Stella Vee Stott (1922 - 2006): Our Family History

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1922 - 2006 (83 years)

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Name Stella Vee Stott

Birth 8 Nov 1922 Delta, Millard, Utah, United States

Christening 1 Jul 1923 Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States

Gender Female

Census 1930 Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States

Ln	Hhold	Given	Surname	Relation	Gender	Race	BirthDate	Age	BirthPlace	BirthPlace of Father	BirthPlace of Mother
Image												Transcript
5	1696	Seas I	Stott	Head	Male	White	abt 1895	35	Utah	Utah	Utah
6	1696	Velma	Stott	Wife	Female	White	abt 1900	30	Utah	Utah	Utah
7	1696	Nadine	Stott	Daughter	Female	White	abt 1919	11	Utah	Utah	Utah
8	1696	Leola	Stott	Daughter	Female	White	abt 1921	9	Utah	Utah	Utah
9	1696	Stella V	Stott	Daughter	Female	White	abt 1923	7	Utah	Utah	Utah
10	1696	Joseph B	Stott	Son	Male	White	abt 1926	4	Utah	Utah	Utah
11	1696	Norena M	Stott	Daughter	Female	White	abt 1928	2	Utah	Utah	Utah

Transcript ID is dbid=6224&iid=4547395_00771

Initiatory (LDS) 29 Mar 1949 MANTI

FamilySearch ID KWCC-N1T

Death 16 Feb 2006 Fillmore, Millard, Utah, United States

Burial 20 Feb 2006 Holden Cemetery, Millard, Utah, United States

Headstones Submit Headstone Photo

Person ID I20215 mytree

Last Modified 25 Feb 2024

Father	Joseph Leo Stott, b. 28 Oct 1894, Provo, Utah, Utah, United States d. 25 Aug 1959, Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States (Age 64 years)
Mother	Velma Bushnell, b. 11 Jul 1899, Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States d. 10 Dec 1985, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 86 years)
Marriage	17 Jul 1917	Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States
Family ID	F3169	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Chester Rogers Johnson, b. 20 Jan 1920, Holden, Millard, Utah, United States d. 11 Dec 2007, Sunnyside, Nye, Nevada, United States (Age 87 years)

Marriage 17 Jul 1940 Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States

Children

	1. Living
	2. Living
	3. Diane "Ma Buck" Johnson, b. 15 Apr 1945, Fillmore, Millard, Utah, United States d. 14 Apr 2016, Holladay, Salt Lake, Utah, United States (Age 70 years)
	4. Living
	5. Mark Ken Johnson, b. 13 Sep 1951, Fillmore, Millard, Utah, United States d. 15 Oct 2016, Hiko, Lincoln, Nevada, United States (Age 65 years)
	6. Jeff Johnson, b. Fillmore, Millard, Utah, United States

Family ID F9693 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 5 May 2024

Event Map

	Birth - 8 Nov 1922 - Delta, Millard, Utah, United States
	Christening - 1 Jul 1923 - Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States
	Census - 1930 - Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States
	Marriage - 17 Jul 1940 - Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States
	Initiatory (LDS) - 29 Mar 1949 - MANTI
	Death - 16 Feb 2006 - Fillmore, Millard, Utah, United States
	Burial - 20 Feb 2006 - Holden Cemetery, Millard, Utah, United States

= Link to Google Earth

Photos
Stott, Joseph L b1894 - Bushnell, Velma b1899 Family

Stott, Stella V b1922

Notes

Obituary:
Stella Vee Stott Johnson, 83, passed away Thursday, February 16, 2006 , i n Fillmore, Utah. She was born November 8, 1922, in Delta, Utah, to J . Le o and Velma Bushnell Stott. She married Chester Rogers Johnson Jul y 17, 1 940, in Meadow, Utah. Mother was a wonderful cook and homemaker . She wa s well known for her hand dipped chocolates "Stella's Sweets". S he took d elight in climbing apple trees and bottling fruit. She had a gr eat sens e of humor, she loved her family very much. She enjoyed reading , workin g in her garden and tending roses.

She is survived by her children: Jerri (Garth) Frehner, of New Harmony , P amiel (Bill) Reed, Gig Harbor, WA, Diane (Jim) Buckwalter, Salt Lak e City , Ginger (Michael) Agee, Helena, MT, Ken (Shauna) Johnson, Alamo , NV, Jef f (Stacy) Johnson, Holden, and Penni Sumsion, Draper; 30 grandc hildren an d 49 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings : Leola Geo rge, Orem, UT, Joe Stott, Meadow, UT, Donna Mae Warner, Wes t Valley, UT a nd Reah Knell Rowley, Boise, ID.

She is preceded in death by her parents, sister, Nadine Day and brothe r , Leo Ben Stott.

Funeral services will be held Monday, February 20, 2006, at 11:00 a.m . a t the Holden Ward Chapel with a visitation one hour prior to services . In terment will be at the Holden Cemetery. Arrangements are made unde r the d irection of Olpin Southern Utah Mortuary.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to IHC Home Care Services Mill a rd County. We would like to thank Susan Limburg and the staff at IHC ho m e care services for their loving compassion in taking care of our mothe r.

Stella Vee Stott Johnson
1922 - 2006
Autobiography written in 1983 at age 61

I was born November 8, 1922, in Delta, Utah. I was the third child of Jo s eph Leo and Velma Bushnell Stott. Dad and Mother were living in Delt a a t the time, as Dad was teaching school there. They lived there fo r a fe w years and then moved to Meadow. Dad was a stocky-built fellow, s trictl y business and quite strict. He was the bishop of the Meadow War d for 1 0 years.

Mother was a very hard worker. Mom and Dad had seven children in all, a n d there was never time for any foolishness around home. We always ha d a l ot of hired men who helped do the farm work, and they always ate di nner a t our home at none. So just as soon as we’d get breakfast over wit h, we’ d have to start to fix dinner for them. And it was nothing to se t the tab le for around 15 people every day - which kept us all really bu sy helpin g out.

Mother’s parents at one time owned a hotel there on Main Street in Meado w . There were bedrooms off to the south and to the north. When the hote l q uit, it was just sort of a strange arrangement for a family home. I t wa s never changed that I know of. Everyone used to come there to the h otel . They used to have traveling dentists (didn’t have a local dentist) . An d this old Dr. Conklin was a dentist and he’d come there once a yea r an d people would come and get their teeth fixed.

I remember my Grandpa Bushnell just vaguely. He had a stroke when I wa s v ery small and I remember his death at the home. Grandma Bushnell wa s crip pled up with arthritis for years and years. I used to go sleep wit h her a t night. I can just picture her now hobbling down to our house. H er fee t were so crippled up and out of shape she could never wear shoes . She ha d house-shoes that she wore. Btu she was quite a lady. She was m ore or le ss the town doctor. Everyone who had a broken arm or any troubl e with the ir health would always come to Grandma Bushnell. I remember sh e used to s et people’s broken arms. She’d just get a couple of sticks an d she knew j ust how to twist it to get it just where it belonged. She ne ver had an ar m that she set that grew out crooked. It was just a matte r of someone ha d to do it, so she did it. And she had great success. Sh e wasn’t a midwif e, there was another lady in town who did that. But Gra ndma made her ow n salves and her canker medicine. That’s where “Grandm a Salve” came from . And that “Grandma Salve” was really something.

As I was growing up, it seemed like I was always on a horse. In fact, D a d had a horse he named Stella. I often wondered who came first, me or t h e horse. My main duties then were taking care of the two children who w er e younger than me which were Joe and Donna. I had four sisters: ther e wer e Nadine, Leola, Donna and Reah. I had two brothers: Joe and Ben. T hey ar e all married now and scattered places with their own families, s o I don’ t see them very much.

We learned at an early age to accept responsibility and how to cook an d d o the things that had to be done around home. We had a nice home - on e o f the nicest homes in Meadow, or even in the county. Mother always to ok g reat pride in fixing it up and having it looking nice - both the yar ds an d the home. It seemed like we were always painting and fixing up so methin g.
I really enjoyed going to school. It was always fun to have a new dres s f or the first day of school and going back and seeing all the kids th a t I hadn’t seen much all summer. Everyone kind of went their separate w ay s and we didn’t get together a whole lot. But I really quite enjoyed s cho ol. I liked my teachers and got along very well with them. We went t o sc hool through the 8th grade there in Meadow and then 9th graders al l wen t to Fillmore to High School.

We used to all play marbles at school. Everyone envied the person who h a d the biggest bag of marbles - we’d play for keeps. And we’d dig hole s ar ound kind of like a baseball field, only there were holes you had t o shoo t that marble into. I don’t think kids even play marbles anymore . The gir ls played as well as the boys and it was really fun. We’d sta y after scho ol sometimes to play marbles when we should have been home.

I had some very close friends all through school. I didn’t ever want f o r friends. One in particular was Ina Hainsworth who was a good frien d o f mine, and then also June Harding. I guess you would call them my ve ry b est friends. We were all just a group and every Sunday afternoon we’ d al l get together in a big crowd. And we all looked forward to Sunday b ecaus e that’s when we all got a Sunday nickel. We never got any spendin g money . Of course, money was really hard to come by then. You could bu y a loa f to bread for 5 or 10 cents. So when we’d get a nickel on Sunday , we tho ught that was really great. The only time we were ever given an y money wa s on Sundays, or the 5th and the 24th of July. Usually on th e 4th and 24t h we were given 50 cents and we thought we were wealthy. An yway, we’d al l get together as a group and go spend our Sunday nickels.

Another thing that we did as little kids for spending money - the stor e s would take eggs as cash - so sometimes we’d gather the eggs when the y s houldn’t have been gathered and go buy a nickel’s worth of candy fo r thre e eggs. Everyone was always going to the store with a few eggs t o spend.
Oh, the 4th of July celebrations were fun! Everyone would come up on t h e church lawn, and they’d get there about ten o’clock in the morning a n d they’d have a program and they’d have benches out on the lawn. Then t he y’d have sports and eats and we just didn’t go for an hour - it was th e w hole day. There were relatives from out of town who would come to vis it t he townspeople. We just had kind of a little reunion right there o n tha t church lawn every 4th and 24th of July. It was really a special t hing ; you took your children and stayed all day long. It took us all da y to s pend our 50 cents.

Mother always did a lot of canning. And we all helped with the bottles a n d help do it. She’d do 5-6 bushels of peaches. And we didn’t have freez er s then, so she canned a lot of meat. All of our meat was canned [or fr esh ]. In fact, you could go down to Mother’s fruit room at any time an d pu t out a pretty nice, full-course meal just of the basement.

Mother used to make her own soap. Dad always killed his own animals an d M other would save all of the fat and render it down. She had a room i n th e basement she’d put all this in during the year, and then in the sp ring , there would be soap-making day. She would make enough soap to las t fo r a year. She’d take about 3-4 black tubs and go out in the back yar d an d make a fire under them and make soap. She’d sit there all day lon g o n a little stool. It was kind of a nice little social gathering, as p eopl e would usually stop by and visit with her while she tended that soa p. I t would take all day long to cook it. When it was done, she’d let i t si t overnight and then the next morning it would just be a piece of so ap th e size of a big tub. Then she would dump it out on some boards an d cut i t while it was still soft. And then when she’d get ready to wash , she’d c ut that up and melt it down on the stove with a little water. W e used tha t soap for everything - for washing dishes and clothes. Ther e wasn’t anyt hing as nice as the detergents we have now that dissolves t he grease. Whe n we’d wash the dishes there would just be a rim off greas e about an inc h thick around the edge of the dishpan. And we couldn’t d4 rain our dished , we had to dry every dish because they wouldn’t drain of f like it does w ith a nice detergent. So our work was really work. It se emed like there w as always dishes to be washed with that many people. Th ere really was!

But I think of my mother, and I can’t picture her any place but in the k i tchen. Dad had a herd of sheep and she’d have to fix the grub boxes fo r t he sheepherders. And there was always one that they’d send back tha t the y wouldn’t wash the bottles all winter, and we’d have those to was h and i t was really a trick to clean up the sheepherders grub boxes.

Mother did a lot of sewing. She made all of our clothes. She didn’t;ha v e time to make quilts then, but she seemed to find the time to do wha t ha d to be done. If some of the neighbors would come and she liked th e look s of that dress, she’d lay the dress on a newspaper and cut out pa tterns . She made some very nice clothes and it was really a lot of wor k for he r to keep the family dressed. We had very few store-bought cloth es. Altho ugh Dad was as well off or better than anyone else in town, w e all just h ad to really economize and make do with what we had. So we w ere taught a t an early age to really watch our money, and not be wastefu l.

When I was about 6-7 years old, I took violin lessons. I had a violin th a t was about a third the size of a regular violin. It was so cute: I wi s h I had it now. It was just in a tiny little case. I took violin lesso n s from a Mr. Hilgandorf. I remember I went to Delta one time to pla y i n a recital. I played “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. It was a lot o f fun . (I remembered we stopped in Holden to pick someone up and take th em t o delta to that recital. Years later, I learned it was Gwen Johnso n tha t we took to delta with us for the recital.) People would stop me o n th e streets and want me to open up that case and show them my tiny lit tle v iolin. Also took piano lessons from Earl Stott. It was quite hard t o si t down and practice - there was always so much going on around home . Bu t I learned the basic points in violin and also the piano. Later, Mo the r traded in my small violin for a regular size one and I took violi n less ons most of my high school days. I played the violin in the high s chool o rchestra. I really liked music. I have always enjoyed good music . I’m jus t sorry that I didn’t learn how to play better than I did.

When we were little, it seemed like in the spring of the year there we r e traveling men going through. They laugh about the medicine man that c am e through with the calico cart once a year, but it was actually a fact . W e had this one little guy who would pull up to the front door about e ver y spring. Mother would save all of her pots and pans that would hav e litt le holes in them. And this old fellow (I thing he had a team of ho rses th at pulled his little wagon), he’d come -and they all called him “ the tink er man”, anyway, he’d come and Mother would give him all the pot s and pan s and he would solder them up for her.

There was an Indian reservation in the foothills to the east, between Me a dow and Kanosh. The Indians didn’t mix with the whites like they do no w , they just stayed off to themselves. Dad hired some of them to work f o r him, so we had a little more association with them than anyone else . Bu t every spring and every fall the Indian women would come around wit h bi g sacks and beg for flour or whatever you wanted to give them. The I ndia n women never came to town or were around except for these two time s whe n they came begging. I don’t think the government - well, I know th ey wer en’t taking care of them like they do not.

I used to help Dad on the farm a lot. The older girls would drive the te a m. We hauled hay different then. They would drive the team and haul th e h ay and I was always perched on the derrick horse. They had this big c ontr aption that would come down with a big fork and load up with hay an d the n take it up to the top of the stack and dump it. It seemed lik e I grew u p on that darn derrick horse. Dad had a farm over to Delta an d we’d hav e to go over there and do up the first and second crop hay. An d I was alw ays elected to go over there. I would take about two weeks t o get I all d one. I always went with Dad and his crew of men to ride th e derrick horse . Oh, that was a hot and nasty job!

My Grandmother Stott (Sarah Ellen Bennett Stott) was a super lady! She w a s very religious and was really a fine person. About the time I was hi g h school, she moved into a little house next to ours and she was so cut e , we all just loved her. She’d always stop us to see if our shoes wer e sh ined. If I’d ever go past her place she’d come out to see if I’d pra ctice d the piano yet. (I used to walk around the block the other directi on s o I wouldn’t have to pass her.) But she really was a sweet lady. W e all c alled her “Grandma Great”. She lived to be 88 years old. I rememb er whe n Chester and I went through the temple, she brought me over a dou ble wed ding ring quilt and she said, “Now I’ll give you a wedding presen t; I fee l like you’re really married now.” She was just a cute lady!

Dad and Uncle Cleon were partners in the farm and the business, so the t o wn families were just kind of like one great big family. They had a he r d of cows that we’d have to milk all the time. There were around 13 cow s . We’d get in that little milk wagon and go to the field and mild ever y m orning and then go back again at night and milk. I remember it was no thin g to cart those old great big 10 gallon cans around. We’d have abou t 4 o r 5 10 gallon cans of mild every day, and then they’d separate it u p to U ncle Cleons. Then once a week they’d take the cream up to the trai n stati on west of Fillmore. And people didn’t go to Fillmore like they d o now da ys - it was just really an occasion to get to go to Fillmore. We ’d all ju st look forward to going to Fillmore to take that cream up an d do a littl e shopping. But that was about the only time anyone around t here went t o Fillmore. Maybe we’d go to a show once a month as a famil y group.

The two families got along remarkably well for having everything in ju s t one big pot. There was one car between the two families and when we a l l got so we could drive, it was really in demand. But it seemed to wor k o ut pretty well. It would be parked up to Uncle Cleons for one week an d th en back down to our place for a week. But there was never any proble ms ov er it. We just understood that was the way it was to be, and that w as tha t. But later on when the kids all got older, I was married at th e time, t hey split up the partnership. But we had one of the nicest farm s and setu ps of anyone around. It was a lot of hard work, but it paid of f.

When I was 8 years old, I was baptized in a little natural warm spring ’ s pond down west of Meadow (about 4-5 miles west). They had to save u p th e baptisms for about a year - when it was summer - and then we’d al l go d own there and be baptized. It was quite an inspirational sight t o see eve ryone in white down there to that little pond out in the wilder ness for t he baptisms. In fact, warm springs was another recreation tha t we had. W e had to make our own fun and maybe about once a week or so w e’d get toge ther as a group and take some sandwiches or what have you an d go down the re at night and swim. The water was really warm, but boy wh en you’d get o ut you’d nearly freeze to death. We’d be so hungry, we’d m ake a fire an d roast weenies or something. And the ward would get togeth er with a bi g wagon with hay on it and a team of horses and many a tim e we went a s a group, the whole town, down there at night to go swimming . But no on e had big trucks. You couldn’t even consider going down i n a big truck li ke they would now days. We’d sing coming home and it wa s just really fun . There was only one drowning there that I know of an d it was a cripple d man who went swimming there alone one afternoon. The y thought maybe he’ d had a heart attack. Everyone knew how to swim. We j ust more or less gre w up with that swimming hole. I think they’ve ruine d it now. Someone thou ght they’d improve on it and blasted the edges an d it isn’t nearly as nic e because the cows can walk down there by it . A lot of people said it was n’t pure water to swim in. I guess the natu ral minerals that were in it k ept it purified, because this uncle of min e who sent a sample of it in t o the state at one time said it was all ri ght. It was clean. I don’t thin k anyone goes down there anymore.
And even Easter was just really special. We’d all just pray for weeks ah e ad that it would be good weather on Easter. We’d go down to the White M ou ntains - the whole county would go down there. And it was so fun. Th e lit tle sand hills were white sand and we’d just take our Easter eggs a nd ou r lunches and our baseballs and spend the whole day down there. I t was ju st really special to go to the White Mountains on Easter.

My family was a very healthy family. There was no sickness. We never we n t to the dentist unless we had a toothache. No one went as a preventati v e measure then. We went to Fillmore to a Dr. Brunson if we had a tootha ch e, and that was the only time we ever went to the dentist. Many a toot hac he I used to have, too, until I could get there. It was just realty h ar d to keep those bills all paid up at that time.

There were just three streets that went east and west in Meadow. And t h e first time I had a date with Chester, he said, “Well, where fo you li ve ?” And I said, “Well, you go west on middle street.” He thought that w a s so funny. But that was the way we always referred to it. There wa s a so uth street, north street, and middle street. I lived on middle str eet.

I remember one time there was a circus in Salt Lake so Uncle Cleon fix e d up his big truck and put benches in it and took everyone in town wh o wa nted to go up to the circus. And that was the only time I ever remem ber s taying in a motel before I was married. But we didn’t eat out - I c an jus t see those baloney sandwiches to this day. Mother packed a littl e box wi th bread and baloney and it was so much fun. We always had one o f the bes t looking cars in town. We’d get a new one regularly and that w as alway s a thrilling experience to get a new car.

Dad was very dedicated to his church and to his job as bishop. It was al w ays just really a thrill to sit there in church and see my dad taking c ha rge of the meetings. I sat there with a lot of pride. And we went to c hur ch - that was all there was to it. Well, you just didn’t consider any thin g else. Sunday morning came and you were up and in your Sunday cloth es an d went as a family to church. And then they always had a Sunday nig ht mee ting - that was our Sacrament meeting. There was just no other wa y of lif e but to go.
There was this boy who wasn’t really too choice (he wasn’t too smart eit h er) but I guess he kind of liked me. But he’d come down and offer to mi l k my cows on Sunday night if I’d let him walk me home after church. Th a t was when we all did our courting. Anyway, this kid would come down a n d milk my cows, and then after church I’d run away from him. (That w a s a stinking thing to do!) (We won’t tell about the little girl who wou l d give me her Sunday nickel if I’d play with her on Sunday - and I didn ’ t do that either. Wasn’t that terrible!)

But that was about when we’d pair off when we started noticing the oppos i te sex. I know if I could get Stewart Bennett to walk me home after chu rc h, boy! I was in Seventh Heaven! Oh, that was just so super! He was re all y the Clark Gable of the day. He was a handsome boy! (That was when w e we re all coming out of our little shells.) “Who walked you home from c hurc h last night?” You know. So it was always kind of fun.

When Mother would have her babies, they would be born right there in h e r bed room. And this midwife would come and oh, it was really exciting ! I n fact, I had Jerri and Pam right in that same bedroom. We had to pho ne D r. Evans, but there was a midwife there and then Dr. Evans came dow n abou t the time he thought he should. Those were the happiest moments o f my li fe when I’d have that newborn baby place in my arms. There just i sn’t any thing else like it. To this day, when I see those women wheele d out of th e delivery room with that brand new baby, I'm so envious of t hem. I kno w just how they’re feeling.

When I got in high school, there was always a boy that I kind of notic e d more than the others. I was freshman class president, and kept prett y b usy with my studies, but I always had a date for everything that cam e alo ng. It wasn’t until I was a sophomore that I noticed Chester. He wa s jus t coming out of one of the classrooms. Later he asked me for a date , so w e went to a dance together. I really didn’t particularly care fo r him t o begin with. He just seemed to be one of the popular boys in sch ool. Bu t it didn’t take long until I knew I was very much in love with h im. An d we started going together quite steady when I was a Junior. An d then h e went to Logan to college. I so looked forward to the holiday s when he’ d be coming home. We corresponded quite regularly.

When I was about 10 or 12 years old, it seemed that I was always being a s ked to sing a solo in church. Eva Beckstrand always accompan8ied me. I ’ d practice all week, and it was really fun to be a part of things. An d th en when I got in High School, I was asked to sing a solo in a lot o f th e programs. My talents were developed pretty well with the violin an d th e piano and my singing, which I truly enjoyed.

Being as my father was the bishop, every person that would come throug h t own who needed a meal, hitch-hikers or whatever, they always came t o ou r place. A lot of fellows were just going through hitch-hiking. Of c ourse , I think the hitch-hikers in those days were a better caliber tha n the y are now. They were hitch-hiking because they didn’t have the mone y to g et where they wanted to go. And they’d always come and Dad would g ive the m a meal and a few days work to help them get on their feet and t hen the y would go on. We had a lot of strange people staying in that bas ement be droom. You weren’t afraid to pick up a hitch-hiker then becaus e you kne w it was just someone who was down and out.

In fact, Dad had an old guy stop who was hitch-hiking whose name was Sho r ty McGowan. His name was really Charles McGowan, but we always called h i m Shorty. He stayed for years and years. He was an expert mechanic. H e re minded me of Popeye. He only had one eye. But he lived in that one b aseme nt bedroom - it seemed like forever. So just more or less becam e a part o f the family. He’d overhaul Dad’s cars and his machinery. He c ould take t hose apart from end to end and then put them back together ag ain. And he’ d help us milk the cows and lift the milk Cans around. H e was jus t a part of the family. Years later, he left. I don’t know wha t ever happ ened to him.

My home life was really quite nice. We were a really close-knit family . D ad was really strict. We could kind of “who-do” Mother, but when Da d sai d something, boy, we knew he meant it. And he didn’t back down on e bit. H e was very stern and very serious. He reminded me a lot of the m ovie sta r Loren Greene. His mannerisms and such remind me of Dad.

In the evenings, it seemed like Dad always went to bed early. He was wo r n out when night would come. And we’d get out the cards and play rumm y an d popcorn and Shorty would sneak out and go up to Swallows store an d bu y candy bars - which was really a treat. We had a lot of home evenin gs ju st playing cards and checkers and such a group. Mother got a bigge r kic k out of it than anybody. Dad would go to bed and read. He was alwa ys rea ding some church book or something. He was really very well-read a nd alwa ys grasping more education. He wanted to learn all there was to b e learne d. I guess that’s where I got the habit of reading in bed. Dad w as up an d ready to go the next morning, but Mother wasn’t because she’ d always st ay up late at night. But she got her share of the work in dur ing the day.
I never worked and earned any of my own money before I was married. The r e was only once that I can remember that our whole family took a trip t og ether and that was when I was pretty-well grown. I think it was abou t th e last year I was home, and the whole family was going down throug h the c anyons for a three-day vacation. I stayed home because I had a d ate wit h Chester. At the time, that was the most important thing in th e world t o me. (I would probably do it again!) I think Nadine stayed hom e, too, be cause she had a date with Tom.

It was just the custom, there was a dance in one of the adjoining town s e very weekend. And they’d have live bands. They had this one band tha t wer e all Hawaiians. They had these bands that would tour and they’d ju st sto p off at every little town and have a dance. And then they starte d the CC C, which was a government work program, and they built outdoor d ance hall s in every town. And every weekend one of the towns would hav e a dance, u sually on a Friday or Saturday night. And you always had t o have a date f or those dances. They’d usually have a little dance card s and you were pr etty proud if you had that card completely filled out b efore the dance wa s over with. I don’t recall standing in the stag lin e very much. I didn’ t ever have to look very hard for friends. And I ha d a lot of people tha t I thought a lot of, too. But there was just somet hing for the kids to d o in those days. Those dances were a big event. An d they were for everybo dy. Dad and Mother went to all of them. Parents a nd everybody went. Now w hen you have a dance, all that goes is the kids . (If you can call that da ncing!) But it was nice to have a social funct ion once a week for everyon e to look forward to. Everyone didn’t hav e a car so they could travel al l over the country. You just had to mak e your fun right there.

I always felt real close to my father, although he was rather strict a n d a lot of people said he was rather stern. You just knew your limits w it h him and you just stayed within them. And when he said no, he meant n o . And if he told someone not to do something - I remember one of my sis te rs went to Kanosh when he had told her not to, and he and Mother got i n t he car and went after her. And I think she was a senior in high schoo l a t the time. He really meant business and was just really strict wit h hi s family.

When my Grandfather Stott died, he was working in the court house as Cou n ty Assessor. So Dad and Grandma Stott took over his job and he’d go t o th e court house to work every day. I must have been about in the secon d o r third grade, but I remember occasionally he’d take me to work wit h him . Oh, that court house seemed like such an awesome place. I’d sit i n thi s little room he had, kind of off to one corner and had a little co uch i n it. Then I’d go to the library and get books. One of my school te acher s just lived across the street, and I’d go over and visit with he r fo r a while. It was always a special teat when Dad would let me go t o wor k with him. I don’t ever remember him taking any of the others. I t seeme d like I spent a lot of my growing up years with my father, mor e so tha n with Mother.

Uncle Cleon’s oldest daughter, Beth, died following childbirth and it w a s just really hard because was just like a sister to us. The family wa s r eally close. She was married and living in Salina at the time. She ha d ma rried a school teacher from Richfield. It was her first baby, an d I was a lso pregnant with Jerri at the time. She developed an infectio n after th e birth and died and it was just really a sad thing. Her bab y girl live d and they named her Beth. It really was just like losing a s ister - it w as really hard.

I went quite steady with Chester for about 4 years. Two of those winte r s he was in Logan going to school. I used to look forward to his lette r s so. The minute I’d get home from school I’d ask Mother if I got a let te r. We corresponded back and forth. And when he’d come home for Christm a s and Thanksgiving it was really a special time.

Chester belonged to the Sigma Chi fraternity and this one spring, he ask e d me if I’d come up to Logan to the spring formal. Dad wasn’t going t o le t me go at first, but he finally gave in and I got a new formal dres s an d went up. It was so neat. The fellows all wore tuxedos and the danc e wa s so wonderful. And after the dance he and I were in the car alone a nd w e were parked by the fraternity house and he gave me his fraternit y pin a nd asked me if I’d marry him. That was so special. I was very muc h in lov e and knew he was who I wanted.

So the next July 17, 1940, we were married at my home in Meadow by Milt o n Beckstrand. We had a nice big wedding dinner afterwards at my parent s ’ home. I remember my wedding dress. It was a white shark-skin dress th a t I got from the Sears catalog for $4.50. I’ve always been sorry tha t I d idn’t keep it. That was really a fantastic day! We drove to Salt La ke Cit y and stayed in the Hotel Newhouse that night, and then went on t o Yellow stone Park for our honeymoon. And we were very happy. Right afte r we go t home we had a wedding dance at the open air dance hall. There w as reall y a big crown - as large a wedding as they ever had. We got a lo t of beau tiful wedding presents.
We lived with grandpa and grandma Johnson for a couple of weeks. Chest e r had bought a house on the next corner called the Petty place. And i t ha d a little stucco house on it and we stayed with Grandpa and grandm a whil e the people in it made arrangements to move out. And then we move d int o our first home. It was quite a let-down to both of us because we’ d com e from nice homes. There was no running water in the house. We;jus t ha d a wood cook stove and no facilities inside at all. But it was th e happi est time of our life. It was just really special. Every night wa s just li ke a date with Chester. I’d look forward to him coming home fro m work. H e worked really hard. He’d get up early in the morning and wor k as long a s he could see.
After we’d been married two years, Jerri was born down in Meadow. I thou g ht that she was the most perfect child that had ever been born. She wa s j ust absolute perfection. Of course, I guess that goes for all new mot her s with their first baby. All of my babies were beautiful, and I lov e the m all very much. But it was just really fun to have a little baby . And th en within three years and three days had three children, Jerri , Pam and D iane. I had my first two children at Mother’s, and when Dian e was born, t hey had a Christensen Maternity Home in Fillmore. There wa s no hospital y et. But Mrs. Christensen opened up her home as a maternit y home. Diane wa s born six weeks early and just weighted a little over f our pounds. It wa s a miracle that her life was spared. There were no inc ubators like the y have today. Dr. Evans just looked at her and told Mrs . Christensen to w rap her in wool and keep her close to the fire. Mrs. C hristensen didn’t e ven have central heating, she just had a little oil h eater. For a long ti me Diane was quite a worry. We had a hard time wit h her digestion. She co uldn’t drink raw milk. We had to put lactic aci d in her mild and curdle i t before she drank it because her system jus t wasn’t capable of digestin g the milk as it was. She looked like a litt le tiny sparrow. And Grandp a Johnson took the credit for saving her life .

Btu now as I think back, if Diane had been born today she would have be e n placed in an incubator for a number of weeks and been given differen t c are. But it was a miracle that she survive. She was meant to do so. T he b aby and I stayed at the maternity home for ten days and then came ho me to gether. With nearly all my children, at least up until Ginger, I la id fla t on my back for ten days after childbirth. That was the custom . I thin k on the fifth day I was allowed to put my feet over the edge o f the be d and was not allowed to even stand up until about the sixth o f seventh d ay. And actually, after that much time in bed. I was much wea ker than I w as when getting right up after the baby was born. By the tim e Ginger wa s born, they had built a new hospital in Fillmore and the res t of the chi ldren were born there.

Anyway, it was rather hard, kind of like pioneers living in a little hou s e without any conveniences. But after we were married for seven years , w e built a new home and it was just beautiful. It was so wonderful t o ge t into a home that had a furnace and all of the conveniences. The ho use w as all completely paid for within a year after we moved in. That wa s real ly quite an accomplishment in those days. It was just like we ha d moved i nto a palace in comparison to what we had had. But I don’t thin k we wer e any happier than we were in that little house. We had a lot o f compan y and really entertained a lot. Every weekend we’d get with a gr oup and g o do something.
And then it seemed like the babies just came real regularly until we h a d seven of them. And I was just so happy with each one. It was just alw ay s a real special feeling when we had a baby in the home. There was jus t a n atmosphere that can’t be compared to anything else.

We had four girls and Chester wanted a boy so much and so did I. And fin a lly Ken was born and was that ever wonderful to finally have a son! Wh e n he was two weeks old, he developed an infection in his mouth and thro a t and we had to take him to a specialist in Provo. They immediately pu t h im in the hospital and he was in the hospital for two weeks. He was r eall y a sick little baby. The doctor told me if it got down in his lungs , h e couldn’t promise anything. I stayed with Gwen and Meldon while he w as i n the hospital. The doctor called me at Gwen’s one night and said th at we ’d better get someone and come and give the baby a name and a bless ing be cause the infection had gone down in his lungs. I called Chester a nd he c ame up immediately. We got Ariel Ballif who was a stake presiden t there i n Provo to come and give Ken a blessing and his name. It seeme d like righ t after that blessing Ken started improving and got well agai n. We alway s felt we were really blessed to save his life and be able t o bring him h ome.

I recall about the only family vacation we took was just after Ken was b o rn. We left him with Grandpa and Grandma Johnson and got into our new b la ck Buick and took the children and went up through Yellowstone. It w a s a fun trip. We’d get up every morning and make some sandwiches whil e w e were still at the motel. Then we’d pull off the side of the road an d ha ve our lunch.
Then later we had another boy, Jeff, and then we had two boys and four g i rls. And then when I was 40 years old, I was expecting Penni - which i s q uite late in life to be having a new baby. But I think the Lord kne w wha t he was doing when he sent her to me, because many a time she wa s my sal vation and gave me a purpose in life. I really enjoyed her, we w ere alway s real close. It seemed like when other children were growing u p, I was s o busy that I didn’t have the time to really enjoy them as muc h as I di d Penni. She and I were home alone.

There’s just no feeling that can be compared to the feelings I had wh e n I had a new baby in my arms. But it is really special. The Lord give s y ou those little spirits to take care of and you really realize you ha ve t he responsibility to form their lives. But we seem to have done al l righ t by them. We’ve always been a really close family. When one membe r of th e family hurts, we all seem to hurt. We all pull together when pr oblems c ome up with any of us. And I’m sure the Lord will never send u s any probl ems that we can’t handle, with His help. He hasn’t up to date . Many a tim e I’ve called on Him. It seems like there’s always a few pro blems when th ere is a large family, but we can always rely on each othe r to help see u s through them. I’m sure the times that I have made the w rong decisions , the Lord had helped me pull out of them. And I could nev er have made i t without Him.

As a rule, our children were all very healthy. Dr. Evans commented o n i t at one time when I was visiting him and said what a fine, healthy f amil y we had. They were all beautiful children. They were all real goo d kids , and I didn’t have any trouble with them. They had dual parents t hey ha d to answer to, with Grandpa and Grandma Johnson on the next corne r. The y really kept an eye on them when I didn’t. So there wasn’t much t hey go t away with. Grandpa and Grandma were quite an influence on the ch ildre n as they were growing up. They had a close relationship with thei r grand parents which I think all children really need.

I got along comparatively well with my in-laws for living as close a s w e did. We had a few little ups and downs, but nothing serious that co uldn ’t be ironed out. And really, we did get along remarkably well.

As the years went on, Chester bought a ranch up Salina canyon. He spe n t a great deal of time over there and I really had a hard time adjusti n g to him being gone so much. I really missed him. It seemed like ther e wa s just really a big gap in the home when he wasn’t here. And it wasn ’t to o many years after he bought the ranch in Salina that he joined a c orpora tion and moved out to Nevada to start a ranch they had purchased o ut ther e, which was one of the determining factors in our separation . I just did n’t feel like there was much of a purpose in even living wit hout a husban d. It was really an adjustment for me. And after we divorce d, it felt lik e life was just over. I didn’t always make the right decis ions, but the L ord was with me to help me through my bad times.

I seemed like the problems soon melted way and I got control of my lif e . I went to the Trade technical College in Salt Lake and took a nurse s ai d course so I could be capable of working. After I came home, I wen t to w ork at the Delta Hospital for a summer. It proved to be just mor e tha n I could handle. Having never worked, and having to work that har d all a t once, I became ill and had to quit. And I was quite ill for on e summer.

That fall, Beth Crosland called u and asked if I would like a job with t h e Family Services going to people’s homes and taking care of shut-in s . I did that for about four years. I would have as many as four or fiv e h omes that I would go into and do what was necessary so the people wou ld b e able to stay in their own homes without having to be hospitalized . It w as good for me to have that type of work because it was good to b e aroun d people who had more problems than I did. It helped me minimiz e what pro blems I did have and go through the adjustment I had to go thr ough at tha t time. And as that job dwindled away, I decided to see i f I could get wo rk as the school lunch program. I applied for that and w orked with them f or two years. We always had summers off, so I was aske d if I wouldn’t lik e to come work at the Fillmore Hospital for the summe r. So I went there j ust temporarily but hadn’t been there very long unti l they asked me i f I would work there permanently. I really like the wor k because I like d the atmosphere at the hospital. And it was a learnin g experience. Ever y day I’m still learning more about illnesses and th e problems that go wi th it. I am at eh present time taking a dietician s correspondence cours e that will give me some college credits and wil l merit me for more pay a nd a better job. I enjoy my work very much. Eve ry day is different an d I felt like I’m performing a service and am need ed. I really need to fe el needed.

I feel like I have had a very wonderful life. There has been a lot of ha p piness in it. I was very much in love with my husband and I probably al wa ys will be, although our lives have taken different paths. We have a t i e to one another that can never be severed with our children.

I’m grateful for the closeness I had with Grandpa and grandma Johnson af t er the divorce. They always made me feel like I was still their daughte r , which was really nice and helped me. When they both got very ill, I r em ember Grandma called me up one morning about eleven o’clock and she wa s c rying. She said, “Stella, can you come and help me? I can’t do my wor k” . I think that was the last day she attempted to do it alone. So fro m the n on, I went over and helped take care of her and grandpa until aft er Gra ndma died. I’d go over every morning and get her out of bed and he lp he r get dressed and just take care of all their needs, the two of the m. I t was quite a pathetic sight to see the two of them trying to contin ue o n and stay in their own home. Between Ken and I, I think we contribu ted t o the fact that they were able to stay home as long as they did.

My father died at 63 years of age of cancer. His death was very brutal . H e died at home where he had stayed for quite a while and just literal ly w ithered away. We all loved him very much, and it was hard for us t o handl e. My mother is in pretty good health and she’s now living in a r etiremen t center in Salt Lake.

Work was no stranger to us at home. The seven children, their father a n d I all worked really hard and long days. Most of the nights we would e a t supper while we watched the ten o’clock news. Then we’d be up again e ar ly the next morning and have a full day’s work, each one of us. The gi rl s all drove the tractor and milked cows. We all did everything we coul d t o put a little money away. I always did my own cooking and cannin g - anyt hing I could that would help to feed the family a little cheaper . I use d to bake around 12-13 loaves of bread every week. It was nice wh en we go t a deep freeze so that I could freeze it, and we could have fre sh brea d at all times. There was always plenty to eat at our house, we n ever wan ted for good food.
The Lord has blessed me with seven beautiful children, which is the mo s t important thing in my life right now. I have five beautiful daughter s w ith a lot of class and two handsome sons.

Jerri: there’s nothing impossible for that girl! When she was just tin y , about two years old, she had scarlet fever. At that time, which was b ef ore antibiotics, the health officer in town came and put a red flag o n ou r front gate and we could not leave the house at all for two week s - whic h was really hard. Then after the two weeks was up and the quara ntine wa s over, we had to fumigate our home.

Pam: she is a beautiful lady, very sincere and very feeling for other pe o ple. When she was younger around home, no matter where I went I could t ur n around and she was with me. I used to call her my little shadow. I’ d g o hang clothes on the clothesline, and she would be right there wit h me.
Diane: is always busy and very reliable. With her six children she alwa y s finds time to do church work and help others.

Ginger: is a very special lady with a very quiet dignity. When she w a s a small child, she loved to smell gasoline. No matter where we’d pu t ou r power lawn mower, if we’d lose Ginger, we would find her with th e cap o ff the gas can smelling the gasoline. One time she was pretty wel l zonke d out of it. It was really quite scary. If we’d hide our lawnmowe r, she’ d go over to Grandpa’s and get in the shed and smell that gasolin e.

Ken: is a very ambitious man and takes very good care of his mother.
Jeff: is a very handsome young man. He is also very considerate and help f ul to his mother. And under that hair is a gentle, loving man.
Penni: has literally been my salvation. She came when I really needed he r . The Lord knew better than I that at 41 years of age, I needed a chil d . At the present time, Penni is in Israel with the BYU travel study. S h e is having some wonderful experiences.

I’ve always had a very close relationship with my children. It hasn’t ju s t been a parent0relationship, it’s been more of a friend-type-relations hi p.
In tracing the Bennett genealogy, we discovered we were related to Pocah o ntas. I guess that’s what makes us all very reliable - and we’re surviv or s and fighters. We’re all really proud of that.

Now that I look back, I have raised seven children, and I presently ha v e 22 grandchildren. I have worked as a nurse for family home services . Wo rked in the school lunch program and am now employed at the Fillmor e Hosp ital as a cook. It’s a job I really enjoy and I feel needed and ap preciat ed, which is very important to me. I married the man I loved an d I gues s I’ll always love him. I have no desire, whatever, to remarry.

I’ve had many people ask me why I don’t sell my home and move away fro m H olden now that my family’s all gone. I have one of the nicest homes i n Mi llard County, and I’m very proud of it. I enjoy keeping I and am hap pies t when I’m home in it. But as far as family concerned - the whole to wn o f Holden is my family. If you don’t think they’re your friends, yo u jus t have a little trouble and see how they really around you and forg ive yo u. A lot of people might just think of that as being nosey. But th ey ar e not, really. It’s just a genuine concern for each other. I love l ivin g here. It’s my home and I don’t think I’ll ever move.

So that is my life. I look back on it and I have made a lot of mistake s , but like I say, with the Lord’s help He has been on my side and help e d me through my problems. All While my children were raising, I taugh t Su nday School and Primary and took them with me. I enjoyed the wor k I was d oing. I am now 61 years old and feeling really well and enjoy h ard work s till.