Europe

Archer

March 1976

Couples return from Europe

taken from the Rexburg Standard Journal

By Myrtle Clay

Archer Correspondent

Archer – Mr. and Mrs. Afton Hansen and Mr. and Mrs. Jess Sutton recently returned from a trip to Europe. In London, England, they had had 24 inches of rain in three months. Bright yellow forsythia, daffodils and crocus were in bloom everywhere. They rode the subway and visited landmarks in London including Hyde Park, Westminster Abbey, Thames River, Changing of the Guard, Buckingham Palace, Museum of Natural History and Windsor castle.

They also took a two hour bus drive through the countryside to the Canterbury Cathedral where services were being conducted. They visit at the sex bedroom Ponday home built in 1600. The barns had thatched roof and the farming operation included about 160 acres and had 80 landlords. They stayed in Kent and saw a stained glass church. William the Conquerors brother was the founder and the first vicar was sustained in 1142

They flew to Paris and saw the Louvre with its famous paintings and works of art and the Eiffel Tower, Joan of Arc statue, Military academy built by Madam Pompadour, Napoleon's burial place and other places of interest. They also went to the agricultural exposition which is the biggest in the world.

They went to Montreux, Switzerland, the Castle of Chillon, Interlaken and visited a farm in the Seminole valley. They rode a ski lift to the mountain top but because of the clouds couldn't get a clear view of the alps. They said people are not allowed to build any buildings that would detract from the quaint atmosphere of the country and that they do not have any unemployment.

They went to Bern and Weisbaden, Germany. They said Germany, just like America, is highly industrialized. Many of its buildings were destroyed during the war and new modern buildings built in their place. They spent all one day visiting farms and farm homes. They mayor of one city invited them to the city hall and told them about their area. They said downtown in the middle of the city was a barn filled with cattle, pigs and a horse. They said the most outstanding cathedral they saw was at Cologne. When they left Germany they rode a boat down the Rhine River and saw castles built high on the ledge above the river.

In Holland they took a boat ride through the canal waterway system and toured a windmill. The giant press wheel inside the windmill was pressing peanuts to render the oil for cooking and the residue for animal foods. They also saw wooden shoes being make. The farm they visited had only been reclaimed from the sea for 10 years. They spent one morning at the worlds largest flower market. There were acres of green houses in Holland that supplied the flowers.

Returning home, Mr. and Mrs. Hansen flew to St. Louis to sped several days with their son, Dale Hansen, and his family while Mr. and Mrs. Jess Sutton flew to Idaho.

Hawaii

                                                                         In Feb. 1978  Ruth, Afton Hansen Jess and I went to Hawaii. Spuds weren’t a good price but Jess knew how badly I wanted to go. We toured five islands in ten days. The weather was perfect and I thought I would like to spend the winter months on the Island of Maui. Jess laughed and said, “You can’t be away from home for two weeks without getting homesick.

                         One night the hotel notified us that we were to call home. We were terrified. Our first thought was our sons and grandchildren. We knew something was wrong. It was Stanley, Jess’s brother, calling. He told us that Rachel, (Jess’s mother) was in the hospital with cancer. I will never forget that night. Jess and I sat on the edge of the bed and cried and talked. Rachel hadn’t been feeling well but we never thought it could be cancer.

     The doctor said that Rachel only had a few months to live. She lived over a year but it was endurance rather than living. I think if the choice had been mine I wouldn’t have had the surgery Rachel, had. I hope I would have the gumption to say “no to treatment”, if I had cancer. I wrote that in 1978. When I got cancer in 2005, I had chemotherapy and radiation. It was hard for Jess to see his mother suffer. Rachel was deadly ill with chemotherapy. Toward the last she was on morphine and had terrible hallucination. The hardest thing on earth is so see a person you love suffer. The family gathered around her bed and prayed that she could be released. She died that night, March 1979.

Jess in the Hospital

                                                         When we got home from Europe Kent was playing in an Explorer Olympic tournament. When his game was over Jess couldn’t stand up. He couldn’t breathe. Some men from Archer helped him outside to fresh air and I took him to the hospital. The doctor said he needed to stay in the hospital but Jess wouldn’t. He wanted to go to Idaho Falls to Dr. Krantz, who immediately put him in the hospital. Jess’s lungs were filled with fluid. His heart wasn’t strong enough to move the fluid.

      I marveled that Jess had gone to Europe when he was so sick. I have wondered through the years how many things Jess did that I wanted to do, when he would have rather stayed home. Jess was only in the hospital for a few days but he was never well after that. The doctor started talking about surgery, to repair the leaky valve in Jess’s heart. Jess set his jaw and said he would not have the surgery until it was a matter of life or death. The doctor warned him he had to have the surgery while his body was strong enough for surgery.

Super Good Guy Award

Europe

March 1977

   My dream had always been to go to Hawaii and Jess promised me when spuds were $10.00 field run we would go.   Spuds were a good price that year and when we read about a European farm trip we went there instead.  Adding to the enjoyment of the trip, Ruth and Afton Hansen went with us.  The Rexburg newspaper even printed the details of our trip, so that shows you that few went to Europe.  

   We spent two days at London, England, one day at Kent, England, three days in France, three days in Switzerland, two days in Germany and three days in Holland.  I could write a book about sights and experiences we had.  Jess was sick on the trip.  One evening a group decided to go for a walk.  After walking around the town and headed back, Jess had trouble breathing.  We told the rest of the group to go ahead and Ruth and Afton stayed with us.  Jess rested for awhile and then was able to walk again.  He spent the next day in bed. 

Fitness for Life

  The winter of 1976 I took a Fitness for life class at Ricks.  It was a turning point in my life.  The first thing we timed, how long it took us to walk or run a mile.  I had to walk most of the way.  We had a choice of various things to do, to improve our physical fitness and we had to do it four times a week.  At first I walked five miles in an hour, but I didn’t have an hour to lose so I decided to run two miles.  That wouldn’t take as long.  At the end of the class we again ran or walked the mile track.   This time I made it in decent time.      We weighed each class and my weight did not change.  Jim Lamph measured us for body fat.  He said mine measured the same as a gymnast.  I hadn’t lost any weight during the running because my body had not stored any fat previously.     I decided a long time ago I wasn’t going to be fat. 

People say that I am lucky that I don’t gain any weight.  I’m not lucky, I work at it.  I watch what I eat, and don’t eat any sugar when my Levis get tight and I drink a lot of water.  

  It took me eight months to run two miles without stopping.  At first I would run the distance between two telephone poles and walk for three.  Later I walked one and ran one.   The first time I ran one mile I had the feeling of floating.  I had a high from running.    The next year I didn’t run for 5 weeks and when I started again it took me a week before I could run two miles.  I am angry at myself when I don’t take time to run.  I enjoy it.  It is my time to meditate and sort out my emotions.  It is impossible to be discouraged or blue, when I run regularly.

Flood Help

   

When I heard about the flood, I knew there soon wouldn’t be any electricity. I completely filled the bath tub and many containers. We never did run completely out of water but we did pack water from the canal to flush the toilet. We had an auxiliary power plant run by gasoline, that we used to unload spuds at planting time. It was in great demand by the dairy farmers who did not want to milk their cows by hand.

We did everything we could to help. Jess sent in a tractor and Ruth and I took clothes home to wash. It was frustrating we couldn’t do more. I baked bread every other day and took it to friends who still couldn’t use their kitchens. One of the worst things was the personal records and personal treasures that were destroyed. We tried to dry some of these papers. It was a long time before the area was back to normal.

Archer ward had a supper every Saturday night for the flood victims. Kendall Davidson would pit roast beef, potatoes, carrots and onions and the ladies in the ward would bring salads and homemade bread. The crowd was tremendous. People who had worked all day scrubbing mud, would come out for a good home cooked meal and a chance to rest and visit.

Teton Dam

Whenever 1976 is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind, is the Teton Dam breaking.  The day started out as an ordinary day but around noon, Jess came in excited.  He had heard on the radio the dam had broken and he knew he needed to get his airplane out of the hanger and onto higher ground.  I drove him straight to the airport and as he was taking the plane out of the hanger, a group of men stood there talking.  One of them told Jess the water wouldn’t get high enough to flood the airport.  Jess had seen what happened when a canal broke or the river was high and he knew the airport would be covered.  One man wasn’t convinced but Jess finally talked him into moving his airplane.  Later that man thanked Jess for insisting that he move his plane.  The airport was totaled.  Hangers were destroyed by the logs, that rammed into them.  Our own hanger had to be rebuilt.   

  Jess flew up over the surging water and said it rolled and boiled as it destroyed everything in its path.  After Jess had his airplane safely in Idaho Falls, we came and got our family and drove over the dry farm to Rexburg.  We parked up above the college and watched the water standing all over the city.  It was a sad sight.  There were houses moved off their foundations, dead cows, uprooted trees and debris over everything.  Later that night when Jess heard how high the water was in the river by Idaho Falls, he worried about the airplane so we drove down to look the situation over and thought of moving the plane farther south but decided it would safe.    

    An announcer, from a main newspaper, sent a helicopter to fly over the flooded area and give reports of the damage.  The announcer kept saying Ririe flooded, instead of Rexburg flooded.  We were listening to the report on the radio and smiled, knowing many people would be excited thinking the Teton Dam water had reached Ririe.  Little did we realize that Randy, who was on a mission, in Korea, would get the report about Ririe and all telephone lines were down and he couldn’t phone home.    

Fourteenth Branch Relief Society President

 

One Sunday morning in August 1973, I had all the Atkinson family coming for dinner. That wasn’t a big thing, but I felt impressed to stay home and not go to Sunday School, I thought it odd at the time, because usually I went to church and had a big crowd come and it wasn’t a problem. This Sunday I felt impressed to say home. There I was in Levis with my hair in curlers, when Dale Steiner knocked on the door. He asked if I was Randy’s Sutton’s mother. When I answered yes he said he needed a Relief Society President for the Fourteenth Branch Relief Society. He said he didn’t know me but he knew that the mother of Randy Sutton would be a good President. Randy was Seminary President for Madison High School and Dale was in charge of the seminary program. I thought that was one of the nicest compliments a mother could ever have. I laughingly said, “The Lord told me to stay home, but he didn’t tell me to put on a dress or comb my hair.”

This was a fantastic experience. I didn’t know where to start or what to do. I did a lot of praying. My counselors were college girls whom I had never met but there were excellent. We held our meetings in the Seminary building. I had 144 girls I was responsible for. Since I had never had a daughter of my own that was a learning experience. We had wonderful programs. We had homemaking days on Saturday right at the apartment complex so it wouldn’t take too much of the girls time. One day we taught them to make bread, one time Chester Nelson gave me all the wealthy apples I could pick and each apartment cooked something with the apples and we ate the results. We made two quilts. I got so I could step inside an apartment and tell if the girls were living as they should or if they had problems. With six girls to an apartment, there were challenges. I know it was the Holy Ghost.

A Stake President’s daughter, from California told me she had been forced to go to church all her life and now that she was here, she wasn’t going to church any more. I would go to see her each Sunday morning, during Sunday School and she would look guilty and her boyfriend would leave. I bore my testimony regularly and secretly hoped she wouldn’t come back, after Christmas. After Christmas, she was totally different and never missed a meeting. Later when she sent me a wedding announcement, she thanked me and said I was the one who changed her life. I never knew what I did. The girls who were married in the Temple all sent wedding announcements but those who weren’t didn’t.

This job required many trips to Rexburg and a lot of time and all day Sunday.  Jess was good and always came to Sacrament Meeting with me in town.  In fact Jess was always good to support me no matter what I was working at.

Fire

     While Tom was in college, he purchased a small Ford car from Blair Bybee.  It  got good gas mileage but it needed some work done. When Tom left on his mission, Garth started to repair the car in the garage, at the house.  Garth had a diesel heater going, to warm the garage.  Soon open flames erupted and the heater was on fire.  First we tried to put out the fire by throwing a wool blanket over it but then it exploded.  I called the fire department and Garth and I pushed the car out of the garage.  Garth was as cool as could be.  He said the car would burn or explode if we didn’t get it outside.   It seemed like it took hours for the fire engine to come.  I phoned the warehouse and all those men came and carried everything out side.  The house was completely filled with smoke but the fire didn’t enter the house.  There is a solid cinder block wall between the garage and the house.  The firemen chopped a hole in the kitchen wall before he decided the fire wasn’t in the house.  They soon had the fire out, but the smoke damage was terrible.

        Jess had gone flying with Jack and didn’t come back until night.  I was to meet them at the café in Rexburg to give them a ride home.  Someone ask Jess how much damage the fire had done and Jess ask me if the house was still standing and if anyone was hurt.     Garth had burned his ears, hand and arm but nothing that required a doctor.  Kent stayed with Stan and Pauline, Randy, Jess and I went to my folks and stayed for three days.     

      Everything was covered with insurance, they paid to have things cleaned professionally.  After it was all over, I knew it was the best thing that could have happened.  Our family of six sons managed fine with just one bathroom but now with married sons and grandchildren a second bathroom was a necessity.   The insurance even paid to tear down the old garage and back porch.    We had Monte Merrill come to bid the job.  He said he would rather just do the work and then pay him.  He said it would be the cheapest for us.  We trusted him and he built a bathroom, porch and double garage.  The luxury was that we had new cupboards in the kitchen and a book case in the back bedroom.  We probably would never have made the change without the fire.

Sewing

    I became enthused about sewing, now that I had three granddaughters.  I visualized making all their clothes, so Jess bought me a sewing machine.  I took two different sewing classes.  Double knit fabric was new on the market.  It was considered the ultimate in material because it didn’t wrinkle and didn’t fray, but it was expensive.   Little did I realize that twenty years later no one wanted it.    A size ten fit me perfectly.  I bought material and sewed like mad.  I had some of the most expensive dust rags in Archer.  I also had the hall way shelves, full of fabric. I had purchased on sale.  I even ordered two hundred dollars, worth of remnants and sold them from my house.  I never did that again.

      I did a lot of sewing for Berneice Neilson.  I even made her and Bessie Wilcox dresses to wear to the Temple.  I loved sewing and then one day I looked in my closet and there were many things I had sewn and never worn, I never sewed for myself again.  Randy and Tom were dancing with the M.I.A. and needed bright colored shirts, trimmed with rick-rack.    I also made Dyle Erickson’s shirt.  The next year they needed pink vests and I made several of those.  Just a few years later sewing became boring and I quit sewing.

Jeannie

 

The state had a program for unwed mothers.  They ask me to take care of a girl named Jeannie, until her baby was born.  Jess said it was OK if I wouldn’t lend her any money or drive the car.    I worried about the influence she would have on Tom, who was two years younger.  I shouldn’t have worried Tom was shocked by her language, attitude and values.  To us she seemed like a hippie.   I wanted to share our values with her but she was the boss and set in her ways.  When she complained about something then it became her job to do that chore.   Her biggest complaint was that I took care of grandkids too much.

She loved Jess.  The minute he came home she practically sat in his lap and wanted to visit with him.  After supper, Jess would take the newspaper into the bathroom, to read.  She was supposed to go to a monthly support meeting with other unwed mothers.   She only went to one meeting and didn’t stay long.  She came out and said they were a bunch of sniffling spoiled brats.  I was thankful Jess was busy with farming and taking lessons and studying for his instrument rating.    

  Jeannie read the Lamaze book about how to have a baby without pain.  She informed me it was ridiculous how women cried and carried on

during birth.  She had read the book and knew how to do it without any fuss.  I smiled when she begged for pain medicine after the first real pain.   I had never seen a baby or even an animal born so Dr. Passey thought I should have that experience.  I nearly fainted and I will never do that again. 

Jeannie wanted to continue to live with us after Eric was born but I said, no.  Now it was time for her parents to take care of her.  I drove her to her mother’s home and sat in the car for over an hour, while she talked to her mother.  Her mother finally agreed to let her come home.    Jeannie stayed in contact with us for many years.  She had a difficult life, with many heartaches  and her only baby, Eric, died at 17. 

  Later that year I had another girl come and live with us.  She was only sixteen.  She had no manners or social skills.  She wouldn’t eat with the family she ate in her bedroom.  She told me she had never eaten with a fork before.  I tried everything I could think of to help her but she was home sick and wanted to go home. 

Flight to Chicago

: Norm and  Leola Neiderer went with us in the airplane on a trip to visit the brokerages that we sold spuds to. Before we got to Wyoming there was a black cloud that didn’t look very big. Jess started to fly through it and all at once the plane was pulled straight up in the air. We bumped our heads on the top of cab and then all at once we fell straight down. The instruments went crazy.

      We visited Garth and Jolene in Denver, then on to St. Louis Missouri, Indianapolis and Chicago. It was seven below, when we left Chicago, with a strong head wind, and the wings started to ice up, so we had to land at Rock Springs. Norman had worn a Stetson cowboy hat, the entire trip, but when he stepped off the plane, his hat was gone forever.

       When we got to Palisades , the ground visibility was limited and Jess didn’t know which canyon to fly up. We had only gone a short way up one canyon, when Jess pulled the plane straight up and said, “That canyon is not the right one.” I could see Jess’ face turn white, before we got back high in the air again.

Ricks College

I had planned on going back to school, after Kent started school but couldn’t, because of being R.S. President.  Now was my opportunity.  I knew I couldn’t start until the winter semester because we were busy digging spuds most of October.  I started by taking a night class, Composition and English, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  The next winter I registered as a full student.  I arranged all my classes on Tuesday and Thursday.  I shouldn’t have signed up for a two credit piano class.  I didn’t have time to practice an hour a day.  I was lucky to just get the studying done I needed for the other classes.  My music teacher was super depressed.  He told me his troubles and wanted advice.  Now 2013, I wish I could take piano lessons.  I know the basics but I have no techniques.   

        I took a class on current affairs.  The teacher wasted a lot of time.  He told us to subscribe to the U.S. News magazine.  Then he was going to wait for our magazine to come and study it.  It was two months before the magazine came.  I had spent good money for that class and I didn’t want to waste my money.   My best class was vocabulary building.  I have always read a lot so I knew the words but now I knew their deeper meaning.  I still find that fascinating today. 

       My English class was the only one, I didn’t get a straight A.  There were only seven of us in the class and competition stiff but I enjoyed the class.  My history class was perfect.  David Crowder was the finest teacher.  When I took my first test, I was heartbroken. I only scored 65.  I later learned I had the second highest score in a class of fifty.     My Religion class tests were hard.  I soon realized that every question could be answered from my class notes, so I memorized them.  After scoring a hundred on several tests,  Mr. Stucki ask how I prepared for the tests.  The best lecture he gave was on polygamy.  There were more women than men who had joined the church and many men killed during the persecution.  How much better for one man to care for two women, than a woman to struggle on her own.   Since Jess died, I realize how lonely it is, to live alone.  Polygamy failed because many involved were not living with Christian love for each other. Reply Forward

Toastmistress

   I joined the Toastmistress Club in Rigby.  We practiced our talks on each other and then had one chosen to represent our club at the State Meet.  My talk was,” What are the three top priorities in your life?  Every place I went I ask this question.  Most LDS gave the same answer.  Church, family and the third thing was where their heart truly was.  Jeannette Sharp said, “If it wasn’t for my wheelchair wouldn’t be able to get out of bed.  A young student, who was a convert to the church, said, “Jesus”.   A non-LDS said, “Work, sports, family”   I didn’t win.  Each talk had a time limit.  Mine was too short.  I talk too fast when I am nervous.    

  .    Jess was having trouble breathing and he went to about six different doctors.  They all said his heart was bad and gave him heart medicine.  He was getting worse.  He found some relief when he went to Dr. Woodland who suggested that part of Jess’s problem was that his thyroid wasn’t functioning properly.   He couldn’t prescribe medicine but he made him an appointment with Dr. Krantz.  Dr. Krantz was fantastic.  He was our family doctor from that day on.  He treated Jess like a personal friend and always had time to sit and visit about the farm.  Several times Dr. Krantz phoned Jess for advice on a farm he had just bought.

Newspaper Article about Gwen

NEWDALE WOMAN HAS A ZEST FOR LIFE  

Published in Rexburg, Standard journal in 2000.

  Gwen Sutton Robison of Newdale is not a typical senior.  At 76, Gwen is the picture of health.  She eats lots of fruits and vegetables and whole wheat bread, gets lot of exercise and is bursting at the seams with energy.  She rides her bike to the Post Office, claiming it’s easier and a lot faster than getting in the car, to go just one mile.  She loves to run and loves being outdoors working in the garden.  When she’s inside she likes to play the piano, read and work on her computer.  She hates shopping.   

       Her family is the most important thing in her life.  She is devoted to them and has family get-togethers at her home about every three months.  “When we are all together there are about 85 of us.” Gwen says.  “It’s a lot of fun.  Everybody brings a potluck dish.  We all help out and just enjoy being together.     Gwen has always been a busy lady.  Her pet peeve is “people who waste time”   Gwen took college classes at night for many years.  “You are never too old to learn and grow.”  She says.    In 1994, Gwen’s children gave her a computer for Christmas.  “At first I didn’t want it.  I told them I would never use it.  I had my typewriter and I like it just fine. “Gwen says.  But curiosity got the best of her and soon she was working on her computer and liking it.  Now she doesn’t know what she would do without it.  She uses her computer daily, updating her journal, sending letters to her missionary grandsons and writing family histories.  Now she says, “You can have the kitchen sink but you can’t have my computer.”   

      She has four computers in her home.  There is a computer down stairs that is used primarily to play games by grandchildren and neighbor kids.  Her husband Clair Robison uses his to record patriarchal blessings.   Gwen wrote a book about her mother and is writing a journal about her family which is now in the fourth volume.   All the journals are spiral bound.     Each Sunday she writes a letter about what is going on in the family during the week and e-mails it to about 18 different people, including her six sons, married grandchildren, missionary grandsons and close friends.  Her family motto is “Make every decision in the light of all eternity.”  “We are going to be held accountable for what we do here”, Gwen says, “There is a lot to do.”        “The greatest people are those who get up every morning and do the best they can regardless of their circumstances.”   

Gwen was born in Rexburg in 1924, a daughter of Millie Lake and Thomas “Att” Atkinson, of Lyman.  The family moved to California, then returned to Rexburg in 1935 pulling a four wheel trailer with everything they owned behind an old Dodge car.  Gwen was 11 at the time and remembers vividly what a horrible trip it was.  It is engraved on my soul.     She attended grade school in Lyman and graduated from Madison High school in 1942.  She married Jesse Sutton, of Archer, right out of high school and they moved to Portland to work in the shipyards for one year to save up enough money to put a down payment on a farm.    They both worked full time as welders for Commercial Ironworks of Portland.  The company sent them to school to learn to weld and Gwen was among one of the first woman welders for the company.  Their welding jobs were on merchant ships and aircraft carriers.  Gwen liked to weld on the stainless steel flight decks best of all.  She got the chance to christen a merchant ship, the SS Victor C.Vaughn.  Gwen and Jess both worked part time jobs.  Jess worked in a cannery and Gwen worked in a laundry.  It was the first time income tax was taken out of their wages.  “We all thought we were special, to donate to the ward effort with our income taxes.”    During that time Gwen and Jess lived on $5.00 a week in a trailer house back of a friend’s home.  They ate a lot of vegetables that Gwen would pick up as discards from the neighborhood grocery.  At that time gas was 10 cents a gallon.  They saved the rest of their wages for a down payment on a farm.  They achieved that goal in one year and bought a farm in Archer.  They came home in March of 1944, in time to plant the crops.   

        They lived in Archer for 48 years and raised six sons, Steve, Lee, Garth, Tom, Randy and Kent.  They raised potatoes and grain on the farm and were among the first to install a sprinkler system on the dry farm.  The whole family helped out on the farm.  Gwen moved sprinkler pipe right along with the boys.    The boys are all grown now.  Steve farms in Lyman, Lee and Garth live on the family farm in Archer.  Tom is a physical therapist in Pocatello, Randy lives in Archer and is a certified public accountant.  Kent farms in Archer.   Jess died in 1980.   She married Rex Jensen from Burton and lived there for two years before he died.    

       Gwen married Clair Robison of Newdale in 1993.  She met him, when they were both serving on the Madison Memorial Hospital Board.  Clair had a handicapped son, J. Wendell, who is 51 and Gwen had a foster daughter, Barbara Baty, who came to live with Gwen in 1989.  “Clair and I were meant to be together, I had Barbara to care for and he had J.Wendell,  We made a good family.”  Says Gwen.     Gwen has served as Relief Society President four times and she has served in stake Relief Society Presidencies twice.  She served a mission in Arcadia, California in 1985.   

       Clair started to keep a journal, when he was in high school and kept it up except, during the time he was Bishop and in the Stake Presidency.   Gwen filled in the missing years and compiled a hard bound book for him.  “He read it over and over again,” Gwen says      Gwen sys she loves living in Newdale, “There are good people here.  There is no class distinction.  It’s a wonderful place to live.

Scouting

       Relief Society didn’t meet for lessons during the summer months I knew I needed to be released to be with Jess and I was released May 1967.  If I had just waited a few more months, Jess was a different person when he started taking thyroid pills.  I didn’t quit serving my special widows.  I was always responsible for them.  I was immediately called to teach the eleven year old scouts in Primary.  This is still my favorite church calling.  (2013) I was well versed in the scouting program.  All five of my sons earned their Eagle Award.  I had two meetings a week with these boys.  On Sunday mornings we had a spiritual lesson at the same time Priesthood meeting was held.  Wednesday, after school, we would work on scouting.  I started many boys on the path to Eagle  The scouting program was completely changed the six years I served there. 

        One of our requirements was to take a five mile hike.  I told the boys to wear hiking clothes to school.  I had our lunch ready and picked up the boys and headed for the river bottoms.  I drove as far as the old store and the voice said, “Don’t take the boys hiking” I stopped the car and told the boys how impressed I felt that we shouldn’t go hiking that day.  I could tell they weren’t very happy but we ate our lunch and talked about requirements we were working on, and then took them home.  Several times I had been told by that small voice something I should do or not do while scouting.

 

Gwen continues to love Scouting.  She also served in the Cub Scouts in Newdale, when she was married to Clair. She was the Den Chief and they let J Wendell be her assistant.  It was the first time he had been in scouting.  You can tell by the look on his face that he was pretty happy about it

.At age 88 she is still serving in cub scouts in the Archer Ward.  She currently serves as the Troop Committee Chairman, and is in charge of all Board of Reviews, and Court of Honors.

She has been awarded the Trial Blazer Award, and the Lifetime Service Award.  She has helped shape many boys lives because of her dedicated service.

She has five sons who are Eagle Scouts, 15 grandsons, and to date 5 great grandson who are also Eagle Scouts.

 

This picture taken when she received the Life Time Service Award.  Steve was her escort, with Lee, Randy, Wyatt, Zach, and Jeff attending.  All of who are Eagle Scouts.

Jess’s Airplane

     Jess started taking flying lessons and wanted to buy his own place. When he started talking about it, Jack Holder, a bowling friend from Rigby, wanted to buy one too. He couldn’t afford to buy one alone so he suggested that the two of them share one. They went shopping and finally in Las Vegas they found just the plane they wanted. When it came time to sign the papers for it, Jess told the salesman he would just write a check for it. It cost $33,000.00. The salesman was dubious and said we couldn’t take the plane, until the check was verified. Jess suggested he could phone the bank in Rexburg and they would OK. the check. When the salesman phoned, Warren Widdison talked to him. Warren told him that he didn’t care what the amount of the check, was it would be good. I wish you could have seen the look of astonishment on the faces of Jack and the salesman. Jack assured Jess that as soon as we were home he would pay his share of the cost.

    We had to get the car back home and it was decided that Jess would drive to Nephi, Utah and Jack, Evie and I would go in the airplane. It sounded good but when we landed at Nephi, it was an unimproved airport and we had no way to get to town. We figured if Jess drove 60 miles an hour he would not be in Nephi for two more hours. Jack hailed a man down and asked him to take us into Nephi. As we sat in the café leisurely eating, we saw Jess drive by. He must have broken all speed records to get there that fast. Jess went right to the airport and we didn’t have any way to get back to the airport. Jack stood and asked if anyone in the café, would take us to the airport. A man volunteered and was Jess surprised to see us. He was wondering how he was going to find us. Evie and I drove the car back to Idaho.

We took some interesting trips with Jack and Evie. If you want to fly you have to have extra time to do it. It seemed every time we went somewhere the weather would change and we would have to stay for a few extra days. We flew to Portland, Oregon to get some new radio equipment. Jess wanted the finest in case he ever had trouble, he knew he would not be able to walk out. It took two extra days to install. The second day it started to rain and freeze and we were stuck for two more days.

It seemed every time Jack took the plane he had trouble. Once out around Salmon, he became frightened of the weather and the mountains and landed the plane in a pasture. Finally after flying the plane for a year, Jack decided they couldn’t afford to pay, for their half of the plane. He never offered to pay for the use of the plane, for a year. Jess was secretly relieved. He could afford it and wanted it to be his. He loved his Beechcraft Debonair and I was grateful Jess had his dream realized. I honestly believe that his happiest hours were the hours he spent flying. The doctors were amazed that Jess never had trouble breathing, when he was in his airplane. The reason we started the chicken business, many years before, was so Jess could learn to fly.

1966 A Dream Come True

 

A dream came true and yet a nightmare began. I had always wanted the wall between the kitchen and front room taken out. I also wanted the basement finished. As we talked to carpenters about taking out the wall, they said it couldn’t be done because it was a joist bearing wall. We ask Grant Burns if he would come and finish the basement. I told him what I wanted and casually mentioned how disappointed I was that they couldn’t take out the wall between front room and kitchen. He said it wouldn’t be a problem, it could be done. I was delighted. I wanted a room big enough to set tables the length of the two rooms and I wanted to be able to watch TV from the kitchen table.

That is when the nightmare started. Grant set up his saw in the middle of the kitchen and started to tear down the wall. I had sawdust everywhere and in everything for four months. I vowed I would never again remodel a house, while I was living in it and yet after the fire, in 1970 and we had to remodel. I was grateful I had a place to live. I cooked for Grant and men that helped farm. Grant was fun to have around and Arnold Briggs, my sister’s husband, was working shift work and came to help. The new combined room was perfect and the basement walls had a smooth surface.

     Christmas Dinner in the New Room

Garth Ran Away From Home

   

  This summer was difficult and Garth ran away from home. I thought everything was going OK and I was giving all my attention to Jess, who was having trouble breathing. We were taking him to two different doctors, at this time and I was trying to help out on the farm. Garth was quiet and didn’t say much. I guess he thought he was being left out. One Sunday afternoon, we couldn’t find him. We went to the basement and his clothes were gone. Garth had boxed up his things and left. Later in the day Jess’s mother phoned and said Garth was there. We went over and talked to him and tried to get him to come home. At first he said he wouldn’t but he finally did.

I learned a valuable lesson that day. Just when you think things are going smooth is when something goes wrong. After that, Jess tried to include Garth with the farming operation and decision, instead of just the older sons.