| Show the dust David L. Richards family comes to the Uintah Basin toy Stella Richard m i L. 11 i. continued from the 14 of the Vernal Stella tell about ome of her ex- firt coming to valley in Herding cows along the dusty road with neighbor kids was another pleasant You wondered where the great wide wheeled freight wagons came from bringing dry goods and furniture to the stores as you watched them roll along the roads Into In pioneer the little one- roomed school house was the com- It was there the people assembled for school pro- council Men-ell's ward had the largest school house in the Here they held their first stake conferences and other stake School was really an educational pro- cess in those It was my first day at we were called the A large chart about x with enough pages to last a month or so was hung on the First first see a A nice cat sat on the page to be At the end of the students should be able to read and spell the In arithmetic we learned to count on our The we went home and surprised the family with our newly acquired skills The most important part of school was lear- ning human who was what big boys to be afraid what girls A marvelous field just south of school furnished unending high enough to make In- dian as wash tubs to make playhouses with walls as high as we could Pic- tures were hung on the lace cur- 3 father and children lived in each At dinner buckets were brought to various neighbors homes and lunch was enjoyed Winter snow was often very deep when little children had to walk two and three miles to At my walk to school was just a half-mile but later a mile and a But for several snow covered the fences and often a Good Samaritan gathered the children in a wagon or bobsled and took them to Other paths were made by a triangle frame pulled by a horse which pushed the snow making a Indians were around the valley in large One time a squaw ask- ed for bread and wanted to trade her lit- tie Indian baby for a white Of the white hid behind her mother's The big school event every year was when the Indians moved their hunting grounds from the Uintah reservation to a warmer climate near Grand June- We always knew when they were A great cloud of dust would arise in the west made by hun- of horses We waited in fear and What a motley procession bucks with beautiful feather long black braids tied with beaded veste and gloves The squaws in their colorful dresses and beautiful embroidered papooses strapped to their mothers' Children dogs bark- the clatter of horses' But most interesting were the youngsters in a pole tied on each side of a the ends of the two poles tied together and sort of cradle made bet- Here the papooses who couldn't ride horses were carried through the dust made by hundreds of horses' Was it any wonder they Recreation Other gala days were when we went to ranch In white-topped bug- gies for a melon The Green River with the pumps was always an ting site for It almost rivaled the mountain of watermelons and can- of the picnic din- ners were the best the families could af- On the way the drivers would call girls to the right and boys to the left when we were in a hilly so we would not stray or get Looking back over happy the and of July always bring plea- sant The patriotic parades that depicted everything from Washington crossing the Delaware to the Indian In his teepee amid sagebrush and pine with a a bear and an eagle from the After the the orator of the day took Flag short music and dialogues were always on the followed by picnic lunches under the shade of trees in the grove or on the lawn behind the church The afternoon events were always like catch the greased pig-it was the prize of the one who cap- climb the greased pole-there was a bag of money at the sack three-legged often war between whites and Funny how those killed with wooden spears and swords were resurrected so a fun day and the chores were families went back to the dance where whole 3 The fiddles and harmonicas struck up tunes and under the what merry Youngsters bawl- babies asleep on on or under a Uble or in a corner on the floor while the happy couples glided away to the or rye but best of all was the square swing your partner and sashay Dances were exciting for the dancers and spectators Once two large men got in a heated argument and began to fight on the dance David a small got between them with a hand on each stomach and tried to Ph them apart while trying to them out of But the fight went on right over his Other recreation was when young folks went sleigh riding in hayrack riding in house par- ties were also It was always fun to hitch to the buggy and take a bunch of kids for a ride or have friends assemble and play ball In the Water Who would go back to the good old days of peace and Not when washing was done on the Ing board with melted snow or ice for water in the winter or carried from the irrigation ditch and heated on an out- side fire in the Wash day was not the only time when water was Saturday nights brought their own Each member of the family must have a bath In the old number two or three tin The only pair of shoes of each member must be blacked with stove blacking and shined up for When it rain- milk pans had to be arranged strategically to catch the drips coming through the dirt roof No wrinkle-proof cloth in those days so ironing had to be done with flat irons heated on a coal The ing or canning Cooking for about 15 men at threshing time was no little job for the lady of the house and her older but the kids of the neighborhood were all delighted to watch the eight or ten teams of horses go round and round with the machine that separated the grain from the The straw was us- ed for new ticks for the kids' Mother and Dad had feather beds by the straw tick was replaced by cattail fluff gathered from swamp land In the the weary farmer wended his way cared for his milked the fed the chopped the wood for before he ate There was no need for sleeping pills or tranquilizers in the old Flies existed in Screens at the doors and fly catchers and a child waving a branch over the dinner table didn't seem to eliminate but we lived through black hawks and coyotes were They were constant threats to young the corn patch and young More Before reservoirs and large canals were Ashley Creek was a roar- rampaging especially at night after a hot spring day melted winter's An annual event was to see wide and deep overflow of Ashley Creek with bridges washed away or ready to I would dare you to get your horse to step on the bridge with the other side floating and water running over Though living several miles from the I remember lying awake nights listening to the rolling the cons- tent thud and low-pitched rumble of the rampaging waters As a small child I went to Jensen with Father to get his personal belong- when school was out Coming he must give Old Doll a He unhitched her from the went up the creek where he could get near the trees and willows grew along the bank ting my They went out of sight and I waited and Finally I saw a dark object rolling over and over in the muddy I was sure it was Then came a small black ob- that must be his Just as I was about to he and Old Doll came h to Such a I was not left alone Jensen and Vernal on a lonely road without a Another episode with Old I put a loop on her nose and rode her to the gulch to give her a she had her head down several shots by duck hunters rang She whirled and In several jumps was at the top of the bank leaving me sitting In the water almost to my She turned looked at waited for me to climb on the fence and get on her back for the ride There was tragedy as well as pleasure In the old One very faithful doctor and his little black bag took care of everything from the toothache to spinal He in the days before vaccine or an- typhoid small whooping all took their generous Each family home was Us own There were times when three or four family members were seriously HI at the same No trained nurses came to assist in those One worn-out doctor handled the situation as best he next |
