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Written in the late 1980s and copyright 2001 by the Darrington Family I was born October 15, 1918. The Armistice ending the First World War was signed Nov 11, 1818. What a disappointment I must have been to my Dad and Armin, especially Armin. He was 3 1/2 years older than me. Arthur was born in 1916 but only lived 3 weeks and he was already stuck with three older sisters so I'm sure they would have liked a son. I certainly was never mistreated though -- my father was so kind and good to me. I didn't walk too early -- I could crawl so fast so Mother in desperation finally sewed dry peas in the knees of my pants. Since I was the only one not in school my father would dress me up warm and take me out to feed the stock. He would hook the team to a sleigh and load loose hay on it. (There were no bales in those days.) While he pitched the hay off I would hold the reins. When he became ill he would motion for me to come and sit on the bed by him. Mother would tell me to sit really quiet. I surely didn't realize what was ahead for our family when he died on March 22, 1933. He was only 41 years of age. When they lowered the casket in the ground Aunt Rosa Kaufman was holding me and she was trying to control her tears. I was just 3 but the above is still very vivid in my mind. John Burgener, our uncle, came to our rescue doing the chores for us during the funeral and after this Frederich Duersch who lived up spring Creek Canyon worked for us a long time. Mother didn't have much knowledge of farming and when she needed the horses harnessed, Armin would have to show her how to put the harness on. He was just 7 years of age. One summer we were playing across the creek in the open area when a big bull came charging at us. We all screamed and ran but he caught Hilda, put his horn into her head and threw her in the air. Fred Duersch came running with a pitch fork and finally got him out of the yard. It was the neighbor's bull. I remember Hilda sitting on a chair and Mother pouring buckets of water in her head to clean out the blood and dirt. It is nothing short of a miracle that she skipped a grade and was valedictorian of her high school class. All of us girls had very thick and long hair. Flora could sit on hers. The neighbors always wanted to know Mother's secret. One day Mother announced we were all going to get our hair cut. I was #1 - I cried and moved around so much that she cut my ear, the scar still remains. |
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When the time came for me to go to school, the only reason I consented to go was I had a pretty lunch pail. Hilda took me to school the first day. We all wore dresses with white aprons. Probably this saved on the washing. We went to Alta School. Claude Dalley was the principal (he would never come out and play at noon until he rested 15 minutes after lunch). One teacher taught 4 grades. Miss Marble was my first grade teacher and Miss Alice Morgan taught me in 2nd and 3rd grade. She was also was my Sunday School teacher. One day she announced she was going on a mission and would be gone for 18 months. I went home and told Mother I would not go to church until she returned. I felt she was the perfect teacher. My first experience at acting was in the second grade-- I had the lead as the mother in `The Woman in the Shoe' who had so many children she didn't know what to do. I knew my lines well but when the curtain opened the entire school came in as my children and the audience really laughed. I was embarrassed and quick as a flash I crawled under the bench. The teacher had to pull the curtain and get me out and start again. We were always riding horses, Old Maud as my favorite. We herded cows during the summer time. One morning Flora, Hilda and I were on the horse going into the field when the saddle turned and we all fell on our heads. The horse stopped and waited for us to put the saddle on again, this time we tightened the cinch more. When I herded cows alone I had a chance to do a lot of reading. I would take them down to the end of our place to the land northwest which wasn't under cultivation where they could eat in the sage brush. If they were thirsty they went down into the creek bottom and I'd have to see that they all came back. Some days it would start raining and I'd let the cows go home. Sometimes it was just my luck for the sun to come out just before I got home and then I'd have to return to the pasture with them. Our yard was a good place to play ball. All the boys in the neighborhood would come to play in the day time. At night they came to play Run Sheep Run. I didn't really know if I liked to play, they could all run so fast in the dark. In the early days of spring it would warm up during daytime and freeze at night and that made really good crust for coasting. One night after mutual the moon was so bright that the young kids of the ward wanted to go coasting. I went home and asked Mother if I could go. She said she would rather I didn't but I went anyway. Green's Hill was the ideal place to go. We would come down on hand sleighs or else skis. We must have been pretty good skiers because we only had a narrow strap to hold our feet in place. I was coming down the hill on a hand sleigh and I had to make a decision. Should I go between two trees or try to get around them? I went between them and crashed. I knew my arm was hurt a little but when I arrived home Mother asked how I had been hurt. I said I wasn't hurt and she said "Why is blood running out of your sleeve? I had skinned my arm from elbow to wrist. It took a long time to heal so I finally resorted to Iodoform (they had good results putting this on horses injuries). It healed all right but every one in school could smell it. We owned 60 acres in Wyoming (the place Uncle Rudolph homesteaded, called Gugger Hora, in 1916 they sold it my father). There was an old house, a barn and some sheds on it. Across the creek was an alfalfa field that we had to herd our cattle on. In the summer time we took the cows there for pasture. We would go up twice a day to milk the cows. We had to herd during the daytime and then be sure the cows were gathered in the coral in the morning when they came to milk. At least two of us would stay overnight in the top of the barn. I remember Bertha telling Armin not to leave milk in the dog dish or it would attract skunks. A few times Arnold and Isabel would come when Armin and I were there herding. There was a hill on the south side of this place. Armin had a pocket watch and we would take turns running down the hill to see who could do it the quickest. Whenever we played movie stars, we girls would rub our hands on the quaking aspen trees and then rub it on our faces for powder. It really dried our skin. On the northeast section of the Gugger Hora were pine trees. Armin and I would discuss how some day we would build a summer home. In later years Mother and I would go up every spring to patch the fence that was damaged by the previous winter's snow. We would carry a bucket with hammers and staples and a wire stretcher up the hill on the south and down to the creek on the east. We were tired at night. One day Mother and I decided to plant strawberries in the triangle from the house to our gate and over to the creek. It was several acres. We picked every day and then put water on them. I imagine we sold them for about $2 dollars a case. I remember some people never paid for them. One day I got stung by a bee. My whole face swelled, in fact my tongue would swell so I could hardly breathe. I was stung three times that summer, one of those times up Big Grove when we were huckleberrying. Hilda put mud on it while we rode home. There were 3 doctors in Driggs during the summer brought in by the San Diego Pea Co. They raised green peas all over the Valley and transients would come to pick them. Not one of those doctors knew what to do for a bee sting. Mother had me drink soda water and put soda packs on the sting. Knowlin and Bertha came one day when I had been stung and K.R. said I was the ugliest woman he had ever seen. According to our age we all had work to do on the farm. At the age of 5 when Fred Weston came to work for us from Germany, he had never been on a farm. It was my job to go open the big barn door and chase the cows in then go around and get in the manger and tie each cow up with a rope around her neck and fasten the snap. It would make me unhappy if a cow backed up just as I went to put the rope around her neck. Fred looked on and couldn't believe that a 5 year old could tie those big cows. In the summer the chickens were turned out and they would lay mostly in the big barn. I was too lazy to carry a bucket so I would put the eggs in my pant and shirt pockets. Armin saw me climbing down the ladder one day with a load in my pockets. Quick as a flash he used a pitch fork to hit me gently across my back pockets. I spent the rest of the day at the creek washing the egg out of my pockets. Our pigs were in a pasture down by the creek. Each day they had to be fed. Armin told me to go get the car, a 1928 Model T Ford. I had watched him drive many times and I knew that you pulled the spark lever clear down when you started the engine. Then you regulated the speed with the gas lever. I got mixed up and pulled the gas down to the bottom and did I ever make good time. I headed for the wood pile and broke lots of the blocks before Armin came running, jumped on the running board pulled up the gas lever. I decided it was a pretty good car to be able to do that and it was less work when it came to chopping the wood. Mother had to stay to church one day for a meeting so Armin and I went home. We were hungry and as there was no soft honey we put the 5 gallon can on the stove. Mother always took off the cap and set the can in a pan of water to melt it. In a few minutes the cap blew off and there was honey everywhere -- the kitchen was as pretty as an ice cave. I don't know if we ever got all the honey cleaned up but it was a good lesson for us. Armin had a pocket watch. I borrowed it one day when I went herding the cows. I was playing around, not paying any attention to the watch. I lost it and I wondered what I would tell Armin. I finally decided to pray about it. After praying, the thought came to me to kneel down and put my head close to the ground and listen to see if I could hear it tick. I did that and soon found the watch and was I ever relieved and grateful that my prayer was answered. My sister had a beautiful doll. One time when Flora was at school I took it outside for a little walk. Then I put it down for just a minute but it was long enough for a pig to come and tear it to pieces. I cried and cried but it didn't restore the doll. Uncle Fred built my father a barn in 1917. It was a real land mark. He built it to last. We could put all our hay for the cows in the barn. As I grew older it was my turn to drive the horse which pulled up the net full of hay, then they would trip it inside the barn. It was hot on the south side of the barn waiting for the next load. When we played in the barn we would dare each other to get up on the high beams and walk across, then jump down on the hay. One spring a rabid dog came in the neighborhood and most of the people lost their pigs. Mother had just paid her tithing in full the Sunday before and she had been inspired to lock the pigs in the building. They didn't get harmed. Christmas Eve was always fun. Each year we would either meet at our place or else over to Aunt Ida's place. If we got caught outside after dark Santa Claus would take us back to the North Pole so we didn't take any chances and did all our walking between homes while it was still light. The kitchen was the only place to stay and the mother of the house we were meeting at would always be making doughnuts or other goodies. We would sit under the table as it was the coolest place in the kitchen. I would get so disgusted with Uncle Alfred, he would always leave at 10 O'clock to go milk and he never got back until Santa had gone. Santa would knock on the west window of our kitchen then either Armin or Arnold would go tell him whose house it was and invite him in. We felt quite proud to think Santa knew all our names. He would visit a minute and ask if we had been good, then call he would us by name and we would have to recite a poem or sing. Then we each received on gift. About midnight we would return to our home walking on the crisp frozen snow. Christmas was fun. Funny thing though, Santa didn't ever go to the neighbors house. When I grew older and the family was mostly gone -- Uncle Alfred and Uncle John would rent a pasture in the swamps northwest of Driggs. Uncle Alfred had a STAR car and a trailer behind large enough to haul cans for three families. We would go down twice a day to milk. Mother and I milked 20 cows. One day as we were getting close to the railroad track, I saw a train coming from Driggs. "There comes the train," I said. Uncle Alfred put on the brake as we were crossing the track and said "WHERE?" - We laughed about it but if the train had been close Uncle Alfred would never have started the car again before the train had hit us. All winter Mother and I milked cows. When I stayed up late to study she would not call me in the morning. When I did wake up I'd have to hurry to the barn and Mother would have some cows milked already. Our church was on a hill north of the school house in Alta and called Pratt Ward. It was one large room. For classes we just pulled the curtains. For 26 years Uncle Alfred was Bishop and Albert Choules was the Stake President. One day a stranger came to visit church and sat on the first row. During the meeting he fainted and fell to the floor. That really woke people up. When I was in the forth grade, Alta School District decided we couldn't go to school in Alta any longer. So we went to Driggs. In Driggs we had one teacher for each grade instead of one teacher for four grades. We had the opportunity of taking music. Clarence Murdock was the music teacher and he had everyone playing an instrument. I played Hilda's clarinet. We went to the contest each spring. The day before we left Mother would buy me a new pair of white shoes, they were stiff and by the time we got through marching I had plenty of blisters. When we went to Twin Falls I got the mumps a week later. I was the first in our neighborhood get them and everyone came to look in the window at me. We usually rated very high at the music competitions. Mr. Murdock had all the girls wear dresses instead of pants like the other schools uniforms. After school we had 6 weeks of music school and then spent one day in Teton Canyon hiking. On one of these trips a boy rolled a big rock down and it hit Arnold and broke his leg. When we went to Driggs to school we couldn't attend Primary in Pratt. But in spite of this, the kids in Alta would arrange parties when Isabel and I could attend. Fred Weston was our first bus driver. Armin remembers riding in the rumble seat. Then Zina Hill took over. She took us in her car and in the winter time a sleigh. It wad a covered box with a stove in it. When the drifts were high we sometimes would tip over. I'm sure we all screamed. Then the horses would stop and we would get out and tip up the sleigh and go on. When we had a chance we liked to go to the show. They were Silent Movies and cost us 10 cents. Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald were my favorite actors in musicals like Rose Marie. In July 1933 I was asked to be secretary of the Sunday School in Pratt Ward and held the position all four years of high school. I also helped Hilda teach a Primary class in the summer. Spring of 1934 saw the completion of our new home. It was built by Uncle Fred. We had water in the house. No longer did we have to go to the creek or pump water with a hand pump which was located outside. Fred and Hilda were married July 22nd 1934. I was glad to be able to help Mother and Bertha plan and prepare the wedding supper. When we frosted the 7 layer cake I thought there had never seen anything prettier. I also helped Bertha and Armin serve it. Then my two other sisters, Bertha and Flora got married so we had two more weddings to get ready for. They were equally as much fun. Hilda and Fred lived upstairs and Mother and I enjoy life downstairs. Later on when I would come home from school, Rondo, who was watching for me from an upstairs window would come down stairs and play. I thought he was the cutest youngster I had ever seen. He was so tidy and clean all the time. If he got a little dirt on his finger he came to the house for Hilda to clean it off. Not so with Dennis, their next child. He loved playing outside even though he might get dirty. People said Dennis had too much energy. Mother bought him a very small hammer, a board and nails which kept him busy by the hour. When I was in high school I was chairman of the Junior Prom. We hung Japanese lanterns all around the hall and used tons of crepe paper to decorate. I was chosen president of our seminary class during 1935-36. (We only had three years of seminary.) I was valedictorian and received a Triple Combination from the Stake Presidency. Robert Gibbons was my seminary teacher all three years. During my senior year I was secretary of the Student Body and secretary of the Pepper Club which was an organization of senior girls. I gave the `Address of Welcome' at our graduation. I was awarded the first scholarship and also received the American Legion Award for the best all-around student. Our class was the first class in Teton High to have caps and gowns and a Baccalaureate service. There were 42 graduates in 1937. During my senior year I was able to stay in Driggs with Bertha. She had an apartment above the drug store and worked in the Auditor and Recorder's office at the county court house. She wrote my speeches. She also arranged for me to have a patriarchal blessing by Ralph R. Cordon. When I made up my mind to get good grades I really studied. In Economics class we had a teacher right out of college. He found favor with Frances Butler and the first period he gave her an A and me a B+. That upset me. I didn't think her grades were that much better than mine. At the end of the semester he gave us a test of 104 definitions. We could miss 4 and still get 100%. I got all 104 right. At least it raised my semester grade to an A. In a snow storm in September of 1937, Armin took Isabel and I to Logan to go to college. Aunt Ida owned a little house there that we could live in. It was located at 453 East, 8th North. The lights weren't on when we arrived so we made our bed with candle light. When Armin left for home we were homesick. Milda Schwendiman and Norma Turpin lived across the street from us and became good friends. We didn't have a telephone but this didn't hinder us from communicating with them. We would open our window and with Isabel's expert whistling ability we could attract their attention. At times our conversation lasted half an hour. We went to church in 10th Ward but later felt the Institute was more inspirational. Mother came down on October the 15th for three days with Atchleys. We enjoyed her visit so much but after she went home we were even more homesick. We did have fun at college and I was glad I had Isabel with me all the time. At Christmas time, Mother was so depressed and lonesome that the family said I could not leave her in Driggs alone. In January we moved to Salt Lake City and got an apartment at 4th South and West Temple. Each morning Mother and I walked together up Main Street. She went to the temple and I went onto the LDS Business College. I was very happy there with Mother. We had the car and each week-end we went to Heber, Midway or Salt Lake and visited with relatives that Mother had not seen for a long time. Mother enjoyed going to the temple. She had gathered 7 lines of her genealogy and now she could go do some of their work. She felt because she was the only one of her family to ever join the church that it was her responsibility to gather and get the work done so her family could be an eternal family. In April I took Mother home and Armin took me back for school. I stayed on the avenues with a Mrs. Best. It got so hot in Salt Lake that I came home in June. In the fall when Armin took me back I worked for my board and room at Enos Sandberg's home. They had three children that I tended them a lot. This home was at 455 South 9th East. One night I was home alone with the children when Orson Wells came on the radio with his show about the end of the world. It about scared me to death and how I wished I was back in Driggs. After it was over I learned it was just a show. At Christmas time I talked to Luke Hastings about a job. Soon after this I received a letter from Alma Hansen, our State Senator, telling me I had a job in Boise. I left school the 1st of February and moved to Boise. I had an interview with Harry M. Rayner, commissioner of Law Enforcement who needed me in the Motor Vehicle Department. Over 100 girls worked in the office. I was fortunate enough to get a desk job where there were only 7 jobs. I had charge of the new car titles and took care of people over the counter. I also took care of the new titles that came into the office through the mail. I soon found I could type accurately on numbers as fast as regular typing. My desk was next to the switchboard so when Julia wanted a break I took over for her. The first day I disconnected the Governor and Mr. Rayner. I had a bit of explaining for to do for that. Ezra T. Benson was my Stake President in Boise. After two years Gov. Bottolfsen got defeated in the election with the Democrats taking over the government and our office. I was told I could stay but I had my call for a mission. Pratt Ward had a nice party for me. There was a song by the Durtschi and Duersch twins, a talk by the Bishop (Uncle Alfred) and a quartet sang of Milo Dalley, Irvin Christensen, Douglas Sheets and Dwight Loosli. I received close to $100 which was very good in those days. I spent ten days in Salt Lake City at the mission home and then went to my mission field by train to Minneapolis. The missionaries filled one car - I was the only L.M. so to get rid of me all the Elders took up donations and bought me a berth. Just before we arrived, a man got on the train and gave the missionaries quite the quizzing. It turned out to be an Elder from our mission. I was assigned to St. Paul. The winters and ice castles are what I remember most. The ice castles were huge and spectacular. It was truly a winter wonderland. It was hard tracking while it was so cold and remember it was minus 19 degrees F. for an entire week. As we knocked on doors they would open a little 4" square hole in their door and ask us what we wanted. Then they closed it immediately. I remember one nice lady asked us in and fixed us some warm cocoa. We didn't really get much accomplished the first three months of my mission then I was transferred to Regina, Sask. Canada with a new lady missionary who came from Lethbridge. She was only there because she couldn't get her money across the border. When we left the mission office, Elder Russell sent a large box of Book of Mormons with us. We could get them across the border free of charge. When the inspector came to check us I explained to him that this box was full of books, nothing else. He used his pocket knife to cut the string - looked in and never lifted a book - "You're O. K." He might have been O.K. but there we were stood with an open box. It was the King's birthday and was a holiday. Nothing was open. The Elders were supposed to meet us at the border but we never saw any one with a Article of Faith card in their shirt pocket. We must have offered a prayer because a man came along and asked if he could help us. He found a string and helped us tie up the box. As we arrived in Regina, Elder Stradley, our District Leader told us the Elders were not too excited about lady missionaries being in their district. Instead of leading the mission, the sister missionaries were sometimes the lowest. No Elder tracked more than we did and we had two Primaries with 35 children in each. Through the Primaries we had lots of parents investigate Mormonism. As the months passed I spent quite a bit of time in the Mission Office. Our mission president was George F. Richards, Jr. and when his father, the apostle, came on mission business I visited with his mother. President Richards used to write his letters by speaking into a Dictaphone. It was an old machine and very hard to hear. One day I put paper in the typewriter and told him to dictate a letter. When he finished I handed it to him, he signed it and put it in the mail. After this, it was a pleasure to write his letters. I would leave the office and go to Minneapolis to work. Whenever there was an odd number of L.M's, I would go back to the office. It was a nice experience to meet all the missionaries coming and going. One time George Albert Smith came to speak in St. Paul. He had such a sweet spirit and he really impressed our investigators. Elder Russell and Elder Flack were the main office staff. We were usually so busy we didn't take time to have study class in the morning. I was assigned to transfer all the memberships in the mission to a card file. When the time came when I was to be released after a year and a half, I didn't have the project completed so I stayed 22 months. As I returned to Salt Lake City I visited with Isabel, Lucy and Lucile. Mother called and said that William A. Strong was waiting for me to come and work in the Court House. I was supposed to be typing the tax notices. Really, I had not thought of working in Driggs but Mr. Strong convinced me to stay. Most of the young kids had been on missions and were home and we had a good time going to dances and having parties in our homes. Weldon and I had been dating. He had rented Armin's farm. It was winter and there was a lot of snow that year. There wasn't much to do but milk cows and feed stock. He got a job at the Ford Garage to get money for my rings where the county agent over the draft saw him. He notified the New York office, where Weldon was registered and told them he was not farming. Weldon had registered with the draft in New York City while on his mission. They had told him they had no farmers so he would never have to go to the service as long as he continued to work as a farmer. When Norma Floyd heard that Mr. Cross had notified the draft board she made him call and tell the story straight. She said to Mr. Cross that he will not go from Teton County but from New York. Mother approved of Weldon and she talked to Uncle Alfred and they both suggested that we get married right away. So on January the 12th, 1944, we were married in the Salt Lake Temple by Harold B. Lee. The night before, Mother, Lette, Weldon and I stayed at Bill and Margaret Durtschi's place. I had been staying in Driggs with the Atchley's. I enjoyed it there and especially the three children, Hugh, Ardys and Audrienne. After we were married we lived with Mother. I had been president of the Driggs Ward MIA with Mary Choules as a counselor. I was released when I got married. Weldon was Superintendent of Pratt Ward's MIA. So during the winter months we were in a 3 act play. During blizzards we went by horse back to practice as cars couldn't get through. The Green and Gold Ball needed to be planned and dancers and decorations had to be planned. Mother had been sick quite awhile and in July she was in the Idaho Falls Hospital. Flora was constantly at her bed side. I was the only one free to go to Idaho Falls and help. When Flora was at the hospital I tended her children. When she came home I would go stay with Mother in the hospital. She died July 24th, 1944. Everyone in the ward knew that Mother thought it was a bad idea to spend a lot of money on flowers for funerals from the florist. She used to say "There sits a widow with children and in the front of the chapel is $400. worth of flowers. How much more worthwhile it would be to give the money to the widow. There were lots of flowers at the funeral. Everyone brought their flowers out of their garden. The arrangements were beautiful. Weldon was inducted into the U.S. Army, September 25th, 1944 at Fort Douglas. I went with him and stayed at Dora Flack's place. Weldon was sent to Fort Hood in Austin, Texas. He wrote and asked if I could come to Texas for a couple of months before he was shipped out. The Sorensens encouraged me so I spent December and January there. We came home together. Then he left February the 5th, 1945 for overseas. When he went to the service we had been married 8 months and in 8 more months I was a widow with a 5 week old son who I named Royce. We attended Flora's funeral in Idaho Falls on June 13th. That is the same day Weldon was killed in action. It was a month before we received the telegram. Norma Floyd called Sorensens to come and pick up the telegram. Memorial services were held July the 22nd. About a month later Milo Dalley came to the door and said, "As a mail man this is the hardest assignment I have had," and he handed me a packet of 43 letters to Weldon that had not been delivered. Four and a half years later his body was returned, accompanied by an army officer and a funeral was held. In about 10 months I lost my mother, my sister and my husband. Hilda taught school in Alta, Wyoming. I agreed to tend Marlin. He and Royce got along so well and I appreciated having him keep Royce company. When she decided to quit teaching she told me that she would tend Royce so I could go back to work. I worked for Judge Fackrell, then Larvern Marcum, Superintendent of the School hired me. My former job in the court house was open so I went back full time in the Treasurer's and Assessor's office. I had enjoyed working for William A. Strong and Bryan Fullmer. By this time Royce was in school in Driggs. After school he walked to the courthouse instead of going home on the bus where he usually waited for me at least two hours. Dwight Loosli, the sheriff, would take Royce into his office. He might lock him in a cell for a few minutes or show him the prisoners that were there. Every day he gave him 5 cents. That might not sound like much but lots more could be purchased with a nickel then. Dwight told him to save his money for a mission and college. I was asked by Luke Hastings to transfer into his office, Auditor and Recorder, with the idea of taking his place when he retired. There were always so many county problems that I didn't think I was capable of handling that office. Not long after William A. Strong decided to go into the Case implement business and I was appointed County Treasurer and Tax Collector in the spring of 1951. I had to run in the election that fall. They held a Republican Rally at the high school and invited all candidates to attend so they could be introduced. I was the first one. When my name was announced, I just stood up as they introduced me and sat down again. Everyone who was introduced after me gave a speech. I was embarrassed until the election returns were in and I received more votes. Helen Atkinson was my first deputy, then Dorothy Douglass. After the June taxes were collected and the books balanced, there was some free time. I would get up at 5 and go to Idaho Falls to the temple several times a month. One day, President Killpack called on me to talk in the early meeting. After that the officiators were very friendly to me, especially Tora Darrington. One day she introduced me to her brother and sister-in-law and her nephew, Bill. I said hello and hurried to the next session. A week later Bill came to Driggs. I had just left the court house to go home and pick raspberries. I had been to girls camp for three days and hadn't picked berries for two weeks. (I was President of the Stake MIA.)
Bill was president of the Federal Land Bank Board for 33 years. Each fall he went to Spokane about the 20th of October. When we arrived in Spokane at the Davenport Hotel the bridal suite was reserved for us. A dozen roses from S. H. Kunau, manager of the Burley office were in the room. At the banquet George Lacey said, "Mrs. Bill Darrington requests us to play "It's so nice to have a man around the house." We took Julia and Lawrence Cardon with us. On our return trip we drove through Montana and picked up Royce. The Cardons drove my car home to Declo. One of the best things I ever did was find Bill. We joined two families, his mine and now ours. We both have had to work at it but it's well worth it. I appreciate the cooperation of the children. Farming is a lot of work in the summer so the children have all learned how to work. After working hard, the kids could always go to the canal to swim. We went one night a week to the Burley fairgrounds where the posse practiced. All the kids liked to go there. Bill had a special horse named PAL, he was tame so the youngest children could ride him. He performed well for Bill when he was a flag carrier in the posse. Bill and I went horse back riding in the evening at times, Roy and Minnie would also sometimes come along. We even went to Driggs and rode up Fox Creek Canyon with Dwight and Zelda Stone and Lucille Edlefson. It was a beautiful ride. I have spent more than half of my life in Declo and I feel like it is home. I have appreciated having a companion. Bill and I have worked together and have taken time to do things together. Bill and I were Speech Directors for four months and then I was called in the Declo Relief Society presidency with LaVinia Norton. A year and a half later Merna Marchant asked for me to serve on Burley's Stake Relief Society Board. During the five years I served here, our three youngest children were born. When Dale was a month old I was asked to be President of the Burley Stake Relief Society. The stake had 11 wards and one Spanish branch. They held Relief Society during the week either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, some in the morning and some in afternoon. There were no nurseries. We did a lot of visiting and it was kind of hard taking three pre-schoolers. Several young mothers said, "If you can bring three little ones we better try harder to attend Relief Society." I had good counselors and Board Members. We didn't receive much money from the stake budget. We had big ideas for programs so we started rummage sales to earn money. (We didn't have a D.I. in Burley then.) All the board would help and we could clear $400. every fall and spring. With that money we could do big things on a stake basis. This money also paid for hotel rooms and transportation to the R.S. Conference in Salt Lake every October for the Stake Board. We held an Interfaith Social -- 200 attended. Then we sponsored a Fashion Fair with 150 models and 1,500 attending. Later, we sponsored a Medical Self Help with 96 completing the course. Luncheons were held every fall for ward Relief Society Presidencies with a good program and helps for their wards. Later we held another Interfaith Social with 960 attending. We also conducted an All Seasons Fair with 500 attending. A final concert was held in Burley before the Seven stakes Singing Mothers went to Salt Lake for Conference with 900 attending. Other than Christmas, birthdays and other special times, whenever I had an important activity to conduct, Bill always bought me a new dress. Nan was always there to comb my hair. Nan also tended the younger ones to I could attend night meetings. Without Nan and Bill I couldn't have done nearly as much Church work as I did. Nan still combs my hair before I go to the temple and on Sundays. After 8 1/12 years as President in Burley's R.S., our ward was moved to Raft River and Lalta and made the Declo Stake. I wasn't long without a church job. I served 3 1/2 years as Primary President. Later, I served as Relief Society President in Declo for three years. Our lives have been centered around church work. It has been a good worthwhile experience. Bill and I were called September 9th, 1986 as officiators in the Logan Temple. We have gained so many good friends there. It is a beautiful and spiritual experience. Note from the editor: This story was apparently written in the late 1980's. La Verne's husband, Bill died in July of 1999. La Verne, who is now almost 83, lives near her family. |
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Written about 1990. Copyright by the Darrington family 2001
MAURICE:
NAN: BRUCE: I love to follow Nan. I shall tell you a quick story about Nan. When we were little we used to spend a lot of time with our Grandpa and Grandma Darrington. Nan and I were out playing one day and Nan threw a rock through the chicken coop window. She broke the window and Grandpa heard the crash and came around the corner. He was really upset about the window being broken and as he got close to us Nan pointed her finger at me and he about beat the snot out of me. I I'll even have time to say I diI'llo it. I'm still mad about that. Ha. Well, I spent a little time driving up here today and wrote a few of the many high points on a McDonald napkin. Mom mentioned that we used to go to Burley to watch the posse practice and also went to rodeos because Dad was in the posse. At the rodeo I used to sit there by Mom and say, "How come those guys can't stay on those bulls. I could stay on them. How come they can't stay on those bulls. How come they have such a problem." Mom believed in object lessons - so the following day she took me out to the corral. What I saw must have have been a 2,000 lb Brahma bull (actually it was a small calf). She strapped my hand on it with twine. She tied a sheep shank so tight that it was impossible to come off. (Mom interrupts by saying, "I can't even tie a square knot!") Needless to say, about three hops and I was off the calf and bouncing around the corral with my hands tied to the back of the calf. I can still remember the words ringing in my ears, "HOW COME YOU Needless HANG ON?"
BILL: There must be something about that Teton Valley air or water for they have raised good people up there. I will ever be grateful to LaVerne for saying ‘yes’ and being willing to come down and join our family. She is the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. I continue to be grateful for this woman that saw fit to share the burdens and trials of this family she came into. She has always been a light for us, she has changed our lives completely. We were more or less on the loose, going here and there and every where. When she came into our lives, religion came into our lives. We owe her a great deal for that. She has been a great companion. As the children have said, we have been many places and we are looking forward within this next month to go on the tour to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. We are excited to see the highlights of the Mormon Church and also the highlights of our nation; Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.
MYRNA: I'm next in line. I am the eldest of "ours." I came along when this crew was organized and it seems like I have always followed Mom where she went, she reminded me this morning of the rummage sale in Burley. Louise and I went along. We had great fun trying on the long dresses and modeling the clothes Mom was trying to sell. Also with Mom in the Relief Society we did a lot of banquets and we always helped in the back ground as Mom was serving others. She was a wonderful cook and could make a dinner out of practicaly nothing. All I learned how to do was set the table and make salads. I could make a great salad but she was too quick at everything else to get dinner on.
DALE: don't like to relate some of the things I remember about Mom. She was always there when we got off the school bus. When we walked in the house, Mom was in the kitchen making something. That’s been her trait throughout her life. She has always done things for other people. There is not a family in Declo that she hasn't taken a plate of maple bars or a loaf of bread or something to when people were sick. She always tried to help people.
ROYCE: Mom worked in the Teton County Court House when we lived in Driggs. I remember going to the court house after school and staying there until she was through working. Mom always had a job in the church. She was Stake MIA President for many years. I remember going with her to Girls Camp in Darby Canyon every summer. I had fun.
Louise:
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(Husband of La Verne Durtschi Sorensen Darrington) 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 21, 1999 Declo L.D.S. Stake Center Elder Max Craner, Presiding Bishop Neil Harper, Officiating Copyright 2001 by the Darrington Family Family Prayer by Dick Darrington {son} Prelude Music by Jana Darrington {cousin}
Bishop Neil Harper: Thank you. Good morning. We welcome you here to the services of
William Clark Darrington, our beloved brother in the Gospel. We want to thank Brother Dick
Darrington who gave the family prayer just previous to this. And also like to thank Jana
Darrington for the prelude music. We wish to recognize Brother Max Craner here with us from
the Fifth Quorum of the Seventies, also President Mendenhall on the stand with us. And we
want to thank each one of you for your thoughts and prayers and the beautiful flowers and the
cards that have been expressed and the consideration given to the good Darrington family.
Opening Prayer by Bruce Darrington {son}: Our Father in Heaven. We are gathered here today to honor and pay respect and remember with happiness the life of William Clark Darrington, our father, our friend, our grandfather, our brother, our son. We are so grateful for the opportunity we've each had to be touched in our lives by this great man. We thank thee for the eternal plan of the Gospel and the family plan of the Gospel. We are so appreciative and rejoice today in knowing that Dad is free from pain and suffering and in a great place of happiness and peace. We thank thee for the plan of salvation and the opportunity we have as families to be joined together. Particularly at times like this to remove the sting of death and help us have optimism and hope and promise of the future. We're grateful, Father, for the many blessings. We're grateful for this beautiful community and this land in which we live, in this community, particularly at this time of year, with all the beautiful crops that Dad loved so much. We thank thee, Father, for thy blessings upon him. We thank thee for the life which he was able to live. We are grateful for those who assisted him. We're grateful today for Mom, for both mothers, for Afton and for LaVerne, and we ask that thou will bless each of them. Particularly bless Mom, LaVerne, that she might be comforted today, that she might know of the great love which Dad had for her, and has for her. That she might know of the love that our family has for her and the support we offer. We are so grateful, Father, for the many blessings, for this opportunity we each have to be in this life, to experience the many wonderful blessings and opportunities and challenges, to be exposed to the bitter and the sweet, and we're grateful this day and ask thy sweet spirit to be here with us to offer comfort, to offer encouragement and hope. We love thee father and we love our Dad and we ask that thou wilt keep him in thy care. Bless each of us that we might be able to follow in his example and remember the things he taught us. Help us to be honest and upright. Help us to be true to the commitments we make. Help us to do those things that thou would have us do. Help us to follow his great example. Father we ask that thy spirit will be here with us today. Help us that we might enjoy this moment to celebrate and to remember a great man. Help us that we might receive thy comfort and love today. And be with us always, we pray in the name of thy son, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Life Sketch by Leslie Darrington {brother}: What a tribute you two boys have just given to
your father. In the interest of time and regarding my feelings and my wanderings and my
stuttering for my brother Bill, I am going to read my tribute to him this day. My dear wife and I
have rewritten this three times during the night. So if you will pardon me, I'm gonna read it.
I wish I was a little rockBill liked music, too. He was in the quartet once that performed all over the valley. Bill loved sports, as did all children and grandchildren. Bill was proud of their achievements and all the things that they accomplished--ball games and track meets they all excelled in. I'm sure he didn't miss many. We loved it when he shared their accomplishments with us. I guess one of the saddest telephone calls we received in Mesa, Arizona, was when Brad was killed. Bill couldn't hardly talk. Now they will be together and what a happy reunion. Bill and LaVerne made sure that we were not only to all the fun things but to all the blessings, baptisms, setting apart for church callings and weddings. With every wedding, another special person came into the family. I'm sure there was never a doubt in their mind they were special because that is the way they were treated. Whenever we went on trips and visited them, we were treated as special as LaVerne and Bill. Bill knew the importance of Church callings. He served as Ward Clerk for six years, Executive Secretary, Stake Sunday School Counselor, Stake Missionary, served on the Stake Genealogical Committee, Ward MIA President, High Priest Group Leader. He and LaVerne were also officiators in the Logan Temple. We loved that because they stayed with us two days every week. That kept us all caught up on the new accomplishments of their children and grandchildren. We really felt they belonged to us so we were glad for the sharing time. I was amazed Bill had time for so many church callings, he was so busy doing other things in the community. He was a Director for the Federal Land Bank for 34 years. He saw the price of land go up from $1 per acre to $2000 an acre. He was field supervisor for the Soil Conservation District. He served as a GI farm instructor after World War II. He was a member of the School Board. Also served as a 4-H club agent for Cassia County. It was no wonder that he wished he could be a little rock sitting on a hill. I am sure this could never happen to Bill and LaVerne, they were too busy making other people happy and being on hand when they were needed. It is too bad we don't have a record of all the funerals they attended and all the maple bars that were delivered. Yes, and how many of us remember the shelves that Bill has made and are in different homes today. They were more interested in keeping a record of their children and grandchildren. Bill and LaVerne have 9 children, 29 grandchildren, and 19 great grand children, and 2 great great grandchildren. Some time all of you should see the records Bill and LaVerne kept of their family. That record is priceless. It is a record going back to when each child cut his hair or his first tooth. What a dad, what a mother, and what a family. Whenever one of them needed them, Bill and LaVerne were there. Then when he needed them, they were there. I love all of you for what you have done for my brother and for LaVerne. I want to thank you for calling me and letting me be with him one last time in the hospital. I will never forget him reaching up, putting his arm around me, and saying "You are my brother Les, and that is May over there." Decisions are to be made as a family. My prayer is that you will always stay close together as a family, for I know this is what your Dad would want. LaVerne, bless your sweet heart. This is tough, but you have a family that will stand behind you, put their arms around you, love you. I don't know how they can love you any more than they do. Let's all be kind to one another is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Barbershop Quartet from the Snake River Flats: Remarks by Bishop Harper: That was beautiful, and the life sketch was most interesting. It
feels like I missed out on a lot of Bill's life. But, it's a real privilege for me to be here and to be
asked to speak at this occasion.
Musical Number by the Grand Children and Great Grand Children
Speaker Elder Max Craner {a cousin}: Dear LaVerne and Family. We're assembled at a
reunion, minus one. And families of the Darrington's and the Bodily's, and others who are so
close, Declo and the Darrington's are synonymous. The Lord bless you and sustain you.
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings And just plain folks like you and me Are builders for eternity?
To each is given a bag of tools, We come to earth and blessed are we if we come into families like the Darrington's who are family oriented, who care about families and who sometimes other things can go by the by but families never. We may miss the water on the beets one time, but we'll watch the kids play. Because kids are more important. Brothers and sisters, we're losing that {idea} in our present society if we are not careful. And, please, Declo is the hallmark of families and families being together and children liking {wanting} to be with Mom and Dad because Mom and Dad loves them. And they love each other. And that's why as we assemble together we're gonna miss Bill. But we wouldn't want to keep him in the condition he was in. There are times when the mortal tabernacle just wears out. All that could be done was done and then with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we say "Father into thy hands we commend his spirit." He's worn out. It's a blessing. It's a time of remembering what he has taught us and we'll do that. Even President Hinckley says, "Life is like an old time rail journey. There's gonna be delays, there's gonna be sidetracks, there's smoke, there's dust, there's cinders, and jolts interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting us have the ride." And that's mortality. {Someone wrote} "Now, not every day passes over the earth, but men and women who are not known in the headlines of the paper are renown for great and worldwide deeds. But men and women of no note do great deeds, simple deeds." Alma said by little deeds they speak great words. And Leslie has reminded us of his good brother, and the Bishop who reminded us of that contagious smile of Bill's. You just couldn't talk to Bill or look at Bill or even as he rode down {the street} in his pickup and waved but what he had was that smile. There's something about a good man that the inside just comes out in his face. A poet says: "You don't have to tell how you live each day. You don't have to say if you work or you pray. There is a true tribaromoter that shows in its place however you live. It shows in your face." And Bill, Bill was transparent. And that smile indicated that the heart was there and well and that there was nothing to hide. Of these obscure heroes, the article goes on to say, the greater part will never be known until that hour when many that were considered great shall be small and as the scripture goes "And those who were considered small shall be great." And so a funeral is a time of reminding ourselves, as the oft heard poem goes: "Supposing today was our last day on earth, the last mile of the journey that we're to trod. After all of your struggles how much are we really worth. How much can we take home to God," And then I'll skip down for time's sake. "We're only supposing, but if it were true, and you can view all your deeds since your birth, and figure the profits you've made in life's deal, how much? really, now, how much are we really worth?" {David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals} And the Savior taught us that our greatest worth is in doing good to our fellow man. President McKay was once asked the question, Who was the most successful man or woman? Is it he who gets his names in the headlines or has important assignments or is it this and that and the other? And then he answered his own question and he said: "No. In this life the most successful man or woman is the most Christ-like man. He is our mentor, he is our teacher. And it is He that we should follow." As we understand that we lived before we came here to gain a body, great promises are offered, if we are obedient, in the next life. And he said in order to really fulfill the purpose of life I'm going to give a man and a woman, properly married forever, the opportunity to raise children--the greatest test of love between man and woman and family there is. And therein will they find their joy. Bill and LaVerne and Afton and the combined group, have apparently done so well to unite two groups of family. And not worried about who's is who or what's what, but we're together. And together we're gonna do the best we know how. We have the eternal promise of life hereafter. The Savior gave his life as an atonement to assist us in the doing. But He also gave His life as a witness through the resurrection that every one of us will come forth in a resurrection. What comfort that is to know that death is not the end, that associations that we formed in this life will continue. It just doesn't make sense to be ornery with each other because we're gonna be together forever. Nor does it make sense to take advantage of anybody because we're gonna be together forever. In other words, it just makes sense to do good and to love well and to be what we ought to be with what we know to do. I am a plagiarist of persons. I look around and I see you doing many things so much better than I'm doing it. But if you don't mind, I'd like to copy what you do as I watch you. I'll do it my own way, but I'd like to copy the good things that I see you doing. Max Craner isn't through with Max Craner yet and neither is the Lord. I feel sad for one day a man said "well that's just not me. How can I be that kind of a person?" And somebody else said, "well what's that got to do with anything. If the Lord asked us to do it, we ought to be marching in that direction." And so from Brother Bill, mention has been made of his hard work. Hard work is therapy. I remember my own dear parents in one conversation somebody said, "well, we were so poor growing up we didn't have psychiatrists we just had good neighbors." And hard work. The Lord said something about teaching our children to work. It is therapy. Bill was honest. All you had to do was shake his hand and it was better than a contract, though we live in a world where we have to have contracts. And Bill was honest. That's a great attribute. He didn't have to define the words in a hundred different ways. Honesty is honesty and that's all there is about it. Bill loved his family and he took care of them and he also loved the neighbors and many of you can attest to that. And so as we say how well we knew Bill and thank him, may we all unitedly recommit in our own lives to emulate those positive characteristics, especially his family that Bill had, that made him such a warm, happy man. Brothers and Sisters, there's a great spirit here in this meeting. At times like this, there are so many in the congregation I'd just like to bear witness that there's more that you cannot see present in this meeting than those that you can see. And that's what brings the special spirit to this meeting. Bask in the warmth of those on the other side of the veil who are aware of what's happening here. We wish that they could part the veil and not only bring you comfort, but say Hello, but just know that they love you, and are praying for you. And train up your children to know that they {departed spirits} love you and are praying for you, that one day we can always be together forever. I know my Heavenly Father lives. I testify that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior and Redeemer, and He cares, oh how He cares. I'm grateful to be a member of the Gospel {Church} of Jesus Christ that {which} not only gives meaning and purpose to life but just makes for Evelyn and I every day a better day through the understanding. And I pray Heavenly Father's blessings upon you LaVerne and your family, that whenever we think of Bill it's {with} happy thoughts, and it sustains us. And I pray the comforter, even the Holy Ghost, and at times like this his other name the comforter is so significant, will comfort you. You will feel close to Bill on many occasions and it will warm your heart, and you'd like to talk about it, but who can you talk about it with because your heart is being warmed. And may all of us rest assured that God lives. for He does and He is our Father. Of that I bear solemn and sacred witness in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Piano and Organ Duet by Louise Hymas and Myma Hall (daughters) entitled "Fragment From an Etude" Closing Prayer by Maurice Darrington {son}: Our Father in Heaven. At the conclusion of this service for William Clark Darrington, we humbly bow our heads and we give thanks for the opportunity we have had of knowing him. We are so grateful for the opportunity we have had to remember the things of his life. We are so grateful for the opportunity we have had of knowing him and being touched by his life. We're grateful for his influence. We're grateful for the lessons he has taught. We pray that thou wilt bless us that we might, each and every one, take those things which he has given to us that we might better our lives. We're so grateful for the things that have been said this day. And we are grateful for all the things that we have and we pray, Father, that thou wilt take us now to the cemetery, or our homes, our destinations that we might be protected, that we might be able to continue to enjoy this celebration of father's life. We pray that thou wilt bless LaVerne. Help her that she will be able to cope with this, that she might grow strong, that she might know of his love for her. We pray for these things and we do it in the name of thy son, Jesus Christ, Amen. Bishop: Will the audience please rise. Postlude Music by Jana Darrington |
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from his brother Leslie Darrington. {July 1999} Copyright 2001 by Leslie Darrington. Us boys used to take the cattle to the foothills every day and herd them. There was a family, Elijah Reed, who lived in a sheep wagon, a covered wagon. We became very friendly. They would invite us to eat with them. They served us sauerkraut, mutton, sourdough bread and we loved it. In return, we would bring from home milk, eggs and butter. Mother churned her butter and grew her own garden produce. On our way home with the cattle, they would drink at the canal. For fun, we would force some of them to swim across. We nearly drowned the bull. Bill and I loved to go with our Dad to the mountains to get fire wood and logs to build our sheds, corrals and a potato storage cellar. We would be gone for three days so we had to take enough hay for the horses. We took the wagon box off the wagon and put three days supply of hay on the running gears and tied it on with ropes and chains that we would use to fasten our load of logs together. We put our bedding and lunch box on top of the hay. We took an extra coat as it got cool at nights. We had to get the Forest Ranger to stamp the trees we could cut. We had to hook a horse onto the tree we cut down and drag it to the wagon. It depended on the size of the trees how many we could load onto the wagon. We had to trim the brush off the trees so all we loaded was the pole. Bill and I would pile the brush so our campground was left neat and tidy. Our Dad taught us how to tie the poles to the running gear so it was all one unit. We were ready for the long ride home atop of those hard poles. It took more than one day to go home because the load was heavy and the horses had to work hard. We generally stopped at a water hole for the night. The family was happy when we arrived home safe. We also went to the mountains to get our Christmas tree. Generally we went as a family. Our tree wasn't like the Christmas trees of today. We had to cut it. It was a cedar or juniper. When we got it home, Father made a wooden stand so it was secure when it was decorated with strings of popcorn and colored chains made by gluing strips of paper in circles and connecting them together in a chain. We put little candles in metal holders and clipped them to a limbs. Christmas was a special happy time around our house. I think when Bill started school they had modern outdoor plumbing. They sat two in a seat in a classroom. He rode to school in a bus that stopped in front of the house. When he stayed for football or basketball, he had to walk home 3 1/2 miles. There were no activity busses then. Mother had the first Primary in the Declo Ward. She held it in our home because there was more children in our area than in the rest of the Ward. This lasted for about one year, then we went to the church house in Declo. Mother would hitch old Mag and Sorrel to the white top buggy and pick up all the children from our house to Declo if there was room for them to ride. Bill and I would ride Old Mag and Sorrel making room in the buggy for two more. Mother did this for years or until we got our car. Then our Father had to take us. If a thrashing machine was coming down the road or was thrashing close to the road, Mother had to go four miles out of the way to get around it as Old Sorrel was scared and would not go near the machine. Bill had a team that he could drive right up to the machine and they would stand there while he unloaded his load of grain bundles. Bill followed the thrashing crew, hauling bundles from the field to the machine for years. He rendered a great service to the farmers. Bill was loved by all he worked for. He worked for $4.00 per day and furnished his team and wagon. Bill had a special way of working with animals, they loved him and responded perfectly to his care and training. In Bill's last few years, he bought a gray saddle horse that he loved. He saddled him and tried to ride but couldn't because of the pain he had in his hip and back. This was a sorrowful disappointment to him. In our home, everyone was welcome and at meal time it was Bill's and my job to run down a rooster, chop his head off and get it ready for the pot of noodles Mother had on the wood stove. We didn't have a refrigerator or electricity. We bought ice in large blocks and put it in an ice chest and used that to keep our food cool. Our parents had a wonderful orchard: apples, peaches, pears, plums, apricots and 13 cherry trees. The cherries came ripe just at haying time. So we had to pick cherries each morning before we went to work with our haying crew. Mother used to get people to come and pick cherries for half--she gave them half of what they picked. Bill and I loved our Mother but we worried about her as she had to work so hard preparing everything for the family. Our sisters were very good and did their part in supplying the family needs. They taught school after their two years teacher training at Albion Normal School. We had the only telephone in the neighborhood--our number was 7751. The line had two sides to it, the R side and the J side. Many times when we needed to use the phone, the ladies for miles around were on, holding a club meeting. This telephone was one you had to crank to get the operator and she would ring the person you wanted. The operator knew all the business for the entire countryside. We delivered messages to all our neighbors for two miles away. People didn't seem to mind asking us to deliver messages. Bill would get on our horse and go deliver telephone messages to Stevenson's, Wolfs, Bunn's, Stein's, Anthon's, Uncle John, Uncle Fred and George Ward. In 1920 when the flu epidemic hit so hard we all got it but Bill and he had to do all the phoning. He stood on a chair in order to crank the phone. He knew the number of the doctor so he would transfer messages from Mother, who was in bed, to the doctor. We didn't have a radio so when Bill and I delivered telephone messages to George Ward, we loved to sit and listen with the headsets on our ears. Only one could listen at a time. We didn't mind delivering messages to them. His radio was run on batteries. We had a phonograph that played large round discs and you had to crank it up to get any sound. We would buy new records to get different songs. This would be one of our Christmas presents. Our Father bought the first Chevrolet car that was sold in Burley. Boy were we up in the world. The roads were just wagon tracks, no gravel and when it rained, it was a mess to try and get around. We were stuck many times and had to walk home and get the horses to pull us out. There was no spare tire so if you had a flat, you had to jack the car up, take off the tire, repair it and put it back on, pump it up and go on. This is where we learned to leave home one hour earlier than we do today. There was no glass windows--only side curtains you rolled up or down to shut out the rain. These curtains had isinglass sewn into them to see out. Today it is plastic. Mother thought she should learn to drive so Father didn't have to quit his farm work. She lasted only one trial lesson as she ended up in a ditch and said "I will never drive a car again" and she didn't. She told our Father where to go. Father always said "I do the steering and Mother does the driving." One of Father's and Mother's top priorities was to see that we were all to our meetings on time-- regardless of distance of travel. Father was Ward Clerk for 13 years and was a wonderful scriptorian. Meeting schedule because of distance of travel.
Sunday School - 10 a.m. Sunday
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