A Chapter in the Life of Anita June Loe

THE TOMBSTONE TOLD WHEN SHE DIED

……MORE THE THICK STONE CANNOT TELL

"Finding a clever, original or even an interesting way to begin my personal history has been somewhat difficult for me. I have been so blessed in every facet of my life that as I reflect back, it seems too good to be true, even to me. I was truly born with a special heritage. I don’t believe in “pre-destination”, but the fateful circumstances surrounding the meeting of the Lee’s and the Loe’s could make a believer of even a skeptic such as I.

My father, Ray (a Loe), his brother Roy and their sister Elsie, met my mother Magnon (a Lee), her sister Sidna and their brother, Serres Paran (Ted) in the Deep South in the late 1920’s. They were in the throes of the “great depression”. History indicates that it was much worse economically there, than in many other areas of the nation. None of the Lee’s nor Loe’s were formally educated, very much people of the “land”. As they got acquainted with one another, they realized that each possessed some qualities that could help them in “getting by” during this period of American History, which would come to be known as the “great depression”. Being very musically talented, (my Mother’s brother, Bronson could play any instrument with strings on it!). The girls were young and beautiful, also musically talented and “full of life”, they put together a musical show, “Aaron Slick from Punkin’ Creek” and took it “on the road”.

It was a musical play about people in very much their situations “in real life”. I believe the price of admission was ten cents. They traveled in Arkansas and Texas eking out a living. As time passed and destiny would dictate, these energetic, vital “troopers” fell in love, married and continued to knit together as family. Where one went, they all eventually went and continued to stay extremely close. Very often they “would pool their resources and maintain a home together. My Mother, Magnon,“nonnie”), and her sister, Sidna (“tissie”) and their brother, Serres Paran (Ted), married my Father, Calvert “Ray”, his brother Roy, and their sister, Elsie. As a result, I had cousins that were “sisters”, as close to me as my only birth one, Belva. There was Wanda, Evelyn, Merva (Pat), Mirial and Barbara. My brother Calvert and cousin Fred were buddies and it seemed like they always needed “watching”. We had many great times playing in a tire! We would get into it, the others would roll us down an incline until we bounced off the garage wall! Another favorite pastime was playing with the flowers. Nasturtiums were a favorite because they had a round, flat leaf. Those served, as our dishes and the actual flowers and rose petals were the food. We had baby dolls that we loved! Giving them water until they wet their diapers, then changing them when they wet. We used our mothers as role models in “mothering”. What fun it was!

Most of my childhood recollections center on our home and extended family activities. What Wanda, Evelyn and Mirial did, Belva and I were also involved in. We all took tap dancing at very young ages and got quite good! Our mothers were very adept at making sure we practiced every day, even though it sometimes involved a little flip of a switch when we sloughed off! We danced at the Worlds Fair in San Francisco in 1939, and that was very proudly told by our parents for quite some time. Wanda and Evelyn were so tiny and cute, I was larger and more serious in nature, and not so light on my feet, so Mother started me in “Elocution Lessons”. I started memorizing and giving “readings” at every family occasion. It has served me well and I have enjoyed the opportunities this has brought to me throughout my life. I participated in many speech contests and school related activities in drama, debate and extemporaneous contests.

When my brother Cal was born, Mother developed a condition called ‘milk-leg’. I think it was blood clots. Daddy contrived a box with lights in it, Mother had to keep her legs elevated, so she laid, with her legs in that box for about a year. Grandpa Lee and his wife, “grandma pansy” lived in our driveway in a small tailor for that year. They would take Cal into Mother so she could nurse him. One of my most vivid, yet frightening, memories is of my Mother, crying . As I look back on it now, as an adult, I can’t imagine the thoughts and fears she must have had. I know they had bought some property and were making plans to build a larger, new home. I’m sure she imagined that dream coming to an end. Another vivid memory I have is when she got out of bed and began to do a few things, she immediately wanted to start sewing. She had a treadle sewing machine and I would sit on the floor and push the treadle back and forth. It was quite a while before she got an electric sewing machine and boy….was I happy!

Another of my fondest memories is going to the movies! We would hurry to get our work done…household ….yard work …or any other chores!! . . . and then off we would go with our 15 cents; 10c for the movie and five cents for a frozen banana. We would nibble and lick and do every thing we could do to make it last the longest! Mirial had some sort of secret because she could always make hers last longer than anyone else. We loved the actors and it became encouragement for our imaginations to go into gear and act out all the movies we had seen. Nelson Eddy, Jeanette McDonald, Tyrone Power, Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Errol Flynn and many others. We didn’t have the beautiful, thick tresses like the feminine heroines in the movie, so we would use pinch clothes pins to lengthen our hair. Oh! We felt so beautiful!! We knew the name’s of all the characters in the movie, their loves and co-stars. We had hours and hours of great fun. We didn’t have television but we did have fanciful imaginations. We listened to the radio plays also. “Lux Theater”, “I Love A Mystery” “Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy”, “Inner Sanctum”. The daytime soaps were “Stella Dallas”, “Life begins at 40”,”Fibber McGee and Molly”.

I also learned the value of work. As I became old enough to do chores, I did them! My work was mostly in the house. Cooking, cleaning and learning from Mother, skills I have used all of my life. Mother usually washed the dishes and I dried them and put them away. She was an excellent homemaker and we lived in a spotless house, with meals served on time, sitting down at the table together and cleaning up afterward. My memory is that Belva my sister usually got the “bellyache” and got to go to the bathroom a lot, but that could be a little distorted in my mind! Cal of course, being a boy, was never expected to do household chores. Men and women’s jobs were very clearly defined in our life style. That too, changed with the times, I remember in later years of his helping out in the kitchen on rare occasions. Mother’s illness after Cal’s birth kind of changed Daddy’s concept of His and Her responsibilities, I think.

When a young person in the Mormon Church turns twelve, they advance into a more social atmosphere. We attended a weekly meeting called the Mutual Improvement Association…. commonly called “mutual”. We continued to learn the doctrines of the Church along with dances, acting, and socially progressing. Naturally this included boys and “crushes”. I had gotten my growth early and was taller than everyone, so I didn’t often feel comfortable in my body. The other girls were tiny and “cute”, which really made me aware of my “un-cuteness”!! I feel such gratitude in my heart for the programs and development that the Church offered to all of us. Our parents were wonderful, and took every opportunity to help us develop talents and gave us opportunities to “perform” at every family event. Our family got together often , the love and “connection” is a feeling I draw on often, even today as an adult. Back to MIA! Along with learning the doctrines we were given so much acceptance socially. The leaders made certain that there were no favorites. We were taught all the steps to the waltz, fox trot, rumba, samba and of course and always the jitterbug. We were all great dancers so that was a wonderfully happy time. During the war, we would all get together and ride the bus to downtown Oakland to the stake dances. There we met lots and lots of service men from the Oak Knoll army camp. We danced our hearts out. What fun we had…hay rides, skating, hiking even a little horseback riding which I was not good at. Scared to death!!! The park above Oakland was just beautiful. Eucalyptus trees, pines and the big sequoias. I remember Mother serving in the Primary Presidency and how seriously she took that responsibility. We had home teachers regularly and Daddy got quite friendly with one man in particular. I guess at one time He asked Daddy why he was’nt a member of the Church. Daddy said something like “well, no one’s ever asked me!” Of course that sparked the “golden question” and Daddy was baptized into the Church on May 3, 1941. Mother of course, had been baptized as a child in St. George, Utah on May 1, 1921. She also had been sealed to her parents in 1922, Grandpa Lee had joined the Church in Texas and was taking his family to be sealed . Tragedy struck and he lost His wife and two children on the way….another story and very sad!

```My parents didn’t really become “active” until they moved to Oregon in 1946 after my Father’s near fatal heart attack. They made the` move thinking they were going to have to be living “off the land” because of his illness. They bought a small acreage, a cow and a pig…and proceeded to take up their old way of life. Uncle Roy had moved to Oregon earlier, bought a log truck and began “logging”. Soon Daddy felt that was something He could do and soon “Loe Brothers” Logging and Trucking was formed. They worked together until Aunt Sidna had a catastrophic stroke. Uncle Roy dedicated His life…until she died, to her care."

Part of her biography upon the occasion of her birthday, April 20, 1931. To later become the light and life of my life.

RHB