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Show Volume II, Issue VII The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 19 1 April 2000 President Warren Harding Visited Huntsville Identical Triplets By M ar va Pike Wi lliam, Willis, and Wi l l a r d—identical triple t boys w e r e bor n at hom e to Hyrum a nd A n n Andr us J ensen, March 14, 1 9 2 0 in the s ma ll town of H u n t s ville, U tah. The hom e w h e re Loris Fe lt A l l e n cur r ently r e side s. Wi lliam and Wills we re h e a l t hy babies , but Willa rd ha d a s t r u g gle—it w as touc h a nd go for a w h ile. Lillie Schade a lso of H u n t s ville w as a sister to H y r u m. O n A pr il 24, 1920 she g a v e bir th to a baby. To help her f a m i l y s he put he r infant da ught e r o n cow s ’ m ilk a nd a cc epte d t h e j ob of nur s ing the triple ts, e sp e cially Willar d. M rs . J ens en ( the mother) wa s i n v e r y poor health afte r the birth o f t h e boys . I n fa ct, the doctor t o l d Hyr um he thought the y c o u l d pr obably c ount on losing b o t h mother and child (Willa rd). A f t e r a pr ies thood ble ssing, they p u t t h eir f aith in the hands of the Lo r d . Both s ur viv ed. Ther e w er e f our older child r e n ; Elena, Elaine, Mildred, a n d Jacob. They all pitc he d in a n d h e lped car e f or the ba bies. J u s t as the triplets turne d t w e n ty- tw o m onths old, Ann g a v e bir th to twins—Milo and El i z a beth. What a ha ndful—five b a b i e s under the age of three ! I d entical tr iplets c an be ve ry d i ff i c ult to tell a pa rt, so the ir m o t h er tied different c olored r i b b o ns on each of the m so she c o u l d keep them stra ight. 80 Years Ago In 1 9 2 5 , t h ey s t art ed s ch o o l . As they g rew, s o d i d t h ei r t ri ck s . They wo u l d s wi t ch d es k s i n sc hool, an d wh en t h ey were o l d enough t o d at e, t h ey wo u l d each ta ke a g i rl t o t h e d an ce, s wi t ch and go h o m e wi t h o n e o f t h e o t h ers. T h i s m ad e h ard t i m es fo r te ac he rs an d d at es al i k e. All of t h em h ad a g o o d s en s e of humo r. E v en t o d ay, s o m e eighty y ears l at er, t h e s m al l smile l i n es an d wri n k l es s u rround t h ei r ey es . Wa rr en Hard i n g was P res i de nt of t h e Un i t ed St at es at t h e time of t h ei r b i rt h . On h i s way t o C alifor n i a h e m ad e a s p eci al stopover i n Og d en , Ut ah , j u s t t o se e the t ri p l et s . Tripl et b i rt h s were v ery rare in that d ay an d ag e. T h ere was a spec ia l p arad e, a g al a affai r ri g h t down mai n s t reet . In 1 9 2 9 , t h e J en s en fam i l y move d t o M ari o n , Ut ah (n ear Ka ma s ) wh ere t h ey farm ed an d ra ised cat t l e. T h e b o y s l earn ed the va l u e o f wo rk . In Sep t em b er o f 1 9 4 1 , t h e thre e were cal l ed t o s erv e i n t h e Spa nis h L DS m i s s i o n , co n s i s t ing of Ari zo n a, New M ex i co , pa rt of Tex as , a p o rt i o n o f C o l orado, an d S o u t h ern C al i fo rn i a. While o n h i s m i s s i o n , Wi l l i am wa s c all ed u p o n b y t h e ch u rch t o te ac h th e wo m an t o q u i l t — a t al ent he h ad l earn ed fro m h i s mother. La te r, t al k o f war was ev ery where. In S ep t em b er o f 1 9 4 4 al l thre e bo y s were d raft ed i n t o t h e se rvic e. Aft er t rai n i n g Wi l l ard wa s we n t t o t h e P aci fi c, wh i l e The Jensen Triplets of Huntsville. Wi l l i am an d Wi l l i s w e n t t o G e r m an y, wh ere Wi l l i s m e t h i s d eat h . L at er t h e J en se n f a m i l y m o v ed t o E m m et t , Id a h o . Wi l l i am m arri ed P o l l y B a n g at er. T h ey s erv e d a n L D S m i s s i o n am o n g t he S p a n i s h s p eak i n g m i n ers a t St e b n i t e , Id ah o . T h ey m o v ed t o , w h a t n o w i s Wes t Val l ey C i t y. T h e y h a v e n i n e ch i l d ren an d ra i s e d s e v e r a l fo s t er ch i l d ren as w e l l . T h e y h av e fi ft y -t wo g r a n d c h i l d r e n an d t h ree g reat -g ran d c h i l d r e n . No w, aft er s erv in g a n a d d i t i o n al s ev en an d o n e h a l f y e a r s o n L DS m i s s i o n s i n t h e C h i c a g o Tem p l e, i n P eru , an d o n Te m p l e S q u are i n S al t L a k e C i t y, Wi l l i am an d P o l l y a r e p r e s e n t l y s erv i n g as wo rk ers in t h e J o r d a n R i v er Tem p l e. Wi l l a r d m a r r i e d T h e o G a r n e r. They lived and farmed in Ontario, Oregon, and recently moved to Boise, Idaho. They c u r r e n t l y w o r k i n t h e B o i s e Te m ple. The couple also served an eighteen-month LDS mission in M o r r i s t o w n , N e w J e r s e y. Wi l l a r d a n d T h e o h a v e e i g h t children, thirty-six grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren. SOLD SOLD A e ri a l v i ew o f O g d en Va lley Dick Dixon Branch Broker 745-3119 web: dickdixon.org email: dickd@wardleygmac.com |