THE HISTORY OF
ALTON FRED KIESEL
OF MANTI, SANPETE, UTAH
1906-1967 (condensed)



Upon arriving in Manti, George C. and Stennie rented a small home 1 1/2 blocks east of Main on 1st South. It was here where Alton was born to them. The mid wife was sent for and Alton was delivered. But Stennie wasn't doing well, and George C. realized that to save his wife's life, he must have a doctor. He was down town and found Doc Olsen at the saloon, drunk. He walked up to Doc Olsen and said, "Get your coat; I need you." Not wanting to be bothered at that time, Doc Olsen refused and George C. replied, "If you don't come, I'll drag you; my wife is dying." Realizing he was needed badly and must be sober, Doc Olsen reached inside his bag and took a small pinch of stricknine on his knife and put it into his mouth. He then took his bag in hand and said "Let's go." They walked from the saloon on main and to the house, and by this time Doc Olsen was cold sober and ready for work. With his help and skill, he soon had Stennie out of the danger zone.


Across the street the Neighbor had gotten their 3rd or 4th girl with no boys while Stennie and George C. has gotten their fifth son and only one girl. So in talking together over the fence the menfolk jokingly said one to the other, "Shall we trade." Of course, no trade was made. If the new baby had been a girl the name would have been Alta so they named him Alton Fred.


Another neighbor Mrs. Fred Jensen brought chicken soup over, and seeing Alton's pretty long hair which was pointed at the neckline stated, "It looks as if he had gone to the Barber and got a haircut for the occasion." Finding out that his name was to be Fred she decided it was for her husband and went home and made plans. When the day came for the Christening she had made a beautiful long dress with lace on for the nameing.


As the baby grew he became quite heavy as some do and the neighbors came to call him Duster. Watching him run to his Mother Mrs. Voorees said, "Here comes Duster." As he grew older and began to eat at the table with the family, he found he preferred his food with salt on it and was often heard to say, "Pass the salt."


In these days there was no paper money. Mostly it was gold and silver. In Stennie's cupboard, soon after payday, she had several silver dollars. Alton cane and asked if he could go into the foothills to play. His Mother agreed and he left. Soon after, she asked Lila, the elder sister to go to the store. Going to the cupboard, they found the silver dollars missing. Lila followed Alton into the foothills, found him playing with the pretty shining things in the sand. She rescued these and the ones still in his pocket and took them home, leaving him there to play.


Alton had red hair and was freckled faced. One day as he came into the house and found Lila moping. She told him not to get the floor dirty. So like other little boys he grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it on the clean floor. Next thing he knew the mop rag hit him in the face and wrapped around his head. Well, after that he left the clean floor alone and his sister could finish it in peace.



Alton liked the hills and fishing. Almost every day in the summer he could be seen going into the foothills with his little Easter wagon and hatchet. There he would play around, lead his wagon as full as he could get it with wood and take it home to his Mother for her fire.


The day before Jake was born George C. went down to the creamery for Ice Cream. The creamery was located just below Ken's place by the creek's east side on 2nd south. The ice cream was brought home in a little express wagon and they all sit out on the lawn and enjoyed the ice cream. The man who ran the creamery would allow the passing children to come inside and slick the ice cream beaters as they came from the freezers. Alton remembered this fondly.


When Alton was about 6 years old, he found a handful of bullets. He took them and building a fire, threw them in. He then sit down waiting to hear the big noise they would make. Soon the bullets started to go off. They sped in all directions. Luckily, no one else was near. As Alton sit there one sped past in front of him, Taking a piece out of his knee as it was bend up there in front of him. He carried the scar it left there for the rest of his life. Of course, he was a very lucky boy.


When Alton was very small his Mother would do her washing outside and he could later remember the icicles tinkling on the hem of her dress as she moved around. She would have a large fire outside where she would boil her clothes. He would sometimes follow her outside barefooted in the summer. One time he did this and ran right through the spot they had just emptied the hot ashes. Jake did the same thing another time too. Needless to say they both got bad burns.


One day Alton went up the canyon after wood with his father. They had along some bread and some potted meat to put on the bread. Alton was disappointed when he found out there was no can opener. But that didn't worry George C. any. He selected a clean looking log and laid the can on it. He then chopped it open with his ax and they had their dinner.



When old enough Alton joined his brothers to go fishing down the river lane. As Jake grew older the two would go many times together and sometimes in company with George D., Ken, or Ray. They would take a gunny sack along and bring the fish home over their shoulders. They would sometimes sell these fish to neighbors and friends.


Later they moved into the old house of 3rd east and 3rd south. There lived there and old lady who had no relation and she needed care. She signed the papers to turn the place over to Stennie for being cared for. It was then a 4 roomed house, and her bedroom was east of what is now the north bedroom.


While living there they had an old buck sheep that they called "Old Dilly." The boys delighted in teasing him and then having him run after them. The would run under a certain tree where they could jump and grab a tree limb and the sheep would go harmlessly under them.



Every year the family had a garden in which they raised Potatoes, Peas, Carrots, Squash, etc. They also raised chickens and ewes. They had Milk and Buttermilk and Butter. Stennie would make a Danish dish called Charrenwellen. The boys had the job of herding the ewes along the streets where they grazed during the day. One summer Alton had save money and had gotten him a bike. He was chasing the cows and laid the bike down for a minute to turn them. One cow ran right over it and put her foot right thru the spokes of the wheel.


The garden spot had to be made ready each year. Alton remembered carrying rocks off the garden spot with small buckets, All the children helping to do the job. Their eating depended on that garden, and the animals for their milk, eggs, and meat.


Bob Bowns lived just across the street and he and Alton played together quite often. One year Alton's Mother told him she hoped to be able to have a party for his birthday, and he asked Bob over. As it happened his Mother became sick and she was unable to have the promised ice cream. Bob came over and gave Alton a nickel, But when he found out that there was to be no ice cream he became mad and demanded his nickel back. Alton became mad too and threw the nickel at Bob and chased him home. Neither one got the nickel.


When Alton was a boy he made himself a pair of stilts which was so high he had to sit on top of the granary to put them on.


When Alton was 8 years old the school nurse told his folks he needed his tonsils removed. But times were hard and there was no money for the operation. When he was in the third grade he got bright's disease (of the kidney's) and was forced to quit school and go to bed. His legs became twice their size from the swelling. The principal of the same school came up and demanded that he be sent to school, but upon seeing his legs he agreed that he could not go, So Alton spent two years in the third grade.



When Alton was about 12 years old he got a job out at the brick yard. It was located on the east side of the road that used to take off to the State Palisade Park. The road coming from the North and West of the park. There he and the other boys carried wet bricks all day long for 25¢ a day. The bricks were carried about 6 to a board and set out in the sun to dry. At times they were so busy they were required to run with these heavy wet bricks to keep up with what was ready to move at that time.


Out on the corner of 3rd south and 3rd east there was an old house with a tin roof and a rock wall surrounding it. The boys in the neighborhood would push the rocks off the top of the wall and then throw small rocks onto the roof. The noise inside was deafening and the man would run outside to yell and chase the boys away. One day when Alton arrived home from the brick yard the man came over very mad. He was sure Alton had been over that day rolling and throwing the rocks at the house. It was Lila who helped him understand it couldn't have been Alton because he had been at work all day.


Where the Manti Elementary schoolhouse now stands, just north of there, was where the school house stood in Alton's day. It was a tall red building and there was stairs that wound up the outside. The children would climb these stairs every time school let out or began. A boy named Hoggan started tripping Alton every day as he went up these stairs. After a few days of this Alton got tired of it. So he watched his chance and instead of getting tripped he managed to trip the Hoggan boy. Hoggan went up and over the rail and down the outside. They met at the bottom of the stairs and there they had their fight. Hoggan's sister kept coming over and hitting Alton too. Not wanting to hit a girl Alton just pushed her away. When Alton came home he just washed up at the outside bench. When his Mother said, "Been fighting?" he answered, "Yes." Soon the telephone rang and when Stennie answered the telephone it was the Hoggan boy's Mother. She complained that his nose was bleeding and he looked awful. Stennie asked how old the boy was. As it turned out he was 2 or 3 years older than Alton. Stennie told her that Alton hadn't complained and since he was the youngest, her boy shouldn't complain either. There was no more trouble with the Hoggan boy after that.


One day Alton accompanied his older brother George and some of his friends out to the Gunnison Reservoir. They all got on an raft and soon were in the center of the reservoir. One of the boys asked Alton if he could swim, and when he answered, "No.", the boy said, "Well, it's time you learned." and with that he pushed Alton off the raft into the water. When they refused to let him on there was nothing to do but head for the shore and then and there Alton learned how to swim.



When Alton was young he went down town on the morning after Halloween. Everyone was surprised to fine and outside toilet setting right in the middle of the intersection by the bank corner there. The cars were having to drive around it, etc.


I wonder how many people knew that Alton, when young, played a Saxaphone with Bob Bown at dances. I understand that this was so, and then when Alton needed money in a pinch, he sold his Saxaphone.


Some springs Alton and Jake would help clean the power ditch. The water would be turned out and in the puddles they would find large trout with they would take home to eat. The power ditch was located east of town and run south.


During the summer that Alton was 17 he herded the ram herd in the foothills north of the road between nine mile and Gunnison City. He was paid $30.00 a month and during that summer he bought a pair of shoes and the rest he collected at the end of the summer and bought his clothes for school with the remainder he had earned. ($90. Total).




In the spring of 1923 when he was 18 he helped his dad take the sheep from the West Mountain to the Fayette Shirring corral where their wool shirred. That fall he helped his father to take the wagon over Lone Cedar and down into Seippie and out into the Wah Wah desert. They had two wagons hitched together and went up the canyon that way. His father George C. gave him instructions that he was to separate the wagons at the top and take them down one at a time. He thought to himself, "That is a bunch of baloney." "A waste of time when I can take them down together this way." So he proceeded to take them both at once. On the very first sharp turn the wagons couldn't make it and it was sheer luck that they didn't go tipping downhill. Alton was forced to take them apart and leave the one there, while he took the first one down and then he returned to take the other one down later. His father was right and knew from experience what must be done on that twisting road. The next spring Alton came out and helped drive the sheep into the corral again, for the shirring and then thru Fayette and out into the hills called Krisses Creek.


People started using the Model T Fords. Alton got one and had to learn how to drive it. The very first time he tried he went right thru the fence, poles and all. But he did not give up trying and with practice soon was able to handle it. He got one of the first licenses issued. They were later called Grand daddy licenses. In all the years of driving he never even had a ticket written out against him.


Alton became very sick from his tonsils when he was about 20 years old. He had been working and was finally able to pay for the operation. He had lost weight and was very pale. The operation was planned but the Doctor found it necessary to build him up for several months before tackling it. So in Dec of 1926 he was laid on the kitchen table and a machine was hitched up to keep his throat clear while the operation went on. As Doctor George Sears was removing his tonsils Alton could hear someone ask what would happen if the power were to go off. The Doctor replied, "We would have to turn him on his side and keep right on working and pray that everything goes O.K." So it was that Jean (his sister) and Alton had their tonsils removed that day, by Doctor Sears. Late that night Alton started to hemorrhage. When he woke up he was bleeding so badly that he was unable to talk or yell. He finally managed to throw a pillow over onto his mother's face. This woke her up and she got the help he so badly needed. It was late in February before Alton was able to be out of bed from this operation, he was so run down and so slow to recover.



Near the year of 1929 the family went and worked at the Tomato Factory at Riverdale. They worked at the Tomato Factory several different years. The men were not allowed to go into the Women's section for anything, But the boss knew the family well and allowed the Kiesel boy's to go and join their Mother and sisters for their dinners. Others asked "How come you rate that kind of treatment." The boss said it was because "They act like gentlemen and never cause any trouble."


When deer hunting time would come the boys and their father would hunt deer in Manti Canyon or in 6 Mile Canyon. Alton tells of one time when a man got his deer in the ore yards east of town on the last day of the hunt.


One year the boys made arrangements to borrow or rent horses to haul wood to sell. They had Eugene Carpenter's horses. To pay for the use of the horses they were to haul Eugene Carpenter 2 loads of wood and then one for themselves. Stennie has told me of how in the cold of winter they would leave in the early morning hours, all wrapped up. It would take them all day long to get to the wood, and load up, and they were lucky indeed if they were home by dark on these short, cold winter days.


One time Alton and another man had a disagreement and the man wanted to have a fight. Alton said to him, "What would be gained by that. I might win and then you would be mad. And then again I might lose and I would be mad." With this bit of wisdom Alton turned and walked away. The next day as the two met on the street the man told Alton, "You was right, I realize that now." The two were friends after that.



There was a Fair every fall in Manti. This one year that the boys went together as they sometimes did, they came out just in time to find some boys letting the air out the last tire on their car. (even the spare). They ran after the boys and caught them. Then they gave them hand pump and set them to work pumping up every tire. It was a long hard job. The Kiesel boys was heard to remark "I'll bet that's the last time they let the air out of anyone's tires."


When haling wood they had a very smart horse. One of the boys would take the horse up on the mountain, cut down some wood, and tie a rope from the horse to the wood. The horse would then drag the wood down the mountain to the waiting wagon. There another of the boys would untie it and send her back up the hill. Sometimes the wood would get caught but this horse was smart enough to back up and pull the wood loose and then find a different way down. This made her very valuable at this job, as she required no help and the men could work elsewhere, chopping or loading the wood.


One year on the 4th of July the boys took a trip in their car over thru Wayne and down over the Boulder Mountains. There was a bridge leading over the canyon and onto the mountain. It was beautiful country and because it was so far way and so hard to get at and so far to transport supplies: the price of a gallon of gas was $.40 which at this time in history was extremely high.


During the years for 1931 to 1940 they owned a star car. They would haul wood on it and sell it to people. They also went out into the desert with the car trapping, or sometimes gathering wood. In the year 1936 they bought a truck from Brain Larsen with a saw on it and this greatly helped them in their wood selling.



Alton's elder brother George had a rupture and Doc. Sears operated on him while Alton helped to hold him still. They done it without anesthetic because of lack of money, but later George said, "never again."


Some springs after an especially hard winter and sheep loss was high, the boys would go out onto the desert and gather the wool from the dead sheep carcasses to sell for extra money. Sometimes they made pretty good at it.


One year as Alton stood downtown on some steps and Indian named Bill Hill came up to him and said, "Give me a smoke." Jokingly Alton said, "What's the rush?" Without a word the Indian hit Alton and knocked him down. This made Alton so mad and he hit the man with all his might, and the man fell down. He was knocked out cold. Together the men gathered him up and carried him over onto the grass where they left him. Alton went on his way. Later someone contacted Alton to tell him that Bill Hill's father was drunk and hunting Alton with a gun. The policeman who told Alton this, asked Alton to please disappear till the man could be sobered. Alton did as he was asked and a few days later Bill Hill came to Alton and apologized.


Parley Madsen had a large farm in Christenberg and Alton and Jake would haul hay and grain at this farm.



While working on this farm Alton and Jake was expected to load 30 large loads of hay in a day. One day Jake was up on the wagon tramping the hay and moving it around while Alton was on the ground throwing it up. All at once Jake jumped off the wagon. Alton asked him why he didn't stay up there. Jake replied, "When you start throwing snakes up there with me, I'm leaving." The snakes were Rattle snakes and would live under the mounds of hay to get out of the heat.


In Feb. of 1935 Alton and George took a tent and a camp outfit on their Model T and started to go out onto the desert to gather wood. As they left home the storm moved in and the roads became very bad. They went up over Clear Creek Canyon and as they neared the top the snowdrifts became 3 to 4 feet deep. Traveling became very slow. Soon they seen a car parked off to the side of the road. Getting out they went over to the car. When they opened the door they found a man laying on the seat about froze to death. He had no coat and only light clothing on. Alton got some oil and built a fire while George got him out. The fire soon thawed him out and they were able to talk to him. He had come from back east and was heading for California. He had gotten stuck and then ran out of gas. They gave him some gas, pushed him free of the snow onto the road and seen him started on his way to Cove Fort. As soon as they knew he was all right they went on out into the desert.


One time Alton was driving and was tired. He was on a Canyon road. He went to sleep at the wheel. He woke up when the car bumped into something. The bump woke him, and he realized that one wheel was not on the ground but out in space over the edge of the canyon below. He very carefully got out of the car on the driver's side and went up front to look. The front bumper was resting on a large rock and this was all that had stopped him from going on down into the canyon below. He looked up the road and could see no more rocks. He walked up that way for near a block and there was no more rocks. After that he walked down the road and again he could see no more rocks. The rock which had stopped his car and probably saved his life, was the only rock for a long way. Alton felt that it was the Lord's way of letting him know that he was watching over him and he was still needed here on earth.


Alton spent 10 years with the sheep herd and once said they were some of the leanest years of his life. "Just 10 years too long." He stated. He went along with his Father to help him and to keep him company. Most of the time he was the camp-tender. It was his job to prepare the meals, Move the camp, tend the horses and keep the camp in water. In the summertime they sometimes found their camp many miles away from the water, and it was necessary to go a long way to bring water to the camp. In the winter it was his job to melt the snow for the camp to use. Many things happened during the years that Alton was at the herd. I will try to relate them as fully as I can. As near as I can find out Alton never went to the East Desert.



Every year the sheep would be brought into the shirring corrals to be shirred. The corral was located about one mile south of Fayette. It was west of the now new highway and south of the road taking off to Fayette, which is north of Gunnison, Utah. During his years with the sheep it might be well to state that Alton worked for more than one man who owned sheep. Out on the desert during the winter some stray sheep would join the herd. Stray sheep are sheep that are branded with another man's brand. At the shirring corral it was the herder's job to separate the stray sheep from the rest of the herd. As the boss, Alton, and another herder stood looking at these stray sheep by themselves in the corral; the other herder, (thinking to please the boss) jumped into the midst of these sheep, and catching 3 or 4 of them, one at a time; threw them over the fence into the bosses shop. He then returned to the side of the boss and Alton. The boss looked at Alton and said, "Now it's your turn." Alton looked at the boss and said, "When I sell sheep it will be for myself and not someone else." He then turned and walked away. The other man lost his job before Alt did.


Sometimes as they rode their horse home, and came thru Scipio. They would buy a big round cheese (as bid as a dishpan), tie it on to the side of the horse, and ride on home to Manti. It was very good cheese and made at a factory there in Scipio.


The winters on the desert was very cold and in order to keep warm the men allowed their hair and their whiskers to grow. Alton remembers his Father falling into the river one time and when he came riding in he had icicles hanging to his frozen beard. And George C. did not even get a cold from his unplanned swim. The horse had lost it's footing in the snow and ice.



One winter at sheep camp Alton went out on his horse. Soon it begun to snow and the snowstorm developed into a blizzard. He decided to return to camp. He couldn't see, only as far as the horse's head. Twenty minutes should have gotten him to camp, but after riding for thirty minutes he was still lost. So he stopped and then headed the horse in another direction and rode for forty minutes, and still finding no wagon. He tried once more, riding for twenty minutes and still no wagon. By then he knew, indeed he was lost. He sit for a while thinking. Then he laid the reins on the horse's neck and kicked her gently in the ribs. She took off at a brisk tear. After about twenty minutes she stopped. Alton thought to himself, "She has come to a wash she can't cross." Then looking harder he realized that the horse had her head against the wagon side. She had headed straight to the wagon and thus saved his life. He got off, unsaddled the horse, fed her, and went inside to the warm fire his father had.


One day Alton was up on a hill and sat looking at the scene below. Jake was walking up the trail toward the crest of the hill. While over on the other side of the same hill a lion was also walking toward the crest of the hill. As Alton watched the two of them come face to face. Immediately both of them turned, and headed back where they had come from.




One time Alton was riding with Parley Madson. They were coming onto a railroad crossing when they looked up to realize that a train was bearing down on them. There was no time to stop so Parley quickly shifted into second; which give the car more speed, gassed it; and went ahead. The train front just bumped the rear bumper, as they passed over. Nothing was said for a few miles and then looking aside at Alton, Parley said, "That was close."


The coyotes were always a threat to the sheep in the herd. Often they would set traps to catch the coyotes. One time Alton caught a Badger in his trap. The Badger grabbed his hand and bite into it. The upper teeth were set into the back of the hand while the lower teeth were in the palm. Alton tried to force the Badger's mouth open, but he couldn't budge it. He reached into his back pocket and taking a pair of pliers; he took a hold with them on the jaw of the Badger and put on the pressure. The Badger soon let go. Having no medicine he took his tobacco and put it into the holes of his hand. He then took his handkerchief and tied it up. Later Doctor Sears told Alton "That was good treatment for your hand. I couldn't have done better myself." And so the hand healed.


One day in the year of 1936 Alton's father didn't return to camp as he was supposed to. The horse he was riding lost his footing and they both (horse and rider) had fallen into a narrow wash. George C. had been unable to get loose from the saddle and the horse was on top of him. His legs under the horse was getting numb. Every time the horse tried to get up he would fall back down, driving the saddle horn into George's chest. Each try the horse became weaker and soon sick, and George had about given up hope. All at once the horse gave a very loud scream and made one last great effort, and the time, he made it to his feet. Looking down George could see the horse's foot on his foot, but he could not feel it. The horse stood there for maybe five minutes and then climbed up to the train and stood waiting for George C. It took George C. 15 to 20 minutes to get up and onto the horse. Then the horse went to camp with him. Roy was ready to go hunt for his father and would have left shortly.


One time a horse disappeared at the sheep camp. A week later they found him dead. It's head was swelled twice it's normal size from a snake bite. Later another horse was bit by a snake. Parley said, "We will have to kill it." Alton said, "Let me try to save it, I will need hot water and salt." And so they hot packed the side of the horse's head. After all day, it formed a boil. Alton opened the boil with the point of a knife. The horse actually leaned toward the knife as Alton continued to cut, feeling a relief of the pain. It drained all the poison out, and the horse grew better, finally becoming well. After that the horse was used for many years.



Another horse they had, his brother was his father and because of this inter-breeding it would take fits. One day as Alton came walking into camp, the horse spotted him. He headed straight for Alton. Alton knew he couldn't outrun the horse, so he dashed for the nearest trees. By dashing in an out, here and then there among the trees, Alton was able to keep away from the horse. This went on for an hour or more. Then all at once, the horse became O.K. again, and he turned and walked away.




Life at the sheep camp was very dull and they sometimes hunted for something exciting to help time go by. One day Roy and Alton were riding down a trail. Roy went first and as he went he already prepared for his fun. He carried a stick with him and as he came under the known tree, he looked at the Wasp nest overhead. Quickly with the stick he hit the Wasp nest on the side and moved on out of range. Behind, Alton came upon the spot just as the Mad Wasps came swooping out in search of the enemy. They soon found Alton and the horse he rode. Right away the horse decided to leave that locality, and away he ran with Alton hanging on and the Wasps in hot pursuit. The resulting laugh livened up that day and brought a smile to their faces for many weeks to come, and was well remembered even in the future years.



In the later 1930's the turkey plant opened at Gunnison. A Jensen from Centerfield was boss. Alton, His mother, Jake, George, and Elfie; they all worked there. In later years George C. worked there also. And one year Nila worked there. Jake, Alton, and Arthur worked in the freezer where they packed the frozen turkeys. Pay at first was 35¢ an hour. Picking Turkeys brought between $2.00 or $3.00 a day depending on the turkeys condition (good or bad) and the person's ability to work fast at picking a turkey. The work was dirty, smelly, and slow, each turkey had to be inspected by an inspector who could be very exacting. Alton also worked at the Moroni turkey plant at one time although the Gunnison plant work was for years.


It was during the winter of 1944-45 Alton, Jake and Arthur Johnson all worked together in the Gunnison Turkey Plant Locker Room. Nila came to see her father Arthur Johnson, and she asked for Mr. Johnson. Looking out the small square hole they threw turkeys of of Jake said, "No, Mr. Johnson isn't here; just Arthur Johnson." So Nila talked to her father. A few days later while Arthur, wife and daughter, Nila, were walking down Gunnison main street, Alton and Jake came by. The womenfolk walked a short ways and waited while the menfolk stopped to talk. Next day at work, Alton asked Arthur who the young girl was and Arthur replied, "My daughter, Nila." Christmas came and a card arrived from Alton to ARTHUR JOHNSON and Family. Arthur Johnson had heart trouble, and while working hard one day there at the Turkey plant, he collapsed from a heart attack. Soon after Alton wrote Nila asking how her father was. As his health improved, Alton came down to Fayette on Wednesday the 22nd or 23rd of February 1945.


Alton came often after that first night, on on the 1st of April, Alton asked Nila to be his wife. On the 10th of April Alton gave her an engagement ring. The ring was a solitary diamond set with 2 smaller Rubies, one on each side. The 12th of May they were married at the Richfield Court House.


Nine months and 2 weeks later they had a Baby Girl born to them. When a neighbor named Bell Mellor seen Alton jump the fence and go into the house, she said, "Nila has had her baby." The evening before Nila had failed to appear at the Refief Society Singing Mother's practice, at which she was at that time Chorister of. During the following months when Nila failed to return to those practices, the townfolks came to believe that there was something wrong with the new baby. As Nila's strength returned and she came out to church, someone was heard to remark, "Well, There isn't anything wrong with that baby, She is simply beautiful."



While Linda was small, Nila and her Mother made many dresses with matching Bonnets for the little Linda. (She weighed 6 lbs. 6 oz. when born.) Her little head was covered with dark hair. She was in good condition. When Alton and Nila's mother came out to the Salina Hospital where Linda was born, on a Sunday afternoon to visit, it was a beautiful day, and since the Doctor was not around to release Nila they drove up the Salina Canyon. They had Supper with Alton's brother and wife Cleo before dropping down to the Hospital, before going on home to Fayette. This time Doctor Noyes was there, and he gave them permission to take Nila home. By the time the suitcases was packed and the baby wrapped, it was almost dark. They started home, and it started to snow. It soon became a blizzard, and Alton had to roll his window down and stick his head out the window to see where he was driving. He dared not turn around for fear of getting stuck. Plenty of wraps had been brought along and Nila and Linda suffered no harm. The storm did not let up all the way to Fayette. Linda never cried or made a noise until almost home. When Nila answered her first cry, she decided she wanted attention, so cried the last 2 or 3 miles. When they arrived at Nila's folks, where they intended to sleep that night, Her dad Arthur had just got the fire roaring as the snowstorm had worried him. When he found out Nila and Linda was with, he thought and said, "What! In a storm like this." A few days later Nila and Alton returned to their rented house, there in Fayette.


For the first three years of Linda's life we lived at Fayette. During this time Alton dug many cesspools for people, both in Fayette and Gunnison. He also done cement work, made forms and poured floors. He built chicken coops, etc. He even built 2 houses for others. One was a cinder block for a Lund in Centerfield. The other one was for a Joe Sorensen in Gunnison.



He herded Turkey Hens one Summer for a man in Gunnison. This man ran the bank there. Part of our pay was barrels that they had buttermilk in for the turkeys,(We got 3 of them),grain sacks, Turkey eggs and sometimes a turkey. Nila and her Mother dyed the sacks and made quilts of them. She also helped her Mother to bottle the garden stuff, and this was divided in half. When Alton first went to work, the man working with him said, "I will take the male toms and you can take the hens. The Toms eat lots more than the hens do." This was true, but what he didn't tell Alton was that the Toms would stay inside the fence while the hens would be out and running all over at the first crack of dawn. So it was that Alton found himself getting up in the dark and driving over there west of Gunnison every morning including Sundays. He would come home for his dinner and back over to feed them again at night. Many times Nila and Linda would ride out with them. The man Alton worked with had the job of delivering the feed, and when he got so he wished for a turkey to eat, he would put his foot on the gas pedal sudden like, and state, "Gee, I guess I must have hit some turkeys. They didn't move fast enough." And so, we had turkey the next day. As I first stated, in the fall the hens started laying and we could have all the eggs we wanted. The Turkey eggs are bigger than a chicken egg and just as good eating. We used many that year.


While living in Fayette Alton worked on the Pea Viner. It was located west of the town 4 miles or so. The peas would be hauled in on the vines, and forked into the viner, which would send out the podded peas. When the peas were ready they had to be done fast. For the month or so that the pea viner went Alton and the men working, would put in 22 to 23 hours in a day. They carried their lunches and stopped only long enough to eat it. They would be allowed to come home long enough for get one hot meal a day, usually quite unexpected. He also worked at the pea factory in Manti too, before he and Nila were married.


Moving to Manti 25 January 1948 Alton went to work for the railroad. During the two weeks that we were moving, there was the most beautiful weather, just like spring; grass turning green, sunshine, etc. Then suddenly the sky darkened, and just as we unloaded the last load onto the back porch the snow started to fall. Well, it was winter all over again.



Arthur was born the next fall. It was pickle bottling time, and so I ground and bottled some Chow chow pickles. So it was that the next day we got our first boy, named Arthur. Due to the extra work involved in bottling the produce of the garden, he was born 3 weeks early. He weighted a mere 5 lbs. and 8 ounces.


That spring I and Alton bundled the kids (Linda and Arthur) up and took junk out to the dump where we stuck. It was getting dark and we was thinking about the long walk home, carrying two small tots, when the city truck came out with a load of junk, and helped to get us back onto the road.


We had gotten a trailer and was selling wood for money. I remember and old lady who had no money, but needed the wood anyway so Alton sold her a load (Priced at $4.00) and took a chandler which we put away with other things, against the day when we would have our own home. This is now in the front room of our home.


Nila and Alton had some chickens for a while. They killed the last 15 of them and dressing them, sold them to Paul Smith at $1.00 each. This 15 dollars we took and it was the start of our first down payment on our first car. We took Arthur Johnson down and showed him the truck that they were holding for us and he was very happy for us.


It wasn't long after this that Arthur Johnson took a Heart attack and died. He had been roofing a house over in Gunnison and not feeling good he had started home, and when he felt the attack coming he pulled over to the side of the road, as he always did, and it was there that his In-laws found him. Grandmother and grandfather, Mr and Mrs Frank Gee and Edna were on their way to Gunnison, and as they came around the point they seen his car at the side of the road. He was already dead and nothing could be done for him. The Doctor had to clear his death of any intent to foul play, because he had died in his car. Alton was working for Coxes, on the water tank up on the Temple hill. We went to Fayette and helped with the arrangements for the funeral. He was buried in the Fayette Cemetery with all the honors of a Soldier. He had served on the firing line in the First World War for eleven months. He was there when the peace was signed and the roar of the guns quit. Alton and I were gone from Manti for about a whole week, and when we returned he no longer had a job for Coxes.



He went to work for the city then. He helped to build a Swimming Pool at the Park. It wasn't long after this that we got our first truck. Alton made many trips over the mountain after coal.


On one trip to the Link Canyon mine it was snowing badly. The mine was located four or five miles up the mountain off of the main road. The road was very steep and narrow. Alton drove up and got his coal. By the time he was loaded, the snow was almost a blizzard. The snow was 5 or 6 inches deep. Alton started down the mountain, and the road was so steep, and the going so slow, that all the oil in the engine ran forward. By the time he had come the 4 or 5 miles to the main road the engine was smoking very bad. It was necessary to stop and cool it off for a while. He soon discovered the reason, and was able to proceed. Another mine where he got coal was the Dog Valley mine. Sometimes he would only go to Salina, where they had a coal shoot and yard. Sometimes we rode with him.


Linda started to grow up and soon she was in first grade. Alton was busy hauling coal with Nila worked at the sewing plant. Alton was unloading coal one day. He had told Arthur to stay on the porch while he unloaded. He turned around and taking the crowbar to loosen the tailgate of the truck, and just as he let the first coal fall he caught a glimpse of Arthur right under his feet. He quickly moved between the boy and the coal, but all he managed to do was to change the direction of the large lump that came out. It was a full 2 or 3 feet across and it hit Arthur. He went down under the blow and was knocked out for a while. When he came to he was not able to walk for a while. Alton picked him up and gently took him inside the house. He ran for a phone and the Doctor. Word was also sent by phone to the plant to Nila. When Nila got the word that the boy had been hurt she left running and never stopped till she was at home. The Doctor was inside the house with the boy when she arrived. Alton was waiting outside fearing the worst. The Doctor said that because Alton was fast in moving, the coal had hit Arthur a glancing blow, and that was all that had saved his life. The little fellow had a limp for about 3 days. When Linda came home and showed us how a Rabbit hopped, it was very touching to see little Arthur get down, and try to do as Linda was doing. Even with the limp, he had to follow her lead.




Alta was born to us next. It was necessary for us to get Arthur and Linda up at 3:00 o'clock in the morning. Alton took them over to their Grandparents Kiesel's place where they were put to bed until morning. Alta was born that morning at 6:00. She was delivered by Dr. Lucian Sears who was sick even at that time. His hands were swelled at the time of the delivery and within a few weeks he died.


When Alta was 6 weeks Nila went back to work. Her Grandmother Kiesel watched and took care of Alta while Nila was at work. As Alta got older and began to walk, It didn't take her long to learn her way over to her grandma and Grandpa Kiesel's place. Even in the dark she would go over there to visit. When Nila and Alton realized she was not close by, one of them would go over and accompany her home.


One time when Alta and Jane was over at their Grandma and Granpa Kiesel's playing Jane ran over the potato cellar and the top caved in and she was in the cellar. She was yelled at the top of her voice and Alton at home heard her and went over, while Alta ran inside to get Grandpa Kiesel. Alton and his dad arrived at the same time and soon got Jane out.


A few years later Nila and Alton were given the bricks from a house in Christenberg. Linda and Arthur were at school part of the time while Alta and Jane went with. Other times Linda and Arthur were with. When they were with, Linda and Arthur would help to get the bricks loosed and into the truck. While everyone was working, Alta and Jane would play around. Our lunch was taken with, and we made a trip out of it. One day as we worked Alta came running over to Alton to tell us that Jane had the Aspirin bottle. Alton went right over, and got there just as Jane had the bottle open. Undoubtedly without Alta's sharp eyes and her knowing what to do, we would not have had Jane today.



One time Alton had trouble with the truck when he was after a load of coal, and another truck pulled him, truck and coal right up to the house. When Alton wanted to pay him, he refused saying "When you spot someone else in trouble just do something for him."


I remember Alton finding a fishing box one time at the six mile twin ponds, and him going down into the canyon asking the person whose name was on it "Did you forget something?" It wasn't until Alton told them, that they realized that they had forgot it.


Alton was not a man to hunt trouble but also he was not one to back down from trouble. He would not tease but certainly was very good at telling a joke and loved to make people laugh and feel good. He had not been able to see cartoons when he was a kid, because there wasn't any then, so he enjoyed them about as much as the children did. I think his favorite one was "Roadrunner." He had observed them in action and said it was about right. They were so fast, hated snakes, etc.


Some years later Alton was unable to hike in the mountains to follow the streams to fish, so he would go to the lakes and reservoirs to fish. One fall Alton and Jake went to nine mile to fish. The ice was not very thick and so they stood at the edge looking out. Another car drove up with two Ephraim men in it. Without a thought, those two men went walking right out onto that ice. Suddenly the ice gave way and the one man fell in. Both of the men started screaming for help. Alton and Jake quickly took off their coats and tied the sleeves together. Then on their stomachs they wiggled carefully out onto the ice. Alton managed to get a coat sleeve to the man in the water, and they pulled him out. Then they all carefully worked their way back to shore. The man who had been lucky enough to not fall into the water, had to be told to take the wet man home, and get him into dry clothes to avoid Pneumonia. And so their lives were saved.


Some times when fishing at nine mile the kids would go with Alton. When the lake was frozen solid they would take slays with them and have a ball on the ice. Alton would cut a hole in the ice to fish through.



When Fred George was born to us, it was toward evening time when he was born. We were very surprised to get another boy. As Fred grew up we came to realize he was a very quiet person, but one to depend on.


Just two years after Fred was born we go us a girl and her name was Callie Ann. She and Fred were very close and one day when a boy his age was bothering Callie, Fred told him "If you don't leave my sister alone I will give you a licking. "Well, he left Callie alone after that.


In the fall of 1959 we bought our house from Gomer Edmons and on the 5th of Nov we spent our first night in our new house at 123 South 3rd East in Manti. The following spring, Alton Stuccoed the outside with Arthur's help, and put in cement walk to the front of the house, and fixed the front porch with was falling down. The following year Alton knocked in the back wall of the kitchen. The cellar had been outside and now he took the afore mentioned bricks and building a wall he added extra roof, running the roof over to the wash house which was made into a bedroom. The kitchen was made almost twice the original size and later a bathroom was added. The cellar was made bigger and a cesspool was dug too. In fact there is three cesspools on the east of the house.


Callie liked to have Salt on her food too, and she would grab the salt shaker and sprinkle salt onto her tongue when we weren't looking. She was just two or three years, when she and Jane were in the kitchen together. Jane heard her make a noise and turning she could see that Callie had turned the salt shaker upside down to sprinkle salt into her open mouth. The lid had come off and all the salt was dumped into her mouth. She was literally choking to death. Jane came running to us, and told us what had happened. We ran from the front room into the kitchen. Seeing how bad he condition was, Alton grabbed her feet and held her upside down. Even then she could not breath so I (Nila) took and putting my fingers into her mouth, dug the salt out as best as I could. At last she took a breath, and then we had her drink lots of water. Every little while we would give her water to drink. She was a white as a sheet, and it was hours before her original color returned. We had just about lost her.



Another time we had a close call with Jane's life. The happened when she was just 19 months old. Nila had been working while Stennie and George C. watch Alta and Jane. Jane had been sick for about a week. Not bad just not quite well. Nila and Alton came from work to get the kids. Alton was out by the truck waiting while Nila went in to get the little ones. She took Jane into her arms and Jane looked directly into Nila's eyes and smiled. Nila turned and walking across the room to the blankets, when suddenly Jane stiffened and then loosened. Her eyes went back into her head, and she became like a rag doll. Knowing something bad had happened Nila ran with her outside to the truck. Alton and her jumped into the truck and they took her down to Doctor Lucian Sears. He gave her a shot and she came to. With a written prescription and attention she became all right again. Speed was essential. She had an infection and became rundown at the same time. What had happened to her was called a convulsion. It was at this time that the Doctor gave to me to give the children Viramin with instructions for a daily dosage. They had just started making them.


The 6th of May in 1961 we had a little girl born to us, but she was born dead. At the same time Nila came thru with a 50-50 chance. The little girl would have been Dark haired and we would have named her Lora Lorraine Kiesel. She would have been 2 years younger than Callie. Doctor Davidson allowed me to come home early and I went to the Mortuary where she laid. He little ear was bent under her bonnet and I straightened it. She had long black hair and was very beautifully fine featured. That summer was hard on us because of wanting her to stay around to be raised.


It was the following year that we had a boy born to us. His name was John witch Linda had picked out for him. Alton's youngest brother, if he had lived would have been Elliott and so John's middle name was Elliott also. He has been a very small boy in status. When John became a little bit older we had a jumper swing and he loved to wind up in it. I and Alton was in very earnest conversation one day when Callie pulled on my skirt to show us John. He had wound up in the swing until his Adam's apple was resting on the cross wire in front of him. We immediately unwound him and he was O.K. And so his life was saved.


Soon after the first plastic bags came out Arthur was playing with one and thoughtlessly put it over his head. Nila was standing there next to him and turned around to see his plight. The bag had blocked his breathing and he was choking, His face swelling in front of her very own eyes. I realized something must be done immediately. I knew I had not time to pull the entire bag off his head and that he needed air in his mouth. So I took my hands and started clawing at the bag directly over his mouth. I broke thru, Air rushed in, and then I could take the bag off. But it was entirely too close for comfort, and we almost lost him then and there. The sudden swelling of his face remains with me today.



When John was 17 months old we were blessed with another little girl. This was the first girl to have Nila's name, and she was named after Nila's grandma Gee and after Alton's grandmother Petersen. The name was Nila Cecelia Kiesel. To avoid the use of big Nila and little Nila, she was called Cecelia or Celia for short. Her hair was dark and she very much resembles her older sister Linda. She is taller than the other children and pretty. Celia was born near 8 or 9 in the morning. While John was born at 3 O'clock in the morning, and Jane was born in the evening, also Fred.


When Celia was 2 years old we lost another little girl. This one would have been named Sarah Elizabeth. This was the beginning of trouble and the separating of lives. In early August of 66 Alton collapsed on the kitchen floor. He was taken to Mount Pleasant Hospital where it was found he had practically no blood. Friends rallied and blood was donated for his survival. He was at Mount Pleasant for 6 days, then he was sent into Provo Hospital when he underwent tests for 9 more days. It was discovered that his one kidney had not been working for at least three years. Another Doctor declared that the ulcer he had was the largest one the doctor had ever observed. Operation was needed. One month later we returned but Alton stated that things didn't feel right and he returned to Manti. While at Provo Nila stayed (and Arthur) at Linda and her husband's place in Orem. Within a week pain and infection force Alton to be operated on at the Mt. Pleasant Hospital by a Doc. Gleeves.


This is a more correct account of the dates from those troubled times. We returned from the Provo tests on the 15th. The 17th She went into the hospital for the delivery. The morning of the 18th the dead baby girl was delivered. Approximately 5 weeks later Alton was operated on. His cancerous Kidney removed. He improved after this and remained in this world for 15 more months. We miss him today as we always will be feel that we owe thanks for his company during those close 15 months. The 6th of Dec 1967 the ulcer started to bleed again and he was operated on within days. He laid in the hospital 2 weeks before he died, suffering intensely, concerned about others, and still joking- so other's wouldn't worry about him. This last operation took 5 and ½ hours. The incision did not heal, but bled continuously until his death. He had a heart attack within days after the operation, finally his kidney stopped, his lungs started to fill with water. Too many things went wrong, he couldn't survive. He died the 27th of Dec. and was buried on the 30th. He had 6 married brothers and sisters, so we asked one from each to be his pallbears. He had a nice funeral, and we still miss him.


I wanted to write this History because our children were some very small and didn't have the privilege of knowing and loving Alton as I did. I wanted them to know of their father, Also his new In-laws, and the coming grandchildren which he never got to see. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.



In the future years I intend to finish my own story, and also to write on some of the things with I heard when listening to stories, when I was younger, which I can, that concerned others, I loved and knew.


I would like to say that Alton preferred to form his own opinion of the people he came in contact with. He did not allow Bad language around his home. He was very patient with most people, but would take no guff from people, who he felt were out of place. He enjoyed seeing accomplishment, and was quick to compliment on that accomplishment to the person.


When the children were little he would allow them to climb over and around him. He did not hesitate when he felt they needed correction either. He was willing to admit a mistake if he was in the wrong. He done his best to meet his bills and approved of going to church, although he sometimes did not feel good enough to go himself. In the early years of our marriage he took great pride in going to church, and in my ability to play piano at church functions. I think, of all the music I played, his favorite was Brahms' Lullaby.


I have many good memories of the years with him and have wanted to share them with you.


Sincerely Nila D. Kiesel
1st of February 1974