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Nora was the ninth child of Willard and Annie Morgan Moore
In the picture above are Nora Moore and her second husband Charles Tyler. |
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Below on this page is an excellent history of Willard and Annie Morgan Moore written by Nora which we present in it's entirety. And also a life history for Nora herself (At the bottom of the page) History of Willard Moore By Nora Moore Tyler, his daughter My father, Willard Moore, was born November 16, 1859, the third child of his parents, Joseph and Emma Cook Moore. Grandfather Joseph Moore was a silk glove maker in England before he came to America for the promise of religious freedom. He and grandmother were married on the voyage to America by the captain of the ship. I don't know the story of how they met. Click on the link above to see a picture of Joseph Moore. My Grandparents had five children, John, Joseph, Willard, Moroni and Emma. Grandmother died when Emma was less than 24 hours old. The only memory Dad had of his mother was after she died while she was at home being prepared for burial. They had laid her on planks set on chairs and washed her hair. It reached the floor where it was laid on papers to dry. Her hair was black, she had dark grey eyes and was very pretty. They were loving parents and Grandfather was heart-broken to have to separate his family after his wife died. Joseph wasn't well. He had consumption [tuberculosis] and each of his children was placed in a different foster home. He visited his children occasionally but Dad hardly remembered him at all. He was only three when he was separated from him and by the time he was five he also had passed away. Dad's brother John went to live with his uncle John, Joseph's brother. I don't know where his brother Joseph went except that he died while real young. I don't know who Moroni lived with, but Emma went to the George Hick's family. My dad went first to live with the Timmins family. He stayed there until his father died. I have heard him tell of this incident; he and some of the Timmins children were out in the currant patch and his mother appeared to him. She told him his father had died and she told him to be a good boy no matter where he was put. Just then a man rode into the yard and talked to Mrs. Timmins and told her that Joseph had died. She went out and told him his father had died and he said "I know it, my momma told me." When questioned about her appearance to him he described his mother in the dress she was buried in, which was brown. Since there was no money coming into the Timmins family for him, he was put in another foster home, the Wilkersons. There he was very badly mistreated. If he was disobedient he was shut in a dark cellar, where it was cold and musty. The winters were severe and he had no overshoes and had to walk 5 miles to school. They wrapped burlap sacks around his feet for overshoes. He stayed there until he was 13 years old. One day Mr. and Mrs. Wilkerson took a load of molasses to Spanish Fork to trade for flour and other household items. While they were gone he made up his mind to run away and get away from the severe whippings and other abuse. He started out walking. As he walked along, he met a man who was going to Spanish Fork with a load of fruit (they lived in Goshen). The man gave him a ride and while they were traveling along he saw Wilkersons coming back on their return trip. He was frightened. The man kindly put him under the canvas he had over his fruit until they had passed them. He then uncovered him and took him on to Spanish Fork. Once there, dad went down on Utah Lake near where his uncle John lived and met his brother John playing by the lake. John took him up to the house and he wasn't greeted too warmly. The next day Thomas Morgan came to Spanish Fork to trade sorghum for other supplies and visited the Moores. Willard (dad) went back to Lemington with him. Edward Morgan (son of Thomas Morgan) took him in and there he found a comfortable home and worked for his board and keep. Dad was always full of fun and wanted to play jokes on the other kids. It was customary in a little town like Leamington that the people would visit one another. Often they would leave the children home when there was an older child to leave them with. It was at these times that James Morgan and dad would put on dough (flour paste) faces and scare the younger kids and girls. Dad loved to swim and was a very good swimmer. Edward Morgan's oldest daughter was Annie Lydia and they were very good companions. He soon knew he loved her but had to wait for her to grow up. So he spent seven years working for her father, until he was 20 and she was 15. He often said he was like Jacob of old who worked 7 years for his wife. They had just been married one month and a cattle man who lived in Peoche called on him and the Morgan men for help. His cattle were freezing to death as a result of a hard winter they were having. He knew the Morgans did odd jobs to help sustain the family and he sent word to them to come and that they could have the hides off the cattle when they died. It was a tiring, 24 hour a day job because the hides had to be removed quickly after they died, before they froze on them and couldn't be removed. It was through the selling of those hides that dad was able to get mother her first stove, first set of dishes and knives
and forks. Dad bought them and brought them home as a surprise to mother.
When Joseph was about a month old, they were going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Morgan. Dad was carrying the baby and let it snow right on the baby's face. Mother was terribly upset. She thought sure he'd get pneumonia. But it didn't hurt him at all. The following autumn Mother and Dad moved to Warm Creek, Idaho, just a short distance from American Falls. They arrived in late fall and right away it began to snow. They had to live in a dug-out, which is a hole dug back in a hill with a roof over it. The dirt sides were boarded up and a window was made out of greased paper and a quilt was hung up for the door. Mother's parents, the Morgan's, had also moved to Warm Creek. They all hoped to have a better life there. They all arrived there in 1881 and must have remained about six years. Shortly after they arrived, Dad went to cut ties up in the canyon. There he contracted diphtheria and had to return home. He exposed his own family to the dread disease and the Morgan family as well. What a terrible ordeal that became for all of them. Two of Grandma and Grandpa Morgan's boys died within 36 hours and Mother and Father lost their first child, Joseph at age
16 months. Mother said that Dad was so sick at the time that she didn't realize the shock of losing her baby until he had
improved. There were no lumber yards to go to for wood to build a casket (I think most all caskets were homemade at that
time) so they went to the banks of the river and gathered up boards that had washed down stream. From those Joseph's casket
was made and he was laid to rest. His burial clothes were made from a pair of embroidered pillow cases that their friend,
Sister Neeley, had brought with her when they first settled in the area. Mother's expression was that she felt like the world
had caved in at the loss of her baby and two brothers. But being of strong faith, she depended on her Heavenly Father to
help her through this time of distress. Mother had been so sure she was going to lose Dad too. She rejoiced in his recovery.
Miraculously she never took any diseases.
While living at Leamington or Goshen, Dad hauled rock and helped in the construction of the Manti Temple. This was unpaid volunteer labor and we've always been proud that Dad had a hand in the Temple construction. They didn't stay too long in Leamington this time because Ira was born at Freedom, Lincoln County, Wyoming [they called it
Star Valley] Sept. 10, 1889. The snow there was so deep in winter that they had to use snow shoes to get about.
They often killed wild animals for meat that winter, which upon cooking was so lean and free from fat that it would rust their cooking utensils. They only stayed one year in Star Valley and during that year there were 3 babies born: my brother Ira, my cousin Nora [Aunt Prissy's baby], and mother's sister Elizabeth's baby. My Aunt Elizabeth died at childbirth leaving a tiny baby. Mother and Aunt Prissy nursed the baby. Aunt Lizzie was buried on the banks of a swale [a creek that never freezes over during winter - a kind of warm spring fed stream with high banks]. Grandma Morgan kept the baby. They wanted to take Lizzie to Freedom for burial but her husband refused and since he had the first right, his wishes were granted. He said he was going to settle there permanently and he wanted her grave there. Instead, he left within a short time. He came back after a few months, saying he wanted the baby because he was going to get married again and his new wife would raise the baby. Grandma didn't want to let the baby go but had no choice. John [the father] wasn't living a clean life and she didn't think he would care for the baby properly. She told him that she would give him the baby but that she prayed to God that Lizzie would take him from him. She was right about neglecting the baby. He camped out in the open with him and he got pneumonia and soon died. He had hired a woman to take care of the baby while he was sick and this woman told Grandma that she was sure the baby's mother had come for him. Just before he died she saw the figure of a woman holding her arms out to him. She described the woman and it was a perfect description of Aunt Lizzie. After a year in Wyoming they moved to Shelton, Idaho in 1891 where Dad homesteaded 160 acres. My brother John was born in Shelton in April of 1891. He only lived a month. He was a sickly baby and just never pulled out of it. Willard Cook and John Thomas Moore Family Pictures Click on the link above to see a picture of the Willard Cook and Annie Lydia Morgan Moore family. Also on this link is a picture of the family of Willard's brother John Thomas and Annie Andersen Moore. Dad was farming his own land and also the Edwards Farm which is now known as the Jim Heath Ranch. They lived in a log house on the Edwards property. My Sister, Sarah Emma, was born while they lived there, in 1894. When they left the Edwards Ranch, Dad built a house on his own homestead. It was a large one room log house. Later another room was added. Dad helped build the first road into Jackson Hole. He was up there all one summer until the snow got so deep they had to discontinue the work. During that time my Mother and my brother Wit [Willard C.] took care of the patch of alfalfa that they had planted. This was the first time since their marriage that they'd actually had any money coming in - which put them on their feet so Dad could finally start getting ahead. After working on the Jackson Hole road, he had saved enough money to buy the farm machinery he needed to start farming in earnest. The summer he was at Jackson, Mother got things on credit at the Iona store. Her bill for the whole summer was $100.00. Father, not knowing how much it took to feed a family of five, thought she had been a little extravagant. They had to dig ditches to get irrigation water to their fields. In the early part of September of 1898, it was thrashing time and the thrashers had just got through eating dinner when Mother became aware that their next baby was going to be born soon. The lovely woman that she was, she didn't let Dad know about her condition until the work had been finished for the evening. Then Dad made his 9th hurried trip for a midwife. She was Sarah Howard, the Bishop's wife. He paid her $10.00 and the one baby she expected to deliver turned out to be two - Cora and Nora. Both of us were sickly, although we weighed in at 7 pounds and 6 1/2 pounds. Cora lived to be 7 months old and in that 7 months, Dad wore out a new pair of shoes walking the floor with us. During that
time we'd had pneumonia twice and abcesses on the neck twice. Cora died of the abcesses when they broke on the inside and
strangled her.
In 1901 Jeanette was born - another trip for Dad for a midwife, who this time was Josephine Newman. We almost lost Mother at this time. Jeaneatte was the last baby. I can remember that when Mother began labor, they sent Ira, Emma and myself down to Aunt Annies. It was in the middle of the night and I lost my shoe on the way. We had to go find it the next morning. Late that afternoon we went home and I saw my new sister for the first time. When Jeanette was four years old, Dad went to work for the Great Feeder Canal Co. where he was foreman [or watermaster]. He had to control the headgates and keep them clear. Dad had to live there a good share of the time during the summers. Mother and us girls spent several summers there with him. At first he had a hired man take care of the farm and after that the boys ran it. He never ran the farm himself after he went to work at the Feeder if I remember correctly. In the spring there were a lot of large trees and other driftwood that came down the stream. He had to remove them, often endangering himself. At this time the Feeder headgates were made of timber and it was hard to get the driftwood out. Dad was a wonderful father. He got down on the floor and played with us, letting us take rides on his back. He was stern and his children had to mind. He had his bluff in because we never found out what would happen to us if we didn't mind. While playing with us children, when he got tired and had had enough, he'd run his fingers through his hair and pull an ugly face and let out a gruff noise and we knew it was time to stop. When I was about 15 years old, they built new headgates at the Feeder. There had to be a large coffer dam made to turn the water down another channel. These headgates were to be made of concrete and Dad was in charge of the whole construction and the men doing it. Wilson Brothers designed the blueprint for the work. When the headgates were within two days of having the water turned through them, in the middle of the night came a war whoop - the coffer dam had broken. Wheelbarrows, picks and shovels, buckets etc. went right on down stream. Now I must say something about my wonderful mother and the wonderful person she was. She was the sweetest tempered lady, always so kind with her children, but when she said no, she meant it. She was of fair complexion, blue eyes - which half of the family inherited. She was very ambitious, always raising a garden and that to help out. She loved flowers. Her home was her castle. She loved morning glories and always had a lot of them and roses and peonies. She had a favorite cat she called Freckles. She did a lot of knitting. To keep Freckles from tangling her thread, she would lay him on a chair beside her and talk to him. She raised a lot of chickens, geese and turkeys. They had a fruit orchard across the street and she did a lot of preserving. There were two instances that happened while Father was watermaster on the Feeder that I would like to tell about. I don't know just what years these things happened. Father had a few men working at the Feeder rip-wrapping [for you who aren't aware of what rip'wrapping is, they cut down trees and put them in the water, weighting them down with rocks, making layer after layer until they reach the bottom. It's mostly used to change the current in the stream] and they had completed the job and had all left but Father and John Moore Jr., my cousin. Father and John had stayed behind to gather up the tools and cables and what-not. Father was asked to go to the Anderson Dam to oversee some cement work. When they came back they found the cabin had burned down. All Dad's provisions, bedding and cooking utensils were destroyed. Not only did they find the cabin burned down but a new wagon, and worst of all, three head of Dad's best horses lay dead - burned. What a loss. The horses had been tied with chains for ropes. After that Dad would never have chains in the place of ropes. He thought the ropes would have burned and the horses could have gotten away. Dad always thought that the fire was set intentionally but had no proof. The next thing that happened was probably in about 1908 when I was ten years old - as near as I can remember. The water was awfully high that year. I know, because mother, Jeanette, and I were living with Dad at the Feeder house. The water was so deep between the Farmers Friend and the Eagle Rock (two canals) that it would swim a horse. And also, it was flooded down over the Alof (Elof) Nelson Ranch, and we couldn't get out. Due to the extremely high water, it had taken part of the upper overflow out, which is located just across Snake River from the upper ferry. It had torn out the cribs (three-cornered containers sunk and filled with rocks to direct the flow - fastened down with cables) that Dad had built and also the rip-wrapping, causing a very deep hole which was drawing too much of the current from the main stream of Snake River towards Heise. If the overflow went out, it would have caused the main part of the river to flow that way which would have been disastrous. The deepness of the hole made it impossible to put in cribs and rip-wrapping. Something had to be done quickly. There was a huge rock, called the Kelly Rock, on the banks. Why it was placed there only our Heavenly Father knows. If my memory isn't playing tricks on me, that rock was practically as big as a city lot. They decided if they could get that rock in that hole, it would amend the problem caused by the high waters. There was a man by the name of James Ross Sr. who had considerable experience in drilling and explosives. He was called in and the questionable task was begun. I don't know how long it took to drill and prepare the rock for dynamite, but it was quite a while. Oh yes, there were a lot of doubting Thomas's, even among the feeder directors, who thought it couldn't be done. But they figured if it just shattered the rock, they would be able to haul it and fill in the hole. This rock was located close to the overflow. The time came for the detonation of the explosives. A large crowd gathered, doubters and all, but at a safe distance. The fuses were set and there was a tense few minutes, and the roar was heard. The rock was lifted intact and landed exactly in the place desired, just as neatly as if Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox had placed it there themselves. What a joyous shout went out, especially from the feeder directors. Now rip-wrapping and cribs could be placed and the work was begun immediately. It saved the Great Feeder Canal Company a great deal of money. Father was exuberant at the success of the project. He had spent many sleepless nights worrying, when he could see the Snake River turning in the wrong channel. While working at the Feeder, Father was asked to go to the Eagle Rock canal and turn in more water. The wheel on one of the gates had been broken and the only way it could be turned was with a large Stiltson wrench. While turning the gate, the wrench slipped off, hitting Dad in the face, breaking his jaw in two places. He was taken to Idaho Falls, where his jaws had to be wired. The wires were fastened on the outside of his face, causing much pain. He was in the hospital quite a while (Idaho Falls L.D.S.) and had to have the wires on quite a while after he got home. While in the hospital, he had to have a special nurse around the clock for some time, because of the danger of choking. Mother, bless her heart, stayed right with him at the hospital. Some of you may remember the scars on his face that resulted from the wires in his jaws. When he went to the doctor to get the wires removed (mother was with him), he said to the doctor - "The first thing I'm going to do when I get these wires out is kiss my wife." Mother was so touched, she cried. Dad hadn't had his teeth pulled at that time and he worried considerably about it because he knew he had to have them extracted. One day he went to Idaho Falls without telling mother what he was up to and had his teeth pulled. He knew she would worry if she knew. He had bottom dentures made, but due to his injury, was never able to wear them. By this time the work on the feeder had been reduced because father had gotten everything in pretty good shape, where he didn't have to be there so much of the time. But throughout his life he was a devout, sincere and honest member of the community and held the love and respect of all who knew him. With undying faith and energy he did very much to improve what lay about him. He took an active and interested part in the construction of irrigation systems and water supply for the upper Snake River Valley. Not only did he have interest in the Feeder, but in the other canals that were nearby. He served as watermaster for the Great Feeder Canal System for 37 years as well as serving the public as a member of the school boards and aiding in the construction of churches and schools. He was trustee for the district school and he also helped in the construction of the first Ririe High School. He was on the first board of trustees for the Ririe High School after it was finished. He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He was a ward teacher, served as a home missionary and on amusement committees. He also held the office of High Priest. Throughout his entire life he was a worthwhile member of the community. Now let me speak of my darling mother. Her childhood was not spent as the children of today. She had a set of quilt blocks completely sewed by hand when she was 8 years old. When the children of those days visited one another, they took their quilt blocks or carpet rags and sewed them while visiting and in their minds, playing they were grown up mothers. Mother, being the oldest of the children, tended little brothers and sisters. That took up considerable of her time. My mother only had a 2nd grade education. Not having much formal education, she listened intently and grew in wisdom and understanding through the knowledge she got from others. I remember her speaking of Christmas time one year. The children had been put to bed. She awoke and saw her mother and her grandmother making gingerbread men and fruit cookies. Still she believed in the morning when she found her stocking that Santa Claus had brought them. That was the only presents they got, yet they were so happy and content with the love and devotion that their parents gave them. They didn't wish for more. My mother had the most beautiful hand sewn stitch I have ever seen. Rightly so, she never had a sewing machine until my sister Emma was born. She made all those baby clothes by hand. What I mean, making baby clothes consisting of flannel shirts, flannel abdominal band, pinning blankets (they went under the petticoats and the feet were pinned in with them), nightgowns, petticoats (they wore an outing flannel petticoat, a bleach petticoat and a dress), dresses, at least 36 diapers etc. all made by hand. The baby dresses in those days, also the petticoats, were long enough that when the mother took the baby on her lap, the dresses touched the floor. I wish you could see some of the baby dresses my Grandma Morgan made, and my mother was just as skilled as Grandmother was. Embroidery work, tucks, the little yokes in the babies dresses were full of tucks and embroidery work. The hems were all trimmed with embroidery work and lace on both the dresses and petticoats. It took the whole nine months to get the clothes ready for a baby. I guess that's why Mother didn't have her children too close. In addition to all the sewing, they knit and crocheted baby sweaters and booties that were as elaborately made as the dresses. My Grandmother Morgan had a spinning wheel. One Christmas, when we were all invited there for dinner, she got it out and for a little while showed us grandchildren how she used to spin. She took wool from the sheep that she had gathered from the fences and corded, and spun a thread to show us just how fascinating it was. My, how I wish I had that old spinning wheel, for I loved my grandmother so much. I wonder what became of it. My grandfather also had the old wooden yoke he used on his oxen when he and Grandmother were first married. Now I will tell you of a few things that happened in my mother and father's lives while raising their family. They had a dog named Nellie. While living in Goshen, they didn't have to go far to kill deer and elk for meat. One day father let Nellie go with him. They scared up a deer and it ran over the hill and Nellie went after it. The snow was deep and the dog could travel much easier than the deer. When Dad came up over the hill Nellie had the deer by the throat and had shut off it's wind. Dad finished killing the deer and dressed it out. Poor Nellie was so exhausted from struggling with the deer that she just lay in a heap panting, while Dad did his share of the work. To show his gratitude, Dad carried the dog home (she was too weary to walk) and then returned for the deer. Another incident concerning Nellie: One time they had given away all of her pups but one and it was promised to my brother, Wit. It was just a little toddling thing, following it's mother everywhere. One day they were out in the barnyard and a horse kicked the pup and killed it. Nellie drug it to the house to the door, but it was dead. Nellie actually cried tears, as did Wit. Father was going to bury it. He dug the hole. Wit, through his tears, asked that the dirt not be thrown over it, he wanted it buried in a box. Wit was probably 4 or 5 years old at the time. Dad feeling sorry for Wit, prepared a box with a lid on it, and buried the pup. After it was buried, Wit put sticks around the grave and when his friends came to play, they would sometimes try to remove the sticks. Nellie would pull their hands away from the sticks with her mouth and wouldn't let them pull them away. My parents said she had a beaten trail from the house to the grave. I tell you this to show you the love between the dog and her pup and a little boy and his pet, and the concern of a father for his little boy's tears. In those days there wasn't a lot to do for recreation but my parents thought of many things to keep us amused. I remember Mother sitting at the table making shadow pictures on the wall - of geese and ducks and rabbits. She was very good at this. She taught me how and years later I entertained my children with the same shadow figures. There were a number of finger games Mother used to play with us kids where we put our hands on the table. She had a rhyme and we put a finger under until all fingers were gone. Simple maybe, by today's standards, but fun. My dear Mother, how we loved her, and how kind she was to her family and her grandchildren. Sometimes she had difficulties and heartaches with some of the grandchildren, when they used to break her setting hens and turkeys up by breaking the eggs. They poured buckets of her grain in the ditch nearby to watch the ducks dive after it. These things were done long after they were old enough to know better. She had a dog named Curly and wherever you saw Mother, you saw Curly. One day she was standing at the back door and Curly was sitting in the gateway and he was shot dead right in front of her eyes. She was heartbroken because that dog meant the world to her. She was alone so much and that dog was all the company she had - and then to have it killed so merciless and just for pure meanness, by someone she loved and had always been kind to. It was almost more than she could bear. The Fourth of July in those days was really celebrated. Everyone wore costumes. Girls dressed in red, white and blue, as the goddess of Liberty, children dressed up as little Indians, etc. Everybody met at the Church grounds for an all-day celebration. There were foot races and other competitions for all age groups. I remember one time my brother Ira climbed a greasy pole. By doing so he thought he had won a 50 cent prize. But the judge claimed he didn't do it fairly and wouldn't pay him. I ran a foot race and I beat the other girl by 2 yards. The same judge wouldn't give me my prize. His daughter was my competitor. Tom Barnes was the judge and he had it in for our family that day. Ira and I were very sad about the money because it was such a lot to us. We seldom had even 10 cents of our own to spend. Even in those days there were dishonest judges! One Fourth of July we joined the Poplar Ward for the celebration. My Dad was chosen to be the Grand Marshall of the Day, which means he was in charge of the whole event. Dad wouldn't ride with us that day and after we had all left, he shaved off his mustache and put on his suit - putting a wide band of red bunting around from one shoulder across and down to the opposite side of his waist. He really looked grand, like a Grand Marshall should. He rode his beautiful dark bay stallion to the Church grounds. No one knew him but Mother - not even his own kids. I was frightened of him because I didn't know him, when he came towards me. He grew his mustache right back because he had a short upper lip and he didn't like that. My Uncle John (Dad's brother) started a dramatic group which included a lot of family members, and other people in the ward. Wit, Irie and Emma were the main ones in our family that acted. They were all very talented and funny. Wit was especially good at Irish parts. Irie also leaned toward the Irish and Dutch. Those in the ward included Ollie and Ella Howard, Frank Misken (Frank could never be beat on any stage, he was just super). Costumes all had to be sewn by the individuals and their families. The plays were put on in different wards for a small fee and they were always very well attended. My dad donated the land for the Shelton, Ririe Cemetery and to this day it is a beautiful little cemetery. He must have donated the ground well before the turn of the century. My twin was buried there in 1899 and there were quite a few graves there before then. A lot of our family members are buried there. My brother John was buried there even before my twin was. In addition to my mother and dad being buried there, the following children and grandchildren are also buried there. John, Cora, Wit and Julia his wife and their two sons; Ezra and wife Violet and their three sons; Emma and her husband Frank and one son and one daughter and Jeanette's first husband, Willard. There are, of course, a lot of other close relatives buried there. My dad had one of the first cars in the area. He bought a Model T about 1914 or 1915. He and Mother went to Idaho Falls in a buggy and Mother drove the buggy back and dad drove the car. Us kids were so excited. We knew they'd gone to get a car and we could hardly wait for them to get back. Dad paid cash for it - how much, I know not. Oh, the times we got stuck with that car! We always carried a shovel and an axe with us so we could cut down brush to put under the wheels to give it traction. Dad let me drive the car a little bit. He had that car two or three years and then got a Ford Model A. The Model A had curtains on the side that we put up if it rained. By the time we got them on, we'd be soaking wet. If I remember right, the next car was a Dodge. That one was better prepared for rainy weather, it had windows you could roll up. the next one was also a Dodge, they were all black so far. The next one was a Plymouth. We were starting to get into the fancy cars now. The next one was a light green Terraplane coupe. This was probably about 1930. We (Mother, Dad and I), had been to Star Valley to visit my aunt's grave and had been eating candy kisses and dropped some of the wrappers on the floor. I was driving and went to turn off the highway onto the gravel road that led to home. I went to put the brake on and one of the candy wrappers stuck to my foot. My foot slipped over on the gas and I ran off the bridge, down into the Westbranch Canal. Not a drop of water got in the car. We weren't hurt and managed to get out okay. Penny Brown pulled the car out with his truck. The only damage done to the car was a slight dent in the fender. I shed a lot of tears, but for years after we laughed about our mishap. The last car Dad owned was a green Hudson which he probably bought in 1938 or 1939. He paid cash for all these cars - something that's hard to do these days. Interestingly enough, this car broke down on the way to Dad's funeral in 1945. My family was riding in it and the children compared it to the grandfathers clock which stopped short, never to go again when the old man died. However, the Hudson did go again and brother Irie drove it for some time. So much for cars. In the summer of 1915, Dad built a new home across the street from the old house. When we moved into that it seemed like we had moved into a mansion. How mother planted flowers and tried to make the home beautiful. She'd just get the flowers going good and in full bloom and Dad would turn the cows into the yard to graze and that was the end of Mothers flowers for that season. Ever patient, she never complained. By the time we moved into the new house, all the kids were married but Jeanette and me. We didn't have to have separate bedrooms
like kids do nowdays. Even though this was a much more modern house, they didn't have running water or inside plumbing until
about 1928. They dug the well and built the bathroom after Mother's parent's died. Mother paid for most of it with her share
of her parent's estate.
Mother got a new coal and wood burning kitchen range when we moved to the new house. After electricity came through she got an electric stove and placed it beside the coal stove. We had to use the coal stove to heat the water for the bathroom so she still used it for much of her cooking. She used the electric stove mostly in the summer time when it was hot. When Dad had the well put in, they had to drill about 130 feet, as near as I remember, to get a sufficient supply. That was the coldest, clearest water, and there was enough to share with the neighbors. The telephone came through there about 1913 and nearly everyone got one right away. We had a party line of course and there was a lot of eavesdropping. Just a few years later, about 1916, the railroad came through, cutting right through Dad's property. A few years later when the highway went through between Idaho Falls, and Ririe, it also cut through Dad's property. When the railroad went through, the little town of Ririe was built and it changed people's lives considerably. Pool halls and markets were both close. Many men started hanging around the pool halls and people were exposed to other temptations they hadn't had before. We children attended a little country school that had all 8 grades in one room. One teacher taught all eight grades. The winters were very severe, more than they have been recently. We'd go to school and the bottoms of our dresses would get wet and freeze. The schoolhouse had one big stove in the center. Those sitting near the stove almost baked and those further away would freeze. We wrote with our gloves on. Our dresses would still be wet when we went home. We carried our lunch in a lunch pail which we'd set in the window sill. By noon time our milk, fruit and sandwiches would be frozen. All we have to show for our education is rheumatism and arthritis. I know because I've got them. In the winter time we played Fox and Geese. When the weather was warmer we played Pomp, Pomp Pull-away. In those days it was customary to have ward Christmas trees. The parents would take the presents for their children there Christmas Eve, where they were hung on the three. There were always two big trees standing side by side. We had a big party Christmas Eve and Santa and Mrs. Santa came and handed out the gifts and candy and nuts. The next morning there would be a few more gifts at home. There was many a little child with a broken heart when the presents were distributed because some people had more means to but their children things. Children couldn't understand why Santa Clause gave some children nicer things than others. So I always thought it was a good thing when they did away with Ward Christmas trees. In those days there was no such things as immunizations and everyone lived in terrible fear of diseases such as small pox, diphtheria, scarlet fever and others. I recall when we had the small pox. My brother Ezra had it the worst of anybody in our family. That was when I was about 5 years old, about 1902. He would have been about 15 and I remember when the scabs began to drop off, they would drop in the bed and irritate him. I handed him a cracked cup and told him when he got that full I would empty it. The family really got a laugh from that. Small pox is the only disease that even breaks out on the bottoms of the feet and palms of the hands. Father sharpened his razor and opened the sores on the bottoms of Ez's feet so they could break through (because of the calluses on his feet). I don't think Wit had them because he was working away from home. Jeannette also had it pretty bad, her being just a baby. Mother carried her a lot on her hip. Where Mother's arm went around her, the small pox ran into one solid scab. Myself, I had a sore thumb and all the small pox broke out on my thumb. I had a terribly sore thing but otherwise I was okay. It seemed like our family didn't catch so many of those diseases but we did have whooping cough, measles and chicken pox. Uncle John's family seemed to get everything. Jeanette had typhoid fever but I don't remember that any of the rest of us did. I remember that she and Mother were isolated in the big bedroom. I remember handing food in through the window to them. The first phonograph we got, Dad won in Idaho Falls. His number came up in a drawing. Boy did we think we had the world by the tail with a down hill pull. It was one of those with a big horn, a Victor. We had several others. We had "The Old Kentucky Home," "I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen," "I Picked a Lemon in the Garden of Love Where They Say Only Peaches Grow," and other songs we loved to listen to. The radio didn't come along until several years later, but was received with great enthusiasm. Movies didn't enter our lives for quite a while. Maybe they had them in Idaho Falls, but we didn't see them. Even back then we had Primary. I remember going there as a child. Mother didn't teach Primary but she taught a religion class that met after school on a Wednesday. In about 1909 or 1910, Ira was called on a mission to the Western States. The mission headquarters was in Denver. It's marvelous what a mission will do to one's habit of living and what an uplift it is to a person's personal life. Irie was a very good missionary. The folks received complimentary letters from his mission president. A family of Smiths moved into Shelton from Cedar Utah, living just across the road and across the canal from us. My brother Wit soon singled out Smith's oldest daughter, Julia. They were married in our home in June of 1905. I remember Julie's dress was white and she had on white slippers. They had a wedding dance that night. Bishop John Howard married them. The dance was held at the Church as was the custom. A few months later, in December, Ez married another Smith sister, Violet. They were also married in our home by Bishop Howard. Violet's dress was blue with pretty bows on the skirt. Both of these girls became very wonderful wives and mothers. When Irie returned from his mission in 1912, he married Mary Ellen Ferguson who waited for him all the time he was on his mission. They were married in the Logan Temple. Another wonderful wife and mother. In May of 1913, sister Emma married Benjamin Franklin Smith, brother of Julia and Violet. They were married in Idaho Falls by the judge. They were chivareed that night, being separated for a while and given a ride in a wheelbarrow. I was next to be married. William Ross was working for my father and brothers and the whole family liked him a lot. We were married the 14th of December 1916. The canals had run over (The Farmer's Friend) and going from Dad's and Mother's up to Ririe, the road was flooded down the county line, where we picked up Ez and Violet to be our witnesses. We were married at Rigby and came back the other way to avoid the floods. I wore a white dress Emma and I made. Jeanette had the measles in Rexburg where she was going to college and Mother and Dad had gone to be with her. So only our witnesses were with us. Jeanette was married a couple of years later to Willard James Morgan. They were married in Rigby. Grandchildren soon started to come along following these marriages and as most of them lived nearby, there was a lot of visiting among family members. In looking back over the story, I see I haven't included too much about each of my brothers and sisters. In my own life story I wrote about each one and I believe I will include that part of my own life story in Dad's and Mother's. It is as follows: My brothers and sisters are as follows: Joseph Edward a beautiful blue eyed boy. He was a husky little fellow and so much treasured by his parents. When sixteen months old he, as many of the others, had diphtheria and passed away. Willard C. was born next, another blue eyed boy. He was called Wit and witty he was. He made people laugh wherever he was. He was very good in dramatics and was always chosen for the comic parts. He was very mild tempered, a wonderful husband and father. Annie Elizabeth, a lovely dark eyed and dark haired girl was her daddy's pride and joy. She was always sweet and mild, a small
lady in every way. When just lacking two days of her second birthday, she was called home to Him who gave her, leaving my
parents again with only one child.
Then Ezra was born, another boy with curly hair and dark eyes. He was more spirited and not so even tempered, but a lovely boy and a great playmate for Wit. He was mechanically inclined and could seemingly repair anything. Ira came along, another witty one. Such a kind, loveable boy. He again was one to make everyone around him smile and made the sun shine when hidden with the clouds. Such a wonderful husband and father. You could search the world over and never find a more loving and kind father. He too was very good at dramatics and played many roles in the home troup in the ward. John came to make a very short stay here on earth, just one month. But he left a place in the home that was always vacant and a smile that was never forgotten. Sarah Emma, named after both grandmothers, had a very loveable disposition and was very humorous also. She had medium brown hair and gray eyes. She was very good also on the stage and took part in many plays in the ward. She was a kind and loveable sister, a wonderful wife and mother. Then Cora and Nora, twins came along to make things more interesting for our parents. We were ill almost all the time, until my sister passed away at eight months. She had dark hair and eyes, was sweet and loveable I am sure. For myself, I am going to leave it up to those around me. They may say what they have found by living near and with me. I have tried to live that my light might shine, that those around me might have found me loveable and livable. Jeanette Isabella, such a darling baby, such a sweet sister. We were so close together throughout our lives. Of course she was younger than I, and I can remember her as she grew up. We played together. She was such an ambitious person throughout her life. Well, words can't explain what she meant to me throughout my life until she passed away. I still miss her so much. I still miss each one of my brothers and sisters. It is strange to be the only one left of such a large family. As in most families, we had our share of tragedies. The first tragedy that came was in about 1917. Brother Wit's 2nd boy, Benjamin, was killed when a horse fell on him. It seemed like this had to be, as the horse had just returned from the hills and Wit and Benjamin thought they would take a ride. The horse lost his footing, falling on Benjamin, killing him instantly. Wit almost had a nervous breakdown, feeling that some-how he should have been able to prevent it. Bennie seemed to be a very special spirit, almost too good for this world. Our Heavenly Father must have needed him, perhaps to be a teacher on the other side. Another tragedy that came to the family was my brother Ezra's youngest boy, Lavar's death. He was killed in an automobile accident when he was about 12 years old. A bunch of kids took a car that didn't have any lights on it and went to Ririe. When coming home, they met head on with another car that had no lights. Just Lavar was killed, but Leland was quite badly injured. Also along were Carl Brown and a Gallup boy. No one else was badly injured. The other car contained the Frank Spriggs family. There were other deaths among the grandchildren but those seemed the most tragic. The death that hit my Mother and Dad most severely was that of my sister, Emma. She left four young children when she died. It seemed as though Mother never got over Emma's death entirely. Emma had been operated on for goiter too soon after a miscarriage [two days] and passed away. Mother and Dad weren't very much for vacations, but they did take two they enjoyed very much. The first one was down into Mexico, up through San Francisco and on up the coast, through Oregon and Washington and down through Idaho. They went with Jeanette and Pete and often told how they enjoyed the trip. The second time, they also went with Jeanette and Pete and took the southern route to San Francisco. I wish Mother and Dad could have taken many more trips. They did take many trips through Yellowstone Park. Dad took several trips through the Park, taking with him those that otherwise wouldn't be able to go. The years moved on and their health began to fail. They had lived alone for a good many years. They had a big celebration at their home when they had their 50th wedding anniversary. But there were many more anniversaries after that because they had been married nearly 64 years when Mother died. Mother kept the top piece of their 60th wedding anniversary cake in a glass dome. She was very proud of it. Father and Mother were such a loving and devoted couple, always so thoughtful of one another. They left foot-steps in the sands of time that never can be erased from the memories of their children and grandchildren. As Mother's health became more frail, she knew she couldn't continue to take care of her home. Dan had to have the car fixed. Charles and I were living in Idaho Falls then so he brought Mother to our home while the car was getting repaired. After Mother had been there a while, she took hold of my hand and said, "May I stay with you?" I told her they sure could. When Dad came home he said the car couldn't be fixed that day and asked if they could stay that night. Mother said "I'm not going home, we're going to stay with Nora and Charles until I get to feeling better." Dad could see her mind was made up, so he didn't argue. It made Charles and me so happy to have them with us. Charles often said my Dad was the only Father he ever knew, since his Father died when he was only two years old. Dad was always ready with his fatherly advice, which Charles appreciated very much. His advice always seemed to turn out to be the best. Our children too were so happy to have their grandparents living in our home. We were sure one big happy family. Mother went right to bed after they decided to stay and she was bedfast for the 10 months before she died. Each day she seemed to get a little weaker. We thought maybe by changing doctors we could get some improvement in her health. We went to Dr. Hatch and then changed to Dr. Chiesse [Schiess.] But nothing seemed to improve her health. She left us on the 6th of January 1943, dying in our home. The day she was buried, her casket was taken to their old home in Shelton, placed in the living room and surrounded with flowers.
The casket was open for friends to see her. If ever there was an angel, she was one of them, lying there in her casket.
All of the grand daughters and grand daughters-in-law were flower girls, holding the many floral pieces and lining the walks
as her casket was carried from the home, into, out of the Church, and again at the cemetery. Grandsons served as pall bearers.
The funeral services were so beautiful and the crowd was so big the Church house couldn't hold them. She was loved by everyone
who knew her.
At Mother's funeral Dad met one of his nephews and his two sons from Burley, Idaho. Dad had never met him before - he was Dad's brother Moroni's son Ira and his sons, Lynn and Robert. Dad so enjoyed their visit, even though his heart was breaking at the time Dad promised Mother before she passed away that he would continue to stay with us. Dad was sure lonely and heartbroken. Mother had always been near him for over 70 years and the ache of having her gone could never seem to be eased. He tried so hard to hide it, but living with him, I could see it from day to day. I recall one incident. He went into the bedroom where her picture was. He kissed the picture. I said to Dad, "She's resting and that's what we all wanted, was for her to rest." "Yes, but I didn't think it would be so hard." Dad's health began to fail. He visited the other children as much as his health would permit. I'm sure they were just as happy to have him in their home as I was to have him in mine. The days were long and dreary for him, expecially after his health no longer permitted him to drive his car. He was so good to my children and they adored him. There were many movies they would never have got to go to if it weren't for him. He would slip around and ask us unbeknowns to the kids if we cared if they went. If we said it was okay, he'd slip the money into their hands so they could go. Who wouldn't love a Grandfather like him? He went for walks when he was able to, using his cane which I still have and treasure. As time went on, his health broke until he was bedfast. We kept him at home until his condition got so bad we had to take
him to the hospital. There in Idaho Falls L.D.S. Hospital, he passed away April 6,1946.
He too was taken to the old home the day of the funeral. The church was filled to capacity and more. Everyone round about knew Dad, loved him and had probably been helped by him at one time or another. Wonderful tributes were paid to him during the funeral services. John Lee, secretary to the Feeder Canal Co. read this resolution dedicated to Dad: Rigby, Idaho
Dad was preceded in death by 5 children and 5 grandchildren. He was survived by 5 children and 25 grandchildren. I am including my three children in this list because we all felt very badly when they weren't included in the count at the time of his death. Because he lived in our home, they were closer to him than many of the other grandchildren, even though in actuality they were foster grandchildren. He also had 32 great grandchildren at the time of his death. These lovely parents set an example of good living for all of us - footsteps in the sands of life that can never be erased. If we but live worthily, we can follow in their footsteps and almost certainly be assured of eternal life and exaltation. Writing this story has brought many tears and recollections that had been forgotten until brought to mind for this purpose. I am sure my Heavenly Father has let me stay this long in order to write this for you. It truly has been a labor of love. My love for my parents, my brothers and sisters and my love for each of you. - - - - - - - - - - - - - NORA MOORE TYLER LIFE SKETCH "Somewhere My Love" How appropriate that Shauna sing that song as beautifully today as she did at Grandpa's services not very long ago. When last they were parted, saying to each other "Someday we'll meet again, My Love. You'll come to me out of the long ago. Till then, My Love, think of me now and then. Good speed my love, till you are mine again," and now that they're together again, sharing all the other joys and beauties that the song speaks of. But that's getting ahead of the story. "Grandma" to 14 of us grandchildren and 45 great grandchildren; "Sweet Little Mama" to Donna, Merrill, and Norma, and "Nora" or "Aunt Nora" to many of you, was born on September 5, 1898 to Willard Cook Moore and his brave little wife Lydia Morgan Moore. Her mother started having labor pains about 2:30 in the afternoon but didn't tell her husband until he came in from the fields that evening. And as he had done eight times before, he went for the midwife. She was new in the practice and nearly frightened off, for not one, but two little girls were born that night. They were the first twins born anywhere near and so attracted a lot of attention. Their parents were proud and thankful for their beautiful twin girls. But their happiness was short lived for the girls soon became quite ill. They had pneumonia three times and then abscesses started forming and reforming on their necks and at the age of eight months, Cora, Grandma's twin died. Grandma wrote in her life story: "In my complete lifetime there has been a longing for my twin. I do pray I have lived well enough to be with her when I am called Home." I hope that NOW that prayer has been answered and she has met with Cora in a joyous reunion. Grandma's story goes on to say "My childhood was just an ordinary childhood, herding pigs, cows, and anything else they could turn loose on a farm." That's not my idea of ordinary, but then, I wasn't born and raised on a farm in Idaho. You know, with as hard as Grandma worked in her youth, and considering how sick she was during the first year of her life, its surprising that she enjoyed such good health. It was not uncommon for her to lift 100 pound sacks of wheat, handle a large team of horses, milk 40 cows in a day, plow and plant-in addition to the housekeeping. Yet her body carried no scars from surgery and she enjoyed remarkably good health throughout life. When she was nine years old, she was baptized into the Church. It would have been sooner, but she chose to wait for her cousin, Joseph Thomas Moore, to get home from his mission and take her into the waters. Grandma's youth wasn't all work and no play. Let me tell you about each of her brothers and sisters, and then a little of the fun they had together. JOSEPH EDWARD was a beautiful blue eyed boy treasured by his parents, but when he was sixteen months old, he died of diphtheria.
WILLARD C., another blue eyed boy, was called Wit for reasons obvious to those who knew him. ANNIE ELIZABETH was a lovely dark haired and dark eyed girl. Grandma said, "She was her daddy's pride and joy." a small lady in every way. When just lacking two days of her second birthday, she was called back to him who gave her." EZRA, another boy with curly hair and dark eyes, was a spirited playmate for Wit. IRA was another witty one and Grandma said of him "Was one to make everyone around him smile and made the sun shine when hidden with clouds." JOHN came for just a one month visit with this lovely family that had already lost two children before him. SARAH EMMA was named for both of her grandmothers and shared Wit and Ezra's sense of humor. Then CORA and NORA and four years later, JEANETTE ISABELLE who was a special pal throughout life to Grandma; it will be a special treat to Grandma to be reunited with this sister who died thirty-one years ago. Grandma has outlived all her brothers and sisters, so they must be enjoying quite a reunion now. At one time, the children had a playhouse in an unplowed field that they had creatively built with the sage brush, making furniture by crushing it down. Later they built one in a big Box Elder tree. Again, from Grandma's life story: "What fun to climb to the top and let the wind sway you back and forth until sometimes you felt like you could almost touch heaven." The children were always playing tricks on one another and more than once, Emma, who was easily frightened, was the object. One time in particular, the pigs had made a hole in the back of a hay stack and the hens were laying their eggs there. Ira put on one of his father's old overcoats and crawled back into this hole. Grandma coaxed Emma to go in for the eggs and when she reached out and found the overcoat with someone in it; it frightened her so badly that she fainted. The children were punished for this prank. When she was fourteen, Grandma started working for other people. She took care of small children, did the washing, ironing, scrubbing, and everything else that goes with keeping a family going, and I guess that laid the groundwork for her meeting Grandpa. But, I'm getting ahead of the story again. Grandma tried hard to make her new home a happy place for her family. My Mom enjoyed passing time or working while singing with Grandma and loved to listen as she and Grandpa sang together. And Grandma must have been one heck of a nurse to make Mom enjoy a cold. She writes: "I don't know of anything I enjoyed more than a good cold. There's just nobody better than my mother to have around when you're sick. By the time she had me rubbed down and doctored up I felt very cozy and very much loved." I believe Mom expressed the feelings of the entire family when she wrote: "I know how thankful my own mother is for the mother who finished the job for her. I know full well in my heart that she feels a great sisterly love for her and that she rejoices with us all that she (my second mother) has at long last been able to be sealed to my dad also. I'm so happy that my mother can look down to earth upon her family and see us all happy and all doing what we can to further God's work." Grandma was always good with children and knew tons of children's poems and jingles that delighted several generations of us. When Mom was quite little and Grandma was new to their family, she would turn a backless chair upside down on the floor and pretend that it was Mom's boat while Grandma did the dishes. When I was little, she used to have tea parties for me, filling a special old tea pot with hot chocolate. Maybe it was the same tea pot she and my mom used for their tea parties on the wood box under the window; so its no surprise to me that she was called to work with the children in Primary. She also worked in the Jr. Sunday School, Mutual and Relief Society The winters in Idaho seemed to affect Grandma's health, so in the spring of 1947 they decided to move to California. Aunt Norma was already married and had her own home and Uncle Merrill had a job that delayed his departure, so Mom was the only child traveling with them and she cried all the way. The train ride was dirty, hot and smoky. Mixed with tears, she was quite a sight. Before there were grandchildren, Grandma and Grandpa started setting an example for missionary work. They had begun a stake mission in Idaho which they continued to completion when they got to Long Beach. They filled two more stake missions and then were called on a full time mission to the southern states in September of '62. In later years it gave them great joy to see their grandchildren carry on the missionary tradition with nine of them fulfilling full time mission so far. Grandma always had a great sense of humor and enjoyed the pranks as well as the funny things that happen in life by accident. She often told the story of Mom changing her baby girl in the night and sticking a pin in the quilt forgetting that Pop was underneath it. Grandma said he let out a howl that you could hear for a mile. A month or so ago Grandma was testing her abilities after a stroke, she told me several jokes, working hard to carefully form each word. Even in sickness her sense of humor was apparent. In 1955 Sarah Pete, a little Indian girl came to live with them. With all three of their children raising families of their own and Grandpa working evenings, Grandma got a little lonely. She enjoyed watching Sarah make friends in the neighborhood or dress the dog, Bimmie, up in doll clothes. In 1962 they got quite a surprise in the mail. They were being formally invited to their own silver wedding anniversary celebration. Without saying a word, their children had made elaborate plans for the open house in their honor. Everyone in the family took part and by then, several of us grandchildren were old enough to be a part; it was fun for all of us and a treasured memory for them. Just a few months after that they left to fill their full time mission in the southern states; it turned out to be a turning point in their health. They both worked quite hard and took the flu equally as hard. It was there that Grandma lost sight in one eye and hearing in one ear. In spite of it all, I don't think they would have traded the experience. For many years it was family tradition to gather on Christmas Eve to celebrate both Christmas and Grandpa's birthday. It was fun for them to see the family growing larger every year. What started out as a little family of five had doubled and redoubled many times over the years. Family has always been important to Grandma. When she was quite sick last week and must have known that she wouldn't get better, she tried to say something to Uncle Merrill but couldn't form the words to express what was so clear and important in her mind. So he asked her a number of questions that she could answer with a nod or a single word and finally determined that she wanted us all to remain close to each other and not lose touch without her and Grandpa as a focal point for meeting. Maybe she was trying to say again what she had said at the end of her last life story update: "Now children & grandchildren, keep this sweet love and togetherness within your hearts, for there is nothing better than a loving family." The last few years brought new trials for Grandma. It was painful to give up their home and move in with my parents, but Grandpa needed more care than she could possibly provide alone. And it must have been frustrating having her sweetheart near her, but unable to share with her as he had for so many years. But she always found strength in prayer and in the love of her family, and she never lost her sense of humor or desire to look pretty. When the twins, Nora and Cora, were so sickly, Bill Ross, the son of a family nearby, came and walked the floor with Grandma. He must have been quite taken with that tiny baby because he returned sixteen years later and made her his sweetheart and they were married when she was eighteen. But a little over two years later, Bill died of influenza and Grandma returned home to her family. Three years later she met and married Jack Windsor and as she puts it; "He left me with twenty-five head of cows to milk, calves and pigs to feed and work in the fields besides. The least said about this marriage the better." So, we'll say no more. In January of 1937, a letter came to her father from Charles Tyler. A couple letters later it was agreed that she would be the housekeeper for him and his three children. Grandma wrote of her first meeting with him "He was coming, so I put on my best bib and tucker and proceeded to wait for him. It was Sunday-and it was love at first sight. Maybe it was because we needed each other so badly. In talking about coming to work, he said his wife was a good cook. Well, he just about lost me right there, but being so tired of milking cows and so lonely, I decided to try it." When Grandpa came back, this time to take her to his home to work, he brought my mom, Donna with him. The older kids were in school. Mom knocked on the door and when it was answered, she threw her little arms around Grandma and would hardly let go so she could put her coat on. She sat snug in Grandma's lap all the way home. Mom said, "It felt like a mother's lap and I know I was the first in the family to fall in love with her." Grandpa said, "The days following (their mothers death) were like a nightmare to me, but I realized that I had to carry on, as I was the only one my children had to depend on for the necessary things of life and I worried a great deal until I was fortunate in finding another woman to care for you while I was out farming. I learned of a widow named Nora Ross Moore who came to keep house for me. When she walked into our house a great weight seemed to lift off my shoulders. I recognized in her a woman who could assist me in raising you and teaching you correctly." It wasn't long before all the children were calling her "Mamma" and I guess they decided that they might as well make it legal. On July 15, 1937, they were married in Logan and Grandma at last had the loving family she had longed for. Perhaps this is a good place to share her poem.... MY PRAYERS ANSWERED
As night pinned her curtain around me
My days had been so lonely
I cried out in anguish
On my knees I asked my Father
I prayed for home and husband
So in answer to my pleadings
And now my prayers are answered
I have my home and husband
May God grant me this privilege
About three weeks ago, just before leaving on vacation, a bunch of us went to see Grandma. I went in ahead to make sure the ladies were decent and was glad I did. Grandma was sitting in her chair and someone had probably tried to cheer her up by dressing her up, combing her hair nicely and putting makeup on her. But she was obviously upset, she said, "They've painted me up like a gypsy!" I don't know how she knew, but she was right, there was too much rouge. I quickly washed some of it off and then she felt much better about letting the rest of the family see her. In the last two years, Grandma and I had a new common bond. She knew exactly what it was like to marry a man with three children. And if things at home got a little overpowering for me or I began to wonder if I was up to the job, I could talk to her and she'd give me encouragement and share some of her experiences. I'd tell her about my twelve year old Tracy, and she'd tell me about a twelve year old Donna. And always she told me to love my children and care for them as best I could, but to never let that overshadow the love for my husband, that we must keep our bond strong for the children. And it was more than just words, because that was what she had done: continued to love and care for her children while cherishing her husband. Grandma found special joy in the little great grandchildren. Many times Dixie and Dennis brought their families to her to share family home evening and often the children would bring her gifts; pictures they had drawn or cookies they baked. But perhaps the most special gift was that of song. A number of the great grandchildren have gathered today to sing for her one last time and we get to listen too. |
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