by LauRene Thompson Buswell

EARLY YEARS

Martha was born 15 June 1887, the third child of Hans Christian (Chris) Hansen and Jane Bingham Hansen. She was born in the home of her maternal grandparents in Riverdale, Weber County, Utah, but grew up in Plain City.

Her brothers and sisters were Edna, Lorin, Edith, Ray, Earl, Neta, Thelma and Annie, the latter of whom died soon after birth. Martha's father was born in Plain City, Weber County, Utah, to parents who were born and raised in Denmark. As LDS converts, they came to Utah in 1853 and settled in Plain City about 1861. Her mother, Jane Bingham, was born and raised in Riverdale to pioneer parents who married on the banks of the Platte River near Grand Island, Nebraska, on July 18, 1847.

Chris and Jane's family home still stands located in the center of Plain City just south of the town square and LDS church at 2273 North 4250 West. Chris was a farmer and carpenter. The family was active in the community and church. Martha attended grade school at the Plain City Elementary school located north of the Town Square. She graduated from the eighth grade at that school. To the right is a picture of her in a beautiful white ankle-length dress sitting in a chair holding her graduation certificate.

Martha had auburn (reddish-brown) hair and brown eyes. Her brothers and sisters attest to the fact that she had a sweet disposition, compassion for others and a zest for life. Her brother Ray, in an interview in the 1970's, told his experiences with Martha riding horses, working in the fields and playing games with her peers after supper at night. Thelma, her youngest sister, told how mellow Martha was.

During the summer, of 1901 when she was fourteen, she and her older sister, Edna, accompanied their father to his homestead project in Trenton in Cache Valley where they cooked for farmhands who were helping her father lay out his farm. They lived in tents. Later her father built a log cabin as a temporary dwelling. Chris and his sons helped build the canal to the west of their property. A few days after Ray came from his mission in 1912, the family moved to Trenton to live. By this time Martha was married.

Martha attended the Utah State Normal School, which was connected with the University of Utah in Salt Lake City for one school year from September 1902 through May 1903. It is difficult to believe that Martha went to Salt Lake City for a year of schooling at the age of fifteen, but the evidence supports this. A copy of a registration form she filled out in her own handwriting shows that "Hansen, Martha Catrina" of Plain City, father Christen (as spelled by her) Hansen, gave her school residence address as 437 South 10 h East.

This registration notes that she was born in 1887 and had an 8th grade certificate from Weber County.

Entrance requirements to the first year of the Normal School stated that applicants must pass satisfactory examination in Arithmetic, English Grammar & Composition, Physiology, Geography, U.S. History, Reading and Spelling.

According to information obtained from the University of Utah's Office of Admissions and Registrar, the classes she may have taken included Algebra, English, Drawing, Oral expression, and Physiology. Her marks were very good. She roomed with Maude Boulton. They became life-long friends. LauRene remembers going with her mother more than once to Farmington to visit Maude in her home.

For special interest, the explanation in the records of the Oral Expression class note, "Training in thought-getting, the power of adequate expression, voice building, pronunciation, articulation, the criteria of vocal expression - quality, force, time, pitch - and the underlying principles of reading. Special attention paid to expressive reading and developing a standard of criticism." LauRene remembers Merwin insisting that Martha recite poems she had memorized at special family gatherings. She must have done well in her Oral Expression class. Martha is listed as giving a recitation on the program in March 1909, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Plain City.

Martha also attended the Weber Academy in Ogden from the fall of 1903 to the spring of 1904 when she was sixteen years old. The current registrar at Weber State University, Winslow Hurst, after some research, reported that a transcript of credit for the class of 1904 was not available. In the Special Collection library, located in the basement of the university library, the Acorn, the school yearbook (more of a pamphlet than a hardbound album), recorded Martha Hansen as a student there.

When Martha attended Weber Academy, David O. McKay, the school principal, was one of her teachers. During the school year, she became weak and ill. Her malady was diagnosed as rheumatic fever. She was confined to bed for several weeks. One day just before her father prepared to go to Ogden by horse and buggy for supplies, he asked what he could get for her. She requested that he go see David O. McKay and ask him to come and give her a blessing. Brother McKay promised to come the next Sunday. He suggested that he and the family fast for Martha, and he promised to attend meetings in the ward. Chris invited him to have dinner in their home. Following the afternoon meeting, he came to the Hansen home and gave Martha a special blessing. Her sister, Edna, expressed belief that this experience was the turning point in Martha's illness. Sometime later Brother McKay brought some of her classmates to the home for a visit. The rheumatic fever is believed to have affected her heart and circulation for the rest of her life.

The Plain City Ward records note that the Hansen family moved temporarily from Plain City to Roy in February 1907. Another source records the move as January 1906. Chris and Jane Hansen became superintendent and matron of the Weber County Infirmary for four years. The family had "live-in" quarters and cared for the old and infirm people confined there. Chris was also responsible for the farm, pastures, garden, orchard, dairy herd, and other animals.

Martha earned twenty-five dollars a month as a cook at the infirmary. She also helped serve the food, and mend and wash clothes. She became president of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association in the Roy Ward. One of her counselors was Olive Hobson (Taylor) who married a Plain City man and became a life-long friend. In an interview with Olive, when she was quite elderly, she told how Martha was a great example to her and how she strived to be like her friend Martha.

HER ARTISTIC TALENT

Martha was creative and artistic. She spent the wages earned while working at the infirmary to pay a teacher for private pastel painting lessons in Ogden. She was twenty years old and used pastels (chalk-like crayons). Martha created many paintings between 1907 and 1909. She made several copies of some of them and gave away many of them to friends and family members. Some were sold for twenty-five dollars a piece. She sold chances for some at church dances. Dr. Osgood, who later delivered Evelyn, bought the Bird Dog and Peaches. Eleven paintings are in existence all untitled. Besides the two already mentioned are White Roses, Strawberries and Pitcher, The Holy Cross Mountain in Colorado, A Winter Scene, A Road by a Lake, The Ocean, A Stag (deer), A Sailboat, and A Lake and Mountain Retreat. Concerning the latter, Edna, her sister, claimed it was a scene from Lake Louise in Canada, and that the subject matter of some of Martha's paintings was taken from scenic postcards. After her marriage in 1909, she never, to anyone's knowledge, painted another picture even though she was encouraged by her children and given supplies to do so. She did try after the children left home but could not get the feel of it.

In 1974, her son Norman commissioned an art and frame firm in Salt Lake City to reproduce the eleven paintings she had painted years before. This was a major project. Some of the paintings were not of a common size and were difficult to reproduce to be like the originals. Getting the colors near enough to the originals was also a challenge, but the gallery did a very fine job. Norman's generosity made it possible for children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, etc., to have any of the paintings to frame and hang in their homes.

COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE

One of Martha's suitors was Merwin Thompson, a brother-in-law to her brother Lorin. He was also a good friend of her cousin, Norman Bingham, who introduced them at a dance in Riverdale. They dated for a while until her birthday party in 1908. The party that night was held on the lawn of the infirmary. Roman candles lighted the area.

Refreshments were served, and games were played. Many friends, cousins, and family members were present. Merwin stayed to help clean up and to have a private chat with Martha. She told him she was planning to marry another man. They terminated their relationship at this time.

On Valentine's Day in 1909, she and Merwin began courting again after about eight months of not seeing each other. (Details are in Merwin's biography). They were married October 20, 1909, in the Salt Lake Temple. She and Edna made her wedding dress. They were both expert seamstresses. The dress was formal length with a tucked front and Leg 'O Mutton sleeves.

She wore her hair in a high poofed rat, which was very stylish for that day. The hair rat was about two inches high and four inches wide placed on top of the head so hair could be combed over it.

Her father gave them a cow as part of the dowry. Merwin credits his father-in-law with starting him in the Holstein dairy business.

YOUNG WIFE AND MOTHER

Merwin was farming with his father and brothers in the south part of Plain City. Merwin and Martha first lived with Martha's family in Plain City. The Hansen family had since finished their assignment at the Weber County Infirmary. Later they moved into two bedrooms of the Joseph Bingham home (later the Charles and Lavina Telford home). Here their first child, Evelyn, was born on April 9, 1911. Soon they moved across the street to the cement block home of his parents and lived in the two west rooms of that home until they finished building their own home in 1915. Her parents had moved to their homestead in Cache County in 1912. Martha's father, Chris Hansen, returned often to work on Merwin and Martha's father, Chris Hansen, returned often to work on Merwin and Martha's house in Plain City. Herbert Brown, a family friend, also assisted with the construction.

When Harold was soon to be born, Martha went to her parents' home in Trenton, Cache County. She was there for his birth on March 2, 1915, and for her confinement (a term used at that time to describe the recovery period after giving birth). Dr. Merrill came by horse and buggy to deliver their last two children at Merwin and Martha's home in Plain City. Norman was born July 26, 1917. His birth weight was eleven pounds! Their last child, LauRene, was born April 18, 1921. Laverna Weatherston (Hadley) helped in the home after each of the last three children was born. When interviewed in the 1970's, Laverna said that Martha had health problems and needed help with washing, ironing, cleaning, and baby tending. She helped for several weeks, in each case. Laverna told of her great respect and admiration for Martha as a homemaker and mother and of her calm way in meeting the responsibilities in her home.

Martha was a devoted homemaker. Martha was an experienced cook who loved to set a pretty table and serve nutritious, attractive food. She is famous in her family and extended family for her whole wheat bread, canned fruits, dried corn, cakes, pies, rolls, filled and molasses cookies. Visitors were always welcome in their home. She could quickly prepare a meal or serve a treat of homemade cookies, cake, or pie. Hospitality, in her view, was to make people feel at home and then find some food to satisfy and please them. This was a trait she learned from her mother.

She took sewing and tailoring classes through Utah Agricultural College in Logan and the Weber County Extension Service.

She appreciated suggestions and ideas given through the Utah State Farm Bureau to aid her in improving her homemaking skills. Miss Hazel Bingham, a Farm Bureau agent and a relative, often came to their home to visit and to advise. Martha studied how to be a good homemaker just as Merwin studied how to be a good farmer.

One special time that the whole family enjoyed was a week living in huge tents on the Utah State Agricultural College campus during Encampment of the Utah Farm Bureau members and families each summer. Both Merwin and Martha took classes. The children particularly enjoyed the free ice cream cones and buttermilk served at the dairy any time of day. They also enjoyed food served in great abundance at mealtime plus recreation activities and programs for families in the evenings before bedding down.

Martha tactfully used two psychological methods to encourage cooperation and discipline from her children:

(1 ) When grumpiness was evident or a quarrel developing, she would often sing this song:

Good morning, Mary Sunshine

How did you wake so soon?

You scared the little stars away

and shined away the moon.

I saw you go to sleep last night

before I ceased my playing.

How did you get way over there

and where have you been staying?

When she needed a job done and knew she would be gone to the field to take something to Merwin or on an errand or to the store, she said something like this: "I hope the Good Fairy comes while I'm away and makes the beds...or dusts... or washes the dishes...or brings in the coal." That method worked like magic. When she came home, the jobs were done, and little people were proudly awaiting her exclamations of joy.

Several times a year Martha would take her children for overnight or week long trips to Cache Valley to visit her parents and brothers and sisters who lived in Trenton, about ten miles west of Smithfield and near a mountain. Family holiday and birthday celebrations were joyous fun at Chris and Jane Hansen's home. The many good cooks in the family won raves from family members. Talent programs, skits and original home drama productions, games, and outside frolicking filled the time with happiness and the usual teasing and naughtiness expected in the Hansen family.

HOME LIFE

Merwin developed the farm to raise sugar beets, alfalfa, grain, potatoes, corn and tomatoes. Martha needed to do a lot of cooking for farmhands. She cooked on a Monarch coal and wood range. She was fortunate to have a water pump and sink in the kitchen. Most of her neighbors carried water for home use from flowing wells in their backyards.

The family home from 1915 through 1932 had the following floor plan: Inside the back door was the porch; another door led into the kitchen; a closet was off the kitchen to the left and used for hanging outdoor and work clothes; in the kitchen were the Monarch Range, table and chairs, built-in cupboards for dishes, pans, canned goods, etc., an icebox and sink with pump. The dining room was north of the kitchen. A Heatrola stove, a round oak table, four chairs and a radio console furnished that room. On the wall opposite the stove was a shelf on which sat a seven-day wooden clock which struck on the hour and the half-hour. The front room was separated from the dining room by a partial petition, which added decor to the rooms. In this room was a sofa, an easy chair, a rocking chair, and a piano. Two bedrooms were to the west and north of the dining room. One had a closet; the other none. Each of the bedrooms had a double bed, a chest of drawers and a dressing table with mirror. A chair was by each bed. Martha's original pastel paintings were on walls throughout the house. The front porch had a wooden slat floor and a half brick wall railing on three sides.

Cement steps led from the porch and a cement sidewalk divided the lawn and led through a gate to the mailbox.

The back porch consisted of two screened-in rooms. One was an outdoor screened and canvassed bedroom where Martha and Merwin slept. In cold weather they wore outing-flannel night clothes and nightcaps that Martha had made. They slept under layers of quilts and between sheet blankets. The other room on the porch was the entry into the house with a washer and tubs against one wall and the cream and milk separator on the other. The separator was used to separate the cream from the milk. Two spouts, did this magic trick, and then emptied into two buckets. The milk and cream were kept in containers in the icebox.

At the back of the house was an entry to the dirt cellar where fruit and vegetables were stored in bins or canning jars on shelves. Crocks of pickles and sauerkraut were covered and opened when desired. The water table in this section of Plain City was high especially in the spring of the year. As a result, water often seeped into the basement anywhere from four inches up to one foot high. This was a real inconvenience.

Sometimes irrigation water from the garden or lawns caused the same result. Merwin later installed a sump pump to control the water.

For many years the backyard privy was stocked with Sears and Roebuck catalogues, magazines, and old newspapers for toilet paper. However, the family preferred orange wrappers or old pattern pieces from Martha's sewing boxes when available. When the WPA provided laborers and outhouses available, Merwin had a new privy installed.

The old one was a wooden two-holer model; the new one had a cement floor with a cement single toilet topped with a real seat and lid closure. By then, toilet paper was available at our stores, so we were in the lap of luxury. Yellow roses were planted close by so their perfume could help refresh the air. The coalhouse was located west of the outhouse.

When winter was over, LauRene, then eight years old, was allowed to clean the coalhouse with her mother's help to make a playhouse. They wallpapered the walls with leftover paper from papering projects in the house. It was somewhat a conglomerate of designs and colors, but that didn't matter. Pieces of linoleum or throw rugs helped cover the wooden floor. The one window was covered with a curtain made from scraps from the sewing drawer. Grandpa Chris Hansen made a dish cupboard, a small table, chairs and stool to furnish the playhouse. A wicker doll buggy was also a fixture in the room. Cousins and neighbor girls were welcome to play there. Real food was sometimes enjoyed, but often just pretend food met the purpose. Little girls created situations for play with dolls (their babies). Make-believe telephones were made of empty tin cans with long strings attached by creating a knot in the bottom of the can where a hole had been punched with a nail and hammer. Dress-up clothes were available from a trunk Grandpa Hansen had made. These clothes were usually discarded items from grown-ups, like dresses, hats, gloves, handbags, etc. Such activities provided hours of fun and creative play. The playhouse returned to being a coalhouse for winter use until a furnace was installed in the house, but then was cleaned every spring for play. When little girls became big girls, the coalhouse became a storage shed.

The house went through several renovations. About 1926, the pump was replaced with a tap for cold water. Then, a few years later, about 1932, Mr. Critchlow, a carpenter from Ogden, came to remodel the home. He stayed through the week and went home on the weekends. He enlarged the kitchen by enclosing the back porch area, added a hallway, a back bedroom and the bathroom. This brought other improvements: hot and cold water, a refrigerator, and an electric stove. In 1952 while Merwin and Martha were on a long trip, the children, with Norm's leadership, had a washer and dryer installed in the hall, new metal cupboards, a new fridge, linoleum, table and chairs, and a dishwasher. Even though Martha was pleased with the renovations, she never quite got used to the new kitchen and its conveniences.

WASH DAY & OTHER DOMESTIC DUTIES

Wash day, usually Monday, was a big day. Martha heated water on the coal stove in a large boiler, which was an oval-shaped container that held several gallons of water. She pushed the Maytag electric washer in from the back porch and situated it near the sink. The hot, soapy water from buckets was poured into the washer. Either White King or Oxydol granulated soap was added and swished around until dissolved. Then the soiled, sorted clothes were added. The white clothes were washed first, followed by different batches sorted according to color and degree of soil. After about 15 minutes these clothes were put through the wringer consisting of two rollers which pressed together to squeeze out the water.

She piled the batches of wet clothes onto the kitchen table, which had oilcloth on it. The last batches were overalls and dark socks. These were the dirtiest. To assure that the shirt collars and cuffs were really clean, she rubbed Fels Naphtha soap over soiled spots before washing the clothes. Dipping shirt collars and cuffs into starch water gave them a stiffer appearance and helped repel dirt. The dish towels and heavily soiled garments were washed once then soaked in Iye and soapy water in the boiler on the stove while the remaining batches were being finished. Then she washed the boiled items again.

The washer was then emptied by attaching a hose to the end of the washer hose and put into the sink to flush away. Hot soapy water from the stove was again added to the washer and all the clothes went through the second time.

These clothes were put through the wringer and dropped into galvanized twin tubs of cool water. Bluing was added to the second tub to help whiten the clothes. The wringer could swing into place between the two tubs. Water was pressed out of the clothes by going through the wringer, and they then dropped into the second rinse water. Again the clothes went through the wringer. This time they dropped into a bushel basket lined with oilcloth to protect the wood from becoming water damaged.

Drying the clothes was also an involved process. Martha carried the clothes to the clotheslines in the backyard and hung them in a very orderly fashion according to size, color and category. She did this all seasons of the year, even in winter. Clothes often froze stiff and were brought into the house to be draped over chairs and doors to thaw and dry more thoroughly. There was a wooden device (known as the clothes dryer) that hung on the kitchen wall. It folded against the wall most of the time but could be pushed into position so the arms spread and clothes could be draped over to dry. These clothes had a definite smell that was clean and fresh. Sleeping between sheets dried naturally was a special experience. The outside air somehow left a fragrance in every inch of the cotton sheet and added delight to "sleepy time."

Ironing was the last step in the laundry process. The clothes to be ironed the next day (usually on Tuesday) were spread out on the kitchen table one at a time and sprinkled with water from a soda pop bottle with a stopper that had holes in it. Or, sometimes she would simply dip her fingertips into a pan of water and lightly throw the water onto the fabric. The article of clothing was then folded or rolled tightly and packed into the clothesbasket and covered with a terry cloth towel to be ironed within an hour or the next day. The first irons Martha used were heated on the coal stove. She had two irons so that one could be heating while the other was being used. Later she was happy to learn how to regulate an electric iron and later a steam iron.

Mending, patching, and darning were part of clothing care. These methods prolonged the life of the article. Depression time dictated money-saving methods which Martha was a master at performing. For example, she neatly trimmed worn out knees of overalls and Levi's, and, with an under piece of like material, she pinned then basted the patch into place, and finally carefully stitched it with the sewing machine. Holes in the toes or heels of socks were darned using darning cotton and a darning needle with the sock held tightly over a light globe or gourd as stitches were taken crosswise and returned and then lengthwise and returned until the hole was completely covered and ready to be worn again. Extra buttons were stored in a bottle for use as needed to replace a lost button or two. Pieces of fabric left over from making a dress or apron were kept in a ragbag ready for use when a hole in an article of clothing needed patching. "A stitch in time saves nine" was a motto of most farm wives.

Martha made many of her children's clothes including tailored suits, coats, dresses, and shirts. She also made housedresses and aprons for herself. One sample girl's coat won a prize at both the county and state fairs. This "sample" was a tiny coat created from an old coat to show all the tailored detail worthy of a prize without the cost of fabric for a full-sized coat. LauRene's doll eventually used the little coat.

Another major event for Martha and the family was the canning of fruits and vegetables. Using the coal stove made it a hot and tedious endeavor. Hundreds of quarts of peaches, pears, apricots, apples, tomatoes and many varieties of jams and jellies were bottled and put away on the shelves in the cellar. One special strawberry jam was cooked outside by the sun under glass in a roaster pan. It took about 24 hours to be thick and yummy. Canning a bushel of huckleberries for pies was an annual project. The huckleberries, purchased from a stand in Willard, required a lot of preparation including boiling them in a kettle on the stove with a bit of soda, then sweetening and packing them in quart jars to be processed by the cold pack canning method. Huckleberry pie was one of Martha's baking specialties, a trademark of her baking skills. That kind of pie was not common to every household.

An unusual food project Merwin joined Martha in accomplishing each winter for several years was making sauerkraut. By definition sauerkraut is chopped or shredded cabbage salted and fermented in its own juice. They prepared huge heads of cabbage grown especially for the process by a farmer in Morgan. Using a butcher knife and a wooden cutting board, the cabbage was cut into shreds then salted and layered in a heavy five-gallon pickle crock. Each layer was tamped with a blunt instrument (like a baseball bat) until the juice came out of the cabbage. When the crock was nearly full, the top was covered with a cloth and an inverted plate, weighed down with a rock, which held them cabbage completely under the juice. Then the kraut was left to ferment for a month or so.

Gas bubbles indicated the fermentation was underway. That process took two to six weeks depending on the weather. The kraut crocks were stored on the front porch to keep cold and available for use. Merwin and Martha prided themselves in sharing their homemade kraut as a special food item when heated with skinless jumbo-sized wieners and served to family or friends. Their enthusiasm about their kraut usually convinced people to taste it, but not always.

In Martha's home, dishwashing was done without a machine except when her kitchen was remodeled in the 1 950's. The dishwasher was used a few times by others. She was more comfortable with the hand-washing method. After a meal, the dishes were cleared from the table, scraped of scraps and piled according to size and use. A dishpan from under the sink was placed in the sink and partly filled with sudsy hot water. Another pan was set to the side of the first and partly filled with very hot water to be used to rinse the dishes. Sometimes a dish rack was placed on the drain board so a teakettle of very hot water could be poured over the dishes and silverware to scald and sterilize them. The dishes were dried by hand with a dishtowel of cotton flour sack opened and hemmed.

Sometimes the dishes were scalded and left in the rack to dry. The sequence of dishwashing was first glasses, then small fruit or cereal dishes or saucers, then dinner plates, then silverware and last the cooking pans. Often the water was dumped and replaced with fresh soapy hot water. Dishwashing time was visiting and sharing time between mother and daughter or two sisters or visiting cousins, etc. Family members shared the responsibility with one person washing and the other drying and stacking the dishes then putting them away in the cupboard, silverware drawer and pan cupboard.

Some people preferred washing because it not only cleaned the dishes but also their hands (to the wrinkly stage) as well as their fingernails. Arthritic people loved the comfort and soothing feeling provided by warm or hot water. At big family gatherings dishwashing, drying and putting away was a social event.

Martha made her own laundry soap outside over an open fire during Depression years. She also used dry cleaning solvents and dry cleaned the family clothing that was not washable such as men's suits, ties and women's best dresses. After dunking the clothes in a tub of dry cleaning liquid, they hung on hangers on the clothesline to dry thoroughly so the odor of the solvent was no longer evident. Later these clothes were steam-pressed and ready for use. To steam press, Martha used a portion of an old sheet about the size of a towel, folded it in half, and wet one half, squeezed out the excess water, put the dry half over the clothing to be pressed, and then placed the wet side on top of the dry side. She applied the iron lifting it to allow steam to penetrate the article of clothing. Pressing men's pants was one of her specialties; she creased them perfectly. The men in the family proudly wore these pants.

Being artistic, Martha prided herself in her house-painting ability. She neatly accented a chair with a contrasting color painted in a half-inch ring midway up the chair slats. She also accented the cupboard doors and kitchen doors with contrasting paint color in the indentations that decorated the doors. When the trend was to have painted woodwork in living rooms, she painted over stained doors and window frames. Then in later years when stained woodwork was the trend, she laboriously sanded the painted wood and re-stained it.

Housecleaning times in the spring and again in the fall were eventful days. One by one the rooms of the house were emptied of furniture then walls, ceilings, windows, and woodwork were washed thoroughly. Sometimes painting and wallpapering were done. Coal and wood stoves brought smoke into the rooms and soiled the walls. To clean wallpaper a special cleaner made of water, flour and cornstarch and formed into a ball was used to wipe down the paper. This ball of cleaner became gray with soil. The furniture was cleaned and polished. The carpeting shampooed or an area rug was taken to the clothesline to be draped over the line and beaten soundly to remove the dust. Linoleum floors were mopped and waxed. The mattresses were turned over on the beds. To air them out, all the clothes from the closets were hung on hangers, attached to the clotheslines with clothes pins. What good smells were developed in the house at housecleaning time!

All the children have fond memories of gathering together as a family for games, popping corn, and making homemade candy. On cold winter nights the family gathered around the big round oak dining room table to play Pit, Checkers, Fish, or other games with a fire roaring in the old Heatrola coal range. For both the children and the adults, love, laughter, and good humor were in abundance.

LauRene tells of the fun they had playing and working together as children. Harold and Norm loved to tease their little sister. LauRene was given some sage advice by her lovely mother, "LauRene, don't ever let your brothers teach you how to milk a cow."

Martha was resourceful when tending babies or small children. Tea parties with little girls meant pretend play with toy dishes, plus water, milk or juice and sliced bread spread with peanut butter and jam and cut into fourths. Cookies, too, were part of the tea party. Most usually they were homemade and stored in the famous cookie jar. Every grandchild knew where it was, how to get into it, and was welcome to do so. Slices of seasonal fruit or veggies plus bits of candy added to the menu. Dress-up was another method used to entertain small children. Adult dresses, hats, handbags and high-heeled shoes were saved and stored in the hallway bin to bring out for fun times.

Their home was open to visitors. Martha would prepare treats or a meal to accommodate the situation. Relatives from Cache Valley, Scipio, Eden, Idaho, Oregon or California came by invitation or often just dropped by. Grandchildren loved Grandma Thompson's cinnamon rolls. (She called them "buns".) They even knew where she hid them under the bed in the back bedroom. Her homemade whole wheat bread was another trademark of her baking ability. That bread with butter and honey was a "taste treat delight." The ceramic beehive-shaped honey container was omnipresent. The grandchildren's most anxiously pursued destination upon arrival at Grandma's house for a visit, was the large wooden buffet with its candy treasures to be found behind the left-hinged door. A variety of toys could also be found in a bin in the back hallway.

Martha loved flowers, so she had a garden east of the house. A vegetable garden provided fresh food for family meals. The lawns and gardens were irrigated from the ditch. Later water was provided and a hose could spray water conveniently.

HEALTH PROBLEMS

About 1930 it became evident that Martha needed a hearing aid. She had been losing her hearing slowly from sometime after Norman's birth. Her family had learned to speak loudly or mouth the words so she could lip read. One day a man came to the door selling hearing aids. As he demonstrated, some of the family went into another room and would speak to her so she could test her ability to hear better. That first hearing aid had earphones that fit over each ear attached to an arched headpiece with a cord leading to a box containing the batteries. This box she held in her lap. Merwin bought this new convenience for her. Improved hearing aids were welcomed as the years went by. She was so pleased when she finally purchased one that could be hidden behind or in her ear and covered by her hair. The batteries were in a special pocket inside her clothing. She was very self-conscious about her hearing problem and often pretended to understand conversation or a joke rather than admit she had not heard. Martha also wore eyeglasses.

Phlebitis is a body problem in the Hansen family. It is an infection of the varicose veins causing edema, stiffness, and pain. Martha and some of her sisters and daughter Evelyn wore support hose or as they were called, long ago, elastic stockings. They controlled (somewhat) the leg and ankle swelling. Both Harold and Norm dealt with this problem from time to time. Vein stripping was an operation some were counseled to have. Some of you in later generations have also inherited this problem.

Martha felt bad that she could not wear what she considered "pretty" shoes because of the discomfort of her condition. She was limited in the amount of time she could enjoy dancing which was one of Merwin's favorite pastimes.

CHURCH SERVICE AND SOCIAL LIFE

Martha's church service included being a teacher in many organizations: Primary, Religion class (taught after elementary school at the schoolhouse), Sunday School, Mutual and Relief Society. She was a counselor to Millie England in the Relief Society presidency from 1928 to 1930. She was a Theology teacher and a visiting teacher. She and Merwin served many years as co-chairs of the Invitation Committee for the Plain City Ward Homecoming celebrations, which were held each year on or near March 17th to commemorate the founding of Plain City back in 1869. This celebration continues even today. (Plain City was settled in 1851).

She had a strong testimony of the gospel and allowed that testimony to guide her life and give purpose in her relationships with others. She lived the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." She controlled her emotions when upset or angry by having a forgiving spirit and by attempting to understand the other person's point of view. Praying, fasting and attending church meetings regularly were important to her. She encouraged and expected her children to live the Gospel. Her loving and patient ways helped her children want to follow her example. She was a Christ-like woman in every way.

For many years Martha belonged to a ladies club of friends who celebrated birthdays and brought handwork to do as they visited. They took turns preparing the luncheons in their homes. Member of this group included Lula Telford, Rill Palmer, Sylvia Singleton, Ina Poulsen, Bernice Carver, Victoria Hunt, Mary Richardson, Liz Hadley, Jane Carver, Olive Taylor and her sisters-in-law Margaret Thompson and Frances Thompson.

TRAVELS

In their golden years Martha and Merwin did some long-awaited traveling. They went by car with Gordie and Margaret to Tennessee to find where their father, Henry Thompson, was on his mission. They found a memorial located where two church members were buried after being killed in a house where a church meeting was being held with the Mormon missionaries. Two of the missionaries were also killed in the mob attack. Henry escaped unharmed, but his life was in peril for over 24 hours. (This is detailed in an account written by son Harold in a separate report available from Paul Thompson and others). Martha and Merwin went to the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1952. They left Chicago by train for Mexico City to attend the International Lions Convention. This was a long and difficult trip for Martha, but she was determined to make

the best of it. She tired easily due to her heart condition, and her legs often swelled due to poor circulation. Visiting family members through the years in Portland, Oregon, Los Angeles and Eureka, California, and Boise, Idaho, were special events for them.

GRANDMOTHER

Her home, husband, children and grandchildren were her greatest treasures. She was supportive of her husband, helping him in every way she could in his farm work, church and community service, his plans to travel and visit, and his love of dancing and movies, music and sports events. As grandchildren came along, she loved to tend them and do loving things for them. She tried to help her daughters and daughters-in-law with their children and in their homes. She was a doting mother-in-law to her sons-in-law.

Martha was every bit a lady - gracious, kind, patient, calm, even-tempered, unselfish, giving, and cheerful. She was well known as a charming hostess to family members, extended family members and friends. Being well groomed was a must. Her hair, makeup, and clothing were always in good taste.

THE END OF A SPECIAL LIFE

During the last few years of her life, she found breathing more difficult, walking any distance a chore, and performing home responsibilities harder to accomplish to her satisfaction. She attended church regularly, visited her children in their homes, and went with Merwin into town or wherever he went within a short distance of home.

She passed away peacefully in her sleep in the family home of congestive heart failure on April 8, 1963, at the age of seventy-five. She would have been 76 in June. She was survived by her husband, four children and twenty-five grandchildren. Her funeral was held at the ward chapel. She was buried in the Plain City Cemetery.

Martha Hansen Thompson, a talented and gentle woman of pioneer stock, a thoughtful daughter, a good friend, an artist, a loving wife, an able homemaker, a wonderful mother, and a gracious grandmother, lived a good life and left a legacy of love, of devotion to family, and of faith and faithfulness in daily living.

Reference and Research Information Sources for Martha Hansen Thompson

Benjamin Lewis: Latter-day Saints Biographical Encyclopedia, Author Andrew Jenson, Vol.3 p.670.

Hans Christian Hansen Family History, Alma and Martha Meibos Hansen. First printing 1973. Second printing 1978.

Letters and reflections from granddaughters of Martha: Doris Weenig Black, Jeannine Thompson Farr, Kay Rawson, Karen Buswell Harris and daughter-in-law, Wanda Knight Thompson.

Letter from University of Utah Transcript Office Assistant Supervisor, Diane Croft, February 1998 about Martha's classes and registration, back in 1902-1903.

Life of Erastus Bingham and Family Utah Pioneer of 1847, Printed 1953, p.21-25.

Descendants of Erastus Bingham and Lucinda Gates, printed June 1970. Pages 80-84 Rebecca Jane B. Hansen by daughter Edna H. Robson.

Memories and personal experiences of Martha by daughter LauRene.

Personal contact with librarian in Special Records department at WSU, Summer 2000. References were old Acorn yearbooks from 1903, 1904 and 1905.

Other Sources and Special Effects

Book edited by Marne' B. Isakson, Karen B. Harris, and Keith M. Buswell. Descendancy, Pedigree and Family Group charts researched by Karen B. Harris, Martha's paintings prepared for printing by Blair Buswell and Mitchell Harris.

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Memories of Martha

Doris Weeniq Black (Granddaughter)

My grandmother was a loving, kind, patient, caring and beautiful woman. She had many talents and abilities. Grandma could soothe your tears away, make a scraped knee feel better, listen to your dreams and complaints, and be your best friend.

Grandma always looked sharp - her printed housedress and crisp apron she wore each day--doing her household chores. Her hair was always combed neatly with a touch of lipstick on her lips. Because of her bad legs, she wore brown elastic stockings to her knees, with nylons over top. Her shoes were black, laced, with a one-inch heel. When she went out to town, church, or visiting, she always wore a pretty dress, with earrings, matching coat, hat, purse and gloves. Grandma always had a white handkerchief in her purse.

Grandma wore glasses. Due to her hearing loss, she wore an earphone. On her left leg was a bag with four batteries inside, connected with a cord that went under her clothes - up to her neck - with an ear plug on the end that went into her ear. Through the years this method was improved and made Grandma feel much better.

My memories of my Grandma Thompson have lasted forever - it was from her that I learned many things that have benefited my life today. I remember the quilting bees that were held at her home. With the quilt on frames in the front and dining rooms, ladies from all around Plain City would come to quilt. Aunt Marg and Aunt Lula were special. The children would play under the quilt, while the women quilted. Once in a while I would feel a rap - rap on my head from my grandmother's thimble - that meant not so loud - be quiet. The children would often fall asleep on the carpet underneath the quilt. Grandma would serve a luncheon, as this usually lasted all day long.

I remember the times that I would come to Plain City, Grandma driving the car, with a shoebox full of yellow fluffy baby chicks. When we got to the farm, Grandma and I would place the baby chicks under the mother hens, removing at the same time an egg. This would continue until all the chicks were gone. When I was staying at the farm, it was my job to take care of the chickens - watering and feeding them and gathering the eggs.

Grandma had one hen that would peck my hand when I tried to get an egg. So I would wear one glove on my right hand and would remove the eggs with my left hand, as the hen pecked at my glove.

Washing dishes at Grandma's house was never a chore. First you wash the glasses, then the silverware, plates and last the pots and pans. Her favorite saying was to remember to dry the tears from the glasses and to stack the spoons, knives and forks orderly in the drawer.

In the summertime the thrashers would come to help harvest the fields. Going from farm to farm until all was done. On these days we were awakened early to prepare the meal for the thrashers. They would start at the crack of dawn and be ready to eat at noon. Grandma always had a roast, chicken or ham, with mashed potatoes, gravy, two vegetables, homemade bread or rolls, with butter and jam, a salad either Jell-O or greens, glasses of ice water to drink. The meal was topped off with homemade cake or pies. It was my job to see that the glasses were always full and that the food was replaced when the bowls were empty.

Wash day was a day of pride. Aunt Lula, Aunt Marg and Grandma would see who would be first to have their washing on the line each Monday. At that time, there was no green grass in the back yard - just good old black dirt. Clotheslines were strung from near the coal shed, the outdoor toilet and the fence with long poles in the center to help keep the clothes from the black dirt. Grandma had a coal burning stove, washing machine, boiler and two rinse tubs. Laundry was started by lighting the fire, placing the boiler filled with water on the top, and then placing the white sheets into the boiler. With White King soap, we would scrub on the scrub board and with a stick push the clothes up and down in the boiler. Then we would place the clothes into the washing machine and let it run for five to ten minutes, ring the clothes through the wringer into a tub of cool water, rinse thoroughly, and wring through the wringer into a tub of blue water. Bluing was to help get the clothes white and fresh. We would wring the clothes out into the basket, ready to hang out to dry. We'd hang each article of clothing in order. Sheets first, then the dish towels and cloths, bath towels, white undergarments, colored dresses and aprons. The clothes were hung on the line with wooden clothespins. Grandpa Thompson's overalls and socks went in last. His overalls and socks, either brown or blue with white toes and heels, were hung over the fences. After the clothes were dried, we gathered them in and folded them to put away.

Grandma was known throughout Plain City and to her family for her delicious cooking. She made the best whole wheat bread, cinnamon rolls and lemon meringue pies. She taught me to make custard pudding, one of Grandpa Thompson's favorites. Grandma would make cinnamon rolls and place them in a round green tin with a lid and hide them under the bed in the back bedroom. Each of the grandchildren knew where they were and she would act so surprised when we "found" them.

Grandma's canning was ongoing - peaches, pears, apricots, cherries, strawberry and raspberry jams. She made her own sauerkraut inside a crock. Sweet memory pickles made in a crock were set in the corner of the front porch and needed to be skimmed off each day. Her bread and butter pickles were the greatest.

I loved to dust Grandma's house. It was so interesting. She would let me dust her vanity dresser and there I could examine her makeup and smell the cologne. Grandma had a chamber pot under her bed. A chamber pot was used at night when you had to go to the bathroom. It was emptied each morning, not my favorite job.

We loved to go to Grandma's house at Thanksgiving and Christmas time. On Christmas she would have candle wreaths in the window by the front door, one at each window in the living room and dining room. The Christmas tree was at the side window in the front room. The Thompson, Weenig and Buswell grandchildren gathered around and each were given a gift.

Grandma would help Grandpa with the milking cows. After each one was in its stall, she and I would feed the cows with one scoop of grain and one scoop of molasses. We did this because Grandpa couldn't breathe the grain dust. She would clean the milk house each day.

She was a great seamstress, making her own clothes. Grandma made me an apron from a flowered "Big-J" flour sack when I was in the 7th grade home economics class at Mound Fort Junior High. I still have the apron.

Grandma Thompson was a great person - trying to be like her is a challenge for us all. It is great to know that we will be able to live with her again in the eternities.

Jeannine Thompson Farr (Granddaughter)

My soft-spoken grandmother Martha Thompson was a lovely lady, always neat in her personal appearance as she was about her pleasant home. "Homemaker with Many Skills" would be a good title for her.

I loved her homemade wheat bread spread with butter and honey. After all these years I remember having treats at Grandma's was a ritual. She would put a luncheon cloth on the table, bring out the honeybee jar and butter dish, a pitcher of cold milk, and we would be served in royal style. I can still smell the fresh baked bread. Yummy cookies were a part of our visit to Grandma's also.

Grandma was a positive person, never speaking unkindly of anyone or gossiping. She showered love on all she knew. She loved company and a good visit. She had a way of making you feel like everything about you was just right. As we visited, she wanted to know all about what you were doing. Seldom did she talk about herself.

Grandma was an excellent seamstress and often helped me with my 4-H and school sewing projects.

Sometimes I would get to spend the night. It was like being a guest in a nice hotel. Her home was quiet, orderly, spotless, meals tasty and love abounding. She always turned the bed down and tucked me in. When I think about Grandma, I get a warm, peaceful feeling.

Kay Thompson Rawson (Granddaughter)

I have fond memories of my Grandma Thompson. She was always a sweet grandmother. A favorite memory is getting off the school bus at her house to find hot homemade whole wheat bread she had baked in little juice cans so each child had their own little loaf of bread. What a treat with butter and honey spread on the bread. I also remember coloring on the plain newsprint that Grandma saved from the wrapping on the outside of the newspaper. I liked dusting Grandma's bedroom furniture. There was the pretty dressing table with fancy boxed powder and perfume that smelled so good, and other interesting pretty things to look at and handle carefully.

I learned like the other granddaughters that I didn't clean off Grandpa's desk to dust it because then he would be mad because he couldn't find anything. I enjoyed watching Grandpa make a fuss over Grandma. He was so proud of how pretty she was, always having her hair fixed just right and wearing pretty dresses and jewelry.

My grandmother is a very special person in my life. She used to care for me when we lived in the Jack Rose home just around the corner into Warren. When I would go there she would pull out the newspaper ends and crayons for me to draw pictures. As I look around my home, her paintings constantly remind me of her patience and loving gentle ways. Looking at the "Rose" reminds me of the peace that emanated from her soul.

I can still recall the sweet soft smell of her being. She spent a good bit of time at her dressing table using the magic of powder, perfume, brush and comb to prepare her lovely countenance. I'm grateful for her hearing aide that allowed us to communicate in soft pleasant tones. Grandpa Thompson was proud of her lovely "shapely" figure and wouldn't hesitate to tell us so. I have one complete tape filled with Grandpa Merwin describing how he won her heart. He tells of going to town and being goaded into calling her on the telephone out at the Roy Infirmary and asking for a date. Grandma was casual in her acceptance of his ovations.

Grandma was a very good homemaker. She taught me how to darn socks. I remember how particular she was. In the fall, after carefully pealing the pears, I had to beautifully arrange them inside the quart jars. The centers had to be facing in and the smooth outside of the pear perfectly placed in the bottles. Her table was set beautifully with homemade preserves, honey, and a dish of spoons to be used as needed. As they got older, supper was served at 4:00 p.m. As I recall, this was one of Grandpa Thompson's tricks to keeping in "shape" as they grew older.

One of our last work projects together was when I recovered a chair for her for credit in my BYU home design class.

One unexplainable image of Grandma was her waiting patiently while Grandfather did his posting for the lumber company. She serenely waited for him to do his work, while the rest of us in the office worked busily all around them. She was a reminder of pure womanhood, a stalwart, faithful supporter to her husband and family.

I couldn't ever get Grandma Thompson to teach me how to use watercolors or chalk artwork as she had as a young adult woman. I wonder today if she was just teaching me about the "seasons" of a woman's life.

Wanda Knight Thompson (daughter-in-law)

I knew her all of my life. She was one of the sweetest, kindest women I ever knew. LauRene had a little playhouse in the old coal house and I'd ride my bike down there to play. We all loved her whole wheat bread. She was a good cook. She was so kind and so patient and would fix a meal for each of her children when they came in from farming.

According to Grandma Knight who lived across the street from her in Plain City, Martha was down in bed when she painted some of those pictures. She didn't enjoy the best of health.

Karen Buswell Harris (Granddauqhter)

One of my favorite memories of going to Grandma Thompson's house is going to the buffet to open the door on the left by pulling the brass handle. Grandma always had candy there that we were welcome to get into any time. My memory is of helping myself to corn candies and little white hard mints with the green gummy centers. Even a bigger treat for me was her homemade whole wheat bread. How great to get a thick slice and then add butter and honey. The honey was fun because it was in a ceramic beehive with a little ceramic ladle and spoon that fit in a hole in the lid.

I remember feeling so welcome in her home. She was always calm and loving. I remember her going through all my girl cousins' names before she would remember "Karen", I never remember her saying my name first when she saw me. A special memory for me occurred on the evening before she passed away. My Mother knew that she wasn't going to last long. Grandma was having a hard time breathing. I believe it was a Sunday evening when Mom took us kids to her home to say goodbye. We each had a turn to go into Grandma's room by ourselves. It was finally my turn. I walked into her bedroom. She was sitting in a straight wooden chair right next to her bed. She was having a hard time breathing as she looked up at me and said, "Karen." I can't remember the rest of our conversation other than the thrill I felt that my Grandma remembered my name. It was a gift to me from Heavenly Father to bring me peace and to know my Grandma did know me and love me. It brought me peace when I was so very sad at her passing.

Martha's Siblings

Chris and Jane Hansen's children through the years have shown a fun loving nature with good humor, teasing and happy ways. Edna, Lorin, Ray, Neta and Thelma lived in Trenton, Cache County, as their children were growing up. Edna's husband, Elmer, was a farmer and water master. He served as Bishop of their ward for several years. He later worked at Ogden Defense Depot and at Los Alamos, New Mexico. Edna was a skilled seamstress, sewing clothes for her family and others. After Elmer passed away she took her aged parents into her home for care until they died.

Ray managed his father-in-law's mercantile store and also worked at the mill and elevator. He helped some of his children raise Holstein calves to show for judging at dairy days. He sold the store and moved to Logan in 1945 where he served as a ward clerk for years. He loved to make whole wheat bread and was a meticulous gardener. He organized tools in his garage so everything had a place and was in that place.

Lorin farmed next to his father's farm. Raising and training horses was one of his skills and delights. In 1929, he and Bessie took their family to the Los Angeles area where he worked for the Standard Oil Company until he retired. They also lived in Glendale and El Segundo. They kept in touch with Earl and Thelma when visiting California. The Utah relatives loved to visit there.

Martha and Merwin raised their family in Plain City and lived there until they died. Edith and Richard Peek lived in South Weber, Davis County, except for a few years when they took over Chris and Jane's farm and traded homes temporarily. Earl and Ella moved from Black Pine, Idaho, to California, returning to Utah for a few years during the Depression, then back to California again. Sparks, Nevada, became their next place of residence. He was a very successful salesman. Later, he and his second wife moved to Walla Walla, WN, where their son, Joel, was born. Earl died there.

Neta trained to be a nurse and used her talents and skills often to help those who were ill in the community, even helping mothers give birth. She was a great cook, plus canning vegetables and fruits was her forte'. Her husband, Vance, took over his father's dry farm. Then his daughter Irma's husband, Leo Krebs, took the responsibility from him. Now their son, Von, manages the farm. That farm has been declared a Century Farm, labeled officially on the gate. That means it has been in the family for one hundred years.

Thelma and Roy moved their family to California in 1937. Pico Rivera, in the Los Angeles area, became their home community. He worked for the railroad until his retirement. Thelma developed a thriving food catering business. After Roy's death she shared her life with her daughter, Mignon, in San Jacinto, California, and Winona, another daughter who lives in Hoytsville, Utah. Thelma died at age 95.