MY LIFE - BY LORA LORENE PHILLIPS MILLER

MY LIFE - BY LORA LORENE PHILLIPS MILLER

I was born in Peculiar, Missouri on January 17, 1912, the fourth child of Nellie Bush Phillips and Pearl Phillips. The children were:

Virgil Taylor Phillips - born November 2, 1902

Viola Lucille Phillips Waltman - born January 26, 1906 - died January 30, 1954

Rena Pearl Phillips Becker - born January 5, 1910 - died September 27, 1975

Lora Lorene Phillips Miller - born January 17, 1912

Harry Lee Phillips - born April 6, 1914 - died March 20, 1986

Bernita Nellie Phillips Warner - born April 21, 1923 - died February 11, 1965

My mother said I was a happy child, always skipping and singing and that I had real curly hair.

I remember about living in a big, old house in Peculiar, Missouri. I don't remember if we used the upstairs or not, maybe it was the attic. I was afraid there were scary things up there.

There was a long lane from our house to the gate and Mother had put a box for me to climb up on to get the mail. This day I went skipping and singing down to the gate and jumped up on the box, put my hand in to get the mail and there were army worms crawling everywhere. Soon they were on me and I jumped up and down screaming. Mother came running down the lane and saved me. (I was only around three years old at that time.)

I remember living in another place - I have a picture of us out in front. We had a hired man and he was leaving that day and wanted pictures, so Mother woke us up and we got dressed to have the pictures taken. My sister Rena and I never did get along very well. She was mean to me and this hired man was there one day with us while Mother and Dad were gone. Rena had made me cry more than once, so he took his belt, placed it around Rena's waist and hung her on the door nob. Boy was she mad! I suppose she told Mother and Dad on him, but nothing came of it. Rena was always Dad's pet.

I don't remember much about coming to Idaho on the train, only that we had food that Mother fixed and going through dark tunnels. When we came to Idaho in 1915, we moved on to the Kelley place. Dewey and Leon had gone to the war and Mr. Kelley (Heber) needed someone to run the farm. Heber was a large plump man and when he laughed you could hear him for a long ways. He fixed us kids a big swing between real tall trees and he would push until we would scream, as we were frightened. He would say, "Hang on", and he would stand there and just roar with laughter. He was real good to us all.

One time a lot of us were sick, (I think it was the flue, but don't know for sure), they quarantined everyone at that time, so Mother put a list of groceries on the porch and Mr. Kelley would pick it up, go get the groceries and bring them back to the porch. He always had a bag of cookies or some candy for us kids.

We stayed there for quite a few years, then Dad bought the place from Mr. Kunz. This was the place we called home, as we lived there all the rest of my childhood. Leon and Dewey Kelley came home from the war, got married and took over the Kelley farm. Our neighbors on the home place were the Vests, Morrises, Bowmans and Al Kunz up on the hill above Bowmans. We played together - the children of all these families.

Morrises had a pond in their field where the water ran in and out from irrigation. It had tadpoles in it and we would go swimming and catch the tadpoles and put them in our dress pockets. We never had swimsuits, only wore panties and our dresses pinned with a safety pin between our legs. We sure had fun anyway. It wasn't very deep, but we were small. Later on in the evenings, Mother and Dad went to the Morrises and to Leon Kelley's and while they played cards we tended the new babies that were coming along. Sometimes we popped popcorn for everyone.

With Genevieve Bowman and the Morris kids, we would play games such as "Hide and Seek', "Run My Sheepie Run", "Kick the Can", etc. We didn't have a lot of toys and we made our own fun. I remember, in the fall after Dad raked spud vines and they dried, we would have the kids come over and we put spuds in the piles of vines to bake while we played and the vines burned. We never had foil, so there wasn't much left to eat of the spuds, but we had fun.

As I got old enough to cut spuds, I did a lot of that. We cut Dad's, then went and cut Leon and Dewey Kelley's and sometimes even went up and cut McCullough's. I raked lots of hay. One year, I went down and stayed with Virgil and Lula and raked all of Virgil's hay. (He had a lot that year.) By night my legs would hardly hold me. Those were old-fashioned rakes.

One Sunday morning I asked mother if I could go to Sunday School. I went most Sundays and would go home with a friend and play or they came home with me. Mother said, "Yes", that Dad hadn't said anything about needing me. (I helped so much outside.) About one hour after I had left, Dad came and wanted me to rake the hay as it was ready. Mother told him I had gone to Sunday School, but Rena was there and she could do it. She was older and larger, but Dad said she didn't know how. Mother told him she could learn - Lora did. Dad took Rena out and showed her, but finally he gave up and told her to go to the house. She had made a bigger mess than it was to start with, so Dad had to rake the hay. That's how Rena got out of working in the field.

I did lots of irrigating spuds, beets, etc., after Virgil left and then Viola left and went to work in Idaho Falls. Dad would put canvas dams in, show me what to do and I would take them out and tend to the water while he was up on the Thatcher place, which he had rented. I was very small, only weighed ninety-six pounds when I got married. The dams were hard to take out and it was a struggle for me, but I got it done.

Lee and I were very close all of my life. As soon as he was old enough to play with, we played together. I was a "tomboy". My mother said I would rather be outside than in the house. Lee and I would make little farms in back of the house by the trees; it was sandy ground and we used sticks and string and made fences, gates, even little animals, barns, wagons, etc. We didn't have the toys kids have now. We would play for hours. Mother saved us old thread spools and we used anything else to make things for our farm.

I picked lots of spuds - started when Lee and I were so small it took both of us to lift the basket. We did this one year at Brabex's, Lee and I against Viola, then Viola got sick and Dad picked with us some. The spuds were so thin and we had to carry the basket so far, Dad asked Mr. Brabex if he didn't have a lighter basket for us kids. He did.

I cut spuds in the spring and bought summer clothes and had my spending money; I picked spuds in the fall and bought all my winter clothes. We would get the catalog and every night, after working in the spuds, find something else we could buy. Usually we went to Idaho Falls and got our new clothes.

Virgil and Viola were lots older, so I wasn't very close to them then. (When you are young a few years make a big difference, but when you get older a few years don't mean a thing.) I remember when Viola was working in Idaho Falls, she bought me a beautiful doll with hair and eyes that went to sleep. I thought it was the prettiest doll I had ever seen. I took such good care of it, and wanted to keep her always, but when Bernita came along Mother made me let her play with my doll; that was the end of her.

Rena and I got along better after she went to Idaho Falls to work. She started dating Fred - Fred didn't have a car so Orville and I took them lots of places and, after we were married, they came down to our place to eat. Rena even came down on a Sunday, after Jenice was born, cleaned my house and helped me a lot. She sure liked Jenice and was good to her. My home was her home to her. One time Orville and I had gone some place and when we came home we noticed the lights were on. (We never locked a house then.) When we went in there were Rena and Fred and Edna and Frank Pickett. They had been there most of the day and evening, had even went through cupboards and found something to fix for their dinner. They knew they were welcome. We didn't have refrigerators or freezers then.

Orville and I even moved Rena and Fred to California. I had Jenice and was starting out with Nanette. We took them to Viola and Jim's until they found a place to stay. Viola took us all around, showing us California that time. We went some place new everyday. She could look at the map and go any place. Viola was a wonderful person and so was Jim. I was so glad I got down to help Jim with Viola when she was so ill, before she died. I was also glad I got down to see Lee and Jim before they both died.

I had better go back to my grade school days, all eight of which were spent in Woodville. We walked most of the time. I graduated from the eighth grade there.

I do remember a winter, and maybe there were more than one, Gardner and Albert had made a tabogan, with runners and a covered canvas top. There was a little stove in front, hay on the floor and was large enough for their family and us kids. It was pulled by an old gray horse. They would come get us, they lived up by the Snake River by McCulloughs, where the Power Dam is now, and they would take us to school. We sure had fun on it. We would sing, etc., going to and coming from school.

I enjoyed all my grade school days and also high school. We always had parties Halloween and Valentine's Days and all the other special days in grade school. I figured my childhood was a happy one, even if I did have to work most of the summer. There were never trips like some kids had.

I loved the winter, when I was young. On Sundays, sometimes, we would ride on little sleighs behind the horse all day long. One of the boys, Ted Thompson or Wendell Hammer or others, would ride on a horse with a saddle and we would have a long rope for the first little sleigh, then the next one would loop a rope around the back of that sleigh and we could guide our sleighs with the rope. Lots of time there were six little sleighs. We would play so hard and long and get so wet, but we never got sick from it and boy what fun! There were other things we did in winter, coast down hills, etc.

There was Uncle Horace and Aunt Maud, parents of Albert, Gardner, Walter and Horace, and Uncle Finis and Aunt Janie, parents of Horace, Ailine and Richard and our family. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, they took turns in having dinner and us kids all played together. One year we were at Uncle Fina's place, there was a big hill as you drove over the bridge. All day we pulled our sleighs up the hill and coasted down, we would coast a long ways. No traffic, so it wasn't dangerous. Boy, there were some tired kids that night, but I can sure remember it.

Virgil married Anna Lula Hammer, June 12, 1923. We all called here Lula. Virgil had a team of horses, he was so proud of them, he brushed and kept them looking so nice. He had special harnesses with rings (white) all over them. We didn't have cars then. When Lois came along, she was so cute and then Buster, another cute kid. We loved them so much. I remember the minute they came to Mother's even if they had just had dinner, they always went to the cupboard for something to eat. It was so cute.

Mother was a wonderful cook and seamstress. Everybody liked to eat at Mother's. Mother made all of our clothes; they were always so nice, much better than any of my friends, as their mothers weren't as good a seamstress as Mother. We always had a pretty new dress for Christmas, Fourth of July, and Easter. I learned to sew from Mother, although I did take half a semester in high school in sewing. All I learned was to hem dish towels by hand and make buttonholes by hand, maybe a little more, but I already knew a lot about sewing.

Another thing we were taught was how to kill a chicken and clean it, etc. In high school, my first year, I took cooking from Mrs. Patchin. She was a friend of Orville's Mother and was a good teacher. One day in cooking, Mrs. Patchin was going to show us about cutting up a chicken. She asked if there was anyone in the class who knew how to cut up a chicken. I was the only one in the class who knew how, so I had to demonstrate to all the class.

I spent one summer, when I wasn't busy in the field, sewing for Mother, Lula, Lois and Bernita. I made my own patterns and made aprons, dresses, etc. I used lots of rack-rack and bias tape for trim. Later on I made all my girls' clothes, even summer coats and even made all of Orville's Mother Etta's clothes in her last years.

When I started to high school, a teacher came around and picked us up for school (there were only a few kids going to high school from Woodville) and later when more started to go, Lloyd Sidle drove an old black bus about half the size of buses now. He was quite a driver. He married Gwen Sidle, my friend. Sometimes the bus would get stuck and we would have to walk a long way. They didn't plow roads like they do now.

I enjoyed high school very much and played basketball on the girls' team. They only had one boys' team, so the girls went with the boys in buses to play. The girls played the first game and then the boys played their game. I remember one year we won all our games but one, and the boys had lost most of theirs. It was fun. We would practice after school, would give our books to a friend and tell them to watch for the bus to go home, so when they yelled "bus" we would get on the bus in gym clothes.

When we went to play basketball on Friday, I usually stayed with Evelyn (Sully) Sullivan (she played, too), then Saturday I had to walk home. Lots of times I caught a ride. In those days you knew almost everyone and it wasn't dangerous to walk the five miles. Dad didn't want me to play basketball and wouldn't take me or go get me.

Sully was one of my dearest friends. We are still close, she lives in Boise and I usually call her when I go to visit Virgil and Lula, and she and Joe come and get me, take me to lunch and we talk and talk about the old days.

Helen Neilson was another special friend. She lived in Shelley and I stayed with her sometimes, too. She played basketball. She died quite a few years ago with cancer; her mother was a good friend of Etta Miller's, too.

I had my boyfriends in grade school and then in high school. I met Orville there and we started to go together. Orville was born May 10, 1909. He was one of the twins born to Nelson and Etta Langstaff Miller. Wilbur (other twin) died September 6, 1909, about 4 months old. Orville had a brother, Dennis, who was drowned. He was born November 30, 1907 and died July 9, 1935. A sister, Audrey, was born May 24, 1903 and died January 24, 1973. A younger brother Hugh was born July 20, 1916, and is still living. Etta Langstaff Miller was born September 9, 1877 and died December 23, 1973. Nelson Miller was born December 28, 1876 and died July 13, 1968.

I met Orville in high school. He was a real good football player and captain of his team. His coach Mr. Slattery sure liked Orville and he had lots of friends in high school. After he threw his shoulder out of joint in his Senior year, he couldn't play any more.

One night Garnet Peterson had a date with Orville to go to Wandermere (a dance place) and Garnet took me along. I don't remember just what happened, but from then on Orville took me. Every Saturday night everyone went to Wandermere and after we sometimes went to Idaho Falls to a candy place and had ice cream or to eat at Jack's Chicken Inn. That was a wonderful place to eat on the South Highway. They cooked chicken so good and their biscuits and gravy were just out of this world. We went to Wandermere a lot after we were married and to jack's Chicken Inn.

We use to have lots of dances at school, proms, senior dances and others. I remember one winter, we had lots of snow, but they didn't clean the roads like now and it was Orville's senior dance. I had a date with him and Arlene Schenk had a date with Lester Nelson, who lived in Shelley. He and his sister lived in Shelley during the school year as they had a ranch (dry farm) way up in the hills. They came out to get us, Arlene lived way over on the New Sweden Road, so they went around that way to get her and had to push the car most of the way. When they got to my place they had to push it again. Anyway when we finally got to Shelley, both boys were wet and dirty, so Orville went and put on Dennis' suit, but Lester didn't have any so we waited and his sister sponged and pressed his suit, so he could wear it to the dance. Arlene stayed with me, so they didn't have to take her home with those roads.

I went with Orville and Evelyn Sullivan (my friend in Boise, Sully) was going with Johnny Haslan. We went to shows and dances together. One time our basketball team was playing in Pocatello against a St. Joe team and Sully and I stayed after the game with Viola and Jim. The next day Orville and Johnny came down to get us and take us home. One time after Orville and I were going together, we had a quarrel and Orville and some of his friends got drunk and ran his car into a telephone pole. No one was hurt except the car. Another time Orville had been down to Lava swimming, it was Sneak Day or something all their class had gone to, and when they got home he went to take Garnet home on the New Sweden Road in his car. The canal there was out and all they had up were some planks. Orville didn't see them until it was too late and the car jumped the canal, but didn't quite make it to the other side and landed in a canal full of water. They were able to get out of the windows, but I guess it was a close call for them. Orville walked back home and got his Dad to take Garnet and him out to Petersons'. They said they walked in and Petersons said, "For heaven sakes, what happened?", and Garnet said, "Never mind, let me get out of these wet clothes and then I will tell you". Orville and his dad went home and the next day had to have the car pulled out of the canal and garage work done on it. This was before I started going with him.

After Orville graduated from high school, he went one half year (one semester) to college in Pocatello, he said all he learned was how to play cards and drink beer. I was up here and he didn't like being down there, so he stopped school, came home and started working on the farm.

Orville and I went together all through high school and, after I graduated in the spring of 1930, we were married on November 12, 1930, in Pocatello. Viola and Jim went with us to get married, then we went to Salt Lake City for our honeymoon. We came home in a big snow storm. We couldn't find an apartment or anyplace to live, so Mr. Miller decided we would build the little house that Freda Leatham lives in now. The Depression had started and times were very bad. Salaries were really low, if you could find any kind of work at all. I was only a kid almost nineteen and Orville was twenty-one. We didn't know much about building a house, so Mr. Miller and Etta decided all of it. We lived that winter with Orville's parents, which wasn't good. I got along okay, only Etta told me everything to do, etc. Saturday Nelson and Etta would take me shopping, even after we moved into our own house. She told me everything to buy. I got pregnant, but lost my little girl the same day she was born on January 8, 1932. She was only seven and a half months and her heart wasn't fully developed. She was born at home and they rushed her to the hospital in Idaho Falls, but she died on the way. In this day and age, they could have saved her. She would have had to have heart surgery probably.

We only lived in our house in town one summer and one winter and in the spring moved out on the farm. Dennis and Ada were on the farm and Dennis didn't like it. He was going to buy spuds with Ada's brother Chris Christenson, so they moved into our house and we moved on to the farm. Here we lived until July 20, 1978, when we moved to Shelley.

It was a very rough winter when we lived in town and the first years on the farm. In town, Orville worked at the spud house, sorting spuds. In those days the places were cold and wet and you earned $9.00 a week. (six day week). We couldn't pay our $25.00 house payment, buy coal and pay the light bill and groceries. Good old Nelson Miller made our house payments and boy did I skimp in every way. Nelson Miller was a wonderful person - honest and good - he liked me, too. After we moved on the farm, I always cooked dinner for the Millers, etc. on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day, Father's Day and birthdays, etc. Grandpa would, lots of times, bring me a box of candy. He said it wasn't fair for me to do all the hard work. (This was in later years.)

At first after we were married and Ada and Dennis were married, we had dinner every Sunday at Etta's. We all cooked things for it. Etta was a terrible cook at first, when she married, as she hadn't had to do any work. She was the student and studied to get her teacher's certificate in England, which she did. Nelson had to show Etta how to make bread, etc. He had raised his brothers and sisters with his sister Lana after their mother had died, so he knew how to cook.

After we moved on the farm we paid Grandpa back all he had paid on our house.

The first summer we lived in our house we had a good four-door Ford and Orville thought if he traded it for a truck, he could haul spuds and other things and make more money. This he did, but boy did he work for every dollar he got with that truck - not like today.

I have a tablet in which I wrote everything down we bought those first years during the Depression. Here are a few things: eggs 18 cents a dozen, cigarettes 15 cents, Orville's overalls $1.60, toothpaste 10 cents, garden seeds $1.45, bias tape 10 cents, hamburger 10 cents. When you look at these prices you must also consider the salaries people received. During the Depression some men were glad to work all day on a farm for a dollar; at least it would buy some milk and bread for the kids.

They were real hard years on the farm. Nelson had gotten behind on his taxes, prices were so poor. Dennis and Ada, and Nelson lost their whole spud crop one year; just had to take it out of the cellar and throw it away. I remember a couple years after we were there; we raised clover seed. Orville had it cut and raked, then it rained on it and ruined it. Another time the wind blew it all over the field and into the ditches and we lost it all. We had bad years with peas, too. Those were some real hard years there, but we survived it all and got the taxes paid up, too.

Nelson and Etta went to California every winter and Orville and I stayed home to take care of the sheep. They came home in March. Some of those winters were bad. Orville and I walked to the corner lots of times, leaving the car on the corner by Herb Cook's fence. Now days someone would steal everything off of a car left like that. In later years, I remember walking to the corner and Ted and Erma Anderson (we bowled together) would meet us and we would go in to Shelley to bowl. Then they would take us back to the corner and we walked home. If we thought a bad storm was coming up we would hurry and go in to town and get groceries, and check on Nelson and Etta (if they hadn't gone to California). Nelson and Etta went to California for the winter for seventeen years until the drive became to much for Nelson.

While on the farm I raised a garden, lots of flowers and canned lots of fruits, vegetables, jams and jellies, pickles and more. In those days, without refrigerators or freezers, everything had to be canned to keep. You didn't run to town every day for something for supper. During those first real bad years, I sure saved and made lots of soup and cheap dishes. I am still saving; was raised that way.

Nelson Miller invented the spud combine, which we pulled with the Catapillar tractor. I worked on it every year for years. Orville drove the tractor and Grandpa Miller bagged in back. We had someone in front of the picker to take off the vines and then I was up farther and took off all the rocks, vines, clods and rotten potatoes before they went in to the sack. We would dig until we filled all our sacks, usually an hour after noon, then we would haul them all in and put them in the cellar. One year we had seventy-five acres and that was a lot for us to do alone. Orville threw sacks of spuds up on the wagon; Grandpa stacked them; I drove the truck. Then at the cellar, Orville and I unloaded them all. Farming is a hard life - long hours for little pay.

We took Jenice and went to Yellowstone Park a few times fishing. We had a rubber boat and motor, but Orville wouldn't use the motor. He just pumped up the boat and used the oars in the lake. We couldn't go out too far, but we caught plenty of fish anyway and had fun. Later we took Nanette and then I remember taking Linda and her friend, Chris Sage. We usually got a cabin and cooked our meals there. We had to take our own bedding and pans and dishes. It was always fun. We could put the boat on top of our car and when we got tired, go to the cabin; then later, come back to fish again. We always took a lot of fish home. The children loved to see the bears and other animals.

We remodeled the home on the farm twice. First to get more bedrooms; then took one bedroom wall out, enclosed the front porch and made a lovely big front room and wonderful kitchen and eating place. I loved my kitchen with the beautiful cupboards.

As the years went by, Grandpa did less and less, although he came out to the farm every day. It was too much for Orville, so we gave up on the spuds (the ground was so rocky anyway) and only raised hay and grain. Then we finally decided to retire, so we rented the ground to Keith Christensen for a few years. That didn't pay very good and Nelson had told Orville when he couldn't run the farm any more to sell it, as renting wouldn't work.

Orville loved all three girls so much. I remember him reading stories to Jenice and then Nanette and Linda. They were such cute little girls and well behaved when I took them places. They loved paper dolls and coloring books. You could keep them busy with those. I made them such cute little dresses, sunsuits and outfits. they were always so cute. Jenice wore ringlets for a long time; looked like Shirley Temple. Nanette's hair was slower coming in, but was real curly. Linda's hair was curly, too, and so pretty. Our children were as follows:

Lorene - born January 8, 1932 - died the same day.

Jenice - born September 19, 1935 - married Robert (Bob) Rainsdon, on April 17, 1954 - Bob was born July 20, 1935 - Two children, Allen - born August 3, 1955, married Beverly Kay Fitzgerald, May 17, 1975 - 2 boys - Chad William - born May 28, 1978 & Blake Robert - born April 13, 1981 - Patricia Ann (Patty) - born January 20, 1958, married Rodney Lewis Whitaker July 26, 1974 - two children, Stacey Michelle - born January 28, 1975 & Ashley Ann - born July 17, 1984. Rod was born December, 1955.

Nanette - born July 8, 1941 - married Ronald Lundquist on June 9, 1958 - 3 children Kevin LaMont - born May 9, 1959, married Brenda May Markin, February 19, 1983 - 3 children - Brittany Lyn - born August 17, 1983, Lacey May - born May 5, 1986 & Chase (Opie) - born June 18, 1988. Barbara Lyn - born July 14, 1961, married Greg Nelson, March 24, 1983 - 1 child, Crystal Lyn - born August 7, 1986. Randy L - born July 17, 1963, married Christine Johnson June 1, 1984 - 2 children, Jennifer - born May 8, 1985 & Mathew R. - born November 8, 1987. Nanette and Ron were divorced in 1976 and she married Robert (Bob) Gallup, August 21, 1976 - Bob was born August 26, 1939 - 1 child, Bradley J - born November 29, 1977.

Linda Jean - born September 17, 1947 - married Robert Beal January 18, 1964 - Robert was born December 13, 1943 - 4 children, Bryan Robert - born July 4, 1964, married Jamie Lorna June 12, 1982 - 2 children, Aaron Robert - born November 26, 1982 & Lindsey Marie - born July 1, 1984. Carla Jean - born January 21, 1966 - married Steve Dunthorn, August 9, 1986 - 1 child, Jaron - born February 18, 1988. Jay R - born March 12, 1972 & Lori Etta - born July 30, 1973.

Then the grandchildren started coming; first Allen and he was the apple of Orville's eye, so cute, then little Patty, another little doll, I made clothes for Patty for years. Jenice didn't like to sew, but she has taught herself to knit and really makes some nice things. Nanette and Linda are real good seamstresses and make so many things: animals, geese and others.

Allen went to a trade school at Laramie, Wyoming, graduated from school with Special Machinist. Bob, Jenice, Thelma (Bob's mother) and Orville and I went to Laramie for Allen's graduation. Boy was it cold. He worked in a garage for a while and now is working for Larsen's. It keeps Allen busy keeping machines all running as it is a big operation. Beverly works at the credit union in Idaho Falls and drives back and forth every day. They have the two boys, Chad and Blake, who are real cute, nice boys.

Patty got married before she graduated, so later she took courses and got her diploma and now is working part time at the post office in Hamer. She is such a sweet person, good wife, mother and housekeeper, living in a lovely new log house and it is always so nice. Stacey takes piano and is real good at it. She also takes all kinds of dancing, including clogging and with her dance group has taken first place at competitions in the area. They go to lots of places and I love to watch them. Ashley is only four now and is such a lovely child - old for her age. She has started taking clogging, too, now. Rod manages a large farm for Russ Barret. Rod is a real good operator, raises good crops and loves to go fishing. He is a real good kid.

Kevin came along and he was a hard one to tend, but Barbara and Randy were a joy to tend - they played together so well and made me think of Lee and myself. Kevin, Nanette's oldest son is the manager of A-1 Glass in Idaho Falls. He loves to go fishing and is a good kid. He sure is a good father to his three children - takes them with him a lot. Brenda is busy with the three children right now. Brittany is in kindergarten and doing fine. Lacey and Chase are just babies - we will see later what they do.

Barbara went to college for awhile and worked at the paper where Greg works, but is not working now. She took piano and singing lessons and has a real good voice. Barbara and Greg are living in Orem, Utah with their darling daughter, Crystal. They always come to see me when they come to Shelley and I appreciate that.

Randy went to college and graduated in Nuclear Science from BYU. He is now living in Corvallis, Oregon with Christine and their two children. He is going to school and teaching and will be another five years getting his degree there. He has two lovely children and a very special wife.

Bradley lives with Nanette and Bob in Hermiston, Oregon. He came last summer and spent several weeks with Kevin and Brenda and visited with us all. He is quite a boy, a little spoiled, but aren't they all! He has red hair and freckles, which he doesn't like now, and is a special little boy.

Linda had Bryan and he was so smart and cute. Carla, Jay R and Lori are real good kids and we have loved them all very much.

Bryan and Jamie live in Firth. Bryan played football in high school and wrestled. He went to State his senior year. Linda, Robert and I went down to see him and saw Virgil and Lula then, too. Aaron has been wrestling in 1988. Got lots of medals and is such a cute kid. Lindsey takes singing. She is a cute little girl. Hope both do real well in everything they undertake.

Carla went to beauty school, graduated and is working at Pennys' salon now part-time. Steve works at the airport in Idaho Falls. He is Customer Service Supervisor with Horizon Airlines. They bought a home out on First Street in Idaho Falls, and are very happy with their darling little boy, Jaron.

Jay R was picked for All Conference Center in football his Junior year. He went to District his sophomore year, with wrestling and placed second; then went to State, but didn't place. He went to State his junior year after placing first in District, then at State placed sixth. In Free Style he has won lots of medals. Jay R is a real good boy, working at the pizza place in Shelley, and going to school and wrestling right now.

Lori Etta was in drill team one year in Firth. She has taken dancing lessons and is a real good dancer. She is in Shellairs this year (1989) in Shelley and has a good voice. She has always wanted to grow up too fast. Someday, I am sure, she will wish she could go back and be a little girl again. I wish she would start to really study and then, after graduation, go to college, at least for awhile.

Nelson Miller failed fast and was so mixed up; one night he got out in the snow and cold weather, wearing only his shorts and t-shirt, and froze his feet. He never could walk on them again. He was in the hospital for a long time, then in a rest home for two and a half years. I did all his washing and ironing at first. Orville and I went up twice a week, cut his hair and did lots for him. We took Etta up to see him once a week. Etta lived alone while Nelson was in the hospital, but she sure demanded a lot from everyone. I had to tend to the water, clean her house, do washing and ironing, sew for her (made all her clothes in her last years), and take meals in for her. Her friends were real good to her, too. They brought her berries, meals and many other things. They took her to church until she was unable to go. We finally had to put her in the rest home, too. She was only there one year. She was ninety-six years old and Dad was ninety-two when they died. Grandma's mind was always good right up until the end. We had a birthday party for her Ninety-Sixth birthday. That is the pictures we have. After Etta died we cleaned up her house and rented it for a short while, then Orville and Hugh sold it to Linda and Robert. They have remodeled it and made it a lovely home. I think Grandma would be very happy to see what they have done and that her granddaughter and family live in her house.

When we rented the farm, Orville and I decided to buy us a trailer. We had gone with Rudy and Iva and liked to go fishing and camping. The children didn't think we would buy the trailer, but one day I called Jenice and said, "We bought a trailer", and they wouldn't believe it at first. They said, "Orville will pull it up over the Butte and that will be the end of it", but we fooled them. We went almost every week - left on Tuesday and came home on Friday, sometimes with Gardner and Eliza, sometimes with Rudy and Iva, and sometimes alone. It was fun. We had some good fun trips up in the high mountains with Bob, Jenice, Patty, Rod and Stacey. The children were real good to take us along. If we could take the trailer we did and they took a tent, too. If not and we needed the four wheel drives, we all used the tent. We went to Morrison, Wade Lake and many others. They had the rubber boat and we had such a lot of fun, even when sometimes it stormed and stormed. The one time, on the nineteenth of September, we were at Wade Lake and a big snow storm came up during the night. We packed up and got out of there the next morning. We had to use the four wheel drive to pull the trailer up hill and boy were the roads slick for a while coming home.

I have had some good fishing trips with Linda, Robert, Jay R, and Lori, too. Eliza and I used her camper and Linda's family used mine at the Outlet a few years ago, and that was a wonderful fishing trip. We all got our limits of big, nice fish. When Orville died, I never dreamed I would dare take the trailer and go fishing, just Eliza and me, like we have been doing. Last summer (1988) we took seven trips, three nights at a time - Eliza and myself. We go to Island Park, Green Canyon, Palisades and Blackfoot reservoir. We have a good time and enjoy getting up in the pines. We park by the water; then we can sit at the table and watch the water, birds, ducks, play cards and listen to music. I hope we can keep this up for a few more years anyway. You meet lots of nice people fishing.

Orville was failing fast the last five years; I could see it, but the girls didn't seem to. We finally sold the farm to Bobby and Elaine Hood in 1978. There were lots of headaches before it was all settled, but I am so glad we got it all done before Orville died.

We moved July 20, 1978, into this house on 182 Birch Street. We bought it from Glen and Ann Foster. They only lived here a year and a half. It is a very nice home.

It was hard for Orville to adjust to this house, especially as he failed more and more. It just didn't seem like home to him. After all we had lived on the farm over forty-six years. Orville started having gall bladder attacks, and had to have surgery. He came through surgery okay, but had such a time in the hospital. He was so mixed up and imagined so many things. The doctor said medication lots of times does that to old people. The doctor let me bring him home in five days as he wouldn't relax and rest there and he was much better when I got him home, but he never seemed to get over the surgery and went downhill real fast the last two years. I couldn't leave him alone and at night, and later on in the daytime, too, he hallucinated so bad. He roamed around the house at night and I just couldn't get any rest. Finally I took him back to Dr. Hoge and he couldn't believe how he had changed and how bad he had gotten. he made an appointment with Dr. Guyer. Jenice took him up and then it was Dr. Amick. The last two months we had him in the hospital four times. The third time, after he had been there five to six days, Dr. Amick said I had to put him in the rest home. I said I couldn't and he said I couldn't take care of him and that he needed to be medicated in the rest home. We finally put him in the rest home on Seventeenth Street for two nights and three days. Someone was with him almost all the time. He didn't like it and so the girls and I decided to take him home and get a nurse which was almost impossible. We took him home Saturday without a nurse and Jenice stayed with me.

Next day we got Louise Arave, what a wonderful person, she has taken care of so many people. (She was older than Orville.) Louise came every night at 9 p.m. and then I would take a pill and go to bed. I would sleep until 5 a.m., then get up and she would go home. The girls helped me during the day. We did this for two weeks, then Louise said he was getting much worse, she could see it each night she came, so we called the doctor and he said to bring him in and he put him right back in the hospital. Orville was there for two weeks before he died. he got so bad; he got a blood clot and his left leg turned black from the groin down to his toes, then his lungs filled with fluid, he had a high fever and the clots moved up into his lungs. One part of his heart wasn't working either.

What wonderful children I had through all this. Linda and Robert and Jenice and Bob took turns staying at nights. They had jobs and Bob and Jenice had all those cattle, even calves coming. They tried to sleep in chairs and even on the floor. Even Patty and Rod helped Bob and Jenice with the cattle so they could be at the hospital. I stayed during the days and then they sent me home and towards the last someone was with me there all the time, as he was so bad. Louise Arave stayed the last Saturday with me during the day and he died Sunday morning, April 12, 1981. Nanette came down and stayed two weeks during that last two months, before he went to the hospital the last time. She was a lot of help. I really appreciate all their help; don't think I could have done it alone. (I know I couldn't have.) I have some real good grandchildren, too. Every time they get to Shelley they always come see me.

We had ten grandchildren and two great grandchildren when Orville died, but have thirteen great grandchildren now. Such darling little ones.

It has been lonesome since Orville left, but I made up my mind i would not just sit around feeling sorry for myself. No one knows how it is to live with a person over fifty years and then be alone, unless you have gone through it. You shed lots of tears when you are alone.

Orville and I celebrated our Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary, November, 12, 1980, before Orville died in April, 1981. The children really had a nice party for us up at the Bonneville hotel in Idaho Falls. Flowers and all and Barbara made a beautiful cake all trimmed so nice. We have pictures of us all and the cake. We had a wonderful dinner, too. We were so glad we were able to have the evening with all the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

I just thought of this and want to add it. When Lori Etta was born, Robert went over to the rest home where Grandma Etta was and got a robe and house slippers on her, put her in a wheel chair and took her over to see Linda and the new baby. Linda was standing looking at the babies and Grandma couldn't get over her being up so soon. She tried to get linda to take the wheel chair instead of her. They named Lori Etta after me, Lora, and Etta. She sure had a lot of black hair and was so cute.

The first years after Orville left, Linda and Robert took me to every football game and every wrestling match. (Bryon was playing then.) Now Jay is wrestling and I went with Linda and Robert a year ago in February down to Nampa and watched him wrestle. I went to see Virgil and Lula, also, and stayed one night with them. I also saw Evelyn (Sully) and Joe Kennedy. Since then Virgil had to go in the rest home, but is doing pretty good at Lois's now.

Lula died December 15, 1988. I know this was very hard on Virgil, Lois and family. It is hard to lose your mate of so many years and to lose your mother.

I have some real good friends, and we go out to eat, go to shows sometimes and, this winter, even the six of us have been going over to the Senior Citizens to dinner on Wednesday, then over to one of our places to play cards.

Eliza and I went to Hawaii and had a wonderful trip in April, 1986. We spent two weeks and flew to the four big islands, Honolulu, Kona, Maui and Kaual, spending three nights at each. We went on lots of tours and really tried to see everything.

Alice, Hazel, Rhoda and myself went to South Dakota in the summer of 1986. We took one week and had a real fun trip. Every night we looked at the map and decided what we wanted to see the next day. We went to Mt. Rushmore, saw Crazy Horse monument, Crystal Caves, Passion Play and lots more. We came back over Beartooth Highway, connecting Cook City and Red Lodge, (the high pass was 10,940 ft.), then into Yellowstone Park and home.

In July, 1987, the four of us again took off and went to Elko, Nevada, in to Reno, then to Lake Tahoe and on in to California. We went down the coast through the redwoods to the California coast, waded in the ocean and saw sea lions. We traveled up the Oregon coast for a while then over to Crater Lake, where we had car problems. We got everything fixed and went on to Boise and home. It was lots of fun and I have lots of pictures of those trips.

I have also had a few one day trips with the same girls. Alice Fielding is our driver and a good one, too. They are a good group, Alice Fielding, Hazel Taysom, Rhoda Hansen, Theo Fielding, Ardel Talbot and me. I am very thankful for them and also for Theo Fielding, who lives a half block from me. The two of us go shopping and out to eat some Sundays and she comes over and we watch TV together. She is a wonderful person. She sure was always there to help me when I had eye surgery, December 7, 1988, (eye implant).

I am glad I had the eye surgery, as I can see much better and got along fine. Linda and Robert took me up and stayed with me, then brought me home. Jenice didn't get down as the weather and roads were bad.

It sure has been a bad winter, long, cold and lots of snow. A big blizzard came from Alaska and killed lots of animals in Dubois, Hamer and up in that territory. School has been out a lot and lots of roads have been closed, but today it is thawing and water is everywhere (February 23, 1989). It got up to 45 degrees today (March 12, 1989), today is Jay R's birthday, seventeen years old. My how fast they grow up.

Kevin, Brenda and their three children just stopped from church to see me. I am always glad to see them. Now I am planning a trip to the Caribbean. Eliza and I will leave on the seventh of April, 1989. We will be gone ten or eleven days. We will fly to Salt Lake City, then to Fort Lauderdale, stay one night on a boat and the next day leave for seven days, stopping in different places: Nassau, St. Thomas, Tortola, Virgin Garden, Gorda and San Guan, then back to Fort Lauderdale, fly to Orlando, Florida. We will stay three nights and days and go to the Epcot Center and Disney World, then home. I think it will be fun - Eliza and I have such good times together.

A LITTLE ABOUT MY MOTHER AND FATHER

Mother's mother was Sallie Ann Suddarth Bush, born December 2, 1848 at Liberty, Clay county, Missouri. She died June 22, 1933 at Cass county, Missouri. Mother's father was Taylor Bush, born February 21, 1847, died September 23, 1925 at Peculiar, Cass county, Missouri. They were married June 6, 1869 at Liberty, Clay county, Missouri. My father's father was Haywood Phillips, born June 20, 1836 at North Carolina, died September 24, 1916 at Ordway, Colorado. My father's mother was Mary Frances Bledsoe, born April 6, 1844 at Lafayette county, Missouri, died August 1885 at Bates county, Missouri.

My mother and father married December 25, 1899 at Missouri. Dad was born March 10, 1879 and died August 29, 1950. Mother was born April 22, 1882 in Missouri, died June 2, 1955 in California. They lived in Missouri for a while, then moved to Colorado, then back to Missouri. They were in a terrible flood in Missouri one of the times. Dad said he loaded everyone in the wagon and tried to get out. The horses had to swim at times.

We came to Idaho in 1915 and moved into the Kelley place. My mother's life was a hard one. I really don't know how she did so much, but as they say a woman's work is never done; her's wasn't. She raised a big garden, helped milk cows and I remember her cutting spuds before we were old enough to do it. She had chickens to take care of, canning, baking and cooking three meals a day. There was a baby every two years as there was no birth control of any kind then.

Men didn't help with the babies then. I doubt if my dad ever changed a diaper or got up at night with a sick child, of course Dad was tired after working in the fields all day, but when he came in he expected a good meal fixed and after the cows were milked, he could rest then go to bed, but not Mother. She had dishes to do and babies to take care of. I remember them telling about one time they were loading some beets into a wagon, Mother and Viola on one side and Dad on the other. Viola wasn't too old, so she reached down with both hands and got a big beet and threw it to go in the wagon, but it went all the way over and hit Dad on the head, just about knocked him out. We have laughed over it lots of times.

Mother was a small woman and I have been told so many times that I look like her. Mother and Dad sold the farm and moved in town. We had all left home but Bernita. Lee had gone in to the Service. They bought the big house and two small ones by it. They moved in the big one and rented the two little ones. They sure had some dirty renters. I remember Mother cleaning up after them. When they moved into the big house, Orville and I helped them and had everything in place before we went home. Next morning I came in to see how they were and Mother had beds moved out and everything torn up and I wondered what the trouble was. Mother said this place is full of bed bugs. When they turned out the lights to go to sleep, they started crawling everywhere and fell onto the bed from the ceiling. Boy did she work to get rid of them, but couldn't completely until they got the people out of the upstairs. Then she treated the whole house and got rid of them.

I left Jenice with Mother quite a bit, but this once she went out in Mother's garden and she had some red hot peppers. She rubbed them in her eyes and started to really cry. Mother had quite a time with her washing her eyes with cold water and when I got home, her eyes were still swollen.

After Viola and Jim moved to California, they kept trying to get Mother and Dad to sell out and move down there, which they finally did. They liked the weather so much. Orville and I moved Rena and Fred before Mother and Dad moved down. When Lee got out of the Service, he stayed in California with the folks and met Freda there and married her. They all died in California. Freda is in a retirement center at present.