I, Anna Vera Bean, was born December 8, 1892. My father was Marcellus Bean born November 6, 1867, at Provo, Utah, his father being James Addison Bean and his mother, Harriet Catherine Fausett. Mother's name was Johanna Caroline Edman born September 6, 1867, at Provo, Utah, her father being Hans Odahl Edman and her mother Anna Maria Sandell.
When it was time for Mother to deliver me, Uncle Nid (Leonidis) was told to run up Provo Canyon to get Dad. I was delivered by a midwife. I was the second child in a family of ten, six girls and four boys, but the second boy, Ray, just lived one year. All ten children were born in the same room of a two-room brick house with a frame shanty on the back and steps leading into the cellar where the fruit and supplies were stored. The house faced the south and a picket fence was on the south and east. It was in Provo, Utah County, Utah, at 511 East 6th North.
I was blessed February 2, 1893, at Provo Utah Stake, Fourth Ward, by Andrew Watson. I was baptized June 16, 1902, at Provo in the old Tabernacle font by W. E. Rydalch. I received my patriarchal blessing when I was 25 years old on May 27, 1918 by John Donaldson, in Teton City, Idaho.
All my schooling was in the old Parker School in Provo. We had A and B classes in each grade, promoting twice a year, so I must have started after Christmas. Miss May Ashworth was my teacher. She was a good teacher and I must have got along alright, although I was always too bashful for my own good. About the worst thing that happened the first year, she made Jim Williams sit with me about a week. He was from about the dirtiest family in Provo. We used to pass their place when we drove cows to the pasture. Guess I survived that year and was promoted to the second grade. I can't remember a thing about the 2nd or 5th grade teachers. The third grade teacher was Ethel Whitmore, a neighbor. I had to stay out of school and help Mother some during canning time. She used to help me out by bringing something home for me to do. Frank Bennett taught me in the fourth and sixth grades. Mother asked him once how I was doing. He said sometimes I was slow getting the point but when I did, he knew I would remember. Shedrick Jones taught me in the seventh grade. I was in the B class and when my brother John was born in March, I had to quit and take care of the home, so I didn't get promoted that spring. So when I started the next Fall after going about two weeks, he came to see Mother and told her if she would keep me in school he would let me take both classes and help me so I could go in the A class, so I made it and was thankful to go on with my class. The classmates I remember most were Helen Alexander, Jennie Snow, Nina Vance. It was a small class with only about 12 in it.
Simon P. Eggertsen was principal and teacher in the eighth grade. He was a good-natured, bald-headed man and he loved to read. He was a real good reader and put his whole soul in it. In the spring of the year when the window in the back of the room was open and the teacher would read, the boys in the back of the room went out the window and played basketball. When Mr. Eggertsen came to, he walked to the window and called them in. Mustn't forget our old music teacher named Doff Boshard. He had some of the best old songs. He used to compose some of them. He taught music in the four schools in Provo, Parker, Masier, Franklin and Timpanogos. I graduated from the eighth grade in January about 1907. This was the end of my schooling.
We had lots of playmates around the neighborhood. My best friend was Estella Pyne. She always had such pretty dolls and nice playthings. There was Aunt Lizzie Bean's kids two blocks away and the Everett's in between. We all used to gather out in the West road when there wasn't much travel and play ball, run-sheep-run, and all the other games at night.
Mother used to keep Fern and I quite busy helping her and tending babies. Clarence was just a year and one-half older than I and he says he used to take care of me. He says he used to wheel me in the buggy and carry slop to the pigs.
The summer after Melva was born (she was the seventh child), Father built on the house. We lived there until after John was born, then sold it. Father, thinking he would build on his five acres, moved us in a house of Grandpa Bean's up in the cottonwoods, living there until fall. Then he bought a house that was being built and all roofed in. It was on the old John Pierce place. Dr. Petersen was building it. Father decided after buying it, it wasn't built good enough so he sold it to Nelsons with half of the ground. Then he built the home where we lived until we moved to Idaho. It was located at 684 No. 4th East. We belonged to the 5th Ward. Always went to Sunday School and Mutual but don't remember much about Primary.
When we were little, Father was out with Grandpa's sheep a lot, leaving Mother to do chores and take care of the place. We always had a good garden and raised all our berries, cherries, apples, pears and plums.
We lived eight blocks from school and would come home to dinner most of the time. Fern and I used to have a time getting Leah to school on time. She used to have to stand and look at everything she saw!
Grandma and Grandpa Bean lived around the block from school. We used to go around to see them quite often in hopes she had some fresh molasses cake. Never will forget how good it was. Grandma was always so kind and Grandpa was just the opposite.
Grandpa and Grandma Edman lived in Salem, Utah, about 15 miles from Provo. It was always a celebration to go over there in the surrey with Chub, our old horse. Mother's sister, Aunt Annie Hamilton and Uncle Henry and family lived just through the field, and Mother's brother, Uncle John and Aunt Mary were across the road from Aunt Annie. Grandpa Edman was a shoemaker and mender. He had an old bench which he had made, with his tools, thread and everything on. We would stand and watch him but never dared touch anything. He was a kind man. We used to have some of the best meals there. She could stew an old hen the very best. She loved her flower garden and called them posies. Sometimes we couldn't understand her. She would get too much Swedish in.
Housecleaning time in those days was quite a thing. We had to take up the rag carpet, take out the old straw which was under the carpet and then scrub down the walls and the floors. They would put down the clean fresh straw and lay the cleaned rug. The rugs were woven by Grandma Edman. Old rags were torn in strips, sewn together and wound in balls. Straw ticks were used on the beds, and these were emptied and filled with fresh straw at housecleaning time.
The spring after I graduated I went to work in the Domestic Laundry and worked there for a year and a half. I made $3.00 a week for a long time then got a raise of fifty cents. I quit to take a sewing class from Miss Lottie Orwin. We learned to draft our patterns. The next fall I went to the Provo Steam Laundry to work, starting at $4.00 a week. After a while I got a promotion from the mangle to up front helping sort clothes and shirts and did the wrapping. I got $5.00 with that promotion. I worked with Allie John who was my boss and we got along fine. He was a good-natured man and treated me fine.
Whenever I bought me anything to wear, I bought some for Fern too. I would sew at night. I bought a White Sewing Machine.
We used to have our fun at night. There was Myrl Cluff, Maude Foote, May Walters and Verg Phillips. When the fruit was ripe we would go up over Temple Hill and get ripe peaches, grapes, and anything we could find. One night we were in a grape patch at Muhlstines. His farm was by Phillips. The next day Vergie saw him and he asked her if we liked the grapes. So she asked him where he was and he said he was in the patch but didn't want to bother us when we weren't wasting any.
About the only boyfriend I had in Provo was Reed Glazier. He had a nice horse and buggy. Six or eight of us used to go up Provo Canyon on picnics.
Father just didn't have enough farmland to get along so the fall of 1914 Mother and Dad came up to Idaho to look for a farm. Uncle George Bean had been living up there a few years. So Father bought 40 acres from Will Naylor down on the Teton River. That same fall, Uncle Will Bean came up and bought himself a farm on the highway. His land had a house on it. So the next spring, early, Dad and our cousin Frank Edman and Lee Bean started out with their horses, wagons, cows and everything they could bring and traveled up to Idaho to get the crops in and a place to live. They build a frame for a couple of tents over by Uncle Will's house. In April, Clarence, Leah, a cousin Ruth, and I, came up on the train. We were disappointed when we saw where we had to live. Leah and I had a room in Ruth's house where we slept. They got the crops in and when school was out, Mother and the rest of the family came up on the train.
After Dad got up here, he bought five acres of land on the highway a half-mile north of his 40 acres to build a house on. After Mother and the rest of the family came up, we moved our tents over on our land where we were going to build the house. Clarence worked very hard getting the house up and closed in so we could get into it that fall. We had quilts up to the inside doors and had a hard job keeping warm. It was quite a struggle for Mother and Father to build up another home. But it was much nicer than living in the tents all summer where the mosquitoes were so bad they nearly ate us up. Frank Edman stayed with us most of the summer. We enjoyed him so much. He was just like one of the family.
The second summer we were in Idaho, I had a sick spell one night. Had a convulsion and never found out the cause. Had all the doctors around but never got any help from them. I would have these sick spells every so often and didn't have much warning. Mother would get the Elders to administer to me and Patriarch Donaldson came most of the time. He always promised me I would get better. I was about 23 years old and my desire was to get married and have a family. I had my patriarchal blessing from Brother Donaldson. He promised me I would get better if I would keep the Word of Wisdom. I received this blessing and have been blessed many times.
In the summer of 1919 Clarence and family went on a camping trip up to Canyon Creek. They invited me to go with them. It was here I met Whitney Pincock. After going together for a year and a half, we were married on January 12, 1921, in the Salt Lake Temple. My Mother and Whit's Mother went down to the temple with us.
We lived in two back rooms of Grandma Pincock's home the first winter, then moved up to help Henry and Mae run the Springs. Didn't see much money for the work. I came down and lived with my folks that winter. Helen was born December 14, 1921. Whit spent most of his time in the timber. The next spring we moved up to the creek and lived in Whit's cabin that he had moved up by the quaken aspins (quaking aspens). We camped there. The cabin had bare floors, a stove, table, bed, trunk and two or three chairs. We had to carry our water from the creek. I remember Mother came up once and she couldn't see what we lived on.
Mother had had an operation and I felt like I could help her so I moved down there again. Mother and Dad always made me feel welcome.
The spring of 1923 we moved down on Grandpa Pincock's farm in a *** house. Frank and Whit were going to take over 80 acres (the Neff 80, they called it). We were asked to live in the back part of Neff's house to be with her when Mr. Neff went to California to work.
It was while we were living here that Norma was born in December 1923, the day after Christmas. My sisters had been to a Christmas dance in St. Anthony the night before and everyone was tired. Whit took me up to Mother's and Norma was born in the early afternoon. She would cry all day long but it's a good thing she slept at night. As I look back on it now, I think I was starving her. The following spring we moved up the road a mile into the Garner place. We had to haul our water from the river and our drinking water from Uncle George's. Twenty-two months later Russell was born, October 24, 1925.
The days were filled with the daily tasks of caring for the children, raising a garden, canning, housework, and outside chores. Whit was gone a lot of the time farming and getting logs out for our new home. Clarence built the house and we moved into it the fall of 1927. The following April 31, 1928, Frances was born. It was a beautiful spring day. I sat out on a stool and watched Whit plant the garden. Frances was born in the early evening.
It was July 16, 1932, when we got our fourth little girl, dark hair and black eyes. We sent the kids to Aunt Susie's. Dr. Rich was there and Mother came to help.
In the early hours of November 8, 1937, Richard was born. I was 45 years old. After a long, difficult pregnancy, it was a joyous occasion to get such a beautiful, healthy baby.
The remainder of the story is written from memories of her children:
Mother worked very hard and had what we would call a hard life. She never had any of the luxuries, but never complained and made do with what she had. Although we were poor as far as money goes, we always had enough to eat. We lived on the garden produce. Milk and eggs were the only source of income most of the time. We had beef, mutton, and pork which was killed at home. It was a special time when the pigs were killed. The lard was rendered, sausage ground and seasoned. The hams and bacon were taken to Grandpa Bean's to be cured.
Mother was a beautiful seamstress. She was always happy for hand-me-down clothes from her sisters that she could take apart and remake for her children. Her sewing was truly a work of art, as was all phases of her housework. Her clothes were ironed to perfection and she would say, "no use doing a job if it can't be done right." Oftentimes we would have to do it over.
She was on the quilting committee in Relief Society for years. The pieced quilts were neatly sewed and beautiful when done.
Even with the busy farm life, we found time to go to Grandma Bean's. Mother would take her sewing or just visit. Sometimes they would quilt and it was fun to listen to everyone talk, or play with cousins under the quilt, or sit on the front porch and wave as the cars went by, or explore the basement and check out the treasures in the old trunks.
There was always a time to do everything. We did the washing on Monday. Ironing on Tuesday. Sewing, gardening, etc. the rest of the week. Mother never left dirty dishes and often made Dad wait while she did some last minute task. The house was always cleaned on Saturday and often times a trip to Rexburg to shop on Saturday afternoons.
She was a good cook and became noted for her excellent bread. Sunday dinners were always a specialty with fried chicken which had been killed and cleaned the day before. Vanilla ice cream made from the ice which had been stored in the ice house from the preceding winter. Warm spice cake and biscuits were also favorites. She would make special treats while we were in the beet and potato fields, but the lemonade was the best of all.
No matter how she felt, she was up in the mornings, dressed, washed, with her hair combed before anything else was done.
Mother was the one who insisted that we go to church. Although many times I remember her saying she didn't have any talents and couldn't do anything, she must have been a good secretary since she served under three Relief Society presidents. Her six children were raised with a strong conviction that the church is true. It was through Mother's example and teachings that we learned to live many of the gospel principles.
Probably if she would have had the opportunity to have had more schooling she would have excelled in mathematics. She always seemed to understand it and was able to help us with homework when there was a problem we couldn't solve. She was always home when we got out of school. Home was a pleasant place to be-clean and smelling of freshly baked bread.
As she began to fail in health and the end of her life approached, her memory and mind became dim because of arterial sclerosis. Dad took care of her needs and was patient and loving with her until the end. She was taken to Madison County Hospital one week before she died in a coma, a few minutes after midnight on January 26, 1971. (Contributed by Billie Kay Bean Bollwinkel)
When it was time for Mother to deliver me, Uncle Nid (Leonidis) was told to run up Provo Canyon to get Dad. I was delivered by a midwife. I was the second child in a family of ten, six girls and four boys, but the second boy, Ray, just lived one year. All ten children were born in the same room of a two-room brick house with a frame shanty on the back and steps leading into the cellar where the fruit and supplies were stored. The house faced the south and a picket fence was on the south and east. It was in Provo, Utah County, Utah, at 511 East 6th North.
I was blessed February 2, 1893, at Provo Utah Stake, Fourth Ward, by Andrew Watson. I was baptized June 16, 1902, at Provo in the old Tabernacle font by W. E. Rydalch. I received my patriarchal blessing when I was 25 years old on May 27, 1918 by John Donaldson, in Teton City, Idaho.
All my schooling was in the old Parker School in Provo. We had A and B classes in each grade, promoting twice a year, so I must have started after Christmas. Miss May Ashworth was my teacher. She was a good teacher and I must have got along alright, although I was always too bashful for my own good. About the worst thing that happened the first year, she made Jim Williams sit with me about a week. He was from about the dirtiest family in Provo. We used to pass their place when we drove cows to the pasture. Guess I survived that year and was promoted to the second grade. I can't remember a thing about the 2nd or 5th grade teachers. The third grade teacher was Ethel Whitmore, a neighbor. I had to stay out of school and help Mother some during canning time. She used to help me out by bringing something home for me to do. Frank Bennett taught me in the fourth and sixth grades. Mother asked him once how I was doing. He said sometimes I was slow getting the point but when I did, he knew I would remember. Shedrick Jones taught me in the seventh grade. I was in the B class and when my brother John was born in March, I had to quit and take care of the home, so I didn't get promoted that spring. So when I started the next Fall after going about two weeks, he came to see Mother and told her if she would keep me in school he would let me take both classes and help me so I could go in the A class, so I made it and was thankful to go on with my class. The classmates I remember most were Helen Alexander, Jennie Snow, Nina Vance. It was a small class with only about 12 in it.
Simon P. Eggertsen was principal and teacher in the eighth grade. He was a good-natured, bald-headed man and he loved to read. He was a real good reader and put his whole soul in it. In the spring of the year when the window in the back of the room was open and the teacher would read, the boys in the back of the room went out the window and played basketball. When Mr. Eggertsen came to, he walked to the window and called them in. Mustn't forget our old music teacher named Doff Boshard. He had some of the best old songs. He used to compose some of them. He taught music in the four schools in Provo, Parker, Masier, Franklin and Timpanogos. I graduated from the eighth grade in January about 1907. This was the end of my schooling.
We had lots of playmates around the neighborhood. My best friend was Estella Pyne. She always had such pretty dolls and nice playthings. There was Aunt Lizzie Bean's kids two blocks away and the Everett's in between. We all used to gather out in the West road when there wasn't much travel and play ball, run-sheep-run, and all the other games at night.
Mother used to keep Fern and I quite busy helping her and tending babies. Clarence was just a year and one-half older than I and he says he used to take care of me. He says he used to wheel me in the buggy and carry slop to the pigs.
The summer after Melva was born (she was the seventh child), Father built on the house. We lived there until after John was born, then sold it. Father, thinking he would build on his five acres, moved us in a house of Grandpa Bean's up in the cottonwoods, living there until fall. Then he bought a house that was being built and all roofed in. It was on the old John Pierce place. Dr. Petersen was building it. Father decided after buying it, it wasn't built good enough so he sold it to Nelsons with half of the ground. Then he built the home where we lived until we moved to Idaho. It was located at 684 No. 4th East. We belonged to the 5th Ward. Always went to Sunday School and Mutual but don't remember much about Primary.
When we were little, Father was out with Grandpa's sheep a lot, leaving Mother to do chores and take care of the place. We always had a good garden and raised all our berries, cherries, apples, pears and plums.
We lived eight blocks from school and would come home to dinner most of the time. Fern and I used to have a time getting Leah to school on time. She used to have to stand and look at everything she saw!
Grandma and Grandpa Bean lived around the block from school. We used to go around to see them quite often in hopes she had some fresh molasses cake. Never will forget how good it was. Grandma was always so kind and Grandpa was just the opposite.
Grandpa and Grandma Edman lived in Salem, Utah, about 15 miles from Provo. It was always a celebration to go over there in the surrey with Chub, our old horse. Mother's sister, Aunt Annie Hamilton and Uncle Henry and family lived just through the field, and Mother's brother, Uncle John and Aunt Mary were across the road from Aunt Annie. Grandpa Edman was a shoemaker and mender. He had an old bench which he had made, with his tools, thread and everything on. We would stand and watch him but never dared touch anything. He was a kind man. We used to have some of the best meals there. She could stew an old hen the very best. She loved her flower garden and called them posies. Sometimes we couldn't understand her. She would get too much Swedish in.
Housecleaning time in those days was quite a thing. We had to take up the rag carpet, take out the old straw which was under the carpet and then scrub down the walls and the floors. They would put down the clean fresh straw and lay the cleaned rug. The rugs were woven by Grandma Edman. Old rags were torn in strips, sewn together and wound in balls. Straw ticks were used on the beds, and these were emptied and filled with fresh straw at housecleaning time.
The spring after I graduated I went to work in the Domestic Laundry and worked there for a year and a half. I made $3.00 a week for a long time then got a raise of fifty cents. I quit to take a sewing class from Miss Lottie Orwin. We learned to draft our patterns. The next fall I went to the Provo Steam Laundry to work, starting at $4.00 a week. After a while I got a promotion from the mangle to up front helping sort clothes and shirts and did the wrapping. I got $5.00 with that promotion. I worked with Allie John who was my boss and we got along fine. He was a good-natured man and treated me fine.
Whenever I bought me anything to wear, I bought some for Fern too. I would sew at night. I bought a White Sewing Machine.
We used to have our fun at night. There was Myrl Cluff, Maude Foote, May Walters and Verg Phillips. When the fruit was ripe we would go up over Temple Hill and get ripe peaches, grapes, and anything we could find. One night we were in a grape patch at Muhlstines. His farm was by Phillips. The next day Vergie saw him and he asked her if we liked the grapes. So she asked him where he was and he said he was in the patch but didn't want to bother us when we weren't wasting any.
About the only boyfriend I had in Provo was Reed Glazier. He had a nice horse and buggy. Six or eight of us used to go up Provo Canyon on picnics.
Father just didn't have enough farmland to get along so the fall of 1914 Mother and Dad came up to Idaho to look for a farm. Uncle George Bean had been living up there a few years. So Father bought 40 acres from Will Naylor down on the Teton River. That same fall, Uncle Will Bean came up and bought himself a farm on the highway. His land had a house on it. So the next spring, early, Dad and our cousin Frank Edman and Lee Bean started out with their horses, wagons, cows and everything they could bring and traveled up to Idaho to get the crops in and a place to live. They build a frame for a couple of tents over by Uncle Will's house. In April, Clarence, Leah, a cousin Ruth, and I, came up on the train. We were disappointed when we saw where we had to live. Leah and I had a room in Ruth's house where we slept. They got the crops in and when school was out, Mother and the rest of the family came up on the train.
After Dad got up here, he bought five acres of land on the highway a half-mile north of his 40 acres to build a house on. After Mother and the rest of the family came up, we moved our tents over on our land where we were going to build the house. Clarence worked very hard getting the house up and closed in so we could get into it that fall. We had quilts up to the inside doors and had a hard job keeping warm. It was quite a struggle for Mother and Father to build up another home. But it was much nicer than living in the tents all summer where the mosquitoes were so bad they nearly ate us up. Frank Edman stayed with us most of the summer. We enjoyed him so much. He was just like one of the family.
The second summer we were in Idaho, I had a sick spell one night. Had a convulsion and never found out the cause. Had all the doctors around but never got any help from them. I would have these sick spells every so often and didn't have much warning. Mother would get the Elders to administer to me and Patriarch Donaldson came most of the time. He always promised me I would get better. I was about 23 years old and my desire was to get married and have a family. I had my patriarchal blessing from Brother Donaldson. He promised me I would get better if I would keep the Word of Wisdom. I received this blessing and have been blessed many times.
In the summer of 1919 Clarence and family went on a camping trip up to Canyon Creek. They invited me to go with them. It was here I met Whitney Pincock. After going together for a year and a half, we were married on January 12, 1921, in the Salt Lake Temple. My Mother and Whit's Mother went down to the temple with us.
We lived in two back rooms of Grandma Pincock's home the first winter, then moved up to help Henry and Mae run the Springs. Didn't see much money for the work. I came down and lived with my folks that winter. Helen was born December 14, 1921. Whit spent most of his time in the timber. The next spring we moved up to the creek and lived in Whit's cabin that he had moved up by the quaken aspins (quaking aspens). We camped there. The cabin had bare floors, a stove, table, bed, trunk and two or three chairs. We had to carry our water from the creek. I remember Mother came up once and she couldn't see what we lived on.
Mother had had an operation and I felt like I could help her so I moved down there again. Mother and Dad always made me feel welcome.
The spring of 1923 we moved down on Grandpa Pincock's farm in a *** house. Frank and Whit were going to take over 80 acres (the Neff 80, they called it). We were asked to live in the back part of Neff's house to be with her when Mr. Neff went to California to work.
It was while we were living here that Norma was born in December 1923, the day after Christmas. My sisters had been to a Christmas dance in St. Anthony the night before and everyone was tired. Whit took me up to Mother's and Norma was born in the early afternoon. She would cry all day long but it's a good thing she slept at night. As I look back on it now, I think I was starving her. The following spring we moved up the road a mile into the Garner place. We had to haul our water from the river and our drinking water from Uncle George's. Twenty-two months later Russell was born, October 24, 1925.
The days were filled with the daily tasks of caring for the children, raising a garden, canning, housework, and outside chores. Whit was gone a lot of the time farming and getting logs out for our new home. Clarence built the house and we moved into it the fall of 1927. The following April 31, 1928, Frances was born. It was a beautiful spring day. I sat out on a stool and watched Whit plant the garden. Frances was born in the early evening.
It was July 16, 1932, when we got our fourth little girl, dark hair and black eyes. We sent the kids to Aunt Susie's. Dr. Rich was there and Mother came to help.
In the early hours of November 8, 1937, Richard was born. I was 45 years old. After a long, difficult pregnancy, it was a joyous occasion to get such a beautiful, healthy baby.
The remainder of the story is written from memories of her children:
Mother worked very hard and had what we would call a hard life. She never had any of the luxuries, but never complained and made do with what she had. Although we were poor as far as money goes, we always had enough to eat. We lived on the garden produce. Milk and eggs were the only source of income most of the time. We had beef, mutton, and pork which was killed at home. It was a special time when the pigs were killed. The lard was rendered, sausage ground and seasoned. The hams and bacon were taken to Grandpa Bean's to be cured.
Mother was a beautiful seamstress. She was always happy for hand-me-down clothes from her sisters that she could take apart and remake for her children. Her sewing was truly a work of art, as was all phases of her housework. Her clothes were ironed to perfection and she would say, "no use doing a job if it can't be done right." Oftentimes we would have to do it over.
She was on the quilting committee in Relief Society for years. The pieced quilts were neatly sewed and beautiful when done.
Even with the busy farm life, we found time to go to Grandma Bean's. Mother would take her sewing or just visit. Sometimes they would quilt and it was fun to listen to everyone talk, or play with cousins under the quilt, or sit on the front porch and wave as the cars went by, or explore the basement and check out the treasures in the old trunks.
There was always a time to do everything. We did the washing on Monday. Ironing on Tuesday. Sewing, gardening, etc. the rest of the week. Mother never left dirty dishes and often made Dad wait while she did some last minute task. The house was always cleaned on Saturday and often times a trip to Rexburg to shop on Saturday afternoons.
She was a good cook and became noted for her excellent bread. Sunday dinners were always a specialty with fried chicken which had been killed and cleaned the day before. Vanilla ice cream made from the ice which had been stored in the ice house from the preceding winter. Warm spice cake and biscuits were also favorites. She would make special treats while we were in the beet and potato fields, but the lemonade was the best of all.
No matter how she felt, she was up in the mornings, dressed, washed, with her hair combed before anything else was done.
Mother was the one who insisted that we go to church. Although many times I remember her saying she didn't have any talents and couldn't do anything, she must have been a good secretary since she served under three Relief Society presidents. Her six children were raised with a strong conviction that the church is true. It was through Mother's example and teachings that we learned to live many of the gospel principles.
Probably if she would have had the opportunity to have had more schooling she would have excelled in mathematics. She always seemed to understand it and was able to help us with homework when there was a problem we couldn't solve. She was always home when we got out of school. Home was a pleasant place to be-clean and smelling of freshly baked bread.
As she began to fail in health and the end of her life approached, her memory and mind became dim because of arterial sclerosis. Dad took care of her needs and was patient and loving with her until the end. She was taken to Madison County Hospital one week before she died in a coma, a few minutes after midnight on January 26, 1971. (Contributed by Billie Kay Bean Bollwinkel)
I, Anna Vera Bean, was born December 8, 1892. My father was Marcellus Bean born November 6, 1867, at Provo, Utah, his father being James Addison Bean and his mother, Harriet Catherine Fausett. Mother's name was Johanna Caroline Edman born September 6, 1867, at Provo, Utah, her father being Hans Odahl Edman and her mother Anna Maria Sandell.
When it was time for Mother to deliver me, Uncle Nid (Leonidis) was told to run up Provo Canyon to get Dad. I was delivered by a midwife. I was the second child in a family of ten, six girls and four boys, but the second boy, Ray, just lived one year. All ten children were born in the same room of a two-room brick house with a frame shanty on the back and steps leading into the cellar where the fruit and supplies were stored. The house faced the south and a picket fence was on the south and east. It was in Provo, Utah County, Utah, at 511 East 6th North.
I was blessed February 2, 1893, at Provo Utah Stake, Fourth Ward, by Andrew Watson. I was baptized June 16, 1902, at Provo in the old Tabernacle font by W. E. Rydalch. I received my patriarchal blessing when I was 25 years old on May 27, 1918 by John Donaldson, in Teton City, Idaho.
All my schooling was in the old Parker School in Provo. We had A and B classes in each grade, promoting twice a year, so I must have started after Christmas. Miss May Ashworth was my teacher. She was a good teacher and I must have got along alright, although I was always too bashful for my own good. About the worst thing that happened the first year, she made Jim Williams sit with me about a week. He was from about the dirtiest family in Provo. We used to pass their place when we drove cows to the pasture. Guess I survived that year and was promoted to the second grade. I can't remember a thing about the 2nd or 5th grade teachers. The third grade teacher was Ethel Whitmore, a neighbor. I had to stay out of school and help Mother some during canning time. She used to help me out by bringing something home for me to do. Frank Bennett taught me in the fourth and sixth grades. Mother asked him once how I was doing. He said sometimes I was slow getting the point but when I did, he knew I would remember. Shedrick Jones taught me in the seventh grade. I was in the B class and when my brother John was born in March, I had to quit and take care of the home, so I didn't get promoted that spring. So when I started the next Fall after going about two weeks, he came to see Mother and told her if she would keep me in school he would let me take both classes and help me so I could go in the A class, so I made it and was thankful to go on with my class. The classmates I remember most were Helen Alexander, Jennie Snow, Nina Vance. It was a small class with only about 12 in it.
Simon P. Eggertsen was principal and teacher in the eighth grade. He was a good-natured, bald-headed man and he loved to read. He was a real good reader and put his whole soul in it. In the spring of the year when the window in the back of the room was open and the teacher would read, the boys in the back of the room went out the window and played basketball. When Mr. Eggertsen came to, he walked to the window and called them in. Mustn't forget our old music teacher named Doff Boshard. He had some of the best old songs. He used to compose some of them. He taught music in the four schools in Provo, Parker, Masier, Franklin and Timpanogos. I graduated from the eighth grade in January about 1907. This was the end of my schooling.
We had lots of playmates around the neighborhood. My best friend was Estella Pyne. She always had such pretty dolls and nice playthings. There was Aunt Lizzie Bean's kids two blocks away and the Everett's in between. We all used to gather out in the West road when there wasn't much travel and play ball, run-sheep-run, and all the other games at night.
Mother used to keep Fern and I quite busy helping her and tending babies. Clarence was just a year and one-half older than I and he says he used to take care of me. He says he used to wheel me in the buggy and carry slop to the pigs.
The summer after Melva was born (she was the seventh child), Father built on the house. We lived there until after John was born, then sold it. Father, thinking he would build on his five acres, moved us in a house of Grandpa Bean's up in the cottonwoods, living there until fall. Then he bought a house that was being built and all roofed in. It was on the old John Pierce place. Dr. Petersen was building it. Father decided after buying it, it wasn't built good enough so he sold it to Nelsons with half of the ground. Then he built the home where we lived until we moved to Idaho. It was located at 684 No. 4th East. We belonged to the 5th Ward. Always went to Sunday School and Mutual but don't remember much about Primary.
When we were little, Father was out with Grandpa's sheep a lot, leaving Mother to do chores and take care of the place. We always had a good garden and raised all our berries, cherries, apples, pears and plums.
We lived eight blocks from school and would come home to dinner most of the time. Fern and I used to have a time getting Leah to school on time. She used to have to stand and look at everything she saw!
Grandma and Grandpa Bean lived around the block from school. We used to go around to see them quite often in hopes she had some fresh molasses cake. Never will forget how good it was. Grandma was always so kind and Grandpa was just the opposite.
Grandpa and Grandma Edman lived in Salem, Utah, about 15 miles from Provo. It was always a celebration to go over there in the surrey with Chub, our old horse. Mother's sister, Aunt Annie Hamilton and Uncle Henry and family lived just through the field, and Mother's brother, Uncle John and Aunt Mary were across the road from Aunt Annie. Grandpa Edman was a shoemaker and mender. He had an old bench which he had made, with his tools, thread and everything on. We would stand and watch him but never dared touch anything. He was a kind man. We used to have some of the best meals there. She could stew an old hen the very best. She loved her flower garden and called them posies. Sometimes we couldn't understand her. She would get too much Swedish in.
Housecleaning time in those days was quite a thing. We had to take up the rag carpet, take out the old straw which was under the carpet and then scrub down the walls and the floors. They would put down the clean fresh straw and lay the cleaned rug. The rugs were woven by Grandma Edman. Old rags were torn in strips, sewn together and wound in balls. Straw ticks were used on the beds, and these were emptied and filled with fresh straw at housecleaning time.
The spring after I graduated I went to work in the Domestic Laundry and worked there for a year and a half. I made $3.00 a week for a long time then got a raise of fifty cents. I quit to take a sewing class from Miss Lottie Orwin. We learned to draft our patterns. The next fall I went to the Provo Steam Laundry to work, starting at $4.00 a week. After a while I got a promotion from the mangle to up front helping sort clothes and shirts and did the wrapping. I got $5.00 with that promotion. I worked with Allie John who was my boss and we got along fine. He was a good-natured man and treated me fine.
Whenever I bought me anything to wear, I bought some for Fern too. I would sew at night. I bought a White Sewing Machine.
We used to have our fun at night. There was Myrl Cluff, Maude Foote, May Walters and Verg Phillips. When the fruit was ripe we would go up over Temple Hill and get ripe peaches, grapes, and anything we could find. One night we were in a grape patch at Muhlstines. His farm was by Phillips. The next day Vergie saw him and he asked her if we liked the grapes. So she asked him where he was and he said he was in the patch but didn't want to bother us when we weren't wasting any.
About the only boyfriend I had in Provo was Reed Glazier. He had a nice horse and buggy. Six or eight of us used to go up Provo Canyon on picnics.
Father just didn't have enough farmland to get along so the fall of 1914 Mother and Dad came up to Idaho to look for a farm. Uncle George Bean had been living up there a few years. So Father bought 40 acres from Will Naylor down on the Teton River. That same fall, Uncle Will Bean came up and bought himself a farm on the highway. His land had a house on it. So the next spring, early, Dad and our cousin Frank Edman and Lee Bean started out with their horses, wagons, cows and everything they could bring and traveled up to Idaho to get the crops in and a place to live. They build a frame for a couple of tents over by Uncle Will's house. In April, Clarence, Leah, a cousin Ruth, and I, came up on the train. We were disappointed when we saw where we had to live. Leah and I had a room in Ruth's house where we slept. They got the crops in and when school was out, Mother and the rest of the family came up on the train.
After Dad got up here, he bought five acres of land on the highway a half-mile north of his 40 acres to build a house on. After Mother and the rest of the family came up, we moved our tents over on our land where we were going to build the house. Clarence worked very hard getting the house up and closed in so we could get into it that fall. We had quilts up to the inside doors and had a hard job keeping warm. It was quite a struggle for Mother and Father to build up another home. But it was much nicer than living in the tents all summer where the mosquitoes were so bad they nearly ate us up. Frank Edman stayed with us most of the summer. We enjoyed him so much. He was just like one of the family.
The second summer we were in Idaho, I had a sick spell one night. Had a convulsion and never found out the cause. Had all the doctors around but never got any help from them. I would have these sick spells every so often and didn't have much warning. Mother would get the Elders to administer to me and Patriarch Donaldson came most of the time. He always promised me I would get better. I was about 23 years old and my desire was to get married and have a family. I had my patriarchal blessing from Brother Donaldson. He promised me I would get better if I would keep the Word of Wisdom. I received this blessing and have been blessed many times.
In the summer of 1919 Clarence and family went on a camping trip up to Canyon Creek. They invited me to go with them. It was here I met Whitney Pincock. After going together for a year and a half, we were married on January 12, 1921, in the Salt Lake Temple. My Mother and Whit's Mother went down to the temple with us.
We lived in two back rooms of Grandma Pincock's home the first winter, then moved up to help Henry and Mae run the Springs. Didn't see much money for the work. I came down and lived with my folks that winter. Helen was born December 14, 1921. Whit spent most of his time in the timber. The next spring we moved up to the creek and lived in Whit's cabin that he had moved up by the quaken aspins (quaking aspens). We camped there. The cabin had bare floors, a stove, table, bed, trunk and two or three chairs. We had to carry our water from the creek. I remember Mother came up once and she couldn't see what we lived on.
Mother had had an operation and I felt like I could help her so I moved down there again. Mother and Dad always made me feel welcome.
The spring of 1923 we moved down on Grandpa Pincock's farm in a *** house. Frank and Whit were going to take over 80 acres (the Neff 80, they called it). We were asked to live in the back part of Neff's house to be with her when Mr. Neff went to California to work.
It was while we were living here that Norma was born in December 1923, the day after Christmas. My sisters had been to a Christmas dance in St. Anthony the night before and everyone was tired. Whit took me up to Mother's and Norma was born in the early afternoon. She would cry all day long but it's a good thing she slept at night. As I look back on it now, I think I was starving her. The following spring we moved up the road a mile into the Garner place. We had to haul our water from the river and our drinking water from Uncle George's. Twenty-two months later Russell was born, October 24, 1925.
The days were filled with the daily tasks of caring for the children, raising a garden, canning, housework, and outside chores. Whit was gone a lot of the time farming and getting logs out for our new home. Clarence built the house and we moved into it the fall of 1927. The following April 31, 1928, Frances was born. It was a beautiful spring day. I sat out on a stool and watched Whit plant the garden. Frances was born in the early evening.
It was July 16, 1932, when we got our fourth little girl, dark hair and black eyes. We sent the kids to Aunt Susie's. Dr. Rich was there and Mother came to help.
In the early hours of November 8, 1937, Richard was born. I was 45 years old. After a long, difficult pregnancy, it was a joyous occasion to get such a beautiful, healthy baby.
The remainder of the story is written from memories of her children:
Mother worked very hard and had what we would call a hard life. She never had any of the luxuries, but never complained and made do with what she had. Although we were poor as far as money goes, we always had enough to eat. We lived on the garden produce. Milk and eggs were the only source of income most of the time. We had beef, mutton, and pork which was killed at home. It was a special time when the pigs were killed. The lard was rendered, sausage ground and seasoned. The hams and bacon were taken to Grandpa Bean's to be cured.
Mother was a beautiful seamstress. She was always happy for hand-me-down clothes from her sisters that she could take apart and remake for her children. Her sewing was truly a work of art, as was all phases of her housework. Her clothes were ironed to perfection and she would say, "no use doing a job if it can't be done right." Oftentimes we would have to do it over.
She was on the quilting committee in Relief Society for years. The pieced quilts were neatly sewed and beautiful when done.
Even with the busy farm life, we found time to go to Grandma Bean's. Mother would take her sewing or just visit. Sometimes they would quilt and it was fun to listen to everyone talk, or play with cousins under the quilt, or sit on the front porch and wave as the cars went by, or explore the basement and check out the treasures in the old trunks.
There was always a time to do everything. We did the washing on Monday. Ironing on Tuesday. Sewing, gardening, etc. the rest of the week. Mother never left dirty dishes and often made Dad wait while she did some last minute task. The house was always cleaned on Saturday and often times a trip to Rexburg to shop on Saturday afternoons.
She was a good cook and became noted for her excellent bread. Sunday dinners were always a specialty with fried chicken which had been killed and cleaned the day before. Vanilla ice cream made from the ice which had been stored in the ice house from the preceding winter. Warm spice cake and biscuits were also favorites. She would make special treats while we were in the beet and potato fields, but the lemonade was the best of all.
No matter how she felt, she was up in the mornings, dressed, washed, with her hair combed before anything else was done.
Mother was the one who insisted that we go to church. Although many times I remember her saying she didn't have any talents and couldn't do anything, she must have been a good secretary since she served under three Relief Society presidents. Her six children were raised with a strong conviction that the church is true. It was through Mother's example and teachings that we learned to live many of the gospel principles.
Probably if she would have had the opportunity to have had more schooling she would have excelled in mathematics. She always seemed to understand it and was able to help us with homework when there was a problem we couldn't solve. She was always home when we got out of school. Home was a pleasant place to be-clean and smelling of freshly baked bread.
As she began to fail in health and the end of her life approached, her memory and mind became dim because of arterial sclerosis. Dad took care of her needs and was patient and loving with her until the end. She was taken to Madison County Hospital one week before she died in a coma, a few minutes after midnight on January 26, 1971. (Contributed by Billie Kay Bean Bollwinkel)
When it was time for Mother to deliver me, Uncle Nid (Leonidis) was told to run up Provo Canyon to get Dad. I was delivered by a midwife. I was the second child in a family of ten, six girls and four boys, but the second boy, Ray, just lived one year. All ten children were born in the same room of a two-room brick house with a frame shanty on the back and steps leading into the cellar where the fruit and supplies were stored. The house faced the south and a picket fence was on the south and east. It was in Provo, Utah County, Utah, at 511 East 6th North.
I was blessed February 2, 1893, at Provo Utah Stake, Fourth Ward, by Andrew Watson. I was baptized June 16, 1902, at Provo in the old Tabernacle font by W. E. Rydalch. I received my patriarchal blessing when I was 25 years old on May 27, 1918 by John Donaldson, in Teton City, Idaho.
All my schooling was in the old Parker School in Provo. We had A and B classes in each grade, promoting twice a year, so I must have started after Christmas. Miss May Ashworth was my teacher. She was a good teacher and I must have got along alright, although I was always too bashful for my own good. About the worst thing that happened the first year, she made Jim Williams sit with me about a week. He was from about the dirtiest family in Provo. We used to pass their place when we drove cows to the pasture. Guess I survived that year and was promoted to the second grade. I can't remember a thing about the 2nd or 5th grade teachers. The third grade teacher was Ethel Whitmore, a neighbor. I had to stay out of school and help Mother some during canning time. She used to help me out by bringing something home for me to do. Frank Bennett taught me in the fourth and sixth grades. Mother asked him once how I was doing. He said sometimes I was slow getting the point but when I did, he knew I would remember. Shedrick Jones taught me in the seventh grade. I was in the B class and when my brother John was born in March, I had to quit and take care of the home, so I didn't get promoted that spring. So when I started the next Fall after going about two weeks, he came to see Mother and told her if she would keep me in school he would let me take both classes and help me so I could go in the A class, so I made it and was thankful to go on with my class. The classmates I remember most were Helen Alexander, Jennie Snow, Nina Vance. It was a small class with only about 12 in it.
Simon P. Eggertsen was principal and teacher in the eighth grade. He was a good-natured, bald-headed man and he loved to read. He was a real good reader and put his whole soul in it. In the spring of the year when the window in the back of the room was open and the teacher would read, the boys in the back of the room went out the window and played basketball. When Mr. Eggertsen came to, he walked to the window and called them in. Mustn't forget our old music teacher named Doff Boshard. He had some of the best old songs. He used to compose some of them. He taught music in the four schools in Provo, Parker, Masier, Franklin and Timpanogos. I graduated from the eighth grade in January about 1907. This was the end of my schooling.
We had lots of playmates around the neighborhood. My best friend was Estella Pyne. She always had such pretty dolls and nice playthings. There was Aunt Lizzie Bean's kids two blocks away and the Everett's in between. We all used to gather out in the West road when there wasn't much travel and play ball, run-sheep-run, and all the other games at night.
Mother used to keep Fern and I quite busy helping her and tending babies. Clarence was just a year and one-half older than I and he says he used to take care of me. He says he used to wheel me in the buggy and carry slop to the pigs.
The summer after Melva was born (she was the seventh child), Father built on the house. We lived there until after John was born, then sold it. Father, thinking he would build on his five acres, moved us in a house of Grandpa Bean's up in the cottonwoods, living there until fall. Then he bought a house that was being built and all roofed in. It was on the old John Pierce place. Dr. Petersen was building it. Father decided after buying it, it wasn't built good enough so he sold it to Nelsons with half of the ground. Then he built the home where we lived until we moved to Idaho. It was located at 684 No. 4th East. We belonged to the 5th Ward. Always went to Sunday School and Mutual but don't remember much about Primary.
When we were little, Father was out with Grandpa's sheep a lot, leaving Mother to do chores and take care of the place. We always had a good garden and raised all our berries, cherries, apples, pears and plums.
We lived eight blocks from school and would come home to dinner most of the time. Fern and I used to have a time getting Leah to school on time. She used to have to stand and look at everything she saw!
Grandma and Grandpa Bean lived around the block from school. We used to go around to see them quite often in hopes she had some fresh molasses cake. Never will forget how good it was. Grandma was always so kind and Grandpa was just the opposite.
Grandpa and Grandma Edman lived in Salem, Utah, about 15 miles from Provo. It was always a celebration to go over there in the surrey with Chub, our old horse. Mother's sister, Aunt Annie Hamilton and Uncle Henry and family lived just through the field, and Mother's brother, Uncle John and Aunt Mary were across the road from Aunt Annie. Grandpa Edman was a shoemaker and mender. He had an old bench which he had made, with his tools, thread and everything on. We would stand and watch him but never dared touch anything. He was a kind man. We used to have some of the best meals there. She could stew an old hen the very best. She loved her flower garden and called them posies. Sometimes we couldn't understand her. She would get too much Swedish in.
Housecleaning time in those days was quite a thing. We had to take up the rag carpet, take out the old straw which was under the carpet and then scrub down the walls and the floors. They would put down the clean fresh straw and lay the cleaned rug. The rugs were woven by Grandma Edman. Old rags were torn in strips, sewn together and wound in balls. Straw ticks were used on the beds, and these were emptied and filled with fresh straw at housecleaning time.
The spring after I graduated I went to work in the Domestic Laundry and worked there for a year and a half. I made $3.00 a week for a long time then got a raise of fifty cents. I quit to take a sewing class from Miss Lottie Orwin. We learned to draft our patterns. The next fall I went to the Provo Steam Laundry to work, starting at $4.00 a week. After a while I got a promotion from the mangle to up front helping sort clothes and shirts and did the wrapping. I got $5.00 with that promotion. I worked with Allie John who was my boss and we got along fine. He was a good-natured man and treated me fine.
Whenever I bought me anything to wear, I bought some for Fern too. I would sew at night. I bought a White Sewing Machine.
We used to have our fun at night. There was Myrl Cluff, Maude Foote, May Walters and Verg Phillips. When the fruit was ripe we would go up over Temple Hill and get ripe peaches, grapes, and anything we could find. One night we were in a grape patch at Muhlstines. His farm was by Phillips. The next day Vergie saw him and he asked her if we liked the grapes. So she asked him where he was and he said he was in the patch but didn't want to bother us when we weren't wasting any.
About the only boyfriend I had in Provo was Reed Glazier. He had a nice horse and buggy. Six or eight of us used to go up Provo Canyon on picnics.
Father just didn't have enough farmland to get along so the fall of 1914 Mother and Dad came up to Idaho to look for a farm. Uncle George Bean had been living up there a few years. So Father bought 40 acres from Will Naylor down on the Teton River. That same fall, Uncle Will Bean came up and bought himself a farm on the highway. His land had a house on it. So the next spring, early, Dad and our cousin Frank Edman and Lee Bean started out with their horses, wagons, cows and everything they could bring and traveled up to Idaho to get the crops in and a place to live. They build a frame for a couple of tents over by Uncle Will's house. In April, Clarence, Leah, a cousin Ruth, and I, came up on the train. We were disappointed when we saw where we had to live. Leah and I had a room in Ruth's house where we slept. They got the crops in and when school was out, Mother and the rest of the family came up on the train.
After Dad got up here, he bought five acres of land on the highway a half-mile north of his 40 acres to build a house on. After Mother and the rest of the family came up, we moved our tents over on our land where we were going to build the house. Clarence worked very hard getting the house up and closed in so we could get into it that fall. We had quilts up to the inside doors and had a hard job keeping warm. It was quite a struggle for Mother and Father to build up another home. But it was much nicer than living in the tents all summer where the mosquitoes were so bad they nearly ate us up. Frank Edman stayed with us most of the summer. We enjoyed him so much. He was just like one of the family.
The second summer we were in Idaho, I had a sick spell one night. Had a convulsion and never found out the cause. Had all the doctors around but never got any help from them. I would have these sick spells every so often and didn't have much warning. Mother would get the Elders to administer to me and Patriarch Donaldson came most of the time. He always promised me I would get better. I was about 23 years old and my desire was to get married and have a family. I had my patriarchal blessing from Brother Donaldson. He promised me I would get better if I would keep the Word of Wisdom. I received this blessing and have been blessed many times.
In the summer of 1919 Clarence and family went on a camping trip up to Canyon Creek. They invited me to go with them. It was here I met Whitney Pincock. After going together for a year and a half, we were married on January 12, 1921, in the Salt Lake Temple. My Mother and Whit's Mother went down to the temple with us.
We lived in two back rooms of Grandma Pincock's home the first winter, then moved up to help Henry and Mae run the Springs. Didn't see much money for the work. I came down and lived with my folks that winter. Helen was born December 14, 1921. Whit spent most of his time in the timber. The next spring we moved up to the creek and lived in Whit's cabin that he had moved up by the quaken aspins (quaking aspens). We camped there. The cabin had bare floors, a stove, table, bed, trunk and two or three chairs. We had to carry our water from the creek. I remember Mother came up once and she couldn't see what we lived on.
Mother had had an operation and I felt like I could help her so I moved down there again. Mother and Dad always made me feel welcome.
The spring of 1923 we moved down on Grandpa Pincock's farm in a *** house. Frank and Whit were going to take over 80 acres (the Neff 80, they called it). We were asked to live in the back part of Neff's house to be with her when Mr. Neff went to California to work.
It was while we were living here that Norma was born in December 1923, the day after Christmas. My sisters had been to a Christmas dance in St. Anthony the night before and everyone was tired. Whit took me up to Mother's and Norma was born in the early afternoon. She would cry all day long but it's a good thing she slept at night. As I look back on it now, I think I was starving her. The following spring we moved up the road a mile into the Garner place. We had to haul our water from the river and our drinking water from Uncle George's. Twenty-two months later Russell was born, October 24, 1925.
The days were filled with the daily tasks of caring for the children, raising a garden, canning, housework, and outside chores. Whit was gone a lot of the time farming and getting logs out for our new home. Clarence built the house and we moved into it the fall of 1927. The following April 31, 1928, Frances was born. It was a beautiful spring day. I sat out on a stool and watched Whit plant the garden. Frances was born in the early evening.
It was July 16, 1932, when we got our fourth little girl, dark hair and black eyes. We sent the kids to Aunt Susie's. Dr. Rich was there and Mother came to help.
In the early hours of November 8, 1937, Richard was born. I was 45 years old. After a long, difficult pregnancy, it was a joyous occasion to get such a beautiful, healthy baby.
The remainder of the story is written from memories of her children:
Mother worked very hard and had what we would call a hard life. She never had any of the luxuries, but never complained and made do with what she had. Although we were poor as far as money goes, we always had enough to eat. We lived on the garden produce. Milk and eggs were the only source of income most of the time. We had beef, mutton, and pork which was killed at home. It was a special time when the pigs were killed. The lard was rendered, sausage ground and seasoned. The hams and bacon were taken to Grandpa Bean's to be cured.
Mother was a beautiful seamstress. She was always happy for hand-me-down clothes from her sisters that she could take apart and remake for her children. Her sewing was truly a work of art, as was all phases of her housework. Her clothes were ironed to perfection and she would say, "no use doing a job if it can't be done right." Oftentimes we would have to do it over.
She was on the quilting committee in Relief Society for years. The pieced quilts were neatly sewed and beautiful when done.
Even with the busy farm life, we found time to go to Grandma Bean's. Mother would take her sewing or just visit. Sometimes they would quilt and it was fun to listen to everyone talk, or play with cousins under the quilt, or sit on the front porch and wave as the cars went by, or explore the basement and check out the treasures in the old trunks.
There was always a time to do everything. We did the washing on Monday. Ironing on Tuesday. Sewing, gardening, etc. the rest of the week. Mother never left dirty dishes and often made Dad wait while she did some last minute task. The house was always cleaned on Saturday and often times a trip to Rexburg to shop on Saturday afternoons.
She was a good cook and became noted for her excellent bread. Sunday dinners were always a specialty with fried chicken which had been killed and cleaned the day before. Vanilla ice cream made from the ice which had been stored in the ice house from the preceding winter. Warm spice cake and biscuits were also favorites. She would make special treats while we were in the beet and potato fields, but the lemonade was the best of all.
No matter how she felt, she was up in the mornings, dressed, washed, with her hair combed before anything else was done.
Mother was the one who insisted that we go to church. Although many times I remember her saying she didn't have any talents and couldn't do anything, she must have been a good secretary since she served under three Relief Society presidents. Her six children were raised with a strong conviction that the church is true. It was through Mother's example and teachings that we learned to live many of the gospel principles.
Probably if she would have had the opportunity to have had more schooling she would have excelled in mathematics. She always seemed to understand it and was able to help us with homework when there was a problem we couldn't solve. She was always home when we got out of school. Home was a pleasant place to be-clean and smelling of freshly baked bread.
As she began to fail in health and the end of her life approached, her memory and mind became dim because of arterial sclerosis. Dad took care of her needs and was patient and loving with her until the end. She was taken to Madison County Hospital one week before she died in a coma, a few minutes after midnight on January 26, 1971. (Contributed by Billie Kay Bean Bollwinkel)
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