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LIFE STORY BY VINAL STOKER BARLOW

I was born May 11, 1903 in a small farming town, Syracuse, Utah, located near the shores of the great salt lake in the North end of Davis County. I was the sixth child and the 4th son born to my parents, Jesse Haven Barlow and Sarah Luella Stoker. Father and mother were born and lived all their single lives in Bountiful, Utah located in the South end of Davis County. They were married in the Logan temple Nov. 25, 1891. They continued to live in Bountiful where two children were born to them, Jesse David Mar. 12, 1893 and Rena Lelia Jan 12, 1895. Their home in Syracuse was a one room log cabin built by my father and his neighbors on a 20 acre farm given to them by my mother's father Bishop David Stoker. Here another son Ora was born Oct. 19, 1896. The only child born in this one room log cabin. Later a second-hand small lumber building was purchased and moved to the site and converted into a lean-to as a bedrrom for the home. Here one daughter and two sons were born, Luella Iona Dec. 17, 1898 we called her Iona, Ivan Ianthus Nov. 23, 1900 and myself Vinal Stoker May 11, 1903.

The first thing that my father did the next spring after he moved there was to plant an orchard. He grew up in Bountiful where fruits and vegetables were grown in great abundance for the Salt Lake City market. Father provided a living for his family by cultivating the 20 acre farm, planting tomatoes, potatoes, grain, alfalfa and other vegetables. To supplement his meager income, he purchased fruits and vegetables from his farmer neighbors and with his own produce carted it to the Salt Lake City market to sell. When he was unable to sell the whole load at the market, he would go from house to house in the city to sell the surplus. These were long cold trips by team and wagon or sleigh in the wintertime but necessary to feed and cloth his growing family.

Our family was not alone in this sparsely settled area. On an adjoining 20 acre farm to the north of us lived uncle David Stoker and adjoining him on another 20 acres lived uncle Tom Thurgood and my Aunt Elizabeth (Lizzy) mother's oldest sister. All this land was given to them by Bishop David Stoker of Bountiful. The Thurgood children and grandchildren live in this area today.

Father purchased a 39 acre farm one mile to the north and one mile to the east of our Syracuse farm where we moved on the 17th of Dec. 1903. This was the very day that the Wright brothers flew the first airplane and on my sister Iona's 5th birthday. I was 7 months old. Father had built a most beautiful two story nine room brick home. It was one of the nicest in this part of the county. This area was known as Clearfield and still goes by this name where Hillfield a large airforce base is located.

The first child born in this house was a brother Willis Stoker Aug. 4, 1905. There were 3 large bedrooms on the 2nd floor of this new home with plenty of closet space. One for the girls and one for the boys and one as a guest room, at first, but later it turned into another boy's room. As I remember the home, on the 1st floor there as a master bedroom for mother and dad (Ma & Pa as we called them in those days), with several cribs for the younger children. Usually the baby slept with mother and dad. Then there was a large dinning room with a big round table in the center of the room where we ate special meals, like on Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and when we had special guests for dinner. There were straight chairs and rocking chairs to sit on. The rocking chairs were usually used for rocking the babies to sleep and the straight ones to sit on at dinner time and to get school lessons. At one side of the room was a large square coal wood stove for heating the room in the wintertime. It was surely nice and warm around it. There was a room we called the parlor. It was on the east side of the house in front. It had large windows and was heated with a fire place, but only used when we had special company. It was furnished with fancy chairs and a piece called a divan. They were upholstered with green velvet, as I remember them but hard to sit on. The piano was in this room with all the fancy nick-knacks on it. They had a nice carpet in the center on the hardwood floor.

The kitchen, where we ate most of our meals was a large room with a long table in the center of the room. It was covered with oil cloth. Along the south wall were 12 chairs lined up. These were pulled up to the table at mealtime. A large coal range was on the north side, where all the cooking was done. On the west side was a large cupboard where dishes, pots and pans were kept. There was a door leading from the north side of the kitchen into a spacious pantry. It was about 8 feet wide and the full length of the kitchen with a window in the west end. There were cupboards on each wall with a wide counter on the north side. On holidays and especially Christmas and Thanksgiving this counter was filled with pies my sister Rena had made. The cupboards held all kinds of dishes. When I think of the kitchen I remember all the meals eaten there. It seems to me that we always had oatmeal (mush) for breakfast. Thinking back I do remember having salt pork, bacon and eggs, bottled fruit sometimes but always oatmeal. I remember mother making light pork dumplings in a great iron pot set close to the fire with the stove lid off. These were usually served in the evening for supper, as we called it. This was my favorite meal. On Sundays and other holidays we most always had roast chicken. Mother could catch a hen on Saturday that she thought had stopped laying eggs, but I noticed when the hen was being cleaned, quite often there were signs of eggs developing. We had pork and some beef when we were able to keep the meat frozen. In the summer time in addition to the chickens we had pork that had been salted down in a large crock but we always had fresh vegetables and fruits in the season. They were grown in abundance on the farm. We had a large root cellar where all kinds of apples, potatoes, hubbard squash, cabbage and shelf after shelf of bottled fruit was stored. This was a walk-in root cellar with plenty of room to store almost anything that was needed for winter food. There were not refrigerators or deep freezers in those days. So we had to eat food that would not spoil if kept in a cool place. The cellar was cool all the time and used to keep many perishables. Butter was kept in a cook pantry window until it could be taken to the store and traded for groceries.

Tragedy struck our family when grandfather,Ianthius Haven Barlow died Mar. 24, 1907. I was almost 4 years old and faintly remember the trip to Bountiful by covered wagon or buggy. It was cold with lots of snow. I remember now just as if it happened yesterday. Someone lifted me up so I could see grandfather in his coffin. He lay there so still and white with his great white long beard. I remember thinking what a long nose he had. This picture has remained clearly in my memory these many years and is the earliest recollection that I have. Grandfather died of a burst appendix. The doctors in those days could do nothing after the appendix had ruptured. No penicillin no antibiotics, so they just let grandfather die. How fortunate we are today with all the medical knowledge we have to keep us healthy and enjoying life many years older than our grandparents. Today I am 14 years older than grandfather was when he died at the age of 61.

Willis my younger brother, became ill while we were in Bountiful for grandfather's funeral and died there March 30, 1907. He was only 1 year and 7 months old. Most of the family had gone home after the funeral but Willis was running a high fever and they were afraid to take him home. The doctors worked hard but could do little for him. They pronounced it spinal meningitis. Mother always referred to it as brain fever. Mother took Willis' death very hard and mourned for him the rest of her life. I do not remember the death of Willis but I have heard my sister Rena recount these events many times in later life. Rena recalls that when it became necessary for her and some of the rest of us to leave Bountiful and return home little Willis started to cry and said "Nena don"t leave me". Rena said he was so pale and drawn it made her want to cry just to see him looking this way. She had to hurry away for fear of making him feel worse by crying in front of him. After Willis' death I was taken for the second time to mother's and dad's bed to sleep. Mother told me later in my teen-age years that this is what spoiled me. However this didn't last long as Velma was born Oct 27, 1907 the same year and I was returned to my own bed.

My mother's sister, Eveline and her husband and family lived just south of us on another 39 acre farm, land purchased the same time as we purchased our farm in Clearfield; Uncle David Stoker also purchased a 39 acre farm for his family just to the north of us. He was my mother's older brother, One of George and Eveline Holts sons. Lawrence came to play with me quite often, he was 6 months older than me. Ivan my older brother had learned to work on a farm at an early age. One day in the early spring of 1909 he had been assigned to plow the field just north of our home. Ivan was about 8 1/2 years old. I was about 6 years and Lawrence 6 months older. Two work horses were hitched to a sulky plow. This was a new machine with 2 plow blades. Each blade could be worked separately turning the soil in opposite directions so a field could be plowed from one side of a field to another rather than going round and round the field. For the first pass the plow would be locked and the soil would be turned over to the bank. When reaching the top of the field, the blade was raised and locked in the up position. The team would be turned around and the other blade locked down turning the soil to the newly plowed furrow.

Lawrence and I saw Ivan out in the field plowing and decided to go out and ride with Ivan on the plow. This was fun and Ivan was happy for the company. There was only one seat on the plow so we had to ride on the iron braces. Ivan decided to show off his ability to handle a team of horses, so he whipped the team into a run and we here hanging on for dear life. The soil was flying several furrows from where it should have fallen. Suddenly we saw father and my older brother Jesse running across the field toward us. Needless to say Ivan slowed the team down. Lawrence and I got our behinds slapped and we were told to return to the house and let Ivan do his job and not to ever get on the plow again while it was in use.

We all had things to do on the farm even those 5 years old had chores to do, such as feeding the chickens, the pigs and gathering the eggs. I remember helping to kill a pig and clean it although all they would let me do, as a small boy, was to scrape the hair off after the pig had been killed and scalded, that is dipped in a large iron trough filled with boiling water. The pig was then greasy and hot, the hair could then be scraped off easily with a sharp knife.

It was the summer of 1909 or maybe a year earlier that dad hurt his right arm while playing baseball at a friend's home in Syracuse. We were in the process of piping some culinary water from a place a mile to the northeast of us. To obtain this water it was necessary to dig trenches along the side of the road and lay a great deal of pipe to the three houses, Stoker's, Barlow's and Holts. Uncle David Stoker's farm adjoined ours on the north and uncle George Holt's on the south. Before this all our culinary water had to be hauled several barrels at a time. In the process of putting the pipe together dad hurt his strained arm so badly that he had to consult a doctor in Ogden where he set his arm in a plaster of paris and father kept it that way in a sling for several weeks. When the cast was removed a large swelling had formed about the size of half an egg on his elbow, filled with some sort of liquid. The doctors thinking it was some sort of abscess, decided to lance it. A clear brown tinted fluid came out and the doctor knew he had made a mistake. He said "Jesse that was joint water and your arm will be stiff the rest of your life. You have to decide in what position you want your arm to be, straight or bent at the elbow". Dad chose to have it in a bent position. He reasoned that it would be more convenient for eating and writing if the elbow was to be rigid. So the arm was placed in a sling again to let it set. Father was in a lot of pain for a long while. The doctors tried everything they knew to relieve the pain but nothing helped. Dad was so desperate for relief from this pain that he would try anything anyone suggested. In fact he even tried an angleworm poultice that someone had suggested. W e, Velma and me and others, were assigned to catch all the angleworms we could find. They were placed in a pan and left to dry in the sun. The oil that came from them in this process was collected and made into a poultice and placed around dad's elbow. Needless to say, this poultice became quite smelly. Nothing seemed to give him relief from pain. After what seemed a long time, dad removed the sling and began using his arm again. The arm gradually straightened out and the elbow became rigid leaving the arm in a straight position. This made eating and writing very difficult for dad. Although he could use his left hand for eating it was not easy with one hand. Writing was "something else". He would sit at the table with the paper at arms length. It was very awkward to see what he had written. Dad never did learn to write with his left hand. Doing chores around the farm was very difficult for him also. To pick up a box of fruit he had to hold the top of the box on one side with his left hand and the bottom of the other side with his right hand.

Father suffered many years with this arm. Rheumatism set in and whenever a storm was brewing and sometimes for no reason at all the pain would start and at times become so intense he could hardly stand it. The doctors suggested, many times throughout the years that the arm should be amputated but father said "I'll take this to the grave with me." and he did.

It was about 1909 when father bought 90 acres of dry farm land at $10.00 an acre on what we always called the flat land. He of course had to borrow the money for the purchase. The land was located south and west of the mouth of Weber canyon and part of the present day Hill Airforce base. It extended from the present south and ran west about 1/2 mile and north about 90 rods or a little over a quarter of a mile. It contained 90 acres. The north half was planted into dry farm wheat every other year and left fallow or to rest every other year. The south half was blow sand and not fit for planting anytime. Water was not available at all on the flat land and had to be carried with us for drinking while working there. I spent many a hot summer day later in my teenage years plowing this land after the wheat had been harvested. It was terribly hot, the wind seemed never to cease blowing sand in your eyes, in your hair, your ears and inside your clothes. One seemed to drink gallons of water and with the sweat and all, by night fall the sand was caked on your whole body. Dad's reason for the purchase of this land and another 80 acres in Centerfield, Sandpete County, sometime later was so he could give his children land, after marriage, to start them out on a farm as mother's father did with his family. But only one son became a farmer and that was Ivan, although he did other things, such as selling life insurance, cars, and subdividing land and many other things.

On the farm everyone had to contribute his share to the welfare of the family. As I mentioned before, children under 6 years old w ere assigned to chores. As they got old enough they were assigned to feeding the chickens and pigs, gathering the eggs, etc. Gathering the eggs was quite a job as the chickens were allowed into and out of the coup at will. As a result they would nest and lay their eggs anywhere they pleased. It made the egg gathering difficult and exciting at times when a large nest of eggs was discovered. When the children were between the ages of 6-10 years of age, they were given more important work. Herding the cows in the summertime was a daily job. The cows were taken from the barn or corral after milking and allowed to graze in the wide roads where the grass was plentiful on either side of the wagon tracks and along the irrigation ditches. We usually were restricted to the road between our Clearfield and Syracuse homes which was about 2 miles in length. Our job was to see that the cows grazed within the roadway between the neighbor's fenced in fields where grain, alfalfa and other farm crops were growing. Sometimes a gate would be left open into the field and we had to be alert and be aware of the open gate. Brother and cousins usually teamed up to herd the cows,and one of us had to be there on guard to have the gate closed before the head cow arrived. It was most important that the cows were not allowed to enter these fields or even reach through the barbed wire fences and taste of the luscious young grain, alfalfa or other crops growing there. Just one taste and the cows became difficult to handle. They seemed to go crazy and at times break through the barbed wire fences to get to the crops. The green grain and alfalfa was much better to their liking than the june grass growing on either side of the road. Once they broke into a field much damage to the crops would result before we could get them out. Then we could be in trouble. The neighbors would not only get after us, but would go directly to our parents. Then would come the scolding.

My older brother Jesse had an experience with cows in earlier years when he was near our age. Some of the cows he was herding got into a neighbors field, his name was Frank Nolder. Suddenly his teenage brother Charley came riding out of nowhere like an Indian, bare back on his pony, opening his pocket knife with his teeth while chasing the cows. He rushed up to a young heifer that had just recently calved and was giving us much milk, grabbed her tail and cut it off just above the bushy part. I remember when I was older, milking this cow with a stubby tail. When flies started bothering her, this stubby tail would start swinging. It was like a baseball bat and anyone milking this cow had to be alert to keep from being hit in the head.

In late summer or early fall, the farmers in the community would band together to help each other thrash the grain crops. A thrashing machine would be contracted, the owner acting as overseer. All the other help was the farmers and their sons of the area, except sometimes a mechanic would be hired to look after the machinery. In these days, before the invention of the steam, diesel fired or gasoline fired tractors, several teams of horses were used to move the heavy thrasher from place to place. Once the machine was in place, two horses, one ahead of the other, were hitched to the turn table which turned the machinery that separated the grain from the chaff and straw. Wheat was the major crop but barley and oats were also raised. The ripe stocks of grain had been cut and transported by team and wagon by the farmer to his barn yard and piled ready for the thrasher. It was my job to lead the horses round and round for hour upon hour. Thrashing was a dirty, uncomfortable job for all concerned. Small pieces of chaff would get down under your clothes,even when wearing a large red handkerchief tied around your neck. The thrashing work force would be scheduled for the areas. The farmer's were expected to feed the complete crew when they were scheduled for their farm. Usually it was only one meal since they moved quite rapidly through the area. When a crew was at one place for dinner they would be at another for supper, unless it was an exceptionally large farm. In this case they would be there for both meals. There was great competition among the women to prepare the tastiest meal. Each would do her best Because the men would talk among themselves about the food and how good it was or was not. This would of course get back to the women and none wanted to be known as being a poor cook. As a result most of the wives out-did themselves and the meals were the best in the area, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, pies, cakes, ice cream. There was plenty for everyone of everything.

What happened in early fall of 1909 at one of these trashing sessions will remain in my mind forever. I was a few months over 6 years old and was assigned to lead the horses that powered the thrasher. We were at a farm house on the Layton road leading to the flat land. It was just before supper time and the thrashing crew was washed up and sitting around the yard talking while waiting for supper. Suddenly, Charley Nolder, or as mean Nolder as we kids referred to him, got up from where he was sitting and started walking toward me. I was frightened and I guess it showed in my face. He grabbed me, lifted me up and walked quickly to the water well, placed me in the bucket hanging from a pulley over the well and released the rope that held the other bucket allowing me to plunge to the bottom, where the bucket I was riding slapped the water with great force and began to fill. I was hanging to the rope and bucket with all my strength. Suddenly, to my great relief the rope was tightened and the bucket started rising out of the water. Someone was pulling me out. On the way up I became frightened again, of mean Nolder who had several years before as a teenager cut the tail off a young heifer that Jesse my older brother had been herding. Charley was not at the top of the well when I arrived there and I was retrieved from the well in good condition.

It was in the fall of 1909 that I had my first experience in school. The school house was a mile north of our home along a dirt road across the D&RG railroad tracks. We walked to and from school in good and bad weather. One of my brothers, I think it was Ivan who was 2 1/2 years older than me, took me to the teacher in my first class. From then on, I was on my own. I remember these years in school as fun years. The teachers in those days made school very interesting. In the earlier grades the teaching was mostly reading, writing and arithmetic. These were the basics and they were stressed. I remember the spelling bees, time tables, and reading sessions. I really enjoyed the third and fourth grades. The boys usually did best in arithmetic and the girls in spelling. I was always good at arithmetic but my spelling left something to be desired, anyway I did my best.

On the 12th of November 1909 twins were born at our house. They were named Wilmer and Wilburn. Wilburn lived about 24 hours but Wilmer grew up to be a big strapping young man and one of my favorite brothers.

Dad was called on a mission in the fall of 1910. This was quite a challenge. He had 8 living children, the oldest 17 and the youngest 11 months when he was called. He had 3 farms to take care of, a small herd of milk cows, horses, pigs and chicken and very little money. Mother was delighted with the call to dad. She felt this would make him stronger in the gospel and in a small way repay our Heavenly Father for the many blessings he had poured down on him and his family. So off he went to the Central States mission on Nov. 9th three days before his youngest son's 1st birthday. He served most of his time in Texas. Before dad left a job was found for Jesse, my oldest brother age 17, in the Clearfield Mercantile Company at $55.00 per month. This arrangement provided for money needed for the family until the crops were sold in the fall and also for money father needed in the mission field. He was without purse or scrip, as they say, but he still needed money. The rest of the family were to take care of the farm, home and livestock. Mother elected to supervise the farm work, working in the fields as hard as the rest of us, and Rena was to take care of the home, doing the cooking, washing the clothes and all the other duties connected with the home. She was 15 and an excellent cook and enjoyed doing it. Rena was a wonderful person, always interested in the welfare of her brothers and sisters. We all loved her very much. Her work was not limited to the house, whenever she had some spare time she would be out in the fields with us.

I remember the first summer father was gone. We planted the spring crops as early as possible, green peas, tomatoes, potatoes, the wheat on the flat land had been planted the fall before. These were the basic crops along with the alfalfa, which was not necessary to plant every year, it being perennial and left in the ground for 4 or 5 years before plowing it under. These basic crops were referred to as the money crops, that is except alfalfa which was used to feed the stock. I was responsible for the family garden. The older boys seemed to give me the poorest piece of ground on the farm for my garden, saying the best land was for the money crops. But I always had a good garden anyway. I raised carrots, turnips, red beets, onions, parsnips, cantaloupes, musk melons and water melons with some hubbard squash and cabbage etc. Mother always praised me for my excellent garden. I remember especially the cantaloupes and muskmelons how I loved to eat them. I would watch them closely and when they were a golden yellow I would check them daily by lifting them gently from their resting position. If the stem fell off they were ripe and ready to eat. After picking I would put them in a shady place or in a running ditch of cold water where they would cool. They were delicious when picked just right and had a much better flavor than the ones I have purchased since leaving the farm.

I remember cutting and putting up the hay crop (alfalfa). When ready to harvest, a team of horses would be hooked to a mowing machine. The guarded knife mounted to the right side of the machine and ahead of the wheels would be lowered flat along the ground. As the machine was pulled through the alfalfa field, the sawtooth blade connected to the wheels through the gears would move rapidly back and forth in the guarded frame cutting about a 4 or 5 foot swatch as it proceeded. The driver sat on a small metal seat mounted on mower frame and would guide the team pulling the machine around and around the field, starting on the outside and ending up in the center. This job, because of it being hazardous, was always assigned to one of the older boys who were at least 10 to 12 years old. Being only 8 I was to operate the hay rake. This machine consisted of two high metal wheels with long curved tines attached to the metal frame in between them. The metal seat was fastened in the middle for the driver to sit on. Foot and hand levers were attached to the mechanism so the driver could raise and lower the tines as a unit while the machine is in motion. The whole thing was pulled by one horse driven over the cut hay with the tines down gathering the hay as it proceeded, dumping it into piles about 6 feet long. Another person followed the rake with a pitch fork turning half the pile over on itself, thus making the pile about 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet high as they moved along down the field. The piles were lined across the field in rows, making it possible to drive a team and hayrack between them when the time came to gather the hay. The hay would be left in the field for a few days to dry before loading by hand with a pitchfork onto a hay rack, then hauled to the farm yard where it would be unloaded with a hay derrick onto a stack for winter storage. A hay rack consisted of a wide bedded wagon and a derrick was made from smooth logs made into a frame with a long vertical pole in the center. Other poles were used as braces from the base to the center pole. On the top of the center pole another pole was mounted to act as a boom and attached so as to rotate on the center pole. Large metal pulleys were connected to the frame and boom and steel cables were threaded through them with a 3 or 4 foot wide loading fork attached to one end of the cable and a single tree for a one horse hookup on the other end. A load of hay would be driven along side of the derrick and the locking fork would be lowered to the top of the load. The man assigned there would sink the fork down into the hay, lock it, take the trip rope into his hand and signal the boy or girl riding the horse at the other end of the cable to go ahead. The fork loaded with hay would rise smoothly into the air and swing over the stack where it would be tripped and the hay would drop on the stack where needed. The horse would then be backed up and the fork pulled back with the tripping rope to be loaded again. This pro cedure would be repeated until the hay rack was empty and another load would be driven up and so on until all the hay had been gathered and the stack topped off. This system of gathering and storing hay was a very efficient operation. Just enough wagons were assigned to the operation to keep the derrick crew busy. If the haul was long, additional wagons would be arranged for before the operation began. Neighbors would band together helping each other during the hay season. This came around three times a year, once in early spring, another mid summer and the last in late fall before frost set in.

The farm was a busy place in the spring and summer months and it seemed more so the first summer after father went on his mission. Early in the spring as soon as the ground was dry enough to work, manure had to be loaded by hand with a pitchfork onto the wagon from the barnyard and spread again by hand into the fields. A few years later a mechanical spreader was obtained, saving half the hand work in this operation. After the manure had been spread, the fields were plowed and harrowed, breaking up the soil for planting. Whenever possible this work was done in the fall but had to be done before the ground was too wet to plow. The first crop planted in the spring was green peas. This was an easy crop and the seed could be planted by a horse drawn seed planter. These were planted as early in the spring as possible.

Tomatoes and potatoes were planted later after the danger of frost had passed, usually late in May. The potatoes that had been put aside for seed were cut into small pieces,each having at least one eye on it. A small furrow was made in the ground prepared for planting with a horse drawn cultivator followed by one of the boys dropping the small pieces of cut potatoes into the furrow. A 2nd furrow had a duel purpose. It covered the seed potatoes with a few inches of soil and at the sametime a channel for irrigating them. Soil was pulled up around each plant with a hoe, as they grew, until a mound was heaped up around the plants. The tomato plants were planted by hand. After the ground had been prepared the cultivator was again drawn by a horse to make furrows in the ground that was set aside for the tomatoes. Irrigation water was turned down each row, soaking the soil thoroughly. The field was allowed to dry for a day or two then planting teams were formed consisting of an older person and a young boy or girl at least 5 years old. The older person would take a long handled shovel and press the blade into the soft damp soil at the edge of the furrow, pull the blade opening a space for a tomato plant to be inserted by the young person who carried a bunch of tomatoes plants in his hand. The plant would be held in place by the child while the shovel was withdrawn and the man pressed the soil firmly around the roots with his foot. This procedure was repeated at 3 foot intervals down the row until the patch was completed. As the team became accustomed to each other the planting m oved quite rapidly down the field. We were told that the children were assigned to the handling of the plants because our backs were much shorter and making it easier to bend. Now that the potatoes and tomatoes were planted and the 1st crop of hay had been cut and stacked in the yard it was time to harvest the peas. A representative from the canning factory inspected the crop and told us the day the peas were to be their very best and must be harvested. The pea vines were cut close to the ground with a hay mower. These vines loaded with plump pea pods were gathered by hand with a pitch fork and loaded onto hay racks and delivered to the factory for canning. This was a quick and fairly easy crop to raise and gave some money early in the year to help with expenses until the fall crops came in. By the time the pea crop had been harvested the weeds had started to come up in the potatoes and tomato patches, the cultivator with sharp blades attached would be hooked to a horse and pulled between the rows cutting the weeds off below the ground. With the tomatoes, the cultivator was then run across the field between the 3 foot spaced plants which were lined up in rows across the patch but it was still necessary to take the hand hoe and cut any weeds left by the cultivator although it did eliminate most of them. The hoe was used not only to cut the weeds close to the plants, but to pull the soil up around the growing plant. With the potatoes the cross field cultivating could not be used because the potatoes plants were growing closer together and in between plant weeding had to be done by hand. As with the potato plants, the soil had to be pulled up around them and heaped much higher than with the tomatoe plants. After the hoeing and cultivating had been completed, the blades on the cultivator were removed and a small furrow blade attached and a new ditch was made down the rows close to the plants to carry irrigation water. This procedure of cultivation and weeding had to be repeated several times during the summer months until the plants became too large to allow a horse cultivator to be drawn through the rows.

There was little time for playing on the farm during the spring, summer and fall months. There was always something to do. The work in the fields started at 7 o'clock in the morning and lasted until 7 pm in the evening with about an hour out in the middle of the day for lunch. This is as long as the horses could be worked. After the horses had been put away in the evening, we still had the chores to do. The chores had to be done both morning and evening. The horses had to be groomed, stables cleaned out, cows milked and all the animals fed including the pigs. The milk we didn't drink was placed in large pans in a cool place in the pantry and left for the cream to raise to the top where it could be skimmed off and made into butter either used by the family or traded to the store for groceries. Later a mechanical separator was purchased. This was turned by hand. Then the separation of the cream from the milk was done along with the other chores.

The years of 1911 and 1912 will be remembered by all of us for the rest of our lives. The fall of 1911 all the tomatoes had been picked and sent to the factory for canning. The potatoes had been dug and those not stored for winter use were either sold or stored for future sale. The three crops of hay had been cut and stored in stacks in the farm yard. Peaches, apricots, cherries, strawberries and other fruit had been picked and bottled as fresh fruit or made into jams and jellies. This was the year we had the bumper crop of apples. Dad had planted an orchard in the southeast corner of the farm in Clearfield when he first purchased the land. There must have been at least 10 acres in this orchard besides the small orchard in Syracuse. He planted a few peaches, apricots, pears and cherries between some of the apple trees. Most of the orchard was planted into various varieties of apples, mostly Jonathons, the popular eating apple of those days. The orchard had to be irrigated and sprayed during summer months along with our other work. We had a power pump mounted on an old wagon bed with a tank attached. This tank was filled with water into which we mixed arsenic of lead. Spray hoses were attached to the pump and the whole contraption was pulled through the orchard by a team of horses where two men or older boys sprayed the trees three times during the summer, once after the blossoms had fallen off, next when the little apples had formed and the 3rd time when the apples were larger. This spray controlled the worms so that the bulk of the crop would be first grade apples and draw top prices.

I have mentioned how there was no time for fun on the farm during the growing season but about the 1st of August each year when the tomatoes were not ripe enough to pick and all of the weeding had been done and the 2nd crop of hay had been cut and stored, there was very little to do on the farm except the irrigation and the chores and taking care of the animals. So we did make it a custom for the whole family to take a vacation for 2 weeks about 2 miles up Weber Canyon, across the river to the south, in Thornly's grove. This was a large flat area with lots of trees for shade and plenty of room for tents and fire places. This site would accommodate about three families but we usually had it to ourselves. Our first job was to erect the tents,fix the fire places and establish a knockdown latrine in the outer edge of the area. Then we could seek recreation. We would climb the high mountains, two of us at a time or alone, go swimming in the Weber river, or fish for suckers in the river. (There were no trout in this river in those days) We also could go picking choke cherries and sarves berries. They were in season at that time of year and we enjoyed them very much. We always picked a large bucket full of choke cherries to take home with us to make jelly. They were delicious made into jelly. This was a great place for relaxing. We did not have to worry about the farm because dad usually stayed home to take care of the chores and the irrigation. This year of 1911 dad was on a mission so Ora my older brother stayed home to take care of the chores. Mother always came with us but Jesse almost never came. He didn't care for this sort of thing. After being here in the canyon for 2 weeks of relaxation there was plenty of work to do when we got home. The tomatoes were ripening and ready to pick for shipment to the factory for canning.

This fall of 1911 we picked and sold 1,400 bushels of first grade apples. They sold for $1.00 a bushel. We had more money than we ever had seen before. The trees were loaded. I remember picking as many as 25 bushels from many of the larger trees. This large crop took some doing to harvest. Everyone had to pitch in with the picking and in addition we had to acquire a hired man, as they were called in those days. Jeddy Thomas was the young man we hired. He was 19 or 20 years old. He was a good worker and worked right along with the rest of us and in addition he took many a load to the Salt Lake market by himself. The apples were picked by hand of course and we used a large canvas bag strapped to our backs with an opening at the top just below the chest. The bottom opening was folded up over itself and fastened to the iron ring that held the bag open at the top. This left the hands free for picking, climbing trees and ladders. This bag or sack held about a bushel and could be emptied into the bottom of an apple box very gently without bruising the apples. Mother worked in the orchard with the rest of us. Even Rena, who had been doing housework and cooking, worked with us during the picking. Rena and Jeddy Thomas were always kidding each other. One day Jeddy fell out of a tree with about a bushel of apples strapped to him in the bag. He landed rather hard on the ground. Rena called out, "did you bruise the apples?". She was only joking but it was one way to get back at him for his tricks. Rena was a tall girl and very sensitive about it. In the evening when we had finished working in the orchard we would return home from the Syracuse farm by wagon. Usually Rena and Jeddy rode on the wagon seat, Jeddy driving the team, with us kids in the back. On these occasions in the twilight of the evening Jeddy would crunch down in the seat making himself look like a little boy when passing a farm house. This would make Rena look taller than ever. If she caught him doing this she would hit him with anything she had available. This would straighten him up but he would go right back at it at the next farm we came to. The ride from the Syracuse farm was two miles and several farm houses on the way. So you see even though we were tired after a long day of picking in the orchard we still had enough energy to have a little fun. People came from all over the county to buy and some to pick for a full day for a bushel of apples. Everyone was so happy for us for the bounteous harvest we were having. Every bushel was sold that we didn't need for our own use. This experience taught us that the Lord would provide for those who were willing to serve him. When dad was called on his mission most of the people in the area wondered how he could possibly leave his family of young children and his wife to take care of the farm make a livelihood for them, and furnish support for him in the mission field. But we did just fine.

Uncle David Stoker, mother's older brother, lived just to the North of us on his farm and kept a watchful eye on us. I don't remember him helping with our work. He had his own family and mostly girls to support with his own work to do. Even so he was there when we needed him. I remember Wilmer stepping on a large sliver with his bare foot. The sliver went up into his heal and broke off leaving nothing to get a hold of to pull it out. Uncle Dave took a straight edged razor, shaved the callous a little at a time from Wilmer's heal around the sliver until he could get a hold of it with a pair of pliers and pull it out. He was so patient and kind in his efforts, being so careful not to hurt the child anymore than necessary.

Going back to the spring of 1911 a great misfortune came into our lives when grandfather David Stoker died April 1, 1911 at the age of 66 1/2 years. I quote part of that which was written about his life from the Latter-day Saints Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol 3, p 253. "He was ordained a Bishop of the East Bountiful Ward on January 19, 1896. He also served as County Commissioner and Probate Judge of Davis County and served two terms in a Utah Territorial Legislature. Respected and loved by his people, he remained a Bishop until his death". Grandpa Stoker was a well loved man throughout Davis County. He had a great influence with the people and helped Simon Bamberger when he built his electric railroad through Davis County from Salt Lake City to Ogden Utah. He helped him get right-of-ways for his railroad. Simon Bamberger was a Jew and people were reluctant to sell him land through their farms for his railroad. Simon Bamberger became Governor of the State of Utah.

Another tragedy came into our lives in the spring of 1912 when mother got word from the mission president in Kansas City Missouri, saying that father was in the hospital there with typhoid fever, contracted in Texas from contaminated drinking water. Mother was instructed to leave immediately to help care for father. She packed her suit case and boarded the train for Kansas City leaving the family in charge of the older children and the farm to run. Jesse the oldest boy was working in the store and so was not available for farm work. So this left Rena 17 years old now in charge of the family and Ora 15 in charge of the farm. The Syracuse farm had been rented out. This left a 39 acre farm to be operated by these young children along with the care of the farm animals. Rena was a natural born cook and had no trouble taking care of the family and of the home. We all loved her very much and through out our lives we looked to Rena for advice and counsel. I always thought of her as a second mother. Ora, we called him Orey, was small for his age but was a giant in the ability to get work and other things done. He worked long and hard hours to keep things going. I always liked Ora, he was so gentle and kind. I don't remember his showing any anger.

Many things stand out in my memory of this summer of 1912. One picture that is needle sharp in my mind is set in our backyard. Rena was sitting on an apple box covered with an old quilt shelling peas. I was 9 years old sitting as close to Rena as I could. I always liked to be close to her. I noticed a large butcher knife partially under the quilt but very close to Rena. Quite a large number of hoboes, tramps as we called them, had been going through the community of late asking for food. Rena was a nervous person and was afraid of them. She would feed them when they came but would keep the children close to her while they were around. I am sure that Rena would have given a good account of herself if it became necessary to use the knife.

Another incident happened during the summer while father and mother were away. We had a nice herd of dairy cows that we were milking for our own use, milk to drink and to make butter. The milk and butter that was not used by the family was sold to help finance our money needs during the summer until the main crops were sold in the fall. One day I took the cows to graze on a patch of ground in the field that had just been newly harvested. There was good feed there left from the crop that had been grown on this patch of ground. I had to clean out the barn while the cows were out, so I asked Velma who was almost 5 years old to watch the cows and to see that they didn't get into a field of young alfalfa growing nearby. Cows become easily bloated and die quickly if allowed to eat a large amount of green alfalfa. She agreed to see that the cows stayed away from this field so I went about cleaning the cow stalls. I was involved with the barn for about an hour, when I came out of the barn and looked into the field where the cows were feeding, to my horror they were no longer in the field where I had left them, but were feeding on the new alfalfa. I shouted to Ivan, "the cows are in the alfalfa." I ran as fast as I could to get them out. As I ran I saw one cow fall to the ground bloated, then another and another, and as I arrived the fourth cow fell to the ground. Ivan was not far behind me, running with a large butcher knife in his hand. He called to me to drive the cows who were still standing out of the alfalfa patch and then run for uncle Dave Stoker, mother's brother living just to the north of us to help. I drove the other cows well away from the alfalfa field and as I was running to uncle Dave's house I looked back over my shoulder to see Ivan straddle a cow bloated way out of proportion. He was stabbing the cow in the flank repeatedly with the knife held in both hands. The objective was to sink the blade into the flank and release the pressure built up in the cows stomach from fermented alfalfa. He was not strong enough to penetrate the tough cow hide. He kept striking as fast as he could time after time after time but he was just not able to do it. In the meantime I had Uncle Dave running back with me with another knife. One of the cows I had driven away from the alfalfa field had dropped to the ground. Uncle Dave jumped on it's back and drove the knife blade deep into her flank. A stream of green fermented alfalfa shot into the air several feet from the hole in the flank. The bloated body of the cow started to reduce in size immediately. It was too late for the other 4 cows. They had died but the one saved would never give milk again. She would have to be fattened and sold for beef. So in one stroke when a little 5 year old girl forgot about the cows in her play, our dairy herd reduced to 3 cows, just enough milk for our own use. We had lost our little income we received from the extra milk and butter sold until we could build up the herd. Sometime later Velma wanted me to do something for her and when I refused she said "well I helped kill the cows so you ought to help me now". She had heard me complain about having to milk all the cows, so she thought I would be happy to see them gone. She was too young to know what the cows meant to us.

Mother and father returned home from Kansas City in the fall of 1912 after mother had been gone about 6 months and dad almost 2 years. Pa as we always called him when we were growing up was very thin and pale as a result of his sickness. He seemed very tall and was without his walrus mustache. He looked rather strange to us younger children and Wilmer almost three years old now had completely forgotten him and would not go to him for quite sometime. It was necessary for dad to rest a lot while recuperating from his bout with typhoid fever. He would rest on a couch in the dining room and when he fell asleep his mouth would fall open and Wilmer, after dad had been home awhile, wishing to get acquainted with this tall stranger would get some soda crackers and put them in dad's mouth. This would wake him. He would sit up quickly, trying to clear his throat. This would startle Wilmer and he would run away. So it was quite sometime before dad and Wilmer got used to each other. It was nice to have Ma and Pa home again. We were now a full fledged family again and our security was reinforced.

We soon were back in school again and in competition with other children in spelling bees, arithmetic, reading and writing. I rather enjoyed school and the mile walk up over the D&RG railroad tracks to our new brick school house near the woods cross canning factory. We would have to hurry home when school was out and seldom could stay and play games with other children. We had work to do on the farm and chores around the barn. After that we had cows to milk and feed, the barn to clean out, eggs to gather, chickens to feed, pigs to feed and many other chores that needed doing around a farm.

A winter a summer and another winter after mother and dad had returned from Kansas City, we had a new baby brother in our home, Eldon was born 19 May 1914, the 6th boy in the family to live. We were all happy to have a new baby to love. Jesse had been called on a mission and was now in England serving the Lord. Ora was now working in the store in Jesse's place helping to support him on his mission. Wilmer was no longer the baby but was 4 1/2 years old. He was still following me out to milk the cows. He would bring his tin cup with him and I would milk some warm milk directly into the cup. He would drink 6 or 8 cups of this fresh warm milk before stopping. His little stomach was bulged out and he couldn't drink another drop. He continued to come with me for the milking and the warm milk that he loved and the fun of seeing me squirt a stream of milk into the cat's mouth 15 or 20 feet away. Later on he wanted me to let him milk the cow all by himself. This I did, always checking to see that he had milked the cow dry. As time moved on he became very good at milking and I no longer needed to check up on him and finally, after a few years, I had him milking the whole herd when I wanted to be away for a special evening. I remember once, when I was leaving all the milking to him, he complained. "I started out just learning how to milk and now you have me milking the whole herd". Well I promised to make it up to him and he was satisfied. Wilmer and I got along very well. I never was mean to him like Ivan was to me.

Our parents were in the habit of assigning us work to do and letting us do it in our own way, as long as the job was done on time and correctly. But this meant that at times two or more had to work together. The older boy tended to be a little bossy, at least this was the case with Ivan. He thought he was a much better farmer than I, (I admit that he was) so he would order me around like I was a hired hand and I resented it. I would at times just refuse to do as he ordered. This made him angry and he would throw me down to the ground and hit me with his fists while holding me down. I would scream bite and do anything to get him off me. I was so much younger I didn't have a chance of winning, but I screamed and kicked until mother would come running if she was near and could hear us. She would pull him off from me and give him a swat but this wouldn't keep him from doing it another time. This fighting with Ivan required a little strategy on my part because I was always getting beat up. So I started gathering small stones and storing them near trees or other objects, so I could run to one of these piles and start throwing the rocks at him. The first time I tried it I hit him a time or two. The rocks were big enough to hurt if hit by one. This frightened him off and he let me alone that time but he came after me one time when no rock piles were nearby. I started to run looking around putting my hand to the ground and saying "where are those rocks?" This stopped him in his tracks and he went away. Hooray! I had won without any ammunition. This strategy worked so I used it time after time making sure I found some rocks once in a while and throwing something even if it was only a clod of dirt. I even used the ruse on Jesse once when he started to feel his authority and was ordering me around threatening me with a whipping. Ivan continued through the years to throw me down and beat me up. Whenever he could catch me off guard and without my rocks. One Sunday we were out in the road near the front of our farm where a large irrigation ditch was running full of water. Ivan hit me for no reason and I called him a bad name. He grabbed me and threw me into the ditch, Sunday clothes and all. I crawled out dripping wet and shouted "now I've got you. I'm going to tell Ma you threw me in the ditch with my Sunday clothes on." He didn't bat an eye, he just said "if you do, I'll tell her what you called me and you'll really get it." He surely had me there. Needless to say I kept my mouth shut.

This whole confrontation between Ivan and me came to and end one day on our large front lawn. I had turned 15 a few months earlier and had grown considerably during the past year and had reached a point where I thought I could challenge Ivan. He picked the fight by trying to throw me to the ground where he could sit on me and beat me up but this time he was mistaken. I was strong enough to keep him from doing it. We fought and wrestled around this very large lawn for what seemed like hours, with neither of us getting the advantage of the other. We finally fell down and lay there exhausted. After Ivan got up without saying a word and walked away. That was the last time he ever challenged me or me him.

We owned a 4 wheeled one horse drawn carriage called a buggy that we used for transportation, when we wanted to go in style, or faster than walking and more comfortable than riding a horse. This buggy was a leather covered padded seat and back rest and a top of heavy water repellent canvas for protection from the rain. There were side curtains made of the same material as the top with small isinglass windows in them that could be attached to the sides and the front, making this a semi-closed vehicle which would seat two adults or several children. We had a small horse we used for bare back riding or pulling the buggy, We called him Baldy. A wagon drawn by a team of horses was used for transporting heavy material, or in the winter when the bed was removed and it was fitted with sets of sleigh runners. We not only used it for hauling heavy loads of material but could use it for sleigh riding parties in the evenings. The sleigh would be filled with young people, we would have heavy quilts to keep warm, food to eat and wood for a fire when we wanted to get out and play games or skate on an ice pond.

By 1914 the horseless carriage was becoming very popular in the North Davis County area. They had been in use in the cities and other places a few years earlier but were scarce in the rural areas. The Ford Model "T" was becoming popular and common as many were buying them. They were mass produced and cheaper that other makes of automobiles so those people who wanted to be a cut above the common, would buy another make. This was the case with a few families in Clearfield. Three of these families purchased the new Maxwell car, dad being one of them.

This car was small, as was most, when compared with the cars of today. I suppose the 1979 honda civic would compare favorable in size to our Maxwell. It would seat four people, 2 in the front seat including the driver and 2 in the back. If more were added it would be crowded. It had a 4 cylinder motor with a top speed of about 50 miles an hour with cruising speed of about 35 miles per hour. The body made of metal had running boards along either side which connected to the fenders over the wheels both in front and in back. The windshield was split horizontally so the top half could be opened allowing a breeze to enter from the front. The car from the top of the seat backs was completely open with a water repellent top that could be pulled up and fastened to the posts of the windshield and in addition, much like a buggy, side curtains with isinglass windows could be fitted in the wintertime or in case of a storm making this vehicle almost like a closed car of today. Of course there was no heater so the ride in the wintertime was much cooler than today. The wheels consisted of an iron rim with wooden spokes with small rubber tires mounted on them. The wheels were much higher than today which gave more clearance under the car for the rough roads traveled in those days. The head lights were acetylene with a storage tank mounted on the running boards. The car had a standard gear shift. It lasted us 3 years surviving several small collisions with solid objects and other cars. The car was driven mostly by the older boys although we younger ones did learn to drive it and were allowed to use it when it became older. Mother also learned to drive this car. Dad did little driving because of his stiff arm. He was quick to caution whoever was driving to slow down if their feet got heavy on the gas peddle and the car speed exceeded thirty five miles an hour.

We kids continued riding old baldy bare back or hitched to the buggy when we needed that kind of transportation. Old Baldy had been with us for sometime and was well liked by all. He was small and easy to get on and was comfortable to ride bare back. He had a very easy gait. He was also set in his ways and just wouldn't do what he didn't want to do. He was especially hard to catch when loose in the field. He liked to play the game of hard to catch. Once you put your hand on his neck he became docile, let you put the bridle on, jump on his back and ride away. He never bucked or took the bridle bit between his teeth so he could run out of control. He was a nice pony and we all loved him in spite of his games of playing hard to catch. One time I was trying to catch him in the field. I had chased him to the bottom of the farm which was 1/2 mile from the barn and had him finally cornered in a corner where the 2 fences came together. With the bridle in hand I approached him with caution saying "good old baldy, good old baldy", but he looked like he was going to make a break for it. I reached to the ground hoping to find a hard clod of dirt to threaten him with, if he tried to get away. I found a hard object and held it up for him to see. I moved a little closer and he bolted for it. I threw the clod and it hit him in the head, he dropped to the ground out cold. I was really surprised. I put the bridle on him and waited for him to gain consciousness. While waiting I looked around to see what I had thrown at him. To my surprise, I found an old rusty iron nut from a railroad bolt. It was covered with dirt and had been left over from an old railroad spur that once ran through the bottom of our farm. No wonder I had knocked Baldy out. I was really sorry I had hit him so hard but I had him now. As soon as he came around he got up looking rather sheepish. I jumped on his neck and we rode off just like nothing had happened. He was much easier to catch after that.

In August of 1914 the world war began in Europe with Great Britain, France, Russia and other European countries allied against Germany, Austria, Hungary and other small nations in Eastern Europe. This war eventually expanded to include almost the whole world including the United States in April 1917. We were concerned for Jesse's safety at this time because he was serving a mission in England one of the warring nations. It would affect the lives of both Ora and Jesse after the United States entered the conflict.

Rena our oldest sister was married to Clarence P. Tree in the Salt Lake L.D.S. Temple on the 21st of October 1914. We younger children hated to see Rena move away to a home of her own. We loved her very much a nd had always looked to Rena for comfort and protection. She was understanding and willing to care for us any way she could. As I have mentioned before she was an excellent cook and was always making cakes, pies and other goodies for the family and we were aware that once she left, many of these nice things would be missing.

Clarence was a strong good looking young man , friendly and able to defend his and our standards of conduct wherever he was. We all thought Clarence would make an ideal husband for Rena. We were not mistaken about this because he was more like a brother to us than a brother-in-law, and to Rena he was kind and considerate throughout her life. Rena passed away almost 13 years ago, Clarence married one of Rena's friends and to this day, January 1980, Clarence and Ann are always included in any Barlow family affair. His and my birthday fall on the same day, May 11, he being 9 years older than myself. We always exchange birthday cards. We still visit them at their home in Ogden whenever we can and have missed their visits to our home throughout the years. Now that he is nearing 87 years old and doesn't like to drive that far from home, we don't see him and his wife Ann as often as we would like to see them.

A new baby was born into our home April 19, 1916. Mother had quite a time with him at birth and he was not expected to live. Dad to be sure, blessed him and gave him the name, Israel Wintle Barlow. This was after dad's grandfather, Israel and his mother's maiden name Wintle. Well needless to say,when Mother found out about it,she was very angry. The baby lived and mother had him renamed. She wanted him named after the doctor, so she named him Gardner the doctor's last name and then Israel Wintle Barlow.

Dad had purchased 80 acres of farm land in Centerfield, Sanpete County, Utah. In the spring of 1916 Clarence and Rena went down to run the farm. In the early spring of 1917 dad and I went down there to help with the summer work. We stayed with Rena and Clarence. This was the year I seemed to grow up. I drove the team to cut the hay and for the first time I was allowed to "run the wagon" as they called it while putting up the hay. This meant that I not only stacked the hay on the wagon,when it was being loaded by men with pitch forks in the field,but that I could take the load to the barnyard and unload it with a derrick onto the hay stack. All summer I did any of the work that came up on the farm and felt that now I was grown up and was a man. In fact father's brother, Uncle Theron who had a farm next to dad's paid me full man's wages, - $3.00 a day to run a wagon for him when we went to put up his hay.

I enjoyed this summer in the Centerfield area very much although the work was hard and I was usually very tired at night, sometimes too tired to eat. I made friends with the young people my age. We had lots of fun playi ng games in the evening like "run sheep run" and others that could be played outdoors. This generally happened on weekends when there was less farm work to do.

Jesse my older brother returned from his mission to England early in 1916. He joined the Army in the fall of 1917. Ora another brother joined in early 1918.

In the fall of 1918 I started my first year in High School and it was at Davis high school in Kaysville, Utah. To get to school I rode the Bamberger electric train to and from school. The place where the train stopped to let passengers on or off was 3 miles from our home. It was my job to milk and feed 5 or 6 cows then walk 3 miles to catch the train before school. After school I again walked the 3 miles from the train stop did the chores around the barn and milked the cows again in the evening. This left no time for athletics at school which I would have enjoyed. However I did make a lot of friends at school. I spent my first and second year at Davis high school. The 3rd year I went to Weber normal in Ogden. My routine was the same. I still had to walk the 3 miles to and from the train. The only difference was I traveled North to Weber instead of South.

Here I met and became very good friends with a boy my age named Heber Jacobs. We had many good times together. I stayed over night at his home many times. Through him I met friends, nice young people. We enjoyed going to dances and meeting at their homes for an evening of fun.

I became somewhat unsettled during this year at Weber and mother and dad thought I was not paying enough attention to my school work. So I was sent to stay with my sister Iona and her school teaching husband, K.C. Tanner in Bingham Canyon, Utah. After we arrived in town in late afternoon I took a walk up the canyon into the business district. This had to be the strangest town I had ever seen. The dirt road and wooden sidewalks followed the contour of the steep narrow canyon twisting back and forth as it progressed. The buildings were standing flush with the sidewalks. The stores were built right back into the hillside on either side of the street. Some were more than one story high and built on stilts right on the slope of the mountain. Homes and apartments in the canyon were built the same way. In the center of the town a fork in the canyon split the town in two sections at Carrfork junction, one branch taking off to the right and ending up in Hylandboy about a mile to the Southwest. The other branch continued up the main canyon into Copperfield also about a mile to the South. Each of these small mining towns were much like Bingham Canyon. This town was like no other town I had ever seen because of the many liquor saloons throughout the business section, well patronized with off work miners. Also I was told that many "honkey-tonks" were located in the main canyon section above Carrfork junction.

Little did I know this day in 1921 that I would meet my wife here raise our family in this area and spend most of my working years here in this canyon.

I made friends quickly in school this 1921-22 winter and we had a very good time bob sleighing through the canyon streets. Six or eight of us would drag the sleigh after dark up the canyon to Copperfield. We all would take our places on the sleigh one at the front to steer and another at the back to man the brakes which would only slow the speed slightly and the rest of us in between. We would then start the sleigh moving down the canyon with our feet. It soon picked up speed to 25 then 35 miles per hour. The brake man would pull the brake down when we seemed too be going to fast. This was a wild and exhilarating ride down through the canyon. Everyone was screaming and holding on for dear life. We would sail through Carrfork junction and on through town at these high speeds screaming "track" all the way. This was to keep people out of our way. We would end up 2 1/2 miles down the canyon from where we started. We would then drag the sleigh back up to Copperfield for a return trip. Usually we would make 2 trips an evening. Automobiles were a rare thing traveling in the canyon at night in those days.

I made many friends this winter, especially a boy about my age, Maver Robertson and his sister Nettie. Maver went to work for the Utah Copper Co. Mine in their Engineering department. This job was obtained after school was out for the summer in 1922. I had returned to the farm and was working at the canning factory in Clearfield. He wrote me a letter asking me to come to Bingham Canyon and he could help me get a job in their Engineering department. I started as a stake puncher at $3.00 a day, 7 days a week. While working at the mine I made friends with a young man and fellow worker named "Mertis Burr". I also continued my friendship with Maver and his sister Nettie. In the fall of 1923 Burr talked me into going with him to Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother was sending him to college. I was going to work and go to night school.

Upon arriving in Cincinnati I started looking for a job. Jobs were hard to find. I finally found one working as a rough carpenter with a construction company. They were building a factory for the Fisher body company a subsidiary of General Motors. I had some trouble convincing the boss that I could do the work. I knew I could do it because of my experience on the farm. He finally decided to hire me and I had no trouble doing the work. The job lasted 2 months when the factory was completed. The money I saved on this job took care of my expenses until I found another job. I was down to my last $5.00 before I found another one. This work was for the Zering Truck Co. They made parts for trucks. I was trained to operate a drill press and a machine lathe. I liked this job and did very well at it. I worked there and went to school nights for the rest of the winter until I had saved enough money to pay my transportation costs back to Bingham Canyon, Utah. This was the spring of 1924.

My brother Ivan was on a mission in Munce Indiana at the time. I decided to stop off there to see him on my way back to Utah. I stayed for 2 days going out with him from door to door proselyting. Ivan was very happy to see me and have me go out with him.

I was able to get my job back at Utah Copper Co's Engineering Department as a rodman which job I held until the fall before I left for Cincinnati. A Rodman works closely with the instrument man who is the party chief. This gave me a chance to learn how to operate all the survey instruments efficiently if the boss would let me.

I met a new friend by the name of Daniel (Dee) Fredic Johanson. He was unable to get a job at the mine because of his heart problem. So he worked in stores down town and finally for the Post Office. We became very close friends over the years.

I met a very beautiful girl at a dance her name was Lois Carrigan and the sister to Lola Carrigan, the girl Dee was dating. They were two of the older girls from a large family of mostly girls. Dee talked Lois into dating me on a double date with him and Lola. He also talked her into dating me at other times. We started dating regularly and soon more than a year had passed. We had lots of fun dancing and at two of the ice cream parlors in town one at Carrfork junction and the other about a city block down the canyon. We called them the upper and lower Royal. They were run by two Greek brothers named Peaches. Gus ran the lower one which we preferred. These places really catered to the young people serving all kinds of ice cream dishes. They had mechanical music available and a place where a few couples could dance. We had many good times there. I really fell in love with Lois this beautiful girl I had been dating for a year now.

Laun Hyde a survey chief at the mine, that I had been working for, talked me into going to the Walker mine in California to be his helper. He had received a job there as underground engineer. The pay was good so I decided to go with him. Before I left I asked Lois to marry me. She seemed to like the idea but wanted to wait awhile. So I had her sign a promissory note to come out to Walker mine and marry me in a few months. This was written on the back of my check book. When the time came I sent her a telegram asking her to come out and fulfill her promise. Hyde had left the mine for another job and I was given his position with a nice raise in pay. So I was earning enough money to support a wife.

Lois answered my telegram with a letter saying that she could not come out now. I inquired of her brothers and sisters and found out she had purchased some nice clothes on credit and it would take sometime to pay for them. I took a leave from my job and went to Bingham Canyon. It was early in the month of April 1926. She allowed me to pay her bills and on the 20th of this month we went to Ogden and got married. My brother Ivan loaned us his brand new ford coupe so we could have a little honeymoon. After a few days we had to leave because it was time to return to my job. We gave Ivan back his car and we took a train for Walker mine.

Our home at Walker mine was unique because of the heavy snow fall

in the winter (as much as 12 feet on the ground at one time). The homes had to be built on stilts. All roads would be closed during the winter months. The only way out or into the camp was by the tram in man buckets. This tram was used to haul ore from the mine to the railroad.

Early in July Lois came down with a severe case of morning sickness which continued for the rest of July. It soon became obvious that we were going to have a baby. We began to re-evaluate our situation and what it would be like to have a new baby in early spring here at the mine with all roads closed. We decided it would not be worth it even though I did have a good paying job. So we elected to go back to Bingham Canyon and get a job with the Utah Copper Co. in their engineering dept. again. Because of Lois's sickness she went back in August. I stayed until Sept. then I left for Bingham Canyon. I was able to get a job again in the Engineering dept. at my old salary. Things were going well for us. Lois's morning sickness was over and we were happy to be back in Bingham Canyon again.

The baby girl was born April 2, 1927. We named her Jaqueline but called her Jackie from the start. What a sweet little girl she was. She became the doll of the large Carrigan family. She started to talk early. In November she was saying "Tankgivey" day. She developed into a very intelligent child. Everyone was teaching her something all the time. She renamed her grandparents Pa and Ma. These names stuck and all future grandchildren called them Pa and Ma. We thought this family would spoil her but it didn't. She remained the same sweet little girl. She would refuse to perform on something someone had taught her until everyone was there. She would tell Pa, when he said something not quite proper "no pa that's naughty and you shouldn't say that." They all just loved her. But in the years to come some of the other grandchildren would say she was the only grandchild.

In early 1929 I was given a better job with more pay. They made me a survey chief and I was in charge of a survey crew. I had been working for this ever since I came back from Walker mine. We were given a new house in Copperton to rent. The rent was $29.00 a month for house and garage. We loved this home for it's large rooms, lots of light from the many large windows. We bought a bright rug for the living room floor. We also bought a wicker set, davenport and one large wicker chair. We didn't have a lot of money to spend on furniture, but Lois fixed it up so it looked beautiful to me and a great improvement over what we had been living with in Bingham Canyon. Before we moved to Copperton we had moved from further up the canyon to within a few hundred feet of the Carrigan home. Lois and Jackie were happy to live so close to Ma and Pa and the rest of the family.

We bought a new car early in 1929. I remember when we went to look at them on the auto agency floor, there stood this beautiful robin egg blue coupe with a rumble seat outside in the back of the car. We fell in love with it on first sight. We just had to have this little beauty of a car. So we bought this little Maxwell for $700.00.

It was in 1929 when Jackie became ill. She would get a fever so high that she became unconscious. The only way we could get the fever down enough to bring her back to consciousness was to take her clothes off and place her in a tub of real warm water. Whenever she had one of these spells one of us would put her into the tub and the other would run down to get Ma and Pa and they would come running up the street. Pa didn't take time to lace his high boots up completely and came running with the laces flopping from side to side. One time we were taking her to the Doctor in Salt Lake City and she started into one of these spells as we were driving up Redwood road. I drove into the first driveway I came to. I took her out of the car into my arms and went without knocking right into the house. I told the lady that I must have the use of her bathroom so that I could put this child into a tub of warm water to bring her out of this spell. The lady was surprised and shocked but I had the bath tub in use before she could say yes or no. This went on for more or less than 2 years. We had her under heavy medication all this time. The depression had hit the mine after the stock market had failed and the mine was working 10 days a month. We in the Engineering dept. were allowed to work half time or 15 days a month. Living in Copperton made it nice because we only had to pay rent for the days we worked which helped us greatly.

On January 28, 1932, with the encouragement of my mother, Lois and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple and Jackie was sealed to us. January 18, 1933 a new baby was born to us. We named her Margene. She was a beautiful baby and when the doctor held her up by the feet, he said "chicken". We had expected a boy but a girl was alright with us as long as she was our child. Lois had problems with the birth and infection set in and she had to stay in bed much longer and we hired Mrs. Sullinger to take care of her.

Margene was a lively child and we had our hands full keeping track of her. She didn't get the attention Jackie got when she was a baby. There were other grandchildren to take the attention of the relatives.

Jackie had been on medication for 4 years now and our bills were mounting up. It was becoming very difficult to stay out of debt. We went on into 1934 and found ourselves unable to pay the drugstore, the milk man and others who would allow us to buy on credit. We just didn't have enough income working on half time. I just had to get a job that would pay more money. Doctor Frazer a good friend of the family advised me to pay only my grocery bill and the rent until we were able to get more income. We owed him also. George Evans the owner of the drug store and also a good friend of mine told me not to worry about his bill and to pay it when I could.

Early in 1934 the United States Forest Service advertised for Engineers to work in the Utah forests laying out work for the C.C.C. boys who were gathered from young civilian high school boys who were unable to get jobs because of the depression throughout the country. I applied and passed the written test. I was hired into the Forest Service as an Engineer.

The first 6 months I traveled with another engineer. We went by car visiting several different forest camps. One was in Springville, Hobble Creek Canyon, another above Duchesne in the Yellowstone area. This is in the Unita basin and the Ashley forest. Another camp we visited was in the Ashley forest 30 miles to the North of Vernal in Manila on the Wyoming side of the Ashley forest. Our habit was to stay at each ca mp long enough to complete the work needed. I was able to get home to Copperton every weekend. While in camps we ate and slept there. We carried our own sleeping bags with us. The cost was $0.50 a day for this arrangement. In October 1934 they separated us and assigned each of us to a separate forest. I drew the Ashley forest with headquarters in Vernal. This meant that we would have to move from our nice home in Copperton to Vernal. I had been assigned a panel truck to use in my work so we loaded what we had into the truck and went to Vernal. We found a place to live and got Jackie into school, she was feeling quite well now although she still had to take medication. I was responsible for 2 camps, one 35 miles to the West of Vernal and the other 35 mile to the North. This made it possible to arrange my work so as to be home every weekend. This schedule worked very well until Thanksgiving when the winter came and snow closed the road across the mountain to Manila. In order to reach this camp it became necessary to travel some 400 miles out of the basin to Manila Utah where the camp was located above on the mountain. When making this trip I would plan on staying 2 weeks. I couldn't be home every weekend anymore until spring. I didn't like this arrangement but I was able to keep in contact with Lois and the children every night by way of the forest service telephones. Jackie was doing good but she had to see the doctor often. She would walk to the doctor's office by herself to get a shot. Margene was growing very fast and was quite a busy little girl.

Lois's folks came out to visit us in the fall of 1935. There was Ma and Pa Carrigan, Lois's brother James and his wife Nona and another brother Leslie. The men were itching for a pheasant hunt. We had quite a time and there were plenty of birds.

My work consisted of laying out new roads, bridges, spring restoration and even a cable bridge across the green river. It would have a 150 foot span. My job was to not only lay out the bridges, roads etc. but it was necessary for me to draw up the plans for the construction as well as specifications covering the project. I had never had any experience with cable bridges so I was stuck and looking for information on this type of Engineering. I drove to Bingham Canyon and contacted my old boss, Chief Engineer, George Earl, and he told me where I could find the information I wanted. I found the information I needed, so I just copied it down and my troubles and worries were over.

The bridge was built across the Green river at Flaming George in the summer of 1935. I used a crew from the Manila camp which was nearby. I layed out the bridge with the help of some of the supervisors from this camp. I selected one of these supervisors to take charge of the construction of this project, his name was Horas Foot. The object of the bridge was to carry a full load of sheep or cattle across the bridge to good grazing ground beyond. So it was only 4 feet wide, made this way so a car could not be driven across it. The boys named the bridge the Barlow Foot Bridge. My name was used because of the design and overall supervision and Foot for his day by day supervision of detail in the construction. It was a good bridge and it served it's purpose well.

Economics were picking up everywhere and the Utah Copper Co. mine was starting to increase production and I was asked to return to work. The forest service supervisor was moving to the Wyoming forest and offered me a job there as forest service engineer with a nice raise in pay if I would go with him. This was a very interesting offer and was tempting. Lois and I talked it over and decided to go back to work for the Utah Copper Co. This seems to have been the right decision because of what happened in the future. We had an experience in the winter of 1935-36 that helped us decide what to do. Jackie and Margene came down with pneumonia while I was in Manila. This caused concern with both Lois and myself. Lois had to work with the children all day and was completely exhausted by evening. This made it necessary to hire someone to come at night to spell Lois off so she could get some rest. I was in touch with Lois every day and often more than that. We were happy when the children finally recovered.

We decided to move Lois and the children from Vernal to stay with mother and dad in Clearfield while I finished the last month with the forest service. We left the truck in Vernal and started for Clearfield in the blue car which we had started calling the blue lemon because of unreliability. The timer would sheer a pin making the motor go out of time and stop. On the way to Clearfield just out of Duschene the motor stopped. I adjusted the timer to get us to Duschene. It was late Saturday afternoon and the shops did not carry this part in stock. It would have to be ordered from Salt Lake City and come on the stage about noon on Monday. Because of this we had to stay at the hotel 2 nights and 2 days.

Margene was a little over 3 years old and was into everything upstairs and around the hotel stirring up everything. We had a time of it for 2 days and nights. We were happy when the part arrived about noon Monday and we could leave for Clearfield. We drove on to mothers and dad's home without further incident and they greeted us with open arms. Jackie was placed in school again and I went back to Vernal to finish my last month with the forest service. The month passed quickly and I had a tonselectomy while we were in Clearfield and Jackie finished the third grade there.

We moved back to Bingham Canyon again but not in our beautiful home in Copperton. It had been rented to someone else. We rented an apartment right in the center of the business section. This was very unsatisfactory. The walls were thin and one could hear everything that was said in the apartment adjacent to ours. Margene was a nervous sleeper and would wake up in the night crying. This woke up the neighbors and they didn't like this one bit and didn't hesitate in telling us about it. We moved as soon as possible to the Ellington apartments in Markham gulch. We had the whole upper floor to ourselves. It was a little difficult for us to sleep for awhile since the Markham railroad bridge crossed this canyon a few hundred feet to the west of us and about 100 feet above. Crews were switching cars all night. It took awhile to get used to but we were sleeping fine after a few days.

The company planned to construct a vehicle tunnel from just above Carrfork junction in the main canyon to Copperfield. It was to circle the mine limits to the East. It was to be built on a 5% grade and would be about 1 1/2 miles long. The construction would be worked from both ends at the same time.When I first returned from the forest service they assigned me to the preliminary survey for this tunnel. It was necessary to establish accurate triangulation and elevation points to be used as reference points during the construction faze.

Late in October 1936 Mr. Louis Buchman the superintendent of mines called me into his office and asked if I would be interested in moving from engineering to mine operations. My job would be over all track foremen in charge of all railroad track work or anything to do with the tracks. I was also responsible for all the overburden (waste rock) hauled to the waste dumps, all machinery connected with the tracks including operating the snow plows. I would receive a substantial raise in pay. I asked for time to discuss it with Lois which I did that night. We decided to take the opportunity.

On the first of November I left my engineering job that I loved so much for a job I new nothing about. I had some good foremen under me and I learned quickly. We got along fine this first winter. The largest problem was operating the snow plows. These were 2 large machines pushed by a locomotive in between them to clean the tracks of snow so the ore and waste trains could operate. At these times I was working day and night and it also took one of my foremen to operate the other plow. This made it very difficult to

supervise. It was necessary to stop the plows a short time in the early morning and then at noon and on shift changes in the evening to get information on work to be done and pass the information on to my supervisors.

The mine was starting to increase production late in December and on through the winter. That required moving men from the track department to other department jobs created by the increase in production. By the spring of 1937 I had very few men working in the track department that were working there in the fall of 1936. This caused us to have all new crews except the foremen who were still with me along with an increase in their numbers. The company hired heavily during this winter in order to keep up with the increased production. I convinced my boss of the need for snow plow operators and the position was established in the department. I had trained several good operators and turned the snow plowing to them. Of course they came under my supervision. I also convinced my boss of the need for a clerk in my office to relieve me of some of the detail work and give me more time to supervise. I had also acquired a motor car that ran on the tracks to help me get around the mine more quickly. I took the speeder (as we called it) out on one of the dumps where a young man who had clerical experience was working, his name was John Niemi, who had finished a business course and was able to take dictation. When I arrived at the dump where he was working I asked the gang boss to send him to me and he was to bring his lunch because I would be taking him with me. I greeted John and invited him to get on the speeder because he would be going with me. We then proceeded to other areas that I wanted to see this morning. When we got to my office I asked him how he would like to be my clerk and outlined the work he would be required to do. A broad smile came over his face and he said he surely would. He didn't say how much better this inside job was in comparison to the dump job where he was exposed to all kinds of weather. He was a highly intelligent young man and made his career at the mine except for a period with the marines in world war two. He went from clerk to material man to foreman to top supervisor to superintendent of train and shovel department in the pit area, from which job he retired later in life. He was my friend and still is. He lives just down the street from me in this year of 1988.

I remember to this day my feelings when we made out our 1st annual report for the track department. Looking down at the bottom line I noticed that we spent $1,000,000.00 for the year. I have never remembered being so impressed. Here this company had trusted me, a farm boy, to spend this much of their money for them. I felt honored and they had my loyalty. It was a good company to work for.

Early in 1937 Lois and I were given a house to rent in Copperton. We had a new car and had paid off all the bills we had accumulated before I went to work for the forest service. This was a great day for the Barlows.

In 1939 the mine was working full capacity and we needed to improve our operations and reduce operating costs. We were still using men to fill the dump tracks with small track shovels and to make grades and help move the tracks closer to the banks on the levels so the shovels could take another cut. These jobs took a lot of men. It was our thought in the department that somehow we had to decrease the use of some men in these areas. We had a bulldozer on loan from the construction company who at the time was removing waste rock from the upper levels of the mine. Because of the increase in production and the work load in the levels area we had been using the dozer exclusively for lining the tracks on the levels. I went to the superintendent Mr. Buchman and told him of the thinking in the department and asked for permission to buy 6 bulldozers, 4 for the dumps and 2 for the levels. I dwelt on the possibility of great savings in manpower. He thought it advisable to use the loaned dozer and get a cost estimate on possible dump manpower savings. We tried for over a month to make this estimate but were unable to get the dozer from the levels at all. I got my supervisors together again and we did some more calculating and decided we could pay for these machines in less than 6 months. I went back to Mr. Buchman and gave him our last estimates. He gave permission to buy them so we purchased 6 dozers, 2 large ones for the levels and 4 small ones for the dumps. The dozers were paid for in less than 3 months by reduced manpower and we did it without laying off one man. This was accomplished by attrition, that is we had a large turnover in the track department, so when a man quit we just didn't replace him.

I continued with my job in the track department where I was made general track foreman in 1940 with a nice raise in pay. I had learned this track work well and it seemed that when we encountered problems, I had the answer to correct them.

This same year, 1940 the LDS ward at Copperton was holding their services in the grade school building and had been doing so for quite sometime. The Bishopric had been trying for years to get enough money to build a chapel but only had $1,000.00 for their efforts. Bishop Nix called me into his office and called me to head a finance committee to collect enough money to build the church house. He said I could choose any 2 ward members I wanted to help me. He also said that the building would cost $30,000.00 and the ward members share would be half or $15,000.00. I chose 2 friends to help me, J. Dewey Knudsen and Ray Gammel. We met together and made plans for the approach to the problem. The depression was only 4 years behind us and the people just didn't have the kind of money we needed to build the chapel. We made contact with several key ward members and found what I had suspected, that is that no one had saved enough money to pay an assessment but could do it on a month to month basis. I had the hunch I could get Mr. Buchman, the superintendent of mines, to approve a payroll deduction for these members. I worked up a good story as to why he should approve this request and then made an appointment to meet him. When I met with him I had my fingers crossed I presented my request and he said "why not"? He also said the company would give the church the land to build it on. I was elated and when I told my assistants and the Bishop they were overjoyed. We then contacted all the ward member families and received more than enough payroll pledges to build the chapel. The Bishop contacted the church authorities and because of the strength of the pledges they allowed us to start building immediately. So this is how we got a chapel in Copperton.

Early in 1946 a new position was created in the operations called the General Mine Foreman and I was assigned to this position with an increase in salary. The person holding the position was responsible for the operation of the entire mine on all shifts. The other departments had their own supervisors but the work was so closely connected it amounted to me supervising all departments. I would assign all shovels and trains to work with them for all the shifts. We were working 3 shifts at the time, 1 day shift, 1 at 3 pm, and 1 at 11 pm. I would give the "lineup" as they called it for all shifts informing other departments as well as my own what units would be working on each shift, which levels were being lined, which levels had towers to be moved and what shovels would be out of operation because of mechanical problems. It was also necessary to contact all departments, mechanical, electrical, track and sometimes water service and carpenter as to work needed from these departments the next day. This was a very demanding job and required my full attention especially at the end of the day shift when planing for the following shifts and the next d ay as well, advising all department heads of this planing and operations for the next shifts.

In the mid 40's the workmen organized into unions, the C.I.O., Operating Engineers, Mechanical, and even the office clerks were organized. They were all making demands upon the company for changes in working conditions and hourly pay increases. They were successful in many of their efforts.

The union stewards and their union representatives were meeting with management one night about a matter in dispute. The company granted their request. It was so easily done that it started me thinking what if the union didn't like the way I operated and demanded that the company dismiss me from my supervisor's position. What would be the company's position. I put this example to the superintendent of mines who had conducted the meeting this night a Mr. Garrity. He said I was not to be bothered by that. If it came to a strike, the company had other properties in Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada where I would be given a job. This startled me and I thought I would not like a job at any of these places but liked it here in Utah. I started working closer with my men and with the union stewards. We worked out problems between us without taking them to formal meetings. They learned to trust me and me them. We got along fine and the company benefitted from this relationship.

During the war years of the 40's the mine worked to full capacity in order to meet the needs of the armed forces. This kept us all busy and alert to the needs of our Government.

My best friend and Lola's husband Daniel (Dee) Fredrick Johanson died November 20, 1948. We had been friends from the time I first went to work at the mine. He was a very fine young man and a good photographer who not only took the picture but brought it into his dark room developed the negative and printed the picture. He asked me at times to help him in his dark room. I was delighted and it was good experience for me. Lola his wife was left with two daughters to raise alone. She found a job in the county library and did very well both in the library and raising the children.

Early in Aug. 1948 negotiations between the union and the company broke down and the unions called a strike. The problem was over wages and neither side would give in. The war was over and the government would not step in to negotiate a settlement as they would have done during the war years. The strike lasted 6 months and was not settled until early in February 1949. This was in mid winter with snow piled high over the entire mine. This really took some doing to get back into operations again.

During the summer of 1949 Jackie decided that she wanted to go on a mission. We agreed to support her so her farewell was held on Sept. 25th. She was called to the Eastern States Mission and spent most of her time in upper New York State. We missed her very much and life was not the same without one of sweet daughters. She completed her mission on July 4, 1951. Her missionary friend Gordon Bodily had returned a few months earlier and went to work at the mine. Jackie didn't stay long. They were married Aug. 13, 1951. Their first daughter was born April 27, 1952.

January 1, 1950 I was advanced to the position of assistant mine superintendent with an office in the main mine office building. A secretary was assigned to me and a motor car was ordered for my transportation. The Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent were assigned to a certain house in Copperton so we moved into the Assistant Superintendents house on the westend of town. It was a white stucco house and gardners kept up the lawn, flowers, and the furnace. The house was cleaned every year, washed and painted, floors cleaned and waxed and windows cleaned. It was this year that I had the opportunity to take Elders Mark E. Peterson and Spencer W. Kimball around the mine on my motor car, then to lunch at Cyprus hall. I noticed that they were rather pleased with the hospitality shown them. Later I received a thank you letter which I cherish from Elder Kimball.

In January of 1952 Mr. Pett, the general superintendent of mines, was advanced to general superintendent of operation with an office in Salt Lake City leaving the general superintendent of mines position open. The general manager at this time was a Mr. Caulfield. He came out to the mine from Salt Lake City and took me into the general superintendent of mine's office and told me that I would not be advanced to this open position at this time and that he was bringing a young man out who was a graduate mining engineer, J.C. Landenberger, to fill this position and I would be advanced to the position of mine superintendent doing the same work I had been doing but with a raise in pay. This was alright with me. I knew Landenberger very well. He had worked for me when I was the general track foreman and we were friends. So when Kay, that is what I called him, came out to claim his new position he told me "you know more about the operations of the mine than I do" and wanted me to just go on the way I had been doing and run the mine for him. This pleased, me I loved this work and knew the mine like the back of my hand.

Margene had been going out with Eldred A. Haws, a young man from Magna, and they became very serious and were married Sept. 23, 1952. Lois and Margene had become very close while Jackie was on her mission, so when she got married Lois became very depressed and missed this sweet daughter very much. We were now back where we started, just the two of us.

Jackie's second daughter was born April 28, 1953 and they named her Teresa. When she learned to walk she and Kristene were over to our place most of the time.

In 1954 Mr. Pett was made general manager and J.C. Landenberger was made general superintendent of operations. This left the position of general superintendent of mines open and I received it. We didn't like the Superintendents house so we stayed where we were.

A good friend and brother in law Robert Dale Johnston died 10 Nov. 1954 and Jackie's third daughter, LeAnn was born 17 Nov 1954.

We purchased a new car, a Chrysler, and took a nice vacation to Mesa Arizona and then went on to see Lois' sister in Downey California. Margart's home was very beautiful with the living room in the back facing the garden through large glass doors. This gave me an idea for our home which we were to build in a couple of years. This vacation time away from the pressure of the mine gave me the relaxation that I needed.

In the years 1955 and part of 1956, Lois and I were busy kitchen table planning for our new home. By the spring of 1956, we had the sketch of the elevation of the home. So in early fall we selected a contractor and hired an architect to complete the drawings, write the specifications and be the inspector while the home was under construction. We had a great time selecting the brick color and weeping mortar, the stone porch flooring and cedar rood which we changed later to tile. We love our home and wouldn't make anymore changes even though we have lived here for almost 32 years. We had a good time during the construction coming down from Copperton almost every evening to see the progress.

During the summer of 1956 our friends Dewey and Ruby Knudsen talked us into taking our vacation in Morro Bay California where her sister and her husband had a summer home. Dewey and Ruby both had reached the point where they didn't like to drive long distances. We agreed to drive them down. Inez, Ruby's sister, and her husband Arthur Burt were wonderful hosts and we enjoyed very much the 2 weeks stay. Fishing was excellent and the claming was lots of fun. We had all the fish and clams we could eat and more. We became very good friends with the Burts. The relaxation from the pressures of the mine was also good for me.

We moved to our new home in Midvale February 1, 1957. Also in the year of 1957 the mine operations were doing well with the new larger equipment which was helping keep our production on target. We were establishing mine supervisor committees to help take advantage of all our facilities and the company was still holding dinner parties which were established several years before. Our wives were also invited to these parties. These parties helped the plants top officials who were dealing with each other on a daily basis to get better acquainted. The plants involved were - Mine. Mills, Refinery, Railroad between plants and the division heads in the Salt Lake Office. These parties did get us on friendlier terms and the overall operation benefited with this friendlier communication.

The year of 1958 was kind of uneventfull. Things were going well at the mine. Jackie and Gordon's family were doing well. Margene and Eldred were enjoying themselves but as yet had no children.

As we moved into 1959 it was necessary for me to have a prostate operation. At the mine we had an accident that hurt several people. Lois's brother Leslie was one of them. The group that was hurt was riding to work on a coach that was delivering workmen to their place in the mine early in the morning. Someone had left a switch turned into the level instead of up the switchback. When the engine came along pushing the coach up the switchback it went into the level and struck an ore train that had been parked a very short way onto the level. Most of those injured were not serious but Leslie had to have part of his foot removed which bothered him the rest of his life.

We took our vacation in Morro Bay again this year with Dewey and Ruby Knudsen and the Burts. We had an excellent time sea fishing and surf fishing. I caught 2 albacore weighing 24 lbs each while fishing from a large ship 25 miles out from shore. We were trolling with our lines trailing behind while the ship proceeded slowly through the area. I surely knew when the first fish hit my line. I had a good fight before I could bring him in. We were also successful with surf fishing and claming. In the evenings we played card games which we all enjoyed very much. We enjoyed these visits with the Burk's and Knudsen's through the years.

We also made many other short trips while I was still working. We went to Arizona twice. On our first trip we stayed in Scotsdale and another time in Tempe. I loved the Deseret and we would take our habache and some steaks for sandwiches and some soft drinks. We would take long walks in the deseret and then come back to the car for our steak dinner. Velma lived in Mesa and sometimes we would take her with us. We went to the Temple in Mesa several times while we were there.

July 1, 1963 I retired at the age of sixty after 40 years work. We were then able to spend more time on Genealogy.

We made many enjoyable trips after I retired. The first was November 1964. We went to Hawaii for a month. We went with a tour for 2 weeks and then got a room for two more weeks so we could do some cooking because Lois was on a strict diet for her alergies.

Dewey Knudson died March 22, 1965.

In 1965 we went to New York for the World's fair, then we went to the Pagent given by the LDS church in Palmyra, New York. We saw Niagara falls from the US side then over to Canada, taking pictures from the Canadian side.

In 1966 we went to Mexico with a couple from Salt Lake that we met on our Hawaiian trip. Jennie and Walter Mink took the same trip. It is more interesting if you have someone you know to associate with.

October 1967 we went to Canada and Alaska by Bus, train, boat and plane. We left Salt Lake by bus. We had alot of fun while traveling. We played games, sang songs, and stopped at alot of interesting places. We took alot of pictures trying to capture all the beautiful scenery. We were gone for 31 days on this trip. In 1967 we also went to Fresno for the Golden Wedding anniversary of Inez and Art. We stayed there for about a week then we went to Morro Bay for 3 more weeks.

Our most outstanding trip was in 1968 to the Carabean by ship. Minks made this trip with us. We lived on the ship. We would go from the ship to the island and then back to the ship anytime we desired. While traveling, many things were going on; ball room dance lessons, art classes, table tennis, swimming and exercise equipment. There were movies in the evening and always dancing. We boarded the ship in L.A.

In 1969 we went to Morro Bay by ourselves, because Ruby was having so much trouble with her health. We didn't think Ruby would be able to make such a long trip again but she surprised us and went 2 trips later. Inez Burt dies in 1976 and we havn't been back since.

In 1971 we flew to England. We rented a car and we also went to Scotland on a chartered bus. Ora, Melvira, Clarence and Ann went with us. We tried all the methods of transportation in England, Rail, underground, and double deck bus. Lois and I went by plane to Ireland. We visited many places we had only seen on maps.

We went to Ogden to the Temple when it was opened with Margene and Jackie. We would go through 2 sessions and then have lunch. Sometimes we would stop in Clearfield for a visit with Wilmer in his store an d with Jesse at the Bank. When the Provo Temple was finished, we started going there because it was more convenient. When the Jordan River Temple was built, we would go there. It was only ten minutes away from home.

I held positions in the Midvale 4th Ward after I retired. I was High Priest Group Leader in 1964 and Sunday School Superentendent in 1965. It is now November 1984 and I am starting to work on my life story again. I have been sick for more than 4 years. I had an operation with complications in the spring of 1980 which required another operation operation in July of 1981. I was in the hospital again in late June of 1982 and again in early 1983 for another operation for the removal of Pera Thyrod Gland that was infected. Lois was sent to the hospital later in the spring of this year for the removal of her Gaul Blader along with an operation for a hernea. We both feel better now. Our prayers have been answered and the Lord has surely blessed us in the past year. There has been some sad occasions in our life since my last writing of my personal history. Our dear brother-in-law Clarence P. Tree, a best friend, died April 15, 1981. My younger brother Wilmer Stoker Barlow died December 25, 1981 and my older brother Jesse D. Barlow died July 6, 1982.

It is now June 1988 and I am trying to get back to work on my life story. I had a cartiac arrest in Farmington where Gardner and I met to discuss some business at the court house. I was lucky that Gardner was right there with me when it happened. He got the Paramedics there quickly and they got my heart started again. As a result, a pace-maker was inserted. This all happened in July 1986. I got along fairly well until the spring of 1987, when it became necessary to have open heart surgery. Two by-passes were made and a new aorta valve installed. It has been a little over a year since the surgery and I am doing very well.

There are a few things that we felt should be mentioned in Dad's history.

During the time he was working for the Forest Service, he threw his shoulder out of joint and had to travel by truck on bad roads through the mountains for many miles to get to a hospital to get it set.

He had surgery on his spine, just a few years before he retired, to have some discs fused in his neck. He had to wear a neck brace for a long time and always had a stiff neck. If he fell asleep sitting up, the only way you could tell was if his mouth came open because his head never dropped. During the neck surgery, he had a nerve to his arm injured and he had it in a brace for a long time. The doctor told him he would never have use of his arm again, but he was determined that he would. He worked up a routine that he would do on a schedule he worked up. He would spend hours squeezi ng on a rubber ball, he installed a pulley in the storage closet with a rope strung through it. The rope was hooked to the bad arm and he would pull it up and let it down then up for so many times. Then he would go to the hall door which was full of slats, he would walk his fingers up and down the door so many times. He would then throw his arm using his body so many times. Through persistent work he did get the use of most of his arm back. During this time he had to wear a brace which held his arm up to shoulder height, straight out from the shoulder with the elbow bent and the hand and forearm were toward the front.

When he was older and ill, he was no longer able to hold positions in the ward so he paid extra on his donations because he wanted to do his share.

He mentioned that they spent time on genealogy, but they really spent hours and hours on research. Dad worked for the family organization and really spent a lot of time on the Michael Hogan line. He worked on genealogy until he could not see well enough and was not well enough to do it.

He was in contact with Kay Stoker who was involved in business and wanted help on genealogy research. Dad made arrangements for Teresa (his granddaughter) to do this research as a summer job after her junior year in High School and he worked with her to do it.

Dad also spent a lot of time taking pictures of grandchildren. There was always a new portrait every year. He kept a scrapbook up to date with all the best pictures of the family. He took wedding pictures of most of his grandchildren's wedding receptions and you couldn't tell them from a professional photographer.

He loved growing a garden and planting flowers and he spent a lot of time working in his yard, keeping it looking well landscaped. He trimmed pine trees and planned his flower arrangements so everything was always beautiful.