CHURCH AND ME

WHEN I WAS IN CALIFORNIA GAS WAS RATIONED AND THE CHURCH WASN'T REAL CLOSE SO WALKING WAS NOT MUCH OF AN OPTION. ONCE IN A WHILE GRACE TOOK ME AMD THE TWO OLDER KIDS TO CHURCH BUT THAT WASN'T ALWAYS TOP PRIORITY WITH HER. I NEVER REMEMBER HOME TEACHERS {KNOWN THEN AS WARD TEACHERS] NOR ANY RELIEF SOCIETY TEACHERS COMING TO THAT HOME. HE WAS A PHILOSOPHY TEACHER AT STANFORD WHEN HE WASN'T IN SALT LAKE. MAYBE HE LET HIS WORLDLY LEARNING RULE HIS AND HIS FAMILYS LIVES BACK THEN. WHEN I WAS IN SALT LAKE WORKING AT THE RADIO TUBE PLANT I WORKED A LOT OF SUNDAY'S AS ONE OF THE LOW FOLKS ON THE HIRE LIST. SO I DIDN'T GET TO CHURCH THEN ONLY RARELY. TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT I BECAME INACTIVE OR LESS ACTIVE ARE WHAT EVER ANYONE WANTS TO NAME IT IWAS THERE!!!!

WHY DID I TELL THAT??? JUST TO SHOW HOW EASY IT IS TO MISS OUT ON THE BLESSINGS OF THE GOSPEL FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME.



WHEN CHUCK WAS BORN FOR SOME REASON IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HAVE HIM BLESSED SO WE TOOK HIM TO THE WARD AUNT MILLIE TOLD US WE LIVED IN. A PERFECT STRANGER GAVE HIM HIS BLESSING. AFTER THAT TWO LADIES CAME KNOCKING ON MY DOOR ONE DAY AND SAID THEY WERE THE RELIEF SOCIETY VISITING TEACHERS. THE ONE LADY DIDN'T COME BACK AND I DIDN'T FIND OUT WHY BUT THIS OTHER LADY CAME EVERY MONTH GAVE ME A LESSON AND WHEN I WAS WADDLEING AROUND WITH PENNY SHE WOULD PICK UP TOYS WITH CHUCK AND MAKE A GAME OF IT. WHAT AN IMPRESSION SHE MADE ON ME. THEN AFTER PENNY WAS BORN SHE STILL CAME AND WOULD PICK PENNY UP AND HOLD HER TO COMFORT HER. A REAL SPECIAL GRAND MOTHERLY TYPE.



PENNY MADE HER ARRIVAL ON APRIL 9TH AND A LADY FROM THE TRAILER PARK WHO HAD BE FRIENDED ME TOOK CHUCK TILL MY MOM GOT THERE TO HELP US OUT. MOM STAYED UNTIL DAD CAME BY TO GET HER A WEEK ARE TEN DAYS LATER. IT WAS GOOD TO HAVE HER HELP. RUTH WAS EXPECTING TERESA AND DARLEEN EXPECTING DAVID ALL WITH IN A SHORT PERIOD. I JUST ASK FIRST. WE WENT TO ST. ANTHONY AND DAD BLESSED PENNY. OUR LIVES MOVED ON AND WE MADE IT THRU THE COLD WINTER MONTHS IN THAT OLD UN INSULATED BARRACKS BUILDING. THE STORY WE GOT ABOUT THE TWO BUILDINGS HOOVER'S HAD WAS THAT THEY WERE FOR THE MILITARY OFFICERS AT THE JAPANESE PRISON CAMP AROUND THE BURLEY RUPERT AREA,WHERE MANY JAPANESE WERE BROUGHT IN FROM EVERY WHERE AROUND THE COUNTRY BECAUSE AFTER ALL THEY COULDN'T BE TRUSTED.

AFTER ALL THE JAPANESE BOMBED PEARL HARBOR SO HOW COULD ANY OF THEM BE TRUSTED. WHAT A SAD THING THAT WAS JUST BECAUSE THEY LOOKED DIFFERENT.

THERE WAS A FAMILY IN ST. ANTHONY THAT OWNED THE STAR CAFE FOR YEARS AND THEIR CHILDREN GRADUATED FROM ST. ANTHONY HIGH SCHOOL WITH EVERY ONE ELSE. ONE OF THEIR SONS JOINED THE SPECIAL SERVICES GROUP THAT HELPED IN EUROPE I THINK IT WAS, BEFORE THE WAR ENDED AND THAT GROUP GOT TOP SECRETS FOR OUR COUNTRY.



WHILE WE LIVED IN TWIN FALLS VERELAN TOOK A BOOK KEEPING CLASS AT THE NEW COLLEGE THAT WAS JUST BEING STARTED. HE JOINED THE ARMY RESERVES AND DIDN'T ATTEND MANY DRILLS ARE MEETINGS BUT HIS NAME WAS ON THE ROSTER. CLAY CAME ALONG IN MAY 1950 AND GRANDPA JENSEN WAS LIVING IN RICHFIELD WITH DEWARD AND VELDA AND HE CAME TO LOOK AFTER THE KIDS WHILE I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL. THEN THE DAY AFTER I GOT HOME THEY CAME TO SEE THE BABY AND TOOK MY HELP HOME WITH THEM. A LITTLE LESS THAN A MONTH LATER WE GOT A CALL FROM DEWARD THAT GRANDPA HAD PASSED AWAY. WHEN VERELAN GOT HOME FROM WHERE EVER HE WAS WE DROVE TO RICHFIELD GOT THERE JUST AFTER THE MORTICIAN HAD TAKEN HIM. DEWARD HAD CALLED THEIR UNCLE OLE IN RIGBY AND HE GOT ECKERSELL'S TO COME GET THE BODY. MR. ECKERSELL DROVE FROM RIGBY DOWN TO BLACKFOOT AND OUT ACROSS THE DESERT OVER TO RICHFIELD. THE ROAD TO THE SITE WASN'T THERE YET FROM HERE. IN FACT THE SITE WASN'T MORE THAN A PLACE TO TRAIN SAILORS ABOUT THE NEW INVENTION SO THEY COULD NAVIGATE THE SUBMARINES WITH NUCLEAR POWER. A NEW CONCEPT OF A SHORT TIME.



WE SORTA GOT THINGS TOGETHER AND LEFT THE NEXT DAY FOR REXBURG. WE WERE ALL YOUNG AND NOT TO SMART ABOUT FUNERALS SO UNCLE CARL AND AUNT LIZZIE SORTA GOT SPEAKERS AND ALL THE REST PLANNED FOR US. THE FUNERAL WAS HELD IN BURTON AND SINCE THERE WAS PLOTS IN THE CEMETARY BY VERELAN'S GRANDPARENTS UNCLE CARL HAD THE GRAVE DUG AND READY. IT WAS A SAD TIME GOING BACK HOME WITH OUT THE DEAR GRANDPA JENSEN.



WHILE WE WAS THERE WE TOOK CLAY TO THE ST. ANTHONY FIRST WARD WHERE THE FOLKS HAD ATTENED CHURCH ALL THOSE YEARS AFTER MOVING BY THE OLD VENICE DANCE HALL. THEY HAD SOLD THE FARM AND MOVED INTO ST. ANTHONY LIVING RIGHT BEHIND THE CHURCH. MOM LOVED THAT HOME SO MUCH AND BEING CLOSE TO CHURCH MADE IT EVEN MORE ATTRACTIVE. DAD BLESSED PENNY THAT SUNDAY AND THE NEXT DAY WE HEADED HOME ONCE AGAIN TO RICHFIELD TO DROP THE D.C. JENSEN'S OFF AND THEN ON TO TWIN FALLS.



THE TROUBLE IN VIETNAM STARTED AND BY AUGUST IT LOOKED LIKE VERELAN WOULD BE CALLED UP WITH THAT RESERVE UNIT. HE WAS SENT TO FORT LEWIS FOR A PHYSICAL AND AN OPENING CAME IN THE IDAHO FALLS DEPOT SO WE DECIEDED TO RETURN BACK HERE FOR ME TO BE CLOSER TO FAMILY IF I NEEDED HELP. HOUSING WAS NOT EASY TO GET AS THE BUILDING OF HOMES FOR VETERANS HAD JUST STARTED.

WE LIVED IN BURTON FOR SEVERAL MONTHS IN UNCLE CARL AND AUNT LIZZIES OLDEST SON'S HOME ON THE FARM. HE HAD LEFT AND GONE TO RICHLAND WASHINGTON TO WORK .. IN NOVEMBER VERELAN FOUND A LITTLE HOUSE ON LOMAX STREET THAT HE RENTED AND WE SETTLED IN. IT WAS GOOD TO BE CLOSER TO VERELAN'S WORK AND BE ABLE TO SEE HIM BEFORE HE WENT TO WORK ON THE AFTERNOON SHIFT. FOR THANKSGIVING THAT YEAR WE GOT A LETTER FROM THE U.S. MILITARY FOLKS TELLING VERELAN SINCE HE HAD FOUR DEPENDANTS HE COULD EITHER BE RELEASED FROM THE MILITARY ARE HE COULD CHOOSE TO GO THAT WAS UP TO HIM. WE WERE SO EXCITED THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE TO LEAVE US.



WELL I'VE RAMBLED ON TODAY LEAVING THINGS ABOUT TWIN FALLS OUT BUT MAYBE I'LL STILL GET THAT IN LATER IF I FEEL IT WILL ADD TO THIS JOURNEY CALLED LIFE.