Interview with Louis Rumell Reber

Louis Rumell Reber was interviewed on March 11, 1969 in Littlefield, Arizona by Fielding H. Harris, a representative of the Voices of Remembrance Foundation. He related his personal history of living in various parts of Utah and Arizona. His wife, Lorna (Leavitt) Reber, also participated.

FH:Would you please give your full name?

LR:Louis [Rumell] Reber.

FH:Louis Reber. [What is] your birth date?

LR:September 27, 1899.

FH:What was your father's name?

LR:Samuel Reber.

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

LR:Emma (Hoffer) [Reber]. FH:You went to school here but where were [you] born?

LR:[In] Santa Clara [Washington County, Utah].

FH:Is that where you started school?

LR:No.

FH:You didn't start school there?

LR:I was living here at the time.

FH:You came here before you started school. [Did] your father have a farm here and moved here?

LR:Yes.

FH:What was the school like?

LR:It was a one-room school up [through] the eighth grade.

FH:[Were] all of the grades in [one-room] together?

SR:Yes.

FH:Was there a large number of students?

LR:Not too many, [maybe] fifteen.

FH:Did you feel that your schooling was good? [Were] the teachers good?

LR:Yes, they were good teachers.

FH:Can you [give] the names of a couple of your teachers?

LR:Mr. Peck and Mrs. [Martha (Cragum)] Cox.

FH:How far were you able to go in school?

LR:I went to about the seventh grade.

FH:[Was] there [a] good reason [why] that is all the schooling you [received]?

LR:I had to quit school as there was a lot of work to be done.

FH:[Did] you have to quit [to] working on the farm?

LR: [I] quit and worked on the farm.

FH:[Did] you have a [fairly] good taskmaster on the farm? Who was over this farm?

LR:My dad.

FH:Do you think he was a good manager?

LR:[A] good manager [and] he was a hard worker.

FH:Did he require you to work or was he [fairly] easy on you?

LR:You had to work or [you wouldn't] eat! [Laughter]

FH:Was he ornery?

LR:No.

FH:[Did] you have some adventure-type experiences that you [can] tell about? [Did] you go to work on the mountain one time?

LR:Yes.

FH:What was that like? [Did] you go up all alone?

LR:I went up for cattle and the water dried up. [Inaudible] We had a bucket on a rope and reached down in the well and dipped it out and put it in the tank.

FH:[Did] they have a well out there for you to get the water?

LR:The spring went dry and [we] had to dig deep until [we reached] water.

FH:I see.

LR:[Inaudible] cattle during the day and once at night. [The] third or fourth day it started to rain. At night it thundered and lightning and I was scared to death.

FH:Were you out there alone?

LR:I was there alone.

FH:Of course, that eliminated the water problem!

LR:Yes.

FH:Was it a heavy rain?

LR:A heavy rain, everywhere! The shack was just pieces of tin [inaudible]. The wind would blow and it would get wet. I was setting up, most of the time, pumping water.

FH:[Laughter] About how old were you?

LR:I was about thirteen [years old].

FH:I think that was a [fairly] big job for a [youngster of] thirteen.

LR:Yes.

FH:Did you go out there with a horse and pack animal?

LR:[I had] a horse and a pack [animal].

FH:How long did you stay out there?

LR:[I was there] six days.

FH:Was it a [very] long six days?

LR:Long days! [Laughter]

FH:[Laughter] [Did] you do some plowing on the farm? [Did you have] several pieces of acreage?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Was there] a time when you plowed with your brother? What [happened]?

LR:We had a farm about three miles south of here. It was warm in the summertime and we had to plow at night. It was too hot for the horses to plow in the daytime. One night we were eating some pie quite late and something bit him on the tongue. It was an ant. His mouth swelled up. [Inaudible] He plowed until 00:06:00morning and then he came home to rest.

FH:It must have been one of those big red ants.

LR:A big red ant! [Laughter]

FH:[Laughter] [Did] you have to plow at night because it was just too hot in the daytime?

LR:[It] was too hot in the daytime. [We] were walking [behind the] plow.

FH:Looks to me like you would have a hard time sleeping in the daytime if the heat was that bad.

LR:It would get up to about 108° or 110° in the daytime.

FH:[Did] your father plow and work quite a bit of ground around here?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Was his land] in three areas?

LR:Yes.

FH:Did he have to clear some of this land to get it ready to use when he first came here?

LR:Yes, some of it.

FH:Were there problems with the [Santa Clara] River?

LR:Some [times], yes. One piece [of land] was just wiped out by the river.

FH:Just washed it out completely?

LR:Yes. On this piece over here we were [inaudible] digging and found a lot of pottery. The Indians had a place there. [There was] a lot of pottery that we dug up.

FH:[Was it] a place where the Indians used to live?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Did] you find other artifacts [from] the Indians in this area?

LR:Oh, yes.

FH:Quite a bit?

LR:Yes.

FH:At one time there was probably a good Indian civilization [here].

LR:Yes.

FH:We could gather from historical data that this area was at one time populated by the Nephites and Lamanites.

LR:Yes.

FH:[What] can you tell about your father and his early farming [experiences] here?

Did he [reap] some of the first grain that was harvested and carry it to the mill?

LR:Yes, he [carried it] from Santa Clara [Washington County] to Washington [City, Washington County, Utah]. [It was] ten miles each way.

FH:He carried ─

LR:─ a sack of grain to the mill [inaudible].

FH:He carried it on his back?

LR:On his back.

FH:He must have been a very powerful man.

LR:[He was] a big, stout man.

FH:He would have to be to carry it that far. I can't imagine me trying to carry a hundred pounds of grain ten miles! [Laughter] I wouldn't get very far! Was your religious life active during these early years?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Did] you go to church a lot?

LR:Yes.

FH:Were the organizations of [The] Church [Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] available? Were you able to go to Primary and Mutual [Improvement Associations]?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Did] you go to Sunday school?

LR:Yes.

FH:Were you active in priesthood work too?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Can] you tell about your priesthood activities during the years you were growing up?

LR:I was ordained.

FH:Were you ordained a deacon?

LR:Yes, and a high priest, now.

FH:How long were you a deacon?

LR:I was a deacon for a long time. [There] was no one else here to do it. [Inaudible] and get the sacrament [ready] until I was sixteen, seventeen or eighteen years old.

FH:In other words, they kept you doing the deacon's works because there wasn't anyone else to do it.

LR:Yes. [Inaudible] I was a regular all the time.

FH:You just fell heir to the job.

LR:[Inaudible] to the job.

FH:Tell about your father. [What] kind of personality [did] he have? [How] did you feel about him? He was a [fairly] big man.

LR:[Emotional] Yes, a big man and a hard worker. And he wanted you to work.

FH:[Did] he require a lot of those who were with him?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Did] he require anything that he wouldn't do himself?

LR:No.

FH:Was he strong in the church?

LR:[He] was strong in the church?

FH:How did he generally treat his family? Was [fairly] good to them?

LR:[He] treated them good.

FH:Did he treat your mother [well]?

LR:[He] treated her [well]. [They] got along fine.

FH:Was he a polygamist?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Did] he have one wife that he lost? [His] first wife?

LR:One [wife] died. He married his ─

LLR:His brother's wife.

LR:─ brother's wife. He [was] killed. A horse kicked him and killed him. He 00:11:00married her to keep the family together.

FH:This wasn't your mother?

LR:No.

FH:After that he married ─

LR:He married my mother.

FH:How many children, all together, did your father have? From all of his wives?

LR:[He had] twenty-six [children].

FH:How many of those were your mother's children?

LR:[My mother had] thirteen [children].

FH:I know in those days they didn't have doctors and conditions were hard [so] they lost a lot of children early.

LR:Yes, and then they had typhoid [fever].

FH:You had a typhoid fever epidemic and that took quite a few.

LR:Yes, quite a lot of them.

FH:[Did] this affect your father very severely?

LR:Yes. Our neighbor had ducks and geese. That is how they got it.

FH:Oh!

LR:They dredged the water up and ─

FH:They were getting water out of the ditch.

LR:Yes.

FH:Tell about your father [during] the time so many children died from typhoid fever. How did he feel?

LR:He felt [very] rough.

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

LR:My father felt so bad because they lost so many children that he and his son went out and prayed.

FH:Just to get relief?

LR:Just to get relief because so many were dying from typhoid [fever].

FH:Was the gospel strength to him at this time?

LR:Yes.

FH:There is [a story] about your father that you ought to put on record. [It] was when he took the tithing wheat to the tithing office. Can you tell about it? 00:13:00I think this occurrence tells a lot about him.

LR:When he took it to Washington [City]?

FH:Was that where it was? In Washington [City]?

LR:He took the grain from Santa Clara to the mill in Washington [City]. My father was a very stout man. When he was a single man, he carried eight bushels of wheat up the steps of the tithing office.

FH:Was this in Salt Lake [City, Salt Lake County, Utah] where this happened?

LR:That was in Salt Lake [City].

FH:He must have had a lot of strength. Eight bushels is about 400 pounds!

LR:I imagine [so].

FH:[It is] close to 400 pounds! He was a terrific man. It took those kinds of people to handle the job that they had to do in this country. This was not an easy country to live in, not even now.

LR:No.

FH:Where did your father come from? Do you know where he was born?

LLR:Bern, Switzerland.

LR:Bern, Switzerland.

FH:Was your mother from there too?

LR:Yes.

FH:Were they young when they came to America?

LR:Yes, [very] young.

FH:[Had] they met each other or married?

LR:No, not for many years.

FH:Do you know why they came from Switzerland?

LR:[Because of] the gospel, I guess.

FH:They joined the church over there and came for the sake of the gospel. In other words, they were some of our strong pioneers [who] came across the plains.

LR:Yes.

FH:Your father was sent back by the people in Santa Clara. Tell about [why] that happened.

[TAPE RECORDER TRUNED OFF]

LR:My father made three trips across the plains by wagon.

FH:[Was] he sent back?

LR:He was sent back by the people. I don't know ─

FH:[Was he] sent back to help bring the other immigrants? [Probably] to take them food.

LR:Yes.

FH:[There is] a story about him changing a wagon wheel to grease it. What about that?

LR:He was a strong man. He got on one side of the wheel and two [others] got on the other side to grease the wagon. I suppose they didn't have a jack.

FH:They had to lift it [to] grease it.

LR:They had to grease it and lift it back on.

FH:He could lift [as much as] two men! [Laughter]

LR:[Laughter] Yes!

FH:[Inaudible] Can you tell about your mother's character? What [do] you remember about her? Was she a good cook?

LR:[She] was a good cook and a little woman.

FH:Was she?

LR:Yes, she only weighed 100 pounds.

FH:For goodness sake!

LR:[She was a very] good cook and easy to get along with.

FH:Was she active and strong in church?

LR:Yes.

FH:She had thirteen children and she was that small.

LR:Yes.

FH:Good things come in little packages!

LR:[Laughter] She was sick for a long time.

FH:Was she? You can remember that?

LR:Oh, yes. [My mother] died after we [were] married. [My wife] took care of her for a long time, turning her sheets and [treating] big bed sores. How long was it?

FH:How long was she sick?

LLR:Oh, for months.

FH:Months? That would be bad especially in this hot climate.

LR:Yes.

FH:When your mother first came to this country [did] she work in the cotton factory?

LR:She worked in the cotton factory in Washington [City].

FH:Did they raise cotton here too?

LR:[Yes], they raised cotton here and in Middleton.

FH:Can you remember that?

LR:Oh, yes, I remember picking cotton.

FH:Did they take all of it into the factory or did you work some of it over yourself?

LR:No, I think most all of it went in [to the factory].

FH:There is a story told about when your father moved here that some of your brothers slept in the wagon [box]. Is that right?

LR:Yes, four of them [did].

FH:Four of them slept in the wagon.

LR:They had a canvas cover over it and cotton in the bottom.

FH:You had to do [things] any way you could!

LR:Yes.

FH:What do you know about any of the flooding of the [Santa Clara] River? Have [there] been quite a few [floods]?

LR:Yes. The biggest one was in 1910. [It] did all the damage. It took [out] a 00:18:00couple of houses, corrals, hay and grain and [inaudible].

FH:In that particular flood there was one woman who wouldn't come out of her house. Who was that?

LR:Dora Iverson.

FH:What did you have to do to get her out?

LR:[We had to] pack her out in water waist deep.

FH:Water was all around her and she wouldn't [leave]?

LR:Water was out quite a ways to the hill area. [We] packed her out.

FH:[Laughter] Did you get her furniture out?

LR:[We] got it out but it washed away during the night.

FH:You got the furniture out and later the flood took it.

LR:The flood came higher during the night and took it all.

FH:Do you know of anybody along here that lost their life in a flood? Did anybody drown?

LR:Yes.

FH:There were some?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Did] you lose a lot of animals?

LR:Yes, a lot of animals.

FH:Tell about the horse that went down and you thought it was gone.

LR:He was about one mile and one-half down [the river] and crawled up on the [bank] of a wash and was there for a few days before he was [found].

FH:[Laughter] Has that river been [very] treacherous in years gone by?

LR:Yes.

FH:There was a flood in 1906, 1909, and then the worst one in 1910. This area has required a lot of hard work to make it go.

LR:A lot of ditch work. Do you know when the typhoid epidemic was?

LLR:In 1902.

LR:In 1902 and 1903.

FH:That was a treacherous [event] because you lost so many [people].

LR:Yes.

FH:What did you do for fun during the years you were growing up?

LR:[Inaudible] ride cattle. [Laughter] Two or three of us would go out on the range and catch [a steer] and ride it. I remember one time we caught a big steer up here on Petrified [inaudible]. Al Reber was on it and he couldn't get off. [The steer] had long horns and would fight. [Inaudible] [He] was on [for] nearly half a day before we could get him off. He didn't dare get off [inaudible].

FH:[The steer] would come after him. Wow!

LR:We couldn't get to him because he would chase us.

LLR:He stayed on for nearly half a day. I'll tell you he didn't want to get on one again very quickly! [Laughter]

FH:Horseback riding was just second nature to you, I guess.

LR:Yes. Lots of times we would chase wild horses.

FH:Were you able to [catch] some of them?

LR:Yes, we caught several.

FH:[Some] good ones?

LR:[Some were] good.

FH:Were there bands of wild horses running at that time?

LR:Yes, at that time.

FH:That was when you were a young fellow?

LR:Just a young fellow!

FH:Did you have any social life when you were growing up?

LR:Once in a while we would get to go to town to Mesquite and Bunkerville to a dance [for] the Fourth of July or Christmas. [Both communities are in Nevada.]

FH:Did you like to dance?

LR:Yes, I liked to dance.

FH:What kind of music did they have to dance to?

LR:They had a piano and ─

FH:A fiddle?

LR:─ a fiddle, I imagine. [George] Bowler did a lot of it.

FH:[Did] you do some square dancing?

LR:Yes.

FH:Some round dancing?

LR:Some round dancing. [When] we went to Bunkerville it would be about daylight before we got [home]. [It] was about fifteen miles.

FH:[Did] you have to get back to do the chores?

LR:[We had] to do the chores and go to work.

FH:[Laughter] Did your dad give you any time off when you had been out all night?

LR:No, not a bit! When [we] went down to Bunkerville it would take [nearly] a half-day to get there. The next day [we] did the plowing or whatever [we] were to do.

FH:Were the dances a church activity? Or community [dances]?

LR: Both.

FH:Was the church your social life?

LR:Yes.

FH:Tell about your courtship and your first marriage. Who was [your] first [wife]?

LR:Velma Waite from Bunkerville.

FH:How did you meet her?

LR:We were down in Bunkerville to a dance, I guess.

LLR:Didn't her dad haul [the] mail?

LR:What?

LLR:[Inaudible]

LR:Yes, her dad drove the [United States] mail [route]. [We were] married and had four [children].

FH:Where did you live [after] you were married? First, where were you married?

LR:In Mesquite.

FH:Do you remember who married you?

LR:William Abbott.

FH:Was he the bishop down there?

LR:He was the bishop.

FH:How long was it before you went to the temple?

LR:A month or two.

FH:Was this the St. George Temple?

LR:Yes, the St. George Temple.

FH:[Did] you have four children?

LR:[We had] four boys.

FH:What were their names?

LR:Rumell, Gerald, Max, and Larry.

FH:Will you tell a little about them, starting with the first one.

LR:The oldest one [Rumell Reber] married a schoolteacher. He ran the church farm down in Las Vegas [Nevada] for a couple or three years. Then he [moved] back and he and I bought out our neighbor. He has been on the farm ever since.

FH:He is still here?

LR:He is still here.

FH:Does he have a good family?

LR:[He has] a good family.

FH:Has having him close by been strength for you?

LR:Yes. We farmed together and have separate cattle but work them together at times.

FH:[You] share your work together. Now tell about the second one. What has happened to him?

LR:For a long time [Gerald] drove [the] mail [route] from Moapa [Nevada] to St. George. Then he married and [moved] to Las Vegas. [Later] he moved to Mercury [Nevada to] work for the Nevada Highway [Department]. He is still there.

FH:Is he still doing the same kind of work?

LR:He is a foreman of a [group] of men now.

FH:Does he have a family?

LR:[He has] six children.

FH:Have your first sons stayed close to the church?

LR:[They are] active, yes.

FH:What happened to the third [son]?

LR:[Max Reber] lives in Las Vegas and works for IM&L. [Inaudible] He is married and has two [children].

FH:Is he a truck driver or just working in the plant?

LR:He works just in Las Vegas.

FH:I see, local work.

LR:His son is going on a [LDS] mission as soon as he is nineteen. I think in July [1969].

FH:Good.

LR:Larry [Reber] lives in Las Vegas. He is working for the state too. He is in the bishopric.

FH:Have these four sons all remained strong and active [in the church]?

LR:Oh, yes. Max's wife is in the Mutual [Improvement Association].

LLR:[It is the] Relief Society.

LR:[She is in] the Relief Society.

FH:Is his wife Relief Society president?

LR:Yes. Gerald's wife is Relief Society president too.

FH:You have two of them in your family.

LR:They live in Indian Springs [Nevada].

FH:After your fourth child with the first wife, was she going to have another one?

LR:Yes, and she died.

FH:She died in childbirth?

LR:Yes, she died in St. George.

FH:[Did] the baby die?

LR:Yes.

FH:[Neither survived.] Was life [fairly] lonesome for you?

LR:Yes. My mother was getting old and feeble. I had to do something. [Laughter] So we started to go together.

FH:Are you talking about your present wife?

LR:Yes. [Lorna (Leavitt) Reber]

FH:How did you happen to start courting her?

LR:We were in Mutual [Improvement Association] together. I happened to be [walking] her home one night.

FH:You were going down to Mesquite?

LR:It was only a mile and one-half. [Inaudible] I took her home after Mutual and we started going together and [were] married.

FH:How long [after] you started going together [until] you finally married?

LR:Maybe [after] a year or better.

FH:Where did you marry her?

LR:[In the] St. George Temple.

FH:[Did] she [move] right to the farm here?

LR:Yes.

FH:How many children did you have?

LR:[We had] seven children.

FH:Would you name those children? Tell a little bit about them.

LR:[The children were] Jean, Jay ─

FH:Is that a boy or a girl?

LR:A girl. She was married in Texas.

FH:Does she live in Texas now?

LR:[Jay Reber] is still in Texas. [Inaudible]

FH:[Inaudible]

LR:[Inaudible] Lois [Reber] lives in Las Vegas [where] her husband works. Carol [Reber] is married and lives in Las Vegas. Brent [Reber] lives in Mesa, Arizona. Brenda [Reber] is here at home.

FH:[Is] her husband in [military] service?

LR:Yes.

FH:So she is staying at home?

LR:Yes. She works in Mesquite.

LLR:Donnie.

LR:Oh, Donnie [Reber] lives in California.

FH:Is he married?

LR:[Yes], he is married.

FH:[Were] the last two children different?

LR:They were twins! [Laughter]

FH:[Laughter] A boy and a girl?

LR:[A] boy and a girl. The wife thought she was going to have two [babies] so she went to the doctor. He said, "The only way we can tell is to [take] an x-ray." So he did that. When he looked at the x-ray, [there] was definitely only one [baby]. He told her, "Just one." [But] two came! He was upset and looked 00:31:00[again] at the x-ray and it did show two [babies]. He had looked at the wrong picture. [Laughter]

FH:[Laughter] Big surprise! Was it hard on the dad?

LR:Yes, I was out there waiting. [Laughter] What did he tell you?

LLR:[Inaudible]

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

FH:What have you been doing since you married? Have you [always] worked on the farm here?

LR:[Inaudible], yes. [I have] farmed and raised cattle.

FH:Tell about your farming experience.

LR:For a long time we did a lot of truck-garden farming. [We raised] radishes, onions, tomatoes and cabbage.

FH:Is this soil rich?

LR:[The soil] is [very] good. But we couldn't make a go of it. [The] labor 00:32:00[cost] was so high. We would ship Indians in from Tuba City [Arizona] for help. [We would] have twenty-five or thirty Indians here at one time picking [vegetables]. The last couple of years [inaudible] we couldn't make it and just went under.

FH:[The] labor [costs were] too high to make [any] money?

LR:[We] couldn't make [any] money. Labor was high and [so was] ice and everything that you had to [have]. [We] were too small. If we had [more] acreage, maybe we could have kept going.

FH:It seems like that is true in the farm business. You have to be real ─

[END OF RECORDING ONE.]

LR:We go to church [nearly] every Sunday. [We] drive ten miles.

FH:All of your family is [grown] and married [except] for one and he is away. Are you satisfied with the way your family has turned out?

LR:Yes.

FH:Do you think they are a good worthwhile family?

LR:Yes, they are alright.

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

LR:The four sons by my first wife were married in the church.

FH:They were all married in the temple?

LR:[They] were all married in the temple. Three of our children, by my second wife, were married outside the church.

FH:[Did] one [of your children] convert her husband?

LR:Yes, one converted her husband and he joined the church before they were married.

FH:Have they gone to the temple?

LR:Yes, they have and he is an elder.

FH:Then there are just the three that are outside ─

LR:Just the three that are outside.

FH:How does this make you feel?

LR:I wish they had [been] married in the temple but they didn't. I would have felt better about it.

FH:Perhaps this can be corrected some day if they [are so] inclined. Would you be happy if [they did]?

LR:I would be happy if they would, yes.

FH:[How] have you been active in the church while you have been living and working the ranch here? Have you [held] any offices or responsibilities in the 00:36:00church? What about home teaching? [Did] you ever do any?

LR:Yes, I am a home teacher now and have been for years and years. I was [inaudible] for a long time and Sunday school superintendent for a long time. [Inaudible]

FH:[Has] the church been a large part of your life?

LR:Yes.

FH:Do you feel strongly about it?

LR:Yes. [Inaudible] the church.

LR:After such a wonderful life of experience, and you have certainly had it here, you are well-qualified to give counsel to your descendants. This is one place on earth where men have real living experiences. I would like to hear you tell them what you feel about life. How do you feel they ought to live? Realize that this is not just for your own children but for the generations to come.

LR:Okay.

FH:You [can] tell them just how you feel about life. [Do] you feel like there are rules that you should live by?

[TAPE RECORDER TURNED OFF]

FH:I like that saying. Do you think that men get rewarded for the way that they live?

LR:Yes.

FH:Should they live good lives?

LR:[They should live] good lives.

FH:If they don't, who is the loser?

LR:They are.

FH:That is right. Do you feel that the laws of the gospel are important to them?

LR:Yes.

FH:What [do] you [think] your children ought to do when they are asked to [participate] in the church?

LR:Go ahead and do it.

FH:Without any question?

LR:Without any question.

FH:Do you [think] that rewards will all come in this life or do you think some will come in the next life?

LR:The next life.

FH:A good share of it?

LR:You bet!

FH:Do you feel that being honest has real merit?

LR:Yes. [They need to] pay their tithing. I strongly believe in [tithing].

FH:Do you have any idea of how many descendants you have alive?

LR:There are fifty in my family now.

FH:Altogether?

LR:Altogether.

FH:That includes your wife and yourself.

LR:Absolutely.

FH:Are you expecting another one right away?

LR:Yes.

FH:This is a tremendous and wonderful posterity. Imagine what this will be one hundred years from now. It is almost unbelievable. Have you been blessed in your life?

LR:Yes.

FH:Do you think you would like to change [your life] if you could do it over?

LR:I don't know.

FH:[Would] you like to change some of the hard work?

LR:Yes. I would have been a little smarter.

FH:You would have been smarter?

LR:I would have liked to have been smarter and I wouldn't have had to work so hard.

FH:In other words, you would have had a little more foresight instead of so much hindsight! [Laughter]

LR:Yes! [Laughter]

FH:I believe everyone feels this way. Nevertheless, here you are with the good things of life and the things that are really worthwhile are yours. Aren't they?

LR:Yes.

FH:A wonderful posterity and hope for the future in a situation where you have the bounties of life, the things that you need for good health and happiness. You have really been blessed.

[TAPE RECORDER IS TURNED OFF]

FH:There is something that we missed that I didn't even know about. What was that?

LR:I was deputy sheriff for thirty-five years.

FH:[You were the] Deputy Sheriff for thirty-five years here? Gracious!

LR:[I made] a lot of trips to the hospital with dead [bodies].

FH:From accidents?

LR:From the accidents.

FH:[Were] you notified every time there was an accident?

LR:Yes. [Inaudible] Sometimes there would be two or three accidents in one night.

FH:You have lost a lot of sleep over that job!

LR:Lots of sleep [and] lots of miles! [Laughter]

FH:I'll bet you have!

LR:If there were two, we had to call an ambulance and [it] would take three or four hours.

FH:Was this the only activity or have there been other activities? Have you ever assisted in apprehending people that [law enforcement] was trying to find?

LR:Yes.

FH:You [also did] some of that?

LR:Yes.

LLR:What about the Morrison case?

LR:He was a runaway.

FH:You were after a boy that was a runaway?

LR:We had to tie his hands.

FH:How old was he?

LR:[He was] thirteen or fourteen.

FH:Have you had any, what you would consider exciting, experiences with people you were trying to apprehend?

LR:Yes.

LLR:[Inaudible]

LR:[Inaudible] Several were shot.

FH:While you were trying to ─

LR:Yes. I never shot [anyone]. I shot a time or two but it never hit [anyone].

FH:Just to scare them?

LR:Just to stop them.

FH:This isn't exactly a pleasant occupation, is it?

LR:No.

FH:But somebody has to do it.

LR:Somebody has to do it.

FH:Your life has been full of a lot of different experiences.

LR:[Inaudible]

FH:It sure has! How do your feel about the future? What would you like to do the most if you could do what you wanted to do in life?

LR:If I could, I would like to work [in] the church.

FH:Is this your main feeling about the future? I think you might be able to do that. I think there will be an opportunity.

[END OF RECORDING TWO.]