Starting about November 4, 1883, me and my mother, living in Willard, Utah, took my sister Alice and went to visit and spend the day with Martha Ann Owens. On our way home that afternoon, I remembered my mother said she was sick and stopped and took a rest. Then went home a short distance of about 4-1/2 city blocks.

Mother was sick then for three more days, then death claimed her not knowing then that was called appendicitis.

Soon after that my father and his first wife, Charlotte Cole, separated. My father (John Cole) got her to take me and keep me for the rest of the next four years. By then my father had got him another housekeeper and then he took my back home, By this time I was about 8 or 9 years old.

After that I used to herd my father's cows along the foothills along with my brother, Johnnie. He was older than me and also Alfred and Eddie Cardon. These two Cardon boys was my cousins, their mother and my mother being sisters.

One day out with the cows, Johnnie and I found seven head of sheep, all ewes. We took them home and kept them with the cows. Then in about two years after we had 18 head of sheep.

My father having sheep of his own in the company herd at Brigham being taken care of by Joseph Merrill. Because of the hard winters we put our sheep with this herd in Brigham, later I sold them to a man in Ogden Valley.

Then I was 11 years old the Spring of 1890 and I hired out to Amos and Frank Cole, half-brothers on my father's side. I worked for them from spring until fall for my work clothes and hay for my pony that year through and $12.00.

I stayed home with my father and he boarded my the next spring, 1891. I hired out to Amos and Frank Cole for the second summer. This time I got another Pony and this made two. For my summer work, besides the pony, I got feed for both of my horses and myself and my everyday clothes. I was then big enough to load hay and cultivate corn.

The next spring was 1892 and my father said, "you are going to help Amos and Frank again?" I said I would for $10.00. Father said they can't pay that high wages, but he said to get a job somewhere because he had nothing for me. So I went over on the next farm joining father on the north and got a fob working for Harvey Woodgutt. I worked six months for $45.00 and my board and keep for my horses, That fall Johnnie came down from Treasureton on a trip for Mr. White, a man he was working for and coaxed me to go back up with him. Ralph Cardon was homesteading up there then. Ralph Cardon was my half-brother on my mother's side.

My mother was Bishop Alfred Cardon's third wife, sealed to him when he died, leaving Mother and four children. Then two died, leaving her with two children, Ralph and Lucy Cardon. Then my father having a good home, a farm and pretty well to do got my mother to marry him for the rest of their life as was the rule them days.

Well, I remember those days when I was still living with my Father, a rule was all men having two or more wives had to get busy as the Government passed a law - no man could have more than one wife. They could not do anything but be on the watch for the U.S. officers. They began to come and hunt for these Mormons that had two women. Well, they got together and hired two boys and stationed one north of Willard and one south of town - each two miles out of town of horseback.

These boys was to keep a close watch for the deputies as we called them. They always came with two horses on a one-seated buggy. when they seen one coming, the boys was to run his horse to town and ring the big bell that was on the Relief Society Building. Then all the men that had two or more women had to go hide and maybe keep hid for two or three days or until they left town again. Many times these men had to go in the night for their hiding places.

You will notice in the start of this life story I spoke of Martha Ann Owens as my mother's friend. Well, I grew up later on in life and married Olla, making Mrs. Owens, (Owen Owens second wife) the grand-mother to all my children.

One night when Mr. Owen Owens was in hiding, Levi Waite from Dayton, Idaho, came down to Willard after fruit. Mrs. Martha Owens was Levi Waite's sister. Levi was going to stay with Mrs. Owens all night. Well, two of those officers came along. One officer went to the back door and the other one went to the front door and bolted in saying "well, Mr. Owens," we finally got you now so come along with us now." but Levi said "I guess not, I am not Mr. Owens, I am Levi Waite from Dayton, Idaho, down here after fruit finally made them see they had the wrong, man, so they let him go. Well, that is the way that work went on for several years, until the Mormons had to quit living with more than one wife and that put a stop to that trouble.

Now back to Treasureton - I went that Fall with my brother Johnnie and while I was up there I stayed with my brother Ralph Cordon and he got a job buying up some cattle for Mr. Koyo, a rancher out west from Malad Valley. Well, when Ralph got all that cattle bought up that he could around there, we gathered them up and trailed them to Malad Valley and met Mr. Koyo. Then we would turn them over to him. Ralph gave me $1.50 a day for helping him over to Malad and I thought I was sure rich making one dollar and fifty cents a day, I left Ralph in Malad and went back to Treasureton and on to Washikey It was then called the Indian farm south of Malad. My Uncle Moroni Ward was bishop over the Indians then. Mr. Ward's wife was another of my mother sisters that being my Uncle Moroni and Aunt Eliza Ward. I stayed there Thanksgiving and then went back to Willard for the winter. It wasn't safe to travel on horseback alone.

I stayed with James Parry, his wife was Eliza Cordon, she was my cousin. Her mother being Sarah Voss Cordon, my mother's sister, I done chores for my board and horse feed. Then he would pay me ten cents a load for hauling bran. When I went to Brigham for a load of bran for the pigs, he would give me fifty cents for that trip. He had 24 pigs to feed besides 7 head of horses and 1 cow. I stayed with them all winter, In the spring of 1894, I went to work for Charles Hubbard in south Willard for $9.00 a month, board and horse feed. I worked there until in June, then went to work for Al Toombs for the same wage. He took me out to the Promintory. That is about 29 miles west of Willard. After being there two days, he came back to Willard and left me there alone, but I went up to Gard Nickols.

Well, the 4th of July came along and he had not come back, so I hit for Willard on the morning of the 3rd so as to be home for the 4th. Then after the 4th of July was over, he had me work on his father's farm south of Willard for about ten days, then back to Promintory again.

He was just homesteading on some land there on the shore of Great Salt Lake. I had to take some bedding and go sleep out a little ways from the house, as he only had one little room. The rattlesnakes and horney toads were quite thick out there. Every night I would pick up my bed and look all around it for snakes or toads before I would go to bed. Then I would make a cowchip smudge to keep the mosquitoes away. Then I would round up horses all day. I quit just before the 4th of July and went back to Willard to work for Hyrum Packer in the fruit. That was a lot better job. I had to nail up boxes all forenoon, and then in the afternoon I took a load of fruit down to Craguns Brothers in Pleasant View for shipment. That job lasted until fall work was done.

I was out of work. I did not know just where to go for the winter, so I went down to my father to stay all night. The next morning my step mother wanted to know where I was going to stay for the winter. I told her I did not know, I had not found a place. She said stay around here today and do a few little job that needs doing and maybe your father will let you stay with us. This I did that winter. My step-mother was Helena Danielson, a widow lady my father got in Ogden for a housekeeper. Their marriage took place about 1887 in June.

In the spring of 1895, I started out to find work. Left my father the latter part of March on horseback with only two dollars and fifty cents in money. I traveled north to Deweyville the first day. Stopped at George Pettingill for a couple of nights. Then went over to Fielding and stayed two nights with Uncle John Owens. He married Lucy Cordon, my half-sister, on my mother's side. I went from there to Fairview and stayed with Frank Cole, my half-brother on father's side and then on up to Treasureton where Ralph Cordon was homesteading.' My brother Johnnie was working for Phillip Quail. There was about a foot of snow there. It was still winter. I stayed with Ralph until spring, then I went to work for him for $12.00 a month. I started to work for Frank Armstrong on the old church ranch for $15.00 a month on the morning of the 4th of July. Everyone went to celebrate, but I stayed with him all summer. Then I went back to Willard for the winter.

I should tell you how come I quit Mr. Armstrong. Starting one Monday morning he gave me and a fellow they call "Dutchie" to haul a load of hay, a few sacks of grain, some grub and bedding down to the lower end of the ranch. We two boys were to go down there to camp and do fall plowing a distance of about one and a half miles from the home ranch. Then we was to haul sage brush back on a hay rack for the sheep. Well, we done as we had been told and hauled back three loads of sagebrush. When we was eating supper that night about eight o' clock, Mr. Armstrong said to Dutchie, "How many loads of sage did you haul today?" and we told him three. He told U8 he had a man there last fall that hauled seven alone in one day. We hauled hay and moved the boys down to the lower ranch, but I just told him if he was not satisfied with my work he could make out my time. This made him mad and he got up from the table and said to Mr. Bean, his son-in-law that lived there on the ranch with us boys, "Make them out their time, both of them, We have no use for such as me." So in the morning as soon as it was daylight, I left and walked three miles up to Ralph Cordon's home and started to get ready to go to Willard again for the winter, but before I got away, Mr. Armstrong sent Dutchie up after me to come back to work. I told him that I couldn't work for a man that talked like he did. So I went on to Willard and done chores for Mr. Whitaker that winter.

In the spring of 1896, I started out again and went to Treasureton and worked for Ralph Cordon until the latter part of May. Then went with Fred Davis on trail. We had 715 head of cattle that him and Ralph had bought up for a company out in Wyoming. There were five men to ride day time, one as cook, one was night watchman - that made seven men in all. We would trail about ten miles a day. The cattle and horses had to pick their living as we traveled along, so you see we had to herd them a lot of the time in the daylight. For grub to eat we had fried potatoes, salt bacon and baking powder bread and coffee without milk three times a day, canned tomatoes or dried apples for fruit. We camped near Soda Springs on the west for three days and just herded the cattle to let them rest and feed up a little, After that we went on. We had a stampede one night on what is called Rose Hill Divide. That was my first night out. I was paid $40.00 and board.

I stayed a month, them hot baking powder bread three times a day got me down. I got so bad I could not sit up in the saddle. We was out past Sheep Creek, Wyoming, out east of Montpelier, Idaho, near what they called Thomas Forks, pretty close to a desert. My boss was getting afraid if I got worse he would have to take me back just when a man came along and wanted a job. I told my boss he had better take him on and let me go back as I felt I could not take that hot bread three times a day any longer.

So I went back. It took me two and a half days to make it back to Treasureton. I got a ride from Montpelier with a Mr. Godfrey from North Ogden, who was going back from Star Valley. Then I stayed with Johnnie and Ralph for 10 days rest. I got all right again and went down to the church ranch for a job. I worked for Will Bean the rest of the summer for $18.00.

In the last part of September, Charles Shumay got me to take his Mother to Willard after a load of fruit. Mr. Bean said I could get off for a week. We went to Willard with a pair of black horses. When we started back she said I will start out from Brigham in the morning early and you be sure and catch me as soon as you can. She started out after a little while on the road. She thought I sure was ahead of her, so she hurried on. I didn't catch her until she got to Callingston and she was stopped for noon. Well, then we went on our way, We stopped a couple of times. Once at Clarkston and then at Dayton, and then we finally got home to Treasureton.

I stayed until it froze up in the fall, then I went back to Willard to stay with father. I remember the Thanksgiving I spent in Treasureton. It had stopped snowing finally that evening and the girls wanted to go for a sleigh ride. Nellie Nelson from Smithfield, Alice Smith, Nellie Williams, Tom Smith from Treasureton and I. The snow was soft and it worked the horses pretty hard. I stayed there the next day and did I curry the horses. I worked all day trying to get the sweat off the hair to lay straight on that team before Mr. Quail came home, because they were his horses we used to sleigh with. He didn't come back for two days. Boy, was I lucky.

In 1894 was the last winter I went to school. When I did go to school I only went about 5 months each year. After the fall work was all done until spring work started. I always had to quit school. When there was any work to do on the farm I had to quit school. So you see we did not get a chance like the boys get nowadays.

In the spring of 1897, I took the horses back to Treasureton and worked for Mr. Frank Armstrong on the church farm. I think Mr. Armstrong bought it from the church. They told me it contained 35 hundred acres of land. It lays north of Preston what is now known as Winder Ward or the north part.

I had a little argument over the sheep and the way I was herding them. I was blamed for some lost sheep when I wasn't herding them that day, so I asked for my pay and left. I started for Willard, always traveling on horse-back was all right in them days. I had only been home a few days, when my best girl, Olla Owens and her sister, Annie (who was the postmistress) asked me if I knew a man by the name of E. V. Cole. I said that it was from Mr. Armstrong and that must be the pay he owed me.

In the spring 1989, I went to work for William Dial in south Willard. I worked for him on the farm until August. Then got a job on the railroad as a section hand. Cot $1.50 a day and paid $10.00 a month for my board and horse feed. That winter I fed sheep for Hughie Mackay in south Willard for $15.00

Nothing very important happened until fall. I was over to Amos Cole, neighbors to father, and he asked if I would like to rent his farm. I did this for a year doing a lot of plowing. The spring of 1900, I farmed father's place on a fifty-fifty contract. Father let me have two milk cows. I milked them and the milk I sold for spending money. Going back there are a few things that happened in my life I forgot to write that might be interesting.

In 1892, age 14, I was working for Harvey Woodutt, Tom Cole, and Jo Pettingill. We all had horses over to Promintory range. In September these men wanted me to go get their horses. I went after those horses on day ride to the range, one day on the range and one hay to come home. I got over there alright. The folks I was going to stay with was not at home, so I stayed in their barn. I got up and was in Cornish at sun up and in Willard at 10:00. Not a bad trip for a boy at 14. On another occasion in 1897, while working for Mr. Armstrong on the old church ranch in Idaho, I was then around 19 years of age, I went to the Blacksmith shop to straighten up before the other guys came in for dinner and Mr. Armstrong said to me, "Well, my son, I have a proposition to make with you. If you will marry the cook, he would give me a steady job starting at $25.00 a month and raise my wages every year until I Has 45 years old. He would furnish me a house, furniture, grub, fuel and all the expenses." I said to him, "you just think I am a single man." He said, "are you married?" and then he wanted to know where my wife was. I said she is in Willard, and he said go get her. Then I had to laugh and tell him I wasn't married. I'm too young besides, he is not the girl I want so that was the end of the proposition. But the next Sunday was my turn to stay on the ranch and the other boys to go home. Well, the girl that was the cook stayed on the ranch and didn't go home either. As I was talking to her during the day she wanted to know what about the proposition that Mr. Armstrong offered? I told her he hadn't offered any proposition to me. She said, "I understood he had offered a steady job to me." I told her no, so that was that.

Another story I would like to have in this book happened in 1891. My age was 13 years old, still a boy. I made a horse trade and got a horse named Rody, a nice town pony. One that had lots of life. Father had a neighbor named Bob Marsh, a horse man he thought. One day he came home from Ogden feeling rich. My brothers Amos and Frank was tending father's farm then and was bailing hay that day. So over came Bob Marsh wanting to talk up a horse race. He bet them five dollars his horse could beat any one of ours. So Dad asked me if mine could beat his and I knew it could so I hurried to the field to get it. After work we had the race and my horse beat a long ways just like I knew it would. In those days Saturday afternoons was spent in doing a lot of horse racing. All the young boys and so of the married men turned out and brought all their race horses. It was lots of fun.

One Saturday night after dinner, a little later on that same fall, I headed for town on my pony when Bob Marsh stopped me and gave me five dollars. He said to tie up my pony and don't run her and when they bring the Oran Hybard sorrel mare out then if nobody else would run against her then you tell them you'll run for five dollars. I said you will loose your money cause I know she's a race mare, that's all they do when she's in Malad. But he said for me to give her a try, so I did. After they brought the mare out, I said I could out run her and held up my $5.00. Edward Cole said "I'll make it $6.00." We soon had the money up and getting ready for the race. I asked James Perry to ride my horse. He was a little man and used to racing. I took about fifteen minutes to get it all started. We'll, my horse came through a good length ahead all the way which caused some noise for a while when the judge decided my horse was the winner. I then challenged anyone in the crowd, but I didn't get anymore that day.

In the spring of 1901, I got me a job on the railroad as a section hand for $1.50 a day. Started work the first of March. Then my girlfriend Olla Owens and I decided to get married. We had been friends for almost five years. I worked up to the 15th, then got William Hubbard to take my place for one week on the section. On March l9th, Miss Olla Owens and I were married by our Stake President in Brigham. We was going to the Salt Lake Temple, but there was a misunderstanding between me and our Bishop, George Facer, regarding my recommend, so I would have to wait another month to the day. So we decided to let our Stake President marry us and then go through the Temple early fall. Then on November 19th, we went through the Logan Temple the same year. I worked on the section for a while, then Johnnie and Ralph talked me into going to Treasureton as Johnnie had lost his wife that early spring and left them with two little children and a homestead on his hands. So we went up and took care of his children and let him work for Phil Quail until the last of August. Then Johnnie got my Sister Alice to live with him. Then my wife and I went back to Willard for the winter.

On January l0, 1902, a baby girl came to our home and we named her Merilla Ann Cole. I rented some land off Pete Nebeker and raised beets, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and corn, I done better at that than when I was working for wages. I had 2 cows and a few chickens and 2 pigs. I got 2 more pigs and let father grow them up and when they were fat for killing, he sent me work and I gave him one for raising them and we had the other one to eat.

The year 1903, I rented land again and again I had a successful year. I traded horses - I had six shooter pistol and some cedar posts, but I never got the posts so that was the end of my horse trading and I have not been out to Promintory range again.

On September 10, 1903, another baby girl came to our home and we named her Rachel Odessa Cole. We lived in Willard again that winter. House rent was $3 00 a month.

My brother Johnnie had married again and had heard of some farms for rent up near Idaho Falls. They looked pretty good, so we stayed and I sent for my family. Johnnie's wife didn't come up until after the first of June because of their new baby, which had been born in April. We had a bad time that summer. I had one cow and Johnnie had 3 cows. Olla took care of the milk and churned the butter and sold the butter for groceries. I had to mortgage my team and wagon so I could get what we had to pay for the coming year. I got a job on the New Sweden Canal with my team, so I worked there a month. Johnnie and his family had gone back to Willard for the winter and rented a home. During the winter Olla's cousin, Kit Owen, asked us to live on his farm and feed his stock the rest of the winter while him and his boys went down Snake River on another job.

In the spring of 1905, we moved back to Ammon, east of Idaho Falls and rented a farm. They gave me all I could raise the first year if I could stay another five years on a 50-50 rent basis. This we did and just a house built, then we got moved in September for we were expecting our little Bonnie to come. This making three girls. She arrived on September 23, 1905. I thrashed 885 bushels of wheat that fall and it was all our own

That winter that we lived in Iona, I had three horses named Kit, Nelly, and Chub. John Williams came one day and wanted to trade for Chub. Chub had a bad disposition. He would kick and run away if he got a chance, so I traded him for a big gray horse to mate Kit. I got seven dollars and fifty cents to boot. He and Jim Donnings came up that evening after chores and supper was over to change horses. It was winter time and they had sleigh bells on their harness. I brought Chub out of the stable and put him in their harness. While I went after the other horse, I asked Jim to hold him. I heard a noise outside and Jim came running in. I said you didn't let him go did you and he said, "hell, yes and glad to get away from him!" Chub ran out the gate and was gone. I jumped on kit and went after him Well, we lost Chub. Couldn't find him. On the third day a farmer had him down on Willow Creek. We got him back and really worked him. Then Jim got kicked by him and was put out of the stable. We decided to trade him off. I traded my gray horse off for a big blue horse, a nice horse, but he had lots of life and wanted to go. I met John and Jim again and they saw blue. They wanted to trade Chub back to me for blue horse. I told them I would give them the blue horse for Chub and $15.00. They finally said they would give me $12.00, so I traded. Made three trades and had the same horse I started with and $19.50 in my pocket besides.

When I got moved back to Ammon and got just about ready for spring, one day a horse buyer came along and gave me $200.00 for Chub and Nellie. So I had to go buy another team. I bought one in Ammon for $90.00 then went to the Falls and gave $60.00 for another one and I still had $50.00 left. I put the crop in that spring of 1906 and when fall came I got all my crops gathered and fall work done in the fields. One day Johnnie Jones came along and wanted a team. Well, I sold the team I bought in the spring for $150.00 to him for $225.00 plus a little mare he had to drive. Then I sold her to a school teacher for $75.00 and then I went and bought me a nice brown and almost black horse for $85.00 for a mate for old Kit and another one for $78.00. So I had three work horses again.

In the fall of 1906, I went with Charlie Van Orden over on the lavas for Cedar Wood. We left the day before Thanksgiving. Loaded up on Thanksgiving and came home. As we were crossing the Snake River the ice gave away to Charlie's team and we had to hook mine on to pull him out. When we got home and told out wives, they said we could never go again together. I went again in February with Joe Lee, but not on the ice. We went around five miles to the bridge.

On the 18th day of July, 1908, a baby boy came to our home. We was sure tickled and we named him Owen Voss Cole. We went on and farmed the usual way till fall. That fall a man came along with four horses to team. After the fall work was over and he had to have some hay and he wanted meat for his family, so he traded me one of his lead horses for some hay, grain, and meat.

Then in the spring of 1910, we moved to Coultman Ward and worked for Frank Randall. That summer - but first I went to Treasureton and looked over the land there. It was to be homesteaded. Then on my way back I stopped off at Blackfoot and filed a homestead of 160 acres of land. Then went to work for Frank Randall until the 20th of September. We got ready and moved to Treasureton, so as to hold my homestead. Johnnie and I farmed Billy Griffith's farm in Treasureton that summer on shares. We got to Treasureton on the 4th of October and on the 27th of December, 1910, our second baby boy came to our home. That was Ralph Edwin Cole. We had one awful time. There wasn't a doctor, so we had to take a woman that had waited on several women when a doctor could not be got. My wife had a very hard time, but got through it after all.

In the fall of 1912, I was working on the thrasher. We was down on Johnnie's about ~ miles away, when it starter to thunder and lightning. We made our beds in the barn. It sure got rough and black and lasted about two hours. I think that was one of the worst nights I put in for a long time just worrying about my wife and kiddies alone. I was sure glad when morning came.

We moved back to the Griffith's farm for the winter so as the girls could go to school. November 16, 1912, Jessie was born. He was our third boy. On December 27, 1°J12, he died very suddenly one morning. I got up early that morning and was going to the canyon after a load of wood. I was in the stable getting my team ready to go. It was not yet daylight when all at once Olla called me to come to the house. She said I think little Jessie is dead. I ran to the house. On arriving at the house, Olla said Jessie was nursing. When he was through I was going to lay him off my arm and get breakfast for yow, I noticed him so limp and funny. I picked him up and went to where the light was and found he was dead. The first one we had lost. We told the doctor and he said he had not been fully matured, He was born about six weeks too soon. Olla had a very bad time for awhile there losing her baby 80 young. Aft a while she started to gain strength.

In the spring of 1913, I got a job buying cream for the Jensen Creamery Company of Salt Lake City. Then a little over one year after started to work for them, they changed to the Mutual Creamery Company of Salt Lake City. I went to work from farm to farm buying their cream, tested and paid for it, and shipped it on to Salt Lake. I only went out two days a week. Then the second year I went three days a week. While out buying cream, I took orders for cheese. I got cheese from Montpelier, Idaho. I took orders for 5, 10, or 20 pounds of cheese delivered to the farmer for 18 cents per pound.

I enlarged my claim to 240 acres. This was all I could get as the rest was taken all around me. I held 80 acres under the desert claim for two years then when the enlarged homestead act came in force I changed that 80 acres. This made me 320 acres to farm. In the mountains was no place to raise a family of children, but as you can guess, I was not intending to make a home only until we could prove up on the land and get a deed to lt. Then make a change and set down in the valley again.

In the summer of 1913, Ralph took very ill during the night. We had to send Rell that 4-1/2 miles to the phone on Nig. Nig was very scared of wire, but that morning Rella rode him into some loose wire by the side of the road. Nig stopped dead still while Rella got off and got the wire from around his legs and he never moved until she got him loose. Then she led him one more mile to where she met two Elders, Joseph Winger and Brother Thomas Williams. She sent them on up to our home and she went onto Johnnie's to the phone. She called Dr. States.

The two Elders came. Ralph was then very bad, so they administered to him. Then he rested for a while. Then they administered to him again. I went up to do something outside. In a few minutes out came Elder Winger. Ralph was walking by his side holding his hand telling him all about his daddy. Dr. States said he had been awful sick and they had some help greater than that he could give. Another time we called upon the Elders was in the spring. After we had moved upon our homestead after I had gone out to buy and gather cream. My wife took ill all at once. No one around but her and the children and they didn't know what to do. She happened to look out the window and seen George Arby coming along that way. He was an Elder, but just a young fellow. She said George, if you administer to me I know I will get well. But he had never administered to anyone and was a little reluctant to do it. She talked him into it and felt better right away. When I came home that evening she was out to meet me as usual. I could not tell she was or had been ill until she told me after. That was the third time the Lord was very good to us away up on the mountains. He poured his blessings upon our sick and he led the Elders right in our home. Many thanks to our Lord and Savior for those blessings, and I know everyone of my family that was big enough to remember that will never forget it.

Another baby boy, Ottis Laverle Cole, came to our home on May 6, 1915. We didn't go up to the homestead till it was almost summer that year and I was still on the road three days a week. The fall of 1915 at fruit time, I had one good load of fruit shipped from Willard to Oxford and sold it to my cream patrons, mostly peaches.

In the fall of 1916, we moved down and lived in part of the Crockett house with Bill and Mame Crockett. That winter was one to remember. Hay went to $40.00 a ton by spring. We had snow from November to April and plenty of it. I went to Preston to buy hay for those who sold cream to me by the carload for $18.00 a ton, but when it got so high they wouldn't let me have it by the carload. By the spring of 1917, I had made proof on my land and had a title of 240 acres which is called Stockton. We finally sold our homestead for $4800.00 and bought some property in Preston, so moved in the spring. That summer, July 7, 1917, we got another baby boy named Willard Wayne Cole.

There was a time I guess we will all remember. This is when the flu came. All the schools closed. There wasn't any church, shows, or meetings at all. If you went up town at all you had your mouth covered with a mask. Preston looked like a ghost town. One of the first ~o come down with Brother Thomas Clayton took care of his family that had the flu and us too. He went to his chicken coop and got a chicken and dressed it and made chicken broth for us. Then Aunt Mary Cole called the folks at Willard and told them how we was and they got UG a nurse at once and sent her right up. They told her not to leave us until we was alright.

Some of the folks thought she had ought to go to the hospital, but she would not go. She stayed right with us. Her name was Mrs. Tyner, but when she had been with us two or three days, Mrs. Lizzie Jane Williams, a widow lady from Treasureton, called up and asked if we needed help. We sure did and she came and helped Mrs. Tyner. Then we had two ladies to help us. They could change off so as they would not get sick or too tired.

On the morning of the 29th day of November Lizza Jane Williams came in my room and started to talk to me. By then me and my wife both had the flu. I finally thought there must be something strange by the way she was staying with me and the way she talked. Something seemed to tell me Olla was dead. I said, "Is Olla dead?" and she said, "yes, Olla was dead." I was very sick man myself then and they expected me to go too. I started to talk with out Heavenly Father asking him to let me stay with the children. I didn't want them to be left without Mother or Father. I kept that up quite a while, then finally I began to see I had made the turn for the better. They took my wife to Willard for burial a few days after that. Mrs. Tyner went home to Brigham, but Lizza Jane stayed with U8 until I was up and walking around the house, then she would go off days and help other folks in the daytime and come back and stay with us nights. We paid Mrs. Tyner $3.00 a day, but Mrs. Williams would not take any pay from anybody. I had to give up my job with Mutual Creamers Company. It was February before I could get out to do anything.

Olla's two sisters came to see how the girls were getting along. They stayed for two days, When they was going to go home, our boy, Ottis, missed his Mother so much he just cried and cried and wanted them to stay. They could not go and leave him when he cried so hard. I finally sent one of the girls and Ottis over to the Clayton's store with some money to get him some candy while Aunt Annie and Eliza got away to the depot. But he cried when he got back and they were gone. That was one awful winter with no one doing anything or going anywhere, just staying home. Finally, the flu did die down, but it came back again in the spring of 1919.

I rented land during the years 1920, 21 and 22, then in 23 I got a job buying cream for Bingham and Idaho Creamery. I went to Dayton, Clifford, Oxford, Swan Lake, then back through Banida and Winder to Preston. I only made that trip once a week, then in the spring of 1924, I rented some land from Ariel Eames.

J. N. Larsen told me a fellow that wanted someone to run a farm for him and if I was interested to call him in Salt Lake. I went to talk with Rella who was working as a telephone operator and we decided to call. It was a good farm with 240 acres of land 24 head of stock and we took it over the 14th of October. The boys helped a lot. Voss learned to run the tractor and Ralph took four head of horses on a harrow and run all spring. He was too little to stand on them so we had to fix him a seat to sit on. It was so dusty, he would look just like dust when he came in.

Rella got married along the latter part of January. Odessa and Bonnie kept house and done the cooking. We had a little one horse buggy they would drive to town to do shopping. We got along pretty well. It was pretty lonesome at first, but we finally got used to that. We had a six room house and a big barn on the farm.

In the summer of 1926, we got our first car - a 1917 Ford. We then worked along the same way until the summer of 1927. Then we got us a new 1926 Ford touring car. We thought we had it then. We was all tickled pink over that new car. We could go to Preston nights to the shows.

Bonnie got married about the first part of August, 1928.

That left Odessa in charge of the house. Then in the spring of 1928 we bought 80 acres of land from Edwin Crockett one mile and one half of the Pingree place. We bought the Crockett 80 acres for $5200.00. Pingree wanted us to buy his place for $30,000.00 for the 240 acres. I told him that was too high. He finally sold it in the fall of 1928.

We had an awful time settling with Mr. Pingree. He thought I should buy part of the hay. Voss helped me settle it. Mr. Pingree told him to go down to the field to work as we didn't need him. Voss told him he knew what he was doing.

'Well, we got moved away from him on our place we had bought. We was sure glad to get away from him. He said he would sue us, but he couldn't find anything against us to sue. We had a copy of every month and every letter I ever mailed to him, so he had to finally give up and be satisfied.

Then in the spring of 1929, we started to work on the place we bought and we did pretty well on that place until that depression after the World War I. Then it got pretty tough for a while. We was on the place 8 years and during that time Ralph got married in January, 1936, and Voss got married in February 1936. Leaving myself, Odessa, Ottis, and Wayne in charge.

Our place was in the Preston Sixth Ward. George Taylor and I would rent the ward hall under the meeting house and told old time dances. We had some very good times. The people of the ward turned out fine and we had some very good times. I was a very good dancer and enjoyed as my amusement. My wife was a good dancer too.

Edwin Voss Cole died December 2, 1949, and was buried at Willard, Utah.