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Show Pioneer Teacher Of Dixie Civic Leaders Tells Story By Mabel Jarvls One of the earliest efforts made by the Dixie Pioneer leaders was to educate such young people as were interested and capable for the school teaching profession, realizing that this remote section must build proportionately faster, in order to offset other shortages. And of this group of teachers of the second generation was Ovilla Liston Empey, with whom we visit this week. Rosaltha Ovilla Liston Empey daughter of Elizabeth Reeves and Commodore Perry Liston was born September 1st, 1SG1 m Minersvillc, Beaver County. Utah. Her parents were of English decent de-cent and came from the State of Indiana, having been married in Muncie, Deleware County. Indiana Indi-ana Julv 21st, 1S44, and joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there in 1850. From Muncie they moved to Keg Creek, Iowa, where they bought a farm, but sold this and migrated , to Utah in 1852, arriving in Salt Lake City, August 22nd of that year. They settled first in Battle-creek Battle-creek (now Pleasant Grove) moving mov-ing south to Fillmore and later to Parowan in 1853, where Mr. Liston labored in the iron Industry, being an iron founder by trade. Though both had come from well-to-do families, they came, as most pio- j neers do, to the time of want, but J were not despairing, even when I Mother Liston found it necessary j to remove her shoes in cold j weather for one of her boys to t use while he went out to milk j and feed the cows. And these par- j ents taught their children by prac- , tice that "where there is a will to do a task, a way can be made to do it." After spending some years in Cedar City and Parowan, the Lis-tons Lis-tons moved to Beaver County where their daughter Ovilla was born. Then in 1863, they were called to the Dixie Mission, settling set-tling first in Pinto Creek, where the iron industry had a breif run, and moving to St. George in 1S66, which has since then been Mrs. Empey's home. "My earliest recollection", says Mrs. Empey, "is of our life at Pinto where I saw my mother wash wool pick it over and make it into bats for quilts by hand, also cord and spin it into yarn for knitting and for weaving into homespun fabrics for clothing the family." Having seven children, clothing was a big item, but as most families had their own sheep, the cost was reduced to just plenty of hard and constant work. Thus Miss Liston spent most of her girlhood days helping about the home and attending the various vari-ous ward schools, for her parents were anxious that their children receive the best they could in education. edu-cation. Mother Liston had been well educated for her day and taught one of the private home schools before buildings were erected in the wards for that pur-nose. pur-nose. The last three ye;irs of Ovilla's schooling were held in the Basement of the St. George Stake Tabernacle with Prof. Eugene Shopman as the Principal and Miss Cook and Jas A. Whitelock as teachers. Tuition must be paid, so this girl did the personal laundry laun-dry for these teachers in payment Continued oa page three) Pioneer Teacher Of Dixie Students Recalls Experiences Of Early Dixie Days (Continued from page one) of her tuition, also assisted the many other girls and boys in the regular cleaning of the class rooms, washing windows, scrubbing scrub-bing floors, sweeping and dusting. "I am glad to have done this hard work," said she, "for what education edu-cation I received has been a great blessing to me, for I have thus been able to meet wonderful people peo-ple and travel to many interesting parts of the country through the many good books I have been able to read. And I still love to read good books." In the fall of 1880 Principal Shopman said, "I am giving you a school next year." "But", protested pro-tested Miss Liston, "I don't know enough to teach." "You and other new teachers will gain excellent experience, and plenty of it, in the school room," said Prof. Shopman, And they certainly did. She taught her first year in the old Second ward building still standing on the corner of Second South and Second West Streets, and now used as a residence. This was the year of 1881-1882. The next year she taught in the old Third Ward and among her pupils were the present Chairman of the County Commissioners, George H. Lytle, and the present St. George City Mayor, Albert E. Miller, also, four of the children of James G. and Jane T. Bleak, including the late Mrs. Olive B. Snow and her deceased de-ceased brother Jess Bleak. She has many happy recollections of her daily experiences in the school room, and declares it was not difficult to see bright futures for many of the pupils, for their work in the class room showed they would succeed, and their lives are proof enough that she was not mistaken. During the early seventies Miss Liston got what she terms the "Gleaner's fever", and making a gleaning sack to tie around her waist, left for the fields where she hoped to get rich in no time, since grain brought such a high price. "But, "she declares", I got mostly a lot of headache and only gleaned glean-ed enough grain to buy a yard of ribbon. Gleaning just wasn't for me." Later she went out to household house-hold service, working first for Lucy B. Young for two weeks at 75c per week and earning enough to buy a calico dress to match the yard of ribbon. Later on, when Father Liston joined the United Order she went with him to the Washington Field to help cook for the farm hands, and this job lasted quick. "I had to make water gravy" says she, "and I had never seen that done. But father told me to make it just like I would milk gravy. I did, but it just wouldn't work out. And the next day I had to go home, for the misquitoes had given me the 'big-head' if the gravy-making didn't". ' Father Liston eventually owned a farm beyond the west black ridge, traveling over the road made to reach the quarry where so much rock was selected for the Temple, Tabernacle and other building foundations. When he camped in the field, Ovilla carried his meals to him and was even ; allowed to strip sugar cane ready for the molassess mill, and to ride the horses around the sweep that ran the mill which ground the pane into sorghum, always a top product of this section. And what lots of skimmings candy was made in those days. But walking over the hill and carrying provisions wasn't a real joy hike. In 1876 the Union Club (one of the first social and improvement units of Dixie to set up with officers, of-ficers, laws and by-laws) was organized, or-ganized, with Susie Young Dun-Iford Dun-Iford (later Mrs. Jacob Gates) as ! president, and Alex Morris as vice President From the dramatic presentations, pre-sentations, dances and socials given by this organization, funds were raised to send four young men into the Mission field, Still-man Still-man Woodbury to the Sandwich Islands, Joseph Orton mentions in his diary the money gift he received re-ceived from this club. They met once each month for instructive programs, and maintained a budget box for individual contributions contribu-tions of copied or composed material. ma-terial. Great fun was had in reading read-ing these items to the group assembled. as-sembled. A joyous summer event was the annual melon feast. At the age of sixteen, Ovilla Liston was rated as a good practical practi-cal nurse and for years served in this capacity, going usually with an older woman to sit up nights or take day-time care of the sick. This was unpaid community service. ser-vice. For more than thirty years she served as an active teacher in the Relief Society, and has served as secretary in the Sunday school, and as teacher in various ward organizations. She smiles as she thinks of the difference in the school teacher's responsibilities to-day and those of her day. Then the teacher had to make out weekly bills for the children's tuition and do the collecting col-lecting if she expected a salary. Also her bid to teach included the furnishing of practically every thing from wood to chalk and doing the janitorial work or paying pay-ing for it to be done. Naturally, she must be very thrifty and careful, care-ful, for if she left supplies' lying around over the week-end, she could not expect them to be there on Monday. She recalls, as do others, the various encounters with Indians until peace was established with them, her father having learned their language, was often sent to confer with them. Also the Indians came to the home to talk with him. December 6th., 1883, Ovilla Liston Lis-ton married Joseph L. Empey in the St. George Temple and to them were born six children, all of whom they raised to adult age; and five of whom are still living, Joseph Jr. their eldest son, having been one of the victims of the local Oil Well explosion of March 1935. The others are Mrs. Bessie Law of Beaver, Clifford Empey of Salt Lake City, William Empey and Nelson A. Empey of St. Georee. and Mrs. Ovilla Daly now of Hurricane. Of these children their son Joseph was for many years an employee of the Southern Utah Power Company, Clifford has followed the business of school teaching and is at present on the N. Y. A. force; and Ovilla is a trained Nurse. The two sons, William and Nelson A. are veterans veter-ans of the World War. All six of them are the parents of small families. She has forty-nine living grandchildren and one great grand child at this time. In 1899 following childbirth, Mrs. Empey had a severe head cold or flu which was accompanied by a ruptured nasal artery and resulted re-sulted in almost total deafness. After some four months in bed, she recovered to find she must practically go to school again, as her deafness has continued, and for many years she was physically unable to do any housework. During Dur-ing this time she accepted the position of sales lady for the Marble and Granite Firm of Provo, Utah, and during the more than twenty years she worked for them she sold a total of over $65,000 worth of tombstones and markers throughout southern Utah. Though the compensation was not great, the diversion of work was stimulating and she received re-ceived congratulations for her efficiency. ef-ficiency. Being a very legible writer, she often resorts to her pencil in conversing, when she cannot can-not carry on otherwise. A car accident in 1933 further distorted her hearing, and her health is never very good, but she devotes herself to reading and writing and believes firmly in the adage that "it is better to wear out than to rust out." Her husband, affably known as "Uncle Joe" had long been a sufferer suf-ferer from heart trouble, and though he always kept busy at such work as he could do, serving for many years as court house janitor, and spending many years at Temple work, the shock of his son's death marked a serious change in his health, and he too passed away in September of 1935, just six months after the explosion. But these sorrows and hardships are to Mrs. Empey, just a part of pioneering in Dixie, and with her head up, she is still being brave and keeping cheerful and hopeful, which spirit has always marked the lives of the builders of Utah's Sunny Dixie. And it was with such courage as this woman displays that the teachers of the second generation of Dixie Pioneers Pio-neers inspired the growing boys and girls to achieve success. Mrs. Empey leaves this week for a visit with her children in Beaver and Salt Lake City and we wish her a most pleasant vacation. |