The year was 1965 and we were living in Colorado City, AZ. Our home was almost completed. Our oldest brother Bart would take Keith, Roger and Lee, the younger boys out to Beryl Valley and bale hay week after week for money to help build our home. Also, our older sister Cheryl would work in St. George sewing sleeping bags to earn money. At home, mother raised chickens for eggs and Roger and Lee milked 2 cows every morning and night and anything that was extra we sold or gave away. We had a beautiful garden every year that mother and all of us would weed. She kept us all busy and life was good in our home. That summer Cheryl would get up really early around 5:00 A.M. to go to work. Beth got to sleep with Cheryl because she was lucky and little and needed her. We had one bedroom for nine girls, two sets of bunk beds and a little bed that us three (Helen, Fara, Ruth) little girls slept in. Lilly was still in the crib and slept in Mothers room. Some mornings I would hear Cheryl get up and I would go sit on her lap and she would share her food. Mother would be getting her breakfast and they would talk softly all the while. It was a special time that I really loved. After she left mother would play the piano for at least one hour each and every morning. She would always let one of us girls sit with her and turn the pages of her music. There were hundreds of notes on every page, but we all learned to follow along and turn the page at the right time so she wouldn't miss a beat. It was a special time and we thought we were pretty big to be able to turn mothers music pages for her. It was so wonderful waking up to music in the morning and hearing our mother do something that she loved so very much.
That first Autumn in our new home, Cheryl got married. She had gone to Father and Mother and said that she wanted to get married. Father went to Uncle Roy Johnson because he was in charge then, and asked if they could pray and find her a husband. Brother Johnson told Father that the priesthood would pray for revelation. The next Saturday, Father and Cheryl were called in and her future partner was brought in so that they could meet. The very next afternoon they were married. We all dressed up in our finest clothes and went up to Rulon Jeff's home and Cheryl was married to Hyrum Jeff, Rulon's son. It was a solemn ceremony. Father walked her into the room and placed her hand into Hyrum's hand and walked back to mother. They exchanged vows that they were told to say and kissed quickly. They hadn't even a had conversation, had not held hands yet and yet they were now married. I remember her coming to the house for the last time to get her suitcase and say good-bye to her family. It was so sad to have her go. She was like my second mom. I said to myself, "Why is she so happy to go? Maybe I didn’t love her enough." I felt that she was deserting me. She said good-bye and hugged us all. I remember mother was very sad after and went into her bedroom for a while. I ran out to the haystack and cried and cried. She was my friend. She saved me from Kay and Jelene when they would get mad at me. She shared her bed with me and let me sleep with her when I needed her. I was just lost without her.
It took us a few weeks to be happy again, but mother was not one to drag emotion out. We got right back to work. We all needed new clothes for the first day of school and life went on. This was our second school year in Colorado City. Mother had, Bart, Keith, Kay, Jelene, in high school and Roger, Lee, Helen, Fara, in grade school. We all walked to school and it was a busy time for our parents. You can add on to the story, Please.
love you all
Helen
No comments:
Post a Comment