Interview with Mildred June Godwin Taylor

Mildred June (Godwin) Taylor was interviewed on March 7, 1969 in Washington City, Washington County, Utah by Fielding H. Harris, a representative of Voices of Remembrance Foundation. She related her personal history of living in various parts of Utah.

FH:[What is] your full name?

MT:[My name is] Mildred June (Godwin) Taylor.

FH:What is your birth date?

MT:[I was born] June 12, 1919.

FH:What is your place of birth?

MT:I was born in Sugarhouse [Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah] on the corner of Ramona and Buhl Avenue.

FH:What was your father's name?

MT:[His name was] Andrew Godwin.

FH:[What was] your mother's [full] name?

MT:[Her name was] Minnie June (Jensen) [Godwin].

FH:What occurred in your life when you were a [young] girl?

MT:About the earliest remembrance I have is when we moved to East Millcreek 00:01:00[Salt Lake County, Utah]. It was a lovely home in the mouth of Millcreek Canyon. I remember a lot of happy experiences there. I remember the beautiful yard and the fields when all the houses were not there. I remember when they were building the houses and playing in them before I started school. I remember when Burbidge's barn burned down. All my sisters and brothers were in school and I was home alone [watching the fire]. I remember going with mama to Relief Society 00:02:00or when she would take me to Primary.

FH:Did you start school there?

MT:Yes, I did. I started the first grade at the Sherman [Elementary] School. My teacher was Martha Simons. I was really interested in [school]. I thought I was pretty smart at that time. I knew all of my ABCs. I could read all the labels on the cans in the food cupboard. Being the youngest girl in the family, they built me up more than what I really would have had if I had been raised alone. They thought that I was [very] cute. I did not want anybody to take me to school. I was big enough to go by myself [and] that is [what] I did. I remember the first 00:03:00grade teacher [on] the first day [of school] would blow a little mouth organ to get a pitch. I thought that was fun. I loved music and loved her.

FH:Tell about your [education]. How far were you able to go in school?

MT:I liked spelling, reading, writing and things of that nature. I liked to perform and was in a lot of plays. I remember in the first grade even being the one [who] gave a big long reading on the Christmas program. Years later, I met Miss Simons at a shower [party] after I had been married and [been] away from there for years. She remembered me and reminded me about that little reading I gave in the Christmas program. That tickled me. I went through Sherman 00:04:00[Elementary] School.

I had a lot of good experiences. I remember in the third grade I was chosen to sing alto with a small group that was hand chosen to go to another class and sing a song. [The song] was All the Birds Will Come Again. I can still remember it. I was in the operetta and in the plays in school [also].

When I was in the seventh grade I took the bus and went down to Granite Junior High [School]. I thought I was big to be able to get the bus and go there to school. I was practically grown-up! I went to the seventh, eighth and ninth [grades] and graduated from Granite Junior High [School]. I [wore] a formal [at graduation]. It was the first formal I ever had [and] I really enjoyed [wearing 00:05:00it]. The following year I started Granite High [School] in the tenth grade. That is as far as I went because, that summer, I had started going with my husband and we were married in the fall.

FH:In those early years did you take any trips? Tell about your association with your father.

MT:My father was a man [who] liked adventure, nature, hunting and fishing. He was always taking us wherever he went. He wanted mama and the [children] to go [with him]. Mama [became] a little tired of it sometimes. I remember her saying, "You go. I will stay home. I do not like to be out there and camp on the ground and have ants in the food." She would go quite a bit and we [all] loved to go. 00:06:00We thought that was fun. For hours we would play by the side of a big stream and help dad fish [wearing] his big boots. I will never forget that. How much fun he was. He was always singing going down the street. He would be singing away. He would make remarks like, "Minnie, look at those green fields and those cows over there. Let us get a farm." But mother did not like that idea. She loved her lovely home. We had chickens and a chicken coop. We had a barn and we usually had a couple of cows and a pig. We had an orchard of peach [trees] and a lovely garden, but we did not have what you would call a farm. She had it very convenient and she loved it that way. I do not know whether my father really would have been a very good farmer or not, but he liked the idea of living on a farm.

FH:Did you take a lot of trips with him?

MT:Yes. I remember going [to] a lot of places especially around Utah. He went to Idaho and to Wyoming. He was always interested in some venture of some sort. He had a coal mine up in Evanston [Wyoming]. I remember going up there. He had the cook there [who] cooked us some breakfast. We had pancakes there in the mine. We thought that was great. He took us around like that. I remember him taking me up to The Church [of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] offices. After mother died he worried about us. There were four of us left at home. He would take us, whenever he could, to work with him.

FH:How old were you when your mother died?

MT:[I was] ten [years old]. Sometimes we would play on the church grounds, the tabernacle grounds, while he was in there varnishing some benches or getting his 00:08:00[family] tree growing or something like that. He would stay there maybe for two or three hours. I remember him taking me up to the church offices with him. He took me to meet the authorities of the church and the president of the church [to] shake their hand.

FH:Who was the president then?

MT:I think it was Heber J. Grant. We felt like dad knew everybody. You would go down the street a little ways and, "Hi, "Andy"." "Where are you going, "Andy"?" It seems like he knew everybody [and I believe he did. [When] he died there were so many people at his funeral [that] they could not all be housed.

FH:Did you ever go out to Lagoon [Amusement Park, Farmington, Davis County, Utah]?

MT:Yes. He liked to go to Lagoon and [to The Great] Saltair [Magna, Salt Lake County, Utah]-- especially after he married Emma. I guess she had quite an 00:09:00influence on his life that way. She liked to pack a lunch and we would go out there [to] swim. Sometimes he would take us. I remember my cousin, Billy, and I would go [there]. He would let us [go on] all the different rides. We especially liked [it] when they had the slippery slides that would go down into the water. We would go backwards and forwards and head first. [Laughter] We really enjoyed it.

FH:Did you have any accidents or sickness?

MT:Gladys [Godwin], my sister, took the car without anyone knowing and she was not supposed to [do that]. I was afraid to ride with her and rode on the fender. 00:10:00When she went to make the turn to go up to our house I thought she was going too fast. I was afraid she was going to tip over on me so I jumped off and hurt my back. I was not aware that it was hurt that badly until I was in the seventh grade. At that time, our physical education teacher told us to examine our back to see if it was straight. I examined mine and mine was not. It [became] worse.

FH:Were you able to get it corrected?

MT:Dad had the chiropractor give me treatments, but it seemed like they would have to put it in a cast. Whenever they would give me a treatment it would fall right out again if I started working.

I had yellow jaundice when I must have been about fourteen [years old]. Grace Meredith came to town to sing. Dad had tickets for all of us to go hear her 00:11:00[sing] in the [Salt Lake] Tabernacle. I thought she was wonderful. I remember after [the program was over] we wanted to see her closer. So we ran out and stood by her car. There was not [any] place for me except right by the exhaust. I stood there waiting [with] all the people around me and I could not get any closer. I thought: this is a terrible smell, but I was not going to move. I wanted to see her. [I thought] I will rap on the window and wave at her when she gets in. [Laughter] When she finally came in, I got her to turn around. She waved at me and threw a kiss.

When I [came] home that night I felt kind of sick. I did not know what the matter was so I just went to sleep. The next day I had breakfast. I threw up and threw up and it went on like that for a week. I could not [even] hold water down. My older sister said, "Dad, you better take her to the doctor." Dad would 00:12:00tell Emma, "We better get her to the doctor." Emma would say, "You do not need to go to the doctor for everything. She will get over it. She just has the influenza or something." I knew it was not the flu. I knew something awful was wrong because I could not [keep] any [food or water] down. My sister said, "Come over and I will prepare something and see if you can eat what I fix." So I went over there to see her and she fixed a lovely dinner. I just got it down and ran to the bathroom and up it came. So she told dad, "You get her up to the doctor. She is sick." When I went [to the doctor] he examined me good. He said, "Andrew, look at her eyes. They are as yellow as can be. She has yellow jaundice, acute yellow jaundice." He gave me some pills and after a week or two I was better.

FH:Were you poisoned with that carbon monoxide gas?

MT:Yes.

FH:During these years, were you active in church? Did you go to church regularly?

MT:Yes I did. I was always at Sunday school, Sacrament meeting and Mutual [Improvement Association]. I enjoyed [attending] very much.

FH:Did you go to Primary too?

MT:Yes, I went to Primary.

FH:What about [a] religion class?

MT:Yes. We had that [class at] school for maybe two years. Then they cut it out. But I went when they had it in the school.

FH:Were you able to have any Seminary [classes]?

MT:Yes. In the seventh grade and the eighth grade I had Seminary [classes] in junior high school. Brother Clayson was my teacher.

FH:Do you know his first name?

MT:It seems like it is William, but I am not sure.

FH:Did you ever participate in the plays in Mutual [Improvement Association]? Were these [activities] part of your life?

MT:Yes, they surely were. I remember being in a lot of the ward plays. I remember being [a] man photographer once. It was kind of a cute little short one-act play. There were three [plays] we were in that night. I remember being 00:15:00the leading lady in a stake play that we put on. I enjoyed that. I played the part of Elaine and it was a lot of fun. I remember a lot of experiences through my life [of] participating in programs. I enjoyed [doing] things like this.

FH:Were you an outgoing personality in your growing up years?

MT:I think I must have been.

FH:What do you remember about your father?

MT:To me, he was a very happy, friendly type [of a person]. I remember the discipline I [received] was not firm or stern. He would beg me, plead with me and would try his hardest to get [me] to do what was right without too much 00:16:00reprimand. When we would do something that was not right, he would say, "Go out and get a willow." He would switch our legs when we were [children]. It really would not hurt, but we would act like it hurt terribly. We would tell him, "Stop!" [Laughter] Then afterwards he would hug us and say that it hurt him worse than it did us which was certainly true, I am sure.

He was a tender-hearted man. He was always trying to help people. Many of his family were quite poor. I think through his efforts many of them were able to work because he would get them work. I remember especially my sister's sons 00:17:00[who] would be in trouble quite a bit in their teenage years. He would try to help them. Two of the boys stole his car a couple or three times and he did not do anything, but tell them not to [do it again] and get after them.

FH:Maybe that is why they did it, because he was not hard on them.

MT:They knew he would let them get by with it. He was very, very charitable. We had many people come to our home. I remember after mother died he went to the Relief Society and talked to [the] homemakers, to get a hold of somebody [who] would be in need to come and be our homemaker for us for awhile. I remember Mrs. Plummer and her daughter, Juanita, from Chattanooga, Tennessee lived with us for 00:18:00several years. He converted them to the church and baptized them himself. They were very strange people. I remember biscuits and gravy for breakfast. We thought that was [very] funny to have biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I remember her housekeeping. She was a happy, friendly little lady, but not a very good housekeeper. They stayed with us for quite awhile. Then they went on.

There were a lot of people like that [who] came into our home. There was a Mrs. Jolley and "Cristy." His name was Carl William Powell, I think. They called him "Cristy" for short. He was an artist. He could paint or sketch anything, but he was quite a drifter. Dad tried to get him to be a scenic stage painter. He did 00:19:00not care for that; he liked to be on the ground. He got a job working for my brother-in-law [Glen Christensen] who had an inn at that time. [It was] an eating place, on Main Street and about Miller Avenue, I guess it was. This fellow was there for awhile, but every day he would hear the noise of the train and [inaudible]. One day he was on it.

FH:Do you remember anything about your father's parents?

MT:No, I do not remember them. Handy Haywood Godwin was my father's father. He died in 1899. In 1898 he had joined the church. That was his baptism date on the record. I later found out through an aunt that the others were baptized in the 00:20:00earlier 1890s. Handy had [served] in the Civil War [where he was] wounded. [He] was hospitalized for eleven months. He had lost a thumb and had a scar on his head. He [had] a jovial nature and loved music. I find in the records that the outfit he was in [during] the Civil War was [the] Musician Company C. He was a Confederate [soldier].

I heard that before he joined the church the missionaries had come to his home and the others were all baptized but one. Ransom [Godwin] was not baptized. He had felt [that] during the Civil War there were [too] many preachers [who] would come around and say, "Join our church and the war will be over." So he did not have much faith in [any churches]. When his family all joined he was not sure so 00:21:00[and] was the last one to join. When he joined, the missionaries came and somehow one of them spoke in tongues and the other one interpreted it. The interpretation was, "If you do not join the church at this time you will not be with your family in the celestial kingdom." It may not have meant much at that time, but to him it meant a lot. He could feel the power of the whole [situation] and he joined the church. But to others [who] may have heard about it, it may not have meant anything. To me, in doing the genealogy of the family, I find that the only record that tells anything [about the name of] Handy's mother and father was his baptism into the church. I have looked and looked.

FH:His records might have been lost.

MT:That is right. His mother and father would not have been known if it had not been for that baptism record. On [the record] it [asks]: what is your mother's 00:22:00name -- it was Tressa Godwin. What is your father's name? John Watkins. John Watkins certainly would not have been known because that is a different name. He took his mother's name. I was able to get their work done because of this one record. I was [very] thrilled when I heard the story about it.

FH:What do you remember about your mother?

MT:My mother was a very conscientious, quiet woman. She was a very good housekeeper and her children were always neat and clean. It seemed like she worked herself to death. She died very early. I think she was very conscientious in being a mother. I do not think she was a very strong person, but she did a 00:23:00lot. I remember her teaching [in] Primary and Relief Society.

She would go out in the yard and plant a lot. I remember her yard was always well taken care of. I remember her humming and singing in the kitchen. I remember drying dishes for her. I remember she would always say, "That is wonderful." She would make you feel like you really had done a big job by drying a few little dishes. She was a fine lady. I know at one time she was president of the Relief Society. I did not know [about it], but I heard from my older sisters that she was active in church work. At the time she died she was secretary [of] the genealogy committee in her ward.

FH:Was there something special that happened to your father and mother?

MT:Yes. In the records it states that they had their second blessing in the temple. I am sure this must have been a very wonderful [time] for them and for all of our family [when] they received this. I talked to Uncle Henry about this, years later when I saw this in the record. He told me about it [and] about their sacrifices when they were younger.

My father was called on a [LDS] mission in 1908, shortly after he had settled in Salt Lake [City]. He had worked hard so that he could come to Salt Lake [City] from North Carolina. He had become a painter at that time. He worked all day 00:25:00long so he could buy a pair of pants so he could go to conference in the [Salt Lake] Tabernacle. When he was on his mission, mother was alone with two little children. Uncle Henry was going to be there to help mother and Edna with their families while they were gone. Then Uncle Henry was called on his [LDS] mission a couple of months after. That left them alone without husbands and both of them with [young children]. They had typhoid fever, or something like that; [it] hit the families. They were confined for weeks with this. Delbert, Aunt Edna's little boy, died. That was a [very] sad occasion.

A lot of people [might] have lost their faith over things like this, but they did not. Dad later served [another LDS] mission in 1928. Mother was left alone again with her family. The [children] were [older] at that time. I guess the church meant everything to them. Dad sent for his [parents]. He came when he was about nineteen [years old] to Salt Lake [City]. In 1900, shortly after he came, he sent for his mother [Elizabeth Ann (Naylor) Godwin]. His father had died in 1899. In 1900 his mother was living with him. She lived with him until 1912 when she died. Mother had her in her home and took care of her right to the last.

FH:What was your father's work?

MT:He was over all the painting and decorating [for] the church. For twenty 00:27:00years he had that position. Then, [during] The [Great] Depression, they cut that office in the church because of the budget, but he had a chance to bid on all the church jobs at that time. He put the gold leaf on the Angel Moroni up [on the Salt Lake Temple]. I remember people asking him if he was nervous when he would [be] on top of the temple spires. He would say, "No, I feel just as calm as if I am on the ground."

FH:[Did] they go up on top to do that?

MT:Yes. I guess they have to keep the spires clean. They would sandblast, so I 00:28:00guess there is quite a bit of work to keeping it up. I remember on the old Grant Stake house there on Thirty-third South [Street]. [It has been] torn down. That roof was a complete circle, almost, only more egg-shaped. That was a terrible roof to keep up, but they did it.

FH:I felt bad when that [building] was torn down.

MT:I did too. I remember being [in] a program there a year or two.

FH:How many children [were born to] your father and mother?

MT:They had seven [children].

FH:Would you name them and tell a little about each one?

MT:[Minnie] Laverna [Godwin] was the oldest [child]. She went on a [LDS] mission. She went to college at the University of Utah [Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah] and taught school for a couple of years before she married Clifford Coombs. They have had two children, Clifford and Carolyn. Neither of these children has married so far. Carolyn has a job [in] Washington, D. C. and Clifford Jr. is a professor at [the University of California at] Berkeley [California]. Laverna has been very active in church work. She and her husband recently completed a [LDS] mission to Louisiana. They have been home since 00:30:00November [1968]. They have done a lot of wonderful work.

[Elsie] Leone [Godwin] is the second [child]. She married Glen Christensen. Leone is a lovely person. She has not been active in the church and never had [any] children. She is a [very] lovely, charitable person and very artistic. She has a beautiful home and beautiful things [in it]. She is always kind to everybody when they come -- they feel so welcome [in] her home. Glen became an alcoholic and he died. She divorced him and had kind of an unhappy life [with him]. He was a very good business man [and] made a lot of money. Her second 00:31:00marriage is to Meredith Miller. He is not a Mormon, but he is a very fine man. He thinks the world of Leone and treats her wonderfully. Right now, they live in Los Angeles, California. He works at some aircraft [company where] he is a foreman.

The next one after was Ruth [E. Godwin]. "Ruthie" lived with us. I have her papers when she was growing up in school. She was a very good student. When she was twelve [years old] she [came down with] what they called rheumatism and heart trouble [as it was known] in those days. I guess it was rheumatic fever [and] she passed away. I remember, at the time, how sad and unhappy it made mother. She seemed so quiet after that. I remember how quiet [she was], it 00:32:00seemed to make such a difference to her. In the records, mother had her endowment work done right after [that]. I guess, at that time, they [the church] let them do it right after even though she [Ruth] was twelve years old.

Clarence [A. Godwin] was [the next child]. Clarence was dad's first son. He was the pride of my father. He is married to Silva Bodily. Silva was a bishop's daughter in Gusher [Uintah County] Utah. That is out in Uintah Basin country. Dad was quite anxious for that marriage to take [place].

[END OF RECORDING ONE.]

MT:[Gladys T. Godwin was the next child]. She had four little boys right in a row. They are fine children. Gene E. and Beverly went to the temple and had two 00:34:00of their [children] sealed to them. He invited me to go [and] that was a very special time. They had two little girls since [then]. I think that Stanley and Tressa have been to the temple, but the other boys have not come that far yet. But they are fine boys anyway. Gladys is very artistic, has a lovely home and does a lot of sewing for her grandchildren. She works in [a] cleaners part-time. She is wonderful. She loves her family so much and treats everybody so grand.

Leslie [Godwin] is [the] youngest in the family, the baby. He had a different life than anyone else in our family. He was quite young when [our] dad died. He was eighteen years old when he joined the [United States] Navy. He was in World War II for four years, but he was not sent overseas. They sent him to officers' training school and he [received] quite an education [during] World War II. All the time he was engaged. [By the time] he was [a] chief petty officer, his girlfriend had married. He [did] not know that [and] it was quite a shock to 00:36:00him. It turned him against women. For many years he did not want anything to do with them.

He was working for the [United States] Government [when] he met his second sweetheart, his wife. She had two degrees: one in physics and one in chemistry. She was not the homemaker type. He was married to her seven years and was divorced. It was an unhappy [event] with him. Now he is married and lives in Honduras in Central America. He married a nurse. They adopted a little child and they have two [children] of their own, a girl and boy. They come to America about every two years. He has to come [home].

FH:Is he in government service there?

MT:Yes. He is in the Continental Geodetic Survey. He has quite a job. They 00:37:00stopped at Death Valley Junction [California] to see us last summer with their family. They flew over and then [rented] a camper and went traveling all over. Gloria [Godwin] is the luckiest girl. She lived in the same community all her life in Honduras and since she has been married to "Les" they have been to Alaska and all over the United States. She has had quite a life. She is a sweet person and I think she is making a very good life for Leslie. He has to travel a lot in the field and leave her alone, but she has a maid and a guard. I guess it is different in those foreign countries. He is certainly a fine brother. He has not been too active in the church either, but it may come. That is my family.

FH:When you were growing up what did you do for fun? Did you have fun?

MT:Oh, lots of fun! [Laughter] I had lots of girlfriends. In fact, all the girls in my neighborhood were my friends. Norma, my next door neighbor, was very close. We did all kinds of things together. We washed dishes, had candy pulls and did everything that there was [to do]. We organized a girls' club. It was called the Serial Comic Club. [Laughter] It was half-serious and half-comical. We would get together and have a lot of fun.

I took dancing lessons. That was fun. I remember dancing a Dutch dance with my sister at the ward house. I was dancing and my shoe fell off. She was

embarrassed to death, but I just picked it up and went on dancing. It did not bother me. [Laughter] We had a lot of fun in our teenage years.

We had a ward dance every Saturday night in our ward. We also had ward dances in [the] Holladay Ward and picture shows. I loved to go to these dances. I loved to dance. I would show a lot of the boys in the neighborhood, who were a little bashful about trying, how to dance. I do not think I missed any of those dances until I [was] married. [Laughter] When I started going with my husband I do not 00:40:00believe we went to any dances. We were so poor. [Laughter] He was working, but he was not making very much money. We mostly went to a show or went for a sandwich.

It would be nice to tell about when I met him. Do you want me to [tell] that now?

FH:Yes. Let us hear about it.

MT:I was just a [teenager] and having fun. I was going to make a date with a fellow for the girls' dance. I really had a case on him. I thought he was really something. His brother came along and wanted to make a date with me for it. I 00:42:0000:41:00said, "I already have a date." Then that made it so I could not ask the one I wanted to because then his brother would say, "She said she already had [a date]." I thought: now what will I do? I was so mad at the brother. I did not like him at all. He was always trying to show his affection to me. I went with the brother quite a bit. He would come to my home. We would go to church together and after church we would have hot chocolate and cake. I really enjoyed his company. We would go on sleigh rides. He had a big toboggan and a group of us would go way up in the mouth of Millcreek Canyon. We would have chili parties afterward.

FH:What was his name?

MT:Orville Lloyd. Then, when I could not take him to the girls' dance, I thought: I am going to go. I did not like not going to the girls' dance and I could not think of who I was going to take.

Ariel's [Taylor's] backyard faced our backyard and it was the Taylor home where my husband had grown up. At that time, his Aunt Josie [Sandberg] was living in that home. They had made a switch in homes. Ariel's mother was living in Sugarhouse in Josie's other home [inaudible]. Ariel was living up there at that time with Aunt Josie and working for [Nathaniel] Baldwin making [radio] speakers.

FH:Was that Baldwin Radio? [In 1914, Nathaniel Baldwin started a radio factory 00:44:00in East Millcreek, Utah called The Baldwin Radio Company.]

MT:Yes. Ariel's interest was different from mine. Ariel was seven years older than I. My girlfriend, Elsie, used to say, "He wants to meet you." I had seen him from afar and I had known his sisters a little bit. They were still older than I. They would come over and play with my older sisters so I knew them, but I did not know him. I saw him over there in his new blue Ford car. I saw his dog. I did not pay much attention to him, truthfully. She said, "He really likes you." I said, "How does he like me? He does not know me." She said, "He sees you get off the bus every night."

I would cut through their yard. I would go into my sister's [yard], cut through over the fence and come into my yard because my backyard faced his backyard. She 00:45:00said, "He thinks you are so smooth." I said, "What does that mean?" [Laughter] She said, "He thinks you are really cute." I said, "I do not know who I am going to take to the girls' dance now. That darn Elray, he asked me and now I cannot ask Orville [Lloyd]." She said, "Ask Ariel." I said, "Oh, no, he would think I was crazy." "He is dying to meet you. Ask him." I said, "You ask him for me." She said, "That would not be right. Why not write him a note?" I said, "Okay, if you will take it to him."

So that is what I did. He did not answer it. I thought: oh, for dumb. I should not have written that note. I was kind of bashful about asking boys and so I 00:46:00told my other girlfriend, "Go ask Alvin if he wants to go to the girls' dance with me." [Laughter] Alvin was like a brother to me. He was a very fine fellow and I felt like I knew that he was like taking a brother. I felt that way about him. He was a good family fellow and I felt good around him. He was a good [fellow]. I knew I would enjoy going with him, but it was not anything like going with Ariel. [Laughter] So she went over and asked him and he said yes, he would love to go.

The girls' dance was Friday, April 12. That morning he [Ariel] sent his [young] niece over to say that he was picking me up in Aunt Josie's Buick. [Laughter] That was a fancy car. He had a Ford and she had a Buick. I thought: now what will I do?

FH:You had two dates. [Laughter]

MT:Yes. I told Norma, "You are going to have to tell Alvin I am not going to pick him up." So she did. Is that terrible? [Laughter] Here came Ariel in 00:47:00Josie's Buick to get me. That was something. He was taller than all the other boys at that age in high school. I had his dance card all marked for him. We had traded our dances earlier. Whenever I wanted to see him, I could see him because he was taller than anybody else. All my friends thought he was really something. I did too! [Laughter]

But before that happened I had met him. I did not think he was too crazy about me. He had told Elsie, "Bring her over." The first time she took me over to meet him, I remember he was there talking to [Nathaniel] Baldwin about some technical 00:48:00[things]. She introduced me as "Mickey" Godwin. By the way, that was my nickname growing up. He said, "How do you do." [Laughter] I thought: what a creep! [Laughter] When I [was] alone I said to Elsie, "He was not glad to meet me. For heaven's sakes, he is not a bit interested in me. What do you mean?" Yet every time I would get with her she would start that again, "He wants to be with you." I thought he sure has a funny way of showing it.

Then we went over there to Aunt Josie's and he said, "Would you care for some cake?" I said, "Sure." He said, "Well, I have to make it." [Laughter] So he did. He made a cake. I said, "Will Aunt Josie get mad using up her eggs and making a cake when she is not here?" He said, "No, I cook for her all the time." I had a 00:49:00couple other girlfriends with me at that time. We went walking around and talking. It did not seem like he was flirting at all with me so I was not a bit interested.

FH:You had to learn to know him better.

MT:I had not learned to know him. After the girls' dance I did not hear anything from him [until] the last of May. He came over and said, "Would you like to spend Decoration [Memorial] Day with me and then go to the old mill to the dance?" He had another friend and his girl. It was [in] the daytime. He was going to go see somebody and have a picnic. Maybe that was it. I was thrilled. I 00:50:00asked father and he said yes, he thought it would be alright. He was bedfast at that time. He said, "I would like you to take some flowers up to your mother's grave on your way." So we did.

We went together from May until -- father died July [28, 1935]. Ariel had come once to see dad when he had proposed. I said I wanted to wait until I [was] out of school. He said, "If you do not marry me now I will leave the country and you will never see me again." [Laughter] I said, "I will, but do not tell anybody yet. Let us wait for a little while before we tell anybody we are going to get married." I was trying to put him off a little bit. That night we went up to see 00:51:00his mother. She was in bed dying of cancer. He said, "I will go in and see if she can have visitors; then I will come and get you." So he went in there and told her. I had told him not to tell anybody. He told her that we were going to be married. I am glad he did because that was the last time I saw her alive.

She was very sweet and wonderful. She told me what a sweet girl I was and how fortunate Ariel was. She said: if he does anything to ever hurt you, I will rise up in my grave. I thought what a funny thing to say because she was not dead, but it has meant a lot to me since. I remember her [being] very serious with big brown eyes and [a] sweet smile. It was my only contact that I ever had with her.

Shortly after that, he came up and went into father's room where he was sick. He told him he wanted to marry me. Dad said, "Ariel, I know you pretty well. You have a fine family. I think that you are a fine boy, but I want you to go to the temple with my daughter." Even though I was raised in the church, it sounded romantic to go to the temple. Perhaps that was my nature [and] I was not too serious. I did not realize the consequence of not going, but I remember him telling Ariel that he wanted me to go. "I will let you marry my daughter if she 00:53:00wants to marry you, but I want you to make yourself ready and go to the temple."

Ariel had not been going to meetings or anything like that at that time. [Ariel] said, "We will get married in the temple after we are married." Dad said, "No, now is the time -- before." Arial did not say much more, but he had obtained dad's permission to marry me. When he came out, I was not with him, he told me what had happened and said, "He said I could marry you, but he wanted me to marry you in the temple." I said, "We could get married in the temple then." He said, "I cannot yet. I have not been paying my tithing and going to the meetings." I said, "Do it." He said, "I will do it after we are married." He 00:54:00made me a promise then that he would take me to the temple. Eventually, he probably will keep that promise, I hope.

FH:I think he will. Ariel is a man of integrity.

MT:Yes, he sure is. He has been that way with everything he does. He usually is a man of his word. [My] father had two or three strokes before he died. The Fourth of July was when they took him to the hospital. I remember when they took him out. He had been in bed and they had to put him on a chair. I remember they put dark glasses on his eyes so the sun would not hurt them. I remember even 00:55:00pulling his hat down on his head. I [kept] that old hat after dad's death for years. Whenever I moved I would take that hat. Inside, on the band, it said "The King." I just could not [let] myself throw away that old hat. He died on July [24, 1935]. He went into a coma. My stepmother [Emma Mary (Swan) Godwin] was there. The last words he said were, "You do know I love you" and he passed into a coma. [Emotional]

He married Emma in the temple, too. She will be a wife of his also. She was a lovely girl to marry into a family with four teenage [children]. She had never been married and never had any children. She had been a career woman. She sang 00:56:00in the Tabernacle Choir and the Promenade Chorus. She had beautiful clothes and we were very intrigued with her lovely clothes. She would keep her room locked, but Gladys and I would sneak around our closet that opened up into her room and go look at her clothes and try them on. She did not like it. [Laughter] We really had a lot of joy with Emma in a lot of ways. She probably had a lot of heartaches and headaches because she did not know about children like [our] mother.

FH:After your father died, how long was it before you were married?

MT:On August [16, 1935] we were married. His sister would always say, "When are 00:57:00you going to get married? When are you going to get married?" I looked at the calendar and said, "The next full moon." That is when we were married. At that time [a full moon] was August 16.

FH:Where did you go to live?

MT:His mother, because she had passed away, had the Sugarhouse home and Juana and Vere [Osguthrope] had been living in it. That is Ariel's older sister. Ariel was next to the oldest. It was a fairly big home [so] we both moved in there. That was our honeymoon home. Juana and [inaudible] had one little girl at that time. They had not been married too long. So there were two young couples that had moved in there together. We lived there for a few months and then they decided that they would sell the home or rent it and try to sell it and we would 00:58:00get a smaller apartment. So that is what we did.

We [rented] a little apartment on Ramona Avenue. It was straight through the block from the Garfield Avenue home where we lived. We lived there three or four months. His uncle [Clarence Sandberg] wanted us to [come] down to Johns Valley [Summit County, Utah] and help him build a turkey breeder. So we left our little apartment. We had all our things in it, but we just picked up and went down to Johns Valley. I thought that was the most desolate place in this world, but I just love it now. [Laughter] When we go through there it is so peaceful, but at that time, I thought it was terrible. How could people ever want to live in such a place? We were there six weeks building the breeder. While we were there, our rent came due.

The lady that owned the apartment had gone in and taken the furniture we had and 00:59:00sold it. She took our clothes. She had Ariel's two new suits. She sent them to the cleaners and sold them. Ariel's sister, Juana, had gone down there and saw [that] all [the] furniture had been taken out of there. Boy, she went to that lady. Juana was very strong. She is a smart girl. She told her she better get every stick of that furniture and all the clothes back. She said she had been to an attorney and it was not legal [as] she had not notified us. When the rent was one day over [past due], she started making these arrangements. Because it was hard times, I guess, the lady thought she would get by [doing this] with these 01:00:00young [people]. They are young and they do not know much about things. She had had our furniture cleaned. She had Ariel's suits cleaned and all the [items] had to be brought back.

There were some [items] that I never did find. I had a pretty satin negligee covered with lace that never did come back. At first, you do not notice everything that you have. I used to wonder if it would come back. [Laughter] There were different dishes and I am sure there was a lot more gone than what I ever remembered. We had had a wedding and [received] a lot of nice things. I just could not remember everything at that time, but we did get the main things back.

FH:[What happened] after Johns Valley?

MT:We moved up to East Millcreek, because "Bob" [Taylor] was not born yet. My stepmother was still living in our home up in East Millcreek. We moved in with Ellen and Roy [Barlow]. That was his sister. We lived there for a couple of months. My stepmother was living in our home alone. That was a great big lovely home up there. She said, "Come and live with us until the baby is born." In July our baby was born. While I was in the hospital they were trying to sell the home so the estate could be settled. While I was in the hospital, the home was sold. 01:02:00So I never did go back to the home after my baby was born.

He [Ariel] rented a duplex on Racklay Court [Street]. That was our first place where we [set up] housekeeping for very long. We lived there until "Bob" was about eleven or twelve months old. I [received] money from our estate and it was enough that I [put] a down payment on a washer [machine]. I bought our first car. Ariel had sold our car when we [were] married. So I bought another car and bought a stove. Then I put a down payment on a little house on Green Street.

We [had] this little home [at] 2239 Green Street [in Salt Lake City] [and] lived 01:03:00there. We had most all of our children there except Julie [Taylor]. We remodeled it and built on [to] it. We built a basement, two bedrooms and stuccoed the whole [house]. We planted peach trees in the back. We had David [Taylor] there.

Ariel was afraid he was going to be called in the service [during World War II] and he was going to enlist. [Inaudible] to keep him out of it. He went to [Richland] Washington. He worked at the arms plant and I worked there for awhile. Then he [was] transferred to the [Hanford Nuclear Reservation] atomic bomb plant in Washington. He worked there and I was in Salt Lake [City] at Green Street.

Mr. Baldwin came up to me and said, "I have so many orders for winding radar 01:04:00relay coils. I cannot do it. Could you get Ariel here?" So I told him [Ariel] about it. When he came home, Ariel [received] these contracts to wind all these radar relay coils. [Inaudible] He was only [gone] about three or four months [to] Washington, but it seemed like three or four years. They made a shop out of our bedroom and we slept in the living room. We had night workers and day workers to do work. He made good [money and] would get $1,000.00 every week.

We had money in the bank. Then we bought a beautiful home up on Nineteenth East [Street] and Twenty-seventh South [Street]. It was a nice brick home. We had it 01:05:00all landscaped [and] bought new furniture. I could go pick out the wallpaper, the light fixtures [and] all the [other] fixtures. That was wonderful. We did not even have to sell our house on Green Street to do it, but we did. I did not want to. I told Ariel, "Let's save it and rent it. That will help us." "No, I do not want that old [house]." [Laughter] He was funny about it. He did not care about keeping it, but I wanted to. Not that I had sentimental ties, but I just felt like for practical reasons [it] would be a good thing to do. We lived up there on Twenty-seventh South [Street] for a couple of years. The whole time I was there "Bob" [had] rheumatic fever.

FH:This is the time to tell about each of your children.

[END OF RECORDING TWO.]

MT:[Robert] "Bob" [Taylor] was born in the LDS [Latter-day Saints] Hospital [in Salt Lake City]. I was thrilled to give Ariel such a darling little baby. He was 01:07:00a beautiful child with big blue eyes and [a] happy disposition. His own little boy is a lot like him. As he was growing up he was afflicted with rheumatic fever just before he turned eight [years old]. He was in bed for six months -- completely bedfast. [We waited] on him the whole time. The doctor told us that we had to take him to a hot, dry climate so that is what we did.

After three years [living] in Arizona, he was fine. He came back and the doctor said that it was like a miracle as far as his heart [was concerned]. That [illness] had a big influence in "Bob's" life because he had been confined to his bed so much. He had rheumatic fever three times after he [came] home from Arizona. A week after he came home, he came down with rheumatic fever again. They had penicillin at that time and [that was] able to help. He only had it [for] six weeks. The other times he had it a six weeks' duration. Evidently, the 01:08:00climate was not good for him. The last time he had it was [when] he was eighteen years old.

He was a very interesting child, a child [with] a lot of imagination. He had definite ideas of what he liked and what he did not like. I felt close to "Bob" all the time because I had helped him so much [while he was] sick. He went to his meetings and was a fine boy growing up. The time I was worried the most about him, he came through fine. I was [very] happy over this because I knew he had a great character and that he was very strong in his beliefs of right and truth. He has carried this out all his life. He went on a [LDS] mission and 01:09:00fulfilled a wonderful mission.

FH:Where did he go?

MT:He went to the Northwestern States. He was in Idaho for a short period of time, but mostly [in] Washington and Oregon. He had a lot of wonderful experiences and baptized a lot of people. After he came home he did not get married. He had lots of fine girlfriends. When he had his patriarchal blessing he had a vision come before his mind when the patriarch talked about his wife that he would have someday. He could see a girl with prominent eyes and dark hair. Whenever he would go with a girl he was [looking] for that type. He was my 01:10:00last one to marry and yet [he is] the oldest boy. When he married Deanna he said she was the one. That was wonderful.

He has always been strength to me because he seems to be gifted with the gift of prophecy. He can see things purely [clearly] where other people may get a little mixed up in different points of doctrine. He seems to have a gift that way and the gift of expression. He is very good with preaching and talking. He has two little children at this time -- Ariel Kenneth and Anna Kay. He named his first [child] after his father. They both have the same initials.

FH:What is his wife's maiden name?

MT:Deanna Hooks.

FH:Where are they now?

MT:They are living here [in] Washington [City], right next door.

Geraldine [Taylor] is my second child. She has always been a good comfort to her mother. She was fun to raise -- always liked to work and would help the little [children]. She liked to sew, I remember. The minute the sewing machine was out, she was right there wanting to sew. I showed her how and let her use it. She made things and liked to cook. It seems like her main interest in life was cooking and sewing, a regular born homemaker. She does have a lot of artistic ability.

I did not worry about her growing up. It seemed like Fielding Harris had quite an influence over her at that time with temple marriage. I remember a lesson you 01:12:00gave to her in Mutual [Improvement Association]. She was going with David at that time. She came home and she said, "[Young people who] would think of any other way of marrying, but in the temple after hearing that, they must be really mixed up." I did not worry about "Gerrie" in her teens at all. When she married young I did not care because she was marrying a fine fellow. They were both good [children]. I knew that things would work out fine for them and they have. They 01:13:00have been very happy [and] have three [young] children.

FH:They have strong characters, both of them.

MT:Very strong. David [Smith] was the branch president there for awhile at Death Valley [California] and "Gerrie" has always held church positions. Before she was married she was working in the Sunday school, Primary and every organization. She was president of the Relief Society at Death Valley. She has been a great girl. Her children are fine -- Laura Ann, Mary Ellen and Joseph David. "Jody," her oldest, was just ordained a deacon a couple of Sundays ago. We are proud of him. He is a little stubborn sometimes, but he sure is a fine 01:14:00fellow. He is an intelligent boy who is especially interested in science. I think some day he might be quite good in this field.

The third child is Ray [Taylor]. Ray was a big comfort to me when he was growing up. He was close to me. If I was sick or felt unhappy he always seemed to know it. No one seemed to ever have to tell him. He would pitch in and work or do anything that was necessary. He was always a good worker. He seemed to acquire a testimony of the gospel at a very early age. I think [I heard] the president say he was [age] ten when he spoke of a strong testimony of the gospel.

There was no temptation ever for that [child]. I remember one time we were going to a family reunion. It happened to be Sunday. I considered it like church because they were all fine people. Ray said, "No, I am not missing my meetings." And he would not. He was always like that. He was very strong in the church. He has been that way since he married.

He married Carolyn Gordon from East Millcreek [in Salt Lake City]. She was raised in the [same] home that Ariel was. Is that unusual? When he would go with girls he would think: are they religious enough. That is unusual for fellows, but that is how he was. [Ray] went on a [LDS] mission to Northern California. He baptized over 100 people while he was on his mission. He is very sincere. He is not as fluent in his expression as "Bob." His spirit is very sweet. He had a 01:16:00very strong love for his fellow man and it expressed itself in his conversion.

FH:He was always sincere. I can remember this all the way through.

MT:He is married and has three little [children] -- John, Jennifer and Adam Woody. John is a fine fellow, very serious type of a boy. He works right along with his dad. In fact, Carolyn worries that he is too serious. She says, "I wish he could have Junior [David Roger Taylor, Jr.] come and stay with him for awhile because Junior is so full of fun." "Jennie" is two [years old and] is just cute as can be. Adam Woody has the brightest eyes and is at the crawling stage right now. He is a cute little boy. I do not think I have heard him cry. I was there 01:17:00not long ago and stayed a couple of nights. He did not cry once the whole time I was there.

FH:Where are they now?

MT:They live on 4357 South Fifth East [in Salt Lake City].

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

MT:David ["Dave" Roger Taylor] is my fourth child. He was a lot like Junior. He always could come up with some special thing that no one would ever think about. He had a little different twist on things. Things would come out very humorous and yet he is a quiet little fellow in his way. The things he says are funny sometimes. Like the other day, "Up popped the Holy Ghost." [Laughter] I do not know what he is thinking. He was very good in school and liked school, yet he was very quiet. When he was a little boy before school he was beautiful and he 01:18:00minded. I mean you would say, "Do not walk on the lawn," or "Do not touch the furniture." He would say, "I won't mama" and he never did. He was different than most [children] at that age. When he was one [year old] he could talk. He never did start by saying, "Drink" or "Bottle," or anything like that. He would come right out, "I want a drink." He was different that way.

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

MT:When David was one [year old], they used to take pictures of the babies and put them in the Deseret News. I do not know if they still do or not. The man [photographer] came out and looked at him; he was bald as can be. He did not 01:19:00have hair. He did not have teeth, maybe two. He looked so much like a baby and he said, "Well, young man. What is your name?" David said, "David Roger Taylor," at one year old. He said, "Where is your hair?" "Right up here," and he pulled up two little hairs on his head. [Laughter] When he was two [years old] on Seventeenth East [Street] and Twenty-seventh South [Street] he was singing all the words to the tune Tura, Lura, Lura. He really was remarkable.

[When] I had him on the street with me, he would say something and people would think, "Did that little baby say that?" We were outside on the front porch at 01:20:00our home. My brother always brings this [story] up. He said we all were not paying any attention to him. He was a little two year old and was standing outside. All of a sudden, they heard David say, "My, the stars are beautiful tonight." [Laughter] That is how he [has been] all of his life. He says things that are different and outstanding.

When he married "Pat", he had not told me about any girls at all. I knew he had girlfriends, but he did not seem at all interested in girls. We were living in 01:21:00Tremonton [Box Elder County, Utah] at that time. All of a sudden, here comes David into church one night with this cute redhead. He had the biggest grin on his face. I thought: something is going on here, [laughter] because every time I would mention a girl he would want to shut me up. He did not want to talk about any girls. After church he brought her over to our house and I thought: it is serious with him. He is really interested in this redheaded girl. She was so 01:22:00cute and bashful. She felt mutual with him. She had a big smile on her face, too.

He had graduated from high school and he had gone a little while to BYU [Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah County, Utah]. I thought maybe he would finish college because he seemed to get along so well in school. I did not know whether to interfere or [not]. I wanted him to get married in the temple, but I prayed about it. I thought: things will work out, I know, and they did [very] well. They were married and he was happy. It made such a change in his life in his happiness. He felt like he was now complete. They have four of the sweetest children, cute little [children]. They bring so much joy to you. There is Cheryl 01:23:00Ann, David Roger Jr., Farron Jean and Jacob Lee.

FH:What is her name?

MT:Patricia ["Pat"] Smith. We have two Smiths in our line [family] now. When he took "Pat" to the temple, we were at Death Valley Junction. Three of the children were born at that time. She was carrying the fourth [one and] they were sealed in the temple. That was a wonderful occasion. All of our children came from all around and met there. They were all that interested and loyal to be there at this wonderful occasion when "Pat" and "Dave" were sealed in the temple. So we were really blessed. These cute children bring so much joy in our 01:24:00life. They all have such a special little spirit and personality about them. It makes us very happy.

David is living next door. Did you know he was living over here in a trailer? He and David Smith are working at Bloomington doing carpentry work. He is also attending Dixie College [St. George, Washington County, Utah] a couple of nights a week. He is taking some astronomy [classes]. I think it is something to do with aerospace, but he enjoys it. He studies a lot and is enjoying it quite a bit. "Pat" is enjoying having him do this, even though it means that she is alone a lot.

Julie [Taylor] was my last baby. Ariel nicknamed her "Julie Caboosie Papoosie". [Laughter] She was always the apple of his heart. He felt that way about both of his daughters. He expects a lot from his sons, but his girls were [very] special 01:25:00with him. She looks more like her father than the others with big brown eyes. When she was [young], she fell in a canal in Arizona. David was a [young] boy and ran in and told me. I ran out and jumped in and [grabbed] her. That was a horrible experience, but her life was saved.

She was always [good] in school [and] always did well. When she was in her teens there was no problem at all. She was like her sister, "Gerrie," and was very good with homemaking [and] sewing. She does expert tailoring. She is artistic in so many ways [and] was good in music groups. She sang a lot in school. She went 01:26:00to BYU after she graduated from school at Bear River High [Bear River City, Garland County, Utah]. She always took Seminary and [so] did David. "Gerrie," did you? Ray did [also].

Right now, Julie is living in Mojave, California. She married Ardell Talbot. He was from Paragonah [Iron County] Utah, a fine fellow. He was a [LDS] missionary in Hawaii. She waited for him while he was on his mission. She went with other fellows, but she had him in mind. They did not have any agreement that she would wait. She had a lot of boyfriends. I could have worried myself sick about her except she would pick the best kind of boys. She never did go with boys that 01:27:00were not of her standards. She is a fine girl and is a fine little mother. She fusses with her [children] and takes such good care of them. They live in a little place, but she fixes it up just darling. She is a good little homemaker and mother.

FH:How many children do they have?

MT:She has the two -- Darren Ardell is the boy and Martha Ann is the girl. The first year after their marriage she had a little stillborn baby girl. It was full term. It was awfully sad [and] hard for them both at first. The next year she had the boy and then the year after that she had the girl. They mean so much 01:28:00to them because they lost the first one.

FH:It is hard to take sometimes.

MT:Yes, it is. It was hard for all of us. We were [very] shocked. There must be a meaning in everything, I guess. They would like to be up here in Southern Utah [and] we would like to have her here, too. Ardell's family is from this area and he has a brother [who] runs [a] furniture store in St. George.

FH:You might have them up here before too long if that is the case. [Laughter]

MT:I sure hope so.

FH:You will not be able to keep them away, I bet! [Laughter] What happened to you and Ariel and your family? You were doing pretty well after working for Baldwin for awhile.

MT:The [Sigma] Instrument contract ended after the war. He has done a lot of work for himself. After that he would contract bomb molds for Buehner [Block 01:29:00Company]. He would make the molds for bomb hooks and bombtubs. He has done a lot of things like that on his own. He would get contracts and would [do very] well on them. He would go to the RBR Machine Shop, they were good friends of his, [and] use their equipment. [He would] give them a percent [and] he would come out fine that way. After that, the first job [when] he [was] working for someone else [was] after we went to Arizona, I guess.

FH:[Did] you go to Arizona because of "Bob's" health?

MT:Yes. We packed up our furniture and did not know where we were going except we thought we would go to Mesa, Arizona. The reason we picked Mesa was I thought 01:30:00there was a temple there. At that time, I was not even going to church. There was a period of my life from the time we were first married until my children [were] down to Mesa that I did not go to church and [neither] did Ariel. When I 01:31:00first [was] married I felt kind of shy. I thought: where will I sit? Will I sit with the girls or with the adults? [Laughter] I could not get my husband to go [to church] so I did not go [either]. When my children came along, I wanted them to go, so I started taking them to church. They asked me to work in the church. I used to long to work in the church when I was not going. I would say, "Why doesn't the bishop ask me to do something like teach junior Sunday school so I can have an excuse to go?" But I did not go. I started teaching the Primary in Mesa.

Ariel was out of his trade completely because it was quite a sacrifice for him to go down there. He was hauling cinder blocks at that time. It seems like there 01:32:00was not much industry in that place. It was mostly for tourists and [work] of that nature. It was hard. There was a lot of Mexican help and wages were low. We bought [a] home there. We had sold our home on Twenty-seventh South [Street]. [With] the cash we [received] we bought three acres of ground and [a] tiny unfinished home. We built all around it. We had a great big three-bedroom home before we left. I think it was my unsatisfied nature that brought this about. Actually, I do not believe we should have [built so much because] we could not afford it. But I felt like I wanted a nicer home and so we did. Our payments 01:33:00were $80.00 a month on the home. I never could get the nice furniture that would make the home look like it should look.

He went up to Salt Lake [City] to work [because] he [was] laid off at [the] block company for some reason. They were changing or something so he did not have a job so he went up to Salt Lake and got a job. He would send me money and I would try to get by. I had to stay there and sell the house. I did not want to. I wanted to go home in the worst way -- I was homesick. We were there three

years.

I was frightened for fear [that] if I took "Bob" home he would get rheumatic fever again. I remember praying about it. For an answer I had the strangest thing happen. All of a sudden in my mind [came] the words to the song, Do What Is Right, Let the consequence follow. It kept going through my mind. I would be 01:34:00aware of it. Finally, it came to me. My goodness, I have been praying whether I should go home or not, my husband is up there and I did not know what to do. I thought I was afraid to go home for fear he would get sick again. It was a mighty test of my faith when I [was] home a week and he came down with rheumatic fever again. I had the faith, at that time, that he would be alright and he was. He is a big strong healthy fellow now.

After we [were] back home, we rented in Murray [Salt Lake County, Utah]. We rented his Aunt Virginia's [Vance] upstairs rooms for a very short period of time while we were building our home on Eleventh East [Street]. We bought 01:35:00property there. I finally was able to sell the home in Mesa. It was quite a sacrifice. We had a little cash, but it was not as much as what we should have had out of it. First, we bought some property in Murray and built a lovely home there to sell to make more money. [When] we sold it, we were able to get the property on Eleventh East [Street] and build our home there and have a small mortgage. Since that time, we have mortgaged and remortgaged several times for different reasons. Right now, it is almost down to nothing. We lived there for several years. We built it in 1950. It was about 1956 [when] we went to Burbank, 01:36:00California. We came back from there in 1958. That is when "Bob" was called on his [LDS] mission from 1958 to 1960. We moved again to Death Valley Junction after that.

"Bob" was called on a stake mission [to] Burbank, California before he came back to Salt Lake [City]. After his mission, he was in the [United States] Army; he was called on a stake mission while he was in the Army at San Luis Obispo [California]. He really has had three missions.

FH:Why did you go to Death Valley [Junction]?

MT:He [Ariel] started working for Thiokol Chemical Corporation west of Tremonton We [lived] there for two years, but he was up there alone [at] first for quite awhile. He would come home on weekends. During the middle of the week I would try to get up there, maybe on a Wednesday, but I still had Julie and David and I would be worrying. I did not know whether I dared spend too much time away like that. Finally, I took David out of Granite [High School] and took him up to Bear River [Box Elder County, Utah] to live with his father. Ariel had a little apartment. It seemed like he could not get a place to rent there very easily. David finished [at] Bear River High [School] and graduated from Seminary. Julie and I [were] in [the] little apartment at the side of our house. We lived there 01:38:00when Ray was on his [LDS] mission.

FH:Did Ray get his call during this time?

MT:Yes. I [had] a [young] foster girl, Margaret Anthony, and I took care of her for awhile.

[END OF RECORDING THREE.]

MT:-- what is happening to them? I wanted them all up there and eventually I 01:40:00[had] them all up there. I got them out of [the] little apartment and they had to leave their jobs in order to come there. We had a lovely trip up in Canada, Julie, "Bob" "Dave", Ariel and I, the five of us. When we came back they were not wanted anymore because we had taken time off to go to Canada, but I did not care. I thought: we will get them some work up here. That is when they leased the [Beeline] Service Station in Elwood, Utah. That is where David met "Pat". She was living with her grandmother in Tremonton. Her parents were from Ogden [Weber County, Utah].

We lived in Tremonton two years and then we transferred to Pocatello [Idaho]. 01:41:00All the ladies in the Relief Society said, "Do not go up to Pocatello. That is a horrible place. Do not live up there. Tell him not to transfer up there." I thought the world was coming to an end when he said we would have to go. It meant a great advancement for him because he was a supervisor over the standards laboratory at Tremonton and he would be over the standards lab up there, but he would be the only one. His boss would be in Tremonton. I knew what it meant to him to go. So I said, "We will have to go." It meant a lot to Julie because, at that time of her life, she had graduated from high school at Bear River, but she had a scholarship [in] Ogden for a beauty course. She had to give that up to go up there. I said, "You can go to the college [in] Pocatello."

I felt terrible and for a week we, Julie and I, were up there looking for a place to rent. We found an old home they had fixed up like new. We [talked] the lady [into coming] down [on the rent]. We told her we would build a room in the basement and have it all [finished] with knotty-pine if she would let us have it for a cheaper rent. She did. It was a lovely time in my life. We were there seven months, but it was wonderful. I had the loveliest associations up there in Pocatello.

[When] we first moved up there, we paid the utility connection fees. We went home and it had rained and mud [was] all over. All our furniture was moved by Thiokol and it was all piled in the middle of the fourth floor in big boxes. There was hardly any room to move around. [Julie] and I had to undo all the 01:43:00boxes. We [tried] to turn on the water. No water came out so I [went] back to the water company and they found that they had turned on the water, but we had never been connected to the main line. They had changed the line since that house had been there. We had a lot of waiting before that main line [turned on]. The city had to go through [a lot].

Our dear neighbor next door, Sister Bybee, was president of the Relief Society. Her husband was a jewel. He took his hose and connected it onto our water line so we had hot water just like normal. I loved that lady! While I was there I taught theology in Relief Society. The bishop visited us the first week and immediately he called me to teach a Mutual [Improvement Association] genealogy class. It was not going to start until fall. That was [in] June. He called me 01:44:00just like that. He did not know I was a genealogist at heart. [Laughter]

While I was teaching the Mutual [Improvement Association] genealogy class, a teenage girl came to me and said, "Sister Taylor, we want to start a junior genealogy class." I had started one in Tremonton and one in Salt Lake [City]. I said, "You will have to talk to the bishop." She said, "I already have." I said, "What did he say?" She said, "He said to see Mildred Taylor." [Laughter] I thought what kind of a call is that? I had quite a bit going. I said, "If you will be the president, get the enlistment and get all these [young people] I will be glad to teach you." I [put] her straight on how I wanted it to work. All 01:45:00those dear [young folks] would come so faithfully. When I moved, they all signed a card telling me how they hated to see me go. I really enjoyed it. I helped with preparing the program for the opening social. I wrote a lot of poetry for that. I had fun up there in Pocatello. When I left, it was like I had been there all my life. All the people treated me so grand. If anybody ever tells you do not go there, do not believe them until you try it yourself.

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

FH:What happened to you after you left Pocatello?

MT:All of our family got together. They had an idea they wanted to go into a corporate venture of some sort. They had purchased property in [the] Glen Canyon 01:46:00[National Recreation Area, Utah], but they felt like it was a little premature. They were [building] the [Glen Canyon] Dam, but they felt like for tourists it was premature. The business had not built up there yet. They were very serious about doing it. They felt like they wanted to be together on something like this.

FH:Did your family feel like they wanted to be in a cooperative [venture] together?

MT:Yes.

FH:That is not unusual. There are quite a few LDS people feeling this way now.

MT:They were even talking about borrowing a lot of money to build out there. It worried me quite a bit. I thought: go in debt and what if it did not work? At that time Ariel's brother, Raymond [Taylor], in Provo [Utah County, Utah] told 01:47:00him a lady had [been] in touch with him or Sam [Taylor's] friend, his other brother, that he was looking for a Mormon family to run a little town at Death Valley Junction. Fran had [been] in touch with Raymond and told him. Raymond was the one they bought the property from at Glen Canyon Dam. The [fellows] came home and laughed and were kidding. They said, "We can have one [a town] without any money at Death Valley Junction. This lady wants a Mormon family to run that town." I said, "Call her up. Here is a chance to get [the] experience you want and [to] see if you really want it without putting money into it. You [can] go] down there, try it out and see if that is really what you want or not. Then you 01:48:00will not need to go in debt." They thought about it. David Smith called her long distance and she made an appointment with us. She said, "I want all your family [who] can to come down here and meet me at the Junction." We did. That was quite an experience, I tell you.

The biggest problem with this is that she had a niece down there. Our understanding was that the niece was planning to leave right away and she wanted us to manage it. Evidently, she had not conveyed this idea to the niece. The niece and her husband, by the way, live in St. George. They were managers at the time and here she comes with all of us as new managers. It created a bad problem. There was a lot of misunderstanding and difficulty at first. He was our 01:49:00presiding elder. They did not have a branch at that time. I will not go into all the details of what happened.

At first, when we were there it was just like the devil every turn of the way. We were struggling hard and many times I said, "I am going home." "Gerrie" would say, "I am going home. We are not staying here. This is terrible." We just about did and my husband was going [with us]. We had all decided we were going home when Eddie Lee came to town. I thought: here comes that rich lady. I am going to go in my apartment and not even going to let her know where I am.

I was living in the back of the hotel. I had made an apartment in the back. I 01:50:00painted and fixed up the old Baptist Sunday school and made that for my apartment. That was all that was available there. I thought: she will never find me here. She will go and see [inaudible] and that will be it. She did not. I do not know what happened to that lady. She headed right for my apartment. I [started] talking to her and said, "We really want to go. We feel like we are interfering in a family [situation] and we do not want to stay here anymore." She said, "You are not going. They are going."

I thought: how in the world is this going to take place? It was terrible at first. She is a very sweet lady and she has done lots of good for boys, but she hates to hurt people's feelings and she cannot [be] businesslike. I think that 01:51:00is her main problem. The other people were good Mormons and they had their faults, too. It created quite a problem, but we overcame it. They finally went and we stayed. I wished we could have gone many times, but while we were there we had a lot of wonderful experiences.

We became a branch while we were there. David Smith was the branch president. David Taylor became a counselor in the branch. We had different people come from about sixty miles. This was not a big branch, but it was fun and spiritual. We had very spiritual meetings. I was president of the Primary practically the whole time. I also did something else I never thought I would ever do and that was [to] play the piano by ear for all the meetings. Nobody else could [play] 01:52:00and they wanted me to do it. I did not know how to get out of it. "Gerrie" would lead the [songs] and I would play the piano. I enjoyed it very much, anyway. The district president and even the mission presidency came [to visit]. I taught the adult Sunday school while I was there. I enjoyed the whole church experience that way.

There was lots of work we had to do. We had a commercial laundry there and we would work and work. I would rent rooms and, during the busy season, I would rent out all the rooms. I helped out in the store and the café.

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

MT:I managed the general store and the [United States] Post Office. I did just 01:53:00about everything there was to do. We would get up in the morning and work until we went to bed at night. Through the night I would get calls [from people] wanting rooms. In the summer it was slow and we just had some business. I never worked so hard in my life as we did there. We had many enjoyable experiences together that I would like to remember more than some of the times when we felt sorry for ourselves. At times, we had senior citizen groups come on the Greyhound Bus. We would have it prearranged and the rooms would be assigned. We would work like mad getting ready for them. We had a big dining room. Have you ever been to Death Valley Junction?

FH:No.

MT:There is this big old hotel [Amargosa Hotel at Death Valley, California] and 01:54:00it has a lot of background and history to it. It was part of the Borax operation. It was romantic. There were a lot of old antiques and [items] in there and a great big rock fireplace. At the side there was [a] dining room, a great big one. "Gerrie" and I would scrub it from stem to stern and get the windows shining and wax it all up. Then we would set up the tables and go around and gather up everybody's china. We would get china, silverware and glasses from me, her, Deanna and Julie, when she was there. Everything would look just beautiful when they got there for their evening dinner. It was usually around Christmas or [another] holiday. We would fix a beautiful flower arrangement or table centerpieces [for the] tables. We enjoyed [doing] that very much. Then we 01:55:00would plan special fancy nice menus.

This is a funny thing. Deanna is just herself. I have never seen anyone so completely unassuming in herself as Deanna. She is not afraid of anything. We had this meal prepared. We would have to take it out of the café kitchen and bus it over to the dining room. We would bring it in the back way. It made it [very] hard transporting all the food and keeping it hot. We had baked potatoes wrapped in foil for this menu. We had roast beef, delicious brown gravy, a lovely orange whipped salad with a lot of fruit, green beans and rolls. It was 01:56:00[a] just lovely [meal].

First, we served them a soup. There were thirty-six [for dinner] that night. We were serving them soup. Then we came around to the potatoes. At first they [the potatoes] were fine, but the others close to the bottom [were not] done. I was shy [because] I do not like serving people [very] much. I like to talk to people, but I do not like to serve them. It did not bother Deanna at all. We would always give her the job, everything we could push on Deanna, to serve the public. We did [it] because we knew it did not bother her at all. She was serving these potatoes and one lady said, "My potato is hard." [Laughter] We 01:57:00heard her. She said she did not think the ladies heard her, but I know one lady heard her because she said, "Shut up and eat your potato." [Laughter] I thought: get me out of here. I am going to go in the kitchen and fix the dessert. [Laughter] When they would say something, [Deanna] would [respond] "Oh, is it? Try this one. Maybe it is better."

"Bob" would help us, too. He was a great help in the kitchen or in the dining room. It turned out fine. They laughed at us, but after awhile it became a joke. They said, "The other food was so lovely and good that it made up for it." They would put gravy on their rolls. There was so much [food] that it didn't bother them. We just laughed at her. That was a funny experience.

On Christmas Eve we had a big group come. You could not plan to have a holiday with your family [while we were] there. The holidays were when everybody would come. We had to have our Thanksgiving and our Christmas at a different time. This Christmas Eve all these ladies came and we had a lovely beautiful dinner. It was well-served and well-prepared. They had asked for a program. I thought: now what do we do? I said, ""Bob," you have to be master of ceremonies. You are better at this than anybody I know." We had Mary and Jody had a manger scene. "Gerrie" and I sang Star Bright. We had some readings. Deanna read the Christmas 01:59:00story [from] Luke. Then I told [the story of] The Littlest Angel.

We had to get up Sunday morning and put on a program at Sunday school. We were all involved in that. I never felt so in the limelight before, but it was really fun. We sure had to do a lot. We had to get the beds made. We had to get the place clean. We had to feed them, put them to bed, feed them their breakfast the first thing in the morning before they [left]. They would leave about eight [o'clock]. We had to get them started eating breakfast by six [o'clock] in the morning, get them all fed, on their bus and good bye, then run to Sunday school and calls of the day.

All the time we were there we made a practice of keeping the café closed [on 02:00:00Sunday] except to feed the people their breakfast. When they would [leave] we would close the café. That way, we felt that we were observing the Sabbath Day as much as we could, being in that type of business.

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

MT:It was at Death Valley Junction that David and "Pat" became interested and active in the church. That was a very special period of our life. Little Cheryl would go to Primary and Junior [Sunday school]. It was such fun having those little children learning all the things about the church. They would bring their mama and daddy. David and "Pat" started becoming active and coming to all the meetings. It was a thrill. We, "Gerrie" and I, went away for the summer. Ariel and I made a trip back there in the middle of the summer, June I think it was. We happened to go to a meeting that was the greatest thrill of my life. They did 02:01:00not know that this was going to happen beforehand.

We were going on our way to Julie's and happened to go to Death Valley Junction first. We went into church and there was our branch presidency there. They were setting David apart to be a counselor in the branch. This was the biggest surprise. It was on Father's Day and it was a great Father's Day present for his father. It was not long after that that David was made an elder and received his temple recommendation. "Pat" [received] hers at conference in Bishop, California. Then they went to the St. George Temple and were sealed at that time.

Death Valley Junction was closed shortly after that. I felt like our mission 02:02:00there was complete. It was a welcome thing to leave the desert after five years. "Gerrie" and David had left earlier. "Bob" had left first to manage this boys' ranch in Genola [Utah County, Utah]. He had been gone helping to build the home at Genola there for one summer. The next summer, "Gerrie" and David had gone to Birdseye [Utah County, Utah] to manage [a] boy's home and to build onto a home Eddie Lee had at Birdseye. Both of them were gone. It was just Ariel, me, "Pat" and "Dave" [who] were there managing the [Death Valley] Junction, [California place].

We had had a terrible big flood shortly before "Gerrie" and David left. There 02:03:00were two or three inches of mud in every hotel room and in all the buildings. We worked like mad getting that cleaned up. It was right after that that Ariel, me, "Dave" and Pat had taken over the management. The man [who] had run our opera house helped me with the café, Tom Williams. His wife was from New York City [New York]. We had an opera star there and a little theater and they fixed it up. It was [very] interesting. She was very good [and] still is. They are still there. We said goodbye to everybody there.

Gerri and David [Smith] bought [a] motel here in Washington [City]. We kind of had this instinct for families to be around each other. They were anxious for us to be here. When we came through, they said, "Now you stay here. We have already 02:04:00arranged to get this service station across the street." They thought that would be good for dad. Somehow or other, I think it worked out like that.

In the meantime, "Bob" had decided he did not want to run the boys' ranch anymore because it was hard on his family. He wanted to go in business with his dad. He called us that week and said he heard that we were coming. He said, "I did not even know this. I am going to be down there." It ended up that he and his dad decided to go in business here. David Taylor had already had a commitment from David Smith that he could work at Bloomington [Washington County, Utah]. He purchased this trailer in Death Valley Junction. He moved it on to [an] empty trailer spot here next door. It kept us altogether here.

It is really amazing how things like that [have] happened with our family. A lot of people say, "Do you like [living] with your family like that? Do you fight?" We do not. We just love our family. It seems like our children are our greatest joy. They have always been to me. I have fourteen [young] grandchildren now. Every one of them is so precious.

FH:You have had a wonderful experience in life. I think it would be fine for you to give counsel to your descendants and bear your testimony to them.

MT:Alright, I do not know how qualified I am. They have added so much to my life. Every one of them has been a special joy and a difference to help my 02:06:00testimony. I would advise my children, my grandchildren and my posterity that may come along after I go, to always keep the commandments of God and go to Him in prayer [to] get direction. This world has so many things to pull you away. Material values are sometimes set too high. [While] it is necessary to have material things to get along, it is not to be your goal. The things of utmost importance I have found in my life are to keep close to the church, accept calls to work and serve your fellow man. We grow in knowledge and understanding by 02:07:00doing this.

We grow in our testimony and grow in assurance that the Lord is our guide. You are not lost. You are not walking alone in the darkness wondering what to do. You have an assurance that your Father in heaven will help you. It may not be the way you want it at the time, but He is watching over you. If you seek Him, He will be there and you will be able to find Him. I counsel all my family to do this. I can promise them that the Lord will not let them down, that He will always help them. This is the only way that they will ever obtain true happiness and joy. This is the only thing that they will ever be able to do that will bring them the satisfaction of peace in their heart and in their mind.

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

MT:Ariel, you know all of our life I have loved you very deeply. I have been like a child in my growing up, but some of those experiences have brought us closer together and been fun. You know, right from the beginning I have wanted to go to the temple and be sealed to you for eternity. I would not have it any other way. I made a statement to "Bob" once when he wondered why I would go on with so much patience waiting for you. I said, "You know "Bob," Ariel is the type of a man that could become a god. I do not want [any] other type of man, but the kind of a man [who] is strong enough in his character and in his ability 02:09:00to become a god." I want this to happen, Ariel. You know that I want it to happen. I know that you love me and that we could be happy eternally.

I pray to God that you will find this desire and faith within your heart so that we can have this wonderful family that we have worked so hard to bring up in the ways of righteousness forever around us and be an exalted family through eternity, progressing and growing in our lives forever.

[END OF RECORDING FOUR. END OF INTERVIEW.]