Lynn Herman Hansen

1913 - 1982  (68 years)  Submit Photo / Document    Has 94 ancestors and 2 descendants in this family tree.

• Name	Lynn Herman Hansen
  Birth	21 Aug 1913	Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States
  Christening	5 Oct 1913	Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States
  Gender	Male
  Initiatory (LDS)	7 Feb 1936	ARIZO
  FamilySearch ID	KWC2-6WS
  Death	21 Jan 1982	Provo, Utah, Utah, United States
  Burial	25 Jan 1982	Provo, Utah, Utah, United States
  Person ID	I161454	mytree
  Last Modified	25 Feb 2024

  
  

  Father	Augustus Hansen,   b. 23 Aug 1884, Adair, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 16 Jun 1957, McNary, Apache, Arizona, United States (Age 72 years)
  Mother	Lydia Emma Whipple,   b. 16 Feb 1887, Adair, Navajo, Arizona, United States d. 26 Oct 1977, Logan, Cache, Utah, United States (Age 90 years)
  Marriage	2 Jun 1909	Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States
  Family ID	F41068	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Glenna McBride,   b. 27 Mar 1916, Thatcher, Graham, Arizona, United States d. 16 Apr 1983, Florence, Pinal, Arizona, United States (Age 67 years)
  Marriage	8 Jun 1938	Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona, United States
  Children	+ 1. Errol Mac Hansen,   b. 2 Jan 1944, Safford, Graham, Arizona, United States d. 31 Jul 1989, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States (Age 45 years)
  Family ID	F41079	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	21 Nov 2024

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 21 Aug 1913 - Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States Christening - 5 Oct 1913 - Lakeside, Navajo, Arizona, United States Initiatory (LDS) - 7 Feb 1936 - ARIZO Marriage - 8 Jun 1938 - Mesa, Maricopa, Arizona, United States Death - 21 Jan 1982 - Provo, Utah, Utah, United States Burial - 25 Jan 1982 - Provo, Utah, Utah, United States  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Autobiography of LYNN HERMAN HANSEN I was born August 21, 1913 to Lydia Emma Whipple and Augustus Hansen a t L akeside, Navajo County, Arizona, in a farming area known as Woodland , whi ch is about two miles south of Lakeside. I was the second child bor n to m y parents. A brother, Hans Stanley Hansen, was the firstborn, bu t he die d in infancy. The Farm land and The Work My parents lived on a farm of 108 acres which was partly under irrigati o n from a water source above Pinetop, consisting of a spring and Billy C re ek. The water was stored in a reservoir between Woodland and Pinetop a n d reached the farms in the area under the reservoir by way of ditches m ai ntained by great effort of the water users. This land was acquired thr oug h a homestead made possible by a federal homestead act. The ditch ra n fo r the most part down the center of the farm from south to north. A s the l and sloped away from the ditch on both sides about fifty acres o f the lan d was under cultivation. The remainder of the land was used a s pasture. The elevation of the general area was listed at 7000 feet. The area wa s o riginally covered with trees of pine, white oak, juniper and some ced ar . There was at this elevation only about a ninety day growing season . Cro ps therefore were confined to fast growing maturing varieties. Corn , vege tables, fruit occasionally consisting mostly of apples, plum and p ears. A lfalfa, clover and oat hay, potatoes, winter wheat and oats wer e include d in crops. This farm was sustained in part by grazing rights on U.S. Forest lands . A s long as I can remember, Father had a herd of milk cows. Part of th e mil k products were sold for cash or collateral. Chickens, turkeys, she ep, pi gs and horses were common to the farm. Each had its place in the f amily w elfare. A dog and a cat or two were all a part of the necessitie s on a fa rm. Daily chores included milking cows and driving them to pasture in summ e r months or feeding them in corrals and milking sheds in winter. Othe r ch ores included feeding and caring for the other livestock. During the spring, summer and early fall months land needed plowing, har r owing, cultivation and irrigation. Crops had to be cultivated, hoed an d w eeded. Hay was cut, raked and hauled loose to the barns for storage f or w inter use. Corn was cut in fall and hauled to the silo where it wa s chopp ed by power ensilage machinery and air hoisted into a 27 foot hig h silo m ade from pine two-by-fours nailed together with pitch between th em. A lad der and windows on the east side made entrance and use of the s ilo possib le. My father, Augustus Hansen, burned and collected the pine tar to use f o r sealing the two-by-fours used in construction of the silo. I was bor n o n the day the silo was at the 27 foot level. It was never built any h ighe r after that day. Early memories of some details of farm life lead me to relate this accou n t. During World War 1 in the 1917-18 years it was difficult to get flo u r and corn meal prepared commercially. My father devised a way of attac hi ng a grain grinder to the horse-drawn mower. While he was cutting ha y h e tended and ground corn meal, or wheat for flour and cereals. Financ ia l considerations probably entered into this plan. The description of the land was recorded by action of a survey crew an d f iled with the government agency and if a tenant lived on the land fiv e ye ars and made certain improvements he was awarded a deed to the lan d fro m the government. Nearly all of the Arizona-Utah land titles were g aine d in this manner since the government through the Gadsen Purchase ow ned t he land. It was purchased from the Mexican Government. Our land was adjacent to the Eastern boundary of a part of the Apache In d ian Reservation. Some pasture privileges were arranged with the Burea u o f Indian Affairs so that farmers in the area would run a limited numb er o f cattle on the reservation for a small fee. We maintained a milking corral near this reservation for a number of yea r s. The corral was made of logs laid criss-cross fashion as a fence to t h e enclosure. It was in this spot which was later abandoned as a corra l th at we raised some squash and watermelons. The garden spot was choic e beca use the ground was very fertile as it had served for a resting pla ce fo r the cattle for several years. The Spring and Water The family drinking water had to be hauled from a mile distance. There w a s a spring at the head of the creek. This spring bubbled out of the gro un d in a manner that played the multi-colored sand up and down as the wa te r constantly flowed upward beneath it. This spring was the source of “ pur e” water for many families in the area. Often when we were in a hurr y t o get water we would dip it from the creek a quarter mile below the s prin g. The present ecology terminology had not then become common. ‘Bu t the w ater at points below the spring was often polluted by cattle or f lood wat ers following a rain or a spring thaw. We never seemed to worr y as much a bout pollution then as people do now. We should have worried , but didn’ t know enough to worry. Our parents must have had some concer n because th ey did prefer that we get the water from the spring wheneve r possible. All farms were fenced to protect crops and feeds from stray cattle. Ear l y fences were made of logs or in some cases smooth spring steel wire, s ta pled to posts. This smooth wire was not really effective as a deterren t t o cattle, but it was the best they had. Later barbed wire replaced th e sm ooth wire in most fencing. The Touring Car The society in that area was limited to a geographical area of about a f i fty mile radius. A trip to Show Low eight miles north was a major excur si on for the young folks on our farm. Our Whipple grandfather and family , W illard Whipple, lived at Show Low. When we traveled there we rode i n a wa gon or a buggy pulled by a team of horses. It was not until the mi ddle 19 20’s that our family owned a Ford touring car. By that time I wa s not ye t ten years old. The acquisition of the car was a big event. Som etimes i t started easily and sometimes it refused to start. There wa s a crank use d to start the engine. Drivers would set the gas and spar k control lever s as well as the brake and get the crank at the front o f the radiator goi ng as fast as he could turn it in order to start the e ngine. Sometimes th e crank would kick backward and injure the person doi ng the starting. The car was open air with only a windshield to protect the passenger s . I recall that it was not powerful enough to pull itself and a full lo a d of passengers up a steep hill. Often we needed to get out and push t o g et up an incline. Then once on level ground we could get in again an d rid e. Rain and snow made unimproved roads almost impassable in a car b ecaus e it would bog down in deep ruts of clay and get stuck, unable to m ove fo r lack of power and traction. Teaching the Buck Sheep a Lesson This car stood south of the house and garden fence on a grassy plot. I t w as here that I remember an incident- a buck sheep had broken out of i t’ s pasture and come to graze on the grassy spot near the car. I knew th a t he was considered aggressive because I heard Dad say he had been “bun te d” upon occasion. When the buck came near the car where I was playin g I k new that I must get up into the car fast in order to escape him . I tried , but his speed was superior to mine and he knocked me under th e car, sca red, bleeding at the nose and screaming for help. It seemed th at if I tri ed to crawl out on the opposite side of the car he was ther e to meet me . I was trapped. Mother heard the disturbance and came wit h a big stick t o rescue me. The stick was to protect herself and me. I w as thankful to b e back inside the gate of our yard safe from that sheep . When Father cam e in from the field at the close of the day, mother rev iewed the inciden t with him. He decided to teach the buck a lesson so h e took me with hi m to the sheep pasture gate. I was protesting and fearf ul. He tried to as sure me that he would use me only as a decoy and tha t he would protect m e while he taught the buck his deserved lesson. He h eld me in front of hi m by the suspenders of my bib overalls. As the buc k charged I was snatche d back and the buck met a blow from an oak club t o stop him in his tracks . He would shake his head, retreat and charge a t me again. This was begin ning to be some sort of consolation for me an d a little on the exciting s ide. As I recall it, he charged the third ti me and then he slumped over a s his knees buckled under. Dad’s oak stic k had laid him cold. I thought h e was dead. He got up after a few moment s time, shaking his head and retr eated to the far side of the pasture se emingly not anxious to surrender t o the club again. It was nevertheless a worry to me personally that we kept this buck she e p on the ranch. Caution was always exercised whenever I was near this a dv ersary. I do not remember when he was sold but he did drop out of ou r lis t of fears. Time and Tending Sheep A few years later when my parents thought I was old enough to do some te n ding of the herd, I was sent to keep them in a field of clover stubbl e fo r a two hour period. I was entrusted with a pocket watch to help m e kno w when the allotted time had passed. The herding was not so much o f a str ain as the block of time. I could keep them where they were suppo sed to g raze, but the time weighed heavily because there were other thin gs I woul d have preferred doing, such as cutting a forked oak Y to use i n makin g a flipper to shoot at birds and squirrels. I thought the matter through and decided to turn the hands of Dad’s wat c h ahead to help the time go by faster. This was not without some feeli n g of wrong-doing, but the feeling of urgency about my own personal wish e s seemed to dominate. After all – keeping sheep was a dull assignment c om pared to making flippers or digging tunnels in the sandy pasture. At a n y rate the watch hands were turned ahead a couple of turns to save abo u t a half hour. I took the herd back to the pen early according to the r ea l time, but on time with my false setting. When I arrived at the pen , m y mother met me with the announcement that the sheep should go back t o th eir feeding for another half hour. I could not argue with authority . I le arned a lesson on cheating with time. It does not pay to tamper wi th th e clock either in an attempt to speed it up or to retard it. Time h as a w ay of behaving according to divine programming and we must accep t the sch edule and use time prudently. Finances Parents beset with financial survival efforts have little to spend on t h e nonessential or the luxurious. I recall that amidst the pressures o f ea ch days problems there was some time, generally at meal time, bedtim e o r Sundays for my parents to listen to our needs. They must have sense d a t times that we had certain desires that were not really compatible w it h the lean bank account or even a non-existant one. Often we were tol d th at “we’ could not afford a red wagon with wooden wheels patterned af ter t he one Dad used for most multi-sided purposes; a wagon we could us e to ha ul a load of wood from the woodpile to the wood box beside the co ok stov e or the fireplace. I wanted this kind of wagon because my frien d had one . It was great fun to help him pull his wagon either in dutifu l chores o r in creative play. An Experience for my Dad This desire was made known to both Mom and Dad and the answer was alwa y s about the same: We did not have money to afford it. The matter was dr op ped but not forgotten. Summer lush green pastures and growing fields o f h ay, corn and potatoes laboriously gave way to fall’s harvesting and c hang ing colors. The frost preceded the snow of winter. Christmas mornin g cam e too slowly. In fact it seemed so slow that it was hard to be goo d enoug h to merit a small gift on the longed for morning. Two little boy s who we re asked to be good to deserve a family outing were disappointe d by an un avoidable postponement for a week. They said to their Dad, “W e don’t thin k we can be good that much longer.” My Father, Augustus, wen t to the ranc h during a cold spell to look after the cattle. It was onl y two miles awa y from our town home. When he arrived at the ranch he fou nd things in poo r condition. A neighbor’s pigs had broken out of their p en and were in ou r stockyard rooting down the shocks of corn and eatin g it. He decided t o put the pigs in a pen to keep them from further dest roying our feed . In the attempt to pen them up he did a lot of running on foot. He beca m e exhausted and felt pains in his chest. He must have gotten over-heat e d beneath his clothing and when the pigs were locked up he cooled off t o o quickly. Upon arrival back in town he fell ill and was unable to lea v e his bed. Pneumonia/Pleurisy was the general diagnosis of the adults w h o were concerned. As boys we felt the seriousness of his condition to s om e degree. We felt it more directly because we had all the milking, fee din g and many other chores to do without Dad’s assistance. The neighbor s wer e concerned and came to help us with some chores. They came also t o visi t my mother and give comfort to her. We understood that Dad was s o very s ick that he might not live. This was a period of anxiety for me . The day s and nights were prayer filled for the immediate family and cl ose friend s and the Ward members. Later, a number of years, I heard my father tell that he had the privile g e of glancing into eternity while he was so near death. He was impress e d with the beauty of the place beyond the vale, the happy joyful attitu d e of the busy people he saw there among his departed loved ones and h e wa s reluctant to return to the earth where there were so many problem s an d so much suffering. Now since 1957 he has returned to that place pr epare d by the Savior for those who are faithful in keeping certain of Go d’s la ws. He may be doing missionary work as he often did while he was u pon th e earth. He may be teaching those who never had opportunity to hea r the G ospel in mortality. Sunday’s and Responsibilities The Sabbath Day on the farm was observed. There were chores to do, but t h ey were completed early in order that we could attend Priesthood meetin g , Sunday School, and Sacrament meeting. There were unavoidable times wh er e irrigating and other farm chores had to be performed on Sunday, bu t w e always took counsel in the Savior’s thought that “The Sabbath was m ad e for man and that if an ox were in the mire it would be unwise not t o pu ll him out.” We never were permitted to participate in organized spo rts o r to attend entertainments on Sunday. We did visit with relatives a nd fri ends and even drove eight miles to do so. As time passed I participated in some responsibilities in the Church . A s a deacon gathering fast offerings and passing the sacrament were pr omin ent activities. Ward teaching as it was called then was part of my a ctivi ty as a teacher. Then becoming a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood g ave m e the privilege of administering the Sacrament as well as doing al l the f ormer duties as occasion demanded. This sometimes included sweepi ng floor s and dusting benches at the church house. It did not exclude ch opping wo od for widows or hauling fuel wood to needy families. While Mo m Hansen wa s Relief Society President there were opportunities to visi t and help car e for bedfast folks who needed someone to stay with them a t night. The Singing Competition College was looked upon as a luxury, but very desirable. In early year s , age seven or eight, I became interested in singing and having a pleas in g voice, I was asked to perform quite often as a soloist and in schoo l mu sical situations. During my senior high school year I was participat ing i n orchestra playing and singing in the chorus and as a vocal solois t. I e ntered the tenor class of vocal competition from Snowflake High Sc hool. W e attended the regional competition at Flagstaff where schools o f our rel ative size were competing from all of Arizona. This was sprin g of 1931 . I had had no opportunity to study voice under professional te achers. On ly my elementary and high school music teachers had coached m e briefly. J . Rufus Crandall was then my music teacher. Inez Rogers, a f riend and fel low classmate, was my piano accompanist. She had much mor e experience a s an accompanist and pianist that I had as a vocalist. Whe n we entered As hurst Auditorium at NAU it was the largest auditorium I h ad seen in all m y life. ‘Then a feeling came over me that the long wal k up to the stage a s my number was called was the most difficult test o f courage that coul d be contrived. Blood was pumping through legs, arm s and head at a most a ccelerated speed. Trembling began. Then as each co ntestant performed an d sang so artfully, I became more petrified than ev er. I didn’t say so t o my companion, but I felt it in my bones. Coul d I do a job of performin g as beautifully as each young tenor had done ? The young fellow from Pres cott High School was outstanding and I fel t that his interpretation of th e song “Dawn” by Pearl G. Curran, which w as the common song each tenor mu st perform, was perfect. I knew that i f I had any real competition in th e field, he was it. My number was next . I cannot remember the details o f the walk to the stage, but fear was t here. I do remember that when th e introductory bars were almost over tha t I had been silently asking fo r help from my Father in Heaven – not tha t I deserved to win first place , but that I would represent Him well, th at I would also represent my fam ily and my school credibly. The first wo rds were “Awake, my soul, thy daw n is here”, chanted on a F with the wor d “here” becoming an F#, a part o f an augmented Bb chord. I was awakene d, my voice was vibrant, but tremb ling. No artificiality or effort wen t into a tremolo. It was there in abu ndance. “In rainbow tints my soul i s bathed, the glorious light it long h as craved” came into reality. I se emed moved by young love, by competitio n, by the spirit of newborn freed om of expression. Then as the accompanim ent reached its freed and emanci pated tempo supporting the final “Awake ” on a high Eb and the tones of t he piano were drowned with the pedal rel ease a good feeling crept throug h my spine. I had given it all I was capa ble of doing! We walked down th e steps toward our seats less than scared . The big moment had not been a s terrible as imagination had made it. Tri umph is great! Then there was the final hour when the third places, second places, an d w inners were to be announced in all categories. Trumpets, clarinets, t romb ones, and all instrumental groups were first. Vocals were last. Sopr anos , altos and then tenors. The air was tense. Applause was spontaneous . Dis appointments were there too. Boys high voice third place went to Pr escot t High School’s tenor who sang so confidently. Second place honore d a bo y from Camp Verde High who also had a magnificent voice. He sang w ith th e greatest ease. I knew there were two avenues to look to by now. Either I could be annou n ced as first place winner or not be mentioned at all. To be prepared f o r defeat is not easy and alternately neither is being prepared to win , th ough it does, I confess, have brighter emotional surroundings. The announcer was saying, “First place goes to” – then he paused as i f h e could not read it or perhaps he could not believe what he read, “Sn owfl ake High School, Lynn Hansen, Tenor.” At the same moment my heart pounded, my feeling of triumph gradually gr e w to a swelling crescendo inside my being and then reality dawned upo n m e as I realized I was to walk back to the stage to receive the meda l fo r the recognition. I tried not to be obvioius with my proud feeling , bu t I fear that hiding it was not completely successful. At high school in the days that followed, as well as the bus ride home , f riends were expressing their well wishes and their deepened friendshi p. T ownspeople and family recognized the honor and I enjoyed it. In prev iou s years, there had been a period of fighting for recognition among pe ers . It amounted to being the best horseman or the best plowboy or the b es t batter or catcher. At times it was a contest to see who could squi r t a stream of milk from the strategic position of the cow’s flank perch e d on a one-legged milk stool, and hit a target the farthest away. Altho ug h this was not always a contest having the same odds because the indiv idu al anatomy of each cow’s udder varied in size and egress structure, i t wa s nevertheless a fine contest. It also accounted for the stains, mil k mad e, bearing odd patterns lacking in art, which the wooden back wal l of th e milking shed exhibited. Not these winnings, nor the straightes t furro w for a potato seed bed could equal the growth that accompanied t he succe ss on the contest stage. I had a feeling of having grown to be a ccepted b y adults as well as peers. Adults became more important and pee rs somewha t less on the slightly broadened social base. There were momen ts recalle d when childhood social apprehensions now seemed silly. It gav e life a gr eater depth, a more significant value, a deeper meaning. High School High school in Lakeside, Arizona in 1929 consisted of two years of goo d t raining with limited facilities and limited faculty. There were no la bora tories for sciences. Other desirable facilities were obvious by thei r abs ence. It was for this reason that Lakeside students were transporte d by b us to Snowflake, a distance of 34 miles for junior and senior year s of sc hool. The bus picked us up at 7 a.m. and school was to convene a t 9 a.m . in Snowflake. At the beginning of a school year the bus was cro wded, bu t often by Christmas time some had dropped out of school and i t was neces sary to use private cars for transportation since there wer e not enough s tudents to justify running a bus for so few. One year 1930-31 I stayed at Snowflake during the winter months. The arr a ngement was that I slept at Marion Rogers basement in return for doin g so me small chores for them. I ate with the David A Butler family and p aid f or meals with service such as milking and feeding their cow and cho ppin g wood for their heating and cooking stoves. This was an enjoyable e xperi ence and generous of the Rogers and Butlers. At Butlers one membe r of th e family contracted measles. Sister Butler warned me that I shoul d probab ly go home with the hope that I would not be exposed to them . I did go ho me on the bus that evening, but the warning came too late . I broke out wi th measles and exposed all members of my family. The dis ease is a crippli ng one. I was sorry to have been the cause of my brothe rs and sisters suf fering from it. It was recommended by neighbors and fr iends that we conva lesce in a darkened room so that light would not inju re our eyes. It wa s further thought best not to do any reading during th is period. There wa s some concern on my part about the fact that this wa s my senior year i n high school and missing classes for three to four we eks might eliminat e me from the graduation. I therefore felt it necessar y to do some smal l amount of reading and study to keep up hope of gradua tion. Not only di d I do this, but later I engaged in the practice of rea ding while the bu s was traveling. This proved to be very foolish judgeme nt. Measles, stud y during recovery and study on the bus were all respons ible for the opti c nerve damage which my eyes suffered. It was necessar y to immediately be gin wearing corrective glasses in order to be able t o see and read proper ly. At proper intervals my eyes were tested and ne w prescriptions were ma de to fit my eyes. They never seemed to improve , but rather to slowly cha nge toward poorer vision. I now insert a letter I wrote to my Mother from Chicago when I was fifte e n. Chicago, Illinois December 3, 1928 Dear Mother, I have so many things I want to tell you that it would take a book to h9 o ld them all. Well, this morning I got up just in time to catch the rap i d transit line to the International Stock Association. When we got ther e , we were shown through the 4H exhibits from all over this continent. T h e first exhibits were of the different classes of potatoes. Arizona sho ul d have been in on this potato exhibit. Most of the potatoes were Iris h Co bbler. I think, myself, that our own potatoes would have come might y clos e to first prize. Well, then there were the canned fruits and vege tables . Some of them looked nice but they don’t taste as good as yours d o. The n we went and seen the pigs, sheep, and cows from all over the con tinent . They had some of the biggest old pigs that were from six to eigh t fee t long, and three feet high. They were all alike in color and in si ze an d some of the sheep were so uniform in size and length of their woo l. Fro m twelve until four we watched the livestock show. Mr. Wilson (Cha rles E. ) won first on the bull and also first on horses. After that we went to a dinner in the evening given by Mr. Wilson. We s a w some very fine comedies and dances. At seven o’clock we went back t o th e stock yard to the parade. “I” held the Arizona Banner while we mar che d around in the arena. There were fifty some odd states represented . (Inc luding Canadian provinces), and Mexico. I’m wondering if I can eve r get b ack to school work for thinking of these wonderful things. I can’ t writ e any more because Miss Bentley says it is bed time. We have a goo d comfo rtable bed and room Oh, yes! The elevator. I’m on the eighth floo r of th e Hotel (La Salle) and every time we have to go down or up we hav e to g o on the elevator. It’s sure lots of fun. Well, I will close . Your loving son, Lynn After returning to school I was invited to tell students of various Nava j o country schools the tale of a country boy seeing the sights of the b i g city and the experience on the train as it crossed the “wide” Mississ ip pi river at night. Had modern technology have been possible, a tape re cor ding would surely have revealed an excited and exuberant high schoo l soph omore. Bringing in the Cows When the tasks were assigned at home and I did not get at them as soo n a s necessary, for the reason of playing with neighborhood friends at r acin g our riding ponies or some other favorite pastime, I usually had t o suff er the punishment. I recall a time that I was late getting off t o bring i n the milk cows. I hunted for them until it was well after dark . At time s I would stop the horse and listen for the cowbells. I never h eard any s o I shamefully rode home without the herd, knowing full well t hat there w ould be trouble. If I were to unsaddle the pony and put him o ut to grass , and slip into bed soon, I might get up early and find the h erd in the e arly dawn. It did not work that way. As soon as I reached th e house the q uestion came, “Where are the cows?” And, “What have you bee n doing that y ou could not find them?” No answer was good enough to sati sfy mother an d dad. Horse racing until dark fell was the excuse. It was important to have the cows as soon as possible and even before mo r ning came. Udders would swell and mastitis would set in to make the mi l k unsaleable, so I was sent back to find them with instructions not t o re turn without them. If I ever faced a task that was distasteful, thi s wa s it. But I knew my punishment was just and deserved. The moon was now down and only the stars to give light. I rode and stopp e d to listen and repeated the process without result. I did not get dow n o n my knees to pray but I did a lot of praying in the saddle. At time s i t was necessary to dismount and walk away from the horse whose breath in g caused the saddle to creak and groan as leather will do. Cows do no t sw ing their heads when lying down to rest and so no bells could be hea rd. I t seemed a long tiresome time. At last in a clearing I repeated th e walk- away from the saddle noise, and thought a tinkle of bells was sli ghtly au dible. I listened more intently and sure enough it was clear tha t I was n ear them. What made the cow shake her head I will never know bu t it may h ave been she was tired and got up to change positions. Going home with the herd was even a bit joyful because I’d had an answ e r to prayer and was successful in doing what I had been sent to do. A Life-saving Experience At about age twelve I was sent to Uncle Han’s place to bring back a harr o w. The wagon had a hay rack on it and on the way back as the road turn e d north, the team got frightened at something and began to run. I trie d t o stop them with the usual pulling on the lines and yelling, Whoa! Bu t th ey got out of control because the hay rack had slipped forward so fa r tha t it was hitting the team on the rump. I was just about to be pulle d of f the front of the wagon by the ever forward sliding of the rack, st ill t rying to slow the pace of the frightened horses. The next thing I k new , I saw my father running toward the lane. He ran right in front of t he r acing horses and took his risk to try to save both myself and horse s fro m catastrophe. Miraculously the horses understood him and as he gra bbed t he bit of the horse nearest to him, they came to a stop with the h ay rac k riding partly on their backs and partly on the front end of th e wagon . I can now reflect that only the Lord could have entered in to t he situa tion and saved an inexperienced boy from death or serious injury , and a f ather from sure death. Other such occasions have been equally as dangerous to my well being. T h e Lord has in every instance been there when I needed His help. I cann o t explain why I have been considered worthy to have escaped death so ma n y times, but I am deeply grateful to my Heavenly Father for his care. T he re have been horse and car potential fatalities, all of which appear t o h ave been watched over by my Maker. In my humble way, I have tried to live worthy of the guidance of the Ho l y Ghost and his promptings. There were times that I have been warned n o t to do certain things that might have resulted in disaster. Each tim e i t has been clear that it does pay to heed the still small voice whic h whi spers to us. Later life experiences Drivers License Miracle While we (my wife, children and I) were residing at Mesa, Arizona and do i ng business as Hansen Music Co, I took the drivers license test at a re ne wal period and was denied a license. I was convinced that having had l itt le trouble with my driving trucks and automobiles that I should conte st t he rather arbitrary denial by a State official so I hired an attorne y, J . Lamar Shelley to take my case to the courts of the state . Preparatory to this hearing of Lynn H. Hansen vs. the State of Arizon a , I was gathering witnesses and information to present at the bench t o su pport my battle for a driving privilege. An optometrist, Junius D. B ower s had driven from Showlow, Arizona behind my vehicle and had observe d th e care with which I operated my car. I was unaware he was on the roa d a t all. He was also my eye doctor. Leora Peterson had ridden as a pass enge r in my car for an extended tour. She was happy to testify in my beh alf . Also Arland Branch, who was conducting driver education in Mesa, Ar izon a, was contacted to give me some reaction tests as a driver. He wa s a wit ness. We arrived at the court house in Phoenix at the time schedu led by t he Clerk of the Court but there was no local judge who could hea r the cas e. My attorney began asking if there were any visiting judges a nd he foun d a gentleman, Judge Hardy of Kingman, Arizona, who was not sc heduled fo r a few hours and who welcomed the opportunity to serve. As Ju dge Hardy w as hearing the State’s arguments and reading into the recor d false inform ation concerning a little Fitch girl who had run in fron t of my auto on S outh Mesa Drive and had been knocked down to the paveme nt by the impact b ut not run over, their attorney testified that I had k illed the little gi rl. My mind was quite disturbed by his falsifying thi s record to the judg e and I whispered to my attorney that we should refu te the testimony. H e said, “be calm. We have nothing to worry about.” This was nevertheless a point over which I worried. As I was called to t h e stand for questioning, I was obedient to my counsel and did not do an yt hing except answer questions that were put to me by both sides. The at tor ney for the State said that he was resting his case. My attorney sai d h e had no further questions and I knew that all of my witnesses had gi ve n excellent reports. At this point Judge Hardy said that he would not have to retire to delib e rate on the case, but would rule now. He indicated that the State of Ar iz ona had been quite arbitrary in the action and decisions and he woul d cho ose to be arbitrary also and seeing there had been no precedent est ablish ed he was ording the State to issue me a license to drive with cer tain co nditions being met, and further that no recording of testimony b e permitt ed as Court procedure and that the State bear the cost of the c ase excep t formy attorney’s fees, which I was to pay. My gratitude to the judge could not be adequately expressed. I was mos t i mpressed by his honesty, fairness, and human understanding which no t al l judges possess. For a few years thereafter I continued to drive an automobile, but whe n w e moved to Denver, Colorado I passed their driving test satisfactoril y an d did driving there for six years. Upon moving to Utah in 1963 I gav e u p driving after I saw the type of reading test used in Utah. I kne w I cou ld not pass it. Since this time, I have relied upon my wife and c hildre n to do the driving. This is an inconvenience to them and to me, b ut fact s are facts and we are under the necessity of bowing to them. When we purchased a house in Provo we found a location close enough t o m y employment at Brigham Young University, that I found it convenien t to w alk to and from work. My Father’s Passing When my father passed away on Father’s Day 1957, we were still livin g i n Mesa and doing business there. We had decided to go to Lakeside, Ar izon a to visit my Father and Mother on that day. We were driving Southwa rd i n the lane at Woodland, headed toward their home about 9:00 in the m ornin g. Their car was coming the opposite direction. We stopped and aske d wher e they were going. Dad said he didn’t feel well and was going to M cNary t o see his doctor (Dysterheft). We asked them to return to the hou se and s uggested they get into our car to make the trip. When we arrive d at the H ospital the Doctor suggested that he be put into a hospital be d for check ing and observation. Upon getting him comfortably settled in bed we drove back to their hom e . My mother was quite worried and tired so we decided to lie down and h av e a nap. All of us were sleeping when a messenger came to the door bea rin g the news that my Father had died. We drove to the Doctors house t o lear n the details of his death. He told us that Dad had a heart attac k of suc h a nature that the blood ceased immediate flow and there woul d have bee n no pain or struggle as he passed. The nurse, my cousin, Shir ley Stratto n Jones was present at the hospital on the occasion and confi rmed the doc tor’s observations that he was lying as peaceful as though h e had gone t o sleep when they discovered he had gone. Since that time it has been difficult for my mother to accept the fact s t hat attended his passing. She had depended on him for so many of th e busi ness transactions and money and land management that she was mor e than co mmonly unaware of the way these affairs should be handled. Will s and deed s were in order but she had signed them with little knowledg e of why an d how business was conducted. She has done an admirable job o f getting th ings under control, but I feel that wives should share in th ose affairs a s they arise to prevent the frustrations of learning them u nder necessit y the hard way. Forgiveness In the move to Denver in 1957 (to work for Hansen Bros. Printing) ther e w ere some financial arrangements that did not please me fully. We enjo ye d our stay there for six years but in 1963 we found it necessary to le av e the corporation under duress. As it was a mental strain and a terrib l e emotional shock to us we harbored feelings against my brothers. In re tr ospect we realized this was the wrong attitude to have taken. There we r e blessings attendant to the move and the new job and schooling that sh ou ld more than offset the feelings of grudge that existed. My wife an d I ta lked it over and prayed about the solution of the difficulty. With the encouragement of the spirit of the Holy Ghost we decided to g o t o Denver to the Piano Technicians Convention held in the New Albany H otel . While we were there we made contact with my borthers and visited w ith t hem asking their forgiveness for our errors and shortcomings hopin g tha t they could forgive us as we had forgiven them. It was a happy mee ting . There were tears of joy and a good feeling of having done the righ t thi ng. Since then, our peace of mind has been wonderful. It has also b rough t much comfort to our mother. She had suffered because of our estra ngemen t. Now dear children and grandchildren, if you will remember a few simple w a ys of life that I have learned to be helpful, I believe you too will b e p rotected and preserved to have a fullness of joy and a certain satisf acti on that the clean life and obedient life is the only way. These things observe to do; read the scriptures often and learn the wa y s of the Lord. Observe to pray both vocally and in secret continually . Pr ayer puts you in communication with your Heavenly Father. Keep all o f Hi s commandments and contribute more than you are asked to give to hel p bui ld His kingdom. This is the only sure way to be happy here and als o herea fter.