Sylvia says I should continue so occasionally I will keep on with my history.
In Albuquerque, the evening of January 27th, I went to the movies with Mom Honey and Joan and we saw "Kiss Me Kate". When I went to bed I felt something wet between my legs that I couldn’t stop. I called Mom and she told me my water had broken! This was three weeks before the expected delivery date. They took me to the Army hospital on the Sandia Army Base; that’s where Dad Honey worked. I spent all day, part of the time on a bed in the hall because there were so many expectant mothers. Dad checked in with me periodically to see how I was doing. Labor didn’t start until later in the day. They gave me a spinal (bad choice). The nurses said I was singing during labor, I guess to keep up my spirits. Sylvia was born about 7:45 p.m. about 6 lbs 5 oz. It was hard because my husband was in El Paso in basic training and my own mother in California.
The army didn’t coddle its patients. We had to make our own beds and I had a splitting headache from the spinal. All the mothers were put in a large room, had to be uncovered and disinfected when the male attendants brought us our babies! It was embarrassing but at least there were lots of us. After a day, the babies were left with us to care for. I was glad my Mom had had Mary when I was about 17 and knew how to care for babies. Some of the mothers had never held a baby. Leon wasn’t able to come see our daughter until she was about a week old. I was so happy to see him.
About the end of February or first of March, Leon was able to come get Sylvia and me and take us to El Paso.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Marriage, 1953
We both had already received our endowments so we attended a session at the Salt Lake Temple. Leon’s uncle Harold and aunt Vera went with us.
We decided to get married at conference time since that would be when my parents would be coming to Utah. We called them and gave them quite a surprise. When Mom was talking to Leon, she told him she didn’t know him and he replied that "Barbara did!" She told us later that when they met him; they had stopped by Provo on their way to Salt Lake City, that she cried all the way because he looked so young. He did look young.
We chose April 7 for our wedding day. I spent the night before with Mona at her motel but went to where my parents were staying that evening and Mom washed my hair for me. Leon’s parents and sister came up by bus from Albuquerque. Leon and I went to the county building to get the marriage license and he forgot to put money in the meter so he got a ticket! My aunt Lucy loaned me her wedding dress. The two sets of parents, two Uruguayan missionaries, Don McBride and Jim McGregor, were present at the ceremony. Dad had asked Elder Spencer W. Kimball to marry us. They were very well acquainted with him. The only thing I remember is his advice to have our children as the Lord sends them. Outside the temple Mona, her friend Verda, and Joan were waiting for us. Leon and I left everyone and had lunch at a drug store and then went to see the movie Peter Pan. We had an open house that evening at my aunt Naoma’s home. Many former Uruguayan missionaries came.
I had always planned on having Mona sing at my reception but it didn’t work out, Naoma’s piano didn’t work, but at least she was there.
We spent the night at a motel then drove to Provo to our apartment on 5th West. My roommates had broken into it and made a mess of everything! I guess they thought it was funny but it was just work for us to get everything straightened out.
Two days later I went with Leon and the orchestra on a one-day tour. The next week, I went with him and the band on a tour of Southern Utah. What a honeymoon, the two of us and 76 other band members. I passed out the programs. It was still fun.
Leon returned to school, also working at the State Hospital and I applied several places for work. I started out at Dixon-Taylor-Russell Dept. store and worked for a week as a secretary when I heard from the telephone company. That was a better place to work and so began there. I usually worked the 1 to 10:00 pm. shift. A second cousin Joan, daughter of my Mom’s favorite cousin Al Worsley, started at the same time with me.
Leon had dropped out of his AF ROTC courses so he lost his deferment from the draft. Instead of waiting to be drafted he volunteered for the draft in the army. He went in in December, 1953. We thought he would go to Ft. Ord in California, but since his home address had been New Mexico, he went to Ft. Bliss in El Paso, TX. Instead of staying with my folks in California I stayed with his parents in Albuquerque, NM. I was now expecting our first baby.
We decided to get married at conference time since that would be when my parents would be coming to Utah. We called them and gave them quite a surprise. When Mom was talking to Leon, she told him she didn’t know him and he replied that "Barbara did!" She told us later that when they met him; they had stopped by Provo on their way to Salt Lake City, that she cried all the way because he looked so young. He did look young.
We chose April 7 for our wedding day. I spent the night before with Mona at her motel but went to where my parents were staying that evening and Mom washed my hair for me. Leon’s parents and sister came up by bus from Albuquerque. Leon and I went to the county building to get the marriage license and he forgot to put money in the meter so he got a ticket! My aunt Lucy loaned me her wedding dress. The two sets of parents, two Uruguayan missionaries, Don McBride and Jim McGregor, were present at the ceremony. Dad had asked Elder Spencer W. Kimball to marry us. They were very well acquainted with him. The only thing I remember is his advice to have our children as the Lord sends them. Outside the temple Mona, her friend Verda, and Joan were waiting for us. Leon and I left everyone and had lunch at a drug store and then went to see the movie Peter Pan. We had an open house that evening at my aunt Naoma’s home. Many former Uruguayan missionaries came.
I had always planned on having Mona sing at my reception but it didn’t work out, Naoma’s piano didn’t work, but at least she was there.
We spent the night at a motel then drove to Provo to our apartment on 5th West. My roommates had broken into it and made a mess of everything! I guess they thought it was funny but it was just work for us to get everything straightened out.
Two days later I went with Leon and the orchestra on a one-day tour. The next week, I went with him and the band on a tour of Southern Utah. What a honeymoon, the two of us and 76 other band members. I passed out the programs. It was still fun.
Leon returned to school, also working at the State Hospital and I applied several places for work. I started out at Dixon-Taylor-Russell Dept. store and worked for a week as a secretary when I heard from the telephone company. That was a better place to work and so began there. I usually worked the 1 to 10:00 pm. shift. A second cousin Joan, daughter of my Mom’s favorite cousin Al Worsley, started at the same time with me.
Leon had dropped out of his AF ROTC courses so he lost his deferment from the draft. Instead of waiting to be drafted he volunteered for the draft in the army. He went in in December, 1953. We thought he would go to Ft. Ord in California, but since his home address had been New Mexico, he went to Ft. Bliss in El Paso, TX. Instead of staying with my folks in California I stayed with his parents in Albuquerque, NM. I was now expecting our first baby.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Life in Phoenix, then 2nd Year at BYU, 1951-53
I was overjoyed to receive a cablegram informing me that my family was returning and we would be reunited again! I was so excited to have them back. The younger ones had changed so much in the sixteen months we had been apart, I hardly recognized them, especially Nancy. I did not return to BYU but stayed with them and we moved to Phoenix where Dad started working with O.C., his brother, in the insurance business plus other things. We had a nice home on 19th Ave and Bethany Home Rd. At that time it seemed on the very outskirts of town. Dad taught me to drive and I got my first driver's license.
I was rather a loner that year, not having any close friends. Gina was busy with Keith and her marriage, which took place around the first of the year. I worked as a secretary for Lincoln National Life in downtown Phoenix. I rode in with Dad each day and would wait for him to pick me up in the evenings, sometimes for half an hour or more. I ate lunch at a little drug store then would roam all over downtown Phoenix during the rest of the lunch hour. Before Gina's marriage, while she worked at Penneys, we would go together.
Gina and I went to the temple on December 7, 1951, in preparation for her wedding. I can remember feeling so awed by everything. Dad would point to the beautiful paintings on the wall, wanting me to see them, but I felt I shouldn't be looking around. Afterwards, I went with the folks once a month to the Spanish session, enjoying it very much.
One of my former roommates, Lois Stratton, came to visit us in Phoenix. She talked about a quartet she sang in and told me one of the boys in it wanted to meet me; his name was Leon. I was planning on returning to BYU that fall and room with her again.
I went to Mutual at Manavu Ward when I returned to the Y and met the boy she talked about but he certainly wasn't interested in talking to me. I should have remembered that Lois would always tell you what she thought you wanted to hear, true or not.
I lived in a house with about six girls. We each took turns cooking, doing dishes, and cleaning house. One girl, a young freshman, was my constant shadow. I couldn't even go to the bathroom without her coming along to keep me company. I enjoyed my Spanish class and University Choir, directed by Crawford Gates; you didn't have to audition for this one.
Six boys boarded with us; five of them eating only supper and the other, Leon, had all his meals with us. I enjoyed cooking and acquired a good reputation as a cook. Leon was at our house a lot of the time, mostly working on his car.
I took Opera Workshop Winter Quarter and we put on "The Bartered Bride" by Smetana. I was in the chorus and a friend and I played two young village girls who flirted with the hero. It was a great experience. Leon played in the orchestra and so he would give rides to my friend and me, and others, to rehearsals. He said that my place was next to the driver's seat so that is where I sat.
We became very good friends.
One of my roommates was Yolanda Vinci, a member girl from Uruguay. The Junior Prom was coming up and Leon asked my roommates if they thought I would go to the prom with him if he asked me. They told him yes and, of course, told me about it. But he didn’t ask me! He thought Yolanda might never have the opportunity to attend one so he asked her. She said they talked about me all night. For some reason, I stayed up and waited for them and after Yolanda went to bed, Leon kissed me! I never went to a Junior Prom! We were together all the time after that.
We had one date, went to the Ad Ball. Spring break was coming up and he asked me to go to Albuquerque with him. He was also taking a returned lady missionary, who had served in Albuquerque, and her roommate. I got to meet his mother, father and sister Joan. His brother Bill was serving as a missionary in Uruguay. They were very nice to me.
One afternoon, we drove up in the Sandia Mountains and he asked me to marry him. I told him I’d have to think about it. Returning to Provo the generator went out in the car and he used his school registration money to pay for the repairs. Driving back I told him "yes." That cheered him up. I gave him my registration money, $50.00, since we were going to be married and I wouldn’t be returning to school. My decision felt good, like the right thing to do.
I was rather a loner that year, not having any close friends. Gina was busy with Keith and her marriage, which took place around the first of the year. I worked as a secretary for Lincoln National Life in downtown Phoenix. I rode in with Dad each day and would wait for him to pick me up in the evenings, sometimes for half an hour or more. I ate lunch at a little drug store then would roam all over downtown Phoenix during the rest of the lunch hour. Before Gina's marriage, while she worked at Penneys, we would go together.
Gina and I went to the temple on December 7, 1951, in preparation for her wedding. I can remember feeling so awed by everything. Dad would point to the beautiful paintings on the wall, wanting me to see them, but I felt I shouldn't be looking around. Afterwards, I went with the folks once a month to the Spanish session, enjoying it very much.
One of my former roommates, Lois Stratton, came to visit us in Phoenix. She talked about a quartet she sang in and told me one of the boys in it wanted to meet me; his name was Leon. I was planning on returning to BYU that fall and room with her again.
I went to Mutual at Manavu Ward when I returned to the Y and met the boy she talked about but he certainly wasn't interested in talking to me. I should have remembered that Lois would always tell you what she thought you wanted to hear, true or not.
I lived in a house with about six girls. We each took turns cooking, doing dishes, and cleaning house. One girl, a young freshman, was my constant shadow. I couldn't even go to the bathroom without her coming along to keep me company. I enjoyed my Spanish class and University Choir, directed by Crawford Gates; you didn't have to audition for this one.
Six boys boarded with us; five of them eating only supper and the other, Leon, had all his meals with us. I enjoyed cooking and acquired a good reputation as a cook. Leon was at our house a lot of the time, mostly working on his car.
I took Opera Workshop Winter Quarter and we put on "The Bartered Bride" by Smetana. I was in the chorus and a friend and I played two young village girls who flirted with the hero. It was a great experience. Leon played in the orchestra and so he would give rides to my friend and me, and others, to rehearsals. He said that my place was next to the driver's seat so that is where I sat.
We became very good friends.
One of my roommates was Yolanda Vinci, a member girl from Uruguay. The Junior Prom was coming up and Leon asked my roommates if they thought I would go to the prom with him if he asked me. They told him yes and, of course, told me about it. But he didn’t ask me! He thought Yolanda might never have the opportunity to attend one so he asked her. She said they talked about me all night. For some reason, I stayed up and waited for them and after Yolanda went to bed, Leon kissed me! I never went to a Junior Prom! We were together all the time after that.
We had one date, went to the Ad Ball. Spring break was coming up and he asked me to go to Albuquerque with him. He was also taking a returned lady missionary, who had served in Albuquerque, and her roommate. I got to meet his mother, father and sister Joan. His brother Bill was serving as a missionary in Uruguay. They were very nice to me.
One afternoon, we drove up in the Sandia Mountains and he asked me to marry him. I told him I’d have to think about it. Returning to Provo the generator went out in the car and he used his school registration money to pay for the repairs. Driving back I told him "yes." That cheered him up. I gave him my registration money, $50.00, since we were going to be married and I wouldn’t be returning to school. My decision felt good, like the right thing to do.
Monday, July 28, 2008
First Year at BYU 1950-51
Soon it was time to leave for BYU and Mona drove me to Los Angeles, stopping to visit San Juan Capistrano Mission on the way, where I got a ride to Provo with mother's old friend Donna Lindsey. Donna's daughter Carmen, a year younger than me, was also starting out as a freshman. She took us to Provo via the Grand Canyon; the first time I had ever seen it.
I stayed at Knight Hall, on 800 North and University, a beautiful building. The house mother asked me if I liked people from distant places and I replied that I did. She gave me roommates from Vernal and Preston, Idaho! I didn't think those places were very distant. In some ways I was very mature and in others, not at all, especially socially. One of the ex-Argentine missionaries asked me for a date for Sunday Sacrament Meeting. I accepted and another one said he would pick me up for Sacrament Meeting! I didn't know how to gracefully tell him I had a date so said nothing. He wound up taking all of us, my other date and roommates included, to church in his car. He did ask me out again, without the rest!
I was quite homesick at first but did enjoy my year at BYU. I hadn't been to many football games, a few at South Gate High, and they were fun though BYU had a very poor team. We did better in basketball; our team won the NIT championship that year. I loved singing in the Concert Choir with Crawford Gates as the conductor. He was still single then and some girl friends and I organized the SCGCK Club (Save Crawford Gates for the Celestial Kingdom). Someone else received that blessing, not one of us. One had to audition for this choir and it about scared me to death, I had
never done it before; I sang second alto in it. We sang Bach's "Magnificat," Bruckner's "Te Deum", and Borodin's "Polovetzian Dances", among other neat things; I loved singing in that choir, I felt challenged. The BYU choirs sang for two sessions of General Conference. What a thrill to sing in the Tabernacle! After the sessions I walked up to Pres. McKay and shook his hand and asked when he was sending my parents home. A little presumptuous, I think.
My first class in the morning, two days a week, was volleyball in the Women's Gym, on University Ave. Then I would hike, and I mean hike, to the Social Hall at the other end of the campus for Concert Choir, arriving a little out of breath. I took Sociology, and Psychology, maybe not the same term, and Shakespeare. I later I could have taken archaeology instead of Sociology. Too bad! I also had a Book of Mormon class that I really enjoyed and an advanced English class. I had been told I would be in dumbbell English but I scored high enough to be in the advanced class! I also took Spanish. I took an exam in Spanish and earned 25 credits with a grade of A to add to my transcript.
I loved the mountains in Provo. I had never lived around mountains before and it was a treat to see them and the fall colors as they changed. I had never really lived around snow either so that was fun too. I felt the same as some Hawaiian girls who had never seen snow but I didn't run around laughing and giggling in the first snowfall of the year like they did.
I had a lot of fun with my cousin LaMar Williams, a few years older than I; he had been a missionary in Uruguay. We went to dances and had a great time. One dance was rather fancy and a bank was having an open house in downtown Provo giving away Vanda orchids to the women visitors. We went in several times until I obtained enough to make a corsage for the dance.
About mid-way in my freshman year I moved out of Knight Hall and into an apartment with some other girls. It was sort of medieval at the dorm. One had to be in by 10:30 p.m. on week nights and 12 or 1:00 on weekends and fill out a slip each time. We would stay out every night until 10:29 whether we wanted to or not because of that rule. I enjoyed the apartment more.
I spent the summer in San Diego and worked in the stock room of J.C. Penney Co., where Mona's husband Byron was the manager, and saved my money for school. Mona and Mona Lue went to Hawaii for a visit and I kept house for Byron and Kay. Mona and Byron started having arguments and trouble between them so it was not too pleasant part of the time. They divorced not too long afterwards. I enjoyed going to Mexican movies that summer, going downtown or to the arts cinema close to the house. I saw one, with Pedro Armendariz and Maria Felix, about five times.
I spent a week keeping house for Uncle Don and Aunt Virginia's three boys in Downey and enjoyed it very much. I discovered the classical music station at that time, KFAC, and listened to it all the time.
I stayed at Knight Hall, on 800 North and University, a beautiful building. The house mother asked me if I liked people from distant places and I replied that I did. She gave me roommates from Vernal and Preston, Idaho! I didn't think those places were very distant. In some ways I was very mature and in others, not at all, especially socially. One of the ex-Argentine missionaries asked me for a date for Sunday Sacrament Meeting. I accepted and another one said he would pick me up for Sacrament Meeting! I didn't know how to gracefully tell him I had a date so said nothing. He wound up taking all of us, my other date and roommates included, to church in his car. He did ask me out again, without the rest!
I was quite homesick at first but did enjoy my year at BYU. I hadn't been to many football games, a few at South Gate High, and they were fun though BYU had a very poor team. We did better in basketball; our team won the NIT championship that year. I loved singing in the Concert Choir with Crawford Gates as the conductor. He was still single then and some girl friends and I organized the SCGCK Club (Save Crawford Gates for the Celestial Kingdom). Someone else received that blessing, not one of us. One had to audition for this choir and it about scared me to death, I had
never done it before; I sang second alto in it. We sang Bach's "Magnificat," Bruckner's "Te Deum", and Borodin's "Polovetzian Dances", among other neat things; I loved singing in that choir, I felt challenged. The BYU choirs sang for two sessions of General Conference. What a thrill to sing in the Tabernacle! After the sessions I walked up to Pres. McKay and shook his hand and asked when he was sending my parents home. A little presumptuous, I think.
My first class in the morning, two days a week, was volleyball in the Women's Gym, on University Ave. Then I would hike, and I mean hike, to the Social Hall at the other end of the campus for Concert Choir, arriving a little out of breath. I took Sociology, and Psychology, maybe not the same term, and Shakespeare. I later I could have taken archaeology instead of Sociology. Too bad! I also had a Book of Mormon class that I really enjoyed and an advanced English class. I had been told I would be in dumbbell English but I scored high enough to be in the advanced class! I also took Spanish. I took an exam in Spanish and earned 25 credits with a grade of A to add to my transcript.
I loved the mountains in Provo. I had never lived around mountains before and it was a treat to see them and the fall colors as they changed. I had never really lived around snow either so that was fun too. I felt the same as some Hawaiian girls who had never seen snow but I didn't run around laughing and giggling in the first snowfall of the year like they did.
I had a lot of fun with my cousin LaMar Williams, a few years older than I; he had been a missionary in Uruguay. We went to dances and had a great time. One dance was rather fancy and a bank was having an open house in downtown Provo giving away Vanda orchids to the women visitors. We went in several times until I obtained enough to make a corsage for the dance.
About mid-way in my freshman year I moved out of Knight Hall and into an apartment with some other girls. It was sort of medieval at the dorm. One had to be in by 10:30 p.m. on week nights and 12 or 1:00 on weekends and fill out a slip each time. We would stay out every night until 10:29 whether we wanted to or not because of that rule. I enjoyed the apartment more.
I spent the summer in San Diego and worked in the stock room of J.C. Penney Co., where Mona's husband Byron was the manager, and saved my money for school. Mona and Mona Lue went to Hawaii for a visit and I kept house for Byron and Kay. Mona and Byron started having arguments and trouble between them so it was not too pleasant part of the time. They divorced not too long afterwards. I enjoyed going to Mexican movies that summer, going downtown or to the arts cinema close to the house. I saw one, with Pedro Armendariz and Maria Felix, about five times.
I spent a week keeping house for Uncle Don and Aunt Virginia's three boys in Downey and enjoyed it very much. I discovered the classical music station at that time, KFAC, and listened to it all the time.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Return to the U.S. 1950
I sailed in April of 1950, with a group of returning missionaries; my cousin, Russell Janson, was one of them. I was eighteen at the time. I remember putting the milk bottles out for the last time. It had been job to put them out at night for the milkman when he came in the morning; it gave me a sad feeling. The Mission Choir, many members and, of course, my family came to see me off. It was hard to say goodbye.
My roommate on board was a member girl from Argentina traveling to the States to marry a returned missionary. Another woman shared our cabin and we had some conflicts. She would go to bed early and we would stay up late. I remember one night when I started to wash my hair late at night and that really upset her. The girl and I were probably not as thoughtful as we could have been. There were also some Argentine missionaries returning so we had quite a group. It was a fun trip and the missionaries took good care of me. We swam in the pool and danced; they were allowed to do so on the way home. We stopped at Santos, taking a side trip to Sâo Paulo, Rio, Trinidad and landed in New York. We also had a costume ball and my roommate and I dressed as pirate girls. The trip took about twenty-three days.
From New York, three of the missionaries and I traveled by train to Detroit where one of them picked up a car for his brother and we drove it to Salt Lake City. There the missionaries had an interview with Bro. Merrill of the Council of the Twelve. On our trip across the States we all took turns paying for things and one of the missionaries still owes me $20! From SLC Russell and I took a bus to Phoenix where his family lived, Aunt Etta and Uncle Alma, and I stayed with my Uncle O.C. and his wife Martha. I then went on to San Diego, where I spent the summer with my Aunt Mona.
I loved to be around Mona; she was and is the most fun person to be with, more fun than kids my own age. I also got to visit Aunt Bessie's ranch in northern California, near Grass Valley. Mona, Mona Lue, and I went with Bessie for a visit and I loved the area. My cousin, George Smith, worked there, along with another fellow. George took me square dancing several times and we had a blast.
Later, I went back to the ranch to stay and look out for my cousin Mark Smith, he was about eight or nine. We rode horses, swam in a deep pool in the river, and learned how to saddle a horse and milk a cow. I did all the cooking for Mark, George, the hired hand, and me. While sitting on a porch, I tried to shoot a rifle and the kick knocked me over. I also helped to round up some cattle for branding. We didn't gallop around but walked the horses very slowly; a contrast to what is seen in cowboy movies.
One Sunday, I went with George and Mark to the County Fair where some of the ranch animals had been entered. I went to a dance at the fair but didn't feel very good about it. The next Sunday I had George drive me to Stake Conference and was happier with myself.
One day I received a letter from my Mom and she was upset that Bessie had left me at the ranch with the men, though one was my cousin. She told me to get back to San Diego and Mona so I left Mark there and had George drive me to the bus station. It took all day and night to get to downtown Los Angeles, arriving very early in the morning. I had left my guitar at Bessie's house and wanted it with me so I took a bus out to South Gate, walked to the house, and entered it without waking Bessie and Jay. I left a note and picked up my guitar, walked back to the bus station and went on down to San Diego. Bessie was mad that I hadn't awakened her and she drove all the way down to San Diego to talk to me and find out why I had left so quickly. She also paid me some money for taking care of Mark. I couldn't tell her Mom had told me to leave so I just told her I needed the time to get ready to go to school; which was also true.
My roommate on board was a member girl from Argentina traveling to the States to marry a returned missionary. Another woman shared our cabin and we had some conflicts. She would go to bed early and we would stay up late. I remember one night when I started to wash my hair late at night and that really upset her. The girl and I were probably not as thoughtful as we could have been. There were also some Argentine missionaries returning so we had quite a group. It was a fun trip and the missionaries took good care of me. We swam in the pool and danced; they were allowed to do so on the way home. We stopped at Santos, taking a side trip to Sâo Paulo, Rio, Trinidad and landed in New York. We also had a costume ball and my roommate and I dressed as pirate girls. The trip took about twenty-three days.
From New York, three of the missionaries and I traveled by train to Detroit where one of them picked up a car for his brother and we drove it to Salt Lake City. There the missionaries had an interview with Bro. Merrill of the Council of the Twelve. On our trip across the States we all took turns paying for things and one of the missionaries still owes me $20! From SLC Russell and I took a bus to Phoenix where his family lived, Aunt Etta and Uncle Alma, and I stayed with my Uncle O.C. and his wife Martha. I then went on to San Diego, where I spent the summer with my Aunt Mona.
I loved to be around Mona; she was and is the most fun person to be with, more fun than kids my own age. I also got to visit Aunt Bessie's ranch in northern California, near Grass Valley. Mona, Mona Lue, and I went with Bessie for a visit and I loved the area. My cousin, George Smith, worked there, along with another fellow. George took me square dancing several times and we had a blast.
Later, I went back to the ranch to stay and look out for my cousin Mark Smith, he was about eight or nine. We rode horses, swam in a deep pool in the river, and learned how to saddle a horse and milk a cow. I did all the cooking for Mark, George, the hired hand, and me. While sitting on a porch, I tried to shoot a rifle and the kick knocked me over. I also helped to round up some cattle for branding. We didn't gallop around but walked the horses very slowly; a contrast to what is seen in cowboy movies.
One Sunday, I went with George and Mark to the County Fair where some of the ranch animals had been entered. I went to a dance at the fair but didn't feel very good about it. The next Sunday I had George drive me to Stake Conference and was happier with myself.
One day I received a letter from my Mom and she was upset that Bessie had left me at the ranch with the men, though one was my cousin. She told me to get back to San Diego and Mona so I left Mark there and had George drive me to the bus station. It took all day and night to get to downtown Los Angeles, arriving very early in the morning. I had left my guitar at Bessie's house and wanted it with me so I took a bus out to South Gate, walked to the house, and entered it without waking Bessie and Jay. I left a note and picked up my guitar, walked back to the bus station and went on down to San Diego. Bessie was mad that I hadn't awakened her and she drove all the way down to San Diego to talk to me and find out why I had left so quickly. She also paid me some money for taking care of Mark. I couldn't tell her Mom had told me to leave so I just told her I needed the time to get ready to go to school; which was also true.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Life in the Uruguayan Mission, 1947-1950
It was good to get back to Montevideo. Gina, Fred, Nancy, and I went back to Crandon and it was as though we had never left. Some of our old uniforms, which we had donated to the school, were still around so we had them to wear again. We couldn’t wear makeup with the uniforms and I looked about 12 years old, not 16! We had a lovely home for a Mission Home but the sheets and towels, shipped from the States did not come for several months so our beds were bare. Mom and Dad just bought the minimum because the articles were expected daily. Gina and I shared a room and Fred and Nancy another. Mom and Dad had a private bathroom with shower, which was nice for them. We had another bedroom which was used for visitors and sick missionaries.
The first elders were two that were transferred from the Argentine Mission. One was an Argentine member, Juan Sciorra, and the other my cousin Curt Janson. He was a very good friend and taught me to chord a guitar. My parents gave me a guitar for my seventeenth birthday. Soon more missionaries arrived; the first three were Bill Farnsworth, Preston Bushman, and Bill Jones, followed by many more. We felt a little closer to the earliest ones. The Mission Home was always bustling with activity. Most meetings during the week were held there, as well as choir practice. The office was downstairs so Dad was always close at hand for any problems.
In Montevideo I had many wonderful experiences, most of them relating to the opening of the Mission. I was branch organist in three branches and helped start five Primaries. Gina and I went to different branches for Sunday School and Church so we could play and teach the children's classes. The branch I worked in the longest was Arroyo Seco. I went to two primaries a week where I also played and taught. For a long time I went to two different branches each Sunday, playing for both. It sounds like I played very well but the truth is that there were only certain hymns I could play and usually had to practice them. Gina played better than I. We had small, portable pump organs in every "local" or rented home that had a living room big enough to use as a meeting hall. The organs were all styles and sizes. Gina had one that slowly moved away from her as she played. Between verses she had to pull it back towards her. Another one had bellows coming out of the top that looked like wings flapping; it reminded me of a bat.
There were fun beach "campamentos" or camp outs, dances, and picnics in the park with volleyball games. It was a marvelous three years.
We had some special visitors while in Montevideo. First, Elder Stephen L. Richards, of the Quorum of the Twelve, and his wife were touring the South American Missions and stayed several days at the Mission Home. Evenings were spent with our family and the office missionaries listening to them. They were both very interesting. Sis. Richards told us the joke about a little boy in a department store who was making a nuisance of himself and wouldn’t get off a rocking horse. The clerk told the mother not to worry, that their child psychologist would handle the situation. The man leaned over and whispered in the little boy’s ear and he immediately got off the horse, took his mother’s hand and they exited the store. The clerk asked the psychologist what he had said and he replied "Get off that horse or I’ll break your damn little neck!"
Elder Richards told about their wedding day. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple and he had a buggy ready to take them to the southern part of the city. Sis. Richards very kindly offered a ride to a little old lady so the three rode together. He didn’t appreciate it at all!
Another special visitor was Dr. Gerrit de Jong. He had been teaching in Brazil and had his daughter Carma with him. What impressed me about him was his musical ability. We all went to the Pocitos branch and the congregation was already singing the opening hymn but with no organist. He walked right over to the organ and started accommpany the hymn. He became the Head of the Music Dept. at BYU and the De Jong Concert hall is named for him.
The trio we had started in Venezuela really came into its own in Uruguay. Dad was a firm believer in using music to interest people in the church. My Mom worked with Gina and me; Gina sang soprano and, if we just picked the harmony, I sang second and Mom alto. If the music was printed I sang alto and Mom second. She can sing anything and pick harmony to any tune; I've never known anyone to do it as well as she. She would let me sing the harmony I heard and she'd take what was left.
There were many opportunities to sing. We sang in church, for concerts, and even on the radio. We had a weekly fifteen minute program and our trio alternated performances with the Mission quartet. Once Dad made a small mistake in announcing us as a "feminine quartet" instead of "trio" and for some reason that got me to laughing. I couldn't stop and they had to take us off the air. My whole family was disgusted with me but I later learned it happened to them too after I left Uruguay; that made me feel better. Our accompanist was Elder McMurdie, a very talented person who could play by ear as well as read notes. I also sang in the Mission Choir and sat between Freddy and Jimmy Gibbons. He was about twelve; the son of a missionary couple from Arizona. Freddy was about ten and I helped them with the alto part.
The trio and quartet, with Elders Maughan McMurdie, who sang as well as played; Glen Slight and Dallas Keller, who sang solos as well as being in the quartet; and Roy Fitzell, who had been a professional dancer, put on concerts in theaters in quite a few cities and towns throughout Uruguay. One I remember well was a concert in the city of "Treinta y Tres" (33), that's its name. There was a beautiful concert grand piano on the stage. After the concert we went to the little village of "Isla Patrulla" a very rural place. We rode horses and had a great "asado" or barbeque.
Another fun experience was a time we rode horses along the beach in Carrasco; Gina, some other girls, and myself. Someone's horse started to run away and I, that great devourer of western novels, had to show how brave I was. I quickly got my horse to run alongside the runaway and grabbed the reins, pulling it to a stop. I really felt brave and a true western girl.
My baby sister Mary was born December 25, 1948. It was so fun to have a baby around again and I learned so much. Sometimes the folks went on trips and left her in my care. I've always been glad to have had that experience.
On December 3, 1948, I graduated from Crandon Institute. With all my traveling around and repeating and skipping grades, I graduated six months ahead of my original class in South Gate, California! Mom made my white formal and it was very lovely. The American Ambassador, Ellis Briggs, handed out the diplomas and I was the only one he called by first name as he knew my father. The next year I returned for a year of secretarial training and that has served me well in many ways. We studied shorthand in English and Spanish, plus typing and office procedures. At the end of the year we had the opportunity of working for two weeks in the offices of local businesses for practical experience. I worked one week at Moore-McCormack Shipping Lines and one at Pan American Airlines.
After finishing my secretarial course at Crandon I felt it was time to leave Uruguay and go back to the States; I planned to go to BYU. It was a hard decision, to leave my family, but I felt it was the right thing to do. I was almost 19 at this time.
The first elders were two that were transferred from the Argentine Mission. One was an Argentine member, Juan Sciorra, and the other my cousin Curt Janson. He was a very good friend and taught me to chord a guitar. My parents gave me a guitar for my seventeenth birthday. Soon more missionaries arrived; the first three were Bill Farnsworth, Preston Bushman, and Bill Jones, followed by many more. We felt a little closer to the earliest ones. The Mission Home was always bustling with activity. Most meetings during the week were held there, as well as choir practice. The office was downstairs so Dad was always close at hand for any problems.
In Montevideo I had many wonderful experiences, most of them relating to the opening of the Mission. I was branch organist in three branches and helped start five Primaries. Gina and I went to different branches for Sunday School and Church so we could play and teach the children's classes. The branch I worked in the longest was Arroyo Seco. I went to two primaries a week where I also played and taught. For a long time I went to two different branches each Sunday, playing for both. It sounds like I played very well but the truth is that there were only certain hymns I could play and usually had to practice them. Gina played better than I. We had small, portable pump organs in every "local" or rented home that had a living room big enough to use as a meeting hall. The organs were all styles and sizes. Gina had one that slowly moved away from her as she played. Between verses she had to pull it back towards her. Another one had bellows coming out of the top that looked like wings flapping; it reminded me of a bat.
There were fun beach "campamentos" or camp outs, dances, and picnics in the park with volleyball games. It was a marvelous three years.
We had some special visitors while in Montevideo. First, Elder Stephen L. Richards, of the Quorum of the Twelve, and his wife were touring the South American Missions and stayed several days at the Mission Home. Evenings were spent with our family and the office missionaries listening to them. They were both very interesting. Sis. Richards told us the joke about a little boy in a department store who was making a nuisance of himself and wouldn’t get off a rocking horse. The clerk told the mother not to worry, that their child psychologist would handle the situation. The man leaned over and whispered in the little boy’s ear and he immediately got off the horse, took his mother’s hand and they exited the store. The clerk asked the psychologist what he had said and he replied "Get off that horse or I’ll break your damn little neck!"
Elder Richards told about their wedding day. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple and he had a buggy ready to take them to the southern part of the city. Sis. Richards very kindly offered a ride to a little old lady so the three rode together. He didn’t appreciate it at all!
Another special visitor was Dr. Gerrit de Jong. He had been teaching in Brazil and had his daughter Carma with him. What impressed me about him was his musical ability. We all went to the Pocitos branch and the congregation was already singing the opening hymn but with no organist. He walked right over to the organ and started accommpany the hymn. He became the Head of the Music Dept. at BYU and the De Jong Concert hall is named for him.
The trio we had started in Venezuela really came into its own in Uruguay. Dad was a firm believer in using music to interest people in the church. My Mom worked with Gina and me; Gina sang soprano and, if we just picked the harmony, I sang second and Mom alto. If the music was printed I sang alto and Mom second. She can sing anything and pick harmony to any tune; I've never known anyone to do it as well as she. She would let me sing the harmony I heard and she'd take what was left.
There were many opportunities to sing. We sang in church, for concerts, and even on the radio. We had a weekly fifteen minute program and our trio alternated performances with the Mission quartet. Once Dad made a small mistake in announcing us as a "feminine quartet" instead of "trio" and for some reason that got me to laughing. I couldn't stop and they had to take us off the air. My whole family was disgusted with me but I later learned it happened to them too after I left Uruguay; that made me feel better. Our accompanist was Elder McMurdie, a very talented person who could play by ear as well as read notes. I also sang in the Mission Choir and sat between Freddy and Jimmy Gibbons. He was about twelve; the son of a missionary couple from Arizona. Freddy was about ten and I helped them with the alto part.
The trio and quartet, with Elders Maughan McMurdie, who sang as well as played; Glen Slight and Dallas Keller, who sang solos as well as being in the quartet; and Roy Fitzell, who had been a professional dancer, put on concerts in theaters in quite a few cities and towns throughout Uruguay. One I remember well was a concert in the city of "Treinta y Tres" (33), that's its name. There was a beautiful concert grand piano on the stage. After the concert we went to the little village of "Isla Patrulla" a very rural place. We rode horses and had a great "asado" or barbeque.
Another fun experience was a time we rode horses along the beach in Carrasco; Gina, some other girls, and myself. Someone's horse started to run away and I, that great devourer of western novels, had to show how brave I was. I quickly got my horse to run alongside the runaway and grabbed the reins, pulling it to a stop. I really felt brave and a true western girl.
My baby sister Mary was born December 25, 1948. It was so fun to have a baby around again and I learned so much. Sometimes the folks went on trips and left her in my care. I've always been glad to have had that experience.
On December 3, 1948, I graduated from Crandon Institute. With all my traveling around and repeating and skipping grades, I graduated six months ahead of my original class in South Gate, California! Mom made my white formal and it was very lovely. The American Ambassador, Ellis Briggs, handed out the diplomas and I was the only one he called by first name as he knew my father. The next year I returned for a year of secretarial training and that has served me well in many ways. We studied shorthand in English and Spanish, plus typing and office procedures. At the end of the year we had the opportunity of working for two weeks in the offices of local businesses for practical experience. I worked one week at Moore-McCormack Shipping Lines and one at Pan American Airlines.
After finishing my secretarial course at Crandon I felt it was time to leave Uruguay and go back to the States; I planned to go to BYU. It was a hard decision, to leave my family, but I felt it was the right thing to do. I was almost 19 at this time.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Trip from South Gate, CA to Montevideo, Uruguay 1947
In about May of 1947, my parents were called to open the Uruguayan Mission. My parents had to report to Salt Lake City so we planned a fun trip there with my aunt Mona, her kids Kay and Mona Lue, and Mona's friend Verda, in one car and my family in another, plus a girl from Uruguay, Alice Banks. She had been my Dad's secretary when he worked for the government and had come up for a visit then planned to return with us. She was the niece of Mrs. Ros, our favorite Crandon teacher. We camped every night, sometimes it was by the side of the road, and visited Sequoia, Yosemite, and Yellowstone. At one point, in Idaho, we were so dirty that we put on our bathing suits then washed in a stream. We took our soap in with us and scrubbed! We arrived in Salt Lake City a few days before the centennial celebration. We went to see "Promised Valley" by Crawford Gates on opening night and saw the parade on the 23rd of July but had to leave and so missed the one on the 24th. I was present when my parents were set apart by President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. and David O. McKay, counselors in the First Presidency.
We said goodbye to Mona, and her family, and other relatives and drove rather hurriedly across the nation, sleeping in motels and guest rooms until we came to New York City. We stayed at the McAlpin Hotel, and ate at a little drug store across the street from it. We had a glorious time wandering around the city looking at everything and seeing many movies. The hotel was in the same block as the Empire State Building and, of course, we went to the top. We also ate at Schrafts Cafeteria and I would order filet of sole because I liked the tartar sauce. We were about a week in New York; there was a strike on, that's the reason for the long stay. We then had to take the train to Philadelphia to get a ship. What a ship! The California Express was a small Norwegian one with accommodations for about twelve passengers; our group made up seven of them.
We weren't supposed to sail until the next day so we all went to a movie that evening. When we got back the ship was leaning against the wharf with the smokestack against the warehouse! The ship had been loaded incorrectly or something. They did get it righted but the ship had a list for about a week of the voyage. Gina, Alice, and I ate at the Captain's table and the rest of the family at a smaller one. Gina sat at the end and the silverware was always sliding down onto her lap. One didn't have to tilt the soup bowl, it had a permanent lean to it. Being a Norwegian vessel, we ate a lot of sea food, in every shape or form. There was a shortage of fresh water so we showered in sea water.
Gina had a cabin to herself and Alice and I shared one. We were all shown around the ship and I even got to steer it, by myself, for about fifteen minutes. It was fun holding the wheel and trying to keep the compass in the right place. We played a lot of Rook and other card games to pass the time in the evenings. I was now 16.
The last night on board was a very rough one. The seas were very stormy and my father, never a good sailor in rough weather, didn't even make it to dinner. After eating, Freddy and Nancy went down and Mom stayed with them; weather never affected her. Gina got soaked by a big wave and decided to call it a night and Alice followed suit. One by one everyone disappeared until only the Chief Mate, one other passenger, and myself were left playing Parcheesi. I was very proud that I wasn't affected by the violent movement. We landed in Buenos Aires, spent the night in a hotel and then took the night boat across the river to Uruguay. Sam Skousen, one of my Dad's former Argentine missionaries, was stationed in Paraguay as the Air Attache, but was in Montevideo visiting when we returned and we had good times with him. He taught us a game, "Oh Heck", which was a lot of fun.
We said goodbye to Mona, and her family, and other relatives and drove rather hurriedly across the nation, sleeping in motels and guest rooms until we came to New York City. We stayed at the McAlpin Hotel, and ate at a little drug store across the street from it. We had a glorious time wandering around the city looking at everything and seeing many movies. The hotel was in the same block as the Empire State Building and, of course, we went to the top. We also ate at Schrafts Cafeteria and I would order filet of sole because I liked the tartar sauce. We were about a week in New York; there was a strike on, that's the reason for the long stay. We then had to take the train to Philadelphia to get a ship. What a ship! The California Express was a small Norwegian one with accommodations for about twelve passengers; our group made up seven of them.
We weren't supposed to sail until the next day so we all went to a movie that evening. When we got back the ship was leaning against the wharf with the smokestack against the warehouse! The ship had been loaded incorrectly or something. They did get it righted but the ship had a list for about a week of the voyage. Gina, Alice, and I ate at the Captain's table and the rest of the family at a smaller one. Gina sat at the end and the silverware was always sliding down onto her lap. One didn't have to tilt the soup bowl, it had a permanent lean to it. Being a Norwegian vessel, we ate a lot of sea food, in every shape or form. There was a shortage of fresh water so we showered in sea water.
Gina had a cabin to herself and Alice and I shared one. We were all shown around the ship and I even got to steer it, by myself, for about fifteen minutes. It was fun holding the wheel and trying to keep the compass in the right place. We played a lot of Rook and other card games to pass the time in the evenings. I was now 16.
The last night on board was a very rough one. The seas were very stormy and my father, never a good sailor in rough weather, didn't even make it to dinner. After eating, Freddy and Nancy went down and Mom stayed with them; weather never affected her. Gina got soaked by a big wave and decided to call it a night and Alice followed suit. One by one everyone disappeared until only the Chief Mate, one other passenger, and myself were left playing Parcheesi. I was very proud that I wasn't affected by the violent movement. We landed in Buenos Aires, spent the night in a hotel and then took the night boat across the river to Uruguay. Sam Skousen, one of my Dad's former Argentine missionaries, was stationed in Paraguay as the Air Attache, but was in Montevideo visiting when we returned and we had good times with him. He taught us a game, "Oh Heck", which was a lot of fun.
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