In December of 1950, in the middle of my 1st grade year of school, my parents made a down payment on an 80 Acre farm in New Plymouth, Idaho. The farm was about 7-8 miles from the town of New Plymouth, Idaho on Elgin Road. At this time, our family had been blessed with another girl. Karla Jean who had been born on May 4, 1948 in the Caldwell, Idaho hospital. She weighed 8 lbs. And had the same dark hair and brown eyes as her brother LaMarr and sister Leola. We were a happy busy family. The year after we moved to New Plymouth on May 23, 1951 another baby girl was born into our family. She was named Treva Louise. She had brown eyes and almost black hair. Our family was growing and had many happy times. Music played a major role in my growing up years. When we lived in Wilder, my parents managed to buy and old used up-right piano. Leola was young but started piano lessons at that time. After moving, the old piano had too many notes that were not working so well and Leola was still taking lessons from Melva Leavitt in Homedale. One day, a Piano Salesman from a Music Store in Boise was driving out on our country road and stopped at our house. He had a piano for sale in his truck. My Dad & Mom could not resist and purchased the piano for Leola and the rest of the family to enjoy. My Dad used the money he had saved for the Mortgage on the farm to buy the piano and then got a loan at the bank which he paid in monthly payments on the farm. Everyone enjoyed using the piano and most of us have developed musical talents over the years.
New Plymouth had a Grade School across the street from the Middle School which, at that time, adjoined the High School. There was one hall way for the Middle School and then down a few stairs we entered High School Hall way.
My 1st grade teacher was Miss Reynolds, a very short old maid. She was a good teacher and I have always loved school and the chance to learn and get to know new people and have new friends. The only thing that was awkward was that I was starting to mature and was almost as tall as my teacher!
I guess the “Kofoed Genes” were at work and I remained one of the tallest students in my class until we reached 7th and 8th grade. I was described in our class history as tall and thin when I joined my class the 2nd Semester of 1st grade.
Because we lived several miles out of town and had only one car, we always rode the bus to and from school unless we got a ride with Mr. & Mrs. Moss who were school teachers who lived a few miles past our place on Elgin Road. Carl and Lois Moss were members of our New Plymouth Ward and were both teachers of mine while I was in School.
Some of the things I remember from Grade School are playing at recess time. I’m sure I must have been pretty active because the boys would grab the ties on my dresses and tear them off! I guess for some of the younger generation, that may sound strange. But, the rule was that girls wore dresses to school every day of the week except Friday. On Friday, were allowed to wear pants. My sweet mother made my dresses and in those days the dresses had ties around the waist and were made of cotton fabric. I don’t remember of her getting upset with me but would patiently sew the ties back onto my dresses.
My Second-grade year was one I remember very well. My teachers were Mrs. Wolfley and Mrs. Degroff. I remember Mrs. Wolfley the best because she was a member of our New Plymouth Ward. This is also the year that I turned 8 years old and was able to be baptized. At that time, New Plymouth Ward was part of the Weiser Stake and the baptismal font was located in the Weiser Chapel. The Weiser Chapel has been remodeled several times and at the time of my baptism the font was located about where our organ is located in our present chapel and the current primary room was the meeting room for church meetings.
I was baptized on May 3, 1952 by my father. I remember that evening so well! I was happy to be baptized and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. My Father also confirmed me the next day on May 4, 1952. I have always been thankful to have received the gift of the Holy Ghost and become a member of the Chruch.
Lucille Crossley was my Primary teacher that year who has lived in Weiser Stake for many years and has remained a friend as well as a great teacher. At that time our ward met in the upstairs of a building in the center of town on the street across from the High School. The building was also used for other purposes and had a very long flight of stairs to climb on Sunday morning. There was usually cleanup to do after other people used it the night before. My Grandmother Edith Woodbury was still with us and was so crippled that she had to be carried up the stairs on a chair by my Dad and another brother in the ward. I remember the building well and enjoyed our church meetings there.
My 3rd Grade year my teacher was Mrs. Johnson and I remember how she had us act out plays. Members of our class took turns crawling over chairs which was an imaginary bridge while acting out the story of “Three Billy Goats Gruff which was a Norwegian Fairytale about a mean Troll who would not let the 3 Billy Goats cross the bridge to get greener grass on the other side of the bridge. I remember of being one of the Goats who was crossing the bridge. I don’t remember much about my fourth through sixth grade years of school except that I loved school and really liked to sit as close to the front of the class as I could. I also loved spending time with my brother LaMarr and we did a lot of things together. During those years we worked together to help with the cow milking and the farm work.
At this time, our Primary, Young Men and Young Women and Relief Society meetings were all during the week instead of on Sunday. On Sunday, we had Sunday School and Priesthood in the morning and Sacrament meeting at 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening.
Our Family was growing! On October 8, 1954 my little brother Kay James Kofoed was born in the Ontario, Oregon hospital. We were excited to have a little brother! He was so welcome in our family and LaMarr finally had a little brother. He had waited a long time for a brother and was very proud of him. Living on the farm was one of my favorite memories and I am so thankful that I learned to help with the outside chores and help LaMarr milk the cows. We spent a lot of time together and have many fond memories. Right after we moved to New Plymouth, my Dad was able to get a job at the Boise Cascade Saw Mill in Emmett.
He worked at this job until he was old enough to retire. The hard part was that he worked two weeks on the day shift and then two weeks on the night shift. I don’t know how he was able to keep up with everything and still stay so pleasant and serve as he did in the church.
My Mother was always busy with Primary, or M.I.A. and was either the Sunday School Chorister or Choir director or both.
My Dad worked in the M.I.A, and taught Sunday School and was a counselor in the Bishopric during our first years in the New Plymouth Ward.
In 1956, the year I turned 12 years old. My sister Leola graduated from High School and got married that summer to Max A. Gardner who was a member of our ward and had also graduated from New Plymouth High School that year. They were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on August 14, 1956 and started their life together at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Max later graduated with a Masters in Agriculture.
I was so excited to be 12 years old and be able to go to Mutual. Being a Beehive was a special time in my life. I still have the “Beehive” manual and remember some of the lessons and the teachers I had during those years that I was 12-14 years old. At this time, the only Young Women classes we had were on Wednesday evenings.
I loved being a part of Young Women and especially loved the evening firesides we had when we listened to records sent from the church with recordings of our Prophet, Spencer W. Kimball speaking to us! His special voice after having surgery on his throat made his talks memorable and special to me.
In 1957, my mother was released as M.I.A. President and was called as Relief Society President in the New Plymouth Ward. Her calling as R.S. President had a great impact on my life!
During the week after she was sustained as R.S. President, Sister Perkins and her daughter Dora Beth were in a car accident on a country road near New Plymouth. A farmer was burning weeds and the smoke was so thick that it caused a head-on collision and Sister Perkins was killed and her daughter was badly injured. My mother was very attentive to the situation and I took the opportunity to become more involved in caring for home and family while she was so busy.
I think it was during these years that I learned to love to cook and keep house. I always enjoyed cleaning our three large living room picture windows and keeping the hardwood floor shiny. Homemaking was a pleasure for me which increased my desire to be a good wife, mother and homemaker.
Our Family was also excited for another new baby to come to our home! On March 2, 1958 a new little sister joined our family. She was born in the Emmett, Idaho hospital and was named Connie LaRee. What a sweet spirit she brought into our home. So, now with my mother still serving as R.S. President, I had the opportunity to care for my new little sister too. I loved learning to cook evening meals and try out new recipes. Some of the things I learned to cook were Harvard Beets and chicken fried Steak. My sweet Grandmother Edith was always there for advice and often helped with the canning by snapping green beans and stemming strawberries. She often helped prepare fruits for canning too. How we loved our Grandmother and her sweet patient ways.
What a busy life! This is also the year that LaMarr graduated from High School and went to the University of Idaho in Moscow that fall.
I missed LaMarr a lot because we had worked together and played together, even though he was 4 years older than me. We were very close and shared some of the same friends. We would work hard and them walk to a big canal a little way down the road to go swimming in the hot afternoons. I never learned to swim. I always made sure that I could touch the bottom of the canal. A few times we went swimming in a public pool in Caldwell, Idaho with our cousins, the Byington family from Homedale. Fay Byington was my Dad’s Sister. They had encouraged us to move to the South Western part of Idaho. Their daughter Vicki was my age.
LaMarr purchased his first car sometime during his Junior or Senior year. It was a 1941 Chevy Coupe which was painted Tropical Rose with Black fender skirts and trim. Not only was it a “cool” car, but it was a real help to our family because it became our second car. LaMarr even went to the hospital in Emmett to pick up Mom & Connie from the hospital because Dad had to work. He also helped take his friends to Early Morning Seminary which was a big help to the other families in our Ward.
With both of my older siblings out of the home, I had a lot more responsibilities in addition to babysitting! I loved fixing my little sister’s hair and helping them get ready for church and school and spending time with them. LaMarr spent time with Kay and loved finally have a little brother to love.
I remember of being in charge one time when my parents went to visit LaMarr and Leola and Max who were living in Moscow at the time. I don’t remember if I had any help milking the cows, but I do remember that a new baby calf was born while they were gone and everything went well. I treasure my memories of home and enjoying my brothers and sisters.
The only time I remember of feeling bad when I was asked to stay home to babysit was when we had our Sacrament Meetings at 7:30 or 8:00 in the evenings and sometimes we would have a sleeping baby or one of the younger children would be sick and I needed to tend them because Mom & Dad both had responsibilities. It was actually good for me because it helped me realize how much I loved to go to church and enjoy the spirit there. By this time, New Plymouth Ward had grown into a large ward and included everyone who lived in Fruitland as well. We had a nice Chapel on the same street as the High School about a mile South of the school.
Another vivid memory I have is the time I spent with my Dad when he traveled around the Stake as Stake Sunday School Superintendent. Because our Stake covered wards from New Plymouth to Riggins and then from New Meadows over to McCall and on down to Emmett and Letha, it was no small task to visit them all. I loved going with him and still remember some of the older people in those wards and branches. I especially remember Riggins and McCall branches because they were so small and we were usually offered a meal after meetings. I think now that maybe I was invited to go with my Dad to help keep him awake. I hope I did a good enough job. I never remember of being afraid of having accidents or not enjoying every minute of time with my Dad.
A Few other memories I have of the Church during those years is that we had Stake conference twice a year as we do now, but we would gather either in Emmett or in Weiser and had two sessions, one from 10:00 to 12:00 and another from 2:00 to 4:00 with lunch between the sessions. We would usually take sack lunches but some of the wards provided a small lunch we could also purchase. I guess this was the practice because our Stake covered such a large geographic area. It was a great time to visit and get to know others members in the Stake. I remember 3 of our Stake Presidents very well. J. Raymond Dewey, Owen S. Jacobs and Evern O. Youngberg. They were very good men and impressed me with their spiritual messages in our Stake Conferences.
Before I finish this section of my story, I would like to mention a few memories about my friends and neighbors that lived in New Plymouth and Fruitland. Two of my special girl friends that I still have contact with at this time lived in New Plymouth and of course went to Church with me. Charlotte Dawn Meyers was one of my close friends. We both loved music and we both learned to play the Organ at church and were able to lead the music for Sunday School practice time. During this time, I loved getting to know the story behind the Hymns and enjoyed teaching new songs to the congregation during Sunday School singing time which was a 10-minute period of time in Sunday School Opening Exercises. I also remember having Charlotte play for me to sing in church or at school when I needed an accompanist.
Another friend was Marlene Ashby who also lived in New Plymouth. Her Dad was our Bishop for quite a few years. We both loved to sing and enjoyed spending time together on Sunday afternoons between church meetings. She was a couple of years older that I was so we did not get to do as much together as Charlotte and I did.
The third friend that I remember well was Marilyn Stokes who actually lived in Fruitland and went to school there but was part of our Ward. Marilyn was also older that I was but we were good friends and were roommates at BYU during Freshman year.
This chapter will have pictures on the next few pages that will be labeled for time and activity.
