Monday, December 26, 2005

E Knudsen


Dear Myrna and Trauntwein
We hope you had a very merry Christmas and that the new year will be as
happe as this one sounds

Thank for the news of the family. I know I am not good at writing, it seams
like I never get time, I probably are not good at planning, or just tired of
doing my planning. It seams like I never get around to doing what I really
want to do. I made two Christmas socks this year. One for Erling and one for
me, and then we told our kids we thought it was time for us to get a
kalender. They were pretty good about if, there was something in it almost
every day of December. We have a kalender we got from Janne 3 years ago,
that I love to open every year. She mad a big kræmmerhus, with 24 harts in
and on each hart she had written " I love you because and then a reasen,
like you taught me the gospel, or I love you because you made the wacations
of our childhood memory able. I just love to read them again every year.
That is what Christmas is about, The same old traditions, I love to decorate
for Christmas. We have nisser, harts and stuff all over the house and a big
nativity scene cut in wood, so that the children can play with them. 
We had all the children with their kids, except Janne and her family because
they were in Silkeborg with Mikkels parents. Then we had 4 missionaries, and
Rita and Jesper, Henrik is in the Utah. Jesper brought a friend from
Ukraine, he did not have anybody to celebrate with and then we had Jytte
Martinussen, our Momsemor. She was my mother frien, and do not have family
except a son, she never sees. because they were in Silkeborg with Mikkels
parents. They will be here tomorrow so they will be Janne and Mikkel wil be
here to morrow, so they can celebrate my 60 years birthday the 28 of Dec
with us. I just can't belive I am already 60 years old. But I feel it
Love Else og Erling

Tuesday, December 6, 2005

The Old Folks at Home, Dec. 6, 2005


The Old Folks at Home, Dec. 6, 2005

Dad and Jim are into bees, big time. They are making many trips back and forth to California. It is time to haul all the little hard-working critters to a warmer climate. (What do I have to do to be included in the warmer climate part?) Of course, I don’t want to make three to four trips a week. I just want to stay and bask in the sun.

My bathroom should become a reality this week (Dec. 6). We will see. The plumbing is in, the floor is ready, the drywall is up and painted. Now all we need are the fixtures. I am ready for the joy of not needing to race upstairs. The only sad thing about it is that the stairs do give me forced exercise several times a day.

Sunday, Dec. 11, we are having our temple devotional. (That is the same day they picked for our Primary program so Maryanne Woodbury is sitting with my class.) Dad and I are singing with our shift for two numbers. I am glad there are so many other good singers that you really can’t hear me. President Monson will be the speaker at the devotional. I think that should be a wonderful experience. 

Auntie Helen also stood in line at the ticket office in Salt Lake at 3 a.m. to get us tickets to Joseph Smith’s 200th Birthday celebration on Dec. 23. Then, we are looking forward to having all our family home for Dec. 24th. What a wonderful month!!!!! (It was made even more outstanding by the birth of another grandchild to share the glory of the birthday month. (Todd and Amy haven’t decided how to
spell Hailey so don’t go by my spelling.) She was born on Monday, Dec. 5 at 4:23 ET. (That was 2:30 p.m. in Utah and during county commission meeting so I may have been the last to know. I knew I should have stayed home!) I am so excited.

What a great life! I am so glad that I am alive and that I have such a great family. Thank you all.

My money from Dad (Howard Pitts) is now all safely invested. It should make money unless I lose it all. (I never have trusted money. It comes and goes too quickly, to my way of thinking. It is like counting your chickens before they hatch. Actually, it is more like water. You can dam it up for future use, but the dam doesn’t always hold and there are dry times when there is no water.) The money is invested in Smith and Barney, where HTP kept his money. If either Dad (LHT) or I need it for future medical expenses or because we need to be kept in a nursing home, it is there. If not, then you will all inherit it. All the papers are signed, sealed and the money, which I never saw (either as cash or as a check, just as figures on a paper) is delivered. It is nice to know that, hopefully, it would be a cushion so that your parents (LHT and MT) would never need to be a burden on you. AnnMarie is going to write a trust for us and that will be filed with Smith and Barney as well as however else it is done. I should be thankful that my father actually took care of me, and my sisters, this way. However, I would rather have him still here on earth. Dividing up his earthly goods and leaving his home an empty house was not fun. It wasn’t fun when Grandma Smith died either. It wasn’t fun when the Trauntvein grandparents (Dad’s folks) died. I suppose it never is for anyone. OK, that does it. I am done being maudlin.

Grandma Smith used to make Christmas so much fun for all of us. She always really got into the spirit of the holiday. There are years of trees, cooking and gifts to remember. What a legacy. The only thing I didn’t like was having to go out into the cold and stand in line to see Santa. Price used to have Santa show up in the evening. Garth, David and I would get warm clothes on and stand there waiting for a bag of candy and a chance to sit on Santa’s lap. I told Aunt Rene one year that the line standing was over-rated. I would just as soon write Santa a letter and buy my own candy (with money one of them gave me, of course.) But we kept up the tradition until we got too old. Now the tree was something else. We used to go to a tree lot and pick out two trees, one for the Smith house and one for the Childs house. Then Aunt Renee and Grandma would MAKE tree stands and the decorating would begin. I always loved that. At LHT’s house, they usually cut their own tree. We may have done that once or twice, but not often. LHT’s family did it every year. That is why, I suppose, we used to do it as well. I hope each of you are making wonderful memories of this Christmas for your families to remember as they get to be Dad’s and my age. We hope to be able to see you all sometime during the coming season, or close to that. In addition to all you wonderful Utah kids, we hope to see the Boltons in Massachusetts when Mikaela is baptized, the Trauntveins in Ohio when Hailey is blessed and the rest of all of you at your homes just because we want to.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We love you all.

Those Old Time Christmases!



Grandma Smith used to make Christmas so much fun for all of us. She always really got into the spirit of the holiday. There are years of trees, cooking and gifts to remember. What a legacy. The only thing I didn’t like was having to go out into the cold and stand in line to see Santa. Price used to have Santa show up in the evening. Garth, David and I would get warm clothes on and stand there waiting for a bag of candy and a chance to sit on Santa’s lap. I told Aunt Rene one year that the line standing was over-rated. I would just as soon write Santa a letter and buy my own candy (with money one of them gave
me, of course.) But we kept up the tradition until we got too old. 

Now the tree was something else. We used to go to a tree lot and pick out two trees, one for the Smith house and one for the Childs house. Then Aunt Renee and Grandma would MAKE tree stands and the decorating would begin. I always loved that. At LHT’s house, they usually cut their own tree. We may have done that once or twice, but not often. LHT’s family did it every year. That is why, I suppose, we used to do it as well. I hope each of you are making wonderful memories of this Christmas for your families to remember as they get to be Dad’s and my age. 

When Grandma Smith was a little girl, they used to look forward to an Orange, some peaked chocolates and some hard tack in their Christmas sock each year. Great Great-Grandma Wilson (She was a Pritchett and was Great-Grandpa’s mother. Her first husband was murdered for his money, kept in a wall safe and she remarried.), ran a boarding house and was famed for her cooking. She would usually have the family at her home for Christmas dinner, which Great-Grandmother Mina would help fix. She worked for her mother-in-law in the boarding house.

There were aunts, uncles and cousins at the dinners and there was always a lot of fun and teasing. Grandma Smith had an Aunt Afton, about her age, who was G-G-Grandma Wilson’s youngest child. G-G-Grandma Wilson would always ask Grandma Smith what she wanted for Christmas and then she would get the same thing for both girls. It was, quite often, a doll but could be something else like a dress or shoes.Whatever, there were always two. They would be different colors, usually, but were always the same gift.

When Grandma Smith was teaching in Idaho those first couple of years, she would remember winters as fun times with fellow teachers. All were single. There were a couple of single guys who liked to come to enjoy desserts at the women’s dorm or apartment. One of the things they liked, when it snowed, was fresh snow which was scooped into a clean dishpan, then served covered with cream, vanilla and sugar. Another favorite was Grandma’s divinity. I have included that recipe this month. Think of how much I loved her when you make it! They also made panache and fudge. Those girls could not have visits beyond a certain time of the night and they must always be all together. Remember, she graduated from Brigham Young Academy in 1910. Times were much different then.

She was a talented dancer as well as a basketball player and track team member. She lettered at BYA and received one of the first block Y’s given to a woman. When she was dancing ballet, she was selected to be one of two girls to dance with the famous Pavlova when she appeared in Provo. She and the other girl were both offered jobs as back-up dancers. The other girl accepted but G-Grandpa Pritchett would not let her take the offer. The other girl danced for years and then taught ballet in New York City. Grandma Smith went on to graduate and became a teacher. She would wonder, from time to time, what would have happened had she been allowed to accept. She always ended up saying she wouldn’t change anything so it must have been for the best.

Monday, December 5, 2005

Working on the Farm

Dear Louise, One story that I loved to hear about was the time my Dad decided that he didn't want to stay at home in Price with his sister, Bernice. Grandpa Tom and Grandma Ruth had gone south so Grandpa could work on a construction project. They left Dad (Howard) and Bernice home to look after the vegetable garden and the domestic animals (a cow and pig). After a couple of days, Dad decided he had had enough of that and decided that Bernice could take care of things around the house without him. So he hitchhiked with a guy from Price who drove freight back and forth to and from the Unitah Valley. It was late in the day when Dad got there, to the Edwards grandparent's home, and everyone was glad to see him. BUT, the next morning, Vernon woke him up at the crack of dawn. They worked all that day and for a couple of others from sunup to sundown getting the hay in. Finally, Dad said, he thought they were done and was so happy. After supper, Vernon told Dad he might want to turn in because they had a big day ahead of them the next day. "I thought we were done," said Dad. Vernon told him that they had more hay to get in on another part of the farm. "When we got done there, it was time to start over. I never worked so hard in my life!" Dad said. They kept mowing and stacking and the hay kept growing. Dad said he was about 14 or so and was, most likely, a big help by the end of the summer after he had developed some muscle from the experience. At the end of the summer, his Grandmother Edwards gave him a very small amount of money as pay. However, the money did buy some overalls and a few things for school that fall. Right then, my Dad said he decided that he was NOT going to be like Vernon. He was not going to be a farmer. He started tinkering around with cars and fixing them for people and started buying trucks while he was still a teenager so he never did work as hard as Vernon, he said.

Howard Thomas Pitts

Howard Thomas Pitts was born in Myton, Utah, on September 27, 1918 to Thomas Vivian and Ruth Edwards Pitts. He was the second child in a family of what would become seven children. Bernice Ruth was just older than he (1917). Following him, in birth order, were Morgan (1920), Kenneth Vivian (1922), Vera Pearl Pitts (1923), Patricia Evelyn (1927), and Robert Leonard (1931). 

Howard and Bernice grew up around the animals and farm life for the early years of their lives. The Edward’s family, Ruth’s family, owned a ranch in the Myton area and that was where Ruth grew up. After Vera was born they moved to Price. Vera died shortly after her birth, within 11 hours, and was buried in Myton. The last two children were born in Price.

The Tom Pitts family lived on the north east part of town when they first moved to Price. Later, they moved to the south west section of town, just off Carbon Avenue. They were still living there when I was born. Tom Pitts actually built the house they lived in. It was just two blocks south of where his mother lived on Carbon Avenue.

On his way home from school, which was located in the center of town, (Central School for the younger grades and Harding School for the older grades of elementary school) Howard would stop by the library and read books. (The high school was east of the town along the irrigation canal.) As a young man, his favorite hobby was reading though he also liked working on cars and any engine. In those days, there were few garages where automotive work was done. He found he had an aptitude for it and, even as a boy, could figure out why equipment wasn’t working and what could be done to repair it. People would bring their cars to him to get them repaired.

It was his job to keep the old treadle sewing machine his mother owned, which she used to make much of their clothing, in good repair. Because of that, he learned to sew and, even as an older man, still liked sewing. He took all of his flair-legged pants and cut them down to regular legs once they were no longer in fashion. He also helped Edna sew. He could take a complicated pattern and make it into a simple thing to understand and construct.

The Pitts family bought a farm in Carbonville where they worked as farmers and had cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and grew fruit on their own trees. Ruth Pitts added to the family income by selling milk, eggs, peaches, apples, garden produce and sewing aprons (which everyone wore during the late 30s and early 40s). She also made bread daily. They built a house on that farm and moved there. Howard was an adult by then but Bob, who is nine-years older than Myrna, and Myrna loved playing about that farm. By this time, Howard, who was building up a trucking and construction business, also used the farm for a shop for his trucks and, later, as an automotive repair shop.

The family had always had milk cows. Howard’s job was to milk and separate the cream from the milk. Each milking, he always had a glass or two of fresh, warm milk which he highly enjoyed.

Howard graduated from Carbon High School, where he had played football, and then moved to San Francisco, California, where he worked for his uncle as an apprentice in the plumbing business. He did not like the work at all and returned to Price where he began his own trucking business. 

He met Elaine at a dance in Huntington where she was singing with a trio, After their performance, they joined in the dancing. She saw him and told her mother, who was present, that was the man she was going to marry. He saw her and told his buddy that that was the girl he was going to marry. It must have been love at first sight. Two years later, he married Elaine Smith on December 3, 1939. Incidentally, during their courtship, they sang together. Howard was a baritone and Elaine an alto.

Howard and Elaine had a rough time making a success of the trucking business but kept on working at it. Howard started to do lots of construction work to keep the roof over their heads. One time Vivian Smith (Elaine’s mother) went to one of those job sites  in Salt Lake County and found them sleeping under a dump truck. She owned a recreation trailer which they promptly “bought.”

Howard enlisted the help of his father, Tom, to drive truck back and forth to Vernal hauling coal. They made quite a bit of money doing this but they had to load the coal by shovel, human-manned. 

Prior to Myrna’s birth, December 24, 1940, they moved into a house just below the irrigation canal in northeast Price. They were living there when Howard became very ill with pneumonia and was moved to his parent’s house and into his parent’s care. Mom stayed at the little apartment. When it was time for Myrna to be born, she called Morgan who drove Elaine and unborn Myrna to the Price Hospital a few blocks away. They went in style in one of Howard’s dump trucks. 

Elaine died November 24, 1940 as the result of an automobile accident. They were at the Pitts’ home in west Price and, with friend Ferron Gardner at the wheel, were just pulling onto Carbon Avenue when they were T-boned by a speeding northbound car. Howard and Ferron had spent the day working on the car, had it running well and decided to take their wives to a movie using that car. Myrna was left with the grandparents so that Howard and Elaine could have an evening out. Elaine was pinned under the car and Howard and Ferron were thrown clear and suffered “road rash” only. Howard pried the car off of Elaine using a light post that had been standing at the corner.

Her death occurred just a few days before Pearl Harbor. Howard, was torn between providing for his daughter and, as a healthy male, serving his country. He finally left his daughter in the care of his mother-in-law and enlisted. He was trained first in California and, for a time, in Newport, Rhode Island. He served in the Pacific Islands as a Seabee in the Navy during World War II. One of his duties, was to help construct the airstrip on Tinian that was later used for the landing and take-off of the Enola Gay which dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.

He married Edna Pilling on March 4, 1946. The Pitts and Pilling families had been friends for many years. Both were dairy farmers, among other things. Great-Grandpa Pitts was less of a dairy farmer than the Pilling family, who ran the Cloverleaf Dairy, just outside Price. At any rate, Howard had known Edna for many, many years.

Howard and Edna became the parents of three daughters: Charlotte (Wallace) Kilfoyle, Boise, Idaho; Laurel (Thomas) Marinos, Cydney (Michael) Anderson, both of Price. Myrna, his daughter by his wife, Elaine, married Leonard Trauntvein, lives in Nephi, and has eight children.

He and Lieb Miller opened a shop on Carbon Avenue. Later, his brother Kenneth joined him in forming a construction business. During this time, along with Lieb Miller, they built the two large water tanks still in use in Price. They built bridges in Utah and Idaho and completed many other construction projects. He also hauled coal for many businesses in the county.

In 1953, he and Kenneth also began another business, Pitts Brother's Wrecking and Auto. He operated this business, even after his brother's death, until he was 75 and then retired.

At first, he and Edna rented apartments and homes. They then bought an older home on 100 East. Howard began a construction project on the home that took several years. First on the agenda was to build new kitchen cupboards and update the space to accommodate modern appliances. The then living room was remodeled. Two small spaces, one a bedroom and the other the existing living room, were combined by removing a wall. Built-in bookcases were built along the north wall. Two upstairs bedrooms were made in the unused attic. The attic had to be enlarged and dormer windows added to make it a usable space. Howard then tackled the basement. There wasn’t one under much of the house--just a small space for a washer. He added a furnace, connections for a washer and dryer and dug the entire space out under the home to make a basement. He added a master bath and then put shingles on the outside of the house. He also built a huge shed for woodwork and automotive work. Added a carport and a storage area attached to the rear of the house.

He was an avid fisherman and enjoyed boating and camping. He enjoyed hunting. He always loved photography and had many cameras over the years. He kept track of each photo by mounting them in scrap books. He was good at gardening. He and Edna always had a well-kept yard. After her death, he won the monthly best-kept yard in Price award two times, once in 2004 and 2005.

He and Edna had a home where many friends loved to gather. She was an excellent cook and they were both storytellers who could recount the past with humor and enthusiasm. Edna died March 14, 1997 after 50 years of marriage. They were headed back from a visit with his brother, Morgan, in Arizona when she suffered an aneurysm. In the hospital, in Salt Lake, where she was lifefighted, she told the doctor prior to surgery: “If you are not successful in saving my life, I want my money back.”

He was a hard worker, successful businessman, loving husband, father, grandfather and a well-loved neighbor and friend. He will be missed by his family and his many friends.

Howard had 14 grandchildren, Shawn (Kimberly) Trauntvein, Layton; Melanie (Howard) Bolton, Milford, Mass.; Todd (Amy) Trauntvein, Johnstown, Ohio; Eric (Amy) Trauntvein Payson; AnnMarie (Brandon) Howard, Provo; Julie (James) Jones, Nephi; Kirsten (Jared) Waite, Colorado Springs, Colorado; David (Arbree) Trauntvein, St. George; Brenda (Nathaniel) Golden, Boise, Idaho; Bridget Campbell, Boise, Idaho; Ursula (Cris) Pereira, West Jordan; Gust T. Marinos, Price; David M. Anderson, Las Vegas, Nevada; Terri Pierce, Price.

Howard Thomas Pitts, 86, passed away peacefully at his home in Price on Sunday morning, September 18, 2005, of pneumonia a sudden illness. He was buried in Price with full military honors.

Friday, December 2, 2005

Working on the farm


One story that I loved to hear about my father was the time Dad decided that he didn't want to stay at home in Price with his sister, Bernice. Grandpa Tom and Grandma Ruth had gone south so Grandpa could work on a construction project. They left Dad (Howard) and Bernice home to look after the vegetable garden and the domestic animals (a cow and pig). After a couple of days, Dad decided he had had enough of that and decided that Bernice could take care of things around the house without him. So he hitchhiked with a guy from Price who drove freight back and forth to and from the Uintah Valley. It was late in the day when Dad got there, to the Edwards grandparent's home, and everyone was glad to see him. BUT, the next morning, Vernon woke him up at the crack of dawn. They worked all that day and for a couple of others from sunup to sundown getting the hay in. Finally, Dad said, he thought they were done and was so happy. After supper, Vernon told Dad he might want to turn in because they had a big day ahead of them the next day. "I thought we were done," said Dad. Vernon told him that they had more hay to get in on another part of the farm. "When we got done there, it was time to start over. I never worked so hard in my life!" Dad said. They kept mowing and stacking and the hay kept growing. Dad said he was about 14 or so and was, most likely, a big help by the end of the summer after he had developed some muscle from the experience. At the end of the summer, his Grandmother Edwards gave him a very small amount of money as pay. However, the money did buy some overalls and a few things for school that fall. Right then, my Dad said he decided that he was NOT going to be like Vernon. He was not going to be a farmer. He started tinkering around with cars and fixing them for people and started buying trucks while he was still a teenager so he never did work as hard as Vernon, he said.

Story from the Past


When Grandma Smith was a little girl, they used to look forward to an Orange, some peakedmchocolates and some hard tack in their Christmas sock each year. Great Great-Grandma Wilson (She was a Pritchett and was Great-Grandpa’s mother. Her first husband was murdered for his money, kept in a wall safe and she remarried.), ran a boarding house and was famed for her cooking. She would usually have the family at her home for Christmas dinner, which Great- Grandmother Mina would help fix. Mina worked for her mother-in-law in the boarding house. There were aunts, uncles and cousins at the dinners and there was always a lot of fun and teasing. 


Grandma Smith had an Aunt Afton, about her age, who was G-G-Grandma Wilson’s youngest child. G-G-Grandma Wilson would always ask Grandma Smith what she wanted for Christmas and then she would get the same thing for both girls. It was, quite often, a doll but could be something else like a dress or shoes. Whatever, there were always two. They would
be different colors, usually, but were always the same gift.


When Grandma Smith was teaching in Idaho those first couple of years, she would remember winters as fun times with fellow teachers. All were single. There were a couple of single guys who liked to come to enjoy desserts at the women’s dorm or apartment. One of the things they liked, when it snowed, was fresh snow which was scooped into a clean dishpan, then served covered with cream, vanilla and sugar.


Another favorite was Grandma’s divinity. I have included that recipe in a separate post. Think of how much I loved her when you make it! They also made panache and fudge. Those teaching girls could not have visits beyond a certain time of the night and they must always be all together. Remember, she graduated from Brigham Young Academy in 1910. Times were much different then.


She was a talented dancer as well as a basketball player and track team member. She lettered at BYA and received one of the first block Y’s given to a woman. When she was dancing ballet, she was selected to be one of two girls to dance with the famous Pavlova when she appeared in Provo. She and the other girl were both offered jobs as back-up dancers. The other girl accepted but G-Grandpa Pritchett would not let his daughter, Vivian, take the offer. The other girl danced for years and then taught ballet in New York City. Grandma Smith went on to graduate and became a teacher. She would wonder, from time to time, what would have happened had she been allowed to accept. She always ended up saying she wouldn’t change anything so it must have been for the best.

Thursday, December 1, 2005

Dear Children


Christmas 2005,
Dear Children:
Dad and I want you each to have something to remember Grandpa by. We kept just enough out of his
estate to pay for a bathroom downstairs for me (selfish) and for each of you to have $300 to spend
for something to remember Grandpa Pitts.
We would like you to spend the money wisely. We would also like you to get something material to
remember Grandpa. That means, we would like you to get something that would last for awhile. It
might be a second-hand piano, a second-hand electronic keyboard, a grandmother’s clock, a curio
cabinet, a cedar chest, a television set. It could be almost anything that $300 would buy We would
like it to be something you, and your spouse, can appreciate for many years to come.
We know that it is not a lot of money, but it is something. It will not buy an expensive leather sofa,
for example. However, the rest of the money is invested and we are not taking anything out unless we
need it for medical care. That will spare any of you having to assist us with financial needs--the older
person’s worry. For the next few years, any profit we make from the investment will roll back into the
account.
We are not thinking that you will have a party or do anything fleeting that will not last long enough
for you to look at the item and remember Grandpa. It is our hope that you will remember him each
time you look at your purchase and reflect.
I hope that each of you know that you are precious to us. Dad and I count you as our greatest gifts.
We treasure you and the time we get to spend with you. Your spouses and children are also considered
as part of the wondrous gift. We are blessed to have you all. I remember those days when I feared I
would never have children. What an awful and sickening thought! I am so thankful Heavenly Father
blessed me with all of you.
Spend this with joy. Make memories. Help one another. Be loving. Be happy. Do all you can to be
productive and useful and, while you are doing so, remember our love goes with you.
Love, Mom and Dad

Monday, November 21, 2005

Old Folks at Home, Nov. 21, 2005


This is thanksgiving month, not just because of the Thanksgiving holiday, but also because of my attitude. I am grateful to be alive! I am never going to be ready to die and leave this world. First of all, there are all of you, my loved ones, whom I enjoy. Then there is the beauty of the world. I was sitting in the sun, looking out the window for one of those brief but happy passing moments. The sun was warm, the sky was blue and the colored leaves were rustling in the breeze. It was truly breathtaking.

I am so thankful that I can enjoy the seasons of the year. Dad teased me when I said that to him. “Even the snow?” I admit I like it a lot more while I am inside looking outside. That isn’t quite true, however, because I do like to play in the snow I just don’t like to slog around in it.

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year and I so enjoy the colored leaves. Thanksgiving is actually the best holiday of the year because there is only the expectation of good food and good company.

Of course, I really like being outside in the flower gardens during the summer and I like having grandkids around during the long days. Children are always a bright note in life’s song.

The house is painted. I think it looks great. Dad’s shed has walls up but no roof. He is planning on building the trusses as he gets time during the next while. Then we will put them on. I will have a new bathroom downstairs but not in time for Thanksgiving. Like all building contractors, our plumber got a great big job that needs to be done on a time schedule. I am content to wait because it is a dream come true. It will have a shower in the back corner against the boy’s room and next to the dryer. The toilet and washbasin will follow the wall along the boy’s room. It is the same sort of pattern as is in the front bathroom upstairs.

Grandpa’s house is sold. It will be a month (maybe longer) before the money comes through. We also found out today that Grady, who is buying the house, wants us to go half on repairing a cast iron drain pipe in the basement that has split. We were selling the house as-is but he is uncomfortable with the pipe so I suppose it was the wise thing to do. Who know what it will cost, however. But it is nice to know the house is going to someone who will take care of it and to someone who also loved Grandpa. It has been heart-rending to go to the house and not have Grandpa there to visit. I took a lot of photos today of the inside of the house. It is not the same, because the people who made it a great place to visit are not there. Laurel and Cydney also took photos a few days ago so we will all have photos to share.

I am thankful for each one of you. I have finally begun to realize how wonderful it is to be with people who accept you as you are. I do know how extraordinary that is and I thank you all. Besides that, I LOVE each one of you. As Tiny Tim says in A Christmas Carol: “God bless us, everyone!”

You know, if I live long enough I might actually grow up.

Love Mom (and Dad)

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

My Dad


I was not ready, as I guess no one ever is, to let my daddy and your grandpa leave this life. However, if it is time to go, I guess his way was a good one. Unlike Dad’s parents, there was not any long-term suffering. I am so thankful that I have LHT (Dad to you) to be with me. He is a great comfort and it helps that he also loved my dad. He also stands by me and supports me. He looks after me and tries to make things better for me as we close the memories that were once my father’s home. I also want to thank each of you, my children (that includes spouses) and grandchildren for your support. I know that Heavenly Father is watching the kind ways you are behaving and that, when it is time for Dad and I to go ahead of you (hopefully we are ahead), He will bless you as you have blessed and supported me. “What goes around comes around.” Know that you are all loved! We pray everyday that you will be helped, guided, watched over and protected.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Old Folks At Home Addendum--Sept. 25, 2006

I am adding and addendum on Sept. 25. I just wanted you to know that I am, officially, one beat up person. I was helping Dad, Shawn, Dane and Toren put up the trusses on Dad’s shed on Saturday afternoon. Dad accidentally knocked a 2X4 and it fell with some force and smashed my right pointer finger. It is PURPLE and has been bleeding quite a bit. Dr. George said it looked as if it were broken on the tip but it will grow back. It is covered with a few layers of protective bandage. Then on Monday, I was scheduled for another procedure, called a sacroiliac joint injection. By placing numbing medicine into the joint, the amount of immediate pain relief helps confirm or deny the joint as a source of pain. Also, time release cortisone (steroid) helps to reduce any inflammation that may exist within the joint. The patient is placed on the X-ray table on their stomach so that the physician can best visualize these joints in the back using x-ray guidance. The skin on the low back is scrubbed using 2 types of sterile scrub. Next, the physician numbs a small area of skin with numbing medicine. This medicine stings for several seconds. After the numbing medicine has been given time to be effective, the physician directs a very small needle, using x-ray guidance into the joint. A small amount of contrast (dye) is injected to insure proper needle position inside the joint space. Then, a small mixture of numbing medicine (anesthetic) and anti-inflammatory (cortisone/steroid) is injected. One or several joints may be injected depending on location of the patient’s usual pain. The legs may feel weak or numb for a few hours. This is fairly uncommon, but does occasionally happen. Well, they did my left side and today, all day, I have had to have Dad help me walk, Dr. Gordon Petty George said to find a place to park and stay there. But I have had to use the bathroom from time to time. I have had a completely dead left leg. It should have feeling by morning and I am counting on it. But, because I had rheumatic fever as a child, I had to have an intravenous antibiotic. The nurse nicked the vein in my hand, left side, and so the back of my hand is swollen and bruised. Yes that is a smashed finger on the right and a swollen hand on the left—oh, joy! Besides that, I cut my thumb on the left with a knife the other day, and, at the campout, caught my pointer finger on the left in the trailer door. It has been a FUN weekend. I will no longer complain. I am done. Now I will smile and be pleasant.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Howard Thomas Pitts, Obituary

Howard Pitts
PRICE - Howard Thomas Pitts, 86, passed away peacefully at his home in Price on Sunday morning, Sept. 18, 2005.

He was born in Myton, on Sept. 27, 1918 to Thomas Vivian and Ruth Edwards Pitts. Graduated from Carbon High School. He then moved to San Francisco, Calif., where he worked as an apprentice in the plumbing business. He returned to Price where he began his own trucking business. Married Elaine Smith Dec. 3, 1939. They had one daughter, Myrna. Elaine died Nov. 24, 1940. Served in the Pacific Islands as a Seabee in the Navy during World War II. He married Edna Pilling on March 4, 1946; she died March 14, 1997 after 50 years of marriage.

Later, his brother Kenneth joined him in forming a construction business. During this time, along with Lieb Miller, they built the two large water tanks still in use in Price. They built bridges in Utah and Idaho and completed many other construction projects. He also hauled coal for many businesses in the county.
In 1953, he and Kenneth also began another business, Pitts Brother's Wrecking and Auto. He operated this business, even after his brother's death, until he was 75 and then retired.

He was an avid fisherman, enjoyed hunting, photography and gardening. He won the monthly best-kept yard in Price award two times, once in 2004 and just this past month, 2005.

He was a hard worker, successful businessman, loving husband, father, grandfather and a well-loved neighbor and friend. He will be missed by his family and his many friends.

Survived by four daughters, Myrna (Leonard) Trauntvein, Nephi; Charlotte (Wallace) Kilfoyle, Boise, Idaho; Laurel (Thomas) Marinos, Cydney (Michael) Anderson, both of Price; two brothers and one sister, Morgan (June) Pitts, Travor City, Wis.; Robert (Maxine) Pitts, Price; and Patricia Lubbe, Las Vegas, Nev.; 14 grandchildren, Shawn (Kimberly) Trauntvein, Layton; Melanie (Howard) Bolton, Milford, Mass.; Todd (Amy) Trauntvein, Johnstown, Ohio; Eric (Amy) Trauntvein Payson; AnnMarie (Brandon) Howard, Provo; Julie (James) Jones, Nephi; Kirsten (Jared) Waite, Colorado Springs, Colo.; David (Arbree) Trauntvein, St. George; Brenda (Nathaniel) Golden, Boise, Idaho; Bridget Campbell, Boise, Idaho; Ursula (Cris) Pereira, West Jordan; Gust T. Marinos, Price; David M. Anderson, Las Vegas, Nev.; Terri Pierce, Price; 29 loving great-grandchildren and numerous loving nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by parents; one brother, Kenneth Pitts; two sisters, Vera Pearl Pitts and Bernice Narrisso.

Funeral service Thursday, Sept. 22, 11 a.m., Mitchell Funeral Home, 233 East Main St., Price. Family will be at Mitchell's Wednesday evening from 7 to 8 p.m. and Thursday one hour prior to service. Interment, Price City Cemetery.

Thursday, August 4, 2005

A History of Elaine Smith Pitts As Written by Her Mother.


My mother was named Elaine. Actually, she was named Jessie Elanie but was called only Elanie. Because she was such a young woman when she died, not many of my children know much about her. 

(The following was written for Myrna by Vivian Christene Pritchett Smith, Myrna’s grandmother, when Myrna was in the seventh grade. It was a school project. Myrna added a few things as she and her grandmother talked. Myrna still has the original in Grandma Smith’s writing.)

Jessie Elaine Smith, born Jan. 2, 1920, in Huntington, Emery, Utah. She was blessed March 7, 1920, in Huntington, and was baptized in the Huntington River on July 1, 1928 by Arly Marshall and was confirmed by Lar Black. She was sealed to her parents, along with her sister, Renee, following her father’s death of cancer. He was baptized on 14 July 1935, a short time before he died. He died 4 Aug 1935. The sealing took place on 3 Aug 1936 in Salt Lake Temple.

She was married on 3 Dec 1939 to Howard Thomas Pitts. They had one daughter, Myrna Rae Pitts, born on Dec. 24, 1940 in Price. Elaine was killed as the result of an automobile accident, which occurred on Carbon Avenue in Price. She died Nov. 24, 1941. (The 11-month birthday of Myrna.) Elaine was endowed the 14 of Nov 1945.

Elaine was the daughter of Raymond James and Vivian Christene Pritchett Smith. She has one older sister, Vivian Renee Smith Childs, who was born Oct. 26, 1918.

Elaine was born about 4 o’clock in the morning after a big fire that burned down almost all of the Huntington business district. Her mother and father, Vivian and Ray, were visiting at Elaine's Grandfather John Pritchett’s home (father of Vivan Christene). A great fire on New Year’s Eve burned Grandfather’s drugstore, home, an apartment, a barbershop, a pool hall, a feed and grain store and a hotel.

After all of that Myrna’s mother, Elaine, was born. Everything burned but the clothes her folks had on so it was a bad time for a baby to come, but things straightened out after a time. Her grandfather’s store stayed in Huntington and her father opened up a meat and grocery store.

Elaine went to school there. Her best friends were Verna Robbins, Belle Gunderson, Lilas Green and Madaline Grange. She graduated from high school in 1939. She graduated with honors, receiving a block H. She was a member of the girl’s trio, Pep Club and the Mask Club (speech and drama). She was leading lady in the Junior and Senior plays and also entered meets for the speech class for those two years. She was rated superior in the region speech meet for Dramatic Reading and Excellent in oration. She also was a member of a ballet dance group that gave several exhibitions. She and her partner, Roland Gardner, did exhibition dancing for the Green and Gold Balls all through the county. The dances were original waltzes and the ones sent out by the state and church.

Elaine was a beautiful girl and was well liked. She had lots of dark hair, eyes that were so brown they were almost black and a fair skin. She was Miss North Emery High and won several other beauty and talent awards. She graduated from LDS Seminary the same year and gave several short speeches at stake conferences. She was very active in Sunday school and Mutual. She received her patriarchal blessing.

Howard, Myrna’s father, and Elaine, her mother, met at a dance in Emery County. Elaine sang with a trio of girls that night but she also liked dancing. Howard saw her standing on the sidelines and asked her to dance. After that, they had eyes only for each other. Elaine had told her mother, earlier, when she had seen Howard dancing, "That is the man I am going to marry." [As an aside, Howard had also told one of his friends at the dance, "That is the girl I am going to marry."] That is just what happened.

Elaine loved singing. Howard also enjoyed singing. Elaine sang many times with other girls and after meeting Howard, the two of them sang at various events in Carbon and Emery Counties. Two of their favorite songs were: “When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” and “Stardust.” Their voices were compatible and they sounded very good together.

After she married Thomas Howard Pitts, she went to Price to live. Myrna was born the night her father had come down with pneumonia. He was sent to his folk’s home to get better because Elaine was so close to giving birth to Myrna. That night, Elaine had to call her brother-in law, Morgan, to drive her to the hospital in Price. He took her in a dump truck.

Myrna was, basically, a baby when her mother died. Elaine was buried on her mother’s, birthday, Nov. 26. Myrna has lived with her grandmother (her mother’s mother), Vivian Smith, ever since.

(As young as she was, Myrna really missed her mother and would not go to sleep. For days, at bedtime, she would cry and fuss. Finally, in desperation, her Grandmother Smith took her to bed with her and then they both slept. She would not drink from her bottle either and weaned herself to a cup.)

Her father enlisted in World War II and served as a Sea Bee in the Navy in the Pacific islands.

More About Smith History


I (Donnette Smith) recently saw this notice on the Oxford list. "There was no automatic right to a [military] pension just for service, disabilities allowed you to claim one."

I suddenly remembered that your ancestor, Thomas Carr, had a pension and lost it for moving into France, and then had quite a time getting it again. I looked in the records and found I didn't put the reason he got a pension into his biography.

Norma Bean Tanner wrote 7 Nov 1963: "My father said that his Grandfather Carr was injured in an accident on a boat while in the English navy. He lost a finger when lowering an anchor. He was drawing a Hospital pension from Greenwich Hospital. When he moved to the Islands [and then to France] he lost his pension and was a long time getting it back. While he was waiting for his pension he went to work as a merchant seaman."

Interesting.

Howard Shearring in England is still keeping me interested in William Bean and his sister, Sarah Bean Shearring. I sent him my notes of early LDS British Branch membership records which show their address and ages at baptism. As their mother died in 1850, a year after they were baptized, Sarah went to live with "an aunt". And later she married Howard Shearring in 1861 in Bermondsey. Howard had been trying to figure out when and how the two met. He had thought she had lived in Poplar in the Isle of Dogs which is a loop of the Thames River until her marriage. The LDS church records show how they moved around in the next year after the mother died. I had checked an index to those records years ago but now have ordered a film of the original records to see if I can pinpoint where Sarah was. 

We never have figured out who raised her. But there are a couple of records I have which say: Minnie Margett's File: a card index of the early British LDS church membership records: 
1.Sarah Bean - bap 13 Aug 1849 by Z. Derrich, Poplar, London Conf., British Mission, Age 9, res. Poplar Book 458 pg 687 line 126
2.Sarah Bean - Branch Walworth, London Conf., British Mission [no date on this]
Single - resident Smith Buildings Book 425 pg 283 line 81
3.Sarah Bean [the daughter]- Branch, Isle of Dogs, London Conference, British Mission Rec. From Poplar Feb 21, 1850 Bk 458 line 365 line 9
4.Sarah Bean - Limehouse, London Conf., British Mission Single Received from Poplar Feb 21, 1850 Removed to Bermondsey Nov 8, 1852 Bk 425 pg 161 line 4

I had no clue where Walworth was or anything about the Smith Buildings. I saw Sarah's records were sent to Bermondsey in 1852. I don't know whom she lived with. I would love to go through the 1851 census to see if I can see her. But that isn't indexed or online.

Howard said: "Walworth is south of the Thames, about a mile south-west of Bermondsey and Shearing Territory. Check the biography [of the Mayor, Sarah's son] and you will see that her son, Patrick Henry was born at Smith's Buildings, Bermondsey in1861 so she could have been very close to Henry Shearing about a decade earlier than thought. There could be more than one Smith Buildings but it is too much of a coincidence to ignore."

The next day he wrote: "In 1861 there were 4 such buildings of which we can safely ignore one. This leaves the Bermondsey one; another at St Olave Southwark which I think we can ignore and then 1 at Camberwell. Now I would not accept Camberwell is Walworth BUT it is right next door to it so remains a possibility. I think you will find these places on the photocopied map I sent you with the biog....they are all very close to one another (by US standards they are on top of each other)"
Howard

I also asked Howard how you pronounce "Bermondsey". He said all three syllables have equal stress and sometimes the D is left unspoken. 

So. Howard is still interested in keeping in touch with me in spite of the LDS connections. He sent me a copy of his great-grandfather's biography which he wrote, William Shearring son of Sarah Bean Shearring, but is revising it and he says he will send me a new copy about Christmas time. He has given me permission to give the family copies. In the meantime I'm trying to help him get details corrected and he is really helping me know more about that family.

If you have forgotten about this story - here it is again. If you want to see the picture of the Mayor and his family look at the CD of the Beans I gave you. There are two pictures of Sarah Bean Shearring with the early British pictures. Also the one of the Mayor is under the group: Are these Beans? as the family group picture. Those of you who haven't received the Bean CD yet, let me know and I'll try to get you a copy at Christmas when I can put Howard's biography of
the Mayor on it, too.

Cynthia is a little confused about the correspondence I have been having with Howard Shearring. I will try to explain it a little better for everyone.

Richard’s great grandfather (and Raymond James Smith’s), William Bean was born in 1834 in the outskirts of London. His father died in 1846 after suffering TB for at least 3 years. In 1848 William’s mother joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then the next year William and his sister Sarah (age 9) were baptized. The next year, 1850, the mother died, also of TB, leaving William and Sarah and their little 5-year old brother as orphans. William took little Alfred on his back, across London to live with his grandfather. Little Alfred died of TB three years later. His grandfather was so against William being active in the LDS Church he made him leave the home. So, at age 16, William had to go out and work and rent a room. He later married an LDS woman, Elizabeth Carr. They had to stay in England to care for her father, Thomas Carr, as Thomas had to stay in England to keep receiving his pension from the British Government for having been in the navy. The Bean family finally sailed to America and came to Utah in 1877 after Thomas Carr died.

When she was orphaned, the sister, Sarah Bean, went to live with an aunt, we are told, and didn’t have any more contact with the LDS Church. She married Henry Shearring in 1861. Sarah kept in touch with her brother, William Bean, and wrote to him and his children until her death in 1924. William Bean’s son, George Bean, had about five letters that came from Sarah Bean Shearring during World War I. I have a transcription of them and sent a copy to Howard who was excited to receive them. He said that Sarah must have dictated the letters, as she was illiterate.

In those letters Sarah told William’s family about her children and grandchildren, many of whom were fighting in the war. Her eldest child was William Shearring who became the Mayor of Bermondsey. This last winter Stuart helped me find Sarah and some of her children and grandchildren in the British 1891 and 1901
census.

When we were looking at the census, I got wondering about William Shearring being mayor, and posted a query on a genealogical list. I received word from an archivist there, that William Shearring had been Mayor in 1917-18. Now, several months later, Howard Shearring of Kent, England, found my query on Google and wrote to me. He is writing a biography of his great grandfather, the Mayor, William Shearring, and is going to send me a copy. Howard told me that most of his family pictures were lost during WWII. When I sent him a copy of a picture of his great-great grandmother, Sarah Bean Shearring taken about 1900, he was overjoyed. And when I sent a copy of a picture of a family I was only guessing at, (because the picture was with the Bean pictures and there
were the parents, one son and six daughters taken about 1905) he was stunned as he recognized the father of the group as the Mayor, William Shearring. Just looking at it at work where his computer is, he was guessing that the young man and woman in the back were his grandfather (he hadn’t had a picture of him taken before 1950) and the grandfather’s wife, Matilda. But after Iaking the picture home and looking at his records and thinking about the ages of the children, he decided that as his grandfather wasn’t married until 1908, it had to be just the Mayor and his wife and seven children. (As William wasn’t the mayor yet in 1904, Howard called him “The Future Mayor”.)

I hope that clarifies the story. It is pretty interesting!!! It is super exciting to me that Howard recognized that picture which we inherited from Grandpa Herbert W. Smith. I am praying I can say the right things to Howard so he won’t be shocked about having Mormons in the family. I hope this can soften his heart toward the church. I also hope Howard can fill in for me more of the names, dates and places of descendants of Sarah Bean Shearring.
Donnette Smith

Sarah Bean Shearring


Donnette Smith wrote:

Howard Shearring in England is still keeping me interested in William Bean and his sister, Sarah Bean Shearring. I sent him my notes of early LDS British Branch membership records which show their address and ages at baptism. As their mother died in 1850, a year after they were baptized, Sarah went to live with "an aunt". And later she married Howard Shearring in 1861 in Bermondsey. 

Howard had been trying to figure out when and how the two met. He had thought she had lived in Poplar in the Isle of Dogs which is a loop of the Thames River until her marriage. The
LDS church records show how they moved around in the next year after the mother died. I had checked an index to those records years ago but now have ordered a film of the original records to see if I can pinpoint where Sarah was. We never have figured out who raised her. But there are a couple of records I have which say: 

Minnie Margett's File: a card index of the early British LDS church
membership records:
1. Sarah Bean - bap 13 Aug 1849 by Z. Derrich, Poplar, London Conf.,
British Mission
age 9 res. Poplar
Book 458 pg 687 line 126 

2.Sarah Bean - Branch Walworth, London Conf., British Mission [no date on
this]
single - resident Smith Buildings
Book 425 pg 283 line 81

3.. Sarah Bean [the daughter]- Branch, Isle of Dogs, London Conference,
British Mission
rec. From Poplar Feb 21, 1850
Bk 458 line 365 line 9 

4. Sarah Bean - Limehouse, London Conf., British Mission
Single
Received from Poplar Feb 21, 1850
Removed to Bermondsey Nov 8, 1852
Bk 425 pg 161 line 4 


I had no clue where Walworth was or anything about the Smith Buildings. I saw Sarah's records were sent to Bermondsey in 1852. I don't know whom she lived with. I would love to go through the 1851 census to see if I can see her. But that isn't indexed or online.

Howard said:
"Walworth is south of the Thames, about a mile south-west of Bermondsey and  Shearing Territory. Check the biography [of the Mayor, Sarah's son] and you will  see that her son, Patrick Henry was born at Smith's Buildings, Bermondsey in 1861 so she could have been very close to Henry Shearing about a decade 
earlier than thought. There could be more than one Smith Buildings but it is  too much of a co-incidence to ignore."

The next day he wrote:
"In 1861 there were 4 such buildings of which we can safely ignore one. This leaves the Bermondsey one; another at St Olave Southwark which I think  we can ignore and then 1 at Camberwell. Now I would not accept Camberwell is  Walworth BUT it is right next door to it so remains a possibility. I think you will find these places on the photocopied map I sent you with the 
biog....they are all very close to one another (by US standards they are on  top of each other)"
Howard
I also asked Howard how you pronounce "Bermondsey". He said all three syllables have equal stress and sometimes the D is left unspoken.

So. Howard is still interested in keeping in touch with me in spitemof the LDS connections. He sent me a copy of his great-grandfather's biography which he wrote, William Shearring son of Sarah Bean Shearring, but is revising it and he says he will send me a new copy about Christmas time. He has given me permission to give the family copies. In the meantime I'm trying to help him get details corrected and he is really helping me know more about that family.


Donnette

****

If you have forgotten about this story - here it is again. 

If you want to see the picture of the Mayor and his family look at the CD of the Beans I gave you. There are two pictures of Sarah Bean Shearring with the early British pictures. Also the one of the Mayor is under the group: Are these Beans? as the family group picture. Those of you who haven't received the Bean CD yet, let me know and I'll try to get you a copy at Christmas when I can put Howard's biography of the Mayor on it, too.

*****
Cynthia is a little confused about the correspondence I have been having with Howard Shearring. I will try to explain it a little better for everyone.

Richard’s great grandfather, William Bean was born in 1834 in the outskirts of London. His father died in 1846 after suffering TB for at least 3 years. In 1848 William’s mother joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then the next year William and his sister Sarah (age 9) were baptized. The next year, 1850, the mother died, also of TB, leaving William and Sarah and their little 5 year old brother as orphans.

William took little Alfred on his back, across London to live with his grandfather. Little Alfred died of TB three years later. His grandfather was so against William being active in the LDS Church he made him leave the home. So, at age 16, William had to go out and work and rent a room. He later married an LDS woman, Elizabeth Carr. They had to stay in England to care for her father, Thomas Carr, as Thomas had to stay in England to keep receiving his pension from the British Government for having been in the navy. The Bean family finally sailed to America and came to Utah in 1877 after Thomas Carr died.

When she was orphaned, the sister, Sarah Bean, went to live with an aunt, we are told, and didn’t have any more contact with the LDS Church. She married Henry Shearring in 1861. Sarah kept in touch with her brother, William Bean, and wrote to him and his children until her death in 1924. William Bean’s son, George Bean, had about five letters that came from Sarah Bean Shearring during World War I. I have a transcription of them
and sent a copy to Howard who was excited to receive them. He said that Sarah must have dictated the letters as she was illiterate.

In those letters Sarah told William’s family about her children and
grandchildren, many of whom were fighting in the war.. Her eldest child was William Shearring who became the Mayor of Bermondsey. This last winter Stuart helped me find Sarah and some of her children and grandchildren in the British 1891 and 1901 census. 

When we were looking at the census, I got wondering about William Shearring being mayor, and posted a query on a genealogical list. I received word from an archivist there, that William Shearring had been Mayor in 1917-18. Now, several months later, Howard Shearring of Kent, England, found my query on Google and wrote to me. He is writing a biography of his great grandfather, the Mayor, William Shearring, and is going to send me a copy. 

Howard told me that most of his family pictures were lost during WWII. When I sent him a copy of a picture of his great-great grandmother, Sarah Bean Shearring taken about 1900, he was overjoyed. And when I sent a copy of a picture of a family I was only guessing at, (because the picture was with the Bean pictures and there were the parents, one son and six daughter taken about 1905) he was stunned as he recognized the father of the group as the Mayor, William Shearring. Just looking at it at work where his computer is, he was guessing that the young man and woman in the back were his grandfather (he hadn’t had a picture of him taken before 1950) and the grandfather’s wife, Matilda. But after taking the picture home and looking at his records and thinking about the ages of the children, he decided that as his grandfather wasn’t married until 1908, it had to be just the Mayor and his wife and seven children. (As William wasn’t the mayor yet in 1904, Howard called him “The Future Mayor”.) 

I hope that clarifies the story. It is pretty interesting!!! It is super exciting to me that Howard recognized that picture which we inherited from Grandpa Herbert W. Smith. 

I am praying I can say the right things to Howard so he won’t be shocked about having Mormons in the family. I hope this can soften his heart toward the church. I also hope Howard can fill in for me more of the names, dates and places of descendants of Sarah Bean Shearring.

Donnette

Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Mina Ericksen Pritchett



Myrna wrote: Since I am the only one left alive in my family (as evidenced by the lack of communication on this project), I guess it won’t do any good to ask you how old you think Great-grandma Mina is in this photo. But, if by some slim chance, any of you are left alive, give it a guess—30, 40? I never was good at guessing ages. M

Kevin Childs wrote: I think she is in her 30's.

Pritchett Information