One of the most
wonderful, enduring memories of our activities at Eugene High School was my
membership in the A Cappella choir. I
loved every minute of it. Wanda, Evelyn
and I had the chance to sing in every performance because we were so energetic
and dependable. We loved our choir
director and he was one of those people who had a special rapport with young
people and could bring talent out of even the least capable singer. He was drowned in a terrible accident which devastated all
the choir members. It was never the same
after that.
The move to Oregon was a complete change of life style
for us. As I indicated earlier we were
the only teen-age girls in the ward so everyone thought we were pretty
special We brought new ideas, activities
and a little “spark” with us. We were
just going into MIA (the youth
organization of the Church) and were anxious to have lots of fun….the only
problem was….there were no BOYS!!! Bishop Lake
Evelyn had met a fellow, Phil Cannon,
who she had seen a few times and invited him to a MIA activity. He came and brought the twins Grant and
Graham Misbach who were wonderful dancers, so of course they were welcomed with
open arms. The group began to grow and a
couple of brothers Bart and Dennis Olsen moved into the ward so things were
looking up! We had great fun. Wanda by this time had her drivers license so
we were indeed independent. We even had
the courage to go and “drag the gut” once in a while. That was the
expression that was used to go downtown Eugene and drive down the main
street, Willamette, which was a one way and the kids who had cars would drive
down and turn around and go back down….as long as the gas held out! Great Fun,
honking at each other, yelling and getting acquainted with the police officers
who kept a pretty good eye out for us.
One officer in particular kind of took extra special watch over us. I suspect now that he knew our Fathers and
was doing them a “favor”.
I very much enjoyed my Senior year in
high school. Because I had been what
they called a “mid-term” student in California ,
and because Oregon
was on a different enrollment program,
they had no place for me. I had most of my credits, I still needed some
English and Math requirements to fill.
Lucille Barker, my English teacher arranged for me to do a “Story Hour”
on the local radio station (KUGN). I
would adapt the stories, she would approve them and I would go to the radio
studio each week and read them over the air.
It was fun, exciting and lot of the students really envied me….because I
got out of school early that day!
I was also an excellent
“debater”. I was on the school debate
team and got to do a lot of fun (at least to me) travel to debate other
schools. I remember one of the subjects
was on the formation of the United Nations.
That, of course, was a timely and highly controversial issue at the
time. As I write this today I realize
again what a wonderful experience my high school years were, and how disappointed Mother and Daddy
were when my life took the turn that it did.
About six months after we
moved to Oregon , Hazel Vanessa Gibson (Brooks)
moved to Eugene
with her two daughters, Vivian and Phyllis and a son, Loren. She had another son, Royal who was just
finishing up his duty in the Army.
Vivian and I became the best of friends, actually the closest thing I
have ever really had to a sister. She
kept telling me her brother was coming home from the Army and I was going to
marry him! Of course I pooh-poohed the
idea, never dreaming what fate had in store!!
I need to mention that by
this time (1949) the rest of the “clan” had moved from California .
Uncle Ted and Aunt Jane, and Aunt Miriam and Uncle Barney. Daddy had a half-brother, Jerd and his wife
Tenny Mae, had also made the move. So by
now we were quite a clan of Loe’s and Lee’s.
One person’s birthday was everyone’s birthday so we had lots of fun celebrating all through the year. Of course. Christmas and Thanksgiving were
always huge gatherings as the family always seemed to find someone around who
didn’t have family nearby. I count this
as one of my greatest legacy’s. My
Mothers home was always open to friend or relative. I sincerely hope that will be one of the
things I might be remembered for!
So, often included in some
of our family get togethers, were Vivian. Hazel and Loren. They became very close friends and joined us
in these fun times. Vivian had a very
beautiful singing voice. One year she
was invited to sing “Easter Parade” in a special program we were all invited
to. When my Father heard her sing it
must have been the most beautiful thing to him because she never visited that
she wasn’t asked to sing that for him!
Falling in love
with Royal Brooks was the greatest blessing that could ever have been. Perhaps his falling in love with me was the
greater blessing! Roy had come to Eugene
to be with his Mother and siblings after he got out of the Army. His cousin, Raymond Webb, whom he had served
with in the Army was going to go over to Logan, Utah to attend school. Congress had passed a bill…..The G.I. Bill of
Rights, that gave every returning veteran the opportunity to go into University
for further education. This was a fantastic
thing the United States Government did for the returning veterans. Those who had served during the war were
eligible for an opportunity to go on to college with the help of the
government. Roy’s cousin, Raymond Webb,
had enrolled at Utah State and talked Roy into going over with him. This too, was another significant evidence of
the Hand of the Lord in our Lives. It
was such a blessing that a I write this 60 years later I can still examine and
reflect on what our lives might have been without this opportunity.
The first time I met Roy,
Vivian had invited me to their house for dinner (tacos) and a movie. When I got there Roy was nowhere to be seen! Soon I could hear
his Mom in the bedroom giving him
the angriest talking to I had ever heard!
She was saying “Roy ,
you get out there and speak and you be nice!!”
He, in return was saying “I’m not going out there! I don’t like her and I’m not going out
there!!! It was really quite
embarrassing to listen to. Vivian on one
hand telling him she’d never speak to him again! and His Mother threatening him
with…..I can’t remember what!!! Finally
he came out of the bedroom and sort of spoke.
We went ahead with dinner, but I was so embarrassed I felt like I wanted
to die! By this time we were ALL
almost in tears and not knowing what to do.
I had walked out onto the front porch by this time, not knowing what at
all to do. I had ridden out to their
house with Vivian so I was pretty well stuck there!! Eventually Hazel talked him out of the
bedroom…reluctantly…and we met for the first time. I will have to say that based on that
encounter I am surprised either one of us ever spoke…which Roy , in his typical style didn’t do much of
anyway! We finally decided to go to the movie, but all of this resistance had
taken so long that we didn’t have tine to eat the rest of our tacos. So we wrapped them in aluminum foil and off
we went! For people so shy and not
wanting attention you can imagine the reaction around us when we pulled out our
tacos..,.they really did smell up the theater.
(you must remember this was in the olden days when people didn’t eat in
theaters, except for a little popcorn!).
The movie was “Red River Valley Roy was more handsome than any of the actors
on the screen! Vivian also had a date…he
had the car, and they took me home right after the movie was over. My parents lived about 10 miles north of Eugene on a five acre ranch with a cow and lots of hay!
From there, our courtship
didn’t have anywhere to go but up! But
it sort of took a long time to head that direction. We had made a date for Roy to pick me up after school….at the
school. I waited and waited and he
didn’t show! Of course, I was
furious. That was IT! It turned out that
He had worked the graveyard shift at the service station where he had gotten a
job and had gone home to take a little
“nap”! It turned out that he had slept
18 hours straight. He was lucky he
didn’t lose his job, but he redeemed himself with me (I can’t remember how) and
things went on.
In retrospect, my
parents were so very against our getting married. They thought I was too young! Roy
didn’t have a job! He had come from a
“broken” home..just about anything they could think of. My Dad promised me a brand new car if I
wouldn’t get married. They of course
wanted me to go on to college, which hadn’t been mentioned until then!
Hazel Brooks was personnel manager at the
Sears,Roebuck Store in Eugene and got me a job decorating windows and dressing
mannequins in the store. I felt like I
was pretty lucky to get that job. I
bought a few things for a“hope chest” (it was mostly hope!) We were quite fortunate in the generous gift
giving at our wedding reception and seemed to be able to set up housekeeping
quite nicely.
A few words about our wedding. we went to Salt Lake so that we could be
married in the Temple. My Parents had
not been to the Temple
so they weren’t able to go with us. Aunt Sidna had gone as a child so she was able to go through with
us. It was a beautiful, wonderful
experience.
I was the first of the teen
age girls to get married out of that group of church young people and the Ward
went all out to express their love and support.
We had a beautiful reception , received many lovely gifts, some of which I still use in my home
today! Throughout these many years, it
is always thrill to go to Eugene and see people who
remember us as young, and
adventuresome. Our wedding date,
September 2, 1949 of course remains a special day for us. Even today I pinch myself and feel deep
gratitude for the wonderful fifty seven years I have been blessed to share with
a wonderful man. We made some enduring friendships
there in Eugene
and its always a thrill to see those few people who are left from that era of
our lives.
My relationship with Roy ’s family has always
been wonderful, They all…..aunts,
uncles, cousins were always loving and kind to me. When we were so poor getting anything new in
the way of clothing was just out of the picture. Aunty Martha worked in a dress shop in Chino,
California and passed on many, many items of clothing that were a real joy for
me to have something…..anything new.
Daddy was so sure
he would never be able to work again that he was making preparations to “live
off the land”. They had a few animals
and hay planted. It was really a big
departure for a girl who had spent what life she could remember in the ‘city’
with buses to ride and close neighbors.
Things at home were beginning to
loosen up somewhat, Daddy’s health was
returning and he was beginning to feel stronger. As I look back I can appreciate more and more
the worry and work it was on Mother. She
was not that many years away from the time spent down after Cal ’s birth.
They were workers! She would go out and milk the cow every morning. Belva learned to milk really well. I could never stand the feeling of the cow’s
teats in my hand … which is why my assignments were always in the house, I
guess. I did learn to cook and
clean!! I liked it, although I’m sure I
did my share of complaining. Mother was
an excellent cook. She believed in lots
of butter and cream, which we had….and yet!! Standing by her side was not magic
because she had lots of little tricks that I never learned, however I did learn
many things that helped me as I attempted to start my own “kitchen” at a fairly
young age.
Life was so fun! Our extended family activities were almost
continual with birthdays, holidays and just about any excuse to get
together. With Mother being the “cook”
of the family she was the “queen” and she did relish the title!
Before I met Roy, I met my first really
serious boyfriend. His name was Gene
Simmons. He was from Louisiana
and had a very heavy accent. My folks
didn’t like him at all. I thought he was
very handsome. He had very curly blonde
hair and beautiful teeth. We had a lot of
fun together. Just silly kids but full
of life. One reason Mother and Daddy
didn’t like him , I’m sure was because we had exchanged rings. They had given me a beautiful ruby ring for
my birthday and they were very proud of that.
Gene’s ring wasn’t quite as nice as mine. They never did quite believe that he lost
it. Any way after that, He moved back to
Louisiana !!! I enjoyed my life very much, things were just
fun!!! I must editorialize for a moment, it seems like more than my short
lifetime ago that we were so “innocent” at that age. When I look at my grandchildren and realize
how very difficult the world is now, I wonder how I would have endured the
challenges that they are faced with each day.
After
I met Roy my life changed dramatically. I was finishing high school, was head
over heels in love and very conflicted at home.
My parents had planned so strongly on my going on to college. I’m sure they could see the writing on the
wall and it wasn’t what they had planned for me. I can appreciate now their
disappointment. Wanda, Evelyn and I were
the first of their posterity to graduate high school and the thought of having
children go on to college was a great milestone for them. If they had been in a
position to get me right into college that summer it may have been different,
but we had the summer to date and fall more deeply in love before Roy left to go to Logan , Utah to attend Utah
State University
We set our wedding date for September
2, 1949. We had no car…no money….and
were completely dependent on my folks to get back and forth to the Temple in Salt
Lake City , Utah Salt
Lake and Roy ’s
sister Phyllis also lived a little way out in a suburb of Salt Lake Roy and the rest of us spent the night at
Uncle Bronson and Aunt June (Lee). They
were very hospitable and tried to help make it a wonderful and exciting
experience. Mother was not at all in the
mood to have any fun or happiness connected to the occasion. I’m sure it was because they didn’t know Roy all that well and
were so disappointed in our decision to marry so soon.
The Temple was very full and busy. Aunt Sidna went through with us (she had gone
through the St. George Temple many, many years before when she was just a child
and stood proxy for her own Mother who had died in childbirth) and I was so
grateful for her because I was so afraid.
I had heard many terrible stories from people who didn’t know what they
were talking about, concerning the Temple ,
it’s ordinances and treatment of brides, etc, that she was my salvation that
day.
Our wedding ceremony was finally
performed about 10:00 p.m. I was
exhausted, afraid and I don’t think I actually realized I was MARRIED!!! It was almost 11:00. We were both hungry, tired, excited and
didn’t know what came next! Mother,et
al, were waiting….also tired and ready to be through! We left the Temple , met Mother and Uncle Bronson, they
took Aunt Sidna and left Roy and I on foot to walk to the hotel where he had
made reservations. We started walking down East Temple Roy had…….LIVER AND ONIONS !!! That shows a bit about our level of
“culture” at that stage in life’.
We started for home the next
morning, our little troupe of a “wedding
party”. I guess we didn’t get too early
a start because we only made it as far as Reno ,
Nevada Roy
touch her
I think Roy and I were both
thinking the same thing because I don’t think even our toes brushed
together! It was quite an ordeal for all
of us. I’m sure Mother was just not
thinking. I’m quite certain she didn’t
have the money for two rooms and Roy
certainly didn’t. But we have had great
fun with that through the years.
We had a wonderful reception in
Eugene. The members of the ward were
wonderful to us. We received many
beautiful gifts which was a great blessing because we literally didn’t have
anything. We couldn’t even take all the
gifts we had been given with us, for lack of room in Roy ’s 1946 green Chevrolet. We were packed at tightly as could be, but
left the more “impractical” (crystal, silver ) gifts at Mother and
Daddy’s. We have been so blessed and
enjoyed many wonderful, beautiful treasures in our lifetime together.
We left Eugene adventurous, naïve and oh! so in
love. Roy ’s old Chevrolet was packed to the last
available inch. It was quite emotional
for me because I had never really been away from home before. It was a real conflicting set of emotions
because it seemed so far away and yet so exciting to be starting our on our
own. I had just turned 18 and looking
back, compared with today’s society, could just as well have been 10 years old! We drove to Bend ,
Oregon spent the night then went on to Logan , Utah Roy had made arrangements for us to rent a
Quonset Hut which had been moved onto the campus to solve the housing problem
when the military boys started coming home from the war. They had divided them in half and put up a
very thing wall to create two apartments of one hut. We could hear each other whisper, hear the
toilets flush and know what the other couple was having for dinner! It was terrible! But the worst problem was the bedroom! It was large enough to accommodate one TWIN
sized bed! and that was all!! For two tall people who had both been used to
sleeping alone all their lives it was the first of many adjustments. It also had a coal stove. Now I had never seen a lump of coal in my
life and somehow fate created us to be enemies!
Roy
would “bank” up the stove before he left for school and tell me not to touch
it. After He had been gone about an hour
it would look like it was going out so I would take the poker and move the
coals around….just a little bit so it wouldn’t go out ….and sure enough …It
would. No fire and all, and very soon no coals either! By the time he arrived back home
mid-afternoon there was no sign of a fire or even a burning ember. I was
freezing, crying, not dressed and hungry…not a pretty sight to come home
to! We managed to stick it out about
three months, miserably, when one of Roy ’s
buddies heard of an apartment very close to where he lived.
So we did some
investigating and learned that there was an apartment on the second floor of a
big old “Utah ”
house. It had been split up and made
into several apartments and we were able to be one on the top floor. We had to share a bath with another couple on
the floor, but that was sort of OK because The other couple were both students
and gone all day. We enjoyed it very
much. The owners family was wonderful to
us and we became quite good friends.
Evelyn was in School ay BYU and had a boyfriend who lived in Corrine , Utah
One of my first
experiences at having a dinner party was when Evelyn was visiting us….she was a
student at BYU and had come up to spend the weekend with us and what she hoped
would be her boyfriend. I put a pot of
pinto beans on to cook for dinner. One
of our wedding presents from my folks had been a complete set of “revere”
dinner ware (which I am still using today) which included a small pressure
cooker. I read in the cook book that it
would be about a half hour coking time. What
the book didn’t tell me was that the beans had to be soaked first!...or I
missed that part in the reading somehow….I cooked them and had the cabbage all
ready to serve in a half hour with the
beans. The cabbage was done just
right but the beans were still…crunchy!?!
I kept cooking the beans and
warming the cabbage. The beans took about two and a half hours to cook
and by then the cabbage was slimy and brown.
NOT MY BEST MEAL!! I have since
become a somewhat “adequate” cook, but I remember my embarrassment about that
meal to this day!!! We had to leave that apartment under rather stressful
circumstances also. One night we were
going to go out and I fixed dinner early so we could get ready. It was in the middle of winter and I had done
the laundry and of course had to hang everything on the outside clothes
lines. Roy had come in and I thought had gone into
the bathroom to take his bath to get ready to go out. Rather, he had gone outside to bring in the
clothes for me. I heard the tub running
in the bathroom so opened the door and saw him undressed leaning over the tub
adjusting the water, so I went in playfully ??
tickled him and said “ding. Dong Daddy…dinner’s ready” The person who looked around…not smiling, was
not Roy, but the fellow from down the hall!
Of course, I screamed….so did he!!
I went running into our apartment totally mortified. I cried and cried but we just couldn’t stay
there for fear I’d run into him again!
I feel sure that Roy has to be wondering who….or what he’s
married ! Somehow He has always been
understanding and never made me feel more mortified than I have already made
myself feel. We started looking around
and found a darling little tri-plex, closer to school and a little more
room. It actually had a kitchen! We felt so lucky that we could afford it and
made the move as soon as possible. It
had a pull down bed in the living room, a small kitchen and bath. We were very happy not to have to share
anything. It was there we were living
when Wanda and Pat Wright came to Logan with
Aunt Sidna to be married in the Logan
Temple
People were so good to us and were
always giving us things to try, to help us get by more comfortably. Roy ’s very
good friend, Gordon Flammer, whose parents had a farm in Logan , was always passing on to us things to
help us out. One time they butchered a
pig and gave us all the fat to render down for the lard. I followed all thetions ….but went to bed
that night forgetting that it was still in a “slow oven’. The next morning I went in and snapped on the
kitchen light and ……BOOM….the whole kitchen ignited and melted everything in
it…including the knobs on the cabinets.
Well, needless to say we made another move! As I look back and reminisce at the
experiences we had I more fully appreciate the hand of the Lord in guiding our
lives. I was such an inexperienced,
naïve 18 year old.
This time we moved into a basement
apartment. The winter’s in Logan were ferocious and
it was cold. Our apartment had a door
that opened into the furnace room and many times I would go in there and sit
just to feel a little extra warmth. We
had made a wonderful circle of friends, some Roy’s classmates and some from the
ward we lived in. We stayed in contact
for several years after leaving Logan
but gradually as time and moves, children and jobs , just life in general
caused us to lose track of each other.
A moment of digression
in my thoughts, We have always been so very, very blessed to meet, enjoy and maintain
wonderful, wonderful friends. As we
lived away from family for so many years these friends became our family so to
speak and have filled a very large space in our hearts. As I write this I must comment that just last
week we were with our “supper club” group that we have been part of for 28
years and what a joy and delight that association has been. We are all getting older but still have fun
and enjoy our time together.
The little apartment
we lived in was in the home of a Stake Patriarch, Hyrum Carlton. We got very well acquainted with him and
after some time of his knowing me, he asked me to record blessings for him as
he gave them. I found that to be a very
special experience and realized the preparation that is made spiritually by
those holding that calling. He was a
widower at that time so I used to take servings of casseroles, bread and
desserts to him when I felt
they were good
enough. He was wonderful to us and
really took us under his wing. When I
learned I was pregnant with David so soon after Vivian’s birth, he was very
consoling, assuring me that the Lord had
chosen very “special” women to bear very
special spirits in the last days. I
certainly think that is true as David has been special and brought us much
joy.
The
time passed quickly, Roy
graduated with honors and he started interviewing for employment. He had done well and had several job
opportunities, we were at a point that I really didn’t realize was such a
critical one. The decision He made
was to impact our lives greatly.
One opportunity was with the Highway Department in Oregon
and the other with the U. S. Government at the Salinity Laboratory in Riverside . California . Riverside was
“old stompin” grounds for Roy ,
of course, having been raised there.
Several of his aunts and uncles still lived there so that was a big
attraction. After interviewing and
praying he made the decision to go to Riverside .
It was a very dramatic turning point in our lives. We didn’t own a car so it was a challenge as
to get what few things we had moved. My
parents bought us a little Studebaker Car and we packed all our belongings plus
the two kids and headed off into the “lone and dreary world”. I seemed like such an adventure. Little did I
realize that it was only the beginning of an adventurous life that would take
us “around the world and back again”.
When we arrived in Riverside Roy’s “Aunty”
Bertha and Uncle Bill Took us in and were so wonderful. Uncle Bill was an avid “roller derby” fan and
Aunty Bertha a marvelous pie maker so every night after dinner we would watch
TV and eat pie. We found a house just around the corner from them and moved
into it. After a couple of months we
realized we had “bitten off more than we could chew” and started looking for a
more affordable house. We found one in
an area called Mira Loma, which was very near the area Roy ’s grandparents had lived. So we rented it and moved into it. We stayed there for about two years then
began “moving up in the world” and found a lovely two bedroom house closer to the
little town of Glen Avon. We really
enjoyed the community and Roy
was made Branch President. There was a
wonderful group of young people about our age who were in the same stage of
life….having babies and starting careers.
We went to Stake Dances as a group, had dinner in each other’s homes and
just enjoyed being young, broke most of the time, but happy!
We had a lot of septic tank problems
there. A layer of “hard pan” soil made
it difficult for the drainage to keep up with the needs. Someone at the Salinity Lab mentioned to Roy that sometimes you
could break that hard pan up by dropping a stick of dynamite down the septic
tank. He decided to try it!! He bought
the dynamite and chose a Saturday morning to be THE day. Of course the kids were all excited because
they had heard Daddy discussing all the possibilities. One matter of concern was whether to use one
stick of dynamite or two. He decided
that because of the hardness of the soil that possibly two would be more
effective. THE day arrived and of course
it seemed to have grown in magnitude!
Several of the neighbors learned of the endeavor because of course they
faced the same problems with that difficult soil as we did and Mr. Brooks
worked in soils and drainage so he MUST know something about what he was about
to do. He got everything set up and was
ready to go. The crowd had gathered, the
anticipation was high because we had cautioned the kids that it was going to be
very, very important that they not move from where we had told them to
stand. The moment arrived when it was
time to drop the dynamite into the tank.
He did!! And BOOM. It worked!
Soil, Rocks and other contents
blew into the sky and over quite a wide area.
WHAT A MESS. One of the neighbors
was heard to say in shock and disbelief……..”that looks like human
excrement!” Well to make a long, long
story shorter, we moved from the neighborhood very shortly thereafter. I don’t think Roy has ever bought another stick of
dynamite,
Our next house was in the area of “Sunnyslope”. Actually right across the road from where Roy’s Grandpa and Grandma Gibson had
lived. He had spent a lot of time with them as he was growing up so he
was well acquainted with that area. It
was quite a long way from the Salinity Lab and of course we were lucky to have
one car, so I spent most of my time at home being a mom. Once again the Church filled a huge need in
my life. We got active in the little
Branch there and made some very good friends.
(My dearest friend, Beverly Harrington and I are in contact at this
time (2006) and continue to enjoy our
visits via telephone.)
At that time the Riverside Stake sponsored a dance (in the Chapel in
downtown Riverside )
every month. That was our big night
out! We would get a baby sitter, get
really “dressed up” and go with our group from the branch. This included the Bascomb’s, Wooley’s,
Harrington’s, Longdon’s. We stayed in
contact with these friends for quite a few years after we left Riverside but as I write this are still only
in contact with Beverly Harrington Kraemer.
She has been a wonderful friend all these many years.
About this time also, Roy
was made Branch President of the little branch in Mira Loma. This was a real learning experience and the
first of a lifetime of many different callings in the Church. He has enjoyed many, many callings and has
always excelled in each one. I, too,
have enjoyed many various callings and feel that this has been a very positive
influence in my life. I learned many things
from the older sisters in the various wards we’ve lived in that my Mother
didn’t have time to teach me because I married so young and moved away from her
geographically. We were blessed, in that
my family always worked hard to see each other often. We enjoyed many visits from various family
members from time to time. Mom Brooks
and Vivian were living in Las Vegas
at this time so we were also lucky enough to have visits from them often. Our children were always so excited when the
Grandmas and Grandpa would come to visit
because it meant treats and excursions that we couldn’t afford at that
time. Grandma Brooks was always a
special treat because she liked to have “fun” and was pretty inventive in
places to go, My Mother was inclined to
“cook up a storm” so there were always extra cakes and pies around when she was
visiting.
We were on a very tight budget. Roy
was making fairly good money for the time and his education. His salary in 1952 was $3475.00 per year and
that was about average for government wages at that time. We had two children, were paying about $50.00
a month for housing. One car meant I
stayed home most days, the Salinity Lab was about 15 miles from our house so
there weren’t many days I had a car. I
was busy with two “babies”, laundry, cooking and every day activities. I didn’t occur to me to be “bored” or
unhappy. It was life! Roy ’s
“boss” at the Salinity Lab, Ronald Reeve and his “Alie” took us under their
wing and really “nurtured” us, far and above the caring for a new
colleague. People have always been so
good to us and seemed to go the extra
mile in being kind and helpful to us.
After
Roy was made
Branch President in the Mira Loma Branch of the Church our life changed
dramatically. There were many in that
small branch that had “problems” and He started having lots of calls and visits
to make. It seems like there were
many…perhaps not as many as I seem to remember, that were in need of assistance
and I made a lot of trips to the welfare center. My good friend Beverly Harrington, used to go
over to Pomona
with me to pick up welfare orders. It
was kind of a fun outing because the Church was paying for the gas, Beverly would take her
children and I would have mine and we would make an outing of it. Sometimes we could squeeze out the cost of an
ice cream cone around the trip which made it really, really fun for the kids. I can remember, being young, feeling some
resentment at all the food and provisions I would pick up for others when it
seemed like we needed it worse than they did!
But it was fun and gave us time away that we might not otherwise have
had.
We
were very needed in that small branch and did build some wonderful and lifetime
memories. One activity that we really
forward to each month was the Stake Dance in Riverside .
It was such a highlight to get together with our friends and go as a
group together. There were at least five
couples that would make it every month and it was such a wonderful time. We would plan all month on what to wear and
do our hair, save for the baby sitter.
Not more than twice or three times a year we could squeeze out enough to
go to dinner before the dance or so somewhere afterwards for a piece of
pie, It was fun. Avery tight knit group who truly loved each
other as family and would come to each other’s aid when needed. One of the couples, Bill and Eloise Bascomb
had a baby born with a hair-lip and cleft palate. It was such a trauma for all
of us. She called on me to come and take
her home from the hospital, it was a shock and experience I have never
forgotten. I have always felt a deep
gratitude for the health and strength of our children as they have come to us.
Our time in Riverside was certainly a growing and
maturing period of our life. Roy ’s Aunt Bertha (Hazel’s
sister) and her husband (Bill Miller)
would open their home any time we stopped by.
“Aunty” Bertha made the most wonderful apricot pie. She would peel the apricots and make a real
“short” crust and they were “more” than delicious. Uncle Bill was also a roller derby fanatic
derby , so we would eat apricot pie and watch the derby matches. Wonderful Memories!!
We
bought our first home. What a thrill. It
was a lovely, small three bedrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen. We had great fun building bookcases out of chain and brick, refinishing
old dining room furniture (the table of which Kathleen is using today as a game
table). I made draperies, shopped every
garage sale and checked out the city dump frequently for discarded items.
As I remember back, there was
certain thrill and sense of accomplishment was a true joy! We were so proud of what we had and spent a
lot of time there.
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| A Dave Brooks Reunion at Bear Lake |
RHB
