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Show Volume XXX Issue XII The Ogden Valley News Page 9 April 1, 2023 Life History of Fergus O. Wilson and Sarah M. Moffett: Part II 31 August 1915. Five months after Hellen was born, Grandmother Wilson died and mother and dad moved back to the family home. Dad’s two brothers and an uncle were unmarried and still lived there. They needed some one to care for the house and cook meals. Our father was a farmer and Mother helped in the garden all she could with two little girls. As a small child, Hellen remembers that her dad would get up early in the morning, take his fishing pole and bring home fresh trout from the cold clear water of South Fork. What a delicious breakfast we would have. Dad always fished or hunted for food. Not for sport and this caused a problem between him and the game warden. Dad fished when we needed food and Buck Anderson said he should only fish when the season was open. One time Dad had gone fishing and Buck Anderson saw him. Dad saw Buck Anderson, also, and grabbed his fish basket and ran with Mr. Anderson right after him. As he went by Uncle George’s house, he opened the door and tossed his fish basket inside and hollered “take care of this for me.” When Mr. Anderson caught up to Dad, he didn’t have any fish and therefore couldn’t arrest him. We ate the fish. He also hunted ducks and deer for food. When he brought ducks home, it was our job to pick them. We always had duck down pillows. Dad even furnished fresh trout for the Hermitage Hotel when fishing season was open. If everyone fished and hunted only for food as dad did, we wouldn’t have need for so many laws and officers to enforce them. Mother used to go out and catch Maud, the buggy horse; harness her; hitch her to the buggy; and then take Edna and Hellen to church. Also, our infrequent trips to Ogden were by horse and buggy. The road [Ogden Canyon] was not paved then. What a long ride that was. Many of the landmarks are now gone, such as the lime kilns and the red fence at the lower end of the canyon, which gave it the name of Red Fence Hill. Dad enjoyed prospecting and was sure there were rich deposits of ore in the valley. He had a camping box which fascinated Edna and Hellen. In it, along with other things, were knives and forks with wooden handles and enameled plates and cups. What fun to watch him pack for a few-days prospecting trip. By 1925, both Dad’s brothers were married. One, Uncle John, intended to bring his wife Annabelle Fuller to the home when he was married, so mother and dad moved again. By this time, Mother had had a baby girl (Thelma) born 3 October 1918, who just lived a few hours, and two more girls, (May) born 4 October 1921 and Fern, born 9 April 1923. They moved to a house not far away, owned by Hyrum Stallings. The Wilson home and also the Stallings house were located in the area now covered by the water of the Pine View Dam. Dad had a couple of cows and some chickens and hired out to work for the State Road Department. Before 1925, they bought and moved into the old Moffett home. It was originally built and owned by Armstead Moffett, but at the time was owned by dad’s uncle, Lester Froerer. On 12 June 1925, they became parents of their sixth daughter, Velda. They really set their hearts on a son, but were happy with another healthy baby girl. Although Dad only had an eighth-grade education, he was very interested in all that went on in the world. He subscribed to The Literary Digest, a magazine comparable to Newsweek and Time, etc., and he read it through to keep up on world affairs. Mother used to love to ride horses and all outdoor activities, even though there wasn’t much spare time. We remember well the leather riding gloves with beaded gauntlets, that she kept in her trunk until she gave up having a horse to ride again and took them for garden work. To show her love for and ability to handle horses, Evalyn related this: One day when mother and Evalyn were out working in the lilacs, after they had moved up on the hill, Dixie Grow came down the road on a runaway horse yelling for help. She didn’t have a saddle and was bouncing all over the horse with a rope around its nose to hold onto. Mother immediately recognized it as a runaway. She ran out to the road unafraid and grabbed the rope. It jerked her off her feet but she held on and talked to the horse and soon had it calmed down. After about a half hour, Dixie and horse were both calm enough for her to ride back home. Although she didn’t complain, there must have been a bit of heartache as she gave up the hope of having a horse again to ride across the open spaces. Two years after her mother passed away, the baby became ill and when he was not yet three years old, he died in her arms as she rocked him and tried to comfort him. Two years after that, the other boy, James, also passed from this life. He was thirteen years old. Mother’s Grandmother Lucinda Moffett had a daughter named Sarah who became very ill and died in 1871 at eleven years of age. While she was ill, her uncle brought her a doll with a china head, arms, and legs. Because Mother was also named Sarah, the doll was eventually given to her. Hellen now has it in her possession. It is to be kept in the [family] as an heirloom. Mother’s only means of earning money was to go and do housework for someone who was ill. She had to share it with her sister Anna because Anna took over her work while she was gone. She managed to save enough that when she was 21, she packed her few belongings in a trunk and obtained transportation to Eden, Utah. She came with a wagon that hauled supplies from Utah into Star Valley. She stayed at Peter Johnson’s home when she arrived. She soon found work at housekeeping. One Sunday at church, she saw a young man and was immediately attracted to him. Later, his mother needed help and she took the job. About seven months after leaving Wyoming, she married that young man, Fergus Wilson, our father. Mother told us girls many times of her boyfriend Ferg taking her to the Hermitage in Ogden Canyon. There they used to play games, mostly throwing a hoop over the gift they wanted. She obtained many pieces of china this way. I remember some very beautiful china cups and saucers. Aunt Claricy told me that not too long after Mother obtained employment in Eden, she sent [for] her three dresses bought in a store, the first non-homemade ones she had ever had. One was white eyelet material, one was blue and white check, and one was clear blue with a sailor collar. The first time that Aunt Claricy washed the white one, she hung it out to dry and after went to see it and found a young calf with it in its mouth. Ethel Brown Yeaman came to the rescue and remade the dress good as new. Aunt Claricy said she felt that Mother never did let her sisters out from under her protecting wings. After their marriage, they continued a life of hard work and raising a big family. Edna was born the first year they were married on 3 June 1914. For the first two years they lived with our Grandmother Wilson. Then they moved to a small log cabin where Hellen was born on • Skid Loader Work • Grading • Sprinkler Installation • Walking Trails • Concrete Prep & Tear out That same autumn, Mother became critically ill with pneumonia. A cousin, Rhoda Froerer, who had some nurse’s training, gave me this account. Aunt Lena, her mother, sent Rhoda across the road to see how Mother was. They knew she hadn’t been feeling good. When Rhoda arrived, Mother was mixing bread. One look at her told Rhoda she was very ill. Her lips were even a blue color. Rhoda told her to go lie down and she would finish the bread. Mother, without even washing the bread dough off her hands, went and laid down, thankful for the chance. Rhoda then sent someone down to Uncle John’s to borrow a thermometer. Mother’s temperature was 106 and she had been standing mixing bread so her family would not go hungry. Rhoda sent for Aunt Lena to come down and help and she bathed Mother with cool water in an effort to reduce her temperature. Rhoda told Dad that she didn’t dare take care of mother herself, that he must get a doctor. He sent for the doctor. When he arrived, and was warming his hands, he asked what Mother’s temperature was and when Rhoda told him 106, he asked her if she had been fooling around with the thermometer in hot water. But he was quickly convinced that she was correct and apologized when he examined Mother. He said she was too ill to try to take her to Ogden to a hospital, that she had pneu- monia in both lungs. This was before the days of penicillin and antibiotics, so he left medication containing some aspirin and a syringe of strychnine, and told Rhoda when Mother’s temperature dropped below normal, to immediately give her the strychnine. A bed was set up by the kitchen stove and Rhoda and Aunt Lena cared for Mother day and night. One day, Aunt Lena had told Rhoda to lie down and get some rest but soon she was back telling her to hurry, something was wrong. Rhoda hurried to mother to find her temperature had suddenly dropped below normal, so she at once administered the strychnine. They were both busy then keeping warm blankets on her to keep her heart beating. This was the crisis, from then on Mother started getting better, although very slowly. I can remember while in bed at night, hearing them talk and say they had to use hot packs and cold packs alternately on Mother to keep her heart beating and blood circulating to carry away the infection. That was a very long and anxious fall and winter. Edna and Hellen took turns staying home from school to help take care of three little sisters and the house. How thankful we are that we had such loving, compassionate relatives and what a blessing that Mother regained her health to rear a family of eight children, and live to be almost 83 years of age. From The Past . . . Adults left to right: Nancy Louise Ritter Stallings, Elizabeth Ritter Colvin, Claire Ritter Bingham, Maggie Ritter, Elva Walker, Oregon Columbia Thomas Ritter, Mattie Ritter. Oregon was the mother of Nancy, Elizabeth, Claire, Maggie, and Mattie, and grandmother of all 4 children. Children: Hazel Colvin with dog Pat, Jim, Beulah, and Gertie Stallings. Picture taken about 1906. Photo courtesy of Ray Wilmot. • Rock Belgard Patios & Steps • Lawns ~ Gardens • Xeriscaping Yards & Strips • Final Grades • BMX & Mountain Bike Tracks Call 801-644-8845 for free estimate. Easy Living Construction, licensed and insured. April 6 Holy Thursday Mass 5:30pm April 7 Good Friday, Stations of the Cross 5:30pm April 7 Liturgy of the Passion 6:00pm April 8 Holy Saturday Mass 8:30pm at St. Joseph Church Ogden April 9 Easter Sunday Mass 9:00am Note: There will be no Saturday Mass at St. Florence April 8. Wednesday Night Saturday Night Sunday Morning First Friday 5:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. 8:30 a m. Fr. Joshua Marie Santos 801-399-5627 FrJoshuaS.Stambrose@gmail.com Saturday 5:30 p.m Sunday 8:00 a.m. or by appt. Saint Joseph Catholic Elementary, Middle School, and High School Providing a challenging, college-focused education in the proven tradition of Catholic schools, for the families of the Ogden Valley. We want to teach your children! For information on our program, financial assistance, tours, or application, please call 801-393-6051 or 801-394-1515. 2668 Grant Avenue, Suite #104A, Ogden, UT 801-612-9299 |