They say there is a time and a season for all things.  There is also a saying that says "It was the best of times and it was the worst of times."  I like to think about the best of times.  I grew up - not with the horse and buggy - but we farmed with horses while I was growing up.  Now the farmers have air-conditioned tractors with stereos.  I remember the day Mother and Dad got our first refrigerator, when before we used blocks of ice from the canal, covered them with sawdust and kept them in a shed at the Connley place.  The airplane was a novelty when I was small, and now we have gone to the moon, Mars, and the Russians have a space station that has been there for more than a year.  Mother washed clothes on the board when Betty was a baby and now we have automatic washing machines and dryers.  I also recall the day we had a telephone installed on the wall and now we have cellular phones - can even make calls from airplanes and ships all over the world.  It is very good to have electricity now, but in the old days,  all cows were milked by hand.  I also remember when you were not afraid to pick up hitchhikers and you fed the hobos or bums that knocked on your door asking for food and who were always anxious to do some work to pay for it.  These were also the days when gypsies came through, spending a night or two in town.

My ancestors had a different kind of courage than we need today.  They lived in England, Scotland, and Germany.  My mother's Brown,  Murray, Archibald, and Littlewood ancestors came from England and Scotland around 1850 or so.  On my father's side, the Litz and Gose families came around 1750 from Germany - some settling in Pennsylvania and later went to Burke's Garden, Virginia.  We only know that the Clark family came from Germany, but John, who is the first one we know of, came from somewhere in Kentucky.

I am the fifth child in our family, and was born December l, 1928, at St. Anthony, Fremont County, Idaho.  Judging from the weather at that time, it must have been a cold day.  My father is William Edward Clark, born August 5, 1894, in Wilford, Fremont County, Idaho, and my mother is Lula Brown Clark, born November 23, 1898, in Wellsville, Cache County, Utah.  Our family lived in a house just east of where the present airport is, and I was born in that house at 2:30 A.M.  I don't know if Dr. Kelly was there, but Dad had gone down to Mrs. Christine Murri to get her help.  Her son, Jess, told me several times we were related because his mother had delivered me.  In those days after a birth, the mother stayed in bed for ten days.  Now we know that getting right out of bed is much better, as mothers were much weaker after ten days in bed, and took much longer to recover.  My mother was 30 years old at the time and my father was 34 years old.  I was blessed by Marion J. Kerr, February 3, 1929.

HOME LIFE

My parents had lived in several places before I came along.  Dad had grown up in Wilford where the family farmed.  When Mother and Dad married August 4, 1919, they lived in the same area and on the dry farm about fifteen miles away in the Hog Hollow area, helping with the farming.  They moved to town a few years later so my oldest sister could go to school.  In 1927 they sold the dry farm and the home in town and bought thirty acres of irrigated farming ground and this is where I was born.  Dad rented another seventy-one acres from E. Glen Cameron.

  Mother and Dad loved their six children and taught us right from wrong, and taught us that we could have fun working together.  We all knew we were loved very much by both Mother and Dad and that they were very proud of us, in spite of the fact that they seldom told us or demonstrated it.  With his farming, Dad worked before sunup to long after sunset every day.  He loved the land and taught us all to love it.  I learned an appreciation for work as I grew up.  He used to say, "We need to move over for progress."   Mother took good care of her family, raised a big garden, worked in the church, and milked cows every night and morning.  When Mother got older, she used to say, "It is no crime to get old, but it sure it unconvenient."

The family my dad grew up in had done a lot of fighting among themselves -whoever was biggest and the best fighter was boss.  Dad hated this and vowed if he ever had children, they would not fight.  And we didn't.  We all loved one another.  I don't think any of us had favorite brothers or sisters; we just loved everyone the same.  We worked and played together; but the boys did love to tease.  Mother said Dad only spanked one child once - Billy - and that was when Mother left him to tend Billy as a baby for a short while.  Billy messed his diaper.  She didn't ask Dad to tend babies any more, but Dad always held the baby and fed them as he was eating.  Billy always teased Mother about having to lay over the chair every day for her to spank him, but I don't really think it ever happened.  Mother also said that Helen was the only child that ever told her "No"  and that only happened once.  We all respected our parents and tried to please them.  If we wanted something, we analyzed the situation, and if we thought they could not afford it, we didn't bother to ask.  They would only have felt badly.

Helen was the first child born in the family, September 15, 1920, and she readily accepted the responsibility of being a big sister to the others.  She was eight years older than me and she was always considerate and concerned with each of us, and seemed so wise.  She was adventurous, trying many things that the rest of us would not dare to do.  At one time Mother and Dad were gone and Helen  was in charge.  A chicken hawk came over and circled around and around the chickens, swooping down every once in a while.  Helen got Dad's shotgun out, took aim and killed the hawk first shot.  This was the first time she had ever shot a gun and even though the kickback knocked her down, she saved the chickens.

Billy came two years later, May 2, 1922.  Dad was very proud of Helen and was delighted with having a son.  Billy followed his dad around on the farm and in high school became an outstanding boxer as his dad had been.  He loved to tease me and I was forever kicking at his shins to "get even".  He and Burke would hold me at arm's length and say, "Get away from here, Sticky Fly."  He went into the National Guard right out of high school, later joined the air force, and became one of the famous Flying Tigers under General Chennault in the Burma- China area.  He was shot down in enemy territory and took twenty days to get back to his company.  He was the first pilot to ever make it back. 

Burke was next two years later, July 2, 1924.  It was time for him to be born and the doctor was not there, so Mother sat on a chair to keep him from being born.  After he was born, she was hemorrhaging and all she wanted to do was sleep.  The doctor kept slapping her in the face in order to keep her awake.  He said if she had gone to sleep, she would never wake up.  Burke was the one Mother seemed to look after in his younger years because it was harder for him.   Burke was very small for his age.  One day he went out in the wheat field.  The wheat was very tall.  He just wandered around and got lost.  He could not see over the top of the wheat and no one could see him.  I don't know how long he wandered around in that field or how long they looked for him, but it was a very frightening thing for him.  He was not as lucky in sports as Billy, and seemed to always have to work harder than anyone else to accomplish something.  Billy could do anything easily and was successful at it.  It was harder for Burke.  However, with hard work he has done very well.  He farmed and later worked for the Forest Service.  Burke went into the Army during World War II.  Shortly after going overseas, he was wounded in Okinawa.

Betty was number four two years later, December 10, 1926.  She was just two years older than me and we did a lot of things together.  I always thought she was more popular and smarter, had more talent than me, and could be "one of the crowd" better than I could as I was bashful.  I could not "let myself go" as she could. 

I was number five, born December 1, 1928, and two and a half years later, May 16, 1931, Terry came along.  He was like Billy - everything was easy for him.  He and I used to play together often.  We played football or made ourselves a high jump standard and pole out of willows and I remember our seeing how high we could jump.  When the Beans moved by us, they had homemade skis and they used to let us ski behind their sled and team of horses.

I have a faint memory of being put down for a nap when I was very small.  After I got to sleep, my mother went out to the spud cellar to help cut the potatoes for planting.  I woke up and was very frightened.  I put on my high top button shoes with difficulty since I was so little, and went out in the barnyard looking for someone, and then finally to the spud cellar where I found both my mother and father.  I also remember the big pile of wood we had out by the barnyard that was split up and stacked for our winter's supply.  I don't ever remember going to get wood so I suppose Dad and the boys did that.  There was a pump in the front yard and, of course, an outdoor toilet.

There was a little irrigating ditch by our house where we liked to play.  I was around five years old.  All the kids were jumping back and forth across this ditch.  Not paying any attention to what the others were doing, I jumped across.  At this very same time, Billy saw a piece of broken glass and gave it a toss across the ditch.  The glass and I met in mid-air and it hit me on the right side of my right leg by my ankle.  I felt it hit, but didn't know what it was and it didn't hurt that much.  When I got on the other side, I looked down and my ankle was all covered with blood.  I fainted on the spot and the next thing I remembered, I was in Helen's arms on the back porch.  The gash was never sewed up and it took a long time to heal.  I can remember the doctor coming out to look at it when it was time for school to start and telling me to keep off my leg for a while longer.  I still have the scar which is three inches long, and to this day the sight of blood still makes me sick to my stomach.

I was assigned to give a two and a half minute talk when I was small.  I had it memorized and was doing just fine.  All at once my mind went blank!  It was silent for a long time waiting for my mind to start working again.  It did eventually come (maybe I had someone tell me).  The next line was, "Then a great earthquake came."  I was then able to go on.  I have tried for years to try to remember what I was talking about, but all I remember is, "Then a great earthquake came".

Helen was always so considerate.  When I was about ten years old, Burke and I had our tonsils out.  Dr. Merrill told Mother that if he took them out at the same time, it would be cheaper than to do it one at a time.    We had our tonsils out in the doctor's office, slept there awhile, and when Dr. Merrill saw that we were going to be all right, we went home.  I remember how miserable I was.  Helen just happened to come home from college that day and tried so hard to cheer me up and make me feel better.  She wanted to bring me ice cream to cool my throat and make it feel better.  I was  glad to see her but just too miserable to enjoy her being home or the thoughts of ice cream.  My tonsils started bleeding during the night and  Mother stuffed cotton in my nose all night to stop the bleeding.  What a miserable night.  I will never forget that terrible feeling.  It did stop by morning.

Since Betty and I were only two years apart, we did a lot of things together.  We usually received gifts the same for Christmas and clothes the same but different colors.  Betty had blue and I had pink.  The year Helen was in Washington D.C., she sent chenille bathrobes to us for Christmas.  These were the first ones we ever had and we were so excited about them.  Another Christmas she sent us necklaces alike and I remember getting a beautiful bracelet with pearls in it.

Betty and I had dolls alike and one day she broke the leg off my doll.  I felt badly and told Mother but she did nothing to punish Betty.  This made me angry and I went off by myself to sit and sulk in the raspberry patch.  Some time went by and then I heard Mother calling my name.  Since I was still angry, I did not answer.  Mother kept calling and soon she had all the other kids looking for me, but by this time I was too embarrassed to come out.  When Mother ran out to the road, looking up and down the highway and calling my name with so much concern in her voice, I knew the time had come to show myself even if I was punished.  When she saw me, Mother just sat on the porch and held me in her arms and loved me.  The funny thing about this story is that for many years after we were older and had families of our own, I very often dreamed that we were back home again and Betty would not do the work Mother would tell her to do, and I would be angry because Mother would not make her do the work and I would have to.  Betty claimed this was a throwback to the doll story and that I still resented the fact that she had not been punished.  She also claimed she didn't remember anything about breaking the doll.  You will be glad to know that I do not dream those dreams anymore.  Actually Betty and I are the best of friends and grateful for each other.

We never really had much money, but we didn't know it.  I can remember at one time we bought a new overstuffed chair.  We called it The New Chair.  When we sat in it and got up to get something and wanted to come back to it, we would say "Fire on The New Chair."  Several years later as someone referred to it as The New Chair, I looked at it and the thought came to me that it was probably about time we stopped calling it The New Chair.

The Depression came when I was still too small to realize what was happening to the country.  Many people could not face the future and  were committing suicide.  In the large cities people stood in long bread lines in order to receive food to feed their families.  These were the years of the WPA and the CCC Camps - different ways to help people earn a little bit of money.  I can remember seeing WPA workers with their shovels working on the streets in the middle of the winter.  I also remember seeing young men working up in the forests.  They worked for a dollar a day and that was sent home to their parents.  Things were hard to come by and many people were forced to work at these government programs in order to provide for their families.  We were fortunate because we had land and were able to raise our own food.  We had the cows, chickens, and pigs.  We only had money for the necessities.  Bananas and oranges were not necessities so it was a real treat at Christmas to receive an orange. We didn't need much more.  Billy was getting to be twelve years old and ready to pass the sacrament.  But he needed a jacket or sweater to wear.  The government was building lots of bridges and one was over the Snake River east of St. Anthony.  Dad took his team of horses and helped in order to buy a sweater for him.  Dad's team of horses was the first to go across the bridge after it was completed.

Around 1941 we moved into another house - well - it was really a basement.  It was on the corner close to Dad's folks' home in town.  We had one big room the length of the basement that was the kitchen and living and dining room.  There were two bedrooms on the other side and our room had two double beds in it.  Betty and I slept in one and Burke, Billy, and Terry slept in the other.  Helen had a bed in Mother and Dad's room. Mother discovered that there were bedbugs in the walls when we moved in.  Every morning we were awakened to the squish squish of Mother squeezing the bedbug spray in the cracks of the wall.  Thank heavens  she did get rid of them.

FARM AND WORK

Mother and Dad owned a dairy and how well I remember washing all those bottles, separator, buckets, strainers, and yes, even cleaning out the barn.  In fact, I rather enjoyed cleaning it out.  This is why we raised so much hay.  Along with that, Dad raised potatoes and grain.  We were raised with all the milk we wanted to drink and all the butter we wanted to eat.  Mother  would set a pan of milk out with a cover on it. The next day we could spread some of the thick cream on a slice of homemade bread and sprinkle sugar on it. Mmmm! That was so good!  Mother delivered milk to Matthews Grocery and Westerburg Grocery, and around to several individual families.

Dad farmed with horses.  He loved his horses and took very good care of them.  He loved to tell stories about the pulling matches that were held in town and his team always pulled the best.  Of course my cousin, Garnot, says the same thing about her father.  Dad never mistreated his horses.

I can still see the wheat bundles tied and stacked against each other in the wheat fields and Alma Bair coming with his big threshing machine to thresh the wheat and the big stack of straw that was fun to play around.  The cows would eat into the straw and the pigs would burrow into the stack to have their litter of little pigs.  When Alma Bair came, all the threshers came with him with their team of horses.  These were the farmers who hired Alma to thresh their wheat and they would help each other.  Mother was such a good cook and fed them so well that some of them came early in the morning to eat breakfast; she fed them a big dinner; and they would stay to eat another big meal at night.  I hated having to skin little new potatoes and pod all those new peas all morning long each day for fifteen or twenty big threshers with huge appetites.  Along with all the other things, Mother always served them pies.  We were glad when our wheat was safely threshed for more than one reason.

The boys built a little log cabin which Betty and I used to spend a lot of time in playing with paper dolls or whatever.  Our paper dolls were pictures out of the catalog. The cabin was out in the barnyard between sheds, but we didn't mind. They also built a miniature derrick just like Dad's big one.  We would gather up weeds or whatever and play that we were putting up hay.

Dad always had someone working for us.   One very colorful fellow was Old George Carlton.  He was a very small man and he told us to call him Uncle Snort and I suppose he felt like one of the family.  My parents had a way of making the hired men feel good about being there.  When I was small, Uncle Snort used to hold me on his lap, bounce me up and down, and sing "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean".  As I grew older, he loved to tease me by singing the song to me just to see me blush.  Blushing was one of my greatest talents.  I blushed every time anyone said something to me even when I got older.  Uncle Snort worked for us many years and we surely missed him when he passed away.

Dad's brother, Uncle Jack, helped us out a lot, too.  He had a voice that could be heard all over.  He could be at our house and yell at Dad up in the field almost a half mile away and Dad could hear him.  He often helped Dad skin a pig and cut up the meat.  He also sang "My Bonnie" to me. One year just before Christmas, he brought me a Christmas gift.  This was the first time he had ever given me anything and I was the only one in the family that received one.  I was so thrilled and I looked at that gift under the tree every day; I could hardly wait for Christmas to come so I could open it.  Christmas morning we were all up bright and early and Uncle Jack's gift was the first one I opened.  Inside a graham cracker box was a pig's tail!  He had saved it from when they had slaughtered the pig!  I can still hear him laughing at the joke he played on me.

We had a lot of hay to cut and put in the stack.  I suppose we did not spend the whole summer doing it, but it seemed like it.  I enjoyed it and I think the rest of the family did, too.  Helen stayed at the house helping Mother with the meals and doing housework.  The boys helped Mother milk the cows in the morning, but many times Mother had the milking almost done by herself when we came in at night.  She used to sing as she worked all day, and one night as she was milking and singing, Glen Cameron walked into the barn.  He told her she was the only woman he had ever seen doing two things at once.  She was embarrassed to have him hear her.  She would not let us girls learn to milk because she said if we ever learned, we would have to do it all the rest of our lives just as she had.  She had learned to milk as a very young girl because her father died when she was only three years old.

Betty really wanted to learn to milk.  One morning she got up extra early before Mother and Dad, and went up in the pasture to bring the cows to the barn.  She got the stool, sat down by "Bunny", the tamest heifer, held the bucket with her knees as she had watched Mother and the boys do, and started milking.  By the time Mother got to the barn, the bucket was full of milk and Betty was very proud.  Bunny raised her foot just then, hit the bucket, and it slipped out of between Betty's legs, and the whole bucket of milk was gone.  She felt awful.  But Mother was right.  Betty had to milk every night and morning after that.  She did for several years until she was a Senior in high school.  One night as she walked up the hill from the barn, in her milk clothes and manury boots, two of her boys friends were there in the yard to see her.  She was mortified!  "I will never milk another cow in my life!" she said.  And Mother told her she didn't have to.

Betty loved working outside and Dad let her run the hayrake.  I wanted to do this.  Betty wanted to run the mower but Dad was afraid to let her because we knew of one of our neighbors who had lost an arm on the mower.  One day Dad told her she could mow.  She felt very important.  I also felt important because now I could run the rake.  Dad instructed me to rake the field on the north side of the canal, but to wait for him to take the rake across the bridge  to work on the other piece because the bridge was so narrow.  I finished the first piece and Dad was way off in the other end of the field.  I thought I was smart enough to take the rake across myself.  The wheels on the rake were about three inches wide and as I started across, I discovered too late that about one inch of each wheel hung over the edge of the bridge.  I could not turn back.  I had to keep going.  By this time Dad had spotted me  and watched with his heart in his throat, and a prayer in his heart.  I was scared to death.  I'm sure Heavenly Father took that rake across without me falling off the bridge.  Dad got after me when he finally dared to come over and he used to remind me of this story several times each year.

Dad hired some young men in the community to help us in the hay each summer.  Among others, some of them were Wayne Faler, Jim Smith, and Dean Butler.  I  usually rode the derrick horse.  I remember pleasant hot days of getting sleepy and curling up and laying on the back of Old Kate, the derrick horse, with my head on her rump and my feet on her neck.  I would halfway doze until I heard Dad call me.

We had flat boats that ran on the ground and sometimes I would drive a team of horses.  The boys delighted in lifting up a shock of hay where mice would scurry away.  I knew that shock would always go up by me just in case there was still a mouse in the hay.  I always responded with a shriek, just like they wanted me to.

We had several work horses.  May and June were our favorites.  They were born in May and June.  May was so tame that Terry, still in diapers, would go to the barnyard and sit on her back as she was laying down.  June was a little jealous of her. Old Kate, June's mother, stepped on Betty's toe one day and would not move.  Betty pounded and pounded on Kate with her fists, but she just wouldn't move. After five or ten minutes Kate finally lifted her foot.

One day Jim Ferney, who also worked for Dad, gave us a little new colt.  He did not want it and said he was going to kill it if we didn't take it.  All us kids prevailed upon Dad until he finally consented.  We had enough work horses so we made a saddle horse out of her.  We called her "Doll".  She felt superior to the other horses because she did not have to work.  In a few years Dad needed another work horse so decided to put the harness on her.  She was indeed insulted and was very temperamental after that, and especially with me because I could not handle her as well as the others.  One day I rode her to the ditch so she could get a drink after working all morning.  After getting her fill of water, she turned around and started running away with me.  All I could do was hang onto the wooden hames for dear life and one of the boys, just like Roy Rogers, came to my rescue.  Another time I was driving her along with one of the other horses on the boat.  She spooked and started running away.  The boat was bouncing up and down and I, of course, was at the very front of it where I could have been kicked by the horses or bounced off in front and run over.  I stayed on the boat until they were running along side of the bushes.  I jumped off the side and was not hurt.  Everyone in the field was watching, and I'm sure Dad, on the haystack, was praying again as fervently as he did the day I drove the rake across the bridge.  We did find out later that one reason she would all of a sudden bolt and run was because of the crupper strap under her tail that she was not used to.  Dad solved the problem by cutting the crupper strap off her harness.

We did have a real saddle horse.  Her name was Tiny.  She was a beauty.  She had two white stocking feet and a white mark between her eyes.  She had me bullied just like Doll did.  Betty loved to ride her and made her rear all the time.  When I was on her, and she didn't want to do something, she would start to rear and I was afraid so didn't try to force her.  Dad rode her a couple of times in the July 24 parade.  Another time Bill Hansen, all dressed up as George Washington, rode her in the parade.  Whatever happened to her?

While still living on the farm at the edge of town we had a haystack catch on fire.  It was way up in the field away from the house and across the canal.  For some reason there was no way for us to get there in a hurry, so all of us, including Uncle Snort, jumped into the manure spreader that the horses were already hooked up to, and we went lickidy split bouncing up and down.   Dad was already there and with the canal beside us, we were able to save most of the stack.

One morning we were in the Cameron field that was right across from our house.  An airplane flew down very low and circled around.  This was unusual because we hadn't seen many planes in the sky in those early days.  Then the airplane came in and landed in the field.  Immediately a big crowd came around.  If I remember correctly, the pilot was about out of gas and that field looked the most level of any land he had seen.  He thanked Dad for letting him land there and wanted to take Dad up for a ride.  Dad firmly refused as he was afraid to, although many of the crowd wanted to.  When the city put an airport in St. Anthony years later, it was in that very field where the pilot landed.

After we moved on the corner, we woke up one Sunday morning to find that the canal on the neighbor's property had broken and our pasture field was covered with water and boulder sized rocks.  We notified the canal company and they turned the water off.  Who knows - maybe some of the rocks are still there.  We moved many of them.  The canal was around fifteen to sixteen feet wide.  It created quite a sensation.  Every day in the summer we younger kids would go swimming by the bridge.  The break was soon fixed and farmers were again able to water their crops.

The Christensen family lived beside us, and one day their little three year old grandchild came up missing.  The first thing everyone thought of was the canal.  Dad was the one who found her and pulled her out, but it was too late.  It was a sad time.

I was always very proud to say I was Bill and Lula Clark's daughter, but just like everyone else, Dad had some funny quirks.  It didn't seem to matter when we girls started to mop the kitchen floor, Dad always came in and walked on it before we were through and the floor was still wet.  One day I decided I would fix him so I waited until I could see him clear up in the other end of the field, and then I started.  Danged if he didn't make it back and still walked in my mopping. 

Another time I decided I would clean the attic out.  There had been some magazines about horses and cows up there for a good many years and nobody ever looked at them.  I threw them away.  Danged if he didn't go up there that very night and came down demanding where those magazines were.  When I told him I had thrown them away, he really cussed me - which he should have done because I should have asked before tossing them.  That was something else he never let me forget.

SCHOOL DAYS

I started school when I was five years old in the Franklin School at Wilford, which was one and one-half miles from where we lived.  My cousins, Garnot and Alex Bischoff, live there now.  We walked all the time except in the winter when it was extremely cold.  I can still feel how my legs stung when we took a shortcut through the fields and walked through the stubble after the wheat had been harvested.  We were the last family on the road that went to Franklin School.  When it was cold, Dad hitched up the horses to take us on the sleigh, and he picked up all the other kids along the way.  Our neighbor, Nyle Meservy, always slow, ran behind and would just barely grab hold and jump on the back of the sleigh.  He liked to eat the beet pulp they fed their cows and he always smelled of it.  One day the drifts were so high that even the horses got stuck and we had to get out and walk the rest of the way to school.  At the time I went to school there were two teachers.  Thelma Richmond (Clark) taught the first four grades and Joe Rytting taught from five to eight.

Glen Cameron was the superintendent of the county schools.  Since Dad rented ground from him that was located right across from our house, Glen used to come visit us quite often.  They were very good friends and I remember him saying at Uncle Jack's funeral that he didn't know Uncle Jack very well, but he did know Bill and that he would trust Bill with anything.  Dad admired and loved Glen more than any other man he knew. Glen and his wife, Eva, had two little girls that were around the ages of Terry and Betty.  One little girl died and he kind of took up with Betty to take her place.  Spelling Bees were held in the county for students up to the eighth grade.  When Betty was in the fifth grade, she won the spelling bee competing against the eighth graders.  Betty was very little and Dad delighted in telling how Glen Cameron swooped her up in his arms and held her up high.

Dad worked very hard for school consolidation and when I started fourth grade, I went to town to Lincoln School.  Margaret Costley was my teacher.  She was very strict, but I had grown up respecting discipline and my elders, so I liked her as a teacher.  I had her again as a history teacher when I was a Senior in High School.  I had a close friend, Vonda Lords, I met when going to town to school and when she was a Senior, she passed away.

The next year I walked across town to Central School.  Learning came quite easy for me and I enjoyed school.  Science was my only bad subject.  I did not do well in it.  I chummed around with my cousin , Beverly Garver, most of the time in High School.  Margaret Smith and Glenda Merrick were close friends in school and in church.  I enjoyed everyone as friends.  My fifth grade teacher was Alice Leckliter.  She was young and very pretty.  She seemed to hold her little finger down all the time and I discovered that she wasn't really holding it down, but the  finger was cut off at the joint.  Erma Birch was my sixth grade teacher.  In Junior High my favorite teacher was Lucille Wilson.  She was very talented in music and could hear any note and tell you what it was.  She was young and cute, and Beverly and I always walked with her when we went home for dinner.  Miss Wilson started dating a fellow in town named Coffin.  During the year she had a very bad cold so stayed home for about a week.  When she came back, they asked her why she had stayed out.  She said she had stayed home and did a lot of coughing (Coffin).  They really teased her about that.  She later married him.

I sang in a chorus and a sextet that did very well in competition in the district.  When in Senior High, Margaret Moon taught music and we put on an operetta, the first that had been put on for years in our school. 

March 28, 1940 was a happy day for the entire family.  Mother and Dad decided to go to the temple and be sealed and to have all of us children sealed to them.  Since the closest temple was Logan, that is where we went.  We started out early in the morning but we had car trouble on the way, so we were late for the appointment but did make it in time for the 6:00 P.M. session.  Aunt Jane went with us so she and Mother could visit relatives and friends in Wellsville where they had grown up.  We stopped at a service station in Fort Hall on the way to Logan.  Dad was in the service station and all the rest of us were in the car.  Someone accidently hit the horn.  In a couple of minutes an attendant slowly sauntered out and asked us what we wanted.  Mother explained that someone had accidently hit the horn and we were sorry.  He said, "Well, don't do it anymore.  You are getting us all excited in there."  After he left, Aunt Jane said, "If he is excited now, I'd surely hate to see him when he isn't excited!"  We had a good laugh. 

Helen was twenty years old - old enough that she had to take out her own endowments.  Mother, Dad, and Helen went through the session while the rest of us changed into white clothes and waited for the time of the sealing.  We waited in the bride's room.  I had never seen such a beautiful room in all my life.  When the time came and we were led to the sealing room, I could see Mother crying because it was finally happening - we could be a family together forever.

Next day we took Mother and Aunt Jane to Wellsville to spend the day and then Dad drove us around.  When noon came, he took us to the Bluebird Cafe for dinner.  We certainly attracted a lot of attention.  They put us right in the middle of the room and everyone assumed he was a widower raising this fine looking and well behaving family all by himself.  Dad was proud as punch.

I was about twelve years old when I started tending kids for other people.  When I was a freshman in High School, I started tending E.M. Cazier for Elmo and Rula Cazier, who managed the local theater.  I became very attached to him and tended him for about three and one-half years almost every night while they worked in the theater.  I was paid $3.00 a week plus I could see all the movies I wanted since they lived over the Roxy Theater.  I think he loved me almost as much as his mother and when I quit tending him, so I could have some kind of social life, we missed each other very much.

We belonged to the Second Ward in St. Anthony.  I attended Sacrament Meeting, Sunday School and Primary.  I always attended church and did not have to be coaxed to go.  Leona Reynolds was either my Lark or Bluebird teacher in Primary.  My mother was my Seagull (the last year) teacher.  I liked having her as a teacher.  She taught us to crochet, although she had a hard time with me because I was left handed.  I was able to crochet around my baby's receiving blankets when they came along.  She did not know how to knit but learned to knit a little so she could teach us to do that.  I knit me a belt, but it surely wasn't very straight.  Betty decided that for her first project she would knit a sweater.  She did a super job and it was beautiful.

Clarice Oberhansley was my Beehive Teacher in Mutual and I remember the fun we had at camp at Warm River.  Another year we went to Boy Scout Camp and another year Ruth and Hazel Christensen took us to Loon Lake.  We certainly roughed it much more than girls do today.

I took 4-H while a teenager.  I participated in cooking and sewing.  On my third or fourth year of sewing, I made a dress, and Pauline Browning helped me with any problems I had, and I received a blue ribbon  in the county fair.  Pauline lived next door to us and I tended her children for her. My dress was a very pretty blue with pleats and a tan dickey.  I had worked hard on it and did a good job.  When I came to a problem, I ran next door to Pauline, and she would tell me what to do.  When I took it to Blackfoot to the State Fair, I received a red ribbon (second place).  I was disappointed because one of my friends liked my pattern so well that she made one just like it, only a different color, and she received a blue ribbon.  I thought mine was much cuter. She had used seam binding for the hem and I had not, and my hem was more obvious.  Needless to say, this was a lesson to me and I've always tried to be more particular about it since then.

In Junior  High School I was the student body secretary.  Then again I was in High School (just like my sister, Betty).  It was a lot of fun for me.  Clifford Clive was the president and Ross Tucker was vice president.  We became very good friends.

World War II started when I was in High School.  The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941.  We had a cousin, Carl Brown, who was in Pearl Harbor when it was bombed, and when he came home he looked like he had aged twenty or thirty years from his experience there.  His hair had turned completely gray and his face showed much aging.  We declared war on Japan and Germany the next day.

We had a Japanese family in our community that owned a restaurant and everyone  loved going there.  But people stopped patronizing it and the family finally had to close their door.  Their daughter, Mabel Hosoda, was my age, and I remember feeling so sorry for her when they announced the Pearl Harbor attack the next day in school.  She had two brothers that joined the Army and fought for our country but the Hosodas were still ostracized from the community.  I suppose that since people could see they were of Japanese descent, they were therefore "traitors".  Years later I learned that most Japanese people were actually put in "camps" so, if they were still loyal to their own country, they could not help the enemy.  When I heard this I was very much ashamed of the United States for a while.  Our ancestors came from Germany and we were also fighting Germany, but they did not put us in camps, although I heard that they did during World War I.  Well, the government realized the mistake they had made and have tried to make up for it, but it did cause many people to lose their business and some were never able to replace them.

We had several Japanese families in the Teton and Sugar City area who worked for J. C. Siddoway.  When the government came to take them to their "camps", J. C. told them that he would not let them go.  He said they were good honest hardworking people who were loyal to the United States and he was not going to let them go.  He was so firm and they respected J. C. enough that the authorities told him that if he would be responsible for them, they would let them stay.

Billy had already  joined the National Guard when he graduated from high school, so he and those others with him were immediately in the army.  Dad got Burke deferred because he needed him to help on the farm, but everyone was enlisting and anyone who did not join were objects of scorn.  Burke had a hard time taking the snide remarks leveled at him.  It finally got so bad that Burke wrote to the draft board and told them he was ready to go.  He was drafted.  I doubt that Mother and Dad ever knew he did that. It was very hard on my folks to have both of them gone, and all of us missed them terribly.  We, of course, did not have television then, and I remember listening to the news on the radio.  When the song, "Where is My Wandering Boy Tonight" was sung on the radio, this was one time Mother would be cross with us if we made any noise.  She would listen and cry.  She made a promise to the Lord that if He would bring both her boys back safe, she would never turn down a calling in the church that was asked of her.  She never turned one down.  One of my choice memories is of hearing Kate Smith on the radio singing "God Bless America".

How well I remember the first Christmas after Billy joined the National Guard.  All the young men in the Guard were able to come home from Camp Lewis in Washington for Christmas and the whole town was excited.  The boys were coming in on the train and everyone was over there to meet them.  No one was more excited than Dad.  He kept running up and down the tracks to see if the train was coming.  At last we heard the whistle of the train!  People crowded around the tracks but that was not good enough for Dad.  He was right on the tracks.  I was scared to death he was going to be run over.  We surely enjoyed having Billy home since this was the first time our family had been separated.

The war years were a time for unity and cooperation for the entire nation.  We could call this "the good old days" because  of the united effort and almost everyone felt their responsibility of working together for a cause.  There were many women who left to help the cause by working in factories since the men were all gone.  Many supplies were scare and so rationing began.  Gas was one of the first things.  We were only allowed so much gas a month and had to drive no more than 35 miles an hour in order to conserve what we did get.  Sugar, canned goods, and other groceries, dress goods, shoes made of leather, and other commodities were all rationed.  Tokens came into being for us to use for buying things.  We had to show our booklets to the clerk so they could mark off how much we had left.  Most everyone who was able had victory gardens.

When Helen graduated from Ricks College, she got a job teaching school at Teton.  Dad had wanted to be a teacher but his dad had only let him get  a fourth grade education.  Helen wanted to be a secretary but Dad was not going to have any boss chase his daughter around a desk - thus she was going to fulfill his dream.  She taught the second grade in Teton for two years.  By this time World War II had started and she wanted to help in the war effort.  She took a civil service test, and went to Washington D.C. and worked.  Later she joined the Army Transport Command and worked in New York City where she helped to break codes for the civil service.  Billy was now stationed in Tampa, Florida, and they saw each other once in a while.  While in New York, Helen met Albert Raymond Kron at a skating rink, and after running into her and "knocking her right off her feet" as he put it, they started dating and were married January 8, 1945.

After Burke left for the army, it seemed there wasn't much left of the family.  Burke was in the Infantry, got his basic training, and was sent to Okinawa in the thick of the fight.  We can only imagine what went through his mind - this boy from a small town who had only love and respect for all he came in contact with.  He was wounded when some shrapnel hit his knee.  I understand that all the Americans were either killed or wounded that day.  His wife, Melba, had a brother, Alvin, who was killed that day.  Burke was sent to Hawaii to the hospital and then on to Walla Walla, Washington.  Mother and Betty went up to see him as soon as he arrived there.  When he was well enough, he was sent home for a medical furlough.  It was so good to see him and know that he was going to be all right.  While he was home we went to Idaho Falls to the War Bonnet Roundup.  It was while we were there at the rodeo that they announced that the Japanese had surrendered.  Everyone was cheering and shouting but as I looked over at Burke, I will never forget the look on his face.  I'm sure that as he sat there quietly, his mind was going over all the terrible things he had experienced.  Since then, he has never been able to watch war movies.

I graduated from high school in 1946.  How I cried at my graduation.  I had loved school and hated to see it end.  That summer I worked in J.C. Penney's as a clerk.  Things were still scare.  How well I remember when yard goods would come in.  They would advertise that yard goods would be on sale on such and such a day.  Bright and early the crowd would start to gather and by 9:00 A.M. the sidewalk was packed down to the corner.  At 9:00 the doors wereunlocked and opened.  The women swarmed in, each one grabbing a bolt of material and wanting immediate attention.  Some even fought over it, just like you see in the movies.

That fall I enrolled at Ricks College.  I had been given a $100 Seminary scholarship and Mother took me down to stay at the dorm.   We drove up to the dorm, and there were several boys and girls out in front.  First thing I saw a rather short boy that I thought was very cute.  I thought, "Oh, I'd like to go out with him."  Then I heard my mother say, "Look at that kid.  He looks like he thinks he was made just to thrill the girls."  Well, that is exactly what he was doing to them and to me. 

I roomed with Margaret Lewis, Nina Andrasen, Joyce Miekle, all from St. Anthony, and another girl named Nina Joy Olsen.  Nina Andrasen knew I wanted to go with Lee (the cute boy), and she enjoyed telling me that she had a date with him.  Then one night we went to a get acquainted dance and he asked me if he could take me home.  I couldn't believe that Bashful Bonnie had really succeeded.  We went together several times and my image of myself got better so that I felt like I could talk to boys and have a good time.

One night they had an open house at the dorm and here I met a new group of friends that livened up my life and I had more fun than at any other time in my life.  I had always enjoyed everything I did and I had lots of fun.  But here was a group of eight boys.  I was quite bashful and couldn't carry on much of a conversation around boys, and with these guys, I could act just as crazy as the next one.  These boys were Blaine Hawkes, Jack Strong, Boyd Stallings, Hiram White (who told me of his experiences in the war - ha- and he was just barely out of high school, and I believed him), Bill Egbert, Dean Fisher, Herbie Morris, and Louis Rasmussen.  I went with Jack once, quite a bit with Bill, and of course Blaine, and even though Blaine claims I went with all of them, I didn't, but I surely had a good time with all of them.

I dated Blaine one night and Bill the next.  They never seemed to ask for a date on the same night but I was having fun.  Blaine tells the story of how they all went to a dance this one night and they all agreed that they would not take a girl home.  Blaine had his car.  They were all out in the car waiting for Bill, and out he came with me.  Blaine was not too happy about it, but he took the other boys home first and then he and Bill took me home.  After they got back to their dorm, they sat is the car for a little talk.  Blaine asked Bill how he felt about me and Bill said he was quite serious.  Blaine responded that he, too, was serious.  It just so happened that Bill was on the basketball team and they were going on a two week playing trip, so Blaine made time while he was gone.

I had decided in the fourth grade that I wanted to be a teacher.  By the time I got to college, I had changed my mind so I took classes to become a secretary.  In February, one month before the end of the quarter, Betty and Morris were married and I could have Betty's job if I would quit school.  So I did.  This job was working at the Associated Seed Company in the office.  The interesting thing is that I got the $100 scholarship for Ricks, and I attended school almost two quarters, but they returned $30 to me that I had not used in tuition.  It cost only $30 a quarter.  I believe we paid only $30 a month for staying and eating at the dorm.  Much different than what it costs today.

Blaine finished the quarter out and then quit so he could go home and help get the crop in.  His father had died in June  in 1946 just after Blaine had graduated from high school.  Blaine had wanted to go on a mission, in fact he was getting ready for it, but when his father passed away, one of the General Authorities told Blaine's mother that Blaine's place was at home helping with the farming and family.  Our both being out of school put us together more.  We had a date every week going to Stake Choir practice - of course his mother was always with us.  In later years we still hear several older people mention how they watched our courtship in choir practice where we sat beside each other.  Blaine gave me a diamond on my birthday of 1947.  We were in his family's new truck.  It was a Saturday night and Mother and Dad were, as usual, at the Saturday night movie sitting on the front row.  I went in, knelt down by them and showed the ring to them.

MARRIED LIFE - FIRST FIFTY YEARS

July 21, 1948 Blaine and I were married in the Idaho Falls Temple.  Betty and Morris went through the temple that same day with little Janet, who was only six months old.  It was more than a special day.

We borrowed Ray Brown's (Blaine's cousin) trailer house and spent our honeymoon at Bryce's Canyon.  As soon as we drove into the campground at Bryce's Canyon, a Park Ranger hurried over.  We wondered what we had done wrong, but he had seen our 2F license and wanted to see who we were.  It turned out to be Jim Smith, who had worked for Dad when he was younger, and one of those who threw that hay up by me hoping there was a mouse in it.  He was very happy to see someone from home.

We then came back and lived with Blaine's family until the harvest was over, when Blaine's mother and family moved to Providence, Utah, and we stayed on the farm.  We didn't make much money - in fact we went in the hole - but it was a happy time.  Blaine worked in the church and whenever he was called, no matter what he was doing, he would go to serve the Lord and his fellow men.

The winter of 1948-49 was a very hard winter!  Blaine was offered a job in construction by Ray Brown.  He drove a truck.  The work was at Menan and we stayed with Mother and Dad in St. Anthony.  It snowed and snowed, and blew, and blew.  The main highway from Ashton to Tetonia was closed for six weeks.  Betty and Morris lived up to Driggs and that road was closed as long or longer.  No supplies were able to get there and an airplane came in and dropped yeast cakes so the women could make bread.  Mother and I went up when the road was finally opened, and it was a one way road except once in a while for passing, and the snow banks along the side of the road were twice as high as the car.  Blaine and I went up to the ranch on New Year's Day and shoveled five feet of snow off the roof of the house.  We were able to walk up the drifts right to the top of the buildings.

Marysville Ward was so good.  We loved it.  The people were like one big happy family and all concerned about each other.  As our family came along, the members praised me so much for bringing all the children to church each Sunday and for the children sitting so quietly.  One day as Milton Humphries was telling me how good I was to come to church and train the children like that, I said, "That is the only thing that keeps me coming - you talking like that."  And I guess there was more truth than fiction to that.  I had to live up to what they said about me.  They made me feel so important and made me feel within myself that I was doing something good.  My self-esteem grew.  To this day there are still older sisters in Relief Society here in St. Anthony that make reference to how well behaved our children were in church.  I do have to confess that there were many days when I wondered why I even went.  I felt I didn't get anything out of church and many people around surely couldn't either.  But I was setting a pattern for them that church was the place to be.

We had been married around two years when Lewis King (a nephew of Golden Andrus) came to work for Golden and Lisle (Lyle) for the summer.  He started a quartet with himself, Blaine, Z.J. Egbert, and Rulon Hillam.  Lyle worked with and played for them.  Their voices were made for each other.  Blaine was the only one married.  They were asked to sing all over the stake and many, many places out of the stake.  I followed them wherever they went.  Many times we went to the West Yellowstone and Old Faithful branches in Yellowstone Park.  That fall Lewis had to go into the service but Mac Reynolds took his place in the quartet.  Later Rulon left for a mission and Walter Clark took his place.  Walter became the bishop July 19, 1953, with Blaine and Mac as his counselors.  They became known as the Singing Bishopric and they sang all over.  I thoroughly enjoyed Blaine singing in the quartet and in later years as he became so busy  working in the stake and could not participate in singing groups, I have missed his singing very much.  Blaine also sang with the ward choir as they wanted his strong beautiful tenor voice.  We were living in Logan one winter and we received a letter from Lyle telling us that the choir had gone to Soda Springs or somewhere like that and she just wanted us to know that they missed Blaine's tenor voice and they were missing all of us.

About this same time, 1950 or 1951, Neil Smith was moving to Sequim, Washington, and he asked Blaine to help him move.  Neil had worked at the sawmill the winter Blaine helped up in Warm River to help pay for our assessment for the new Marysville Ward Building.  He asked Blaine how much he would charge to move him and Blaine figured what it would cost for gas, food and motels for the two of us. We left Billy and Don with Mother and drove up there.  Neil was not a member of the church and he asked Blaine, after we got there, to go out with him and have a good time.  Blaine told him no.  A few years later when he came back home to visit his wife's family, he came to church and said that Blaine's refusing to go with him to party, and the  fellowshipping the people had done, was the reason he joined the church.  We have been very good friends ever since, and he usually comes to see us every year.

When Blaine and I were married, he was gone many nights going to meetings.  Since we lived out in the country with no close neighbors, I was afraid of staying alone.  I asked Heavenly Father to please bless me and help me to not be afraid to stay alone.  I told Him that if He would help me, I would have all the children He wanted me to have.  I kept my promise and the Lord kept his part of the promise.  I was not afraid after that but I never dreamed what I was getting into.

Percy William (Billy) Hawkes was born.  I did not have morning sickness at all while pregnant and felt very good the whole time. Since he was the first child, I did not know what to expect when the time came for him to be born.  The weekend before I had what I thought was the stomach flu, but realized later that it was actually labor pains.  On that particular day I was feeling pretty miserable and I went to see Doctor Larson.  I had a small contraction while in there and he told me it would be another week before the baby came.  I just kept feeling worse so Blaine took me to St. Anthony to my mother's since he was the Mutual President of the Marysville Ward and they were having their opening social and I did not want to stay home alone.  Mother and Helen (living in the basement) soon discovered that it was time to go to the hospital.  This was the St. Anthony Hospital since there was no hospital in Ashton.  We called Blaine and Dr. Larson, who was the Mutual President of the Ashton Ward.  The opening social was a masquerade and Dr. Larson showed up with his makeup and false mustache and it wasn't long until the baby was born.  A situation existed in the Ashton area that caused a little concern with the Young Women's Mutual President.  Their young people were going over to the Marysville Ward to Mutual because they were such good friends with our young people.  She was quite upset about their young people not attending their own ward.  Well, when Dr. Larson, the Ashton President, was called away to deliver the baby of the Marysville Ward President, she said, "That Marysville Ward will go to any length to take our people away from us no matter what they have to do!"  We got quite a laugh out of that.

Billy was a good baby and a good son.  He did have his moments every once in a while, but he was a good example to the rest of the family.  

Just eleven months later Donald Clark Hawkes was born.  I was at my mother's again.  That day she was going to Driggs to a Primary Meeting and when she left I told her that I would be in the hospital when she came home.  She, of course, did not believe me.  I was right.  The Ashton Hospital had just opened and Helen took me up.  Dr. Larson was out of town so Dr. Krueger delivered Don.

Blaine's mother has sent a boy from Logan up to "help us", and he was staying with us.  We called home, the boy answered, and told us Blaine was in the timber getting wood.  We told him to tell Blaine that we were in the Ashton  Hospital ready to have the baby.  When Blaine came home the boy told him and Blaine asked him which hospital.  The boy could not really remember and finally told Blaine the St. Anthony Hospital.  Blaine got cleaned up, jumped in the truck and headed for St. Anthony.  Meanwhile Mother had gotten back from Driggs and came up to Ashton when she found out I was up there.  She happened to look out the window as they took me into the delivery room, and just in time to see Blaine zoom by.  She suspected he was going to a church meeting.  I'm sure you can understand that her thoughts toward her son-in-law were not too pleasant.  Blaine went as fast as he could to St. Anthony, jumped out of the truck, and into the hospital.  "Where's my wife?" he asked.  "She is not here," he was told.  "They called and told me she was having a baby," he said.  "Well, someone must be playing a joke on you because she nor anyone else is having a baby here."  Blaine then raced back to Ashton and got there just after the baby was born.  When my mother heard his explanation, she forgave him.  But as long as she lived, every year on Don's birthday she remarked, "This is the day I was so mad at Blaine."

Steven Hawkes was born eighteen months later.  He was my valentine boy.  As usual, I was at Mother's.  She always insisted I be there.  Helen and I went to the movies and I started having pains.  Helen started checking and at ten minutes apart she made me get up and leave.  I was disturbed because I wanted to see the rest of the movie.  After we got to the hospital Steve decided he was not quite ready to make his debut.  I fell asleep and woke up around 2:00 to 2:30 A.M. and things started popping but Blaine was no where to be found.  They took me in the delivery room and gave me a caudal (same thing as an epidural).  This is a shot given in the spine to deaden the feeling.  Meanwhile when I went to sleep, one of the nurses sent Blaine to the nursery where he could lie down and sleep.  He woke up, went into the labor room and no Bonnie.  He kept going, opening doors until he came to the delivery room and there we were.  He had never seen a baby born and it was quite a shock.  Dr. Larson said, "Come on in, Blaine, and we'll have a baby here in a minute."  Blaine just turned green, turned around and walked out.  It was the easiest birth I had because I didn't feel a thing.  Afterwards when I was back in my room, I kept waiting for Blaine and the doctor to come in and I was starving to death.  Blaine usually was right in as soon as I was back in my room.  I waited about half an hour and at last they both came in together.  They had been in the kitchen eating and talking.  I was a little disturbed when I found out that they were the ones eating and I was the hungry one.  The nurse felt sorry for me and brought me a glass of milk, a banana, and some graham crackers.  It surely tasted good.

By this time we noticed that the babies were coming from ten days to two weeks early - which I appreciated.  After Steve was born, Blaine told Dr. Larson that if we were going to guarantee him a baby every year, he ought to give us a reduction in the price.  Dr. Larson laughed and said he would.  We paid him $75 for the first one and he only charged $50 for each of the others.  We had a hospital bill of around $75 for the three days I had to stay.  That is a very small amount compared to the nearly $3000 that it costs today (1998).

Michel Blaine Hawkes was the next child born just one year later.  Somehow or other I don't remember any of the particulars of his birth.  He must not have been much trouble.  They say that the wheel that squeaks the loudest is the one that gets the most grease.  Apparently Mike never squeaked. The doctor had moved to Driggs but he came to Ashton to deliver him.  I remember I came home from the hospital and Lewis King was going to be at the Civic Auditorium in Idaho Falls on Friday which was only a few days after Mike was born.  I was not going to be left home because I wanted to see him, too.  We went down with Z.J. and Rulon.  When Lewis asked what we had been doing, I told him I had a baby just last Friday.  He would not believe me and it was only after Z.J. and Rulon verified it that he believed us.

Jeffery Lynn Hawkes was our number five son born just one year after Mike.  Dr. Parkinson was our doctor for him.  He lived in our ward and was the MIA President  and we decided to go to him instead of going up to Driggs to Dr. Larson.  I think Jeff was the one that kicked so much in every direction that I wondered what in heaven's name he would look like - I thought he must be all arms and legs.  We were surprised when he was born (with his curly hair) and was perfectly normal looking.  Jeff was the only one that I had to get up in the night to go to the hospital.

Philip C. Hawkes was number six son born.  We were beginning to wonder if we would ever have a little girl.  The day before he was born, my sister, Helen, and I decided to go to the Sand Hills to get chokecherries.  She had some of her small children with her and I had my five.  We became stuck in the sand and could not get out no matter how we pushed and tried.  We were a little off the road and few cars went by.  After about an hour or more, I heard a car coming and ran as hard as I could to the road to flag it down.  It did stop and help us out but it was very difficult.  We went home without any chokecherries.  Next morning I started having pains.  I called the doctor and since it was a couple of weeks early, he suggested I lay down and perhaps they would stop.  After I hung up, I said, "Like heck I will lay down.  I want to get this over with."  I prepared all day to have things ready so I could go to the hospital, stopping every once in a while to lean against a chair while having a pain.  By night I was ready to go.

After Philip was born and I had awakened, the nurse brought my baby in.  I took one look at him and said, "Are you sure this is my baby?  He doesn't look a thing like my others."  The nurse assured me that it was my baby.  I kept questioning her and a little disgustedly she said, "It is your baby.  I just changed him and I know."  So I accepted it and started looking to see if he had all his fingers and toes.  Suddenly the nurse came running in and excitedly said, "It isn't your baby!  That is the girl!" and then she gave me Philip.  I looked at him and said, "Now this looks like my baby!"

Cindy Hawkes was our first  girl born.  I can remember going to the hospital with her, having pains come every few minutes but she just didn't seem to want to be born.  I was really in a lot of pain.  Wilma Calonge, a good friend, was the nurse and she rubbed my back the entire time.  The doctor let it go on for several hours and then decided to check and see what was the matter.  He discovered that her head was tipped the wrong way and so he tipped her head and she came right along around 3:00 in the morning.  Dr. Larson did not have any girls of his own as he had all boys and he tried to talk me out of her. 

Everyone had seen our car at the hospital and started calling the hospital the next morning to see what we had had.  The head nurse did not tell them - saying that it was the privilege of the father to tell that.  Blaine got home around 5:00 that morning, milked the cow, and had just gotten into bed.  The phone rang and he got up to answer it.  They asked what we had and he told them.  He went back to bed and the phone rang again.  This went on several times, but he said, "I didn't mind one bit getting up and telling them that we had a little girl ."  Actually  he was so happy to have a girl that it took him two weeks to come down from the air.

Suzanne Hawkes, our second girl was born.  Dr. Larson told me he thought I should come to Driggs to have the baby because he could spend more time with me.  Usually he just delivered the baby and told me to go home when I felt like it.  Because of the traumatic time I had with Cindy, I was afraid that it might happen again.  I started having pains in the middle of the night so we drove up to Driggs after having Bishop Reynolds come about midnight to give me a blessing.  After driving over to Driggs, the pains stopped altogether.  I stayed all the next day and still nothing happened.  That night the nurses sent Blaine and I to the drive-in theater to see if maybe something would happen.  It didn't so we went home the next morning.  A week later the pains came again and we went back up.  It didn't take very long until Suzanne came.  It was an easy birth and I can still feel how relieved I was and how I expressed to Blaine how very blessed I felt because now we had two little girls together.

Toni Marie Hawkes was girl number three born.  At this time we were living in Providence, Utah, with Blaine going to school, but I planned to go back to Driggs for the baby to be born, because I didn't want to go to another doctor and besides, it was cheaper at home.  As I usually came about ten days to two weeks early, I planned on going to Mother and Dad's with the children who were not in school and stay there until the time came.  Walter Clark just happened to come to Logan about that time so we decided I would go back with him and then Blaine would not have to make the trip.  I had actually planned that it would only be a day or two before the baby was born.  About two weeks went by and still no baby.  Mother was getting to the point that she wanted to get things started.  When I had a few little pains she had me quickly pack my bags and took me to Betty, who was going to take me up to Driggs.  When I got to Betty's, the pains more or less stopped, but Betty said we were not going to mess around any longer - that I was going to have that baby now.  Betty and Morris started out without me having any pains at all, but the pains started on the way up and were going pretty good by the time we got there.  The doctor checked me around 6:00 and said we would probably have the show on the way by midnight.  I thought, "Oh, am I going to have to wait that long?"  Morris said he would go to get something to eat and then come back a little later.  He came back at 8:00 with a box of chocolates for me and Toni was already there. 

I was extra tired - so tired I didn't feel like calling Blaine.  I slept all night and all the next day.  Later in the day when I did wake up, they told me I had slept through a fire across the street with the fire department putting it out and the siren going.  I still was too tired to call Blaine.  I slept all night again, but by this time my conscience was hurting so badly that I called him to give him the good news.  This was on Thursday and he asked if I would be ready to come back Sunday.  So I did.  He had kept the boys with him that were in school, but they were missing their mother so much that even with Grandma Hawkes fixing meals for them, they were not eating much of anything.  That was serious because they were all big eaters.  They ate like little pigs the night I got home.

Robert Allen Hawkes was number ten and the last.  Blaine was teaching school and at that time he would not have been paid if he stayed out of school to be with me.  So we arranged with the doctor that we would go up to Driggs at 8:00 A.M. on Sunday and he would start me. We drove up to Driggs and there I was given some orange juice with castor oil in it.  The pains started coming right away but by noon they were slowing down.  Doctor Larson told the nurse to get something else to help (he was in a hurry to go on a trip the next day), and when the nurse brought in something that looked like an IV, it scared me so much that I immediately started having pains again and it was not long until Bob was born.  Blaine was home in time to go to church and they announced it in Sacrament Meeting that we had another son.

In Psalms 127:5 we are told, "Happy is the man who has a quiver full of them (children)".  We definitely had a quiver full and I have to admit they have made us very happy, although there have been times.  I have enjoyed watching all the cute little things they did.  It seemed that a while after each child was born, and as we were kneeling down for prayer, it felt that someone was missing,  and it was not long until I found out another baby was on the way.  After Bob was born, we did not have that feeling anymore.

When we were still living at the ranch and the boys were all small, they played all over the dry farm.  When I wanted them to come home, I would go out and honk the car horn, and kids would come running from all directions.  One day the mailman was there when I honked.  It about blew his mind when he saw  kids coming from everywhere.

I believed in spanking, but Blaine did not.  One day I saw in the editorial in the Church News entitled "Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child".  It went on to quote several scriptures that said, "Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.  Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell."  (Proverbs 23:13-14.)  "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying."  (Proverbs 19:18) There are several other scriptures.

After discussing it with Blaine, he gathered the boys around him and explained to them that the Lord wanted them disciplined this way, so they would all go to the ditch bank and each get their own willow for spanking.  They were very excited, and after they gathered their willows, they brought them back and presented them to me.  They were not quite that enthused when I used them.

Another thing we are counseled in the scriptures to do is to pray over our crops.  Blaine took the boys into the fields in the spring.  They knelt down and prayed over the crops that they would produce what we needed. 

In the years following our marriage, when a ward built a chapel, the ward membership had to provide  seventy percent of the cost, and they would hold banquets to raise the money.  Even though it was lots of work, it was also lots of fun, and of course, the Relief Society had to do it.  I look back upon those banquets now with fond memories and miss them.  Marysville was building a chapel.  Ashton has lots of people who are not Mormons, but they looked forward to those banquets, also, and would come and donate money right along with the rest of us.  We also had special musical groups come which were very good entertainment.

The non-Mormons also enjoyed coming to our Gold and Green Ball every year.  They were formal dances and everyone dressed up for them.  The MIA put these on and would have a live orchestra and floor show.  This was not to raise money for the chapel, although they did charge in order to pay for the band.  The year Don was a baby (about 1951), I danced in the floor show.  Blaine was the MIA president and there were two boys who wanted to dance but there were no girls to dance with them.  Blaine came home and asked me to dance with a slightly chubby high school student called Alfred Cordon.  The other fellow was a year or two older than me and very good looking.  I wondered why Blaine did not put me with the older good looking one and put Alford with the high school student.  We danced to the Viennese Waltz and performed several times that winter.  Our road was closed and I had to ski out to the road in order to go to the practices.  It was quite scary.  The following June we went to Salt Lake to June Conference and participated in the dance festival.

The Seminary held a Bread and Milk Banquet every year.  They were very popular and the cultural hall was always packed.  They would serve homemade bread, milk, onions, carrots, celery, jams, etc., and put on a program.  Bonnie Clark (Parades) was in charge of it one year and they had a slide show of the scriptures.  She used our family to depict "God told Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the earth."

The Scouters had recognition banquets also.  February 19, 1959, Blaine was presented with a "Scouter of the Year" award.  Blaine had gone to scout camp every year when he was MIA President, in the Bishopric, and while he was the Scout Master.  Fathers would not go, not even for a day or night.  They would say that if it depended upon their going, their sons would just not go.  So Blaine went every year.  By the time our own boys were old enough to go, Blaine was going to school and could not go.  No one took the boys that year.  Our boys were not able to go until we moved to St. Anthony.  Blaine served as Scout Master four different times.

When we were first married I cooked on a wood burning stove.  After Steve was born we purchased an electric stove.  It was wonderful.  We put the other stove downstairs and hooked it up and used it to heat water for washing clothes.  Many was the time I also used it to bake bread when the electricity went off or to keep warm when it was off and the furnace would not work.  We still have the cook stove and have used it here in St. Anthony once or twice when it was necessary.  Don  painted the stove black with silver trim and made it look brand new.  We also purchased a new 1951 hardtop convertible Ford Victoria.  It was a beautiful metallic bronze on the bottom and a tan on the top.  Frome's motor put a large beautiful eagle on the front.  We loved it.

For several years Blaine worked in the potatoes each fall for James Stringham and Ivan Crouch.  They did not have enough trucks and so they hired Blaine and his truck.  This was when they put the spuds in sacks and they had several men to load the sacks on the trucks.  He made very good money this way.  We often wondered why they did not buy a truck themselves as it was costing them so much, but it surely helped us.

Many of the winters were very bad.  The boys had to walk a quarter of a mile out to the highway to meet the school bus.  Many days they would just get to school and have to turn right around and come back again because of a blizzard.  It was one stressful time for me when the wind started to blow.  It was fine if everyone was home.  Blaine was snowed out a few times.  One Sunday night after Sacrament Meeting was over, and a blizzard was going on, we were told the plow was on its way to Drummond so we started home.  Just a little way out we met the plow coming back.  They stopped us and said the road was too bad for us, that they had not gone all the way through, and to turn around and go back to town.  We stayed with Walter and Rhea Clark that night.  Mr. Niendorf was the bus driver the year it was so bad.  He was about ready to quit because he worried so much about the kids.  He called us a few times from town to tell us he was on his way out and for us to be out to the road to meet the kids when they got there.  This was no idle order.  With it blowing so bad, you could understand that they could become disoriented, lost, and freeze to death.

Our road was not opened up very often but it was a time of celebration when they did open it.  One of the most beautiful sights I ever saw was one night about midnight just after Blaine came in from a meeting.  I was in bed and he came in and told me to come out and look.  There was the rotary truck coming down the road with the moon lighting up the snow as it was being blown out to the side of the road.

One particularly bad winter we were so tired of fighting the snow that we decided we would go to April Conference just to get away from the snow.  We had several children and we had to pack everything out to the road.  The snow was soft enough that we sank in nearly every step we took, and we had to make several trips out to the road.  Finally we were ready to go.  We left the children in Logan, and when we got to Salt Lake, we found lots of snow.  We hadn't even gotten away from it.  A big snowstorm had come and most of the cars on the road were spinning their wheels, but we were able to go ahead fine because of our snow tires.  On the way home I started thinking of having to make all those trips through the field again.  As we came over the hill and looked, we could see the road had been plowed out and we could drive right up to the house!

In 1954 we went to California to see Blaine's brother, Lawrence.  We took Billy, Don, Steve, and Mike with us.  We visited with him and Shirley for a couple of days and then went to see and stay with Blaine's Uncle Acy and Aunt Mae, and my Uncle Clarence and Aunt Lavon.  We called Uncle Clarence and Aunt Lavon and they were so thrilled that we were down there.  They called three of their daughters, Vivian, Virginia, and Doris, and her husband, Spud.  They gave us a wonderful meal and told us to bring our children back the next day when Uncle Acy was going to take us for a tour of the area (Arcadia, Hollywood, etc.) and they would tend the children so we could really enjoy the trip.

It was so good to get to know them as we had never been acquainted with them.  We knew Uncle Clarence and Aunt Lavon but had never known their children.  Cookie was in Provo at the time.  Since then, the girls and some of their spouses have come to some of the Clark Reunions and we have learned to enjoy and appreciate them.  Uncle Acy did take us around the next day and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Blaine worked for William Rogers one winter.  William was a very good friend and he is somewhat of an inventor.  He took his WC Allis Chalmers wheel tractor and put big metal wheels six feet or more high with rubber cleats to go through the snow with.  It was not a very beautiful thing, but it did work.  We had to laugh at his wife, Marva, once when Blaine made a remark about it saying it was an ugly thing.  Marva, as serious as could be, said, "Anything William makes it not very pretty."  William went somewhere for a few days and left his tractor over to our place so Blaine could go out and do William's chores.  Marva called one night saying that her baby had a very high fever and could Blaine bring something out to her that would help bring the fever down.  We lived four miles away and a terrible blizzard was on.  Blaine left and by the time he got there she had resorted to using rubbing alcohol on her son and it did bring the fever down.  I'm sure she was extremely upset because they had already lost one son who had gotten into his grandfathers pills.

William had a twin brother called Willard who was married to Evelyn Clark of Idaho Falls.  He left the ranch and went down around the Falls to farm.  They had a front loading automatic washing machine.  After a few years they started having trouble with it running over.  Evelyn kept telling Willard she wanted a new washer but he just ignored her.  One day she left him home and the washer was going.  The washer was at the top of some stairs.  While there alone, it ran over again.  He had to clean it up.  When she got home, he was ready to buy a new one.  They were told they could get $20 out of the old one.  She thought, "Bonnie can get a lot better use out of this than I can out of $20," so she gave it to me.  I went to Eddie Clark, who sold appliances, and he told me they had used too much soap in it.  "Do not put any soap in this until all this soap is washed off the outside of the tub.  Just use a tablespoon of water softener until the soap is gone."  That is what I did, and the machine did not run over and my clothes were cleaner than they ever had been.  I loved it.  Of all the appliances I have ever had, the automatic washer is the last one I would want to get rid of.  One day when William was at our home, I was bragging about the washer and how it had never run over with me.  I opened the door and water gushed out all over the kitchen.  We had quite a laugh about it, and it did continue to work very well.

A salesman came to the area selling stainless steel kettles for whatever price he could get out of them.  Mostly he was charging up around $700, plus "so you would not use them again, you had to give him all your other kettles."  He gave demonstrations and sold quite a few sets.  We had not been to any of his demonstrations but Blaine told him we would be interested in seeing them, but we would not give up our other kettles and we would not pay more than around $200 for them.  He agreed and I told him I would like a demonstration.  He said, "Fine -just invite three or four couples, have bread here, and I will bring the rest."  Then we set a date.  The date came and I was ready with the bread.  The couples came but no salesman.  When I could see that he would probably not show up, I was so embarrassed, but I was able to call Dale and Zona Parkinson and asked them to pick up some cottage cheese and bring it.  I quickly got some of my canned chicken, creamed it so it could be put on toast.  I had some green peas from the garden, and I don't remember what we had for dessert, but we did make out a nice meal.

We heard nothing from him, and we had given him some money and we had no kettles.  We had Keith Jergensen, a lawyer, write a letter telling the company that we had better get the kettles or else.  The kettles did come but we did not hear from the salesman.  Then one day as I was working in the kitchen, here the fellow came.  He came in happy as a lark trying to be so friendly, and I lit in on him.  The boys were quite small and Blaine was in the bathroom taking a bath.  They ran into the bathroom and excitedly said, "Daddy, Daddy, that man is here and Mommie is talking to him just like she talks to you!"  Blaine quickly got up and dressed and then he came out and lit into the man, too.  His excuse for not coming was that he had a flat tire!  He had nothing to say when we told him he could have called.  He wanted the rest of his money and Blaine told him he would give him $75 and that was all.  The salesman threatened to take us to court, and we told him to go right ahead.  He could see that he would get nowhere with us and so settled for the $75.  I do have to admit that I have liked the kettles quite a bit and now about forty-three years later, we are still using them.

I used to sew all the shirts and pajamas for the boys.  I would make shirts alike for them to wear on the 24th of July.  They would look so cute, and they were easy to keep track of.  When the girls came along, I had so many dresses given to them that I didn't do much for them.  But I did have dresses alike for them for the 24th.

We enjoyed life up to the farm, but we just could not make a living.  In 1959 Blaine's mother, who was living in Logan, suggested that Blaine come down to Logan, go to school, and become a teacher.  She would be living in a Fraternity House where she was working, and we could live in her house that winter.  We had been married eleven years and had nothing to show for it and we were also in debt.  The machinery needed replacing and we had no way of replacing it.  So we rented the house to Mark Albertson and moved to Providence in her home. 

I'm sure it was very hard on Blaine to be back in school.  It was hard on me to be away from my family.  When we moved down there, it was the fad for the boys to shave their heads.  The boys wanted me to shave theirs.  Why I gave in, I don't know, but I did.  The first meal when the kids were all sitting around the table to eat and I saw all those bald heads, I wondered what in the world I had done.  But fortunately, hair grows back, and I don't think they liked it any better than I did.  I did not enjoy it in Logan and I'm sure it was because I had already made up my mind that I wouldn't.  Had I had a positive attitude, I would have undoubtedly been happier.  I used Grandma Hawkes' wringer washing machine and I washed every day but Sunday - up and down those stairs - up and down those stairs - every day until about 2:00 in the afternoon - it seemed a hundred times a day.  I made bread five days out of the week.  I do have to admit the boys were so good about eating bread and milk and peaches every day when they came home for lunch.  And then they got busy and did the dishes before they went back to school.

We made it through the year and were back at the ranch. I remember that first day after we got home I went out on the back steps and sat with the sun beating down on me and thinking how wonderful it was to be back again and away from people.  I just didn't like people living so close and able to watch me every time I went out to work in the garden or do anything.  I did not see any other woman in Providence working out in their gardens - the men all did it - and I was sure they looked down upon me.  It was good to be back home.

Blaine got a job teaching the sixth grade in St. Anthony the next year (1960) and we thought we would finally begin to start getting somewhere.  His wages were $3190 a year.  He drove back and forth each day.  He even made the remark that the drive was a sort of a relaxing time between the kids at school and all our own children at home.  Just at Thanksgiving time our well went dry.  Most of the farmers in the area had put their land into soil bank and the water was not running in the canals.  As a result the underground water level dropped.  We were without water for ten weeks!

Rhea Clark was so good.  On the way to school Blaine would stop at Clark's with three ten gallon milk cans and a batch of clothes.  Walter would fill the cans with water and Rhea washed and dried the clothes.  They would be all ready for Blaine when he stopped to take them home.  Next day - the same thing.  She did that for me every day for ten weeks.  Such a blessed woman.  Walter was also just like a father to Blaine.  Blaine ran his finger through a sprocket in the combine.  Walter came over with his combine and finished the harvesting for us.  It does seem he did this at least two different times.  Walter just passed away June 17, 1998.

The well drillers (The kids called them the well driggers.) came to dig a new well.  We decided that we would just go down the same well and dig deeper.  I discovered that there isn't too much you can do without water.  I sat in front of the big window and sewed and I could watch the drillers.  I would hear the sound of pounding as they went up and down and I would think to myself, "One dollar, two dollars, three dollars, etc."  And it was so cold outside!  I was pregnant with Bob that year and it was a horrible winter.  We bought our first television that winter, and I guess that was the only thing that kept me sane.  The winter was bad.  The first blizzard came in October.  The wind blew all the snow out of the fields and into the road, so since the road was closed, I could not go to church.  The County would open the road by Thursday, and by Sunday it would blizzard again and the road was again closed.  That is the way it happened almost all winter long.

The drillers would come in the house with frost all over their beards.  I invited them in for some refreshment one day and the one fellow asked me if I minded if he smoked.  I did, but I told him to go ahead.  He was blowing smoke rings and our boys watched with big eyes and tried to flip them as they came around.  I was surely embarrassed.  The drillers would get a little water from the well, but they did not think it was a big enough stream.  After they had checked the water level several times, they broke the drill pounder.  We could not give them any more money at that time, so the father said, why not just try it out to see if it was enough, and if it wasn't, they would come back.  He felt so sorry for us and it was just at New Year's time.  He was a member of the Masons and they were having a big dinner in St. Anthony, and he had two tickets which he gave to us and told us to go and have a good time.  What a glorious feeling to have water again!  I have always appreciated it very much since then and tried to be very frugal with it.  It was enough water, and when the neighbors took their fields out of soil bank, it was more than enough.

About this same time (1960 or 1961) my brother Terry had a bad accident when he ran into a cement bridge.  If I am correct, he broke his pelvis, hip, and knee.  He was in the hospital for a very long time, and had several operations.  He ended up with the one leg shorter than the other.   Betty, Mother, and I tried to go to the hospital every week to see him. 

Then there was the time at the ranch during the winter when I heard noises downstairs.  We had heard on the radio of a man named Bill Cook who had gone through several states in the south and had killed someone in every state.  They thought he was in Idaho, reportedly in our part of the state, and they had a road block up in Rexburg to get him.  Blaine was gone and the boys were all taking naps where I heard this noise.  I tried to ignore it but I just kept hearing it.  I knew it was Bill Cook because the safest place for him was off the main road with no way to get to our place except by walking through the field.  I started to go down the basement and the noise stopped.  Heaving a sigh of relief I went back in the house and then I heard it again.  I did this several times and when I just about got there, it sounded like it was coming from upstairs.  We had a shotgun in a gun rack downstairs at the bottom of the stairs.  After several times of going and coming, I knew I had to face him.  I figured that if he was hiding behind the door, I would slam it open and he would be behind it.  I would grab the gun, even though I couldn't reach it, and it wasn't loaded anyway.  I bravely walked down quietly and threw the door open, and then looked behind it.  Nothing - and the noise was definitely coming from upstairs.  I did look through the whole basement and no one was there.  Later we discovered it was a woodpecker I was hearing.  I have laughed many times telling this story.  Your imagination can get the better of you, but I did finally face up to the danger I felt my children and I were in.

We lived at the ranch for three more years after our well trouble.  By that time we could see that we still were not getting along financially.  Blaine came up with the idea that I go back to school and become a teacher.  Half because I was afraid to attempt it and the other half because I thought, "Doesn't he think I do enough?", we made plans to move to St. Anthony in order for me to go to Ricks.  Our four oldest boys moved pipes for Owen Jensen that summer and gave us the money to pay my tuition.  It was greatly appreciated.  After we moved to St. Anthony, Billy also got a job milking cows early in the morning (3:00) for the Packer Dairy.  We spent the summer fixing up the Henderson home in St. Anthony so we could move in.  The Hendersons were so eager to get the other people out that they gave us several months of free rent if we would paint and repair the house.  We moved into the Third Ward.  When Bishop Stanford heard that we were moving to St. Anthony, he called us and told us that if we would move into his ward, he would let Blaine have any job he wanted.  (Blaine was good church material.)

With the size of family we had, it was very hard for us financially and the kids had jobs and had to give it to us so we could make it.  Blaine told them that if they would give it to the family, he would help them to get through college if they needed it.  I know it was very hard for them, but they turned it over to us in good spirit and I suppose you could say that we lived the United Order.  We have so much appreciated them doing that and many of them were able to put themselves through school.  Even though I felt so badly that they had to do this, I feel that it was a blessing to us and to them.  One year when they were working in the spuds, and they were so tired of doing dishes, they put the money they earned together and bought a dishwasher.

Blaine put the cow two blocks away on the edge of town.  Elmer Nelson owned the house and when the year was about over, he asked Blaine if he would like to buy the house.  They were going up to Coeur D Alene and buy a motel.  He had been in  World War II, gotten malaria, and now had a running sore in the middle of his back.  He had been in the hospital several times.  Blaine said we would love to but there was no way we could do it.  He said if we wanted to, we would find a way.  We began working on a FHA loan but it was very slow.  Then one morning we heard the devastating news that he had committed suicide.  He had found out that he had to go to the hospital again.  He knew that if he went to the hospital, the money from the house would go to pay the hospital bill and they would not be able to buy the motel.  So he decided to take his own life so the family would be able to take care of themselves.  I think the Lord would be kind in a situation like this.

This stopped everything on our buying the house, but Mrs. Nelson told us we could rent the house for a few months and it could be used as payment on the house when we could go ahead with it.  So we moved down.  It was a three story frame house built in 1918.  We all learned to love the home.  It is right in the middle of the schools and Blaine only had to walk across the street to go to school.  In years since, the children have brought their friends there and insisted they take a tour through the house no matter what condition it was in.  Our neighbor boy came over and asked us if he could buy the house.  Some of our grandchildren have also expressed a desire to have our house.  It has held a lot of happy memories for us.

While at the Henderson house (1963-64), I had gone to school at Ricks.  My friend, Verlean Davis Barclay was also going to school, and that made it so much easier for me.  It had been seventeen years since I had been in school and I was used to having an ear alert listening and thinking about the children.  I thought my mind would be on them and I would not be alert for school.  Not so!  It was so interesting to me that I never thought of the family until I came home at night.  I took classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so that I could be home as much as possible.  I was able to do this all of the first year and the first semester the next year, but second semester I had to be there every day as I was doing my student teaching.  I was able to graduate and teach on a provisional as Blaine had done, but we had to keep working on taking classes.

Dad had always taught us the value of honesty, and I seem to be blessed with a conscience that hurts even when it doesn't need to.  There were several other older women going to school and we would study together for a test.  In our Physical Science class one of the women had tests from other years but it was legal as all the teachers knew tests were passed around so they never gave the same tests.  One particular time we were studying from a test and when we actually took the test, it was the same exact one.  It just about killed me.  The others felt bad but didn't want to do anything about it.  After the test, Blaine picked me up and we went to Idaho Falls.  I talked so much about it that he said, "If it is bothering you so much, we will just stop on the way home and you can talk to the teacher."  So I called him up when we got back to Rexburg and I went to his home to talk to him.  I told him what had happened, although I did not mention any of the other's names, but he knew we all studied together.  He said, "I know there are tests out there, but it had been so many years since I had used that particular one, that I thought there could not be any around any more so I used it.  Just go home and after I check the papers, I'll decide what to do and I appreciate you telling me."  So I went home feeling better.  When the tests were handed back I had missed one or two and got an A minus on it.  The other women got a higher grade than me, but when our report cards came out, I received an A and the other women got an A minus.  This is just one more thing to prove "Honesty is the Best Policy."

I got a job the next fall of 1965 teaching the second grade in Parker.  I was so frightened my first day of teaching, but it did not take long to feel quite confident.  I enjoyed teaching.  I was known as a strict teacher, but I have had many thanks for what I have done for the students I had.  I taught second grade nineteen years and fifth grade for five years.

After I started teaching, Blaine went to BYU for the next two summers to finish up his Bachelor's Degree and I went back to Logan and finished mine up the next two years, graduating in 1970.  Richard, Blaine's brother, graduated at the same time.  We continued taking night classes so we could be paid more.  We took classes together when possible, and took some summer workshops at BYU a few times.

In the summer of 1966 Blaine got a government grant to take a summer school class at Moscow, Idaho.  It was to be for five weeks and he was paid according to how many children he had.  He was given $1100.  We planned that he would go up there with his mother who had been a dorm mother at Ricks but had had a heart attack and could recover up there.  I would then come up with the kids when his five weeks were over, and we would take a trip over to the coast and down into California.  We were able to see Blaine's brothers, Lawrence, and also David, who was serving a mission there. I can't imagine me being so brave as to start out on a trip to Moscow without Blaine, but Billy was such a big help to me.  We were pulling a trailer house and the car kept vapor locking on us as we tried to go over the high passes.  Then after we picked up Blaine and his mother (she had her car), the boys were not near as cooperative with me.  At mealtime I would take all the sleeping bags out of the trailer house so there was enough room to cook the meal.  The boys would sit around outside clanking their glasses and saying, "When will dinner be ready?"  I would have put them to work but there was not enough room in the trailer for anyone else but me.

One night we stopped at a campground; we were all tired and hungry.  After taking all the sleeping bags out, I begrudgedly started getting something to eat.   The boys started clanging the glasses and I was getting after them.  Blaine would talk to them in a sweet voice.  After we had all eaten and I had cleaned things up, I gathered up the dirty clothes and went to the laundry room.  The lady in the camp next to ours was in there and she started asking me where we were from and other questions.  I told her that our oldest boy was a senior and this would probably be the last time we would be able to do something like this together, and we wanted to give the kids a trip they would always remember.  She replied, "And one you will never forget!"  She also asked me what Blaine did for a living and I told her he was a teacher.  "Oh," she said, "He is so soft spoken, I thought he must be a priest."  I didn't say it, but I thought, "And I wonder what you think I am!"

Grandma saved the day, though, because she took turns taking the boys in her car so I got peace once in a while.  It was a good trip, however, and we didn't have any more car trouble until we got home.  The next morning we looked out back and we had a flat tire.  It was timed well.

In 1968 Blaine was put in as the Bishop of the St. Anthony Fourth Ward.  He was a very good bishop, he loved all the people and they loved him.  I don't think I have ever heard so much love expressed for a bishop than we heard about him.  He worked and always has worked with the young people.  While he was Bishop, they were building a new stake center.  Our ward made a quilt and anyone who wanted to contribute to it, had their name printed on the quilt.  It had a tree painted on it and the names were written on the leaves.  When it was all over, the ward council wanted to surprise Blaine and gave it to him.  He got a hint of what was happening, and he was so glad because he said that when they presented it to him in Sacrament Meeting, he was able to control his tears.

Steve was very good at wrestling and took first in the state in his weight.  One month after the state tournament, on March 19, 1969, he was high jumping at school and broke his neck between the fifth and sixth vertebrae, paralyzing him.  He was taken to Salt Lake to LDS Hospital where the doctor drilled two holes in his skull, and quickly put him in traction with thirty pounds of weight, trying to bring the bones back in place.  They operated twice on his neck - once in the front and once in back.  The doctor said he took out literally hundreds of little bone fragments.  Feeling started coming back after the second operation on about the ninth of April.  They then put him in a cast that left the top of his head out so the holes could heal, and left his face out.  The cast came down to where, when he sat in his wheelchair, he could not sit up straight. I had ridden down with him in the ambulance.  I shall always be grateful to Helen Birch, the nurse, who held his neck, which was supported with sand bags, all the way down so no more damage would be done.  I was also grateful for the ambulance driver who talked to me the entire time in order to keep my mind from worrying.  I stayed down with Steve for about two and a half weeks and after that we went down on the weekends.  It was exciting to see him every weekend and see the improvement he had made.  He called us every night.  

That summer I stayed with Grandma Hawkes while I went to summer school in Logan.  I went to Salt Lake every Wednesday afternoon to see him.  On Friday night I again went to pick him up and take him home to St. Anthony with me for the weekend, and on Sunday take him back to the hospital and then I'd go back to Logan.  It was a long summer.  I was also taking more classes than I should have but the Lord saw me through it.  Although my grades were not as good as they should have been, I was still able to graduate cum de laude.  We brought Steve home August 17 ready for him to go to school.  He was supposed to use a wheelchair so he would not get accidently knocked over by the other students, but Stephanie Stone followed him around with it for a week and finally gave up on him using it.  It was a sad time for the whole family but it was also a wonderful experience knowing of all the love and concern and service that everyone in our community and other communities gave to the family.  We became a closer family as a result of it and Steve has also benefitted because he is now such a fine and caring person.  He is a counselor in the Sugar City Schools and with the compassion he has for others, he does much good and everyone loves him

One of the most exciting experiences I've had is watching our sons wrestle.  Steve was the first.  He started out at the end of his Junior year.  He was not really interested in wrestling, but his coach told him he would be a better football player if he did.  His Senior year he told me he was going to take State.  Thinking he would be disappointed, I told him it was good to make high goals, but maybe he ought to start with one not quite so high.  But he said he was going to take State.  I doubt that he ever lost a match that year.  Sometimes he would take his opponent down and then let him up so that he could see how many points he could build up.  Other times he would see how fast he could pin them.  Driggs always won most every match for their team.  The night we wrestled them we were up to Driggs and Steve was up against a two year champion.  We had lost every event mostly because they were so good, but also because the referee was so large and would not get down on the mat to see what was going on.  First the Dalley boy would take Steve down, and then Steve took him down, then back to the Dalley boy.  This went on for the three rounds and the crowd going absolutely wild.  It was hard on me, too.  When the match was over Steve was on top so he won but I'm convinced that if it had lasted any longer, the Dalley boy would have been on top.  Then the crowd really went wild and the South Fremont team ran to Steve and put him up on their shoulders and packed him around.  He was so exhausted that he fell back in a laying down position on their shoulders.  Driggs was quite disturbed about their "champion" losing.  Afterwards we talked to some of our friends from Driggs, and in quite an angry voice said, "Well, Greg just never loses!"  I did not say it, but thought, "Well, he certainly lost tonight."  Betty and Morris came to St. Anthony one night to watch Steve wrestle and within two seconds he had his opponent pinned.  Betty said, "I demand a rerun!  I've been cheated!"  When he went to State he was the only wrestler in all three classes that pinned every one of his opponents.

Jeff wrestled, too.  He worked in the drug store so he could help Billy on his mission and when Billy came home, Jeff started to wrestle.  He had an entirely different style every time he went into the ring.  His opponent never knew what to expect of him so they were always afraid of him.  Sometimes he would come out looking as mean and vicious as possible.  Other times he would dance out.  He won all his matches and said himself that he had to lose because his head was getting so big.  One night in Idaho Falls when the kids told him he had to win or the team would lose, he was so upset knowing that it depended on him, that he lost to someone he had already beat.  He went to State also, and came home with third place, and we were very proud of him.

Philip wrestled also.  He was very small and a very good wrestler.  The coach was anxious for him because he knew Phil could take them all.  That was the year Phil decided to start growing, and the coach wanted him to lose too much weight which weakened him.  He felt bad when he lost and that seemed to happen when we were there.  I guess we made him nervous.  I asked him if he would like us to stay home and his answer was, "Well, if you would just come, but just don't let me know you are there."  He had a very exciting match against a Nedrow boy from Ashton who had taken State the year before.  Phil put him down and pinned him so fast that the Nedrow boy had no time to think.  Nedrow was very upset. Phil also went to State and came home with either fifth or sixth.  We were very proud of him, also.

Bob came next.  He told me he would kind of like to play basketball but he knew I would be disappointed if he didn't wrestle so that is what he did.  Since he was the last, everyone supported him.  He did very well, also.  Two very exciting matches he had was with Corey Knapp of Ashton and an Indian boy from Rigby -  Crowfoot.  Bob went to State and took third.  All the family went to see him and even Billy, his brother, was there as he was living near Boise at the time.  I have greatly missed those exciting times watching our boys wrestle.

Billy was not much interested in sports.  He enjoyed singing and being in the band.  Don did go out for some of the practices for wrestling and he did take choir, also.  He would probably have been very good at wrestling had his mother let him continue.  I've always been sorry about that.  Mike was wild about basketball.  When I tried to talk him into wrestling, he said if he did nothing but play basketball when they practiced, that was good enough for him.  I didn't go to the basketball games much because we had a losing team and Mike would play about one or two minutes at the end of the game.  The girls all played volleyball and I am sorry I did not go to watch them (We went only once).  They have let me know that I did not support them as I did the boys.  They played table tennis while in Junior High and were very good.  In fact, Cindy played against Mrs. Parish, the teacher, and Cindy beat her.  Mrs. Parish was very upset and would not play with her again.

All of our boys received their eagle awards except Don.  He was working good on his but he got infection in his ears.  He could not go swimming and get his ears wet.  The scout committee insisted that he could not waive it so Don lost interest.  After a year or two they decided he could do an alternate merit badge, but by now it was too late -  Don had lost interest.  The girls were all very much involved in the leadership of Young Women's.

I graduated from school in 1970, and when I came home Blaine told me he was going to start a summer program for the next summer.  I pleaded and begged him to give me just one summer to rest up, but he said, "No."  So we bought a used school bus and a van and painted them brown.  They did look nice.  When Blaine tried to buy a license, they didn't know what kind to give him so they just gave him a regular truck license.  We remodeled the house to include two bathrooms and remodeled the kitchen to accommodate two stoves as I would be cooking for big groups.  Blaine spent a good deal of time and money trying to drum up business in the large cities where people had money.  That summer he had several boys who came and each week he went out to different areas canoeing and camping and trying to educate them a little.  He called the Program "Fremont Outdoor Education and Recreation".

It didn't really flop but it didn't go too well, either.  The next spring Glenda, Richard's wife, came to us and asked us to take a group of about forty Young Women to the Manti Pageant.  They had been told that it would cost them $30 apiece to rent a bus and then they would still have to dig up the money for motels and food.  We figured it up that we could do the whole thing for $30 because we could stay at campgrounds and we had a stove in the bus that we could cook the meals.  We figured up a menu and schedule.  We would stop the first night at Lagoon for a fun night.  We then went on to Manti and camped there, saw the pageant at night, and headed home, stopping at Lava Hot Springs for a swim on the way home.  It was a fun trip for the girls, and exhausting for us.  We had all the suitcases on top of the bus and then covered with a tarp.  As we were heading into Salt Lake, it was raining cats and dogs.  The water in the street was at least a foot high and kids were out in it just having the most fun time.  It rained so hard and fast that the water got under the tarp and wet the suitcases and even got the clothes wet inside the suitcases.  It was a mess and we did have some angry parents for ruining the suitcases, but the girls had such a spiritual experience and fun time that all was forgiven.  It was probably the most fun trip we had. We cooked up as much food as we could ahead of time, and using the two refrigerators in the bus, we were able to spend only one hour stopping to feed everyone.

But another problem came up.  The bus company did not like us taking their business away from them so we had to go to a hearing to decide what to do about our licenses.  It caused Blaine a lot of stress, but it was finally settled and we were able to continue on.  We began taking two trips a year to Manti because so many of the wards wanted to take their young people.  Those trips made more money for us than any other, but it took more preparation and it was more tiring.  It would take us two days to prepare, three days to go, and two more days to clean up after it.  Blaine made other trips  to take people canoeing or camping.  He made several trips to Shoshone Lake.  We even made a trip to the World's Fair in Spokane.

We used two buses while going to Spokane.  Most of the people were from our own families.  Norma, Fred and family, Ray, Leah Belle, and family, Walter and Rhea Clark, and our own family went.  We had several incidents that made the trip memorable such as my macaroni casserole spilling out all over the floor when Blaine came to a sudden stop.  Then Norma and Fred losing four year old Nathan twice at the fair.  When we found him, he said, "I wasn't lost.  You were."  Coming home as we drove along Clearwater River, I had a hard time figuring out why they called it Clearwater.  I have never seen such dirty water in my life.  We stopped in Orifino to camp for the night.  The policeman told us that we could park in their city park but that they were expecting the river to rise by morning, and since the park was just below the river, we would have to get out early.  Next morning around five or six, Kelly Hawkes, Ray's son, ran from one tent to another like Chicken Little calling, "The water is coming, the water is coming."  We quickly ate cold cereal, took down the tents, loaded the bus and drove out with the water running just a few feet behind us.  Blaine made the remark, "I said I would get this program going come hell or high water.  We have had the hell (referring to the bus companies trying to put us out of business), and now here comes the high water."

We ran the program for ten years from 1970 to 1980.  By this time our children were out of the home so we were doing most of it alone, and we were both worn out. 

July 10, 1972, Dad passed away.  It was very hard for him when he had to retire and not able to work as he had always done.  He started helping Mother with the garden and they grew a lot of raspberries.  He finally could not even do that.  Treena was going to be married so Mother and Dad had gone to Idaho Falls to buy him some shoes for the wedding.  He came home and was tired so laid down on the couch.  Mother went out to work with her flowers for a while.  When she came in, he was gone - he had just gone to sleep.  He was a wonderful father.

After Billy received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine in 1979, he accepted a job working for the USDA and was in Puerto Rico when it was time for Percy to be baptized.  Percy wrote and asked us to come to the baptism.  Steve was living with us at the time and told us he would buy the tickets for us since he was living at home and not paying any rent.  He got tickets that could go anywhere in the United States and Puerto Rico for twenty-one days.  We met Billy in Washington D. C. where he was attending a meeting, and went on to Puerto Rico with him for ten days.  We enjoyed Washington D. C. very much and felt pride and respect for our great nation.  We enjoyed being with Billy, Luisa, and family.  Billy took us to San Jose and we were able to go through the old fort.  Coming back to the United States, we stopped and visited St. Augustine, went to Rochester, New York, and saw where the Joseph Smith family lived and the Sacred Grove.  We visited Disney World and Sea World.  Next stop was Niagara Falls and more old forts.  I was greatly impressed with the knowledge our tour guides had.  In fact, I was very impressed with their friendliness and the friendliness of all the other tourists.  Ready to come home we stopped in Raleigh Durham in North Carolina to visit Teresa Kulbeth Hocking and her husband.  They took two days off work and showed us many interesting places there.  It was all good, but the most impressive one was a big museum with hundreds of musical instruments and machines that were large and small and automatically played.  It was kind of like a nickelodeon.  It was a very good trip which we appreciated.

I was sustained as the activity leader of the Third Ward in 1985.  Within a year or two I decided the ward needed an activity that would challenge them, and decided we would hike up to Table Rock.  I invited all who wanted to participate to sign up.  Fifty-nine people took the challenge, but some of them were from other wards.  President Thurgood was the bishop and Phil was his counselor and they came with us.  My cousin, Garnot, was sixty-seven at the time and she was determined to reach the top.  She went so fast that Phil had a hard time to keep up to her.  She was the oldest one and the youngest to make it was about six.  I would say that at least fifty people made it to the top. 

The last quarter mile was broken shale and pretty steep.  When I got there, there sat Betty Bell.  I said, "Come on, Betty, let's go."  She said, "I had an interview with the Lord and He told me that my getting to the Celestial Kingdom  did not depend on my getting to Table Rock.  And, even if it did, I am not going any further!" 

Next morning in church I received a few black looks from those who were stiff and sore as they tried to move, but it wasn't long until they were saying with pride that they had made it to the top.

Blaine was Bishop of the Fourth Ward for six years and was then made the scout master. May 18, 1975, he was made the Executive Secretary in the stake for President Robert Smith.  After six years, Sept 20, 1981 until Sept. 23, 1990, he was called in the Stake Presidency as the First Counselor with President Kunz and Grant Chandler and they served for nine years.

During this time, June 5, 1976, the Teton Dam broke and we had The Great Teton Dam Flood.  Jeff had just gotten married on the third and we were in Meridian for their reception.  As we were about ready to come home, we heard the news that the dam had broken and St. Anthony was flooded out.  My first thought was of my mother who was living alone in her trailer house.  We later found out that St. Anthony was not hurt, but that Wilford, Sugar City, and Rexburg were all washed out.  By evening I got word from my sister, Helen, in Pocatello, that everyone was fine.  Next day we came home the back way by Dubois.  Steve had stayed home from Meridian and he went over to the Stake Center to take his dad's place at the Stake Center as it was set up as a relief and help center by the Stake President.  When we got home, Blaine immediately went over to relieve Steve and he stayed there most of the time for two weeks.  After that time, Elder Tom Perry and Rep. George Hansen came to look the situation over.  Blaine and I were then able to go with them and view some of the damage.

Members and non-members from Utah and other places came to help with the cleanup.  What an organization that handled things so well!  And the people themselves who lost everything had such a humble spirit about them.  I only heard of two or three families that were angry about their situation.  Our children helped the Ray Hawkes family salvage what they could.  Each night Ray would stop at our house on their way to the ranch to pick up a batch of bread I had made for them.  I did tons of washing at that time.  Sometimes he gave his kids a little extra time at our house to go out and play volleyball for just a little recreation.  I felt so badly for all who had lost so much that I felt guilty for having not lost anything or even for having a lawn around our house.  The time following was a growing time for the faith of the communities.

Mother passed away August 4,1985, on her and Dad's anniversary.  I thought it a very appropriate time to be with Dad again.  Two months later October 2, 1985, Helen passed away from cancer.  Then July 19, 1986, Terry had a heart attack while mowing his lawn and died.  I made the remark that it looked like Mother was bound and determined to get the whole family there with her.  Morris, Betty's husband, had passed away September 23, 1984.   

Blaine and I retired from teaching school in May of 1989.  He had taught sixth grade for twenty-nine years and I had taught second and fifth grade for twenty-four years.  Blaine was more than anxious to retire, but I wanted to teach another year or two but Blaine said "No", we would retire together.  So we did.  And we did enjoy it.  We told them we would not substitute and we were kept so busy that we wondered how we had ever taught school.

After Dad died, Mother bought a house right to the side of ours.  After she passed away and we sold her house, we wondered what to do with "our inheritance".  I think we had about two thousand dollars apiece.  I suggested that since she had told us in the hospital to continue getting together like we always had, and Dad had always wanted to go back to Burke's Garden, Virginia, where his family came from, why not take the money and take a trip to Virginia together.  Everyone agreed so in 1990 Billy and Margie, Burke and Melba, Betty and Garnot, and Blaine and I flew to Washington D.C.  We spent a couple of days in Washington, rented a van and drove to Burke's Garden, Virginia.  We were met by Bert and Shirley Clark and some of his family as soon as we got to the motel.  We had never met them before and didn't even know they existed until just a few months before that.  They were so thrilled to meet us and we were just as thrilled to meet them.  Bert and Shirley had spent twenty-one years doing genealogy work and knew every ancestor by name and all about them.  For the very first time in his working life, he took the next day off and took us about showing us all the places where our ancestors lived, where they were buried, and talked non-stop for thirteen hours telling us everything he knew.  All you had to do was mention a name and he knew everything about them.  That night as he was telling us goodbye, he had tears in his eyes.  It was very touching.

This was a very fun trip and we had so much fun together.  We stayed in the same room with Betty and Garnot, and Blaine would just shake his head and say he could never figure out how these three women could read their books and carry on a never ending conversation all at the same time.  We visited the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. and Billy was able to see one of the old Flying Tiger planes like the one he had flown during the war.  One little girl, upon learning that he had flown one of those planes, asked him for his autograph and it thrilled Billy.  We felt that both Mother and Dad heartily approved of that trip for us.

Billy and Margie had prepared for this trip by walking in the mall every day so they were in good shape.  After we came home Billy's health steadily became worse until the following March 21, 1991, he passed away.  We were so glad to have taken the trip with him.

About 1988 or 1989, our children set us down at Thanksgiving time and told us that they had been saving money for a year for us to go on a mission, and they now had $8000 saved!  We were both completely shocked!  Don had talked to the others and said that Dad and Mom are going to want to go on a mission and they needed to start a fund.  By the time we left, they had it up to $11,000.  We retired from teaching June 1989, and Blaine was released from the Stake Presidency September 23, 1990.  A couple of days after he was released, Salt Lake Family History called and asked us to come right down and work for them.  Blaine told them we wanted to wait and go in September of 1991 as we had to get things in order and so that we could go to Israel.  Not long after that Brother Wells told us that they needed someone in Canada right away and we could go there if we wanted.  Blaine again told him that we were not ready and that we wanted to go where the Lord wanted us to go.  When we did get our call to go to the Micronesia, Guam Mission, Brother Wells said, "Now don't blame me.  You wanted to go where the Lord wanted you, so I don't want to hear any complaining!"

Bob had spent a semester in Israel and loved it so much that he had determined that he was going to take us.  He and Sharlene had lined up a trip for the Hawkes and Wells to go in June 1991.  Twenty-three people were going - just a small group - the right size.  One week before we were to leave, Blaine had a heart attack.  I took him to the hospital in Rexburg.  Blaine told the doctor that we were going to Israel and he would have to have him better by Sunday when we were leaving.  The doctor just laughed and told him he was not going.  Next day they sent him on to Idaho Falls to the hospital and told him that he needed a double bypass.  We waited two or three days but the surgeon never came in and it was here the Lord started taking over and things were completely out of our hands.

First, one of the men who worked there  confidentially told Blaine to not have the bypass done in Idaho Falls.  I called Paul Romrell who had his done in Salt Lake and he told me he was so glad I had called.  He strongly advised me to have it done in Salt Lake.  The phone rang right after that and it was Bob telling me that we needed to come to Salt Lake to have it done and he would have Brother Wells make arrangements with Elder Nelson's staff of doctors.  Arrangements were quickly made and Blaine was flown down.  Dr. Doty met him as he came in the LDS Hospital and said he had looked at the angiogram and it showed that Blaine definitely needed the operation.   He said, "It is Saturday afternoon and I am not busy  and could do it now, or if you would rather wait, we can do it Monday."  Blaine responded, "Let's do it now."  Steve drove me down in the car and when we got there, all the kids living in Utah were there and the operation was all over. 

Bob, Betty, and Margie were pretty tearful as they said goodbye to us in the hospital the next morning.  Bob had planned the whole trip for us and now we couldn't go and they all had to leave or would lose their money.  Bob called again from New York to make sure his dad was all right and then they were off over the ocean.  Blaine had a miserable time in the hospital but by the end of the week, Mike brought us home in his van. 

We stopped every once in a while for Blaine to rest or go to the rest room.  He was still on oxygen.  When we got close to Smith and Edwards, he said he had to go to the rest room and to stop there.  Mike and I tried to tell him that a rest stop was just ahead but he was determined.  We gave in and then we discovered that he really wasn't that bad off rest room wise - he just wanted to stop and buy a canoe!  Well, he looked so pathetic that I would have given anything for a picture.  He was holding his head way out so his shirt would not touch his incision.  I had forgotten a belt and his pants were way too big for him since he had lost so much weight during his stay in the hospital.  He had to hold his pants up with both hands.  Of course, his color wasn't too good, either.  He was a sight to behold!  He bought the canoe and had them put the it on top of the van and headed home.  At Blackfoot we stopped at the rest stop again.  Blaine was tired so he put a blanket down on the grass and laid down to sleep a while.  He got up and took his first step off the grass as the automatic sprinklers went on.  He had almost been soaked.

By now I was sure that we might not even go on a mission, or at least they would postpone it, but definitely not to Micronesia so far away from home.  They only told us that everyone there was laid back and it would be the best place for us to go.  By the time we went, Blaine was feeling quite good.

We reported to the mission home September 16, 1991.  When we got there, they told us that we were not to be there until the next week, but when we showed them our papers, they said they would find room for us.  We stayed the two weeks learning how to give discussions and eating the most delicious food you could ever imagine.  I'm sure everyone who goes there goes away much heavier.  When the two weeks were over, they told us that we were not to be in Guam until another week so we could stay in Salt Lake with relatives or go home for a week.   We were able to be to Megan's baptism in Bountiful and back here to St. Anthony to help bless Stacey who had been born while we were in the MTC (mission home - Empty Sea as Megan called it).

There was another tearful session as our family came to tell us goodbye at the airport.  We must have caused quite a scene because as we were heading for the plane one of the passengers asked us where we were going.  After we told him, he said he had always wanted to go on a mission with his wife, but after seeing the kids all tell us goodbye, he had about changed his mind.  We flew on to Hawaii and as we were leaving, I asked one of the attendants what the time difference was between Hawaii and Guam.  He looked at my name tag, smiled, and said, "I'd say about eighteen months."

We were met at Guam by President and Sister Nord and one of their counselors.  We were there a few days for training and then on to Chuuk where we were to spend the rest of the time.  We had a Leadership Training and Reactivation calling.  Chuuk is a place where food is plentiful just for the taking and the people are very poor.  Their homes are just one room wooden or cement houses with no furniture at all - just a shelf to hold all their belonging and they sit and sleep on the floor.  They are a beautiful and sweet people.  Our home or apartment was one of the best in the entire mission, but the poor elders were not so lucky.  (We have my journal, newsletters written home, and photo books for anyone interested in reading them.)

Coming home from our mission, we stopped over in Los Angeles and were surprised to see Phil, Diane, and kids at the airport to meet us.  We enjoyed seeing and visiting with them for a while.  Then we flew on to Salt Lake to see the rest of the family.  As we came into the airport building, there our family stood cheering with signs and yellow ribbons.  The people around us just seemed to move aside and make room for us.  It was good to see them all again.  After we had hugged and kissed them all, one of the kids told me to look over there, and there sat Betty, Burke, and Melba grinning and enjoying watching the proceedings.  I knew Betty would be there as she was serving a mission in the Family History Center in Salt Lake, but I did not know if Burke would feel good enough so he and Melba could make it.  That made the reunion complete.  The kids then took us out to the new-used Park Avenue Buick they had gotten for us and when we were at Cindy's, Alan handed us an envelope from Steve with $500 in it to spend while we were in Salt Lake. 

We also discovered later that the family had paid for all of our mission, paid off our house mortgage, and had the money for us to build a garage.  It does pay for Steve to be in charge of our money.

The Bishopric came to see us the night that we got home.  They said they had been waiting for us because they wanted Blaine to be the new scoutmaster.  They asked me to be the ward music director.  The Relief Society President just happened to be walking by as we drove up to our home, and she came over and gave me a beat to visit.  No rest for the weary!

After coming home, it seemed we were on the road all the time between St. Anthony and Utah.  Two months later it caught up to me and I got the dizzies in my head and phlebitis in my leg.  I have never been left so utterly helpless in my life.  Although I already knew what a blessing good health and the ability to work were, it was brought very strongly to my attention at this time.  It would be terrible to not be able to work.  Once I got over my head and leg problem, I felt good but very weak.  How happy I was the morning I got up and actually felt energy.  It took three months for me to be on top of it.

We have had several trips that we have enjoyed.  In June 1978 we went to the dedication of the Women's Monuments in Nauvoo.  Betty was going and asked us if we wanted to go.  We went and took Grandma Hawkes with us.  It was a fun and very informative trip back through church history, also visiting the town that Mark Twain lived in.  It was also my very first airplane trip. 

1975 took us to Mexico.  Billy had moved down there to go to school.  They had taken Steve's pickup and Steve, Bob, Blaine, and I took a volkswagen down to trade them for the pickup.  It was quite an interesting trip and can be read in Bob's history.  We left the girls home to take care of things plus the garden, and we have never heard the end of it of how we took Steve and Bob, but not them.  

Philip worked for the airport for a while in Las Vegas while he lived there around 1987 or 88.  We gave us free tickets to go anywhere we wanted in the United States.  We went to Mesa, Arizona to visit with our friends, Willard and Evelyn Rogers, and Jack and Elaine Strong.  We also visited with President and Sister Lewis while there.  We went to Washington to visit our friends, Neil and Katherine Smith.  We went to Boston, Massachusetts to see Bob and Sharlene and visited with Bill, Luisa, and family in Washington, D.C.  We had a good time at all of these.

When Billy graduated and received his doctoral in Veterinary work from Mexico, we went down to the border to bring them home.  We took nine days to get there, stopping to see several friends along the way.  We stopped to see my cousin, Paddy Garver, in Show Low, Arizona.  He is a doctor and was raising his seven children by himself since his wife had passed away.  He was a national champion boxer at Idaho State University and had built a training building by his home for some boys that he was training for the Olympics.  Mohammed Ali had been there and Paddy had offered his place for his training for an upcoming fight.  His home was on the edge of the forest.  He had a beautiful place.

Just before going on our mission, Blaine and I decided to take a little trip to  Glacier National Park.  We took our travel trailer and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  We went in our New Yorker that my brother Terry had sold us. 

In February 1994, a year after coming home from our mission, Billy was again living and working in Mexico City.  We visited them for two weeks and they took us around to see all the Book of Mormon ruins - Pyramid of the Sun, etc, where he was on his mission, museums, and the great markets where you could find every kind of food imaginable.  We had a very good time and we were pleased with how they were raising their family.

April 22, 1994, just a month after we got home from Mexico, Bob and Sharlene took us to Israel.  We visited Egypt first for two or three days.  Egypt was very interesting and was somewhat like what we had seen in Mexico.  We visited all the very important places that Christ had been in Israel and we had a very spiritual experience in all places we visited.  The BYU building in Israel is very beautiful and we were able to attend a district conference while there with President Faust and Elder Holland being the visiting brethren.  It was there as I was listening to a lady talk, that I knew for sure that I did have a testimony.  I have always known it but never had the burning that so many people talk about.  She explained that that was how she had always felt and had come to realize that since she had always had it, she did not have to have that burning.  As we waited at the airport in New York on our way home, we saw Vaughn Featherstone waiting also.  We went up to speak with him and saw him reading a Zane Grey book.  After we had visited a minute, he looked me in the eye and said, "You are a good woman.  I mean you are a very good woman."  That was such a thrilling and yet humbling experience.

After Christmas of 1996, Ray, Leahbelle, Blaine and I went on a cruise to Hawaii and Tahiti.  Hawaii was very interesting - especially Pearl Harbor and the Punch Bowl cemetery.  We were on the "Loveboat" for five days on our way to Tahiti.  The night shows were excellent and the tours we took to different places were also very good.  Our companions at our dinner table were two couples from Michigan.  We became very good friends and they came to visit with us the following summer.  We had a wonderful time with them.

I went on a cruise with Betty to the Mexican Riviera in December of 1988.  The Salt Company was giving her the trip.  Neither one of us were very anxious to go, but Betty felt she needed to because of the business.  We again enjoyed the night shows and the tours, but felt a little like "little old ladies" among a group of partiers.

I have held many positions in the church.  I worked in the Primary, Mutual,  Sunday School, and as the Young Women's President, Relief Society President, Visiting Teacher, Ward Activity Chairman, Ricks College Stake Relief Society, and as a missionary.  I supported Blaine in all his calling.  When he was in the Bishopric in Marysville, President Lewis told him that my place was at home with the children and my time would come to serve. 

The summer of 1997 President Thurgood called us to be the directors of a Family History Center that they were going to start in St. Anthony.  We were set apart as missionaries August 1, 1997.  We are slowly learning how to run the computers.  We are enjoying this work and hope to be of service to our ancestors by researching and linking us all together.

This past July 21, 1998 was our fiftieth wedding anniversary.  Our children planned a big celebration to be held on the 24th after the parade.  With a little encouragement from them, we were chosen to be the Grand Marshalls at the parade.  We rode in a buggy with Bob and Adam driving Bob's horse.  When we passed by the kids, they all stood and gave up a standing ovation.  People cheered and clapped as we went by.  It was wonderful.  The Roxy marque said Happy 50th, Blaine and Bonnie From Your Kids and invited anyone to come over to our house after the parade if they would like.  Many people came over and it was wonderful to see everyone.  Many of our children's friends that we had not seen in a long time came over and we appreciated it.  It was good to see them again.  The kids served root beer floats to everyone.  Steve had made a video of our family which will be choice for us in the years to come. The weather was wonderful.  It had been so hot for so long that we were worried, but it was nice and cool during the parade and afterwards.

The next day everyone met at The Place.  Again the weather was just right. The kids had prepared a program.  Each family got up and acted out some incident in our life.  They were all very good, but I'm sure everyone would agree that Bob and Sharlene brought down the house with Blaine's and my conversations during meal time about the dogs and Harwood.  Then Sharlene sang a song she had written in honor of our 50th and as she sang the verses, all the kids stood and sang the chorus.  By then the tears were flowing freely.  We were then presented with a book with letters from all our family and some friends.  It was overwhelming.

As a 50th anniversary gift, the children have given us a trip to South America which we will take after Christmas.  They have been so good to us.

Having ten children in thirteen and a half years has not been an easy job. I have let I Nephi 3:7 guide my life.  "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."  As you may well imagine, both of us have had to work very hard.  I helped Blaine in the fields when he needed me and Blaine helped in the house and with the children except when putting in the crops or in harvesting.  He was always very good to tend the kids while I had a day off to visit Mother and my sisters.  After I started to school, he did everything he could to help me and make my life easier.  While the children were young, I put all of them down for a nap at the same time, and I rested at that time.  This is probably the reason why I was able to handle all I had to do.

The Lord also certainly helped make me equal to the task.  Some people may think that I have been tested.  I'm sure Blaine has been tested, but I don't really feel I have.  That is just life - sometimes easy and sometimes hard.  I know I have "murmured" a lot, but I have enjoyed life.  I do need to stop murmuring.  As the children were growing up, I became upset over little things that happened, but when bigger things came along, I was able to remain more calm and handle them much better.

One year was particularly hard on me.  I had a emotionally disturbed child in school, Harwood, who left all the teachers emotionally disturbed after teaching him.  I also was having a difficult time at home because I never seemed to be able to get my work done there.  Much as I loved my children and appreciated seeing them, they visited or called so much that I could never get my house cleaned.  My thoughts went something like this - "I have devoted thirty-five years to my family and I ought to be able to think of myself now.  I am going to start taking charge of my life!" 

With this thought in mind, Blaine and I took a class at BYU the following summer.  The teacher had us write what our problem was and keep a diary with our thoughts each day to hand in to him.  He read these each night, wrote comments to what we had written, and handed them back the next day.  The comments he wrote on mine went something like this - "Sounds like a pretty nice place" and "You really enjoy being a martyr, don't you?" 

After two weeks I was ready to go home and "take charge of my life".  We went home on Saturday and got there around 2:00 in the afternoon.  Steve was there sitting on the couch waiting for us - had been for two hours.  He told us that he had been offered a counselor job in Cowley, Wyoming.  He wanted the job but when coming home after his interview, and seeing all the pine trees in the forest, he just didn't know if he could leave this place.  No sooner had he said this than the doorbell rang.  It was our neighbor, Brent Edgington and his girl friend, come to visit.  They stayed a half hour.  Steve and Blaine began to visit again and the doorbell rang again.  I don't remember who that was but it lasted a while.  Steve and Blaine began to visit again and once more the doorbell rang.  It was a lady saying that a boy was down on the sidewalk in front of our house having a seizure.  What shall we do about it?  Blaine and Steve said they knew who it was and they would take care of it.  So they left and I wentover to tell Mother we were home.  Then to Phil and Diane's, and I called the other kids. 

After Blaine and Steve got back, they talked a while and we then got a call from Elder Pat Riley from Texas who had lived here with us while on his mission.  He said he was in town and had to leave early the next morning, and he knew it was late, but he had been here since Thursday waiting to see us, and could he come over and visit a while.  He came and we had a good visit and it was midnight before he left.  I then looked at Blaine and said, "Well, we certainly are in charge of our lives, aren't we?"  We both laughed.  And then I added, "But you know, I wouldn't really have it any other way.  Here our son came over for advice and assurance, our neighbor came over to get our approval on his girl friend, and I would have just felt terrible if we had not seen Elder Riley!"  Right then and there I changed my attitude.  Next day the kids were all here and even Carleen Moss, who was like one of the family and had been with us in Provo.  Since then I have always realized that the way to solve many problems is to "just change your attitude".  Several people have come to me for counsel and that is all the advice I have been able to give them.

The children have always helped with the work, also.  Even while very young they helped with dishes, vacuuming, cleaning the house, podding peas, snapping beans, helping with meals and canning.  As I said before, they worked out and turned their money over to us to help with finances.  When they went to work for someone, Blaine always told the employer that he wanted him to pay our child what he was worth.  If he was not worth any more than twenty-five cents an hour, to pay him twenty-five cents, but if he was worth more than twenty-five cents, he expected him to be paid what he was worth.  As a result, each of our boys knew that if he wanted more money, he had to earn it.  They all have become very good workers.  We have appreciated the help we had from all of them.

I have supported Blaine in all the callings he has had.  When we first met, he used to sing the song "The House By The Side Of The Road".  It says:

“Let me live in the house by the side of the road where the race of men go by.  The men who are good, the men who are bad, as good or as bad as I.  I would not sit in the scorner's seat or hurl the cynic's ban.  Let me live in the house by the side of the road, And be a friend to man.”

This is the kind of man I believe I married - one who is a friend to all people, and has devoted his life serving those around him.  He has been very appreciative of my teaching and helping with the finances of the family.  He has done everything he could to make it easier for me. He has been very appreciative of all the help our children have given to us as they were growing up and also since they have married and left home.  People in the ward and stake love and appreciate him very much.  Just the other day we were talking to a young man who called us Mr. and Mrs. Hawkes.  Blaine then said, "I don't know you.  How do you know us?"  The young man said, "Oh, everyone knows the Hawkes."  Everyone did know Blaine very well because of teaching and also for his activity in the church.  I noticed that unless I was with Blaine, that most people did not seem to know who I was.  It was only when I started teaching in Parker, that those people in Parker seemed to recognized me.

At this time we have fifty grandchildren and two great grandchildren.  We are extremely proud of each one and hope they love us as much as we love them.  I do want my children and grandchildren to  know that I have a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel.  I love the Savior, and know that He loves me.  I know that he loves each one of us, no matter what we have done, and that He will help us in every way to return to our Heavenly Father if we only allow Him to.  The Bible, Book of Mormon and other scriptures are true and will bring great joy into our lives if we follow the teachings we read within them.  Our Savior lives.                                                                                

CHOICE MOMENTS AND MEMORIES

In English class while teaching the fifth grade, I gave the students verbs in the present tense and asked them to give me the past tense and the past tense using the word "have", such as  see - saw - have seen.  When Kristen Hillman came to the word "run", she was probably thinking of running fast - faster - fastest.  She wrote "run - ran - have dashed".

In Social Studies we were discussing the people who were starving in Ethiopia and how the United States was sending aid to them.  Karla Davenport raised her hand and said, "Why do we send money to them in the mail?  It could get lost in the mail.  If we just send the people in Ethiopia here and feed them here, they can't get lost in the mail."

In second grade Russell Archibald was given an arithmetic paper with addition problems on it.  When he gave me the paper, I looked at it in horror and said, "Russell, you were supposed to add this.  You subtracted."  He just looked at me, pleased as punch, and grinned from ear to ear.  "I know," he said.  "I just wanted to surprise you!"

Russell Archibald was in elementary school at the time when boys started wearing their hair longer.  He let his hair grow and this particular day he had combed it in such a way that it looked like he had taken a mix master to it.  During the noon hour I had a chance to talk to him and said, "Russell, your hair!"  He grinned again, happy as a lark and said, "Yes, I am training it."

In fifth grade Health class, the students were asked to write qualities needed to have good friends.  Halli Bloom wrote:  "You shouldn't call them names.  You shouldn't write things on your hands such as "Flea Protection - FP.  You shouldn't hold your nose when they walk by."

The students were also asked to write some of their goals.  Sarah Frisby wrote, "I want to get in better shape so when we go on our hike this summer, I can keep up with Grandma."

In fifth grade I was reading a book to the students that they liked so much, they did not want me to stop reading.  One day I was talking to them about being handicapped and said everyone was handicapped one way or the other.  I said, "Now Nichole's and Kristen's handicap is that they just think they can't do Math."  Nathan Stoddard raised his hand and said, "I know your handicap.  It is that you don't read the story long enough."

One day as I was driving to town when the kids were small, they started asking me what time of day they were born.  Most of them had arrived around 8:00 or 10:00 at night.  Cindy was about four or five and she asked me what time she was born.  I said, "Oh, you lazy little girl.  You waited until 3:00 in the morning!"  She looked at me, serious as could be, and said, "Well, I was tired!"

While teaching second grade, I had the students read a Programmed Reader book and take a test on it afterwards.  They were supposed to find the answers in the book of those they missed.  Ryan Hunter was correcting his but couldn't find the answer to one that asked, "What is the name of Mr. North's wife?"  Then it gave a choice of Mr. North, Mrs. North, or Miss North.  He just couldn't get it, so I said, "What do you call me?"  He said, "Mrs. Hawkes."  I asked, "Why do you call me that?"  He replied, "Because you are a lady."  "What kind of lady?" I asked, thinking he would say because I was married.  "An old lady," he said, and then he realized what he had said and a look of horror came on his face.  I burst out laughing and looked up to see Timalee Swensen with a very red face trying not to laugh.  When she saw me laugh, she felt free to let it out, too.

I was teaching the second grade students to subtract with borrowing.  I explained that if there was not a higher number on top, you would take ten from the number on the left and add ten to the one on the right.  Brandy Welker just could not get it so I explained that it was like if she had eight friends that wanted cookies and she only had four, she would go to the cookie jar and take ten out, then she would have fourteen, and she would have enough.  I thought she seemed to understand.  Next day I asked her to come to the board and work the problem.  She couldn't do it.  I said, "What do you do if the top number is littler than the bottom number.  Without hesitation she said, "Go to the cookie jar."

Bob was going to be a Senior and the summer before he wanted to attend a Wrestling Training Session for a week at BYU.  I asked him what it would cost and he told me $80.  I said, "Boy, Bob, that's an awfully lot.  I don't know."  He gave me that look and said, "Mom, who can put a price on a champion?"  He went.

My poor husband is color blind and has been the butt of many jokes.  One day he was fixing himself something to warm up in the microwave to eat.  He put some mashed potatoes on a plate, got out some pistachio pudding and was about to put that on his plate.  Steve and I looked at each other and I said, "Blaine, what are you doing?"  He looked at me and said, "If you don't mind, I'm fixing me some potatoes with gravy on it!"  We stopped him just in time.

We were in Payette to attend the blessing of Jesse, our grandson.  Grandma Hawkes was with us.  Leslie was five years old.  Leslie asked Grandma about her father.  Grandma explained that he was Gottfried Weyerman and that he was dead.  "Well, what about your husband?" Leslie asked.  "His name is Percy, and he is also dead.  And I have a son named David who got sick and he has died, too," Grandma said.  Leslie was quiet for a little while and finally said in a very adult tone, "Well, there is no need of crying about it!" and she changed the subject.

I was a Sunday School Teacher in St. Anthony and this particular Sunday afternoon was a stake meeting I needed to attend.  I hurried and ate my dinner and was about ready to leave the house when someone spilled some milk on our new carpet.  The family thought I would be upset and start yelling and they just stood there waiting for my outburst.  When no one moved to clean it up, I said, "Somebody do something!"  and I got down on my hands and knees with my best dress on and started cleaning it up.  Everyone moved into action and in trying to help, Blaine knocked a glass of water over and the water came down on my back.  Everyone stopped again waiting for another outburst.  Down on my hands and knees, I thought of how funny I must look and how scared everyone was.  I started to laugh and the family was able to relax.

We were having dinner at Jeff's and Lynda's.  As we sat down to eat, Blaine said, "Who is going to ask the blessing?"  Steve's little boy, Daniel said, "Oh, let FeFe."  Now you must understand that Felicia is not even one year old yet and she doesn't say one word.  We pointed this out to Daniel, but he said, "Yes, she can, because I will help her."  So everyone gave in.  Daniel walked over to Felicia in her high chair and said, "Now, Felicia, I'll help you say the blessing."  We all folded our arms and bowed our heads.  Daniel said, "Father in Heaven," -- and then in a voice pitched an octave higher (pretending he was Felicia), he said, "Father in Heaven, I am thankful for my mommy and daddy, for my grandpa and grandma, and for Grandpa Dan and Grandma Janet, and for all my cousins", and he went on and on blessing everybody in the  country in that high squeaky voice - slowly all the grownups opened their eyes, looked around and I'm ashamed to say they were unable to be very reverent -- they could hardly keep from bursting out in laughter.  Finally, still in his high squeaky voice, Daniel ended by saying, "And I love my brother."

Bob was home from Ricks and he had brought his girl friend with him.  She was sitting on the couch and he was in the kitchen with me.  I was making something with jello and had just put the jello and water together on the stove.  Bob was teasing me and I told him to leave me alone.  He just kept teasing and in desperation I lifted my elbow to push him away, and hit the handle of the kettle.  The kettle tipped up, the jello came out and right down my neck!  Fortunately it was not yet hot.  Not a drop got on the floor - all of it settled inside my dress!  Of course, he was surprised, sorry, and both of us were embarrassed with his girl sitting there watching it all.  Just then the doorbell rang and it was my visiting teachers.  I explained my situation.  They laughed, but they came in anyway and stayed for one hour.  As I sat there, I could feel myself "setting up".  By the time they left, I went in to change my clothes, which were now all red.

One day in Sacrament Meeting, I was holding Marlene Hathaway's baby for her.  Cindy was perhaps seven or eight years old.  Being number seven of ten, she had not had much chance to hold little babies.  She was enjoying holding him for a while.  After church was over she said, "Oh, Mom, why did you quit having babies so soon?"  The ladies around laughed and laughed at her.

While we were still living up to the ranch, Lyle Andrus called.  I was not home at the time and Billy answered the phone.  She asked to talk to me and he told her he was alone.  She said, "And you are all alone?"  He said, "Yes, me and Don and Steve and Mike and Jeff and Philip."  She called another time and I believe it was Don who answered the phone.  He told her that Billy had a new pair of Sunday pants.  He said, "Billy got some new ones and I got his and Steve got mine and Mike got Steve's and Jeff got Mike's.