Summer of 1996

The summer of July, 1996 was a great one. Mom went to spend some time with either Mary or Carol, I can’t remember whom. Leon and I took off for St. Louis to visit Mark and Sharon. We also visited Rob and Erika in Nashville. Both families’ children have really grown.
We drove to Edenton, North Carolina. Some of my favorite books take place there, they are called the Carolina Series by Inglis Fletcher. Edenton is on the Albemarle Sound where it is joined by the Chowan River. It is a beautiful place.
We then drove to Williamsburg, VA. What a great place to visit. We stayed in a woman’s home that rented rooms. We were just a block away from the historical part. We bought tickets so we could visit inside restored homes but one can just walk all around the place. People dress as they did in colonial times and speak like they did. They had a fife and drum corps play marching down the street. The streets are dirt but there were sidewalks. It was a wonderful place to visit. We attended a concert in the old church one evening. We spent two days there.
We were also able to visit the replica of Jamestown, just five miles away. That is where the colonists first came but moved to Williamsburg some years later as it was not a very healthy place, right on the water. That was another great place to visit. It is built in a triangular stockade with little houses and a church. We saw a bread making demonstration in one of the little houses. Very little light, mostly from the open door. A man was demonstrating firing a musket and others were roofing a house. Just outside the stockade was an Indian village, with Native Americans cooking and showing their lodges and things. So interesting.
Also, near Jamestown, were the three replica ships that brought the settlers. We were able to go on two of them. These ships are represented on Virginia’s coins. They were so small to go crossing the huge Atlantic ocean! I like bigger ships for my sailing.
We then drove to Middletown, PA, where my fifth great grandfather, Gottleib David Ettele, lived. He and another man walked all over Pennsylvania collecting money to build a church. We were able to see the little church, St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, in Middletown. It was built in 1767 but it no longer used for services, just for special occasions. We couldn’t go inside but walked all around it. It is a beautiful little church.
It was a wonderful trip. I enjoyed seeing all those historical places I had read about through the years.

Move to Mt. Pleasant

During our stay in Monument Valley, Syl and Brent bought a reposed home in Mt Pleasant, thinking they would fix it up as a rental. Then they thought that we might like it as our time down south was drawing to a close. We saw the house and it was a MESS! I couldn’t see how we could live in it but Syl and Brent said they could fix it up and really make it nice. So we agreed. Brent’s father, Maurice whom Leon had home taught in California, loaned us the money so we had no down payment and no closing costs. Brent did the bulk of the work with help from his kids and Doug. He did a great job! I picked out colors and suggested some changes and he did it all. That last winter in Monument Valley, Brent had made me a template of the house and I made little models of furniture and spent the time making arrangements in the house.
On the last days of May, 1994, Mark and Brent came down to move us. They had Brent’s large white van and our little luggage trailer. Leon had to stay one more day for graduation so he had the little TV and a mattress. Everything else got taken to Mt. Pleasant. When Leon arrived late the next day, all the furniture was in place and everything looked very homey. Of course, there were tons of boxes in his shop. The house was really beautiful.
Since my Mom was going to be living with us, before she came we went on a long trip to see our kids living out of state. First, we visited Tricia and Alan in Albuquerque, then on to Tennessee to Rob and Erika.. While there we visited Opryland and enjoyed some great country music. Next we went to Columbia, MO to see Alan and Peggy.
On one of the days, Peggy and kids, and Leon and I drove to Hannibal and saw Mark Twain’s childhood home. We had a nice picnic there. On another day, Alan drove us to the town of Fulton where stands a memorial to Churchill. Also a church brought over from London.
Shortly after Mom came to live with us, Mary, Gina, Fred and Carol came to visit and to distribute more of Mom and Dad’s things. It was fun to be with everyone.
Leon started playing in the Utah Valley Symphony again and enjoyed it very much. We would drive in every Wednesday for rehearsals and then the concerts were played on a Wednesday and Thursday nights. Mom and I drove in with Leon for all the rehearsals and attended the concerts. They played in the Provo Tabernacle.
More trips. When in Albuquerque, Tricia and Alan took us on the tram up to the top of Sandia Mountain. Quite a view from up there. Sandia Mountain has special meaning for Leon and me, that’s where he proposed to me back in 1953 when I went with him, and two other girls, to visit his parents.
We then went to St Louis, Creve Couer to be exact, to visit Mark and Sharon. We visited Grant’s Farm, that used to belong to General Grant. They have a farm for Clydesdale horses there. They are beautiful animals. Mark also took us to a museum, the building is the only one left from the fair of 1904, of "Meet Me In St. Louis"movie fame. We also visited the zoo; a really fine one and free!!!
The fourth of July is big in Mt. Pleasant with parades. A children’s parade first then the larger one. For a few years, our family had a band in the parade. A flat bed trailer held the band and we had clarinets, violins, drums, baritone, tuba, trumpet and I don’t remember what else. It was a lot of fun and people enjoyed watching and listening. One year we won the "People’s Choice" trophy.

Life in Monument Valley

Monument Valley is a beautiful place and Hollywood appreciated it too. Many John Wayne films were shot here plus others. From my kitchen window I could see the two monuments called "The Mittens," You expected to see John Wayne and soldiers ride across the skyline. The skies were beautiful and one could see for miles. Leon was the band teacher, the only music offered was band. He enjoyed it. The school had grades 7 through 12 and 98 % Navajo. The only white kids were children of the teachers. The elementary school was in Mexican Hat. It was harder for me as there was not much to do.
Monument Valley consisted of the high school, Goulding’s motel and restaurant, a hospital and a service station with a small convenience store. I helped out at book fairs and would walk to the library to read the Church News. I also went for a lot of walks. To shop for groceries I could either drive to Kayenta, AZ, about 25 miles away or go to Blanding, UT which was about 75 miles away. The store there was larger, also there was a library in Blanding so that was my drive of choice.
We went to church in Mexican Hat, which was 21 miles away. I had five different callings in Mexican Hat. I was a counselor in Relief Society, a teacher in R.S. and chorister in R.S. and SS and Sacrament Meeting. I was also a visiting teacher. Our visits took us on many dirt roads and one never knew if the sister would be home. They, and we, had no phone! We couldn’t get a phone. The Navajo Nation did not want to add more phone lines so every Saturday I would go to the little convenience store and call Sylvia and use a telephone card I had. She would tell me how everyone was doing. Not too satisfactory. We were able to get cable so we could get good T.V. programs. They came from New Mexico or Denver, I can’t remember which; we couldn’t get Salt Lake stations. I did a lot of reading!
Several family members visited us. First, we had my Mom for about two months but it was hard because the pharmacy was over an hour away and our car was a little Toyota pickup. Not too comfortable for three people. We did turn it in and get a station wagon. Fred, Carol and family came, Rob and family, David and family, Tricia and family and Nancy and family. It was always fun to see loved ones. Alan and Mark had seen the area when they drove us down.
One of the favorite places to show visitors was the swinging bridge over the San Juan River. One felt like Indiana Jones going over it. Part of the time there were missing planks in the bridge and one could see right down to the water. After crossing the bridge, after a long walk, one could arrive at the 17 Room Ruins. Indian ruins, cliff houses, and they were so interesting. There would be no one around and one could climb into the ruins. It was like you had discovered them yourself. Sylvia and Brent had discovered this area when they lived in Montezuma Creek and had shown it to us.
We got very well acquainted with the area. We would drive to Cortez and Durango, CO and of course, into Blanding and Monticello in Utah. Many weekends we would drive up to Mt. Pleasant and stay with Syl and Brent. We also spent a summer with them. People needed to get away from Mon. Valley. Nothing going on there! Syl and Brent always made us feel welcome. We also drove to Albuquerque several times to see Tricia and Alan.

Leaving Brazil, Monument Valley

Our last week in Brazil was great. We had already trained the Elders that replaced us so we really didn’t have much to do in the office. Elder and Sister Simmons, who lived next door, took us to a symphonic concert at a lovely auditorium. What was sad was that during intermission, one of the cellists left his instrument leaning against his chair and it got knocked down. The cello broke and you could hear a huge groan from the audience. It was really a horrible thing to happen. That player didn’t return for the second half of the program. Fred took us to a drive-through zoo where we saw lots of animals. That was fun. We had a nice dinner at the mission home with other missionaries who were also being released.
When we arrived at the airport, since it was the middle of December, an orchestra was playing excerpts from "Messiah"! What a send-off!!! It was wonderful to be home in the USA again. We were able to see all of our kids except Tricia and Alan, who had moved to Albuquerque. We spent Christmas with Syl and Brent and then Sylvia drove us to Monticello for Leon to interview for a band director position in Monument Valley. He had taken a leave of absence from the Alpine District but there were no openings at that time. It was a real blessing for him to get that job.
From Southern Utah we drove to Albuquerque to see the Romriells and to pick up the little yellow Toyota pickup they had been using while we were on our mission. We were able to see the site of the new house that was being built for them. Returning, Syl and I rode in her car and Leon drove the pickup.
Alan, with Will, and Mark helped up move to Monument Valley. The small trailer broke down before we got there so we left it with someone and retrieved articles at a later date. We gave the trailer to the man. There wasn’t housing available at the time so all our furniture, etc. was placed on the stage of the auditorium. The boys were so helpful, stayed one night, and then returned home. Leon and I stayed an entire week at Goulding’s Motel, paid for by the school.
After a week, a three-bedroom, two bath trailer arrived for us. It was quite nice and we were happy to be in our own place again.

trip to Matto Grosso do Sul

In November, 1992, Carol’s mother came to visit and Fred and Carol planned to take her with them when they visited the outlying state of Mato Grosso do Sul, that was part of our mission. Since it was close to the time for our leaving, we were invited to go too. We rode in the "Veraneo" the mission van. Of course, Fred did all the driving; he got sick if he was a passenger. Our first stop was in Americana, a city founded by Southerners after the Civil War. The ones who were willing to work were successful, those who weren’t, failed. There still are Southern descendants living in Brazil. We attended a Zone Conference in Campo Grande.
We visited the "Pantanal" which is like the Everglades. Lots of birds and water. We saw an alligator, "Jacaré, and an otter. There were very large white birds called "Tuiuiu (pronounced too-you-you). We also saw parrots, toucans and macaws. We had to take a ferry across the Paraguay River and stayed in the city of Corumbá. We were able to take a river trip on that same river seeing lots of birds and animals. Corumbá is on the border with Bolivia and we were able to cross the border into the city of Puerto Suarez and visit shops there. One of the stalls we visited was run by an LDS couple.
After visiting Corumbá, we visited an Indian tribe. There was a huge ceremonial hut called an "Oga" and we met the Indian chief, wearing only a pair of shorts. The hut was made of reeds or some kind of grass. There were some ceremonial feathers and things on poles but the hut was mostly empty. Leaving the reservation we saw ostriches and tall ant hills in the fields.
We spent the night in the city of Ponta Porâ, on the border with Paraguay. We stayed in a lovely hotel and we had musical entertainment: a harp and guitar and the fellows sang and played Paraguayan music. The next day we crossed the street into the city of Pedro Juan Caballero in Paraguay. We went to a nice shop and met the owner and a very cute Indian girl who waited on us. We took the girl’s picture and the owner wanted us to take hers too, so we did. I had always wanted to visit Paraguay and finally was able to.
Fred received permission for us to go out of our mission and visit the Iguazu Falls or Foz do Iguassu in Portuguese. Iguazu means Big Water in Indian. I had seen many pictures of them from childhood and was finally able to see them for myself. We rode in a boat to a place where there was a walkway built. There had been recent floods and we could see some of the damage along the way. We came to an observation place where we could see the huge fall called the Devil’s Throat. A huge fall with little birds flying through all the mist. There are 275 separate falls of varying size and covering a large area. Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina meet here. The falls are most spectacular and are set in tropical jungles. Really beautiful. When we left the falls we visited a huge hydroelectric dam at Itaipú on the Paraná River, making the largest artificial lake in Brazil. There were 18 huge turbines; quite a sight.
It was a lovely trip, a very nice way to end our time of service. When we got back we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Gallaher’s home, some American LDS members of the branch. All the branch members were present and it was a fun time. He worked for some big company, I can’t remember which, and had a huge, lovely home which was all enclosed with a guard at the front gate. Typical for Sâo Paulo. Fred, Carol and I did some singing as entertainment.

Life in the Mission

Our days were very busy working in the office. Leon working with all financial responsibilities. I kept track of new incoming missionaries, typing up transfers, making doctor appointments for sick missionaries and a lot more. Leon and I had to take new missionaries to the Polícia Federal, the Police Headquarters, to get identity cards; we also picked up new missionaries at the airport or took returning ones there. We took Fred to the airport whenever he had to fly to the other state in our mission where he would attend zone conferences every six weeks.
The mails were not very reliable so all bills had to be paid at different banks. We would go and stand in long lines in order to pay the bills. We also drove to the Clinica Fry, where the missionaries went for doctor appointments, to present the payments for medical attention; a different check for each doctor.
On Saturdays, we would go to the grocery store to do our weekly shopping. There were many checkout stands, it looked sort of like Wal-Mart or Target checkout stands. Occasionally we would go to the outdoor feiras, or markets but not often. They were usually held during the week when we would be in the office.
Our service was tuning pianos. Fred told Leon to bring his piano tuning tools. Most of the chapels had pianos that had not been tuned for years! Since our branch met in the afternoon, we would go Sunday mornings to locate the ward where we would visit during the week for the tuning. Traffic was much lighter on Sunday so it was easier to locate the places. We had a Guia, or guide, which helped us negotiate this large, busy city.
At one time, Leon developed severe pain in his side. He finally went to the hospital and the x-ray showed a kidney stone. The hospital was called Albert Einstein, a Jewish hospital and a very good one. The doctor that attended him had attended John Hopkins in the States. They gave him a relaxant and sent him home. Carol, Fred’s wife who had suffered from many kidney stones, recommended he drink a glass of water every 15 minutes. He did this, all day and night and the stone passed.
Close to the end of our mission, two other couples came to Sâo Paulo. Elder and Sister Fowler (she was a nurse) and Elder and Sister Simmons (he was a doctor and she was Pres. Benson’s niece). They were assigned to the North and South Missions but we lived in the same apartment complex. The Simmons were in the apartment next to us and the Fowlers across the way. It was really nice to have other couples to do things with and to show around.
Towards the end of our mission, the location for our Mission Office changed. We went to a building in the Santo Amaro neighborhood behind the Santo Amaro chapel. Fred had worked on that chapel when he was a young missoionary.. It was a little more cramped as to space and did not have the branch of the bank we used close by. I’m glad most of our mission was spent in the Church Area building next to the Temple and MTC or CTM as they called it.

Death of Dad, short return to U.S.

We had only been in Brazil a few weeks when family called to tell us that my Dad had passed away. He hadn’t been very well when we talked to him just before we left the U.S. Of course, neither Fred nor I could leave the mission field to attend the funeral. Just about all of the extended were able to go to Mesa and support Mom. Elder Richard G. Scott, who had been one of my Dad’s missionaries, spoke at the funeral. My sister Gina told me that he looked right at Mom all the time he was speaking. It was hard not being able to be there. A few days after the funeral, Elder Scott called the mission home, where we were staying with the kids, and wanted to visit with Fred about Dad but he and Carol were out in another state for zone conference but I had a nice visit with him.
In early December, a Monday, I received a call from the Murdock Travel person who takes care of all missionary travels. She told us that Leon and I had tickets to fly to Los Angeles
the next Tuesday evening to get our permanent visas. It had not worked out as earlier thought, to go across the border into another country to get the visas. We would need our copies of birth certificates and marriage license. I immediately went upstairs to the church lawyer’s office to get them but he was out of town! He had no secretary and no one knew where they could be. The Area Authority’s secretary told me to look through all the papers and files I could see but I couldn’t find them. They were not in the file he had for us. Our originals were packed away somewhere in Utah with one of our kids. We couldn’t get the visas without them! I said a quick, heartfelt prayer and the secretary came in and said I should look in a certain pile of papers. I had already gone through it but looked again and THERE THEY WERE! I have never had a prayer answered so quickly and completely before and I was so grateful.
We flew to Los Angeles. The church had rented a car for us and arranged for us to stay at the Los Angeles Temple patrons’ lodging. We went to the Brazilian Consulate and got our visas and now we could wear our missionary name tags. Carol had given us a list of things to buy for her family and we also had a list of things we wanted that were unavailable in Brazil. It was fun shopping at an American grocery store. One evening, I stood outside at a pay phone and called all eight kids collect and got to talk to almost all of them. What fun! We also went one afternoon out to see Mary and her family. We enjoyed being in the States again but were happy to go back to Brazil and continue our mission.
In December, Mom and Gina came to Brazil for about a month-long visit. I’m sure it was a big help for Mom, to have something nice like that to take her mind off her loss. They stayed with Fred and Carol, in the same room Leon and I had used. It was so fun to see them, to show them where we were working and living, and taking them to different meetings.
Close to Christmas, Fred, Carol, Jonathan, Violet, Gina, Mom and I drove to Santos, which is on the coast. Fred had worked there as a missionary and our family had stopped there at various times while traveling on ships to Argentina and Uruguay. It was so great to see the ocean and the hills covered with greenery. There were also the famous wavy sidewalks that are so prominent in Rio de Janeiro but Santos had some too. You could get dizzy staring at them for a long time.
One of the members of the International Branch, the branch we attended, was an American working for some company. He and his wife had bought a beautiful vacation place out in the country. He was Dallas Archibald, and later was called as a General Authority in the 2nd Quorum of Seventy. It was a gorgeous place. So many flowering trees and plants. They had a lake and a swimming pool. It looked like the Garden of Eden. They were very generous and held many branch activities there. For New Years, they had a big branch party but Mom was having problems with her heart so she was in the hospital for the day and I stayed with her. Later, the family went out to the vacation place so I got to see it. It was lovely.