OCR Text |
Show Alice Barlow Bleak Tells Life's Story By Mabel Jarvis Alice Louisa Barlow Bleak, one of Dixie's early daughters, was born in Salt Lake City Utah February 13, 1859, the third child of Oswald and Mary Jane Oliver Barlow. Her father emigrated to Utah in 1848, crossing the plains I Brigham Young's Company - on the great Leader's last such ourney. He had left his young wife Catherine Nightingale Bar- ow and their infant son, James m England while he came to earn the means with which to send for Them They had become members o ie Mormon Church in their home town of Uinkershire. Mary Jane Oliver was a native of Kent, England, but was residing in Woolwich Wool-wich when she became affiliated with the Latter-Day Saints. It is not known just what year she came to America, but when she reached St. Louis, she had lost everything except the few clothes she stood up in, and a fund of faith and courage. And like so many women of the church of that period, she was not long in securing secur-ing empolvment, saving up enough ! to come to Utah the following year. I Here in Salt Lake City she met j Oswald Barlow and became his I second wife, being married in the jold Endowment House in 1845. 'called To Dixie Oswald Barlow was one of those called to settle Dixie and came with the pioneers of 1861, bringing his two families with him. Alice was then a little less than three years old. She has no remember-ances remember-ances of their home in Salt Lake City nor of the journey to Dixie, but does recall their first location in St. George when the lots were drawn in the spring of 1862. Their lot was on the corner east of where the Sunshine Service station sta-tion now stands on U. S. Highway 91 at the intersection of Third West Street. There they had first a large square tent for a kitchen, dining room and general purposes. (Continued on page three) Alice Louise Barlow Bleak Relates Incidents in Her Home Life as '61 Pioneer (Continued from first page) Her mother had a fair sized tent for herself and three children, and "Aunty" as this woman affectionately affection-ately refers to her father's first wife, "had the wagon box for her room." From these tents the one family moved into a small rock house on a lot west of them, and Katherine was moved with her children to a small adobe house farther down in the lot. Then father Barlow exchanged for other property, building what is known as the Barlow place, for Alice's mother on the corner west of the St. George Wells lot on First south and Third West streets. She remembers distinctly when the foundation was completed for the home on the upper street. This house was first used by Katherine and her family, but later became the property of Alice and her mother. And this place still holds many happy memories. But it was from the little home on the lower street that she recalls going regularly to Sunday services, entertainments, en-tertainments, and dances for children, child-ren, first to the Old Bowery, on the block north of the Tabernacle corner, and later to the basement of the Tabernacle, when only that part of the building was completed and roofed over with willows for temporary use. Without Shoes "Often when we were children," remenised Mrs. Bleak," we have gone to Sunday School and day school barefooted, even in the winter win-ter when there was snow on the ground. But that was what many other children were doing, for it was not easy to provide shoes for all of us, and they seemed to wear out rapidly enough those days. We were happier to meet with our friends even under these conditions than to remain at home, while others enjoyed themselves." Of her mother's nine children, five passed away in infancy, one brother died at the age of twelve, and her brother, Arthur passed away in early manhood,, leaving through most of the years only herself and her sister, Lunes. This sister is now eighty years of age and resides in Richfield. When they visit together they still find much that is happy to talk of in recalling re-calling early times in St. George. This pioneer Dixie girl went to school first in the upstairs of the old Whitmore home, a structure of red sandstone and adobe still standing on the corner of third west one block north from Highway High-way 91, and now owned by James Chadburn. Her first teacher was Dixie's famous Choirmaster, John Macfarlane. Later she went to the old Third Ward school when Samuel Miles was the schoolmaster. school-master. They had slates, pencils and a few more books at this school. Because there was always so much to be done those days, not too much time could be spent in school. But this girl wanted to become as well educated as possible pos-sible so in addition to the regular day classes she enrolled in the night school where pennmanship was stressed. They did their practice prac-tice writing by the light of the wick lamp a very feeble flame compared with the irridescent lamp of today, and the long hours of writing in the semi-darkness caused her temporary loss of eyesight. eye-sight. They took her at once to good old Doctor Ivins and he ap-: plied the best treatment known to that day, but it seemed only to increase the seriousness of her trouble. Then through the powers of faith her sight was restored and her happiness knew no bounds when she could read and write once more. Have Work Parties Their parties in those early days were mostly in the nature 0f Dees work first in which all the guests joined, and this was followed by the party proper. Outstanding Out-standing in her memory are the jolly peach drying bees. Part of the group would cut the peaches and the others would spread them on the drying boards. Peach crops came on pretty regularly and as there were no glass jars in those days, and even cans were not easy to get, drying was the best means of preserving the fruit for winter use. There was no end of merriment as the boys brought the baskets of peaches from the trres while the girls cut and help-with help-with spreading them to dry. And after the work was done the games and picnic followed. From the time she was eleven years of age Alice Barlow spent a good share of the years out at housework until she was nineteen and getting ready to marry. At first she merely assisted with the care of children and the general housework, but it was not long until she could do the routine expected of "hired girls" in those days. There were no afternoons off, and the girl must wash, iron, mend, cook, scrub, etc. And the washing must be done on the board by hand. On ironing days there was a steady path from stove to ironing table with the fire heated sad irons. But is was good training and if a girl could get along with the work, (which often included care of a mother and young baby), and had time to spare, she could always help with the family sewing and quilting. Beginning at a wage of Seventy-five Seventy-five cents per week, it was a long time before folks paid $1.50 or even $2.00 per week. But out of this she was able to provide her own clothes and lay a few things by for her own home. Married In 1878 On April 19, 1878, in the St. George Temple, Alice L. Barlow was married to John Bleak, son of James G. and Elizabeth Moore" Bleak, a neighbor boy with whom she had been closely associated since childhood. They had been "going together" as people said, for some years before their marriage. mar-riage. He did freighting in those days and worked at sawmills and in the mines of southern Utah and northern Arizona. Both had known plenty of hardships that are part of pioneering, neither feared hard work. They made their home in St. George where nine children were born to them. And while his work required him to be absent from home much of the time he was a good provider and happy in the rearing of his family. He was killed by Mexicans while working at a mine in Arizona in 1899, just about four months prior to the birth of their youngest child, their only son still living of the eight children who grew to man and womanhood. They are, Mrs. Alice Riding, St. George; Mrs. Mary E. Bentley, Enterprise; Mrs. Lillian Gluyas, Taft, California; Mrs. Kate B. Empey, St. George; Mrs. Anna Larson, Napa, California, and James LaMar of Pico, California. Two sons, John and Oliver died early in life leaving widows and this time thirty-one grandchildren. A Life of Labor Hers has been a life of constant labor until the past few years when she has been able to visit among her children and enjoy some of the comforts of home and travel that are compensating to the pioneers who have known so much that was opposite. But through all of her years of rearing her family she has kept a cheerful heart and there is that in the lives of her children that gives evidence of the wonderful spirit of affection and cooperation that has been injected in-jected into their home life. All speak feelingly of the courage of their mother and how she has taught them to be calm in hours of trouble and wait for the rift in the clouds. It was a pleasure to talk over with this good woman and her daughter, Mrs. Alice Riding, the experiences of early days as she remembers them. She has made her own soap most of her life and often made soap for others. She has quilted, sewed, washed, gardened and cared for her family as well as finding time to help others. She lived in the days of the ash barrel, or old lye barrel, as we called it the barrel that must be filled during the "drinking "drink-ing hour" or when irrigating, and the cottonwood ashes poured in so it would be settled and softened for wash day. And her children were large enough to assist, much of this work depended entirely on her as her husband was seldom home for long periods. And outside out-side of her work she also found time to do Relief Society block teaching and attend the weekly meetings, a program she has followed fol-lowed until the past two or three years. And she still attends the meetings whenever she is able. As a young woman she enjoyed teaching teach-ing a class of intermediate department depart-ment girls in Sunday School. Recalls Father She recalls with happiness the zmz picture of her father with his great bass drum as he served for years as Captain of St. George's first Marshall band. That drum, a larger one than common, and one of tremendous tone, was used in Salt Lake in early days as a signal drum, especially did this play a part during the anxious wait of ..clearing the city ahead of Johnson's Army, and later dur-in dur-in Indian troubles. This drum is still in use and is owned by Oswald Barlow's grandson, Fred Riding who is a member of the present Marshall Band. She never hears the thud and roll of that drum but she recalls her father and the band of early days of Dixie. And her life is rich in rememberances of "the happy times we used to have here." |