GRANDMA ALICE HAFEN AND THE 6.3 EARTHQUAKE

 

Alice had gone to Los Angeles, California to work as a nanny for a Mrs. Frame.  It was her first time away from home of any great length.  Then a terrible earthquake hit on March 10,  1933.  It was a shocker not only for Alice but it it killed 115 people and caused millions of dollars in damage .

The following is a letter sent to Alice from her Grandmother Wilhelmina Morrison Ericksen.  It is full of the spiritual strength and encouragement that Alice needed at that time.    I have transcribed to letter below these copies.  

Mt. Pleasant Apr 16, /33

Dear Granddaughter Alice,  I guess you will be somewhat surprised to get a letter from me , and while I am not in the mood for writing the last while I have thought much about you all during the terrible experience you have had to endure during your short while in California and the terrible shock that has come to us all since you left us.  How little we know what the future has in store for us, or what one day from another will bring .  How necessary it is to live near the Lord that we may be prepared to meet what ever comes and ask the Lord to help us with strength and fortitude to bear our grief and sorrow in all humility. for he alone can and is the only source to look to for solace.  We must put our trust in him and live as he has planned for us in order to enjoy his blessings.

I have thought so much of you so far from home and among stranger it is an experience you will never forget, but remember you are not forgotten for my prayers ascend daily for your welfare as all others in like condition.  The lord is ever ready to bless and sustain those in trouble and weakness.  I am sure you have suffered through it all  but when ones nerves give away, it is worse than pain.  I can feel for you as I have had similar conditions in the past with weak nerves.  Don't let that worry you although I know how hard it is to fight it off.

Margaret and Lon  or Mr. Child (her friend) as Willa Rae calls him, he asked her the other day if she remembered him. "Yes of course,  who am I?" "Margaret's friend " was his reply .

Have been home the past three days spending th U. vication, returns this p.m. train, so I am sure the folks have enjoyed their visit  although as usual she has been busy, made herself a new dress and Lon has engaged himself doing a little work which I am sure will be appreciated by all .  He has moved the barn and carried the light out to the yard now.  Don't you think that  will be nice for the folks as well as for the animals.

Well my paper is filling up and I don't know whether I am telling you anything you don't know.  This is Easter.  Gladys had to go to Fairview with Harry to attend Sunday School Convention being held there today.  She only had to stay till noon so Chesley and I had the children. He went up at noon and brought her home.  This afternoon they are out with all the little folk for a picnic. Kent, Willa Rae, Grand, Marjorie and Naoma, Maryland included as Mrs. Jacobsen has gon to Provo to attend the wedding of Ralph (What do you know?) Barbara was with the Dredge bunch.

Well now about myself,  As you no doubt heard I was coughing with the other kids.  Poor things, I don't know how they ever pull through.  It certainly worked a hardship on me.  I am glad to say that I am now improving, but it has left me feeling weak at times.  I am hardly keep up.  I must rest part of the day in order to keep able to help a little.

Grandpa complains a great deal, came home today from Sunday School quite sick.  Uncle Chesley is not very well either, but glad he got over a spell we feared might be scarlet fever, but as he had it when a child, it did not prove to be so.  He is working in the garden every day now fixing things nice.  The storm is getting up and clouding .  I guess we will have another storm.  It is so dry and dirty now.  Had a letter from Canada the other day.  They had snow and wind  aplenty as well, so cold and in some parts 4 1/2 feet of Snow.

Well dear Alice before I forget I want to thank you for the beautiful dress pattern you sent me.  Hope I can do something nice for you some day and do try to keep up good will while you are there and tell the girls from there I think of them all and hope they will enjoy their stay in California, but good old Utah for me.  Now be good to yourself and build up your nerves.  I can feel for you.  And thank Mrs. Frame for her kindness to you.  Helping you over your sad moments when you were so bad.  We all sorrow and mourn our loss.  It seems terrible  but must make the best of life.  Sterling and the kids are living at home now, what a change for them.  May the Lord bless you and give you strength to keep up.  With much love and every blessing attend you.  Affectionately, Grandma Ericksen.

RECIPES TAKEN FROM ALICE HAFEN'S COLLECTION

 

This last one must have been used a lot.  It also includes an indentation to attend the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Carrol Madsen. 

HAMILTON SCHOOL BAND 1953

 

Back Row: L to R: Marden Allred, Dennis Tucker, Keith Lasson, ..............., Robert Lasson, Ralph Wright, Bert Olsen, Justus Seely, Jay Carlson, Robert Jorgensen, Jerry McArthur, Roger Larsen, Jerry Sorensen, ............, Brooks Larsen.
Middle Row: Sue Ann Seely, Lynn Madsen, Connie Johansen, Sharon Staker, Kathleen Truscott, Karen Jacobs, ................., Leah Faye Johansen, Sally Peterson, Marion Lay, Peggy Peterson.
Front Row: Ronald Lay, John Carlson, Steve Rosenlund, .............,................, Karl Lund, Jerry Barentsen, Buddy Holt, Richard Poulsen, Dwight Shelley, Leon Brotherson

James Monsen (from our archives)

 

James Monsen was the son of Peter and Dorothy C. Monsen, two of Mt. Pleasant's earliest pioneers. James grew up in Mt. Pleasant. The Introduction of his autobiography reads: "Since, by reason of circumstance, the writer of this little book has had little or no access to scholastic training, I suggest that when read, it be done with no critical intent, and that grammatical errors, if any, be by-passed. And, I most sincerely trust that its contents will convey to the reader a clear and correct concept of its true meaning and the purpose for which it was written."  We wish to thank James Monsen for taking the time to write this "little book" as it contains some real treasures of early Mt. Pleasant History.  In this post we share his early childhood memories of new wooden shoes, reading materials, school furniture and construction as well as dying yarn and weaving.


Mother was a great teacher, and in those days reading matter was not so plentiful as now (printed in 1949), and to say the least, much more expensive.  So, to economize, Neils Johansen, our neighbor and mother joined in subscribing for such papers as suited them best.  One was called the Dacota Post, and a novel with continued stories. Father thought it best to read the Deseret News, and especially the gospel sermons, which, of course, mother did read, but she enjoy other kinds of reading, and knowing that father rather opposed fiction and the like, many of the evenings were spent in Neils Johansen's home, not to sit idle with arms folded, but to work as well as read.


Johansen was a weaver and always had something on hand that even a child could do.  Washing wool, picking, carding, spinning, spooling, and often making skeins, tying them into knots, dipping them into homemade dye pots for different colors.  So, while mother read, Johansen was not idle; and when he read, mother was busy at something, and even I sometimes wound yarn into a ball.  I also ran the spooler while Johansen would weave, and to say the least, I listened very attentively to the reading, most of which was Danish; thereby I think I acquired much of what I know of the language.


While I enjoyed hearing them read while they worked, sleep would sometimes overtake me, and to be awakened to go home was anything but appreciated.


I recall now going with my sister Stena to the store.  On our return we passed the then-called second ward school house, where my brother Joe was going to school.  We didn't pass by unnoticed.  Joe came rushing out and grabbed me.  I well remember how I protested and cried.  My crying and Stena's pleading did not dissuade Joe from taking me by force into the schoolroom.  Joe knew I liked roasted potatoes and they were there in abundance.


The house was heated from an open fireplace where they used wood for fuel, a splendid place to roast things.  In the corner of the room some boys were engaged in pitching buttons.  With all such going, I soon became pacified and glad that I was forced to join the gang.


The teacher's name was Hans Jorgen Schultz, and I remember he wore barndoor pants (?Means it has buttons to close the front, no zipper) and leather suspenders and wooden shoes.  He had in his hand a birch stick about three foot long, which he used as a pointer, as well as a fire poker, and he was not adverse to poking the rude boys occasionally.


The desks were a double arrangement, about two feet wide on either side, sloping to the center, with benches on both sides, the students facing each other.  I think four such desks constituted the furniture  A blackboard, made from planed lumber, hung on the wall,  That was my first introduction to a schoolroom.


The home was about 16 x 25.  The desk and benches stood crosswise in the room, full length, except a pass-way at the ends.


Father had learned to make wooden shoes in his native land, and brought with him some tools with which to make such shoes.


I had arrived at school age, I guess about six or seven years old, but to go to school required footwear, and I had none.  I think it proper here to say that as long as the ground was free of snow we went barefooted.  I used to look forward with great anticipation to the advent of spring, so I could go barefooted.  Now back to the school shoes.


By invitation I went with my father over in the Cedar Hills after a load of wood.  When his wood was all loaded, he proceeded to find a pitch pine tree just to suit his fancy, and I wondered why he was so particular about his choice of a tree and asked him that question.  "Well"he said, "I want a stick best suited for wooden shoes.  I am going to make you a pair so you can go to school."


I looked forward with much pleasure to the finishing of my new shoes, so I eagerly watched that piece of wood from the tree to the finished wooden shoe.  Mother had them nicely shined from the soot she gathered in the fireplace, and when I arrived at Sister Morrison's home (she was the teacher) I was more proud than ever, because of the comment made by her about my new shoes.  I think, however, I was the only one there with wooden shoes.


At that, they were nice shoes, and there was none like them worn by others.  The only objection I had to them, I couldn't run as fast with them as without.

Barndoor Pants 

What are barn door pants?

Barn door pants are an Amish style of pants. They are homemade pants without a zipper where the front of the pants may be folded up and buttoned along the top.

REBEKAHS CONFER MERITORIOUS AWARD TO MT. PLEASANT MEMBER ~~~~~ my mother

 

PIONEER JUSTUS

 

ASPEN GRAFFITTI ~~ James L. Jacobs

 

The white trunks of aspen trees growing along roadsides in the mountains east of Sanpete Valley are covered with names and other graffiti carved by knives of former visitors. People who traveled or worked there seemed to have had an irresistible urge to establish their status by leaving their names displayed on these stately and attractive trees for future visitors to see.

When trees were properly carved, the knife cuts were formed into black scars that remained in vivid contrast to the snow-white bark for the lifetime of the tree. If cuts were too shallow, the tree healed them up so no scar was left. Some inexperienced carvers had cut channels clear through the bark down to the wood, and these caused such large scars that the carvings were almost illegible. But most carvings were made properly by competent and experienced carvers so the carvings became permanent and attractive.

In the early 1900’s all travel was by horseback or horse drawn vehicles, which was slow enough to give travelers ample time to observe and reflect on the great collection of carvings they found on the trees. There was also time to add one’s own name while the horses were resting or while they were stopped for lunch.

The names of entire families, father, mother and children, were often left on trees as evidence that they had been in the mountains. A family trip to visit a sheep herding father or to fish in the mountain streams made it possible for them to record their names on the biggest tree they could find. In areas most frequented by people, tree trunks were so covered with carvings that there was scarcely any bare surface left within reach.

Carvings varied as widely as the people who made them. Most names were formed of large block letters, but there were many styles, kinds and sizes of name carving. Some names were made in beautiful script instead of the usual printed letters. Lon Larsen was one who used uniform, flowing longhand made with real artistic quality.

Another who left his name in fine script was Orange A. Olsen, a Forest Service officer who has a ranger station named for him in Joe’s Valley on the Manti Forest. Most carvers were content to leave only their names or initials, but some added their addresses and the dates the carvings were made. The oldest I recall was dated 1890, while other dates showed continuous carvings from then right up to the time I herded sheep, from 1922 to 1927. Many indulged their artistic talents by carving a wide variety of pictures which included everything from horseshoes to teepees, houses, snakes and human hands.

There were more pictures of people than anything else, especially voluptuous ladies and virile men, and many likenesses of horses, bears, and various other animals.  Many sentiments were expressed in messages left for future visitors to see. Some of these read, “All sheepherders are crazy,” “Hate these blatting woollies,” “Lonesome Joe,” “Killed a bear.” In one area there were many short poetic verses, most of which were somewhat ribald in character. Some carvers thought it smart to counterfeit the names of well-known celebrities, so when one found “Daniel Boone,” “Tom Mix,” or “Woodrow Wilson,” it was understood these had been faked and were not authentic signatures.

During the years I herded sheep I was fascinated with the carvings, most of which had been made by sheepherders. In the long summer days, sheep shaded up from mid-morning until late afternoon, leaving the herders free for many hours in the middle of the day. So what could occupy their time better than tree carving! Andrew Tidwell was the most prolific carver of all the sheepherders on the north end of the mountain. He sometimes carved his full name in large letters, but at other times he shortened it to “A. Tid.” But in most places only his initials were found, on hundreds of trees along roads and trails and back in the boondocks where only sheepmen and hunters usually go. No one filled up a tree trunk like he did. He would ride his horse up to a tall tree, stand up in the saddle and carve “AT” as high on the tree as he could reach, then place another initial under that one and repeat it all the way down to the ground. I counted 28 “AT” initials in a column on one tree, and there were many more like it.

 The regular camping places where sheep camps were located year after year where known by well established names, many of which were carved on trees at the camps. “Little Bear,” “Beer Spring,” “The Jumpoff,” were some of the names. But “Honeymoon Camp” was my favorite. It was so named because a sheepherder once took his bride there right after they were married. It was an ideal place to spend a honeymoon and get a sheepherder’s salary at the same time. But there was a problem. The bunk on which the honeymooners slept was made of aspen poles with rawhide strips crisscrossing each other for a mattress. The groom had slept alone all his life, and it was difficult for him to get any rest cuddled in the arms of his affectionate bride. After several restless nights, the groom solved the problem. While the bride was not looking, he tightened the leather strip running down the center of the bunk. This raised a slight ridge down the middle with depressions on each side. Thereafter when the bride fell asleep, the cuddling was ended as she slipped of the ridge onto her side of the bed, and the groom slept soundly on his side, happily remote from her cuddling arms.

To relieve their loneliness, herders would often ride to the neighboring camps to visit and have dinner together. On Sundays two or three herders would catch a mess of trout and have a joint fish fry at one of the camps. It was customary for all to leave their names at all camps. I once wrote down the names on the trees at Harve Spring Camp. These were: Lynn Averett, Wenzel Brewer, Dan Christensen, James Jacobs, Loftin Johnson, Lon Larsen, Hans Lund, Howe Lund, Ray Lund, Bruce Madsen, Chet Mills, Liandro Serrano, Andrew Tidwell, Kenneth Tidwell, Aurel Winkler, Montel Winkler, Owen Winkler, Irl Wilson, Peter Woolsey and Shirley Zabriskie.

Not all aspen graffiti were manmade; bears also left their marks. It was rumored that a bear would claim his home territory by reaching high on a tree and marked the bark with his claws to show that this area was owned by a large bear. I doubted this, but I did see hundreds of trees deeply marked by the claws of bears that had climbed them. There were then very many bears in the mountains. A marauding bear ran amuck in the sheep I was herding one night and killed or mortally wounded 42 sheep on their bed ground. We  used bear grease rendered from bear fat to keep our shoes oiled. Sam Pierce was employed as a bear hunter and killed more than 100 bears in 1916 on the Manti Forest area.

Most carvers left their names on many trees, but two men told me they had each carved their names only once. One was Ernest Winkler, whose name I found near Commissary Spring where he had carved it as a boy. The other was James Larsen, whose one carving was in a grove of trees on top of the mountain. He carved this while his sheep were marooned in deep snow from a severe early fall storm, and he was waiting for help to rescue them. A team of horses dragged a fir tree through the snow to make a trail the sheep could follow off the mountain, strung out in single file.

Recently I found a forgotten carving of my own name on a tree near Silver Creek. With it was the date, “Sept. 9, 1924,” and the comment, “114 fish.” I remembered carving this on my way home to attend school after herding sheep since early May. Another herder and I had gone fishing before I left the herd. The legal limit was then thirty fish per day with two day’s limit allowed in possession. I was bringing home, packed in grass in a gunny sack tied behind my saddle, my sixty fish and those the other herder was sending home. So the “144 fish” were six fish short of the 120 we were entitled to.

The tree carvings gave a taste of history to visitors at a time when the leisurely pace of horse travel made it possible to see and admire them. Now that motor vehicles whisk people through groves of trees so rapidly, they do not take time to observe and add to the carvings as they did sixty years ago. And many people contend the carvings destroy the beauty of the picturesque aspen trees. So the day of the popularity of aspen graffiti is past.

NINETEENTH CENTURY FASHION FOR WOMEN

 https://i.pinimg.com/originals/41/ea/8b/41ea8b89a325db159edb145b2b678a9f.jpg

NINETEENTH CENTURY FASHION FOR MEN

 https://vintagedancer.com/victorian/victorian-mens-fashion-history/

VETERANS DAY SALUTE 2024

 

You probably know about this web site but in case you don't it's very well done!

This is absolutely amazing if you know anyone from your home town that died in the Vietnam War,

Vietnam Wall--THIS IS AMAZING!

This is really sobering. First click on a state. When it opens, scroll down to the city where you went to high school and look at the names. Click on the name and it will give details of the person's death, a picture or at least their bio and medals.

This really is an amazing web site. Someone spent a lot of time and effort to create it.

I hope that everyone who receives this appreciates what those who served in Vietnam sacrificed for our country.

http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm

Brent Hal Mc Arthur

Specialist Four
A CO, 1ST BN, 7TH CAVALRY, 1ST CAV DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Mount Pleasant, Utah
July 21, 1946 to November 20, 1969
BRENT H Mc ARTHUR is on the Wall at Panel W16, Line 101
See the full profile or name rubbing for Brent Mc Arthur

 http://www.virtualwall.org/dm/McarthurBH01a.htm

Gary Ruel Mower

First Lieutenant
C CO, 5TH BN, 46TH INFANTRY, AMERICAL DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Fairview, Utah
March 18, 1944 to May 22, 1970
GARY R MOWER is on the Wall at Panel W10, Line 82
See the full profile or name rubbing for Gary Mower

 http://www.virtualwall.org/dm/MowerGR01a.htm

~~~~~~~

Dee Bergera

Private First Class
A CO, 3RD BN, 21ST INFANTRY, 196TH INFANTRY BDE,
AMERICAL DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Helper, Utah
August 31, 1948 to June 15, 1971
DEE BERGERA is on the Wall at Panel W3, Line 76
See the full profile or name rubbing for Dee Bergera

Graduated from Wasatch Academy 

 

Jimmy Larsen

son of Chris and Thaetta Larsen

Mt. Pleasant.  

~~~~~

HOME OF MARTINUS NELSON ~ for the Women's Home Missionary Society

 

Mt. Pleasant Elementary 1952-53 First Grade ~~~ Mrs. Stevens Teacher

 

SETTLING OF SANPETE COUNTY ~~~ History of Mt. Pleasant ~~~ Hilda Madsen Longsdorf 1935