After weeks of sorting through papers, and everything else, at my mom's house, I am back home...with papers and photos to scan and save—plus lots more—in tow.
Today I came across this gem, written by my Grandpa Johnson:
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| This is the first of 3 1/2 hand-written pages, a brief autobiography of my Grandpa. |
I took the liberty of correcting a few minor grammar errors when I transcribed it. It had to have been written between May of 1961 and August of 1962, because that's the time period between my parents' fifth and sixth children. And if I had to guess (which I do) I'd say it was probably written closer to May '61 than August '62.
Here's what he wrote:
"My friends and my relatives, it is not my intention to bore you with a long-winded history of dry facts and introspections that would not even keep me awake. I just want to give you a few of the highlights and a few times when the lights were low.
November 30, 1898 was my birthday. I don't even remember it, and I'm sure that not very many of you do either.
The doctor assured my mother, for about the first six weeks of my life, that I couldn't live, so I haven't had to worry about that, but I have managed to exist. Sometimes an easy existence, but most of the time an uneasy one. Horses and cattle and coyotes and rabbits and thousands of bands or herds of sheep crowd my early memories.
Among these things I finally grew up. It took me a long, long time. I had a wonderful mother and a dad who was my ideal, although I was too ornery to get along well with him.
After many years (about twenty-eight) I found, in Salt Lake City, a wonderful girl to whom I was married on November 28, 1926 in Shoshone, Idaho. The following February we were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Our first son, Louis Orlin Jr., was born in Salt Lake City, August 3, 1928.
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| Irene Andersen Oh, my goodness! Wasn't she just a darling 20's girl? |
We moved around and lived in various places: Marley or Richfield, Dietrich, Gooding, and while at Gooding, where I worked in a lumber yard, our daughter Esther Loween was born on December 31, 1929. My wife was sick a lot, being in the hospital nine times in three and one-half years. After all that, she is still as mean as ever.
We leased a couple of farms at Marley, and for three or four years we raised crops and livestock and kids. Norman Ray was born April 7, 1933, and Nolan Dale was born December 13, 1934.
We eventually moved to Boise for one year—then to Glenn's Ferry for a few months, and back to Richfield. In 1937 the Stake President put me and my wife in as bishop of Richfield Ward, with Frank Sanford and Louis Crowther as counselors. In 1939, on August 3, Marvin Dee was born, but lived only one and one-half hours. His grave is in the Richfield Cemetery.
In 1941 we moved to Salt Lake City and I went to work as a green carpenter. My family lived in Salt Lake two years to the day, while I worked at St. John, Utah, and Edmonton and Norman Wells Canada. Then we moved to American Fork, Utah. I worked for Geneva Steel Company on construction of the steel mill, also later, for a short while, in the accounting department. This last job paid only about half as much as I could get for carpentering so I went back again to my trade. We lived in American Fork ten and one-half years. Two seasons I spent carpentering in Alaska, one in Arco, Idaho, and I worked in several other places. I was in business in American Fork for about six years, having started my own insurance and real estate business. Our children got most of their schooling in American Fork.
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| Grandma and Grandpa with my dad, just before his mission |
Orlin Jr. went on a mission for two and one-half years to Brazil, South America. There he met his wife [Dolores] and Norman's wife. Both the boys served three years in the Army. Most of that time Orlin and his wife were in Germany, where their oldest boy was born.
Esther married Dean R. Lewis and settled at 386 Clifton Ave., American Fork, where they still reside.
Norman married Helena Paes, Orlin's wife's sister who was staying with us, waiting for him when he came back from the Army.
Our youngest one, Nolan, married Donna Alec [? I couldn't read her last name] from Provo. He was killed in an accident two years ago. They had two children. Norman and Helena have three, Esther and Dean four, Orlin and Dolores five."
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| Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, as I remember them. (In fact, that is me, in the front.) |
How fun!
