Natalie Lovell

My year at college was both exciting and challenging. The classes I had required much study time and preparation. I had several different jobs to help supplement the many costs of being a student at this Christian University. I also had the opportunity to date which I did not have in high school. By the end of the year, I learned that I would not have the opportunity to attend another year. Even with the scholarship and jobs, the costs were too much for my parents to keep paying. Now I had to decide what the next step in my life would be. I returned home and began working at Lee”s Grill again. I think that it is also important that I mention that I had met and started dating a college student by the name of Richard Himes from Augusta, Kansas. He would become a part of my life for the next three years.
I am so very grateful for the guiding direction from my Heavenly Father in the next decision in my life which was to become a nursing student at Mercy School of Nursing in Oklahoma City for the next three years. My experiences there would not only prepare me to be a nurse but would also prove to be another turning point in my life. I was assigned a roommate from Lima, Peru whose name was Rocio Maria Torres who became Chio to all of us. I eventually learned that she was of the Mormon faith but had to keep that a secret because she was here at this school on a Catholic Nursing Scholarship. This school was a Catholic institution and was supervised by nuns. She was afraid that if they would discover that she was a Mormon, she would be sent home. I did not know anything about being a Mormon except for the movie I had watched about Brigham Young and the pioneer Mormons. Chio became part of my family and was like another sister to me. In our last year of nurses training, we were transported by an airplane to St.Louis, Missouri in May for a three-month pediatric training at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. For the first time, Chio was able to attend her church and I wanted to go with her. I had visited many different churches through the years searching for the answers to my questions about who I was, where did I come from and what was my purpose in being here on this earth.
I think now I would like to share the story of my conversion to the restored gospel and how I became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints known as the Mormons. My first meeting to attend with Chio in St.Louis, Missouri was a testimony meeting. The testimonies that were shared in that meeting that day prompted me to want to know more about this new religion that I did not know existed at this time. Chio contacted the missionaries to begin teaching me. Their names were Elder Brether and Elder Minor. After the first discussion, I knew that this church had the truths that I had been searching for all these years. I must have shocked these two young missionaries when I told them that I wanted to be baptized immediately. They graciously informed me that I had to have all six discussions first so they gave me all six discussions within the week. I began reading the Book of Mormon and was scheduled to be baptized on August 3rd,1967. During that week I received two phone calls that asked me to not be baptized into this church. One phone call was from my dad and the other one was from Richard Himes. I did not understand why they were so against me being baptized but I knew that the Holy Spirit had witnessed to me that this church had all the truths that I had been searching for. I remember on the day I was to be baptized that it was very stormy with many dark clouds but as I was getting dressed after the baptism the clouds parted and the rays of bright sunlight came through the window, giving me such a feeling of peace and love. I continued to read the Book of Mormon which is another witness that Jesus is the Christ and the Jehovah of the Old Testament. I also embraced the belief in Joseph Smith as a Prophet and of a living prophet in our day to lead and guide us as in the days of old. I had always believed that God is my Heavenly Father, that Jesus Christ is his Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct beings. Also, the importance of families being together forever is another truth that I believed. We returned home from our rotation at the children”s hospital and finish out the year.

My school years began as a six years of age at Laverne, Oklahoma. From my mother, I learned that I was very shy and the teacher had me sit by her until I felt more secure about being in school. I remember that I really loved my teacher and was very sad when we moved away. My dad decided to stop working with the oil rig job because it was very rough and we had to move so often back and forth from Texas to Oklahoma. We moved to Oklahoma City where he first worked as a sand plant operator, then began working as a manager of gas stations which he did until he retired.  I had to adjust to attending a very large school.  I really did love to go to school and loved learning. We moved again to a place where we could be living more like a farm with a cow and chickens.  We then had to walk on a dirt road to catch a bus to school.  We really loved living there but did not like the mean boys that lived up the hill from us because they were always tormenting us kids.  Dad bought us our very first television which had a small screen and showed black and white pictures.  We almost always had a radio so dad could listen to his favorite music which was country music.   He was much of the time singing or whistling songs and was very good at doing this.  Mom worked outside of the home at times as a cook.  I had my first job also as a babysitter for a family with several small children that lived down the road from us. I think I was about ten years of age at the time. I also remember that one-time mom was upset with my dad when we were living there because he had attempted to make a still for making his own beer. Dad, I’m glad that you didn’t get caught!  Love you, DAD!!!

We then moved to a house that was by a railroad track and had to get used to the sound of a train which I eventually really learned to enjoy that sound. I was now at about the age of eleven and began attending a Baptist Church and made the life-changing decision to be baptized.  This decision to follow my Saviour, Jesus Christ, started me on a journey to find more truths and to search for what purpose I was placed here upon this earth.   When I was twelve years old, we moved to a  farmhouse between the towns of Yukon and Mustang which was the cause of another turning point in not only my life but also in my family’s lives.  For the first time since we left the farm when I was five years old, mom did not have to work outside the home. We all really enjoyed having mom at home full time and experiencing farm life again.  We again had to walk the dusty road to catch the school bus to the small school in Mustang, Oklahoma. Being a student at this small school was a life-changing experience for me and each of my siblings.  Each of us excelled in our educational studies. Also, we were blessed to attend the little country church called West Point due to the fellowshipping by two wonderful people, Bob and Ola Fry. These dedicated Christians would come to take us to church, “come rain or shine” on that dusty or muddy road. I was then baptized again into the Christian Church. What a loving and giving group of people they were!  I studied the scriptures daily and my search for more truths and why I was here upon this earth continued. I attended Mustang School for two years and graduated from the eighth grade as valedictorian.  My dad was so proud of me that he asked what I would like for a gift. I told him that I had always wanted a piano, not believing that was even possible due to the fact that pianos were probably much too costly for our family’s financial income.  Much to my surprise, after graduation, I came home to find this old antique piano situated in our living room that my dad was able to purchase for sum total of fifty collars. I cried with joy and gave my dad a great big hug!

This is only one of many times that our parents sacrificed to give us our needs and wants in our lives.  They also taught us the value of hard work and to do our best in whatever we wanted to achieve. Another great blessing came to me and my sister Sheila through knowing Ola Fry. She offered to give us free piano lessons if we would clean the little country church weekly. I had already learned musical notes as I was involved in the band at school as a clarinet player and once again my parents had sacrificed to buy me a clarinet.  I loved playing the clarinet and was the first chair in the clarinet section.  I also was on the basketball team but was unable to be a part of their games because I did not have a way to get to the games.  I loved living in this place with mom at home, being involved with the wonderful people at the Mustang school and the good Christian people at the little country church, and am eternally grateful to all those who helped me to become a better me. We then were told we had to move again because the place we were living at had been sold and dad found a place north of Yukon.  This meant we had to change schools and attend Yukon School.  I was very sad and did not want to change schools but this is what I did reluctantly.  I was now in high school and a stranger to most of the students who had known each other all of their lives but learned to love going to school at Yukon and became active in their Student Council and their choir.  Also, mom and dad leased a small cafe and called it Lees’ Grill.  That initiated another big change in our lives. While dad and my one brother, Richard were busy ten to twelve hours a day managing a gas station, mom and the girls were busy at Lees’ Grill which was open 24/7 and closed only on Sunday.  We girls learned to prepare and serve food and wash the never-ending dishes.  This was another learning experience, especially in confronting and dealing with all kinds of people. I think that we truly were there more than at home but were involved in helping to sustain our family’s lives and working together for the good of each other. What valuable life lessons we learned.  I also will relate one very funny but embarrassing experience to me.  In the process of getting an order, I asked the person if he wanted smashed potatoes and he chuckled saying, “How do you smash them?”  I then realized that they are not smashed but mashed potatoes.  I never made that mistake again.  Remembering school days again, I had a fabulous homemaking teacher who taught us how to make yummy biscuits and helped me to even sew myself a prom dress that even was wearable and looked very nice on me which I was able to wear for many occasions for many years.  This was quite an accomplishment for me since sewing is a very trying skill for me and still is.  If you want me to swear like a sailor, sit me down in front of a sewing machine.  I’m so very grateful that my homemaking teacher had the patience of Job. Thanks so much to you, Mrs. Ramsey!    Another teacher that really influenced my life was my English teacher, Ms. Ratcliff.  She inspired me to use my creative skills in writing about all the many thoughts and emotions that I experienced on a daily basis in my life with my family, other people, nature, and all the world around me.  I continued to study the scriptures and attend the little country church and search for my purpose in life.  I received a small scholarship to attend Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. My dream was to become a missionary nurse.

I just remember another event that happened in my junior year that not only affected me deeply but all of America.  The following are some of the thoughts and emotions that I wrote in my journal about this event. “On Friday, November 22,  1963, at one o’clock, our president was dead, assassinated by Lee Oswald, a man whose scorpion mind had to let some of its deadly poison escape. President Kennedy, America’s symbol of freedom and courage, happened to be its victim, but our generation is not the first to experience such a tragedy or will be the last.  The church, or symbol of strength and comfort in times of crisis, was sought by everyone.  We must remember that “Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

My senior year passed much too quickly and I was now a graduate.  I had met a very handsome young man with dark hair and eyes. He was of the Nazarene faith and we dated during that summer. I was excited about going to college in the fall.  I was very surprised when this young man asked me to marry him.  He was my first boyfriend and this was my first proposal. I had no idea that he felt that way about me,and felt very sad to tell him that I really liked him but was not ready for marriage and already had plans to become a missionary nurse.

My name is Alveta Ann Lee, and this is my life story. I was born September 21, 946 in Vici Oklahoma. My dad’s name is Fred Elmer Lee and my mom’s name is Imo Eileen Daniels. Just a little history of how my mom and dad met and their love story. My dad was a soldier in World War II fighting the Nazis in Europe and was stationed in Italy until the war ended in 1945. He returned to his home on the farm in Vici Oklahoma. He first saw my mom Imo Eileen Daniels when she was working as a waitress in a cafe in Arnett Oklahoma, which was a neighboring town. The first time he saw her, he thought to himself that is the girl I am going to marry. He asked her out on a date to a dance and I guess you could say he swept her off her feet as he was a very handsome guy with a winning smile and a good dancer. He was 26 years old and mom was only 17 years of age and still a Senior in Highschool. My mom’s dad, Admiral Dewey Daniels, said that they could get married, but she had to finish high school and graduate. They were married on August 13, 1945, at a city hall???. My mom was also a star basketball player, but when they got married that all changed because Elmer did not want her out playing in front of everyone in shorts. She became pregnant soon after and I was born on September 21, 1946, in Vici Oklahoma.
I was born at the home of Doctor Vince. I weighed 5 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 inches long. According to my mom, I was a blue baby and not breathing and she was hemorrhaging and my dad fainted. My dad described me as looking like a skinned jackrabbit because I was so long and skinny and said I did not look like a Lee. I had blonde hair and blue eyes while my parents were dark-haired and dark eyes. I seemed to take after the Nixon side, who were of Irish and English descent. I was the only one out of my siblings that had this coloring.
My dad became my hero and saved my life many times. The first story that my mom told me was when I was a baby my dad saved my mom and my life. My dad came home from work my mom was passed out and he realized there was carbon monoxide in the house. He immediately got us out of the house. He saved my life another time when I was young I had contracted pneumonia and he took me to the doctor. Shelia came along very soon after me when my sister Shelia came early weighing only 3 pounds 2 ounces. My mom said she brought her home and she slept in a little shoebox. Shelia was tiny with red hair and freckles. Such a cute baby. We were very close as sisters when we were growing up and still are. My other siblings were Marvin Elis Lee born May 22, 1948, in Pampa, Texas, who died shortly after birth, and Evalyn Louise Lee September 15, 1949, who also died shortly after birth. Richard Elis Lee was born June 1 1952 in Woodward Oklahoma. Luetta Kaylee was born November 15, 1954, in Oklahoma City and was also premature.
My first memory was living in a little two-room Sod house west of Vici which was the Lee homestead. I remember a big windmill in our front yard with roaming cows and top it all off a dog. A picturesque of what people lived in in the plains of Oklahoma. We then moved to the east of Vici in a newer house with running water and electricity. I had happy memories of living there with my mom and dad and sister, except for one memory of a mean goose who finally was a cooked goose. I loved helping my mom feed the chickens from a young age, I loved all animals. One spring our female sow had baby pigs and I wanted to hold them so bad the mother sow came after me and my dad jumped into the corral and saved my life again. You could say my dad was my hero so many times in my life. My mom was very loving and never raised her voice with us. My sister and I were taught at a very young age to help my mother and never be disrespectful to her. We were taught the importance of work and doing the best of any job we were doing. I remember being very shy because we were farm girls and never really went anywhere. Shelia and I liked to make mud pies, we had paper dolls, played with the animals, played hopscotch, rope jumping, and jacks. Life was simple, we never had a TV until I was about ten years old. We had a radio which played Dad’s favorite country music. My dad liked to whistle and sing country songs, he also loved to dance. My dad’s parents went to dances until they were unable to.
Living on the plains of Oklahoma we were subject to tornados every spring. My dad would stay up during the night watching the storm clouds because at that time we had no tornado sirens that warn of danger. There were many nights that my sister Shelia and I would grab our dolls and dad would hurry us to the cellar to stay until morning. I did not like the cellars they were dark and had spiderwebs! Later in my life when we lived North of Yukon when I was 12 years of age I heard the sound of a locomotive train, so figured I had been dreaming, and little did I know that a tornado had hit right by our house leaving the house, but taking the barn. Thank goodness for angels watching over us.
I loved both of my grandparents but I felt closer to my mom’s parents, Admiral Dewey and Edna Cornelia Barton Daniels. I remember staying with my mom’s parents when we were young girls and Grandma Daniels would make homemade buttermilk biscuits and homemade syrup which we loved. Grandpa Daniels loved to tease us and make a rise out of us. Also, I remember my Aunt Delia made some chocolate fudge and we were not supposed to eat the fudge before it was done, but Shelia and I got into the fridge and ate it with spoons and it was gone by the time she got home. I appreciate all my ancestry from England, and Ireland but cherish the fact that Grandma Daniels was of Cherokee descent. I loved my Aunt Pearl who was my grandma Lee’s sister, on my dad’s side. She had a piano which I loved to play and she was a very happy, jolly person who made you feel at home. The Nixon’s came from Nebraska. Grandpa Daniels was from Illinois.

A memory of dad by Kenley: I remember I went to the store with dad. Grandpa Lee was in town and had asked dad to get him a can of Copenhagen. Dad was hesitant but agreed. We were in Christine Laws’s line, and when she saw that dad was buying a can of Copenhagen, she about fainted. Dad commented, “I told grandpa he should come to buy his own Copenhagen.” About that time we hear, I heard that Ken and dad looked up and it was Aunt Verda, then we hear, I am here to Ken it was Aunt Barbara Certonio. Dad was so embarrassed!

Memory by Natalie: One-time, dad was getting ready to go to church. He had put some chapstick on and did not know it had some color to it. His lips were dry, so he used a lot of it. Fortunately, before dad got out of the house, mom noticed that dad had something pink smeared all over his lips. He looked a little bit like the Joker on Batman, so mom started laughing. When dad looked in the mirror, he started laughing and stated he had put on some cherry chapstick and had no idea it would color his lips! How funny. Good thing he did not leave the house this way!

Memory by Beverly: One-time dad was giving the Priesthood lesson at church, he quoted Hartman Rector Jr., but instead of saying Hartman Rector, he said Hartman Rectum, whoops!!!!

Memory by Saralee: One evening, dad went to go turn the water off in the garden and noticed a skunk was eating the cat food by the gate, so dad thought he could scare it away. The skunk puffed up and hissed and did like a charge at him. This scared grandpa so much he let out a high pitched scream!

After the Vietnam War, I went to the College of Southern Utah, known today as Southern Utah University. I changed my major to Social Work and enjoyed my classes much more, and as a result, I got better grades. Cedar City is where I met my future wife Alveta. She was working as a nurse at the hospital. I met and dated Alveta for about six weeks and then proposed to her. She told me she was still in love with her old boyfriend, so instead of buying a ring with the money I had saved, I bought an engine for my 62 Chevy.

At this time, I decided to move home and build a dairy with my brother Don, so I didn’t go back to school after that. In January, my cousin Evan Brown was getting married in Hurricane. I wanted to see him get married, so I decided to go to his wedding with Barbara and Virginia. After the wedding was over Barbara and Virginia insisted that we go to Cedar City. Since I was in Cedar City, I decided to see Alveta while I was there. The next day was Sunday, I knew what time her ward was, so I decided to attend church in her ward. This way, I would have an excuse to see her. But I was disappointed when I went and could not see her, at this time I decided to leave, and she came running into church late. After Sacrament meeting, I tracked her down. We decided that we wanted to spend more time together since we were enjoying being together, later that night we went to a fireside. Joseph Fielding Smith was the speaker and at that time was an apostle. After the fireside, she told me that she would be moving back to Oklahoma. I was very disappointed that she would be moving so far away and thought this was the end for us. I went home and dated a few girls, but all I could do was think about Alveta. One night I felt that I should call her up and ask her to Prom. She said she would come to Blanding and go to Prom with me on her way to Oklahoma. What she did not realize at that time was that Blanding is not on your way to anywhere, let alone Oklahoma. We went to the Prom together and had such a great time. Before she left, I proposed one more time, and this time she said yes!!

We set our wedding date to June, but she wanted me to go out first and meet her mom and dad. The first time I met Alveta’s parents, I drove down to Oklahoma. Driving into Yukon, it was raining very hard. I had never seen rain like this in Utah. It felt like the whole sky was falling. Grandpa Lee didn’t like me very well at first. Just a side note, I found out later that he was going to run me off if I showed up in a black hat and black suit and had other wives. However, when he saw that I looked normal, he warmed up to me. I liked grandma Lee, from the very start she was very nice to me and cooked so much good food. I enjoyed my visit with Alveta’s family and felt like I belonged. The engagement lasted longer than planned because I was called back into the reserves on July 6th, 1970, our wedding plans were put on hold at this time. I went to California for my two weeks of reserve and flew from there to Oklahoma. Richard Alveta’s brother picked me up from the airport. I spent a week there and got to know Alveta’s parents even better. I felt really good about the family I would be marrying into and already loved them a lot. We were able to set a new date to get married on August 13, and we wanted to be sealed in the Manti Temple. This date was also Grandpa and Grandma Lee’s anniversary and Grandpa Brown’s Birthday. Grandpa and Grandma Lee drove to Manti with us. They met us outside of the temple. We had our wedding luncheon in the cafeteria of the Manti temple. Grandpa and Grandma Lee were able to go in for the wedding luncheon. Next, we drove to Blanding and had our reception. I will always look back on this day and cherish it what a wonderful day it was.

Upon graduation from the San Juan high school, May 25, 1962, I immediately went to work for the United States Forest Service. On May 28, 1962, I went with Paul, my older brother, and Willard Guymon to the Baker Ranger Station. This station was in the Manti-La Sal National Forest, and there we applied for a job. We were all accepted, and there went to work just east of Monticello, Utah, on the Blue Mountain road.

I enjoyed the first few months of work immensely. I worked and camped with Paul during the week. Many times we were left to ourselves to do the work. Paul being older, was the supervisor. On the first day at work, we put up the snow fence around the Buck Board flat area. The next day we stayed close to town as Wednesday was Memorial Day and my first paid holiday. Thursday, Willard, Paul, and I went between the Blue Mountain and North Elk, where we began to put in water troughs for the range cattle.

All the time we were working on the mountain we kept our eyes open, hoping to come across a missing Utah Civil Patrol Plane that had gone down in a search, in January of 1962, for a missing plane flying from California to Colorado. Late in the summer, the California plane was found in the mountains of Colorado. Several attempts to find the missing U.C.P.

When fall came, I started preparing for my mission. At this time, I started my preparation for my mission by studying the scriptures. One day while reading in the Doctrine & Covenants section 100 verses five and six, it read, “Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thought that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea in the very moment, what ye shall say.” These two verses of scripture gave me great comfort, so I chose them to be my missionary scripture.

When the time came, I received my mission call to the Northern States mission on November 14th. December of 1962, I went into the mission home. Aunt Hattie Bell Black was in the mission home, along with Pete Black from Blanding. There were also from Arizona, a few others who were all descendants of William Morely Black. Hattie got us all together for meals so we could get to know each other. There was no cafeteria in the mission home at that time, so we would walk down the hill to Hotel Utah in Salt Lake City by the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. During this time, things were a little bit different for missionaries. Instead of taking out your endowments before you went to the Mission home, the Elders would go to the temple once you got to the mission home, and all the elders would go together. The year I was in the Mission Home, the Salt Lake temple was closed, so we went to the Logan temple to have our endowments taken out. I was in the Mission Home for two weeks. At the end of our training, we had a testimony meeting in the Tabernacle. All the missionaries sat in the choir seats. Their families were welcome and could come to this testimony meeting.

As a missionary, I left the Northern State Mission home at 6011 N. Sheridan Road right on the banks of Lake Michigan in Chicago. From here, we took the train north up the lakeshore to Milwaukee. Sister Sheila Anderson and Sister Gail were also going to Milwaukee; they were our competitors, laboring in South Milwaukee. I was to have many fond memories of experiences and people I would shortly encounter.

I still had not gotten over my butterflies, and the large city had me baffled and on edge. I had never seen anything move so fast in my life. Elder House, the mission secretary, was to get us on the train at the Union Station in Chicago. He thought the train left an hour later than it did, so he took us downtown Chicago to see the lights. We missed our train, so we had to wait for the next one. We pulled into the Milwaukee Road Depot at about 6:30. There was Elder Curt L. Keith with Elder Harris to meet me. Elder Keith was a young Elder of six months of experience from Boise, Idaho. They took me straight to the apartment and dropped off my luggage, and then we went to pick up some people, Sister Cabot, a member, and Sister and her boy to baptize them. I was thrilled to the bone to attend a baptism service my first night in Milwaukee. After all, that is why I had accepted my call. The services were beautiful that night; Elder Keith and Harris did the baptizing. After they had dressed and it came time for the confirmation, Elder Keith asked me to come up and stand in the circle. I felt shocked by this request, and this thought came to me like a bolt of lightning. The first thought that came through my mind was, “I can’t do that, only Bishops do that.” Then came the realization, I had the authority. Three weeks before, I had been ordained an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood and had sealed on me all powers and authority pertaining to that priesthood. My testimony of the gospel was strengthened greatly that night as I stood in to help confirm those wonderful people. The veil was drawn from my eyes and I was able to envision the many wonderful experiences that were in store for me.

The next morning, Sat., Dec. 15, 1962, Elder Keith and I went to wedding services that Elder Keith was to perform. The wedding was the son of a recent convert Elder Keith had baptized. On Sunday we had the opportunity of taking some recent converts to the church and mingle with the members. I knew right off the church was the same everywhere one could go. There are many wonderful souls in Milwaukee that I grew to love deeply.

At sacrament meeting that evening, Sister Wessell came up and asked us if we would go to a hospital where her husband was recuperating from a heart attack. Brother and Sister Wessell had been in the church only a short while. They had been members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses; they are assets to the church. That night as we administered to Brother Wessill, being the first time I had ever seen anointings and blessings given, I was again strengthened in my testimony, and thankful that I had the authority to act for God. Brother Wessel recuperated very rapidly.

While I was in Milwaukee, they were having some of the coldest temperatures on record. I had many good experiences while I was there, but one of my experiences was not good. My companion and I were involved in a car accident that involved four cars. We both got whiplashes from the accident. We were admitted to a hospital for this and put in traction. During this time, there was an unusual cold spell. It was so cold in the hospital the nurses would come in and put blankets on the window to help keep the rooms a little bit warmer.

My good experiences in Milwaukee was, I was able to teach two wonderful families the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then my companion and I were able to baptize them. The family’s names were Zappe, and they came from Germany. The family consisted of the mom, dad, two boys, and a girl who were old enough to be baptized. However, they also had twins, but they were too young at that time to be baptized. The other family’s name was Seitman, my companion and I was able to baptize the dad, the oldest boy, and the two oldest girls. The mom had just had a baby, so she got baptized two weeks later. The biggest challenge for me being in Milwaukee was the temperatures. I had never been to a place that was so cold. During the daytime, the temperatures would warm up to 20 below zero and then get down to 30 below at night. Lake Michigan completely froze over that year.

I transferred out of Milwaukee on May 5th and went to Chicago Heights. My first companion in that area was Kelly Summers from Monticello. I was there only a month when I was transferred to Kankakee, Illinois. This town had a Corn Flake company, the form of heat in Kankakee was coal, the buildings were all black from the suite and the smoke. They would also dump their sewage in the rivers. I was only there a short time. Next, I was transferred to Chillicothe, Illinois, the population of that town was about 2500 people. There was no church in Chillicothe, but members lived there in the town. We used trains as our transportation when it was time to be transferred. When we got to Chillicothe, I met a member who worked on the trains. He introduced me to a very nice man who took me to my apartment. Once I got settled, my companion and I had a referral to a member family that returned to the Lutheran church. Because there was no LDS church in the town, the family always wanted their children to go to MIA, but when the Lutheran Minister found out about this news, he was mad. I felt very blessed in being a part of reactivating this family. One highlight while I was in Chillicothe was a mission conference in Nauvoo and Carthage. The reorganized church-owned that area at the time, but just being there where the church had started strengthened my testimony of Joseph Smith, that he truly had restored the true church on this earth. While in Carthage seeing for myself where Joseph sealed his testimony with his blood as he died for this restored gospel deepened my testimony of missionary work. Even after Joseph was martyred, God had a work to do, and the gospel of Jesus Christ still moved forward. After this great experience, we received a referral to a family who lived way out on a farm, their names were Pedrecks, and they lived in a little town named Metamora, Illinios. They ended up joining the church, and after my mission was over, this family was able to go through the temple and were sealed together. I was able to go through with them. What joy you feel when you get to see the fruits of your labor. I will always cherish this time in my life. Later on, when their daughter got married, I was invited to the wedding, so I went out to Metamora one more time.

Next, I was transferred to Wausau, Wisconsin, where I spent my last winter and into the spring. I was then transferred to Southern Illinois, Benton. Last part of my mission I reopened up Clinton, Iowa, it was by Davenport, Iowa, and Moline, Illinois. it had been shut down due to the misconduct of previous missionaries. My mission consisted of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Milwaukee was my favorite place in my mission. I got home off my mission and was released in December 1964.

After my mission, I went to Utah State. I majored in Biology, which was a very tough major for me, and as a result, made such bad grades I lost my deferment. Not long after this, I was called to go to Fort Bliss, Texas, where I had eight weeks of training. At this point, I thought I would go to Vietnam, at the last minute, they changed my orders to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. From there, I went to Irwin. When I got to Irwin, I had no idea where I was supposed to be. Finally, someone came and got me and brought me to the Battalion headquarters where I would be working. Eventually, they changed my job to be an S2 clerk. I had the best job in the battalion. My job was to process everyone and send their information to the FBI. The FBI would then do background checks, and with the information I gave them, they would see if they were reliable to have security clearance. In the office, we also had a CBR and Senior dog handlers, it was all very interesting. I bunked with the typists from the other units. I was one of the top two clerk typists in the whole battalion. It turned out to be a great experience. My tour in Vietnam was 13 months, I kept expecting to be transferred to Vietnam, but I never was. I had high scores in the military and could have become an officer, but I decided not to. While I was in Irwin, I was able to go to church. The missionaries contacted me, and they came and picked me up along with one other gentleman who had joined the church in Korea. He had got a hold of the Book of Mormon, gained a testimony of its truthfulness, and joined the church. Not too long being there, I became the Second Counselor in the Greensburg branch. The branch was in a town next to Irwin, Pennsylvania. At that time we were meeting in a Rec hall. One Sunday, I was waiting to start the meeting, there was an African American lady that came in for church who had joined the church in England, Maryland Yule was her name. She loved Americans, so when she saw missionaries from America, she listened to their message and converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Later on in her life, she was drafted to be a member of the Tabernacle Choir. She ended up marrying a member of the church whose wife had died. I was able to do a lot of work with the missionaries while I was there in the military and spent a lot of time in members’ homes, so I could get away from the base. While I was there, we had a branch picnic on the 4th of July. Mike Young was on a mission there at the time and was from Monticello. I was a team captain for baseball, and Mike was a team captain, so it was Blanding against Monticello. One of the highlights of this period in my life was when President Kimball announced that African Americans could have the priesthood. That was one of the most inspired revelations. I have always felt that the Civil Rights movement prepared the hearts and minds for this revelation to take place. This Gospel is still moving forward through revelation and will continue into the Millenium, I have a testimony of that.

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.