Colleen's Life History - 3: 1943-1944

Fall 1943 to Spring 1944.

Colleen & Dorothy at CWC (CDH0010)

Earlier in the summer something happened that caused lots of tears on my part. I was working in the cafe as a waitress the day I learned that little Skipper had been poisoned. I remember my friend Bob Somsen said to one of our mutual friends "Colleen loves that dog more than she does me." T Bone steaks were 75 cents and breaded veal about 49 cents. I don't remember what we did with out little dead dog.

I believe Daddy and Mildred, little Richie and Mildred's children Dorothy and Junior had moved to the Pasco, Washington area by this time. Daddy worked in a Defense Business there. World War II was still on. When I took the train for Denver and CWC Mother moved to California and accepted employment. Over a period of some years Mother worked in the Post Office in San Francisco; as a tool chaser at Douglas Air Craft. The plant covered miles of space. She also worked as a care giver for the Heads (I believe it was) in Southern California. Bless her hard working loving heart --- always each month she sent money to the college while I was at a CWC.

Colleen Adams & Friend at CWC (CDH0011)

Berta Bob Bartholomew was my big sister and room mate. However we did not get along with complete and mutual understanding and pleasure together. I requested a change in room mate and was fortunate and getting Colleen Adams from Del Norte, Colorado. As the popular saying went "We hit it off real good!." She was much taller than I so we were dubbed the names "Mutt and Jeff" after the well known comic strip of that time. We shared a suite with two other girls. One was Kathryn Bonar. I wonder if she ever married. She couldn't stand the thought of being close to a hairy man. Also, she told me "Colleen, you talk too plain." She was from the part of the U.S. that spoke syllables gently.

One social event that I remember vividly was the Tea at the President's home. One class event was Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and I was chosen to play the part of the Shrew. I remember working in the office, folding letters and placing them in envelopes. I remember taking piano from the head of the Piano Department a Professor Garrison, I think was his name. I don't remember practicing a lot like I did when I went to Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho years later. My grades were good however. Music, English and Religions were always my favorite subjects.

Two years earlier I was taking piano from Abrasha Brodsky in San Francisco.

At. C. W. C. I did not really know what I wanted out of life. one thing for sure, I believe I was an insecure young woman who would have benefited greatly from a higher self esteem and self confidence. I just pray that all my children and grandchildren will believe in themselves and what they can and will do with God's help. 2nd prayer: That you will all learn God's will for you according to the scriptures and Holy Ghost.

There is a good reason for that: The scriptures are full of promises made to every one by God of his desire to help us succeed in everything worthwhile in our lives. To name just a few "I will help you. I will strengthen you. I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. I will answer your prayers. Fear not, for I am with you and I will never leave you." And many more. Recently I read an article in the Christian & Missionary Church's Alliance Life Magazine. It told of how people must be secure individuals before they can serve exceptionally well. Many biblical references were given that have helped insecure people. The article also mentioned some of things that cause folks to be insecure. Some were: death, divorce in the family, dysfunctional families and others. I trust someone will have read the last paragraph on the other side of this sheet as well as this sheet. I'm sure there are other things in life that make some folks insecure, but I believe with all my heart that accepting the promises in the bible and living a close walk with the Lord can result in becoming a more secure, self confidant person with a higher self esteem.

Back to CWC. One thing that was really enjoyable for me and where I was very well accepted and treated with loving care. That was the visit to Colleen Adams family in Del Norte, Colorado. Mr. Adams had a Drug Store and the family seemed to be thriving very well. It seems Colleen A. had one or more siblings. How strange that there is still such a warm pleasant feeling in my memory of the Adams family and my time in Del Norte. They attended the Episcopalian Church.

I still have a few books from CWC. One is "Food for the Family", another "The Freshman Reports Her World". The latter includes one chapter with this: "The Ten impediments to Happiness. They are listed on page 114. The book is a dull gray green and is fairly thick.

Rex’s Christmas Gift for me in 1943 (CDH0093)

One thing we did often that was fun. On Colfax nearby there was a store where we bought french fries and would eat them in our room. Or, which was the most fun of all, we would save them and eat them in our closets after "Lights Out.". I remember writing to Rex on toilet paper in the closet one or more times. He had given me a picture and it stood on the dresser in our bedroom. How precious the very thought of it is to me. Also, the mirror, brush and comb set was there that he sent to me for Christmas. I found a picture of one that looked just like it but have misplaced it. If I find it again I'll send it to Frank and he will include it in near this part of my story. Rex's picture and myself receive some teasing. Did I ever tell him?

We did our share of "Being Goofy" as one of the pictures show. Webster says to be goofy is "to be crazy or silly". We did.

Colleen Adams "Hillbilly" (cdh0222)

Colleen A. acquired the nick name of "Mac". Mac was also a pianist with much longer fingers and hands than mine. She also played the accordion. She did the "Old Gray Mare" number dressed as a hillbilly --- all the way. Barefooted with a ribbon around one big toe, a silly bonnet and dress, with a corn cob pipe in her mouth. The 120 bass accordion worked well for her to accompany herself with. Some of the words: "The old gray mare she slid down the Delaware on a piece of silverware without any underwear." She was so funny! She was so lovable. (She deserved better than she got some years later when she married a man who was or who became an alcoholic. When visiting Monna & her sons about 1973 in Denver when Jim was in Thailand Mac and I were able to spend some time together. She was heartbroken over trouble with her husband. I don't remember if they were divorced yet or not. Mac told me that she was the church organist.)

One social event that comes to mind was a dance that we were asked to share with soldiers at an army base near by. A sporting event was a trip by bus to the College's Mountain Lodge. We did go skiing, another sport that I did not do well. But I loved the fellowship and scenery. The drive up there was beautiful, and the food good and plentiful.

Letters from home arrived frequently and how I loved them. Mother was so loyal and expressive of love.

How she gave and gave and gave. My Soft spoken wonderful Madonna. Letters from Rex were romantic, I still have some. Aunt Chat allowed me to address her that way and she wrote wonderful letters.

Ewart Muir was one of the young men from Grays Lake Valley who went into the military - the army. he came to see me at CWC.

During the Christmas Holidays 1943 I visited Mother in California. Lavon Fredericks (who had lived with us for a time in Soda Springs and gone to see Dr. Kackley a number of time) was in the Merchant Marines and stationed there. We dated a few times. It was so good to spend time again with my precious mother. I went on to Idaho and stopped at Vias’ for a visit with them, Rex and Betty; then I went on-to Georgetown, Idaho and visited with Aunt Lillis and Uncle Leon, and Grandma Tippets. That was the last time I saw my Grandma alive. She died May 1944. Grandma thought very highly of Rex and he was fond of her. I wanted to quit school then because I didn’t feel it was what I wanted. Mother insisted: “Don’t quite in the middle of the stream” and I returned to CWC

I wrote to Rex and accepted his proposal of marriage after January 1944. he wrote to me as "Honey Girl" which was very precious to me.

Spring 1944 – A Beautiful Spring Wedding

When Grandma Tippets died Mother did not have enough money for me to come home from CWC in Denver for the funeral. School still had a few weeks to go before the semester finished and Mother did have the money for me to come home after the semester was finished. Oh how I loved my Grandma Tippets. She showed me a piece in her china closet that was cut glass I believe and it was to be for me. I did not ask for it after she died. If I had Aunt Lillis would. have probably given it to me. Aunt Lillis and Uncle Leon had moved from Nounan into Grandma and Grandpa's home in Georgetown. They were doing some remodeling in the home when Grandma was so sick. Her sister Susie had come to take care of her and Mother was there also for a period of time caring for Grandma. Mother said that Grandma was real low and all of a sudden sat up gazing up in the room with her arms extended. She said, "Now Jesus" and laid back down on the bed taking her last breath. She was a very spiritual person. This was May. Grandpa had died the June before in 1943. Grandpa had milked the cows in the morning. Then he sat the bucket down and laid down on the grass. Uncle Leon found him.



Now today, over fifty years after my grandparent's death I have a lovely satin covered pillow that Grandma had crocheted a top for and gave it to Mother and it lies on Mother's bed in her room along with two Mother made. How precious they are to me.

Rex & I on our wedding Day (CDH0168)

It was good to be back in Idaho and with Mother, Rex and my friends again. Summertime in Idaho was always filled with activities and work, and lots of pleasures and fun. Rex and I set the date for our wedding: June 12, 1944. It was to be at the Vias home. The family consisted of Isaac, Chat, Grandpa Dray (Chat's father who had lived there at least twenty years before he died), Buster (real name Frank) Stoor a delightful foster boy, Betty Rae, Rex Layland and myself. Mother stayed there for awhile, also. The lilacs were in full bloom and their fragrance was so special. Bishop Delmar Schnyder married us. I wore my prettiest dress and Rex; wore a brown suit. Betty had made a cake and placed it on a cake stand that had a pedestal. Just up a ways from the cake was the clock and just up from it was the calendar. I don't know for sure but I think we were married at 2 p.m. My wedding dress hangs in the closet today 1997, tan, trimmed with brown. It had started to rain- and we enjoyed cake and maybe some fruit. I changed into a blouse and slacks with a two tone jacket. Rex probably wore Levi’s and a new shirt. I loved the ride to Star Valley in the rain, sitting with my legs doubled up on the car seat. Oh I just do not want to ever forget the way I felt on our trip to Wyoming. Going through Tin Cup Canyon along Tin Cup Creek I just believe that the Lord was telling me: "Colleen, you are going to receive so many blessings." I felt a light hearted contentment. I was intensely aware that Rex and I were very shy. He had a low speaking voice, was gentle and very loving by nature. It was easy for him to show affection, to put his arm around me and give me a kiss. My primary family member that I grew up with was my Mother. We worked very well together but conversation with hugs and kisses was not the usual for us. We were very aware of each others' love however. Rex was a very patient person,-easygoing and assumed to be slow and less ambitious than some folks. Rex was very honest and dependable. For a man he had a beautiful build, broad shoulders, 6 ft tall with narrow hips, thick black hair that was unruly. See the picture of him holding Ann's arm at her wedding in the garden. Rex was not one to become easily upset nor excited. He was methodical. Rex could waltz with a professional manner. What a shame some of his four daughters never waltzed with him.

Colleen’s Wedding Announcement
in the paper (CDH0287)

BACK TO THE Honeymoon! Our first stop was Afton, Wyoming. We rented a room in the two story hotel for the second night. The first night we stayed in a Motel in a unit that had been two units previously, with the -door between our room and the other one locked. It had a small kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. After renting the unit we bought a few things and drove, South a few miles to Smoot where some of Rex's ancestors lived and others were in the cemetery. We visited the graves of Grandpa Dray's wife, Rex's great grandparents, the Grahams (Chat's maternal Grandparents) and some others. I think one was the Uncle John Chat spoke of so highly. (When Chat was a girl she and some cousins were in Uncle Johns home. He and his wife had gone somewhere. Two things they did that I though were quite amusing. The first: John's wife had bread rising in a pan. All the kids took the dough and made masks for themselves out of it, then put it carefully back in the pan. One of the boys (I think it was one of the boys) picked up a gun. I'll bet my mother in law when she was a child was really mischievous. Anyway, the Aunt and Uncle had their clothes hanging on a wire in the corner of their bedroom where the guns were. Whether or not it was accidental I don't remember, but the gun discharged and cut a hole right into the middle of all the clothes hanging there. John's wife was quoted as saying to him when she discovered the holes in the clothes: "Upon my soul John! Look what those infernal mice have down to our clothes!"

Just a short distance back down the road from the cemetery and nearer Smoot we found a cozy spot with lots of grass and shade from the tall trees. We spread our picnic out and enjoyed it immensely. There is a picture of Rex taken that day in the shade of one of the trees. Oh how precious all those details seem to me now.

We had packed our clothes together in one red suitcase. I was nervous as time arrived to go to bed. I most certainly did not want anyone peeking through the keyhole from the other half of the unit that used to all be one. Also I had not had a brother or even a father in the home where I was raised except for the first eight or ten years. Even though I had agreed to marry Rex I was not real comfortable with the idea of going to bed with him. (Oh! After living over 70 years how different I am now.)

Taking toilet paper I stuffed the keyhole so full that no one could possibly see anything by peering through it. I put on my light pink long nightgown and sat on the bed waiting, I didn't know what else to do. Soon Rex came part way out of the bathroom, and leaning forward he peeked out into the bedroom where I was. I did look up to him, he was five years older and I felt more of a man than I was a woman. This is about all I remember about our honeymoon except for a very few other incidents. The Hotel had a name but right now I don't remember it. I do remember "Rex, you are so heavy." And I remember walking across the street from the Hotel to a restaurant and thinking, "I'll bet everybody who can see us knows that we were just married; and knows what we've been doing."

The four door Chevrolet full sized car was very comfortable to ride in and it was a joy. It was two toned green and was the property of Isaac and Chat Vias. And so we returned to Wayan, Idaho which would be our home for over twenty years.

Rex and myself called Mr. Vias Dad and "Uncle Isaac." He taught Rex the carpentry skill and he learned to excel in it very highly. So talk was begun about Rex building a home for us on his property. At the time he had 160 acres that his Mother had traded for she and Frank Layland's farm in Thomas' Fork in Wyoming and south of the Pass south. of Smoot.

Betty Rae Bush had married Don Peterson and they had moved to Pocatello, Idaho I believe. Little Gary came to make their home with them. Don was an alcoholic and Betty felt she could no longer stay with him. Betty secured a position (don't remember with whom) in Soda Springs. Mother Chat, Buster, Grandpa Dray, and Betty and Gary rented an apartment there.

Betty’s mother, Kate, was Mother Chat's youngest sister. Vera Sibbett was in middle. These three girls were raised on a farm in "The Dell' which is located South of Smoot just before going over the pass to Thomas's Fork Valley. Their neighbors were Tina and Alvin Walton who were Ree Somsen and Wilda Vias' parents. Their lifestyle as a family was admirable. They were very spiritual and close as a family and friends to others. They knew how to have a lot of fun dancing and to work hard. Tina died before Rex and I married. Mother Chat used to tell me about many things regarding all these folks, but there is one humorous event I will share. These three sisters, Chat, Vera and Kate were out and up in a huckleberry patch. Others were in the patch also. Kate began to act up. (I wish I could remember exactly what Chat and Vera told the other folks that was wrong with Kate.) She indicated that "Kate was crazy and to not pay attention to her".

Kate died when Betty Rae was a small child and Ben was also quite small. They lived a long ways away from Chat and Vera so Betty Rae came to live with the Isaac Vias Family. Ben was there often also for extended periods of time. Life was hard for Ben. He died alone and far away from Betty or Chat. The sad part of it was he felt "No One Cares."

Vera and her first husband separated , Wes Osmond. Later she married Cecil Sibbett. Mother Chat told of a time when after the divorce Vera , I think, was holding their son, Jim Osmond, (he was able to talk but still very small) when Wes happened to come up to them. Little Jim threw one arm around one of them and the other around the 2nd one. He said, "Oh goody! Now I have both of you." Jim also spent a lot of time at the Vias home; he and Betty got into no small amount of mischief.

When Jim was in High School in Brigham City, Utah he had a horrible accident in the Lab. I think the hydrochloric acid blew up and into his eyes. All the sight he had the rest of his life was a little peripheral sight. Many years later Jim died. He may have developed a bad heart condition from the strain he was under; in the 1980's I think. Mother Chat always had a very deep love for Jim, also Betty.