I wrote previously of a book I have that belonged to my Great Grandfather, Joseph Nelson Jonas. The book was given to me by Ellis Jonas along with a couple of others. Inside the book was this clipping, presumably put there by my Great Grandmother, Lillian Coley Jonas. I have no clue about its significance, if any. It was clipped and put there in the book for some reason.
“Word was received yesterday afternoon of the death of Dr. Wm. B. Parkinson, Jr., of Fairfield, Idaho. He had been ailing for the last year and was being treated for heart trouble at the time of his death in a hospital at Twin Falls, Idaho.
He was a son of the late Dr. Wm. B. Parkinson, Sr., and Elizabeth B. Parkinson, of Logan and was born at Morgan, Dec. 24, 1877, moving to Logan with his father’s family when a small boy. He graduated from medical school in Chicago and came back and practiced in Wellsville and Logan and settled in Lewiston where he practiced for many years. Later he moved to Fairfield, Idaho, where he was practicing at the time of his death.
“Surviving are his wife and the following children: Mrs. Ben Red of Price, Mrs. Hugh Johnstone of Oakland, Calif., Floyd Parkinson and Mrs. Beth Blair of Lewiston, Paul of Price, and Peggy Parkinson of Lewiston, and seven grand children.
“The brothers and sisters are Mrs. George W. Leishman, Mrs. Ada England, Elizabeth Parkinson, and Mrs. Afton Nielsen of Logan, Mrs. Winnifred Jennens of Detroit, Michigan. Dr. George T. Parkinson, Twin Falls, Ida., Mrs. Hazel McAlister of Preston, Dr. Fred B. Parkinson, Cedar City. Mrs. Veda Worley of Salt Lake, Mrs. Karma Parkinson of Franklin, Dr. Wallace Parkinson of San Francisco, Calif., Don Parkinson of Texas, Mrs. Edith Shaw of Provo, and Mrs. Arthur Rallison of Whitney, Idaho.
“Funeral services are being held at Fairfield, Idaho Thursday morning at 10 a. m. Burial will be at the Logan cemetery. Short services will be held at Logan graveside at 3 p. m. Friday.
“Friends may call at the W. Loyal Hall mortuary in Logan Friday from 10 a. m. to time of graveside rites.
Another photo clipping from those of my grandmother, Gladys Maxine Donaldson Ross. This one is more apparent to me why it was clipped. Minnie Wallace is Glady’s first cousin. Minnie’s mother is Johanna Hermina Van Leeuwen Edsinga (1884-1958), sister to my Grandmother’s mother, Berendena Van Leeuwen Donaldson (1898-1959). Johanna Hermina also went by Minnie.
“The voice of Mrs. Minnie Wallace will be missing from the Ogden Standard-Examiner after the veteran PBX operator retires Wednesday. The date at the top shows 8 March 1976.
Minnie Van Leeuwen Edsinga
“One of the best known voices in Ogden retires next Wednesday.
“Mrs. Minnie Wallace is hanging up her headphones after almost 29 years as the switchboard operator for the Ogden Standard-Examiner.
“She becamse the “telephone girl” for the newspaper in September 1947 after she and her late husband returned to their native Ogden from Sacramento, Calif.
“While in Sacramento, Mrs. Wallace had worked as a bench chemist in a sugar factory.
“Before her marriage she had worked as an operator for the telephone company in Ogden and still was intrigued by the work.
“So when she heard of the opening for a PBX operator at the newspaper, she applied for and got the job.
DIM LOVE
“”And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it,” Mrs. Wallace said with her almost perpetual infectious grin as she looked back over those 29 years.
“She hasn’t let the frustrating aspects of the switchboard operator dim her love for people.
“And it can become somewhat frustrating when an irate reader wants to pour a complaint into her ears or an impatient reporter can’t understand why his long distance call isn’t completed immediately.
“It can also be humorous when a caller wants to talk to a reporter he’s seen at a meeting but can’t remember his name and tries to describe him. Sometimes Mrs. Wallace passes the description on to the report – and sometimes she doesn’t.
“And there are times when her ingenuity in completing a seemingly impossible long distance calls brings a rewarding glow of satisfaction and a compliment from an amazed reporter.
“Like the time two buffalo showed up in the local railroads en route from Great Falls, Mont., to the West Coast.
NAME OF RANCH
“The name of the ranch that shipped the buffalo was on the bill of lading but not the address and there were indications it might be some distance from Great Falls.
“A confident reporter asked her to find the ranch and get the foreman on the phone. Twenty minutes later, she had located the ranch in North Dakota and had the reporter connected with the foreman.
“This is not an unusual example of the resourcefulness of a switchboard operator who has won the admiration and affection of countless Standard-Examiner employes and readers.
“An outstanding mother herself, Mrs. Wallace has shown a genuine interest in the children of numerous newspaper employes – keeping up an acquaintance with many even after they are grown and their parents gone elsewhere.
WON RESPECT
“The respect of her fellow PBX operators is just as great as that of her fellow Standard-Examiner employes.
“Mrs. Wallace has served as president of the Ogden PBX Club and represented it at meetings in Mexico and Canada. She has been an active member of the Atoka chapter of the American Business Women.
“After hanging up her headphones, Mrs. Wallace plans to do a bit of travelling, play some golf and tend her grandchildren from time to time.
“She has five grandchildren.
“She has a son, Robert Wallace of Bountiful, and daughter Mrs. Harold (Gloria) Hegstrom of South Ogden.
This is another clipping in the Hygiene and Sanitation book I previously shared. Since Ethel died in 1941, I presume the clipping was placed in the book by my Great Grandmother, Lillian Coley Jonas. I don’t know the connection, Richmond and Hyrum were not nearby each other.
“Ethel May Monson, wife of Mantell Monson and former resident of this valley, died last evening at the Dee hospital in Ogden following an illness of a year.
“Funeral services will be conducted Thursday at 2 p.m. in Hyrum Second ward chapel, with burial in that community’s cemetery. Friends may call at the Thompson Funeral Home in Hyrum Wednesday and Thursday until time of services.
“Mrs. Monson was born in Mess county, Kansas, December 3, 1887, a daughter of William F. Hulse and Elizabeth Munyon Hulse. The family joined the church and came to Hyrum in 1910. She married Mr. Monson September 20, 1911, in the Logan temple, and nine years later the couple moved to Idaho where they stayed for two years prior to their residence in Logan. They remained here until 1936 when they moved to Ogden.
“Surviving are her mother, her husband, six children: Harold Monson of San Francisco, Art Monson, Mrs. Anna Larsen and Mrs. June Schiffman of Ogden, Dale J. Monson of Long Beach, Cal., and Mrs. Carma Nielsen of Logan; six grandchildren and the following brothers and sisters: Mrs. C. L. Thomas of San Francisco, Eva Hulse of Tiajuana, Mex., Mrs. Lucille Richardson and George Hulse of Ogden, and Otis Hulse of San Francisco.
The article doesn’t provide the information, so I will flesh it out a bit more.
Ethel May Hulse Monson, born 3 December 1887 in Ness County Kansas, died 25 March 1941 in Ogden. Married Mantell Henry Monson, born 30 September 1890 in Hyrum, died 27 December 1953 in Hyrum.
I previously wrote about the plaque that hung on my Grandparents’ wall in Plain City, Utah. The photo in the center of the plaque showed Milo James Ross receiving the Silver Star by Major General Clarkson.
Milo James Ross WWII medals, clippings, and photo
Before Grandpa passed away, the Army was gearing up to do a more formal presentation of his medals as some of them were just given to him without much fanfare. Apparently some of them deserved a bit more formal recognition. Initially, we were gearing up for Independence Day 2014. However, some things grind slowly forward. We were then talking about some dates in August 2014 and September 2014. Unfortunately, Grandpa passed away 17 July 2014.
In preparation for the more formal presentation, the military gave new copies of some of the medals he had already received and the others he had not yet received. We took those and put them in a shadow box for his funeral. Here is a photo we took of the box before putting it behind glass.
I am not clear on the medals and what they each mean. His obituary lists a number of his medals that were awarded to him.
His obituary included this Army service information:
“Milo enlisted in the Army in October 1942. He served in the 33 rd Infantry Division, 130 th Regiment, Company C. He trained in weapons and earned his expert ranking. He arrived in Hawaii in July 1943 and received the announcement that his son, Milo Paul, had been born. He served as part of the Philippine invasion force and they fought through the jungles and liberated Baguio City. He was injured five times, one while tending to other soldiers awaiting medical attention.
“He was present at the Japanese surrender at Luzon as a Technical Sergeant in June 1945. He received two purple hearts and the Silver Star for his service at the end of World War II. His Company received a Presidential Citation for outstanding performance during armed conflict with the enemy in efforts to seize Hill X in Bilbil Mountain Province. At the time of Milo’s death, the military was preparing to award him another Purple Heart, another Silver Star, Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal & Bronze Star, World War II Victory Medal, Combat Infantry Badge 1 st Award, Philippine Liberation Ribbon and Bronze Star, Honorable Service Button for World War II. He was also to be awarded the Philippine Liberation Medal and Republic of the Philippines Presidential Unit Citation Badge from the Philippine Government.
The UofU Commemoration placard for Grandpa in 2009
The 2009 University of Utah Veterans Commemoration included this excerpt about Grandpa:
“Milo James Ross was drafted into the army shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was sent to Fort Douglas and shipped out that same day to Fort Lewis, Washington. For the next two months, he went through a weapons platoon crash course. He trained on machine guns, mortars, and hand launchers. Ross quickly earned expert ranking on these weapons. Following basic training, Ross’s unit was sent to Barstow, California. Their training focused on digging fox holes.
“Ross soon shipped out to the Hawaiian Islands, leaving behind his young pregnant wife. As his unit landed on the big island of Hawaii on July 4, 1942, a voice on the loud speaker said, “Sergeant Ross, congratulations. Your wife and son are doing well, and, one more thing, before you get off the ship you and your men have guard duty for the next four hours. Welcome to Hawaii.”
“After a long training in Hawaii, Ross’s unit, “C” Company, 130 Infantry Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division, became part of the Philippine invasion force. They hit the beach in Lingayen Gulf and intensely fought their way through jungles and mountains to the inland city of Baguio.
“Ross was wounded while tending other soldiers who were awaiting medical attention. He spent two months in a hospital while recovering from shrapnel wounds all over his body.
“The day after Ross returned to his unit, they jumped into three months of fighting that only ended with the Japanese surrender at Luzon in June, 1945.
“Company C, 130th Infantry Regiment was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for outstanding performance of duty and superb courage during armed conflict with the enemy in their efforts to seize Hill X in the Bilbil Mountain Province in the Philippines. For his service, Ross was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star.
The same shadowbox on display at his funeral
BYU Library – Special Collections has this biography and reference citation of Grandpa:
“Milo James Ross (1921-2014) was a World War II veteran who fought in the Pacific battles.
“Milo Ross was born February 4, 1921 just north of Plain City, Utah to John Jack William Ross and Ethel Sharp Ross. When Milo was barely four, his mother passed away in childbirth. Milo and his siblings were cared for by their maternal grandparents until financial strains forced Milo to be raised by his uncle, Edward Sharp, in Plain City, Utah. He grew up farming with his cousins and attended the local schools, eventually graduating from Weber High in 1939. In 1940, at a Plain City celebration, Milo met Gladys Maxine Donaldson and two years later, on April 4, 1942, they were married in her parents’ home in Ogden, Utah. The October of that same year, Milo enlisted in the United States Army at Fort Douglas, Utah, becoming a member of the 33rd Infantry Division, 130th Regiment, Company C. After training they were sent to Needles, California handling freight, setting up tents and digging trenches and then on to Hawaii for further training. When they arrived in Hawaii, on July 4, 1943, Ross was informed his son, Milo Paul, had been born that very same day. Ross’s company was assigned to become part of the Philippine invasion force where they fought in New Guinea and Luzon. They fought through the jungles, liberated Baguio City, was present at the Japanese surrender in Luzon in June 1945, and left Ross injured on five separate occasions.
“Milo Ross was honorably discharged in September of 1945. He was honored with two Purple Hearts, the Silver Star, and the Presidential Citation for outstanding performance. Returning home, Milo worked remodeling homes. He also had two daughters: Judy Ethel and Caroline. Gladys and Milo solemnized their marriage July 2, 1976 in the Ogden Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gladys died in 2004.
“Milo James Ross died in Plain City, Utah on July 17, 2014 at the age of 93.
Citation:
“Standard examiner, via WWW, March 2, 2018 (Milo James Ross; born February 4, 1921 in a log cabin north of Plain City to John Jack William Ross and Ethel Sharp Ross; mother tragically died from childbirth in 1925; Milo and his siblings lived with Ross grandparents until the costs proved too great and his Uncle Edward Sharp raised Milo in Plain City until adulthood; He attended schools in Plain City and graduated from Weber High in 1939; farmed with sharp cousins; Gladys Maxine Donaldson at a Plain City celebration in 1940; married April 4, 1942 in her parent’s home on 8th Street in Ogden; enlisted in the Army in October 1942; 33rd Infantry Division, 130th Regiment, Company C; Philippine invasion force and they fought through the jungles and liberated Baguio City; injured five times; present at the Japanese surrender at Luzon as a Technical Sergeant in June 1945; two Purple Hearts and the Silver Star; Presidential Citation for outstanding performance; He returned home in 1945 and worked remodeling homes; children Milo Paul, Judy Ethel and Caroline; solemnized their marriage July 2, 1976 in the Ogden LDS Temple; died in Plain City on July 17, 2014)
“UPB files, March, 2, 2018 (Milo James Ross; born Feb. 4, 1921 in Plain City, Utah; Joined army Oct. 1942 at Fort Douglas, Utah; fought in new Guinea and Luzon; sent to Needles, California handling freight, setting up tents and digging trenches; sent to Hawaii and landed July 4, 1943 where he received news his son had been born that very same day; wife passed away in 2004 and daughter on 1998)
The new medals shadowbox on display at his funeral
Sagacity 