"MOMENTS OF TIME"

July 28, 2010

PATRIARCHAL BLESSINGS OF LAMAR STEVENSON WILLIAMS

PATRIARCHAL BLESSINGS
First blessing – October 19, 1931 in Pocatello, Idaho

A blessing given by Patriarch Williams Alonzo Hyde, upon the head of LaMar Stevenson Williams, Son of Peter Joan Williams and Elosia Call, born December 4, 1911 at Blackfoot, Idaho.

LaMar Stevenson Williams, by virtue of the Holy Patriarchal priesthood that I bear, I lay my hands upon thy head to give unto thee a blessing, which is intended as a guide for thee and to sustain and assist thee in the journey through life.

Thou art of the tribe of Ephraim and being of this lineage, thou art an heir to the blessings under the covenant given in olden times and thou shalt receive the fullness of the Priesthood. There is within thee a spark of faith that has come down to thee from thy fathers and this may be fanned into a flame of knowledge and testimony until thou shalt be able to testify of the divinity of the mission of our Lord.

It shall be thy pleasure to proclaim that testimony abroad in the nations of the earth, for thou hast shown by thy desire for this blessing, thy wish to put thyself in the hands of thy Heavenly Father. He will use thee as an ambassador in his cause and I promise thee that in thy travels and labors thou shalt be preserved from harm. Thou shalt be in great dangers, but thou wilt know that a Supreme Power is upheld thee.

Thou shalt stand before men and deliver thy testimony with humility in the confidence of the Spirit that is in thee. There is much promise in thee and ability will come to thee by reason of thy studious disposition and thou shalt be a powerful instrument in the hands of the Lord.

I bless thee that in due time thou shalt have a worthy companion and shall enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. Blessed shalt thou be in thy family relations and thou shalt be established in the earth and have the favor of men.

Thou shalt stand upon the threshold of great events and thou wilt see many marvelous things and I promise thee that by keeping the law thou shalt be preserved. The destroying angel shall pass thee by. Thou shalt have thine inheritance in the land of Joseph and participate in great events concerning which the Lord has spoken in his revelations.

Thou shalt see the foundation laid for the building of the New Jerusalem and thou shalt assist in the work that is there undertaken.

Keep thy lips unsoiled by forbidden things and thy heart clean and pure that the Spirit of the Lord may dwell in thee and thou shalt come safely to the end of thy journey and be received at last in the Celestial Kingdom of our Father, and to his end I bless thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Second Blessing – July 24, 1935 in Rexburg, Idaho

A blessing given by Alma B. Larsen, Patriarch, upon the head of LaMar Stevenson Williams son of Peter Joan Williams and Elosia Call Williams born December 4, 1911 at Groveland Ward Blackfoot Stake, Idaho.

Dear Brother LaMar, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I place my hands upon your head and in the authority of my sacred calling seal upon you a blessing, yea, even a Patriarchal blessing that you may receive inspiration to meet the problems of life. For the will of the Lord shall be made known because of your faith.

The Lord loves you and you were one of his favored sons, yea, choice even before you came into this world, you were tried and proven and were numbered among the favored sons of Jacob for you are of Israel, and foreordained and blessed to come forth in this the greatest of all gospel dispensations.

You have been born of noble parents and because of their faithfulness you are an heir to the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant and I as much, dear brother, as you have not and shall not forfeit that birth right thru sin and transgression your calling and election shall be made sure, for you are rightly entitled to the promises made by the ancient Patriarchs even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For you are a descendant of them thru the loins of Ephraim and because of your faithfulness in the spirit world gifts were sealed upon you. These gifts and talents can only be developed in proportion to your faithfulness in honoring the Priesthood that has been conferred upon you.

It is thru the Holy Priesthood that these most precious and heavenly gifts can be made manifest and therefore, your success both spiritual and physical will depend upon your faithfulness for in proportion to the service that you render for the blessing of our Father’s children the vision of the future will be unfolded before your eyes and under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost you shall lay your plans and they shall have the divine approval of your Heavenly Father.

The comforts of earth shall be given you and the blessings of Heaven shall rest upon you and yours. The spirit of leadership shall be given you and it shall be your privilege to sit in the councils of the church, yea, even as a judge in Israel. Your counsel shall be sought for and your advise shall be followed, and those who follow your advice shall be blessed by the Lord, therefore, see to it, dear brother, that you so live that you may always be worthy of the sweet spirit that shall lead and direct your every act.

I bless you with the spirit of discernment that you may always understand the promptings of the Holy Ghost and thereby escape the snares and the pitfalls that Satan shall place in your pathway. I bless you with strength and power to repel from you His very influence that you may be preserved in purity and that you may be worthy to fulfill every position that shall come to you. For they shall be varied and numerous and each one shall fit and qualify you the better for the leadership that is in store for you.

Your voice shall be heard both at home and in the mission fields in defense of truth, and while at times you shall pass thru dangerous experiences, yea, even accidents you shall escape unharmed for the angels shall be mindful of you, yea, even go before you and prepare the way. And while your influence shalt be felt for good among the living, it shall also reach in the spirit world, for the time will come, dear brother, when you will devote much time in the temples of the Lord.

I seal you up against the power of the destroyer even unto the day of redemption and bless you to the end that you may come forth on the morning of the first resurrection and take your place among the elect of the Lord; as a prince in your father’s house and together with a faithful and devoted wife and companion will labor under the direction of Holy Prophets during the great millennial reign and eventually be crowned as a Priest and King to rule and reign over a kingdom that shall be given you thru your faithfulness, enjoying all of the blessings of the Celestial Kingdom.

I seal these blessings upon you with a promise of their fulfillment thru your faithfulness in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Third Blessing – January 14, 1943 Provo, Utah

Brother Williams:
I lay my hands upon your head and give unto you a Patriarchal Blessing, and with this blessing such instructions and such promises as the spirit of the Lord may direct. You have come with yearning in your heart to receive from the Lord through the Patriarch such words of encouragement and blessings and promises as will give your soul anchor as you trod the pathway of life and will give you a good goal toward which you may strive and to give you an impetus to achieve in the battle of life. This being your purpose and intention the Lord will not turn you away for he recognizes your faith. He has observed your integrity and he has been pleased with your disposition to achieve righteousness in your day and time. He has watched your walk and conversation and he has been pleased with all of your good works. He has not been unmindful of you for he has given you many blessings and He will continue to give unto you that which will be for your welfare here and hereafter.

He has given you a beautiful and worthy companion and sent choice spirits to you that you may have an opportunity of nurturing them and of caring for them and of bringing them up in fear and the admonition of the Lord. It is the will of the Lord that you should do so and exercise all the powers of your body and mind to provide for your family and to safeguard them from the accidents and dangers and ills of Your generation and as you strive toward this achievement I promise you that the spirit of the Lord will prompt you and give you light and vision and refine your judgments and give you wisdom that in all the affairs of your life you shall choose wisely and if you should make mistake as you subsequently, you must remember that the Lord has power to rule and over rule in all of your affairs for your good, and so it will be for your experience that you sorrow, that your soul may be refined, also your judgment, that you may become more Godlike as you increase in experience.

Pray unto the Lord for wisdom and understanding and vision of that which is ahead and by night and by day the spirit, line upon line, will reveal unto you the way of life that will resound to your soul’s salvation, temporally and spiritually, here and hereafter. Your knowledge of the gospel shall be increased and your testimonies, because of that which you see and hear and feel will come to you ultimately you shall know that Jesus is the Christ, the gospel is the plan of salvation, and the shadows of doubt shall flee away and line upon line the light and truth shall take their places.

You are of Israel, of the House of Joseph. You have been clothed with the Holy Priesthood which is power to officiate and to labor and it gives you power with the heavens and through the exercise of this Priesthood you can call down the divine blessings of the Lord upon yourself and upon all your family. You shall see the hand of the Lord in the affairs of your life and the power of priesthood exercised to the deliverance of the afflicted. Indeed, through your faith and faithfulness the sick shall be healed through your administration.

I bless you with lengthened days, with life and health and strength, that the protecting and preserving hand shall be over you that you shall be preserved from accident and danger, that you may properly evaluate all the experiences that befall you for the promotion of your salvation and exaltation in the hereafter.

The Lord expects you to qualify to be a teacher of men, an expounder of truth, a reveler of that which is true and worthy and holy. To this end devote yourself in your study and in your reflection and contemplation that you may know the truth, for in the truth you shall find freedom of thought and action.

Now I bless you that you may live until you fulfill the full measure of your creation here upon the earth. I bless you that you may have means to support yourself and your family and to achieve the worthy ambitions of your soul. I bless you with an inclination to always remember the Lord in your tithes and your offerings that you will remember to keep the commandments even the Word of Wisdom that you may be strong in body and mind, that the revelation of the Lord may be distilled upon your mind as the dews are distilled upon the grasses. I bless you that you may come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, clothed upon with a resurrected body to live and reign in your own dominion as a priest unto the Lord and thus to dwell with Him upon the earth when the earth shall be subdued and the glory of the Lord cover the earth as the waters cover the seas.

To this end I bless you and seal these blessings upon you in the authority of the Holy Priesthood and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, even so; Amen.
-By Amos N. Merrill

July 22, 2010

IMPORTANT CHRONOLOGICAL EVENTS

1911 Born - 4 December 1911 at Groveland, Bingham County, Idaho
1912 Christening - 4 February by Joseph C. Hart at Groveland
1919 Baptism - 6 December 1919 by Franklin G. Hale, at Blackfoot, Idaho
           Confirmed - 7 December by Peter J. Williams
Mother died - 19 December at Blackfoot, Idaho
        Buried Mother at Blackfoot Cemetery - 21 December 1919
1924 Ordained a Deacon by Charles w. Hancock at Wapello, Blackfoot Stake Id
        27 January 1924
1926 Graduated from eighth grade at Wapello, Idaho - May
1930 Graduated from High School at Blackfoot, Idaho
         Entered college at Moscow, Idaho - September University of Idaho
1931 Entered College at Pocatello, University of Idaho southern Branch went
         for two and one half years
1932 Ordained an Elder by my father - 1 May 1932
        Received My Endowments - 9 June 1932
1933 Entered Civilian conservation Corp. - 13 July 1933
1934 Married Nyal Bowen in Logan, Utah Temple - 2 March 1934
1935 First Child born, Marilyn, Pocatello, Idaho - 23 February 1935
         Taught school at Wapello - September
         Scarlet Fever - October
1936 Became Principal of Riverside School, Blackfoot, Idaho - Route 2 Sept.
1937 Moved to Iona, Idaho and taught seventh grade - August
         Second Child born, LaMar Bowen - 20 October 1937
1939 Supervisor of Aaronic Priesthood in Iona
1940 Ordained High Priest and set apart as 2nd councilor to Bishop Bruce M.
         Olsen - Iona Ward - 21 April 1940
   Sort term mission with wife and children to Northern States in Lansing,
         Michigan - 17 May 1940
1941 Taught Summer School in Mountains at Deblin, Idaho - April
         Moved to Provo, Utah with family to attend school at Brigham Yount
         University - 1 December 1941
1942 My Wife and I entered B.Y.U.

Began this Genealogy Record - 26 January 1942

April 29, 2010

MY AUTHOBIOGRAPHY

LaMar Stevenson Williams

January 22, 1942

I was born on 4 December 1911 at Groveland, Idaho, the only son of Peter J. Williams and Eloisa Call. I have eight full sisters, a half brother and a sister, and a stepbrother.

On the 4 February 1912, I was blessed and named by Joe E. Hart. I believe this took place at Groveland.
About eight months later we moved from Groveland to a place several miles away which was about two miles East of Blackfoot. Father cleared the land, which was mostly sagebrush, and built a comfortable five-room bungalow. It was here that I spent eight years of happy childhood. It was at this home that I enjoyed the happy association of my mother. Well do I remember her doughnuts and the little handful of raisins slipped into my lunch pale, and the penny for candy that came from her small secret savings. One of them I still have. I remember how her back and legs ached after a long hard day of work, and how I would rub them to relive the pain. Yes, she was a pal of mine. But something I couldn’t understand why she would bring another baby girl into the family instead of a brother. That didn’t seem right to me. Little did I realize how badly she wanted another son, yes perhaps just for my sake, until on her death-bed she called me over by her side, took hold of my hand and said, “Son if I live I will be your little brother,” and her lips spoke no more. That meant a lot to me when a lad of eight but much, very much more since I’ve become a man. The sweet tender memories of that dear mother will accompany me through eternity.

It was during these first few years that I made my first money. There was an old Englishman living near us. He made his winter mittens out of rabbits called Belgium Hares, and so I had father kill two of them. I sold the hides to this gentleman and he gave me seventy-five cents for them. The first time I went into town I changed this to pennies. What a lot of money. The most I ever had; by purse was so full I couldn’t keep it shut. This was my first business deal.

Father was a Bishop of the First Ward in Blackfoot, Idaho during most of this time, and well do I remember the many trips to town in the buggy. I believe that this regular church activity was very wholesome, for rarely in my life have I missed church service; having traveled as far as eighty miles to attend a Sacrament Meeting.

My duty around home at this early age was to keep mother in coal and kindling and to herd the cows in the summer time. Father gave me an Indian pony-we brought home from the Indians. In a fit of rage one of the Indians had blinded his right eye with a hammer, but Billy was still a fine horse. He was about the best friend I had. Many long days in the summer we spent together.

Father worked in a grocery store “Blackfoot Mercantile” during the winter. I happened to be waiting for him in the store while they were sweeping and getting ready to close for the night. I saw a discarded receipt book stub on the floor. Picking it up I quickly concealed it in my pocket. It was of no value since it was merely small blank pieces of paper held together with two small staple clamps. However, it immediately became a treasure of mine. On our way home in the buggy father asked me what I had in my pocket. I told him nothing, so he asked me to take everything out. I emptied one pocket very slowly, but father evidently didn’t care about what was in that pocket it was the contents of the other. So with a little persuasion I removed the contents one by one, but I just couldn’t seem to find that ill-gotten receipt stub; Oh! Yes, there it was right down in the very corner. I managed to get a hold of it and with a terrible inward struggle I got it dislodged and conveyed to the surface. Father was kind enough, but the force and the significance of the lesson in honesty will go down with me to my grave.

EARLY TRIPS ~

Up until I had graduated from High School I had not been any farther away from home than Brigham City, Utah. I then went to Moscow, Idaho to college, a trip that took me first to Montana, then through the pan-handle of northern Idaho into Washington, and then back into Idaho at Moscow; this was a trip of about 800 miles. I have always believed that the expectation of this travel was the main reason for my going to college. During the following spring, my friend, Rodney Hansen, and I decided to go to Seattle, Washington. So on about March 4^th we started out walking. We each had about six dollars. We caught rides, walked, slept in barns, went hungry, wore blisters, ate in restaurants, slept in hotels, saw Puget Sound in Washington, went up 27 stories on an elevator in a 42 story building, walked some more, saw both Seattle and Spokane, and arrived back home from our trip of over 1000 miles in three and a half days with fifty cents a piece in our pockets.

The summer of 1935 I was working for the Chevrolet Garage in Blackfoot. A man from Lead, South Dakota had a wreck in his new car. We didn’t have the parts for it and had to send back to the factory for them. It was necessary for he and his party to return by train, but before leaving he arranged with me to take his car back. He offered to pay the expenses for both Nyal and me. We took Marilyn, our only child then with us. We went by way of Yellowstone Park. The route took us across the northern part of Wyoming, through the Black Hills, and into Lead, South Dakota. We returned a week later via bus spending a few days in Farmington, Utah with Grandfather Casey Potter Bowen who died a few weeks ago, January 27, 1942.

Our next trip was our mission which took us to Lansing, Michigan. On our return we went to visit Mother’s sister, Aunt Vesa Marler, at Independence, Missouri. While here we visited the Liberty Jail and stood on the same floor where the Prophet Joseph spent six months in Prison and wrote the 121,122, and 123 sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. We saw the temple site, and many other interesting things. Our trip brought us back through Kansas and Colorado.

March 8, 2010

FAITH PROMOTING EXPERIENCES

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A sister, Myrtle Kerr, of my wife’s brother-in-law Max Kerr, had a young son about fifteen years of age lying near death in the Spencer Hospital in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He had a serious case of pneumonia. Dr. Abbott tested his lungs and found them full of pus. It was very doubtful that Robert would live. The Doctor stated that an operation must be preformed the next morning in order to save his life and even at that his chances for recovery would be small.

That evening I was at Max Kerr’s home when his sister, Robert’s mother came from the hospital. She asked my wife if I held the priesthood and if I could get some one to assist. I consented and immediately called Bishop Groesbeck of the Second Ward. I had never officiated in any church ordinance except Baptism, so this was one time I really got down on my knees and prayed. When we arrived at the sick bed Myrtle asked if I would be mouth, so the Bishop anointed and I sealed the anointing. I did not follow the exact procedure, because I didn’t know it, so I just prayed without sealing the anointing. While I was praying I felt that I should promise him health and that he had a mission to perform in this life, this I did.

When I left the hospital Bishop Groesbeck reminded me that I should always seal and anointing and do it by the authority of the priesthood.

The next morning while at work, I received a phone call from Sister Kerr stating that they had taken her son to the operating room and upon a thorough examination could not find any trace of pus. The Doctor was not L.D.S. and stated, “I do not understand what has happened. I have never seen anything like that before.”

This experience was one of my first strong testimonies. February 2, 1942

The Healing of Laddie Bowen Williams

Laddie, as we call him, was in his second year. His health was rather poor due to intestinal disorders. The year before we had nearly lost him with the same trouble; thus when he became ill we were very concerned about him especially so when he failed to take nourishment for a period of three days. At the end of this time my wife, Nyal, became very anxious and five of the neighbors also came, unsolicited, to offer help and to encourage us to take him immediately to a doctor. We had consulted a physician over a telephone, but having fasted several meals and committing myself to much praying, along with my wife; I was convinced that I should place the situation in the hands of the Lord. I know from the expression of my kind and generous neighbors that they thought I was acting very stubbornly, especially when I was usually the first to advise a doctor’s care.

When Ralph Dabb, an Elder and associate school teacher came to offer the use of his car, I asked him to assist me in administering to Laddie. This we did and immediately following we departed for Idaho Falls, a distance of eight miles, to purchase some medicine at a drug store. We arrived back in about an hour and to my satisfaction and that of Ralph’s Laddie had eaten a banana and had drunk a glass of milk mixed with a raw egg, and more surprising than all was that he was playing Ring Around The Rosy with his sister Marilyn. This was another testimony to me that God lives and that he hears and answers our prayers when we place our trust in him. February 6, 1941

ACCIDENTS

An injured eye - When I was about seven years old, I injured my right eye. It happened one evening a day or two before the fourth of July. I wanted to go down to James Hofer's

As soon as they left I went to the neighbors who lived about one half mile east of our home. While there Jim, as we called him, got angry at his older sister Ruth because she told him he could not have a cap gun; so he picked up a square piece of linoleum lying near his foot and threw it at her. It sailed like boomerang through the air missing her and hitting me in the eye with it's sharp corner. Although, I learned a costly lesson in discipline, I will always carry a black mark in my right eye. For a short time I was blind but now I have a two thirds vision in that eye.

I have been very fortunate up until now in not having any serious accidents of any kind although my blessings make mention of them. February 11, 1941

MY HOBBIES

I had a hobby of inventing. After getting several patents on an electrical connector, spending several hundred dollars, wasting more time on a combination Salt and Pepper Shaker, a door knob, bobby pins, mouse traps, and etc. I have decided that it is not a paying proposition.

One hobby I have enjoyed though is the molding or carving of objects and people. My wife has my best specimen. It is valued rather highly by her.

I also take moving pictures with a small 16mm machine. This is rather costly, so I have not developed it very far. But I do have some good pictures of the construction of the Idaho Falls Temple and its dedication. I am proud that I got to work some on this building.

BOOK READ

Texts Other Books

School Room Management New Testiment

Child Psychology by Curti God’s Covenant Race

Introduction to Sociology by Davis and others The Way to Perfection by

Joseph Fielding Smith

Advanced Psychology by Griffith Visions

Secondary Education by Butler The Life of the Prophet

Joseph Smith

Fishes, Amphibians, and Reptiles by Tanner One Who is Valiant

Contemporary Sociology by Bogardus The Life of Parley P. Pratt

Descriptive Geometry by French Thirteen Articles of Faith by James E. Talmage

Plane Surveying

English Composition

Our World Today and Yesterday

Treasure Island

Adventures of Count Von Luckner

Class Room Organization

Geometry

Algebra

Economic Geography “Raw Materials and Marketing

Principles of Accounting

Economics

Gregg’s Shorthand

Idaho School Law

POSITIONS HELD IN THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

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President of Deacons Quorum - Wapello, Idaho

Secretary of Teachers Quorum - Wapello, Idaho

Chorister of Wapello, Moscow, Pocatello, Iona

Dance Representative with partner of L.D.S. Institute and South Eastern Idaho at Salt Aire, Salt Lake. 1932

Sunday School Teacher – Wapello, Riverside, Iona, Idaho

Member of Sunday School Stake Board, Idaho Falls Stake

Aaronic Priesthood Supervisor – Iona Ward

Drama Director – Iona Ward

Member Welfare Committee of Elder’s quorum – Iona

Chairman Radio Committee – Idaho Falls Stake

Missionary to Northern States

Second Councilor in Bishopric – Iona Ward, age 28 – 900 members

February 18, 2010

MISSION ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE NORTHERN STATES MISSION

Marilyn Laddie

Taken in Chicago, Illinois

May 1940

Honor Missionaries

A missionary farewell party for Mr. and Mrs. LaMar Williams

of Iona will be held in the Iona will be held in the Iona L.D.S. Chapel

Tuesday Night May 14th at 8 pm prior to their departure for the Northern States Mission

A program and dance will follow

Father and Mother Williams

LaMar Stevenson Williams was born on December 4, 1911 in Groveland , Idaho to Peter Joan and Elosia Call Williams. Nyal Bowen was born on February 9, 1013 at Lyman, Madison County, Idaho. LaMar and Nyal were married in the LDS Logan Temple on March 2, 1934. They served faithfully in many church callings. They were devoted to each other and their family. They were the parents of 8 children: Marilyn Brady (Don), LaMar B. Williams (Mary Kay), Bruce Call Williams (Anita), Gloria Yeates (John), Roger Lee Williams (LeAnn), Micahel J. Williams (Tammy), Steven E. Williams (Lana), Jerry L. Williams (Kaylene), and "adopted son", Behrooz Fehrangi. They have 35 Grandchildren and 75 Great Grand Children. Nyal passed away on April 25, 1993; LaMar passed away on January 28, 1996.

LINE OF AUTHORITY

LaMar S. Williams ordained a High Priest by Joseph Fielding Smith Joseph Fielding Smith was ordained on apostle April 7, 1910 by Joseph F. Smith Joseph F. Smith was ordained an apostle July 1, 1866 and set apart as a member of the Quorum of Twelve apostles, October 8, 1867, by Brigham Young. Brigham Young was ordained an Apostle February 14, 1835 under the hands of the three witnesses, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris who were blessed by the laying on of hands of the Presidency (Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams) to choose and ordain the Twelve Apostles; (D&C 18:37; History of the Church, Vol. 2, pp. 187-188) after which the Presidency laid their hands upon them and confirmed their blessings and ordinations (Times and Seasons, Vol. 6, 868). Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the Melchizedek Priesthood in 1829 from Peter, James, and John. Peter, James and John were apostles and angelic ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ chosen and organized by Him (John 15:16).

BRIEF LIFE HISTORY OF MY FATHER PETER JOAN WILLIAMS

My father Peter Joan Williams was born at Goshen, Utah on September 25, 1873. His early childhood was spent at this place. While yet a young boy, about eight years old, his parents decided to move to Chesterfield, Idaho, a place named after my grandfather Chester Call. This was a long hard journey by team and wagon. Father had to walk most of the way bare footed. His feet would become so chapped with heat and dirt that large cracks developed around his toes and it became necessary for him to tie greased strings around each toe to soften the skin and heal the sores. All of father’s brothers and sisters were born in Utah. In their order George Enoch was born 25 September 1863 at Springville and died 28 April 1927 at Shelley, Idaho. Joseph Charles was born 19 August 1865 at Springville and died in 1918 at Blackfoot, Idaho; Martha Esther was born at Springville 20 March 1869 and died. James Thomas was born 22 December 1870 at Springville; (Father was born after James Thomas) Emma Jane was born 22 September 1876 at Goshen; Herbert Stanley was born 17, October 1881 and bled to death on 15 March 1895; Lucy Christina was born 20 July 1884 at Provo; there were nine children in all; five boys and four girls. Father’s parents were George Williams and Emma Jane Stevenson; together with their nine children lived under very moderate circumstances. Food was often received from the Bishop in the winter time, and I remember father telling of such instances as having to sit in a high chair all day long crying for a bite of food while grandmother sewed for a lady who did not attempt to appease his hunger. On another occasion Father walked outside into the snow one winter day and he had on his only pair of shoes, which was his brother’s boots. These were much too big for him, and not only that as he looked down he saw his toes sticking out big holes in the end of the foot wear. A sack of candy was often his only Christmas present or was at least for one Christmas that I am sure of. Father was baptized into the Church by Peter Oakelbury in 1881 and was confirmed by the same man. The only early schooling he received was in Goshen, Utah; however, in 1893 he spent a winter at the Preston Academy. While attend this school he and another boy lived together—if my memory is correct – in an old log house. Their meals consisted of sour-dough bread, molasses, and bacon three times a day. In 1865 he became the President of his Deacons Quorum and in 18889 the Secretary of the Mutual Improvement Association. In his youth father often drove the horse and buggy for grandmother while she went from place to place caring for the sick and dressing the dead. Upon one occasion a sickness was ragging through the community and many were dying; father thought to himself who will be the next to pass away. Immediately a voice said Leon Hatch. He told his mother of this experience and she said, “Oh no, Peter, that couldn’t be for I was just over to his place this afternoon and he was well and outside playing.” She felt sure she was right for there were several persons on the verge of death, but Leon took sick the next day and was the next to die which was about three days later. Life on the range appealed to father and he became the foreman of a big cattle ranch in 1890-93; he then went to Preston to school and on returning in 1994 became foreman of another cattle ranch. Before his life on the cattle ranch he became employed on a sheep ranch at the age of sixteen. While here a dispute arose between him and another person, a Mexican if I’m not mistaken. He was about forty five years old, and in the course of affairs a fight resulted. Father being large and strong for his age and also a good fighter got the Mexican down on his back. Since father had not had his hair cut for six months, it was long and his opponent quickly seized a handful and brought dad’s head down next to his chest. Holding him thus he reached with his other hand into his pocket and got his pocket knife out, opened it with his teeth. Father watched him until he raised his arm back to strike. With a quick jerk left his hair in the man’s hand. When the owner heard of the trouble he took father over to the camp of the Mexican and with fun in hand insisted on a clean fight. Needless to say father gave him a good trouncing. Yes, my father was a lively young fellow and often got into trouble. He was quick with a gun but never injured anyone. I have often listened with interest to his thrilling experience with man and beast. On December 3, 1895 he left for a mission in the Northern States; the same mission that my family and I later attended. While there he became the second President of the Nebraska Conference in 1897. This was really the beginning of a long and useful career in the church. When he returned from his mission he was immediately ordained a High Priest and made the first Bishop of the Hatch Ward in Idaho in 1898 November 20. Five days later he married my mother Eloisa Call in the Logan Temple on the 25th of November 1898. In 1902 he became the first Sunday school superintendent of the Groveland Ward, Groveland, Idaho which was the place of my birth. From 1904 to 1913 he acted as member of the Blackfoot Stake Sunday School Board. I was born on December 4, 1911 the sixth child, having five older sisters; and when about eight months old we moved to a new home about two miles east of Blackfoot, Idaho. While here father worked in the Blackfoot Mercantile Store, ran a dairy and farmed. He became water master and irrigation canal and road overseer. During the years 1906-1908 he was Deputy Sheriff of Bingham County, Blackfoot, Idaho; and in 1910 and 11 was Probation Officer and Deputy Assessor. From 1912 to 1914 he acted as President of the Canal and water master. I remember riding past his canal with my father. We were on a wagon and from the road we could see our neighbor and the Sheriff walking along the canal bank. We later learned that he had killed in self defense the farmer living next to him. It was done with a shovel which I saw and was the result of a water dispute. From 1914 to 1920 father was in the Bishopric and became the bishop of the 1st Ward in the Blackfoot Stake. While acting in this capacity and in 1919 his wife, my mother, died December 1919. It was a very unhappy Christmas that year. Father was so attached to mother that he still mourns her loss. Many times I went with him to the cemetery where at times he would stand by her grave for what seemed hours. In the year 1921 he became the President of the High Priest quorum on the Blackfoot Stake and in 1923 a member of the High Council. In the spring following mother’s death father bought interest in a grocery store in Blackfoot and we moved into town. His business was very good, but we children were too much of a worry for him so he moved on to a farm in Wapello six miles north of Blackfoot where he still resides although he has bought another forty acres totaling eighty altogether. He was a member of the Stake Genealogical society and Head of the Old folks committee during the years 1923 – 1926. In 1923 he married Mary Archibald Willyerd and has had two children by her, Peter Jr. and Patricia. He also has a step son Fredrick Willyerd. Three years later on January 31, 1926 he was made Bishop of the Wapello Ward and held this position until April 26, 1939. Upon his release he was called as a Stake Missionary in the Blackfoot Stake, according to my knowledge he is still in this position. On this date February 23, 1942 and is in his sixty ninth year. He is still in excellent health. To my knowledge he has only spent two or three days in a hospital. He can still out work me though forty years older. He weighs in the neighborhood of 200 pounds and is five foot ten inches tall, has a good head of hair rather gray, all of his teeth except one or two, blue eyes, very few wrinkles, a good sense of humor, and a youthful outlook on life.

MY EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS

MY EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS If I record my earliest recollection, I must go back to a period of my life when I was about two years of age. While I was watching my father fix a flat tire on his bicycle I had a childish mishap. Mother took me into the kitchen and changed my overalls. We were then living on a farm two miles East of Blackfoot, Idaho. Another early recollection was in the summer of my third or fourth year. Our family with several other families of close association took a week’s trip to the mountains in our White Top buggies. On our return we stopped at a creek to give the horses a drink. Near by was a house with the front door open. At a near point we could hear the occupant of the home, a lady, conversing over a telephone or perhaps it was a phonograph, but whatever the instrument I knew it was rare and unusual from the silence, bewildered look’s on the faces, and happy laughter followed by a sharp silence, of the curious group assembled by the front gate of a stranger’s home. HOMES I was born in Groveland, Idaho in a house that has since that time been removed. I do not remember seeing it, but will attempt to describe it as it has been related to me. When about eight months old we moved to a place about two miles east of Blackfoot. The home was one that father built. We lived there for eight years and since that time it has been destroyed by fire. It was a comfortable little cottage of about five rooms. It was square in structure with a full width front porch. The roof of the porch was supported by four white pillars made of wood. Every year a pair of blue birds built their nest at the top of one of these supports. Father always had a neat front fence, kept the yard as attractive, and the house painted. His home has been his pride. We moved to a home in Blackfoot, Idaho. This building was also a frame structure located on North Shillings just south and on the opposite corner from the old High School. This building had four or five rooms with an inside toilet which seemed to be a luxury. It was rather old fashioned and painted a grayish white. Within a year father traded this place for one in Wapello where he still lives. This building was a white bungalow very warmly built with a full front porch. It wasn’t finished either inside or out. Not many years later we finished our home, including hot and cold water and a bathroom which was rather uncommon on a farm. It has always been painted white, and in front is a white fence. My wife and I have not had a home since we have been married. We have made many moves. We went directly to Salmon, Idaho after our marriage. We lived there in a small tent with a board floor and board walls about three feet high. We lived here on what is known as Indian Creek until September. We were located about a quarter of a mile from it’s mouth which empties into the Salmon River. While here I was Mess Steward for the Civilian Conservation Corp.

From 2009-12-10

We moved to Pocatello. From Pocatello we moved to Shelley, Idaho the following March and lived in the upstairs part of a Mr. Wilson’s home. I was the manager of a small ill paying Wescott Service Station. We left here in July following an operation on Nyal for the removal of her appendix and gall bladder, stayed a few weeks with my sister Leona at Rexburg, and then moved to Wapello where I had received a contract to teach school on August 19, 1935. The next year we moved to Riverside and had our apartment in the basement of the school house. It was steam heated and comfortable. Being much improved over the old house we lived in at Wapello, which was on my father’s farm just a block south of the school house. The next year we moved to Iona. Our first place of residence was a little stucco house of three rooms and a bath. It was comfortably furnished but rather high in rent so after a few months we moved to the home of Clifford Scoresby. This was located across from the school house. It was a large stone building surrounded by large trees. Very little sunlight reached our rooms, so we decided to move into Eugene Olsen’s basement house. It was not finished; the walls a roof were all that was completed. I finished the construction and applied it on rent. The first winter was rather damp and the children were not too well. And since then we have tried to stay out of basement apartments. Two years later I began teaching at Deblin, a one room school in the mountains. We lived in two north rooms of the building. There were high ceilings and black boards in each room. The windows were loose and the wind blew hard nearly every day. In cold weather it was necessary to sleep in the kitchen and keep a fire all night. On week ends we would go twenty five miles to Iona to do our washings and attend church, since I was a member of the Bishopric, being put in that office at the age of twenty eight. The house we lived in here was next to the basement house and also belonged to Brother Olsen. It was a two story house. Two rooms upstairs and two down. It was at least forty years old, unpainted and cold to live in. We next moved to Provo on December 1, 1941 and stayed in the Partrician apartments at 417 North 1st East. The rent was too high and it became necessary to move directly across from the training school at 517 North 1st East. This was a one room apartment upstairs. The room was light and cheery, close to school for the children and us for we were all going; the children to the training school and Nyal and I to the University, and the lights and hot water furnished. We paid thirteen dollars a month for this place. I am now writing this history in this room, February 23, 1942.

From 2009-12-10

MY SCHOOL -TEACHERS- Grade 1918-1926 - 1st Mrs. Austin 2nd Miss Maulvane 3rd Mrs. Frank Berlin 4th Mrs. Frank Berlin 5th Mrs. Lawrence Gordon 6th Mr. Ira Wright 7th Miss Winkler 8th Mr. Joe Johnson High School 1926-1930 - Mr. R.M. Berry – Principal and Geometry Mr. Ira Corey – Algebra and Radio Miss Jefferies – History Miss McCain – English Miss Hostler – English Mr. Max Felbaum – Animal Husbandry and Shop Mr. Capellan – Speech and Dramatics Mr. Frank Hartcroft – Athletics Miss Hansen – English Mr. Stout – Band Mr. Willardson – Music and Band College Courses- Chemistry – Shorthand – Mathematics – Typewriting – Surveying – Book keeping – Mechanical Drawing – Eco. Geography – Advanced Algebra – Economics - Descriptive Geometry – School Room Management – English – School Room Organization – Play Production – Practice Teaching – Public Speaking – Genealogy and Temple Work – Physics – Zoology – R.O.T.C. Military Training – Psychology Advanced – Glee Club – Sociology – Machine Shop – General Secondary Method – Blacksmithing – Child Psychology COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE- In the fall of 1933 I was out to Salmon working and one day I received a letter from my sister Janet, who was then training to become a nurse at the L.D.S. Hospital in Idaho Falls, Idaho. In the letter she mentioned her girl friend. When I answered I asked for her picture. A week or so later I received it. After thinking it over I decided that here was a girl I would like to marry. I wrote her a letter or two and received an answer. At Christmas time December 22nd, which was Friday night, I went up to the Hospital. I remember I had on a slicker, riding boots and a cowboy hat. I asked at the desk for Janet and they told me that she was in isolation with a spinal meningitis case and could not see her, so I asked for her friend, Nyal Bowen. In a moment or two an attractive young girl in uniform appeared. She was all that I had hoped for.

From 2009-12-10

She invited me to a nurses’ party up on the fifth floor. We went up and played the player piano until time for the nurses Christmas party to start. We didn’t have much to say. After the party we walked down to her sister’s place on South Capital. Her husband was an old neighbor of mine, Orville Clark, whom I later had the privilege of baptizing into the church. Genevieve was in bed and Orville and I were spending a little too much time talking, so Nyal went into the bedroom and asked “Bee’”, as we called her, to call Orville to bed which she did and the rest of the evening was our until eleven o’clock at which time Nyal was to be back to the hospital. It was rather a quiet evening, but I did muster up enough courage to ask her to go with me to the dance the next night and she accepted. The night of the dance came and we rode out in my brother-in-law’s car. We had about a mile to go, so on the way I collected enough courage to ask her to marry me and to my surprise she accepted. The nex day I saw her agin, and she still felt the same way. This was Sunday, the day before Christmas. I went out to Salmon without seeing her any more. And came back two months later, took her to a show on Wednesday afternoon, got our things together Thursday night, and arrived at the Logan Temple Friday morning at six o’clock and we were married about noon. Yes, we were strangers, but we had gone to the Lord about it and have been happy every since.