Show alice 0 billings B gs recounts many difficulties of early wards in area this is the second in a ser series on the life of alice C orser rr B billings es 1 early pioneer of this area and the first school teacher in jensen the story is taken from her autobiography which was written when mrs billings billing was wa seventy four she 4 is now 88 1 years of age the orser fan family lily arrived in provo july 13 and stayed with mrs arsers mother for awhile then they rented a house from joseph dark clark an old friend of mrs mecham not long after mr orser got a chance to buy a place very cheap as two persons had died there with sm smallpox a no one had lived there for years wd euid the house was said to be haunted the arsers had not been in their new home very long before the mother vowed she would not stay as the house was haunted she had heard the una tins rattle in the night and had felt the house shake frank herson her son also felt it but mr orser and the two girls did not the family was discussing the matter when a neighbor called and asked if they had felt the earthquake thai agthe of settled the fear of haunts about a year after they arrived in provo mra mrs orser was baptized into the church of jesus christ of latter day saints her two daughters joined her in this action out but mr orser and his son frank had been unfavorably impressed by the words of mor mon haters baters in nevada and refused to join the church having joined the L D S church without their fathers consent the girls never accepted an office while they lived in provo although they attended their meet ings regularly infrank frank attended the brigham young academy laura and alice went to the bellson school tor for two years then alice attended the B Y U for two years she worked in the woolen mills in the summer mr orser worked in a livery stable where one of the first telephones in provo was installed he came home from work and told his family when the telephone was put in two of the girls went stable and two to another place that had a phone so that the they could talk to each other over U this wonderful new invention early romance when alice was sixteen she began accepting attentions from the young men one of them took a group up of young p I 1 adelf tale sleigh ris riding gitnig they ctet ano another 0 r sleigh full of young I 1 folks and the two ran races in the streets of provo the next morning alices boy friend called early before she was up and asked to talk to her he cautioned her not to tell anyone where she was the night before but no officers showed up to question her alice kept company with an 1 other young man off and on for four years ears she might have liked him gad had he not been so jealous he however even followed her to jensen and continued to write to her though she gave him no encouragement the day she was preparing for her wedding supper she received a letter from him saying he had built a beautiful home in provo from money received from his fathers estate and asked her to come and share it she chose the humble log cabin which she had already accepted in the spring of 1884 mr ar ser and his son frank came out to ashley valley as there was much talk of it being a good place to make ahome acome and there was not much chance for work in provo mr orser filed on a place not far from the mouth ol 01 4 ashley creek near jensen the father and son worked on a binder and threshing van machine chine and built a two room log house then mr orser returned to provo for and two girls they began the long hard bourney ey november 21 1884 ahey ey tent spent nine I 1 long 19 days on oil he the roa road the were very heava jy i loaded as they took all heir their household goods in two big loads they mey arrived december 1 I 1884 they stayed over night with a friend and went on to their new home the next da day the house had a dirt roof and no floors it looked very dreary the good home they had bad just left but mrs mn 0 orser had two carpets they got straw to put under them th em and with wt their good gow furniture 4 the e bouse houft was wu soon fixed better than any in jensen tint first school teach teacher in the summer of 1885 the parents of jensen decided their children ought to I 1 be in school dr hullinger asked alice if she would teach the children it the parents built a school house she said she would if she were capable he suggested that at she go to the coun county superintendent and get a t c a te joseph M me kee came with two saddle horses and escorted her r to ashley there was no vernal and she go got her certificate t w r f dr hullinger gave a piece left of ground and helped buy the igle doors anc for the school moroni mecham having more children of school age so than anyone one else ew was put at thi od I 1 head and soon agon they bad had a school house 11 itt m 5 i dr ullin Xer gave alice one dollar and fifty cent a week for fm ahto wile little girl 4 rhoda ann she to ja how A IN lh Ie ietek tet AM to her bar vm ew wm fw 4 A d lire LIFE or OF ALICE 0 BILLINGS continued from page 9 very poor and she took anything that acey had which she he could use uld ioffe in the home she made about 30 a mo month nth having money in I 1 her pocket alice thought that what ehe she wanted most was an organ so he she saved carefully to buy it herald oaker had purchased an organ from montgomery so A N billings took alice to vernal to inquire how to get it and how much freight would cost alice got her organ but ithe he was married so soon after she had made the purchase that she have time to loam learn to plak play it as sho she was soon busy wit with babies that came along too fast to leave time for their mother to indulge her musical fancies the school house was also used for a meeting house prior to its erection the L D S daml ies had met in private homes with nathan hunting as presiding elder after the school war built the little congregation was riven given the name of rivendale Rl Ri ward the M 1 I A was organized and alice was put in as president however it did not last long as s the meetings were held in the e north end of the ward where there were several homes close cloie together alice lived at the extreme south end of the ward five or six miles away from the meeting house she and her sister would have had to go all that distance up the creek alone and her mother strongly objected about 1886 the relief society was organized with mrs 0 orser er as president elizabeth hunti hunting as first counselor amanda amand a U mccarrell cC arrell as second and jane mecham as secretary alice and the bishops daughter wore were the relief society teachers they visited the ward monthly on horseback riding a distance of five miles each tn month anth and then return nw now ward about 1893 the people in the upper part of the Rl Ri verdale ward joined the naples ward and as bums burns bench was getting a few settlers a new ward was made with george P billings as bishop M M mecham and john worsley as counselors the KI M 1 I A of the new ward was organized january 28 1894 with laura 0 mckee as president lydia billings and alice as counselors the mckees moved to provo in 1908 and alice was made president au august rus 17 of that vear year she remained in office until Sept september embr 1917 when her daughter EW 1 I returned t to 0 the ward and was given her mothers office mrs billings did not get oft off with nothing to do however as she was mado senior class leader in M I 1 A and acted in that capacity inifi until she left the ward in october october 1919 when mrs billings moved to vernal the relief society presented her with a gold watch she had had a class ui in sunda sunday school most of the time and h had done a lot of work in primary as well at her farewell party varty the sunday school bang sang we ever pray for thee our prophet dear chan changing ing the word prophet to teacher they all still remember her and speak kindly to her and of her |