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Myrella Ann Cole Fife

I was born at Willard, Utah, January 10, 1902. The night I was to be born was so foggy Dad had to go to Brigham City in a buggy for the mid-wife. His buggy and another one locked wheels going down main street, but he got home okay and I was born about 7:00 A.M. Dad said it was the most beautiful morning he had ever seen, everything was white with frost.

When I was about two-and a-half years old we moved to Idaho Falls. Dad and his brother Johnny moved up there together. It was the Spring of 1904. I had a little sister by then just 20 months difference in our ages.

We lived in and around Idaho Falls until 1910 when we moved to Coltman, Idaho. He lived there all that summer. Dessa and I started school together. By this time another sister, Bonnie, and a brother, Voss, had been added to the family.

Then that Fall we moved to Treasureton. Dad had homesteaded some land there and we had to go live on it. That winter December 27, 1910, Ralph was born. He only weighed 3 pounds. Mamma had quite a time raising him it seemed. Every Fall and Spring he would have a sick spell.

We would move up on the homestead in the Summer and back in the Fall for us kids to go to school.

On November 16, 1912 Jesse was born. He only lived till December 27th then one morning Dad was going to the canyon after wood to have to burn. I heard Mamma call Dad to come quick that she thought our baby was dead. Dad came running and he was dead. So Dad had to leave us there alone while he went for help. Seemed like they always called the Relief Society ladies. We took in turns holding him, Mamma and I till Dad got back. We sure felt bad to lose our little brother. Mother took it hard.

We built a one room house up on the homestead and I would-go up there every Summer. Then in the Fall Dad would go on the header-thrasher and be gone all week and we would be alone. I used to have to do the chores. We milked about five head of cows then.

One night while we were there alone an awful storm came up. We were sure afraid. I don't think I have ever heard it thunder so hard and the lightning was so bad. Seems like whenever anything like that would happen I would always say my prayers and ask the Lord to take care of us.

When Dad started to haul cream. He would go from farm to farm gathering it up, then take it to the railroad and ship it to Salt Lake City. Some nights it would be late before he would get home. We would keep going out and listening her hear the wagon or hear Dad say "Get up, Dick". Many a

night I have stood out by the house listening for his voice. He had such awful canyons to come up and he would have to depend upon the horses to stay on the road. I used to stand out there and could hear the coyotes howling, and I would ask the Lord to please bring him home safe to us.

Mother was never to well it seemed and she leaned a lot on me. One day Dad was gone for cream and we had washed and I was cleaning the floor. Mother had been out to the yard. She came around the house. I looked up at her and sweat was running off her face. She said "Rella, I'm afraid I'm going to die" I helped her onto the bed. It was five miles to a phone and about a mile to our nearest neighbor, so I called the rest of the children in by her bed and we knelt down and asked the Lord to help her not to let her die. If anyone ever prayed I did. Then I sent Dessa and Bonnie over to get Mrs. Purser. She was going to have a baby and it was sure hard for her to walk over to our place, but I didn't think about that at the time. She came and talked to mother and then her brother, George Kirby, came by with a boad of wood. She had him come in and give Mother a blessing. I guess it was the first time he had ever done anything like that before, but Mother was feeling better by the time Dad got home. He was so thankful for her quick recovery.

On the homestead there was so much work to be done to improve the land and make the farm yield. Dad had to build a fence around the 260 acres. We would all go along in the wagon. Mother would drive the horses and stretch the wire. We would take a lunch and stay all day. Then Dad would plow the land and Mother and the children that were old enough would pull the sage brush and pile it to burn later. We worked very hard. Then by the firelight we would sing and be happy after a hard day's work.

When I was about 4-1/2 years old Mamma was making Dessa and I some white lace dresses and had the white hats to go with. Dessa had dark curls and I had light curls and she thought we would look cute in our outfits. It was about our first time out in the Ward and she wanted us to look nice. While she was sewing she missed her scissors. She called out "Ralla, have you seen the scissors?" She heard me run off the front porch and around the house, so she thought something was wrong. When she got to the porch there lay curls and as I ran I cut them off. When she got me I only had one curl left right in the back. She gave me a good spanking and Mamma just cried. I had cut them so close to my head I had cut the skin. Mamma ask me what I did it for and I said I wanted to be like Johnny, a little boy that I played with across the road. Well Dad had to shave my head and Mamma crocheted me a cap and that's what I had to wear that summer.

 

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