Familial Research and Development

I fed the dogs every night and cleaned up their poop. I asked why me and not my older brother or younger sister. I was told because the dogs liked me. By the age of 10 I was doing the dishes, by hand of course. I also cleared off, wiped and set the table. For my 11th birthday the responsibility of sweeping the carpet was added. For my 12th birthday I started cooking weekend breakfasts, pancakes from scratch-not a mix. I also made school lunches for everyone before I went to bed at night-and dads lunch for work. For my 13th birthday I started doing the laundry. For the whole family. With a wringer washer. We had a solar dryer-clothes line and clothes pins in the back yard. For my 14th birthday I fixed dinner every night. I would be sent out to weed in the garden whenever it was needed. I would be sent to the grocery store to get the one or two things that were needed, which meant walking a half mile to the store and carrying the groceries a half mile back home. When Barbara went she’d a...

The greatest world event which changed my life happened through Joseph Smith. He sought and received answers to his prayers as to which of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s church to join. Without this single event, my life would have been a total waste.

Miss Hanmore, my second grade teacher, using popsicle sticks, taught me to add and subtract. Mrs. Harris taught me the love of reading reading. Mrs. Diller (the Killer) taught me that not all adults who are strict, are mean. The single, most important education influence I ever felt was from my elementary school Principal, Richard Boaden. He’s the one who understood my needs and helped me fill them. He knew I was stealing others lunch money to buy food at school—he brought me into his office and gave me two cookies and sent me to the cafeteria to get a milk every day. He offered me the opportunity to pick up pieces of garbage off of the playground. He would sell ice creams on the playground and so would hand me an empty box. When I brought it back full of garbage, he gave me an ice cream. He let me work in the school lunch room when I was in 4th grade, unheard of for a 4th grader, to earn my lunch. This continued through 5th and 6th grades as well.

I hate this one. Who in their right mind wants to divulge this one? You judge which is the worst. At Christmas I was opening my presents (I was age 13) at Grandma Nelson’s home. The way my Dad wanted to do it was you were handed one, you opened it and showed it to everyone. I opened my first bra. Another, at Grand Central Department Store in Orem and needing to use the restroom I walked into the men’s room. (I’ve done that a couple of other times-but worse is when you’re starting to leave the room and some guy is accidentally walking into the wrong restroom!-yeah, I’ve had that happen.) What about passing a car on the freeway because they’re annoyingly slow and then I realize that I’m speeding. Then I pull over in front of them and slow down. Putting away a gift and forgetting where I put it. Telling the same story to the same person, for the umpteenth time. Having part of my dress stuck in my pantyhose so my dress doesn’t hang right in back as I’m leaving the locker room in the Provo ...

Santa Barbara High School, I graduated in 1972. It was in my junior year we voted as a school to allow girls to wear slacks to school. That's right. The school dress code up until this time required you to wear dresses. 'Santa Barbara High School, "Home of the Dons," is a high school in Santa Barbara, California. It is part of the Santa Barbara School Districts. The school was established in 1875, and was designated an official California and City historic landmark in November 2005. The school's newspaper, The Forge, has been in continuous publication since 1914, the second oldest high school newspaper in California.' (thanks Wikipedia) I loved the architecture of the building. After looking at some online pictures (thanks Google) I remember my locker being in one of the outside halls-covered with a roof, but still it was outside. I also remember going into a two-story facade to go downstairs to the girls locker room, change clothes and either go jump on the t...

My favorite childhood songs were the ones my mama taught me. 1) One day as I was seated on the subway, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; I laid it on the seat beside me, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? A big fat lady sat upon my hat! She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? 2) The golden sun sinks in the west, Great Spirit calls all scouts to rest. We’ve had our work, We’ve had our play And we have lived, The true scout way. Upon my honor, I will try, To do my duty, To God on high, To help all other people out, And live the life of a real Girl Scout. 3) I had a little parasol long, long ago. A ...

Funny? Me do something funny? Stupid maybe— When I was about 3 1/2 years old I got into the sugar bowl in Louisville, KY. I had to drag a chair to the counter, climb up on the chair, climb onto the counter, open the cupboard door and then fill my mouth with sugar. Mom caught me after I got down—my mouth was as full as full could be. She asked me if I got into the sugar. I shook my head no. What’s that in your mouth? I shrugged my shoulders. She knew. I was pretty certain she knew. Not being allowed to leave our property-parents rules-I rode my bike in the backyard in Santa Barbara. I ducked my head as I rode under the wet clothes hanging on the clotheslines. I hit my teeth on the handle bars when I ducked. That's when I chipped my upper front left tooth. Yip-it's still chipped to this day. Dressed up for a Halloween party for the Independent Order of Foresters (an insurance group). Went as a hobo. It was hot in the recreation hall so I went outside to cool off. Took my hat off....

WHEN, WHERE, BY WHOM, RECEPTION, COLORS ETC. February 9, 1973, in our Branch President’s front room, by him, President Ronald C. Martin. There was no reception. There was no open house. I remembered hearing my dad complain about the wedding invitations they received. They didn’t know very well half of the people who sent them and both he and mom made comments about how the kids were just looking for life to be easy-trying to get stuff from others who didn't have half the stuff the newlyweds would be getting. Yeah-I learned first hand what it means to be poor in spirit. I wore a homemade peach dress and David wore the brown 3-piece wool suit he had from his mission. While we were in the apartment we would be living in, waiting for his parents to come; he kept pacing nervously from one window to the next. He was so nervous. They eventually arrived and followed us out to Pres. Martin’s home. David's parents brought me a corsage and David a boutonniere. Gary Butler and Cindy Huntsm...

SOCIAL LIFE: I was in the Usherettes-it was a club that ushered at football games and school plays. It was a click-ish kind of club and if they didn’t need me they didn’t call and let me know when there was a function. I guess I could have been more aggressive, but that’s not my style so I wasn’t. I was also on the girl’s rifle team. We didn’t compete with anyone or other schools. We just had a ball shootin’ up the rifle range of the Jr. ROTC. YOUR FRIENDS: Diana Flloyd (lunch together) Keith Kendrick (rides in to High School until I started seminary) Caroline Dansby (in a lot of classes together) Connie Placencia (went with her on her motorcycle) Kitty McNally (classes together and lunch sometimes) DANCES: I went to the Sr. Prom. I used to go to the dances we had at M-Men and Gleaners night. I also went to any Stake dances like the Gold and Green ball or the New Years Eve Ball. MOVIES: Krakatoa East of Java and really I don’t remember going to see any others DATING: I dated off and on...

PERSONALITY, CHARACTERISTICS, STATURE, COLORING, TALENTS, TEMPERAMENT, AND STORIES ABOUT HER My mom tended to be very friendly to other people—first impressions are very important and she behaved that way. She had friends who came into her life and she never let them just move away. She would write letters (this was her preferred method to communicate across long distances) to them. Some friends wrote back. She would only write about once every four months to most of them, but her mom she wrote every couple of weeks. Her mother-in-law she wrote to about every month. I think this tells you a lot about her personality—it’s also a talent—to write and to keep friends for decades. Her stature was a large head with short (about 3”-4 long) dark loose curly hair, parted on the side and the long hairs were often held back with a clip when they started to get too long. She stayed in the house a lot. She didn’t know how to drive and bus service wasn't available on the Mesa in Santa Barbara un...

Keith Kendrick invited me to a movie. We saw, “Krakatoa, East of Java”. It was intense and frightening that the earth so steady and regular, could erupt and cause such devastation. We didn’t kiss or anything. His Mom drove us there, picked us up and brought us back. He was Catholic. I was Episcopalian. I was 14. I was not LDS and therefore was not under prophetic direction to not date until the age of 16. Perhaps because I started dating (once or twice a year) when I was 14 is why I married at age 18. I certainly know that I would have been better off in marriage had I waited another 2 years before dating. There’s something about steeling your passions for that additional two years-maybe thinking about what you really want or what’s really important just that much longer does the trick. Beginning dating is kind of like taking the brownies out of the oven 2 minutes early. They’re still wonderful, but they’d be just that much better 2 minutes later. 2 more minutes of smelling them and...

A white Ford Fairlane. It was a ’60 something. David bought it in Idaho with money he had saved up previous to his mission. When the exhaust pipe had rusted out we sold it because we couldn’t find a place in Rexburg who had a replacement. We didn’t know then that we could have found a place in Salt Lake who bends straight muffler pipes to the specs needed for any car. Dang it-we might still have that car if we had only known. The one in the picture is like the one I remember-it isn't a picture of ours-don't know if we ever took a picture of it.

My dad had finally bought a new truck-it was a little beige Datsun (since then Datsun was bought out and the new name of the company is Nissan). I had been babysitting at Louise Parsons. As I was backing out of the driveway I backed into the across-the-street-neighbors car as he was backing out of his driveway. That was when I had a driver’s license. When I still had my learners permit I had gone with my Dad and John Uribe (Dad’s friend) in John’s truck to Sacramento. They were letting me drive. We were on a highway and somewhere in some Podunk little blink twice and you’ll miss it place some old guy with an old car with big fins was going 20 mph in a 40 zone, turned his right signal on and swung far to the left. I had been taught in Drivers Ed to pull to the right if there’s a problem. Yeah-I smashed into the fins.

Uncle Herbert Victor Astley was my favorite uncle. He was my mother’s, mother’s (Grandma Flint) brother. He married Aunt Piney. She was my favorite aunt.This is what made him special to me, when our family joined the Church he and Aunt Piney (who were members-I didn’t know them up until now) came to our baptism and they gave each of us our own copy of the Book of Mormon. Later I found out how they met. She had been married twice before. One of them she was sealed to. I think one husband was abusive and the next died. What type of abuse he used, I’m not sure. Uncle Vic was a postman. She had 2 small children. She had gone to the post office and her children, as children do, were playing with the combination-dials on the post office boxes. She knew that bothered some people and was trying to discipline them without losing her place in line when Uncle Vic said it was okay, they were just acting like normal healthy kids. Her heart then softened toward him. I don’t know the rest of the deta...

Uh, yeah. Freeze tag. Heads up 7-up. Jack and the Beanstalk (hiding the chalkboard eraser and one person-‘it’- walking around the room with everyone clapping louder and faster when you got closer and quieter and slower when you were further from it.). Marbles. I loved playing marbles at recess. I was given a board game, Monopoly. I liked that. But I’d rather play store with the money. I was also given a game called “Go to the Head of the Class.” No one else wanted to play it. Finally when I could read and comprehend I would read the questions and answer them. I would sometimes play 2 or 3 players and play it myself. I even remember the commercial jingle, "You want to go to college, and gain a lot of knowledge, then you can go to the head of the class." My favorite past time at home was to take the encyclopedia and open it up and start reading. For the fun of it. The dictionary was fun too-but didn’t have as many pictures. I liked playing rummy with my mom. We'd stay up la...

That would be Aunt Piney. Napina Astley. You couldn’t be around her for more than three minutes before she’d find something to complement you on. She was a feel good Aunt. She was sharp as a tack. You couldn’t pull anything on her. She was loving and Christ-like. I loved her, admired her and look forward to joining with her again in the hereafter. Her son was Carlfred Broderick. Anytime I hear any of his talk tapes I hear her laugh. Anytime I read the marriage and family counseling books he wrote I can hear some of her nuances in his verbiage. I love to hear the stories he tells of his childhood involving his mother. The picture posted here is when she was visiting in Salt Lake with Mont and Blanch-her cousins. She called to let me know. We were living in Provo at the time. I grabbed my 2 year old (Froggy) and we high tailed it up there as quick as we could. I'm so glad I did. I don't remember getting to see her again. She eventually succumbed to metastasized breast cancer. Whe...

PERSONALITY, CHARACTERISTICS, STATURE, COLORING, TALENTS, TEMPERAMENT, FAMILY STORIES ETC. He is 5’11”, and handsome to a fault. He is a handsomely crafted man—in his early manhood—before he started putting on the inevitable weight; he was not too big and not scrawny. Brown eyes, dark, soft, curly hair and white skin which tanned handsomely. Mom would cut his hair and I would clean it up afterward-so I know his hair was soft. I never touched it on his head-that would be gross-I was his daughter. He loved the outdoors, hunting, fishing, camping, anything to do with them. He had a natural man interest in everything. He liked anything to do with Indian lore and crafts. He ran around in the summer months-at home both inside and out-with just his pants (long-never shorts) and thongs. He was always bare naked from the waist up. You could see the scars from when his spleen was removed, 2/3 of his liver and the much smaller scars from the drain tubes (a hunting accident in Kentucky). The big h...

Jack Giles was first. John and Janet Uribe introduced us—Janet’s dad owned two apartment complexes and I worked for them to clean apartments). We dated maybe twice. He came over on his motorcycle to my house a couple of times, picked me up after school once, met me at John & Janet’s on my lunch break lots of times. He took me up to Painted Caves to go skinny dipping—we went with another couple. I wouldn’t strip, even to my underwear and get in the water. I wanted to be there, I just didn’t want to be immodest. I hadn’t heard from him for a while and was in a shop in downtown Santa Barbara when I heard his motorcycle go past (a Suzuki and they make a distinctive sound—brrring-ding-ding-ding). I hurried outside and sure enough it was him—his traffic light turned green, he didn’t see/hear me and kept going. I ran for three blocks before I caught up with him. He gave me a ride home. I never saw him again. What was interesting about this is that I had met him before Chipper died and thi...

I worked in the school cafeteria in Monroe Elementary when I was in the 4th-6th grades to earn my lunch. I worked in the school cafeteria in La Cumbre Jr. High when I was in 7th-9th grades to earn my lunch. I worked at the Pet Manor (pet store) when I was 16 years old. I fed fish, cleaned kennels, and sold product to customers. I worked as a secretary for Ririe Godfrey at Ricks College. I typed up the tests I would take from him in my Biology class. I graded the tests, including my own papers. That was interesting, typing up the tests. You used a ditto master. Two sheets of paper, one with very thick greasy blue carbon on it, the second sheet was a heavy duty sheet of slicky paper. You typed on the slicky paper and the back of it picked up the carbon. You separated the two, used a razor blade to scrape off the carbon that formed the wrong letters (this instead of white out), then ran it through a ditto machine (hand crank) to make as many copies as you needed. The tests were generally ...

That’s an interesting one. I’ve been telling myself that one of these days these kids are going to grow up and leave me all alone and I will be lonely—what then? So I’ve played in the back of my mind with what I would do when that time came. Finally it’s nearly here and I didn’t know what to do, until I heard three or four returned senior missionaries (three were couples) from missions and admonished the adult audience, if you want to serve a mission—get office skills so the young elders can go out and proselyte. Hence, went to college to gain office skills, so we can serve missions. Now watch, we won’t be working in a mission office!!