendix
removed. The medical facilities in Star Valley were very inadequate so he
decide d to go to Ogden and have it done. The operation was a success but
he still had some problems with distress in his side. This seemed to bother
him off and on the rest of his life though he never seriously was sick with
the problem.

At the commencement of his final sickness, he was playing for a dance in
the ward after they had had ward reunion and big dinner.  While he was
playing for this dance, he was taken with severe pains in the abdomen so
was taken across the street to Aunt Maria's home and the doctor was called
there.  There seemed to be a stoppage in the bowels and they could not get
a bowel movement. The doctor decided that they should do an exploratory
operation. He suspected telescope of the bowels or a kink in the
intestines.

We didn't know anything else but to take the doctor's advice so decided to
let them operate.  The operation was done in a room of Aunt Maranda's hotel
in Afton with very poor facilities. They handled his intestines looking for
the trouble and I am sure this caused him to go into shock. Anyway, he
never fully regained consciousness.  When we were permitted to see him
before he passed away, he was rolling and raving in agony and did nota seem
to recognize us. Theras and Elden were at school in Logan so were called
and told he was very sick. By the time they got home he had passed away.

The very ridiculous thing about the whole thing is how the doctor reported
the cause on the death certificate. He simply called it ptomaine
poinsoning. That shows how ignorant he was about the case.  We should
accept the belief that his time had come and that he was needed on the
other side, but it is hard to see how he could be needed there more than he
was needed here.  I sometimes feel that if he had had the right kind of
care, he could have been with us many more years.

He left a family of 8 children, the oldest 21 and the youngest 3
months. This was a terrible blow to the family, especially to Mother. They
were such a devoted couple and it seemed that she never ceased to mourn his
passing. This left the responsibility of management of things to the older
boys. Theras was married, so Elden took the lead and he did a very good job
of handling things. As I grew older, the responsibility fell on my
shoulders.

At the time of Father's death, he had been Superintendent of the Sunday
School for fifteen years and had been loved and respected in that
position. He had been ward clerk for many years. I remember seeing him
working for many days in the ward annual reports. It seemed like an awful
big job to me but he seemed to enjoy that kind of work.

The next blow came a year later when our brother, Orrin, contracted
pneumonia and passed away at the age of 18. All these things seemed unjust,
but we all set to work and unitedly tried to put the pieces together and
try to carry on the best we could. We all worked to make what we could of
the farm. Because of the need for help, the girls were always willing to do
all they could. In fact, Lera was so good with all things on the farm that
she was better than some men. She handled the machinery and the horses as
much as anybody did. Lorilla also worked alot with the farm work. Gladys
did not take to the farm work quite as much as Lera, but she always did her
share. The girls were especially good in helping with the milking. We had
quite a bunch of cows and this was our main source of income.  Gladys and I
did alot of the ranching together when we had the cows on the ranch up Crow
Creek. We had a little shack for the milk house, but we had to use it for
living quarters for a while until we got a better place built.

Mother also insisted on helping with the milking against my will. I didn't
want her to milk but she was determined to do all she could to help with
the burdens we had and I could not convince her that we could handle it, so
I had to let her help.  She was so concerned about the things we had to do.

Mother and the girls went through many hardships which would have caused
rebellion with lots of girls, but they were all loyal to the needs of the
family and realized that it required the united effort of all if the family
was to be kept together. Many times Mother trudged through the dirty work
of milking cows and all that went with it to miss many of the good times
that some of their friends had.  We enjoyed the closeness that developed
within the family because of this but had to miss alot of fun in other
things.

The home where we all spent our childhood was not a warm house. I guess all
the houses at that time in Star Valley were about as cold as ours because
at that time proper insulation was not known and we had to depend on extra
fuel and more stoves to keep us warm.  On the cold morning, we would find
white frost on all the nail heads on the door and window casings and frost
on the blankets where we had been breathing.  Windows would be frozen solid
with ice so we could not see through them. Bread in the bread box would be
frozen so solid that it would have to be chopped with a hatchet to get a
piece off to eat, or we would have to thaw it out in the oven in order to
eat it.  We sometimes had a stove in the bedrooms to warm them up, but that
was not good for health. The fire would burn up the oxygen and leave us
breathing our own impurities.  All our firewood was hauled from the canyon
and some coal was obtained from Montpelier but it was very expensive.

Water had to be heated on top of the kitchen range in metal containers. All
kitchen ranges had a reservoir at one side which we tried always to keep
filled.  The heat from the fire circulated by this reservoir and heated the
water. This always came in handy unless we forgot to keep it filled. There
was always a tea kettle on the range that was kept filled with water.

Water was another problem. Sometimes we carried it from a ditch across the
street or pumped it from a well if it hadn't gone dry. We sometimes had to
haul it from Crow Creek a mile and a half away.  Yes and sometimes we had
to get water by melting snow.

We had to bath in the wash tub which was only about 30 inches wide and 12
inches deep.  The water was heated on the stove and we always shivered and
shook with the cold in the process. Can you blame one for making it not
more than a weekly ritual?

To sleep in such small quarters, we had to put at least two in a bed and as
many beds as we could squeeze into a room.

Mother always had a good sewing machine that was run by treadling it with
the feet.  This did a good job and many like it are still in use today.

The old kitchen stove had lots of good cooking surface and we never were in
want for a good place to cook. Many perfect batches of bread were baked in
that old oven. Over the top and to the back was the warming oven. This was
used to keep things warm until serving time.

The ironing was done with what was called "sad irons". These were shaped
like the present irons but they were heated on top of the stove. Some of
them had a solid handle which fot hot with the iron and one had to use a
heavy cloth on the handle to keep from getting burned. Some had a
detachable handle that did not get hot.

The washing of the clothes was a very difficult job. The first problem was
getting enough water on hand for the job. Like it was for other needs it
had to be carried from the ditch or hauled from the creek, pumped by hand
from the well, or pulled up with a bucket on a rope and pulley. We
sometimes even had to melt snow to get the needed water. Much of the
washing was done in the same tub used for bathing.  The clothes had to be
scrubbed by hand on a scrubbing board. This was a contraption made with a
wood frame with a panel of corrugated metal held in place by the wood
frame. Homemade soap was the only soap available. It was made by boil ing a
quantity of grease in which lye had been added. After it was cooked
enough. it was poured into a tub to cool, then cut into bars. This made a
good laundry soap but was very harsh to the hands.

Different kinds of washing machines were made, some made by hand which was
supposed to do the scrubbing like was done on the scrubbing board. These
didn't do a very good job of cleaning but it did make it possible to use
hotter water by not having to put your hands into it. Some factory made
machines were made but none of them as good as the old scrubbing board for
getting the clothes clean.

The clothes all had to be hung out on a clothes line to dry and if it
rained sometimes they got rather dingy and stained before they got dry. In
the winter it was a terrible task to hang clothes on the line out in the
cold. They would freeze solid before you could get them completely pinned
to the line. Then they would have to hang there until they froze dry.

Dishwashing was done just like lots of people should in doing it now, by
hand, with hot water in a pan.

We lived nearly a mile from the church house and most of the time we walked
to church and to school. In the cold weather it was pretty tough. Sometimes
it was so cold we would have to walk backwards to keep our noses from
freezing. We had good schools and enjoyed them very much. Going to high
school was difficult. Sometimes I rode a horse over to Afton. Sometimes I
milked cows for a farmer over there for my room and board. Mast of the
Fairview students went by a school trolley, that is a horse-drawn sleigh.

We always had plenty to eat but perhaps not as well-balanced diet as we
should have had. There was plenty of milk and bread and we had our own beef
and pork. It was a problem to keep meat in warm weather because of lack of
refrigeration.

The girls and boys played pretty much together in the family. Lorilla and I
used to have a teeter-tooter and a swing. We played marbles also. Many of
the little girls spent time playing house and if the boys wanted to join
them they would have to be the daddy or the flunky.

We usually tried to economize on buying shoes by ordering them by mail. We
would wait until we needed them and then if they didn't fit, we felt like
we had to wear them anyway even if they pinched our feet.  It seemed we
suffered alot from ill-fitting shoes.

I feel that we enjoyed Christmas much more than the children do today even
though we didn't get alot of fancy expensive gifts. We were always happy
with what we got. Christmas was about the happiest holiday we had. We
always looked forward to the fourth of July also, with all the fire
crackers, the cannon firing, the band playing, the program and all the
other excitement. The 24th was also a very eventful time. There were plenty
of things in the ward at different times to keep us interested, the dramas,
the dances and parties of different kinds, so we enjoyed life possibly more
than kids do today.

About eight or ten years after Father died, we decided to build a new home
for Mother and the family. This building was located about 75 yards south
of the old home. Elden and I built this frame house with the help of other
members of the family.  Lera worked along with us almost like a man. We
mixed all the concrete by placing the ingredients on a layer of boards then
mixed it by turning the mixture over and over with shovels. Lera worked
along with me mixing the concrete that way. This was a slow process but we
got it done and did a good job. The house is still in use but has had many
additions and improvements. Ronald's family took it over and he made many
improvements. Mother lived in this house the rest of her life.

My wife, Margaret, and I lived in part of the old house until our first
baby, Nadine, was born. Then we moved to Logan where I finished high school
work.

I should tell about Ronald's courting episode. He was taking his girl home
and as he got out of the car, he shut the door before he realized that it
was locked and the key was in the ignition.  He didn't tell his girl about
it but when he came out to the car he started trying to figure out a way to
get it unlocked. He first pushed it down the road far enough so his girl
wouldn't see what was going on, then he decided the only way he could get
in was to go up through the floor. He didn't want to get his best clothes
dirty so he took them off and proceeded to crawl under the car and maneuver
the floor boards loose so he could some way reach up with a wire and get
the keys. When a car would come along.  he would crawl in the trunk and
partly close the lid so they wouldn't see him, then crawl out and under the
car again and go to work. He kept this up until nearly morning when he
finally was able an opening big enough to reach up with a wire and hook to
get the key out of the key hole.

When he finally got the car unlocked, he was too dirty to put his clothes
on so he decided to go home undressed. When he got home, Mother was still
up worrying about him as she always did if any of us were too late coming
in. When he walked undressed with his clothes hanging over his arm, he had
to do some tall explaining to convince Mother that everything was alright.

Because of the shortage of pasture on the place at home, we established a
practice of taking the cows to the hills for summer pasture. The first
place we did this was in Brown's Hollow. Uncle Seymour and Uncle Hyrum's
folks were miling cows up there, so we decided to join them. This was a
good place for summer fee we didn't have very good living quarters. Our
Uncles built a log cabin with dirt room and floor, but we used a tent. We
would go up there in the evening, bring cows in, milk them and then after a
supper of good bread and milk we'd bed down for the night. This was not so
bad when the weather was good, but when it rained we had all kinds of
problems. One summer it rained almost every day for six weeks. We actually
didn't see the sun for a month. The creeks were all flooding and the roads
were almost impassable. Many places in the valley were a continual
swamp. One night a stream of water came down the canyon and ran right under
our bed.  However, we didn't mind, we were high and dry. The dirt roof
where the folks slept leaked like a sieve and we were glad we were in the
tent.

We would take the milk to the creamery which was on our way home; then fill
empty cans with whey and take it home for the pigs.  This all worked out
quite well until the novelty wore off, then it became a drudgery. Hunting
the cows after dark in a big rain storm, milking the cows in a corral full
of muck and mud, slushing through mud to get home, having to leave home to
go and milk no matter what was goion in town, like on holidays such as July
4th when the fun was just ready to start, all soon took the glamour out of
the whole thing.  Some of these storms were severe. I remember one fourth
of July it snowed four inches but the work still had to go on.

Soon after Father passed away, we decided to have Mother file on some land
along Crow Creek and after that we did our miling up there. That is when
Gladys and I did our pioneering. This was a good place to take the cows but
it was the same tying job it had been before.  Uncle Seymour used to say,
"That's what makes milking cows a good business, you have to do it whether
you want to or not." It was different with him, he had his girls do the
milking while he stayed home where it was nice and dry. He did come up to
milk some of the time however. In fact he was there the night their cabin
leaked so badly. He came out and crawled in our tent for shelter.

We had many varied experiences while doing the ranch work.  Some runaways,
tip-overs and you name it and we had it. One day we just started down the
hill near the cabin and the buggy tongue dropped down. This left no way for
the team to hold the buggy back. It was almost to the point where it would
hit their heels and I grabbed the wheel. This jerked me out of the rig on
my head but I landed in front of the wheel and stopped the buggy. A brave
thing to do but very foolish I guess. Another time we were on our way to
the milking, there were four of us in the one-seated buckboard.  I was
driving and next to me Lera was sitting on Mother's lap.  Next to them
Ronald was sitting on Gladys' lap. We were coming along the dugway with the
horses on a nice trot when one side of the tongue came loose from the
axle. This left the outfit with nothing to guide it. It started swinging
from one side of the road to the other and I had no way of holding it to
the road.  The last time it swung over and stopped right against the fence
and my four passengers sailed over the fence and landed in a big service
berry bush in exactly the same position they were seated in the buggy.
Mother started to scold me for being such a careless driver, but when she
realized the cause and that no one was hurt we all had a good laugh.

One time as we left the home, Ronald decided to ride in the whey barrel
that we always had with us. Every once in a while he would raise up and
say. "Peak-a-boo".  This was quite a funny thing until we went over a
little bridge which caused the barrel to start rocking. The final-rocking
tipped it over and it went out of the back of the rig and landed upsidedown
on top of him.  It knocked the wind out of him for awhile but he was soon
all right but he didn't try that again.

We would turn the horses out on the hills at night, then sometimes it was
quite a job to find them next morning. It would usually mean a long walk up
the hill to locate them. One morning they had crossed the creek and were up
on the hill. The creek was too high for us to wade so we wondered for a
while how to solve the problem. Finally I drove the cows down near the
creek, then got on one of them and Elden drove them across the creek. I
went merrily on up the hill and got the horses.

Fishing was good in Crow Creek at that time and we spent much time fishing
for beautiful mountain trout.

One morning we were hurrying to town to play in the band on the morning of
July 4th.  Elden and I took turns _______ dressed as we were almost
late. The band was to play at sunrise while the flag was being raised. As
we were coming along near the Crow Creek bridge, we met a bunch of cattle
on their way to the hills.  We didn't have time to wait so we went through
the bunch. One of the horses bumped into a yearling calf and knocked it
down.  The front wheel ran over it before we could stop.  Then as it
started to get up under the buggy, I tapped the horses and the other wheel
knocked it down again and ran over it. We looked back and saw that the calf
got up and was alright, so we went sailing on our way. We got there just as
they were starting to play the first tune.

Speaking of the brass band, that was one of the best community experiences
I remember having. I played the baritone for many years and always enjoyed
it. On celebration days like the 24th or 4th of July the band would usually
serenade the town. We would sometimes make the circle clear around the
valley.  As we played at some of the homes.  we were treated to all kinds
of goodies (sometimes they were not entirely goodies).  At one home there
was a woman who came out with a bottle of something that looked pretty good
and as I tasted it, I said, "That tastes like vanilla."  You can imagine
how they laughed at me. Some of the members got a little tipsy from it, but
luckily for me I took only a taste.

At one time Lera and Ronald were working on a plot of ground getting it
ready for planting.  They were using what we then called a rub. This was
made by nailing a bunch of slabs together with each one lapping over the
previous one.  This made a sort of leveler.  As they were going along,
Ronald fell off in front of the thing and it ran completely over him. He
jumped up with both eyes full of dirt hollering, "I'm dead, I'm dead!!!" as
loudly as he could yell.

When we were working in the fields, it was a little hard to always
communicate with folks at the house as it was about half a mile away, so we
had to use signals.  Especially at dinner time we had to know when to come
in.  We usually made the call by blowing a bugle call. We always had some
kind of horn to blow this call with and nearly always had some one who
could blow it. Sometimes it was a cornet, about what the horn was like, the
main thing was that it usually meant that dinner was ready and that was a
welcome sound. In later years we sometimes used mirror flashes if the sun
was shining.

There were many landmarks around the farm that are interesting to mention.
Here are the ones I remember best:

THE OLD HOUSE: This was about one fourth mile north of our home and was the
home Uncle Nelson Aunt Maranda first lived in.

THE OLD SHOP: This  was about two hundred yards north of  our house and was
where Aunt Maria and Uncle Medwin lived. They had a ten acre plot of ground
running east to the river. This  building later served as a blacksmith shop
where Elden and I did much of the re pair work on machinery.

THE PASTURE LANE: This was just about east of where the pasture lane ended.

THE NARROW PLACE: This was about 200 yards north of the pasture lane and
was a place where the river changed its course when Father put too big a
dam in the river to get water out on the land. The river cut a new channel
and it was at first so narrow that we could jump over it easily. You can
possibly imagine how deep it would have to be to carry the entire river
stream. This gradually grew wider as erosion took control.

THE LITTLE RIVER: This was the course the river used to take before the dam
caused it to change its course.

THE HAWK'S NEST: This was about half way to the north end of the field. It
was a large cottonwood tree that always had a big hawk's nest in it.

THE FORD: This was a crossing of the river at the lower end of the field
and was used after the old bridge was washed out lower down.

NIELD'S PASTURE: This joined our pasture on the north end. We used to hunt
coyotes in that area. Also, there were lots of wild currents around there.

THE LITTLE LEVY: This was toward the northeast end of the field and was
made to get water across a swail so we could irrigate a good piece of
ground below.

THE BIG LEVY: This was just below the old house and was made to carry the
water of the main canal across a deep hollow there.

THE POND: This was where the flood water collected above the big levy. This
pond usually filled every year and was a great place to play around. We
always had a raft and had lots of fun flating on the pond.  Ducks often
landed in this pond and we were sometimes able to shoot them which was not
always legal.  It didn't seem to matter much as there were so many of them
around.

THE SQUIRREL PIECE: This was the plot of ground where we made such a drive
on the squirrels with clubs as we mowed the piece.  I mentioned before that
we killed 93 squirrels in that drive. This piece of ground was about half
way to the lower end of the field and next to the west road.

THE TIMOTHY DITCH: This was next to the squirrel piece on the east and was
called that because the timothy grew so well along that plot of ground.

The main road to Afton used to go down along the west side of Father's land
until it got to the lower end of his land, then it turned east and crossed
the river over the old bridge. When this bridge washed out, the route was
abandoned and the travel took the road south of Grandfather's place.

After I was married and moved to Logan, the responsibility of handling
things fell on Ronald's shoulders. Of course Elden was always there to
advise and help what he could. One winter they decided to move to Afton so
Ronald could go to high school. Elden would take things over on the
place. They took a cow with them so they could have the milk. Of course,
this made it necessary to haul hay over there for the cow. At one time they
were starting for Afton with a big load of hay.  Mother was on top of the
load with her big chair beside her. Lera was by Mother.  Bud Allred was
with them just for company. Ronald was driving the horses horses or was
supposed to be. As they neared the big hollow, Ronald wasn't watching and
tipped the load completely over bottom side up.  Mother was in the middle
of the load but the big chair protected her. Lera landed near the side and
was able to dig her way out and start calling for help. Bud landed free so
started digging the others out. Ronald was on his back with both
arms spread out and calling. "Get me out, Get me out!"

The horses ran away with the front wheels but tangled up down near Salt
River.  Julian was living on the corner east and he heard the screaming and
ran to the rescue.  Elden was down at the old shop when he heard it and
came running. When Elden got there he fell over in a fant.  Mother was
hollering.  "Get the others out first, I'm alright". Ronald was completely
helpless.  Everyone finally got organized and got everybody out.  The team
was brought back and everything put back in shape. They were on their way
once more.

At one time Mother was coming out of Elden's house and slipped on a corner
of the step.  She fell and broke her ank le. This was very painful for her
and she had a hard time getting around for a long time.  As she recovered,
she used to go around the house with her knee on a chair. She did this so
much that she wore a callous on her knee which nev er quite left. She was
determined to keep busy and not have to be waited on. She finally got so
she could walk without the chair but she had a slight limp the rest of her
life.

There was one landmark which became quite important to all of us. In the
field just east and a little north of Grandfather's barnyard was a little
knoll which measured about fifty feet across and about six feet high. It
was a little rocky so was not much good for farming but was always noted
for the tinkling bells that grew all over it. I used to worry about it
because I was afraid it was the potential for a volcano. It became a
favorite spot to pick the tiny flowers which grew so profusely on it. It
became known as the Tinkling Bell Hill. Gladys in her baby talk called it
"Tinky Bell Hill", so that is the name that stuck with it.  In the
springtime and early summer we had the joy of gathering lots of wild
flowers such as blue bells, daisies, larkspurs and those lovely yellow
buttercups.  These were the main ones that grew so profusely all around the
farmland and such things make life more pleasant.

The old home where Aunt Maria lived so many years was rented to several
different families before we converted it into a repair shop.  Gladys tells
of one family who lived there.  They were very poor people but seemed to be
rather unwise in the use of what means they had.  She recalls that on
Christmas we were not able to afford many toys but this family went quite
extreme for not having much money.  They got an express wagon just like the
men used only it was a toy, of course, but expensive.  They got a real
large doll for the little girl and a diamond ring for the mother.  The day
after Christmas the father came to our father and wanted to borrow some
money to buy some flour.  Gladys remembers seeing Father write out a check
for him.

Another family who lived there were named Clark.  The mother was good but
rather odd. Her name was Abby but we called her Grabby (but not to her
face). She would quarrel with us about simple little things like who got
the cows out first in the morning and who got their washing out first.  One
morning we got our cows out first and as I was proudly driving them past
their place she said, "We would have got ours out first but Elmer had to
milk Browney."  She said their pig could lick our pig.

One day their pig got out and came up to our place and the two pigs got in
a fight. Ours won.  I went down to their place and reported about the fight
and said that our pig licked theirs and she said, "He can't do it". I said.
"But he did!" She said again, "He can't do it." But they were a pretty good
family in spite of their oddities.  They had eight children and I don't see
how they were able to live in that little two room log house but they got
along somehow.

There was one little episode that Theras and Mother had that should be
told.  He had been getting wood from the canyon and was coming down Crow
Creek Canyon with the load and a buggy tied behind in which Mother was
riding. Theras was letting the team go along by themselves while he walked
along the hillside picking some lilies.  He heard mother scream and as he
looked around he saw that the buggy had come loose from the wagon and was
rolling down the hill toward the creek. Theras ran with all the speed he
could muster, in fact Mother said she never saw anyone take such big
steps. He grabbed hold of the wheel on the upper side and tipped the buggy
over.  Everything stopped and Mother landed safely with no injuries.

We were always taught not to work on Sunday. Mother had a little experience
that sort of emphasized to her that it didn't pay to work on Sunday. She
was in the canyon with Father getting out logs for their new house. They
stayed over Sunday and Mother thought that since she couldn't go to church
she just as well do some knitting. She lost one of her knitting needles and
didn't find it for nearly a week. Then next Sunday she tried to knit again
and cut her finger. She took it all as a warning so she did no more
knitting on Sunday.

We had many hard ways of doing things, mostly because of circumstances. We
had to use wood for all our cooking and winter heating. We would plan to go
into the canyons during the summer and pile enough wood for the winter,
then haul it out when we could do it with sleighs. The roads were so bad
that it was almost impossible to bring a good load on the wagon, but when
the snow was deep it covered the bad holes and sort of leveled out the
rough spots. To get a load from where we had it piled it would take a
pretty long day.  We would have to milk the cows and be on our way before
sun up.  It would be so cold we would have to walk behind the sleigh most
of the way to keep from freezing. During the day it would get warm enough
to melt the snow on the wood so we would be wet clear to the waist. Then we
would have to walk most of the way home to keep from freezing.  Our
clothing would be frozen stiff before we got home. Then the cows would have
to be milked again before we could get thawed out.  Nevertheless, we
managed to get some sort of enjoyment out of the whole thing.  I guess it
was because we didn't know any better.

The big story that caused the most excitement was the bull story. This
story had quite a background of events that need to be told to make it all
complete.  Elden bought a nice cow from a farmer in Thayne for which he
paid more than most people thought she was worth, but she was a good
cow. She would give nearly 8 gallons of milk per day. We thought she would
produce some good stock to build up the herd. Her first calf was a heifer
and she showed good prospects. The next summer this good cow got in a ditch
on her back and died before we found her.

When the heifer's first calf was due, we had great expectations that it
would be something good so we took good care of her.  We had her in a loose
stable the night we expected the calf.  Late that night Elden and I took a
lantern and went to investigate to see how things were coming. Elden opened
the door and went in first with the lantern. As I stepped inside, the cow
made a dive at me. She knocked me against the door side and I fell to the
floor. She had her head against me holding me down and Elden had to kick
her away before I could get up and before he could get out of the stable.
We didn't bother her any more that night. The next morning she had a fine
bull calf and we thought surely that would be a good bull to keep for
breeding stock.

Well, here is where the bull story really begins. At a very early age the
bull seemed to inherit the hatred his mother exhibited the night he was
born.  We thought he was playing when he would bellow at us as we were
milking and we would mock him in a playful mood. One evening Mother
accidentally bumped into his head and he threw her over his back. She
landed in a soft cow pie so all that was hurt was her dignity. A little
later I was wrestling with a calf to get it out of the corral and ran
against the bull's head. He threw me over his back and whirled around ready
to take me when I got up, but I came up with a club in my hands and
walloped him good. But beating him only made him worse and then we realized
he had a bad animal on our hands.

I was determined to always show him who was boss and never let him bluff
me.  Anytime he showed signs of fighting I clubbed him off but we soon
realized he was getting braver and bigger all the time. At one time Elden
went to the field to get the horses and when he didn't come back I went to
investigate. I found that the bull had treed him on the old stable at the
old place.  I again bluffed the bull and drove him away.  I finally reached
the point where I had to give in to him some.

I was doing some fence repair along the lane to the north.  The bull was
down the lane bellowing for all he was worth and daring me for a fight. I
worked along until I got rather close to him, then grabbed a club and
proceeded to once more show him that I was still boss.  This time he stood
his ground until I got so close that I was afraid he was not going to
retreat so I stopped.  Just as I stopped I noticed that he was ready to
retreat but when he saw me stop he whirled for the attack.  Luckily for me
I had my good friend, the dog, with me.  I ordered him to attack which he
did and saved my life. I know if it had not been for the dog I would not be
here today.

One day we sent Gladys and Lera after the cows which were in a field above
Smith's house. Lera stopped at Smith's place and Fred Smith went with
Gladys after the cows. As they were driving them along, the bull suddenly
stopped and whirled around and attacked the horse the kids were on. He
bunted it in the breast and lifted it off the ground. As it came down, he
gored a four inch gash in the horse's shoulder. If the children had fallen
off the horse.  it would have been a tragedy.  That night we threw the bull
down and sawed his horns off. That calmed him down for a while but when his
head healed up he was meaner than ever. As he continued to get worse, we
decided to sell him for bologna.

We sold him to John Tolman and he drove him away. However, he would
occasionally get loose and come back to see us, determined to get some of
us. He seemed to be harmless as he was on the streets in town, but when he
got down near our place he would paw and bellow like the real mean bull
that we all knew him to be. John Tolman tried to keep him looking for us.

That summer I went to summer school to prepare to do some teaching. Elden
had gone to Salt Lake to get married and we hired-my cousin, Marvin Rich,
to help with the chores. Marvin was about 11 years old and at that time was
not very brave when the old bull was involved. They were at the ranch up
Crow Creek milking when they heard a bull bellowing. Someone said, "That
sounds like the old mean bull". They all ran to the house and sure enough
here came the old bull up the road bellowing his rage every step of the
way.  He came over to the cabin and looked in window.  There was nothing
but a thin board door to keep him out. Marvin said. "Do you think he will
get me if I crawl under the bed?" Well, the bull turned away and went to
the corral with the cows. A man soon came along and drove him away. I don't
know who the man was but it was a welcome sight to see the old bull gone
once more.

Ours was a happy home when Father was alive. It was still a happy home
after he passed away, but we all felt the vacancy left by his passing.  Our
parents always set a good example of honesty and virtue and we all cherish
the teachings they always gave us.  There is one example that will always
stand out in my mind.

When we came to the table for breakfast we always found the chairs turned
with the backs to the table indicating that no food was to be eaten until
morning prayers were said.  Then at every meal we found the plates turned
upside down indicating that no food was to be eaten until a blessing and
thanks were given for the food.  Many of these things are neglected today
and I am sure we would all be wise to humble ourselves a little more and
perhaps return to some of the lovely practices we saw when we were young.

Members of the family got together and worked out an an agreement whereby
Ronald could take over the home and the farm. It was agreed that Mother was
to have a home there as long as she lived and then Ronald would have the
home.

Mother enjoyed good health most all of her life.  She was a wonderful
mother to all of us and we are all grateful for the pattern of her life she
set for us.  Later in her life she developed some health problems and had
some attention of a doctor but was nearly always able to care for herself
and never a burden to anyone. She always wanted it to be that way. She
never wanted to he waited on. She had lots of sorrow in her life and
terrible hardships. Sometimes I feel that we didn't give her all the love
and sympathy we should have given her. She had lost her little girl Luanna
at the age of two years, her son Orrin at the age of eighteen, then her
loving companion and husband leaving her a widow for forty-four years.

We all love and honor the example our parents set for us and hope and pray
that we will prove ourselves worthy of such heritage.

Mother's health became worse and she passed away peacefully at the home she
always loved so well. My wife Margaret and I were at her bedside when she
died the 20th of December 1954. Also present were Elden, Lorilla, Gladys,
Othello and Lera. We were so thankful that she didn't seem to realize much
suffering.