Time continues to march forward. It does not care what we think about it. Some want it faster, others want it slower, others want it to stop.
In preparation for Memorial Day, I was trying to think of something that would show that I truly hold in memory those who served in the military and especially those who died in that service. Hopefully here are a few things that show a more human side. I am not aware that I have any ancestor who has died in a war, especially in the service of the United States of America. I guess for that I am lucky and honored. But I have many who have served in the military.
Portrait of David Delos Donaldson after WWI
David Delos Donaldson is my paternal grandmother’s father. I tried to get a copy of his military records many years ago, but they were destroyed in a St. Louis, Missouri, fire long ago. I only know a few things. He worked in California as a pipe fitter/plumber at some point, but I believe that was for WWII. He went through basic training and ended up learning signaling. At some point he was allegedly in France and was exposed to the dreaded mustard gas, which injured his lungs. He smoked to settle his lungs as prescribed by doctors. He ended up dying from complications due to his lungs.
Here are some notes I have from 2006.
“I stumbled upon a registration form for my great grandfather, David Delos Donaldson, and WWI. He was working in Twin Falls, Idaho. The best part is, we never knew he went to Idaho, ever. Not only that, he was working there, and was exempted because he was working to support his younger siblings and mother. He did later enter the war, we don’t know when or how, but went to France in the Argonne and was gassed there. He suffered his whole life and eventually died from the mustard.
“With this information, I went to visit my Uncle Dave Donaldson because my Dad did not know anything. I picked his brain. We know little about my Great Grandfather before he married. Now we know he was working for Ballantyne Plumbing in Twin Falls in roughly April 1917. He served in WWI with two brothers. As mentioned, he was hit with mustard, spent some time in hospital, and he wasn’t getting better, so they sent him home. He married my Great Grandmother in 1919, Berendena Van Leeuwen. They had 5 children. During the great depression he worked down south as a plumber. Dave did not know where, but there was a possibility it was at the Hoover. When they went on a trip to Los Angeles, he insisted on stopping at Boulder City and the dam on the way home. Oh, we do know that before they got married, he worked as a plumber in Phoenix. How long we don’t know, but he could not bear the heat down there. During the depression when he worked down south, the family stayed in Ogden. Dave was young enough that he did remember his father coming home, but not where from. Again during WWII, the whole family moved to Napa, California and Great Grandpa was a plumber at the naval yard there, he made it sound like Oceanside. I do not know if there were any other naval bases down there. Then they moved back. The family must not have stayed down there, or he did not work the entire war, as my Grandpa and Grandma met in 1941-1942 at the Berthana on 24th street Ogden at a dance. They were married in April 1942, shortly before he left for war. Great Grandpa was a plumber by trade. He worked up until the 1950’s when his health failed him. He picked up smoking because it soothed his lungs. It sounds like the mustard burned his lungs the rest of his life. He would smoke to deaden the nerves. Dave told me this increased until he died. Even the last few years of his life, he had oxygen when he went places and when he slept. But he kept smoking. Dad told me of one of the few memories he had of his Grandpa. He went to visit him in Ogden, Grant Ave if I remember right, and he was laying in bed. There were newspapers all over the floor. He got into a coughing fit and coughed a big thing of phlegm up and it went on the floor. It was the combination of the irritation to the lungs from mustard and the smoking. It was what eventually killed him.
David Delos Donaldson (back), John Edmund Donaldson (left), and William George Donaldson
Here are some postcards David sent home to his mother. His father, William Scott Donaldson, died of cancer in 1913.
“Part of Carlin, Nev.”
I am not sure why the writing on the left is crossed out. But you can see Miss W. S. Donaldson 2270 Moffett Ave Ogden Utah. It says Carlin and Delos Donaldson. It might say “Yours” above it. The postmark is dated 1914, but I cannot make out the rest of it.
Retail Business District, Tacoma, Washington 1918
Dated 2 April 1918. “Dear mother got here all ok like it fine Write me as Private David D Donaldson 20th Co., 5th Bn., 166th Dep Brig. Camp Lewis, America Lake, Wn. Mrs. W.S. Donaldson 2270 Moffett Ave Ogden Utah”
Front and back
“Signal Corps It does not look much like me Do you think so. Mother I am at the Signal School here.”
Front and back
Dated 28 June 1918. “Dear Mother just a line to say I am well and fair when I got in New York all for this time your son DDD. Written to Mrs. W. S. Donaldson 2270 Moffett Ave Ogden Utah
Harry Korb Cigars & Tobacco, known location with David standing in front of the store. Other three are unknown.
We might think it, but none of us are truly bullet-proof. This boy’s health was affected for the rest of his life by war. He did live to be 59 years old.
I have two copies of the History of Plain City, Utah. The front indicates it is from March 17th 1859 to present. As far as I can tell, the book was written in 1977. At least that is the latest date I can find in the book.
One copy belonged to my Grandparents Milo and Gladys Ross. My Grandpa has written various notes inside the history which I intend to include in parenthesis whenever they appear. They add to the history and come from his own experience and hearing. This one is fun as it includes the history of my Great Great Great Grandparents William and Mary Ann Sharp and also references my Great Great Grandfather Milo Riley Sharp.
I will only do a number of pages at a time. I will also try to include scanned copies of the photos in the books. These are just scanned copies of these books, I have not tried to seek out originals or better copies.
History of Plain City March 17th 1859 to present, pages 58 through 75.
William MATHERS
Submitted by Augusta Nash
William Mathers was born in Scotland and came here as a convert to the church. He was a sort of an eccentric man, but he had many special talents and hobbies. He had the finest gun collection for many miles around and loved to decorate the stock with designs of inlaid gold. He was very efficient in this. He also was a taxidermist and did beautiful work in this field. There were few who could match this hunting abilities and the days when few men had enough money to engage in the sport, he became the guide and leader for many well to do men from the city when they came out to hunt. He also was the quarantine official in the days when contagious diseases were quarantined, and he filled this capacity with the utmost integrity, believing absolutely in the law.
Mr. Mathers withi his bag of ducks in front of his shop where he displayed his guns and taxidermy
FRED J. KENLEY
SUBMITTED BY AUGUSTA NASH
Fred J. Kenley started working as a rural mail carrier in 1902, from the main Post Office on Twenty Fourth Street in Ogden. A branch was soon established at Five Points known as Station A. From there two rural Carriers (Routes 2 and 3) and one city carrier sorted their mail and left for their routes. Mr. Kenley’s route (2) consisted of delivery through Harrisville, Farr West, Plain City, Slaterville, and Marriott. A distance of about thirty miles. His first conveyance being a horse and cart, later a buggy and horse. In 1916 he purchased his first Model T Ford. There is much that could be written about the difficulties of delivering the mail; bad weather, bad roads, etc., but he never missed one day. I became his substitute for a long time. He was retired in 1933 by Pres. Roosevelt to help provide jobs to younger men.
Mr. Kenley served the community in other ways. He was a great lover of music and played the clarinet. He with his brother William, who played the violin, and a friend Seth Harper, who played the piano, played for dances all over Weber County. For m any years they entertained in activities all over. Then Mr. Kenley had a choir. In those years almost everyone belonged to the choir. Their weekly practices were held and nothing took place over them. They sang for church, and for entertainment all over Weber County. He took great delight in the accomplishments of this choir. It was second only to the Ogden Tabernacle choir. He was a great scholar and teacher and a Scout Master.
Fred J. Kenley-his first conveyance being a horse & cart
Fred J. Kenley-his later conveyance being a horse & buggy
HISTORY OF PLAIN CITY AS SEEN BY MERLIN ENGLAND
I was born on December 17, 1895, on the same lot that now live on, in a little adobe room. Walter Draney was born on the same day in Plain city. We went to school together and he was a very dear friend. When I was six years old the school was where Walt Christensen lives now. If memory serves me right, Elmer Carver and I are the only two left that attended that school. I can remember three of my teachers; one was Merrill Jenkins’ mother, one was Mae Stewart, who lived just across the road from where I live now. The other was Mrs. Skeen, Ivy Carver’s mother. I can remember Dad tell about the first school which was on the south side of the square. Every Monday morning each of the students took 25 cents to pay the teacher for her wages.
When I was a Deacon, our Quorum took care of the meeting house. There were two stoves, one on each side. It was the Deacon’s work to keep coal and wood for the fires in the wintertime. Richard Lund was the Quorum teacher. Our meeting was Monday night. He had a good singing voice and we had to sing or he wanted to know why. On Saturdays, we would take two horses, a hay rack and our lunch to the north range and cut sagebrush for all the windows in Plain City. The next Saturday we would go in groups and cut the sagebrush into kindling for these ladies. We had a lot of good times and as I remember, there was very little swearing or taking the Lord’s name in vain at any time.
When we went to school, a child’s birthday was celebrated by a surprise party. We had many good times together. Our parties usually broke up at no later than 9:30, I can remember when the dance hall stood where Lynn Folkman’s new home is now. Sometimes later a dance hall was built west of where the church now stands. It later burned down. Many people enjoyed good times at the old dance hall. We had a picture show on Saturday nights. Pete Poulsen and William Hunt took charge of the tickets.
In those days my Father ran a store on the lot where I now live.
It would take all day with team and wagon to bring the dry goods from Ogden. I can remember when the first telephone came to Plain City. My Father gave the telephone company permission to put the switchboard in the back of the store. They took two of my sisters to be switchboard operators. Father and Abram Maw’s grandfather owned the first two telephones. When the phone was put throughout the town, it cost $1.00 a month. Many the night my Father came and got me out of bed and I saddled my pony and delivered a telephone message of a death or of a sick friend to someone in Plain City at all hours of the night. If you needed a doctor, it would take an hour for him to get out this far because it was all horse and buggy. If he needed to stay into the night, it was up to the person who called him to see that his horse was taken proper care of.
Some of the women brought their butter to trade for groceries. Mostly it was a 20 cent a pound trade. Salmon was 10 cents and 15 cents a can. You could buy a work shirt for 65 cents, a pair of shoes for $2.00
The first job I had to earn money was driving cows. I had to drive Father’s cows, so William Hunt and James Stewart hired me to drive their cows. I received 50 cents a month from each of them.
At one time in Plain City there were many people orchards. A lot of the apples were hauled to Salt Lake by team and wagon. It would take three days to go. If you were lucky, you could sell the apples in one day at anywhere from 40 cents to 60 cents a bushel. It would taker a whole day to get home again.
I can remember the first canning factory. They had to haul the cans from Ogden by team and rig with canvas wrapped around them. After the tomatoes were canned, they had to haul to West Weber or Ogden by team to the railroad.
My father, Thomas England, John Maw, and Lyman Skeen were the three men appointed to the committee to bring the railroad from Harrisville to Plain City and Warren. That increased the sugar beets by many acres because the railroad would do the hauling out.
The first gravel roads we had in Plain City were made with rock that was crushed at the west end of Pleasant View, North Ogden, and Ogden, and was hauled to Plain City and Hooper by team and wagon. The men would do it in the winter when work was hard to find. One man would put in three days a week, and then another would work the other three.
I married Florence Taylor February 4, 1914, in the Logan Temple. In 1916, I bought the old Boyd place where the family then lived. There was no school bus at the time, so the children had to get to school the best way they could. Then they would hurry home from school to do their chores and help their mother with dinner. I spoke to the picture shows they had on Saturday nights. Our car would leave home with our girls in it. By the time we got there, the car was full with one or two on the running board besides.
I hauled milk by team and wagon to Farr West to the skimming station and then hauled the whey back to the farmers. The plant was located near where Ernie Jensen now lives. Two years later, Weber Central Dairy brought the ole Black and Griffin Building on 26th and Wall, and I hauled milk there for six years.
When I was hauling milk, George Palmer, who was crippled quite badly, was put in as Bishop. He didn’t have an automobile and so once a month when I would pick up his milk, he would put the Church money in three different money sacks to three different banks and give it to me. I would take the money to the banks and being the receipts and the sacks back to him. Bishop Palmer told me many a time that he didn’t know how he could have done that service.
I am 80 years old. I have a wonderful family and I think the world of them. I good health and I am thankful for my parents and my name. I have lived in Plain City all of my life and I have many wonderful friends.
The year 1905 is the date given that the first telephone came to Plain City. The first telephone switchboard was located in the store owned by Thomas England. There were three long-distance lines. A system of record keeping was to have twenty calls, then registered.
The first exchange was operated by the family of Mr. England. Lillian England was the chief operator. Her salary was $25.00 a month. Lester England, Wilford England, and Hazel Kennedy were relief operators. They were paid $15.00 a month for their services. Service was provided for Weber, Warren, Plain City, Farr West, and possibly Slaterville.
Later, the telephone company lent money to build a telephone exchange building on the spot where marvel England’s home now stands. It was dismantled when no longer needed.
Telephones were few and far between in early Plain City. Mr. Thomas Jenkins told of walking from his home to the home of Henry T. Maw to use the phone in the middle of the night.
Later on, more telephones were installed; party lines with 8 to 10 families were common. The telephones helped to bring the boundaries of the town closer together.
The box-on-the-wall type of telephone was later replaced with the more modern cradle-portable phone. Then, a great step was taken with a few people having private lines, and reduction of parties on a line. This really helped to have all those rings eliminated for every other party on the line. Then more recently, many homes have telephones in the various rooms of their homes.
In the summer and fall of 1973, the biggest change took place. The old telephone lines were replaced with an underground cable with many lines in it. This helped most families to now have a private line. This removal of the old poles and wires has added much to the appearance of the town.
On December 17, 1976, Merlin England said, “today is my eight-first birthday, and it’s the first day in my life I have ever known when there wasn’t a telephone pole one-third of the way through the lot on the east side. Other poles have replaced the original one during my life time, but today the telephone company came and finished putting our lines underground and removed that pole.”
There are a few places in Plain City where the cable is still in the air. The initial project for private line services with the cable placed underground was during the spring and summer of 1973. The completion date for the big push was October of 1973.
The first telephone switchboard for Plain City was located in the back of the store owned by Thomas England. It was located on the same lot where Merlin England was born and lives, 4275 W 2650 N. The store was just west of the England home. The first two telephones in Plain City were those of the Senior Abram Maw and Thomas England. The charge of service was $1.00 per month. If a connection was wanted outside of the Plain City area, Lillian England, the switchboard operator would connect with the Ogden operator who would make further connections. There was no dial system at that time.
The telephone office and switchboard was later moved to the location on the lot where Marvel England now lives.
Merlin England and his wife, Florence, lived in this telephone building part of 1914 and 1915.
Merlin England and his wife, Florence, lived in this telephone building part of 1914 and 1915.
William Dolby Skeen
WILLIAM DOLBY SKEEN
SUBMITTED BY BEVERLY B. EDDY
William Dolby Skeen and Mary Davis Skeen were among the first settlers of Plain City. William Skeen owned the first settlers of Plain City. William Skeen owned a race track in the south end of Plain City, which was then called four mile, now known as Pioneer Village. He owned two famous race horses, which he brought from Europe.
William Dolby Skeen also built the first rock house in Plain City. The rocks used to build this house were hailed from the Hot Springs Mountain area.
Old Rock House build by William Dolby Skeen as it appears today.
THE OLD ROCK HOUSE
SUBMITTED BY NELDA ETHERINGTON
William Dolby and Caroline Skeen’s log house was one of the early ones in Plain City. After living in it for a short time, he added an adobe section to it. In 1862 he erected a stone house securing his rock at the Utah Hot Springs and hauling it in by oxen. William Sharp, an early brick mason, laid the stones and helped Thomas Singleton in doing the carpenter work. Mary Anne Skeen Etherington was born in the log cabin and was one of the first babies in Plain City.
Ebenezer Clawson Richardson purchased the rock house from William Skeen in 1868 and it remained in the Richardson family for almost a hundred years. The rock house is now owned by John Etherington, a Great-Grandson of William Skeen.
Two of Ebenezer’s three wives shared the house. Polly Ann Child, wife #2, had the west three rooms and her sister wife #3 Phebe, had the east rooms, with the kitchen in the center. Both shared the “Front Room”. There had been a stairway in the Front Room, but, it was taken out to make more room so the boys had only a ladder to a small balcony on the south side to get to their bedrooms.
The Richardsons were noted for their hospitality, and many parties and dances were held in the big front room. Ebenezer played the fiddle and also played it for the community dances and entertainment. At one time the boys had no shoes, which was not unusual for that day, so they pooled their money and bought a pair of shoes and the boys took turns wearing them at the dances.
Ebenezer was forced to go to California to work in the gold mines in 1873. While he was there his foot was crushed by a falling rock. Infection set in and he died on September 27, 1874. Two sisters Polly and Phebe continued to share the home until 1905 when Polly Ann died and Phebe bought her share.
The children grew up and one by one left to make homes of their own. Some of the boys brought their brides home for awhile. While one of the boys and his wife were living there, they had a set of premature twins which were buried under the grape vines that used to be in the center of the lot.
In September, 1907, Phobe’s son Charlie, decided to buy the Old Rock House with his wife Amanda, and their six children Joe, Sarah, Mary Lodisa, Orpha, and Angeline. They left Pocatello, Idaho with all their worldly belongings in two covered wagons. The Old Rock House was alive again with the clatter and clamor of children after having stood empty for a few months.
They loved it there and soon had a lot of dear friends. The three Grieve girls, Laura, Emma, and Ellen, the three Mc Elroy girls, Zara, Vesey, and Helen, and the Richardson girls all grew up like one happy family, sharing fun times and sometimes some squabbles, but always making up like real sisters. The Grieves’ had three tots, Willie, Violet, and Pete, little cherubs, mothered by all the girls until they didn’t know which house was their home. It was a lot of fun to sleep in the spooky upstairs in the hayloft in Mc Elroy’s barn, while Mary and Zara competed in who could tell the scariest ghost stories.
Sometimes, Mr. Mc Elroy would bring his Edison Phonograph over and play records all evening. Amanda Richardson always found something to serve for refreshments and Charlie would bring in a long plank to place across two chairs to make seating room for the neighbors and children. One of the favorite records was “Wearing of the Green” by Henry Louder.
The first Richardson to live I the Old Rock House were Ebenezer and Polly. Their children were Warren, Ebenezer, Angeline, and Levi. Phebe’s children were Amanda, Charles, Franklin, Cornelius, Chancy, Alfred, Myron, William Ezra, and Joseph having been born in the rock house. Ebenezer C. Richardson was the father of 34 children, not all which lived to maturity.
The old Rock house has been a home to many people, its memory will live on for a long time.
Skeen Family, Back (l-r) Alex, Catherine, and Frenz Denial Skeen; Front: Clara Loretta, Mary Davis, and William Delbert
Mary Davis Skeen was born in Llanelly, Wales, and arrived in Salt Lake Valley, Christmas Day 1856. On March 17, 1859, she arrived in Plain City with the first settlers. She was then a girl of thirteen years and was one of two single girls in the entire company.
Mary Davis Skeen went through all the hardships incidents to a pioneer life, but always bore these hardships bravely.
During an epidemic of small pox, she buried her last child. Three boys in all. Two of these children died in the same night. They were all buried at night and through fear of the dreaded disease, friends dared not to go near to offer their sympathy, in this dark hour. Six children were born to her after this.
It is believed that Mary Davis’ mother, Mary Eyenon Davis, had the first flower garden in Plain City.
MARY ANN BAILY PADLEY SHARP
WILLIAM SHARP
William Sharp, born December 10, 1825, in [Misson], Nottingham, England, married Mary Ann Padley in St. Louis. She was born November 28, 1828, in [Mattersey], Nottingham, England. They came across the plains in the Moses Clawson Company arriving in Salt Lake on September 15, 1853. They went to Lehi but the land was not too good and there was no good grazing for their cattle, so they left with the main group that settled in Plain City, arriving March 17, 1859. The children that came with them were Lorenzo Padley, Annie Elizabeth, and Milo Riley. Their daughter, Evelyn was the first white baby girl born in Plain City on October 12, 1859.
The family lived in a wagon box while they built a log and adobe cabin. William Sharp was a carpenter and mason and made some of the first adobe. He helped build many of the first buildings in Plain City.
Submitted by Albert Sharp
JOHN MAW
SUBMITTED BY IRENE SKEEN AND
DOROTHEA DeYOUNG
Many many men did a great deal to make Plain City what it is today and one of these was John Maw.
He was born in Plain City, January 16, 1868, the second son of Abraham and Eliza Tripp Maw, who had migrated here from Root, Lincolnshire, England. He received his formal education in the Plain City Public School and the Weber State Academy.
He married Annie C. Poulsen, daughter of Andreas Peder and Hansene Hansen Poulsen, November 5, 1890, in the Logan Temple. From this union came eight children, Wilmer J., Abram, Irene, and Ira (twins), R. Rufus, Gilbert E., George C., and Dorothea.
Mr. Maw, soon after his marriage, was associated with ZCMI store in Plain City for five years, following which he spent many years in the sheep business, along with farming. He had a large farm and gave many young men, at that time employment. To some, it was a lifetime career. At that time John Maw was given credit for “having taught many young men in Plain City to work”, because he was such a hard worker himself, he expected an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay from those who worked for him. It was often said, “We receive extra pay for working for John Maw because of the extra good food his good wife serves.”
Much of his farming during his lifetime also included truck gardening. He was also engaged in the cattle business which he remained active in until the time of his death. One unfortunate experience he had with cattle happened in 1932. The cattle were crossing Frist Creek, north-west of Plain City, when the ice broke. He lost 42 head of cattle. He made the statement “Well, those who have them have to lose them, because the ones that don’t have them can’t.”
In 1896, Mr. Maw, with others, was instrumental in building canning factory in Plain City. He was a member of the board and later was appointed manager. In the spring of 1920 he purchased the building and moved part of it to be used as the John Maw & Sons Store (later known as W.J. Maw & Sons). This store stood on the property west of the present bowery and extended back to the south end of the present church parking lot. As time went on the building was added on to. The store began as a grocery, hardware, lumber, coal, potato, and onion business. In 1928 the company became a Case Farm Machinery Dealer. After 1937 additional machinery lines were added and in 1948 the Surge Dairy Equipment line was taken over. In the early days of the store there was a wrestling ring in the upstairs of the store and wrestling and boxing matches were held. Roller skating also took place in the upstairs. The warehouse across the street was built in 1940 for potato, onion, and equipment storage. In 1963 the property was sold to the LDS Church and the buildings were later torn down. He also owned the store for some time that is now the Plain City Confectionery in which was sold mainly dry goods and confections and items not sold in the other store.
John and Annie Maw
In 1907 & 1908 John Maw, Lyman Skeen and Mr. Eccles, head of the Utah – Idaho Railroad Company, negotiated for a railroad to Plain City. On Nov. 15, 1909 the first railroad was built into Plain City. This made a great difference in the lives of people living in the town because goods could be brought in and sent out more rapidly and people had transportation. Mr. Maw traveled to the east each spring to buy and ship home seed potatoes for the farmers, so with the railroad they could be brought directly to Plain City.
He served as Sheriff of Plain City for 16 years. Along with others, he was involved with overseeing the building of the addition to the old church, and upstairs amusement hall and classrooms. Some years later he helped to raise the money and helped to oversee the construction of the old dance hall. It was known, at the time, as the open-air dance hall because so much of it was screen with drop shutters. It was later closed in and modernized some. Still later it was completely remodeled and used by the church for various reason, but later burned down.
At the time the Utah Power & Light Company was wiring the town of Plain City for electricity, in about 1912, four men lived at john Maw’s home while working here. They first wired the town and then began wiring the houses. They hadn’t planned to connect any homes to the main line until all the homes were wired, but the working men found out that it was Mrs. Maw’s birthday on June 13th and decided to surprise her with the first lights in Plain City. They completed the hookup, even installing the light globes, and while the family were eating their evening meal one of the men slipped away and pushed the switch that turned all the lights on, inside and out. Every room of the two story house was lit up. Also Mrs. Maw’s family presented her with an electric washing machine that night. Because everyone had looked forward a long time with anticipation to having electricity there were many visitors at the Maw home that night.
With all the many things John Maw was interested in and accomplished, one would have to say that his great love, his greatest concern and his ability to look into the future was with the irrigation work he did. He was connected with the Plain City Irrigation Company and the Weber River Users Association. He was president of the Plain City Irrigation Co. for about twenty-five years and a director of the Weber River Users Association, generally spoken of as Echo Project, for the most of thirty-five years. In this time, he served as vice president and also a member of the executive committee. He was greatly involved and worked on installation of siphons under railroad tracks and under the Ogden River, enabling farmers of the district to get their irrigation water direct from the Weber River. During this project, which was a tremendous one, he lost of one of his best horses in quicksand. In this association with the Echo Dam Project, he purchased much of the land for that project.
One of the highlights of Mr. and Mrs. Maw’s married life was their trip to Europe to meet their youngest son George as he was returning from a mission to South Africa. They were able to visit the native lands of their parents and many others. They were gone for three months.
Mr. Maw was a very thoughtful man and deeply concerned about the welfare of others. While in business, for Christmas he would deliver a ton of coal to the widows and needy families. He would also kill some of his beef cattle and take meat to those people. Of course, he didn’t limit this to only Christmas time but as he saw peoples need.
At the time of his illness, he was in the hospital in extreme pain but even then he was worried about the water situation. We had such a dry spring and the crops were not coming up, so everyone was praying for rain, and whenever anyone entered his room he would say “Is it raining?”
He passed away May 27, 1936, at the age of sixty-eight. His funeral was held May 31st in the old Ogden Tabernacle. It was very strange – whether it was I answer to people’s prayers, a coincidence that it happened at that time, or as many people thought a tribute to him for his great work in irrigation and his concern for other people, that the rain came down in torrents, before, during, and for some time after the funeral. It was like the very heavens had opened to let down rain.
One speaker at the funeral said in tribute to him, “I think I can properly say that John Maw is as near a human dynamo as I have ever met. He was full of energy and spent an unusual active life. He thrived on obstacles. It seemed no obstacle was too great for him to tackle, and he usually succeeded. It just seemed to whet his determination to be under difficulties, and he always wanted to carry his load.” He has been missed greatly by his family, his friends and associates.
Maw’s warehouse built in 1940
Maw’s confectionery
LYMAN SKEEN HOME
The home was built about 1870 and was added onto several times. It is still standing and is owned today by George and Charleen Cook.
Right to Left… Lyman S. Skeen (1850), Sabra Alice Skeen (1887-91), Electa P. Dixon (1852), Isabelle Skeen (Charlton) ( 1889), Lyman Skeen (1871)-away at medical school, Charles Skeen (1872), Joseph Skeen (1876), David Skeen (1885), Emma Jane Skeen (1881), Electa Skeen (Johnson) (1879), and Mary Ellen Skeen (Rawson) ( 1883). Picture was taken in the summer of 1889.
AUGUSTA K. KENLEY HOME
Augusta K Kenley Home
Augusta K. Kenley was born in Germany and came here as a convert to the church. On September 23, 1894 there was a small church located directly across the road from her home. It was called the Poplar Branch and Sunday School, primary, Religious Classes, as well as day school were held here. Room was scarce and so for many years she prepared two or three rooms of her home every Sunday morning for the smaller children who marched over and had their classes in her home. She had small benches made to fit her children and each Sunday as she cleaned her rooms the benches were put into another room to be kept clean and dry for the next week. They were never put outside. It is not known exactly how many years this was carried out, but the church did away with the Poplar Branch and was joined with the Plain City people. The picture shows Augusta K. Kenley and her home. It was later moved by Lynn Folkman to 2230 North 4350 West and is still owned by him.
EARLY HOMES
Home of Andrew Peter Poulsen. Karan Kirstina, Pedar, Annie, Petra, Sena, Andrew Peter, Hans P. Poulsen
Later the home of Hans Poulsen, and now the home of Bernard Poulsen. The home has been remodeled.
Home of Jens Peter Folkman
The addition on the north or left side was the store run by Jens P. Folkman, and later by Peter M. Folkman. Peter M. Folkman built an addition to the store with a meat market and cooler for the meat.
HENRY JAMES GARNER
SUBMITTED BY RULON B. GARNER
Henry James Garner was born June 9, 1855, in Ogden, Utah. He was the son of Henry Garner and Melvina M. Browning. Henry Garner Sr. was the son of Phillip Garner who was a member of the Mormon Batallion. When mustered out in California, he returned to Utah, bringing the first pound of alfalfa seed to Utah.
Henry J. Garner was married to Eliza Ann Ballantyne January 31, 1884. Eight children were born by this union.
In 1894, Henry J. Garner came to Plain City as store manager for Zion Cooperative, where he worked from 1884 to 1894. The Plain City store was located on the northwest corner of his block from the town square. Later he and Robert Maw bought the store together and operated it as a partnership. They also owned some sheep. About a year later, Henry J. Garner bought a farm and a house (the O. J. Swenson property). He operated this first store until he bought one of the old smelter buildings out near the Utah Hot Springs. This was about 1906. The building was too large to move in one piece, so he employed George Streeter, who sawed the building in half, and he put bob sleighs under each half and when the snow was sufficient, they moved the smelter building and set it up about a half block south of the first store. There it was set on a foundation and reconditioned as a General Merchandise Store. The name of the store was Henry J. Garner & Sons. He operated this store and farm until 1922, when he sold them, and retired. He then operated a chicken business until 1925. He then sold out in Plain City and bought a house in Ogden, Utah, at 3135 Ogden Avenue.
In 1897, he was elected school trustee with S. P Draney and Milo Sharp. He served four years. The school districts were then consolidated and one large school house was built. Prior to this time, school was conducted in three, one-room school houses. On June 16, 1901, the L.D.S. Sunday School was organized with Henry J. Garner, Superintended, O. C. Raymond, first Assistant. and L. R. Jenkins, Second Assistant, Clara Jenkins as Secretary, and George Hunt, Treasurer. He served as first counsel to Bishop George W. Bramwell, with Peter M. Folkman as second counselor. On June 28, 1906, Bishop Bramwell resigned, and Henry J. Garner was selected as Bishop to fill his vacancy. Peter M. Folkman was first counselor, Peter B. Green, second counselor. Stake authorities present were L. W. Shurtliff and C. F. Middleton.
Henry J. Garner’s wife Eliza died of an accident with an electric washing machine on October 23, 1916. He married Jane Liddle Warner, May 1, 1918, in the Salt Lake Temple.
After Henry J. garner was released from the Bishopric, he was a member of the North Weber Stake of the L.D.S. Church until he moved to Ogden in 1925.
Henry J. Garner died April 6, 1934 at the age of 79.
Henry James Garner when he moved to Plain City in 1894
Henry J. Garner and wife Jane L. Warner Garner, Milton Garner, Leona Warner
Henry J. Garner
LYMAN SKEEN CONSTRUCTION CAMP
Lyman Skeen construction camp
These are part of the men and women, teams of horses and equipment, that worked and built the railroad near the Hot Springs. Left To Right: The man holding the hand plow on the left is Sant Manson. Charles Skeen is holding the white team. Blaine Skeen is the boy in front. Lyman Skeen is the man standing in front. Louis Carver, a son-in law of Lyman Skeen. He also served as timekeeper for the company. We cannot identify any of the others.
THE MC ELROY STORE
George and Martha Mc Elroy moved to Plain City from Philadelphia, Pa., with their two sons, George Jr. and Bill. They purchased the land where the garage and the “Old Mc Elroy Home” stands, from William and Mina Gampton for $600.00 in September, 1903.
Mr. Mc Elroy was a cabinet maker and some of his original carpenter work is still found in the front of the garage. He was an inventor and had several of his inventions patented, he build several homes in the Plain City area, some of which are still in use.
The carpenter shop was in the rear of the building and they had a candy shop in the front. Helen, Vesey, and Zara Mc Elroy worked in the candy shop after school, but when “Mas Mac” was there, she gave the candy away. Mr. Mc Elroy liked to tease the youngsters from school and would nail pennies on-to the counters. One of the old displays counters is still in use in the front of the garage.
The Mc Elroy store was the first building in Plain City to have electric lights. Mr. Mc Elroy was an agent for Modern Electric Company of 2422 Hudson Ave. in Ogden (now called Kiesel Ave.).
The Mc Elroys lived in Plain City for 28 years before moving to California. Their Son-in -Law Roland Etherington bought the carpenter shop and turned it into a garage, building onto the original shop several times. It was known as Roll’s Garage until 1959 when Roland died and his son John Etherington took it over and the name was changed to Jack’s Garage.
George Mc Elroy in front of his store
ROLL’S GARAGE
Roland Etherington purchased the “Mc Elroy Store” from Geo. Mc Elroy and opened Roll’s Garage in 1931. Roll Graduated from the Sweeney Automotive School, Kansas City, Mo.,
Some of the people who have worked for Roll are:
Lawrence Carver
Clair Folkman
Homer Poulsen
Don Jensen, from 1939 to the present
John Young
Sam Hori
Elmer Ericson
Marshall Ericson
And many others.
Additions were made to the garage in 1938, 1944, and 1955. The bulk Gas and Oil Plant was started in 1951. It was known as Jack & Roll’s Gas & Oil Company.
Roland Etherington died in 1959 and his John Etherington took over the business and changed the name to jack’s Garage.
George Henry and Minnie Van Leeuwen are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter Dena to David Delos Donaldson, son of Mary Elizabeth Donaldson and the late William Scott Donaldson. David and Dena were married in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah on 16 July 1919.
David is currently an independent plumber in Ogden, Weber, Utah.
The couple will return to make their home at 2310 Grant Avenue in Ogden, Utah.
David Delos Donaldson (he went by Dave, his son also went by Dave or Davie, so to keep them clear, I will refer to father as David and son as Dave) was born 26 March 1894 in Evanston, Uinta, Wyoming. He was the second of seven children born to William Scott Donaldson and Mary Elizabeth Williams. I have previously written of David’s parents at this link: Donaldson-Williams. David grew up in Evanston, Uinta, Wyoming and Park City, Summit, Utah before moving to 2270 Moffits Avenue, now 2270 Ogden Avenue, in Ogden, by the time he was six. He lived at this address until he moved to Twin Falls, Twin Falls, Idaho to work for Ballantyne Plumbing Company as a Sham Filler. When he registered for the World War I draft on 5 June 1917, he was living on Shoshone Street North in Twin Falls and listed that his mother and two siblings were dependent on him. He may have listed this in hopes of not being drafted.
Ballantyne Plumbing & Heating Company was newly incorporated (about 1916) by Varsell Ballantyne who had just moved from Ogden. Varsell had been one of the incorporators of The Ogden Plumbing, Gas & Steam Fitting Company in 1904 or 05. He had worked in the same spheres as David’s father and probably felt some desire to help the Donaldson family and invited David to Twin Falls. He may also have been the master to which David was an apprentice, or another plumber worked with in the Ogden PG&S Company. While David worked for Ballantyne Plumbing Company, it was located at 145 Second Avenue East in Twin Falls. David lived on Shoshone Street North, probably not far from his employment.
The draft card indicates that he had gray eyes, black hair, and stood tall and stout. David served in the U.S. Army during World War I. When he was finally drafted, he went to Utah to report with his two brothers who were also drafted (another brother would also serve in World War I). Unfortunately, the government cannot find his service paperwork and very little is known of his time served. His obituary indicates he served in the 91st Division of the Army. We do not know his dates, but this division fought in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in 1918 and went on to fight in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive through the rest of the year. It was in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive that David would receive his life lasting injuries to his lungs from the dreaded gasses of World War I. One lung collapsed and never worked again, the other lost a large percentage of its capacity. He would receive weekly treatment for the rest of his life (over 30 years) for these injuries at the Veterans Hospital in Salt Lake. He became a member of the Disabled American Veterans, Ogden Chapter 4.
l-r: Ed, David, and George Donaldson
Berendena Van Leeuwen, who went by Dena, was born 28 December 1898 in Ogden. She was the 10th of 12 children born to Gerhardus Hendrik and Hermina Janzen Van Leeuwen. I have written of George and Minnie’s marriage here: Van Leeuwen – Janzen Wedding.
Nine of these children would live to adulthood and marry. Both parents joined the LDS church in 1887 and immediately sought to immigrate to Zion. The family immigrated to Utah in 1888. Gerhardus waited until the next year to immigrate. Gerhardus had fallen from a ladder at work giving him head injuries that lead to epileptic seizures and bouts of insanity. These considerations were perceived as mental illness at the time and could have kept the family from being admitted had they all come together. The Van Leeuwen’s immigrated from Arnhem, Gelderland, Netherlands. In the United States, Dena’s parents were known as George Henry and Minnie Van Leeuwen. The Van Leeuwen family lived at various places in Ogden, mostly near Wall Avenue and 33rd Street. Her father worked as a carpenter, more on the finishing side, for employment. George may have even known of the Donaldson family. Dena was baptized in the LDS church 7 November 1907 in Ogden. The family was extremely tight knit and was known for their large and very tasty family meals. If company came over, a meal was put on.
George’s head and mental injuries continued to worsen as the years passed. The family either had to keep him safe or calm him down before. By the time 1911 rolled around, his fits were becoming uncontrollable. Dena referred to her “Daddy” as tender and sweet and then at the switch he would become angry and threatening. He had made enough threats and raised enough raucous that neighbors called the police. George was committed to the Utah State Mental Hospital in Provo, Utah, Utah in 1911 when Dena was 13. The family tried to get him out and succeeded. Unfortunately, he lost control again and ended up spending the rest of his life in the mental hospital. The family would drive down nearly every weekend to pick up “Daddy” and keep him for the weekend before taking him back. By the mid 1920’s, they could not even take him home on the weekends his condition was that poor and uncontrollable. “Momma Minnie,” as she was known to friends, died in 1921 in Ogden. George died in 1932 in Provo.
Dena as one of the youngest children of the family was known among siblings as telling slight variations of stories to other siblings such that it would cause some contention within the ranks. While the siblings were never distant from each other, a feud of one sort or another was always brewing or being fought. It would always pass, but Dena often started many of the feuds and received a bit of flak for it.
David returned from the war and met Dena Van Leeuwen. We do not know about the courtship or how they met. We do not know why they chose to be married in Salt Lake. David and Dena took a honeymoon to California.
David resumed work as a plumber in the 1920’s in the Ogden area. Between 1920 and 1928, 5 children were born to David and Dena, all in Ogden. Twins named Dena Dorothy and Dora Mary were born 28 May 1920.
Gladys Maxine arrived 20 September 1921. Here is a picture of the three kids with Gladys against the wheel of the car.
Maxine appeared 3 August 1924. Lastly a boy, David William came 25 November 1928.
A shot of all 5 children on the front porch of the home that David built at 629 8th Street in Ogden.
Here is a picture of the home from the side. You can see from this point that the home is probably older than 1920’s and that Dave probably added the addition onto the back rather than building the entire home.
In 1930, the family lived at 753 Browning Avenue in Salt Lake. We do not know how long they were there, but they moved back pretty quickly to Ogden living on 8th Street. Times were hard during the 1930’s so David went to Boulder City, Clark, Nevada to work on the building of the new Boulder Dam (later named Hoover). He also headed to Napa, Napa, California to work in the shipyards as a pipe fitter, primarily on submarines. Jennie Bremer, a niece to David and Dena, told of a funny story when David was replacing the plumbing in their home after a serious earthquake in Los Angeles. David was deathly afraid of earthquakes and while he was working in the basement or under a cupboard if an aftershock hit he would rise up and run from the house. He told Jennie at one point that he did not want to be caught in the basement if the house should fall. Well, being little kids, they played with this some. They would sneak to the window of the room he was working in and shake the screen and windows in a way that sounded like an earthquake. She said it was funny to see a man as big as “Uncle Dave” to hop up and run out of a room like that. They would laugh and laugh over it. They made sure not to do it too often so he would not suspect anything and she does not believe he ever knew of the joke they would pull on him at least once every time he visited. She did comment it was a bit sad to see him winded for a while after he hopped and ran, but the guilt from it would only come later in life as she realized what she had done to him.
David would often visit family to help with their homes or other needs. He also come home to Ogden fairly regularly on the weekends to visit the family. He finally found employment in Ogden at the Ogden Depot in 1937 as Supervisor of Maintenance. In 1939, the family returned to visit the area David had worked, Donaldson extended family in the bay area, and the 1939 San Francisco World Fair.
After World War II, the family moved to 639 Wall Avenue.
Life in the 1940’s treated the Donaldson family much better, even despite the war. David still had his penny-pinching ways. Dave would refer to David as the “King of the Tight Wads.” Dave started working about 12 years old as a shoe polisher at a barber shop on Washington Ave. David had told Dave that now he was 12, he was expected to be a man and take care of himself, that the Donaldson household would no longer be carrying him. When he brought his paycheck home, David would take half of it for the family. This incensed Dave over the years and he quit reporting his full pay to his father, who took half of it. David even went on to require Dave to pay rent for his space upstairs in the Wall Ave home. Sometime between 1942 and 1945, David’s mother’s husband had passed away and she wanted to move in with the Donaldson family. David tried to get Dave to move his bed to the back porch so his mother could take the upstairs. Dave made it very clear he would move his bed, but it would be out of the house and he would never come back. David’s mother did not move in and Dave kept his “apartment” even after he married.
David insisted that Dena only needed two dresses and no more. The family would often buy her dresses, shoes, or other things for her birthday and Christmas, so she did not ultimately go without. But he refused to buy for himself or for her. Dave and Betty Donaldson got a pretty serious scolding one time for buying Dena a crystal berry bowl indicating that it was going to spoil Dena and the family.
Dena grew up LDS and David did not. Dena saw that all her children were raised LDS with little difficulty from David. Apparently smoking is what kept him from being baptized. When the time would come for Gladys to marry, the Bishop determined that he was not going to allow them to be married in the temple without David being a member. David had made it known he did not want any of his girls to marry a poor boy and would not submit. All four of the girls married in the next two years, and then Dave in 1953. Interestingly, David never joined the LDS church, but the family put it into the obituary that he was a member. Gladys ended up being married in the Donaldson home on 8th Street, but David refused to allow the Donaldson Bishop to do the honors, so the Plain City Bishop of Glady’s husband, Milo Ross, performed the wedding.
Dena married Chauncey De Orr Michaelson 7 December 1943.
Maxine married Sterlin Delaino Telford 24 December 1943.
Dora married Malcolm Claire Birch 11 September 1943.
Dave married Betty May Oram 12 April 1953.
Maxine, Gladys, Dena and Dora Donaldson (don't know which is which of the twins)
David retired in 1949 from the Ogden Defense Depot due to his physical condition and inability to breathe. About this time, the family took a trek to visit family and friends throughout the west and to see some national and church historical sites. Included was Hoover Dam, St. George Utah Temple, Mesa Arizona Temple, Cove Fort, Lake Mead, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The family, not caring about the thoughts of others, loaded the car and set off. Dena, who loved and raised canaries, insisted they come with her. So the canaries rode in cages that were wired to the outside of the car (and the canaries lived through the entire trek). Dave joked that driving around they looked like the Beverly Hillbillies in their early 40’s sedan with bird cages wired to the back of the car.
David would claim that the only relief he could receive for his lungs was through smoking cigarettes which would calm his breathing and ease the pain. Remembering also, this was also a slogan for some cigarette companies! He picked up smoking while still in the military, but he would become a chain smoker very early on. The smoking would later aid in his death from emphysema. It was not uncommon at all for David to light one cigarette from the one he was finishing. He was also known as a dirty smoker among the family in that he would allow the ashes to fall anywhere and would even throw his butts on the floor in the house, in the toilet, or even leave them in the drain of the bathtub after he finished bathing.
David’s lung issues would come back to haunt him more and more as the years passed. The cigarettes were no longer delaying the pain or inevitable loss. His emphysema would come in fits to such a degree that he would be confined to bed and the family would have to place newspaper on the floor around the bed to catch the black phlegm (sometimes bloody) he would cough up. His emphysema would become more and more restraining on his life in the last 5 years of his life. It was the reason he had to take such an early retirement. In the end, he had a couple of days where he was coughing and could not breathe and went to the Veteran’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. After a two day stay, the chronic lung disease caused a cor pulmonale that took his life on 24 September 1953. Four days later, he was buried in Ogden City Cemetery.
Dena moved on with her life and kept busy visiting and spending time with family. Dave, who had recently married and was living in an apartment upstairs, decided it was time for a major cleaning of the house. They completely and thoroughly cleaned the home, wall-papered and replaced wall-paper, and replaced the carpets and furniture to remove all the cigarette smoke grease and filth.
Betty told me that as long as she knew the family that she really loved Dena. She said everyone loved Dena. She said that when she remembers the home in Ogden on Wall, that every time she drove into the driveway that the curtains would part and a Dena’s curly white hair, bright blue eyes, and big smile poke through with a little wave. Apparently she had an infectious laugh which was both giddy and happy.
Four of her siblings were still alive and she had 11 grandchildren by the time 1955 rolled around. Then one day she was visiting at the home of Jane (Jantjen in the Dutch) Bremer, her sister. Dena needed to hurry off and Jane warned her that she should not go. Jane was known in the family for having the gift of foretelling the future. Jane told Dena that if she left at that time she would be in a terrible accident. Dena gave no heed and left to go on her way. Dena was known by all to speed, and she was doing so this day. Sure enough, as she drove north on Wall Avenue in Ogden and at reaching 2nd street, a truck made a left hand turn from the right lane and hit the rear passenger side of the 1955 Oldsmobile. Her vehicle was sent careening and slammed broadside into a telephone pole on the north east corner of the intersection (133 feet from the point of impact). The initial hit threw her into the passenger side of the front seat with the passenger door open, her leg partially out of the opened door. Then the impact collapsed the dashboard in on her and slammed the open passenger door on her leg. She broke her hip, leg, and back with a number of other injuries. The door had closed and latched on her leg and had to be cut open. She was taken to the hospital where the family did not expect her to live. She underwent a pretty major hip and back operation.
Dena was put into a full body cast for the next six months that reached all the way up to her armpits. Dave created this bar with a rope/cloth over the bed by which she could lift herself up so they could place a bedpan under her to do her business. Betty would help her do the business, clean her up, and make sure her needs were tended. The cast was eventually removed but she could not properly walk or get around very well. She was pretty much confined to her home for the rest of her days. At times a little heat came into a relationship and she would go spend some time with one of her other children, but she came back. She had a terribly heavy hospital bed she used these last few years. Dave made it clear early on that once he moved that bed out of the house again, he was not ever moving it back in so her stays elsewhere were of short duration.
Dave and Betty would take Dena around to visit places and get out of the house. Betty joked that Dena loved to go fishing and that she could catch fish in the gutter if she tried. She had a gift for catching fish. Dave and Betty set up a little camp chair so she could fish on camping trips. They would leave her be for a while and she would giggle at the birds and once and a while one would fly to her. She giggled openly and happily at everything. Her grandson, Milo Ross, remembers her in the full body cast but yet she would smile and the whole world would smile with her. He thought she was a funny lady with tongue twisters, slight Dutch accent, and catchy little jingles.
Dena had problems with her body that come from inactivity, like regular kidney stones and other painful problems. But she always had a twinkle in her eye and a contagious laugh. She never, if ever, complained about the lot cast to her in life.
On the 5th of March, 1959, Betty Donaldson, Dena’s daughter-in-law had finished work and was headed to the theater to catch a matinee. She felt a distinct impression that she should go home. Dave was at work and she had the whole afternoon free, so she did not see the need to go home. As she waited in line at the theater, she knew she needed to go home so she caught the bus. She made it home and all was well. She changed her clothes and then Dena called up to her. Dena had this sinking feeling in her chest, was not feeling very well, and was asking Betty for help. Betty called the Dr. and for an ambulance. Dave, who never called home from work, had felt impressed to call home. Betty was just headed up to the hospital. Dave met her there. Dena had suffered kidney failure which lead to a heart attack and she passed away that evening around 10:30 PM. She was buried four days later next to David in the Ogden City Cemetery.
“I love that man better who swears a stream as long as my arm and is attentive to administering to the poor and dividing his substance, than the long smoothed faced hypocrites.”
That quote by Joseph Smith sums up much of what I believe. I have been always so fortunate to end up with the salt of the earth, or at least being amongst them.
No matter where I go, or what I do, I have been very blessed.
I made a stop at the Oneida County Museum on Saturday. I ended up chatting and visiting with those ladies for a length of time. Most of them knew or knew of my relatives from Samaria. It was a good day. I sat and had lunch with an 88 year old, Daphne King Thompson. She was a good lady. We discussed her lawn, and she informed me about the Welsh Festival that had been revived in Malad. Did you know Malad (Samaria) has the most Welsh people outside of Wales? Yep, it is a bona fide fact. BYU said so! So I think I might join the Welsh Society. After all, some of those Williams, Jones, and Evans are my relatives. Also, seeing where I served in a mission for Northern Wales, and my ancestors really did come from Southern Wales, why not? I can support a good cause. So, if you are interested, www.welshfestival.com It is only $10!
Meier and Frank continues to go well. I am now a full time painter. Who would have thought. That Law and Constitutional Studies major has come in mighty handy in telling that paint where to stick and not to. Things are good at work. I like having a my own list of things to do and having my own drive to get it done, rather than a taskmaster of any sorts. Oddly, somehow moving from receiving to maintenance, my opinion actually counts for something. I don’t know how a position change actually gave me intelligence in the presence of others, or at least an opinion to be expressed.
I stopped to visit my cousin Ralph Naef. He is a 1st cousin, twice removed. We share Regina Nuffer for an ancestor. He came to our reception, which is a great thing, seeing how we had never met. I promised I would stop to visit him. We had a great conversation. But moreover, he gave me a book. Oh yes, more to add to my family history. It contains the whole Naef family history, but I am only going to add the descendants of Charles Daniel Naef. Ralph was telling me, that he has 600 and something direct descendents, and like 900 if you include spouses. That is simply amazing. That is from a number of descendants that was compiled over 10 years ago. So I am sure there is well over a thousand now.
A good friend of mine from work, Bob Corliss, allowed me to look up some records on the internet with his information. I stumbled upon a registration form for my great grandfather, David Delos Donaldson, and WWI. He was working in Twin Falls, Idaho. The best part is, we never knew he went to Idaho, ever. Not only that, he was working there, and was exempted because he was working to support his younger siblings and mother. He did later enter, we don’t know when or how, but went to France in the Argonne and was gassed there. He suffered his whole life and eventually died from the mustard.
With this information, I went to visit my Uncle Dave Donaldson because my Dad did not know anything. So I picked his brain. We know little about my Great Grandfather before he married. Now we know he was working for Ballantyne Plumbing in Twin Falls in roughly April 1917. He served in WWI with two brothers. As mentioned, he was hit with mustard, spent some time in hospital, and he wasn’t getting better, so they sent him home. He married my Great Grandmother in 1919, Berendena Van Leeuwen. They had 5 children. During the great depression he worked down south as a plumber. Dave did not know where, but there was a possibility it was at the Hoover. When they went on a trip to Los Angeles, he insisted on stopping at Boulder City and the dam on the way home. Oh, we do know that before they got married, he worked as a plumber in Phoenix. How long we don’t know, but he could not bear the heat down there. During the depression when he worked down south, the family stayed in Ogden. Dave was young enough that he did remember his father coming home, but not where from. Again during WWII, the whole family moved to Napa, California and Great Grandpa was a plumber at the naval yard there, he made it sound like Oceanside. I do not know if there were any other naval bases down there. Then they moved back. The family must not have stayed down there, or he did not work the entire war, as my Grandpa and Grandma met in 1941-1942 at the Berthana on 24th street Ogden at a dance. They were married in April 1942, shortly before he left for war. They were not allowed to be married in the temple because Great Grandpa was not a member of the church. I am not sure if this was to get him to join or what, but it backfired. My Dad was born on 4 July 1943. My father did not see my Grandpa until he was 3 years old when he returned from war. Anyhow, Great Grandpa was a plumber by trade. He worked up until the 1950’s when his health failed him. He picked up smoking because it soothed his lungs. It sounds like the mustard burned his lungs the rest of his life. He would smoke to deaden the nerves. Dave told me this increased until he died. Even the last few years of his life, he had oxygen when he went places and when he slept. But he kept smoking. Dad told me of one of the few memories he had of his Grandpa. He went to visit him in Ogden, Grant Ave if I remember right, and he was laying in bed. There were newspapers all over the floor. He got into a coughing fit and coughed a big thing of phlegm up and it went on the floor. It was the combination of the irritation to the lungs from mustard, and the smoking. It was what eventually killed him. I was told the story that when he had had enough, he had my Great Grandma cook this big dinner, and he ate it, and then passed away afterward. Apparently his body could not handle certain foods, especially meats. He just could not take it any more and wanted a full meal.
Dave told me that David Delos Donaldson’s father, William Scott Donaldson was a plumber also. Supposedly he had a confectionary in downtown Ogden at one time as well. We have a picture of them standing in the store. His mother, Mary Elizabeth Williams, was according to Dave a witch with a b. She was high minded, snooty, and a brat. Dave said never once that he was in her presence did she ever notice him or give him the time of day. He said she was very negative and a condescending person. Nothing went right, everything was wrong, and it was everybody’s fault. He never liked his grandma, and would rather move out than be in the house when she went to move in. At one point, Great Grandpa did not allow her to move in because Dave would move out. She was the daughter of David D Williams, whose brother, John Haines Williams, is the father of those Williams who settled Samaria, Idaho. All those William’s in the Malad Valley are my relatives, and they are the Welsh I spoke of earlier.
Berendena Van Leeuwen, my Great Grandmother was an amazing lady. Everybody loved her. Betty, Dave’s wife, told me that whenever she thinks of the Donaldson home in Ogden, she sees herself pulling in the drive, and the curtains parting and this little curly headed woman with a big smile with a little wave beaming at her. She was an amazing cook, never using recipes. She had an infectious laugh and loved everybody and everything. In 1955 she was in an auto accident that handicapped her the rest of her life. It was an Oldsmobile 88 that she went to pass a semi and he put her into a telephone pole. She did some major damage to her hip. She had a full body cast for a long time. She had over 14 major operations. The final one, one for kidney stones, weakened her enough that she died shortly after. Despite 4 years or so of being handicapped, Dave and Betty told me that she was as chipper and happy as ever. It did not even seem to phase her. They took her camping several times, but the one they remember is the one before she passed away. They would be out fishing and they would put her in a chair on the bank to watch. She would giggle at the birds and them. Betty insists that when she smiled the whole world brightened. Dad remembers Great Grandma coming to visit with her monster bed. Dave remembers that very well too! After she went out to live with Grandpa and Grandma two different times for about a month each, he said she could go, but he was moving the bed no more. Dad remembers her in a full body cast but she was funny.
Dad would tell me about Grandma always having home made bread. They got in trouble more than once for coming home and taking some when they should not have. Dad also told in Grandma’s funeral how Grandpa would come home, sneak in, ask if anyone was looking, and lay one on Grandma. Other times he would come in and they would start dancing in the living room. During the war, Grandma and Grandpa would kneel at 9 o’clock no matter where they were and pray. In the spirit of oneness.
Anyhow, that is all I am going to share now. There was more about David Delos’ siblings. But I am not so sure on all that, need to do another interview, then I will comment.
Sagacity 