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| Four Generations Inger Christensen (Mother of Johanna) Johanna Johansen ( Mother of Amasena) Amasena Johansen (daughter of Johanna) Reith ( daughter of Amasena who married Francis Brotherson |
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF REATH INA BROTHERSFN DRAPER
I was born on the 4th of July 1905 to Francis and Amsena Johansen Brothersen in
Mount Pleasant. Being born on a national holiday was not appreciated by me as a child
since I could never have a birthday party on my birthday. I was the eldest of eleven
children. Four brothers followed me and I began to wonder if I was going to have a sister.
I had a cousin, Etta, hardly a year younger than me and she was envious of me when my
First sister was born. she never did have a sister; however she is the mother of five lovely
daughters.
My first recollection is of living in the red brick home between Amasa Ericksen's and
Claus Anderson's. My parents planned to build on to that house and made a foundation of
cement at the back of the house. However, it was never completed as they bought an
adobe home a half block north and later built a new
bungalow home on the southeast corner of that lot. It is a very choice location and the
house still stands, three blocks south of Main Street and three blocks west of the South
Ward Church which is on State Street.
I remember very distinctly when the new home was built and even helped haul some of
the rocks to put in the foundation and also in the east porch. We lived in the adobe home
until the new home was partly finished; since the new home was being lined with the
adobes of the adobe house we moved into the basement of the new home so the rest of
the adobe house could be torn down. It was a bit rugged for a time until the second layer
of flooring was on for dirt would sift down through; so we nailed a quilt on the ceiling over
the table to keep it clean. How wonderful it was to move upstairs and have everything new
and beautiful. There were cabinets in the kitchen, a buffet cupboard and a fireplace in the
living room. Also there was a bathroom and this was the first time for that as there were
very few homes in those days that had bathrooms. Eva was the baby then and she took
her first steps an the new kitchen floor and if I remember correctly our first meal was
Thanksgiving dinner.
My paternal grandfather died five years before I was born but Grandmother Brothersen
lived to be 80 years old. I remember she took her first airplane ride when she was 75
years old. She also made an ocean voyage back to her native land of Denmark and brought
each grandchild back a gift; mine was a small red purse.
One of my happiest childhood memories is of the" vacations I would spend with
Grandfather and Grandmother Johansen at their farm "The Bottoms" south and west of Mt.
Pleasant and just 3/4 mile east of the old Moroni Mill. Often my cousin Etta and I would
go together with them. We traveled in a buggy with a horse called Queen to pull it. I would
sit on the floor in front, which was anything but comfortable, but I never minded that. We
helped Grandmother tend the chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and sometimes lambs and
calves. We were afraid of the ganders for they would chase us. Later when the sugar
factory was built at Moroni grandfather and some of his neighbors raised sugar beets. Etta
and I thinned beets as Grandmother blocked them ahead of us. Sometimes she would
have a headache and would take Bromo Seltzer when she came to the end of the row. Etta
and I told her once that we would like to have parasols. She remembered that two of her
girls had parasols and told us to ask them to sell them to us, which they did. The first
time we used them was on the 4th of July and we were so proud of them as we went to the
celebration in the Pavilion" as it was called.
While visiting at the "Bottoms" Grandma took me to the home of John Johansen. John
was Grandpa's brother and the home had a dirt floor, the only home I ever saw that had
no floor.
On the farm bullberries grew along the ditch bank and we would pick the berries for
Grandma. It was quite a trick to pick them without being pricked by the sharp needles
growing on them but the delicious dumplings Grandma made from them were worth the
effort. We would pour milk (flavored with sugar and nutmeg) over them, or a cooked
sauce. I wonder where they originated from? I have never seen any anywhere else and now
since the new underground pipeline was installed those bushes have died.
Etta and I picked many wild flowers. There have never been as many since, probably
because with us picking so many there was no chance for survival. The old school house
our parents had attended was on top of the hill, less than a block east of the farm house.
We liked to go in and read the names on the wall, to see if perchance our parents' names
might be there. The school teacher boarded and lived at the farmhouses, so naturally the
children of the family she was staying with were naturally on their best behavior in the
class room. Their teacher was Fannie Miles.
We carried many buckets of water up the hill to the house from the spring for
Grandma, the coldest and best water in the world.
I attended school the first half year in the old "Simpson School House" as it was called,
but they transferred us to what is now North Sanpete High School, which was 8 1/2 blocks
to walk. I attended Mt. Pleasant Elementary School and two of my Teachers were Flossie
Staker and Ida Larsen. When the bell rang we would form lines three abreast and march
to music to our classroom. I went through high school and Seminary and then Brigham
Young University. I worked at many different jobs such as taking the sensus, telephone
operator, clerk in the Progress Mercantile and Sanpete Co-op stores. While going to school
I thinned beets in the spring when school let out and topped and loaded them in the fall
during fall vacation. My Church positions were Sunday School and Primary teacher,
Primary secretary. Our church was the South Ward Chapel with two flights of stairs to
climb to the main part. The building burned down years later; however, the memories
linger.
My girlfriend, Arla Simpson, and I were married on the same day in the Manti Temple.
We flipped a coin to see who was to have their reception that night; she had hers and mine
was the following evening. It was the custom then to have wedding suppers; our wedding
day was June 19, 1929.
We moved to Garfield after we were married. There we rented a home and planted a
lawn and flowers. Our first child, Ruth Carol, was born August 31, 1930 in Salt Lake City.
The Relief Society asked me to be the Social Science class leader shortly after and that
began my career in Relief Society. When they shut down the smelter less then three years
later we moved to Moroni and have lived here since. At that time Orlando's Dad was
getting up in years and needed someone to take over the farm. There was electricity but
no running water, just a hand-operated pump. Joyce Arlene was born about three years
after Carol, on June 7, 1933, and Darlene Lillian was barn July 15, 1936. We didn't have
any more children until 8 years later, October 24, 1944, we were blessed with a beautiful
baby with dark hair and blue eyes (of course). We were all so happy to get her; we named
her Voneal.
Carol was married October 23, 1953, the day before Voneal's ninth birthday. We had a
reception that evening In the Moroni church, with Joseph Revill as master of ceremonies
for the program. Darlene made Carol's wedding dress of white satin. She had a beautiful
veil of illusion with a crown of pearls. Ray was in his Navy uniform.
Joyce, Darlene and Voneal each received scholarships to Snow College and all graduated,
Voneal with honers.
Joyce started teaching school in Preston, Idaho after she graduated from Snow. In
Preston she met William D. Pond of Lewiston, Utah; they were married June 7, 1954 in the
Manti Temple. We had a reception that evening in our new Moroni Chapel.
Darlene put herself through the University of Utah, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree
in Education. She taught school in Mink Creek, Idaho one year, also a year in Dugway,
Utah before she went to California to teach. There she met her future husband, Bud E.
Welker. Darlene was married in the Manti Temple July 23, 1963 and her reception was held
after they returned from their honeymoon in Idaho.
Voneal graduated from BYU with honors in August, 1968. She fulfilled an honorable
mission to the Indiana-Michigan Mission In the years 1969-1971. After returning she
obtained a position with Utah State Department of Social Services as an eligibility examiner
and is presently employed in Blanding, Utah.
We now have 15 grandchildren: 6 granddaughters and 9 grandsons, also 3 greatgrandchildren.
In two years we hope to celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary.
You can find Reath's Obituary on the following link:
https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/41469831?cid=mem_copy
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