Before too long, I was of age to go to school. Elementary school started at 9 am. We would get out for lunch at noon, walk home to eat, and then return at 1 pm and go until 2:30 pm. We had chores to do in the morning before we started school. Paul would milk the cow since he was the oldest boy, and I would chop wood and bring it in. Then we would head off to school. The old Elementary school was across the street from where Blanding Elementary is now in the baseball field. It was a brick building with six classrooms, one class for each grade, and two classrooms in the basement. I remember walking to school in the morning. During this time in my life, I was afraid of dogs. As I passed by houses with dogs, I would hurry by because of fear. I was a shy and timid boy in school and an average student. My favorite subject was Science. I never learned to enjoy reading in my younger years. My favorite teacher growing up was my 5th-grade teacher named Lynda Lyman. She was a very nice teacher. By the time I was in the 5th grade, the town of Blanding had grown enough that we had to open up the classrooms in the basement; this is where I spent my 5th-grade year.
I started 6th grade in the old high school, Andy Mikesell was my best friend. We would walk back and forth to school together. In Highschool, I sang in Reeva Redd’s choir. She was a great choir director and only allowed certain people in the choir. The choir was something I was good at and enjoyed. Singing was one of my talents that followed me through Highschool and College and even into my mission. Highschool years went by fast, and before I knew it I was a Senior!
The class of 1962 of the San Juan High School worked united, that is, a class, but split between class and one advisor. It started primarily at the time we were planning for our Junior Prom. Against the wishes of our male advisor, we wanted to go all out on our dance. We hired the Jack Noris Orchestra from Farmington, New Mexico, and decorated beautifully too much extreme our advisor thought. The theme of our Junior prom was “The Theme From Moulin Rouge.” We would either go to the Utah State Agathon on our senior trip or not go. The two classes before had gone to Phoenix, Arizona. The senior class as a whole did not care about Agathon, but we knew that we would have an advantage, and besides, who was to say just how we spent our time when we got there. During our mighty senior year, we held concessions stands at the ball games, bake sales, car washes, and a Halloween Carnival, along with our Senior New Year’s Eve dance. The carrot in front of us is motivation. The classes in the upper three grades and the classes in the lower three grades with the highest percentage of students in attendance at school for the first semester would receive a school day to go on a picnic. Believe it or not, our class won the picnic for both semesters.
The school board usually gives one day out of school for the senior trip, and of course the weekend. Because our trip was to a place of further education, the school board agreed to let us use our picnic day as an extra day of our senior trip. April rolled around, and it would soon be time for the trip. We were to meet at five a.m. at the high school on Thursday morning, so we could leave Blanding by seven a.m. We were going to take the Bluff bus as it was in the best condition of the sixty passenger buses. Thursday, about 4:45 am, I went over to Mikesell’s to get Andy, but I could not rouse anyone. Momma took me up to the high school, and there was no one there, so I went down to Denney’s to get Jerry. Mrs. Denney was up, but I got Jerry out of bed. He had his breakfast, and we went up to the school. By that time, there were a few of our classmates up there, ready to pack the bus. The night before, we had washed the bus and put luggage carriers on it, so we were all prepared.
