Back (l-r):William Freestone (manager), Norman Carver, Glen Charlton, Fred Singleton, and Elmer Singleton. Middle: Clair Folkman, Dick Skeen, Albert Sharp, Abe Maw, Milo Ross. Front: F. Skeen, Walt Moyes, Arnold Taylor, Lynn Stewart, Theron Rhead.
The caption to this newspaper clipping read as follows: “Favored by Many…Plain City’s hustling ball club has many of the bleacherites at the 1938 Utah farm bureau tournament picking it to walk off with the state title before the joust closes.” The caption goes on to list the names of the individuals included in the photograph which I reproduced as the caption to the photo above. I list the names just as they were listed in the caption for the photo. The title of the article was “Plain City Clubbers Show Ability.” The clipping is included in Grandpa’s clippings but we do not know exactly when it was published. The team did end up going to Lagoon and playing Sandy for the state championship, but lost.
This team obviously played and practiced in Plain City, Weber, Utah. Grandpa has told me numerous times how he used to play baseball. With Grandpa just past 90, it is a bit hard to imagine him hustling after anything, let alone after a ball. The other thing that struck me about this team is I expected them to all be much closer in age to each other.
Grandpa’s comments about this photo were, “Lost our last game. 1 to 0 in Salt Lake.”
William Sessions Freestone (1901-1998) Manager.
Norman Elmer Carver (1919-2001)
Alfred Glen Charlton (1919-1974)
Clair Marcus Folkman (1910-1975)
Abraham “Abe” Edward Maw (1906-1985)
Walter “Walt” Jeremiah Moyes (1907-1983)
William Albert Sharp (1909-1984)
Bert Elmer Singleton (1918-1996) For those baseball fans out there, Elmer went on to play 24 seasons in his career. He played for teams like Boston Braves, Chicago Clubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Senators.
Grandpa, Milo Ross, was a builder nearly his entire adult life. Even into his 80s he was helping people remodel, reroof (and falling off those roofs and living), and more. Here is a story of Grandpa and Grandma getting involved for the construction of a new church in north Plain City. I am taking this from his own writing (I corrected spelling and edited for reading):
Milo Ross, Lee Dickamore, John Watson
“Yes – I did pray many times on my knees asking for Heavenly Father’s hand –
Milo Ross, Lee Dickamore, John Watson, Aline Lord
“April 2002 Milo Ross
“May 10 2002
“President Dickamore – Farr West also – Watson President new church by Archie Hunt
“Start family news of events that did help build church in Plain City by making phone calls and asking if Dickamore President for Farr West – Plain City Stake if they would think and accept a chance to build church in different area of Plain City
Gladys and Milo Ross, Lee Dickamore, John Watson, Aline and Gene Lord
“It was rumored around a new church was to be built in north Plain City area. So I called President Dickamore at the Stake Center in Plain City one Sunday, during church services, and asked if he would please let me show a building place for a new church. Not only as a church presence but because of the Abram Maw and wife [Monna] and Maw family always wanted to help support the church with a good high piece of ground that could be easily drain for parking, drainage and no drainage.
John Watson, Lee Dickamore, Gene and Alina Lord, Gladys and Milo Ross
John Watson, Lee Dickamore, Gene and Aline Lord, Gladys and Milo Ross
Lee Dickamore, John Watson, Gladys and Milo Ross
“I’ve done work building for the Maws and their wishes – some day maybe the Maws could donate something nice to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in honor of the greatness of the glory that the family of Maws had received from being members of the church and the many great blessings the Lord had shared with the large family of Maws.
“A few days later President Dickamore asked if I would show the ground and information of the offer.
“After Abram and his wife passed away Aline [Maw] Lord and husband, Gene Lord, talked about maybe some day the church would accept the ground set apart from the Maws Estate when divided among the family of Maws and grand children and the Maws wishes to keep one piece of ground clean and keep up good so maybe some one in the church would help the spirit and desire and also want and have the people in charge of our church to some day foresee a house of our Lord build on the ground, that if Maws have prayed and dedicated to church all their lives for a dream come true.
Maw/Lord Home in Plain City, Utah
“So Milo Ross has helped the Maw family to keep up the Maws wishes and with the great help from President Dickamore and President Watson Milo’s wishes and a desire to fulfill a wish come true for the great Maw family and my great Archie Hunt and wife, their good works and keeping up the drive to encourage in some way that in our life altogether keep information going forward to keep the building spirit alive as long as we life.
Aline Lord, Milo and Gladys Ross
“So from the Lords family and the Seager Velda [Maw] family and thanks to the man of God that did his praying from our Savior Jesus Christ our wishes and prayers through a man from Farr West.
Unknown workers, Aline and Gene Lord, Gladys and Milo Ross
“And his presidency made our dreams come true. Thanks Dickamore, we can all go forward now and start our family histories and tell the wold how not a railroad but a lovely church came into our Plain City by the words of a great man from Farr West. Dickamore and his counselors. Milo Ross. Yes, prayers do help our Lord.
Milo Ross found it full circle that the Plain City 7th Ward bulletin included information on the Twin Falls Idaho Temple Dedication
Grandpa helped construct the replacement chapel in downtown Plain City dedicated in 1954. He felt some rejection and disappointment when that building was replaced. But his excitement over his part in the construction of this chapel was palpable, even though I doubt he lifted a hammer to help.
I recently attended the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) annual conference in Tucson, Arizona at Starr Pass. The resort is secluded and away from downtown. From the resort there were a number of trails and my law school buddy, Andrew Curtis, and I took a few of them out to see the desert. We were also joined by Michael Wilder on our last evening in Tucson.
That last evening we hiked over to the Bowen House. There is an interpretive sign in the desert, a few articles online. Sherry and Ruby Bowen moved to Tucson in the 1920s from Rockford, Illinois. The change of climate was to help with her heart complications. He was a typesetter who eventually became the editor of the Arizona Daily Star. They moved to this location in 1931 and started this home while living in a cabin.
Michael Wilder and Andrew Curtis visiting in front of the Bowen House
The Bowens left Tucson in 1944 and moved to New York City where Sherry Bowen worked for the Associated Press.
Of course the genealogist in me was curious about the man and woman more than the house. I found this article from Alex Jay on the Stripper’s Guide.
View of Tucson from Starr Pass Marriott
“Sherry B. Bowen was born Sherry Bowen Krauskopf in Maywood, Illinois, on March 13, 1900, according to the Cook County, Illinois, Birth Certificates Index at Ancestry.com. His parents were Charles C. and Mary Hort. Bowen served in the Army during World War I and on his Report of Interment card, his birth surname was crossed out and “Bowen” was written above it. A note said he had legally changed his name but the date of the change was not recorded.
Starr Pass Marriott Resort
“The 1900 U.S. Federal Census said Bowen was the only child and his father was a school teacher. In the 1910 census, the family still resided in Maywood and their address was 900 8th Avenue. Bowen had a younger brother, Karl, and their father was a principal and teacher.
According to the Interment card, Bowen’s Army service started May 28, 1918. He was a private in Company B, 336th Battalion, Tank Corps. He was discharged July 18, 1919.
In 1920 Bowen was a university student and still lived with his parents at the same address. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (New York), August 5, 1956, said Bowen studied at the University of Illinois and then joined the Bloomington, Illinois, Pantagraph. Bowen’s move was reported in the Daily Illini, February 1, 1922.
Krauskopf Resigns Illini Position for Job on Pantagraph
Sherry B. Krauskopf ’23 has resigned as one of the news editors of The Daily Illini to accept a position on the editorial staff of the Bloomington Pantagraph. He will leave to assume his new duties Saturday.
Krauskopf will start as a reporter but will be given a taste of the mechanical side of newspaper work and will De training on the city editor’s desk as he intends to follow the editorial phases of newspaper work.
Beginning as a reporter in his freshman year Krauskopf has rounded out five semesters of work on the staff of The Daily Illini, two years as a reporter and thus far this year he has been one of the six news editors.
Ruby Butts Take Vows Of Marriage To S . B. KrauskopfAnother romance of The Daily Illini culminated in a wedding last night when Ruby D. Butts ’23 became the bride of Sherry Krauskopf ’23 at 7 o’clock in the home of the Rev. James C. Baker, 1209 West Green street, Urbana. Mr. Baker read the service before members of the immediate families.The date for the wedding had originally been set for June, but owing to the serious illness of the groom, the ceremony was performed last night. The bride wore a gown of black satin and Spanish lace and a corsage of American roses. Geraldine Hegit ’23, who was bridesmaid, wore blue taffeta and carried a shower bouquet of La France roses. Karl H. Krauskopf ’26, brother of the groom, acted as best man. Mrs. Krauskopf has been a member of the staff of The Daily Illini for the past three years and was society editor this year until forced to resign because of ill health. The groom was a reporter on The Daily Illini in his freshman and sophomore years and was a news editor last year.
According to the Democrat and Chronicle, Bowen moved on to the Springfield, Illinois, Register. In Tucson Arizona, Bowen was at the Independent and then worked 16 years at the Arizona Daily Star.
The 1930 census recorded Bowen, a newspaper reporter, and his wife, in Tucson on North 1st Avenue. The 1933 and 1934 Tucson city directories listed his address as Route 1, Box 399A. In 1935 he resided in the Tucson Mountains. Bowen’s address was Anklam Road in the 1936 directory.
Bowen brought his wife, Ruby, to Tucson from Rockford, Ill., in the late 1920s in hopes that the climate would improve her health. Bowen was a typesetter and later city editor at the Arizona Daily Star. The Bowens homesteaded in the Tucson Mountains and began living in a cabin there in 1931 while Bowen built the house of native stone. They expanded their claim to 2,000 acres. Ruby Bowen wrote for Desert Magazine of the Southwest. Her diary of her first year in the Tucson Mountains refers to the wildlife she saw, including javelina, deer and wild mountain sheep that came to the base of the cliffs nearly every evening to graze. She wrote that a mountain lion would pace about when she was cooking meat and once attempted to get in the window.
American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Bowen wrote The Story of Santa Claus which was drawn by Ed H. Gunder and ran from December 17 to 22, 1951. The strip was syndicated by the Associated Press.
Moving back to the Conference, it was a great chance to get reacquainted with my law school friend, Andrew Curtis. These conferences are good as I get continuing education credits for both Idaho and Utah. Nothing too earth-shattering learned, confirming much of what I knew or had forgotten. But a great opportunity to stay in a very nice resort and visit a new area.
Paul Ross and Andrew Curtis flying to Tucson from Salt Lake City
Aliza and Lillian Ross at Rialto Beach, Washington in August 2020
In August 2020, the heights of COVID-19, the Ross family took a little trip through the northwest. Earlier that same day we were at Hurricane Ridge. Six days before at the Museum of the Rockies in Montana. The next day would find us in Astoria, Oregon. In the middle, Superior, Montana. There are other posts I need to do regarding the Hiawatha Trail, Hoh Rain Forest, Seaside/Cannon Beach, and more.
This is an evening stop the Ross van made to Rialto Beach near La Push, Washington. It was getting later in the evening. I dropped the kids off and probably spent another 30 minutes trying to find a good spot to park and then walk to the beach myself. The kids had fun, it was getting dark, and starting to get cool at the beach. But they had another memorable occasion at a beach on the Pacific Ocean in 2020.
This photo appeared of David D Williams recently. I had a very small copy of the same photo attached to a family pedigree sheet. Here is a copy of that pedigree that belonged to my Grandmother, Gladys Maxine Donaldson Ross. The other photos on the pedigree I have also match. I was pretty excited when this one showed up in better and higher resolution than the one on the family group sheet.
Pedigree of David Delos Donaldson
My Grandma would not have known David as he passed away in 1911. I have previously written on David D Williams and Gwenllian Jordan. For a quick updated, David D Williams was born 12 November 1832 in Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales. He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in August 1848. He saved and emigrated to Utah in 1864. He married his wife on board the the ship, General McClellan, docked at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He and Gwenllian Jordan settled in Ogden, Weber, Utah. They had 10 children of which Mary Elizabeth Williams (1869 – 1951) is my Great Great Grandmother. David passed away 27 November 1911 in Ogden. He was buried 2 December 1911 in the Ogden City Cemetery. He and Gwenllian do not yet have a tombstone, something I hope to correct.
Amanda and Paul Ross at our property in Beryl, Utah
There are various benefits from family history. I have various stories that come from fortuitous interactions with the living and the dead. Here is another one of those physical manifestations that come from doing family history.
My grandfather, Milo James Ross, had a half sister June Ethelyn Streeter. June lived her final years with her daughter, Ina Corsaro, in Adelanto, California. I made contact with and visited through the years with Ina and her husband, Merk French.
At one point I had visited with Grandpa about June’s father, Mark Streeter. Grandpa said he would shoot that traitor himself. Grandpa was sometimes pretty forthright, but that was one instance where it shocked me with the abruptness of his language.
In 2019, we took Aliza and Hiram to Disneyland. One of the conditions of the California trip was a stop to try and visit with Ina in Adelanto. While we were there, we connected with a family member I had never met. She was kind enough to let me take a couple of photo albums and other family history on the condition I return them. Of course I did so. Ina and I spent several months naming and getting those photos and documents uploaded to FamilySearch and properly identified.
Fast forward a year or two and I got a random phone call from Ina. She and Merk had purchased a parcel of land in Beryl, Iron, Utah in the 1970s. She had no use for it, she said it wasn’t worth much, and it was in Utah. She asked if I would be interested in it and she would give it as a gift in gratitude for all the help with family history work. I said sure.
We jumped through the hoops with a Utah title company and got the transfer done.
A beautiful day in Beryl, Utah
We took a trip through southern Utah with the kids in March of 2021. We spent a few days in St. George and we ventured out of our way to stop by our nearly gifted property in Beryl, Utah. The photo above is the kids taking our picture on the land we believe we own. There are not clear coordinates and this is as close as we could approximate our parcels. We think we got pretty close.
Our property taxes are about $10 a year. There are no weed or other duties for the parcel. We don’t know how often we will get to visit it. But we own dirt in Utah now, which only came about because of family and family history. So far it is a blessing, hopefully it will always be that way. What does the future hold for this parcel? Will it be in our life?
Amanda and Aliza Ross on 12 February 2022 at the Twin Falls Temple
Our daughter Aliza turns 12 this year. That means that in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints she is of sufficient age that she may attend the holy temple and perform work on behalf of the deceased. The year that a youth turns 12, starting in January, they may enter and do that work.
Our Ward, the Burley 11th Ward, took various youth on 12 February 2022 to the Twin Falls Temple. Amanda was able to go with her.
We returned to the Twin Falls Temple on 6 March 2022. I met my former mission companion in the England Manchester Mission and former roommate at Utah State University Brad Hales there at the temple with his daughter Eliza. Another great opportunity for our family. My Dad also arranged his schedule while he was working at the temple so that he could also watch and participate in some of the vicarious confirmations as temple recorder.
Paul, Aliza, and Amanda Ross on 6 March 2022 at the Twin Falls Temple
Yesterday, we attended the Pocatello Idaho Temple for baptisms. We took Aliza and my cousin Mary Lou and her husband Bill Teal. We also met Brad and Eliza Hales, this time joined by Aleah, who can also now attend since she turns 12 this year.
Bill and Mary Lou Teal, Amanda, Aliza, and Paul Ross, and Aleah, Brad, and Eliza Hales on 16 April 2022 at the Pocatello Idaho Temple
It was fun to visit with Bill and Mary Lou on the way there and back. Bill had never performed baptisms for the dead, either as the proxy or as the priesthood holder performing the ordinance. He was baptized when a child, but only received the Melchizedek Priesthood and was endowed in the holy temple in 2021. It was the first time Mary Lou had returned to the temple in over 25 years. Here is a picture from that occasion.
Bill and Mary Lou Teal on 20 February 2021 at the Twin Falls Temple
There was a good little crowd there to support Bill and Mary Lou going to the temple on this occasion. Especially with the limited COVID-19 restrictions that were still in place.
Matt and Carrie DeTemple, Becky and Curtis Smith, Ryan Yee, Brandon Clegg, Corinne Carter, Linda Hosteen, Paul and Amanda Ross on 20 February 2021 at Twin Falls Temple
Bill and Mary Lou continued to work and were sealed to each other for time and all eternity in the Twin Falls Temple on 29 September 2021. Which also happened to be the wedding anniversary for Norvel and Karen Christenson.
Bill and Mary Lou Teal on 29 September 2021 at the Twin Falls Temple
Another fun crowd there to support Bill and Mary Lou going to the temple on this occasion. It was a joyous occasion!
(l-r) Linda Hosteen, Corinne Carter, Candi Wells, Denise Olsen, Dave Wells, Denise Olsen, Ryan Yee, Karen and Norvel Christenson, Mary Lou Teal, Paul Ross, Bill Teal, Matt and Trista Cook, Brandon Clegg, Marilyn Felt, and Katie Clegg on 29 September 2021 at Twin Falls Temple
Miracles continue to happen in the lives of those around us. The holy temple is not only a gathering place for the saints spiritually and in the covenant, but for families and friends in this world.
Mary Lou told the story of her attending the Idaho Falls Temple to do baptisms as a youth in the 1960s, just like Aliza is now. Mary Lou grew up on a farm at Hunt, which was part of the Jerome Idaho Stake.
Mary Lou is my first cousin once removed. Bill and Mary Andra are her Grandparents and my Great Grandparents. Her mother, June, and my Grandmother, Colleen, are sisters.
Denise Olsen in one of the photos is the same, but through my Grandpa. Joseph and Lillian Jonas are her Grandparents and my Great Grandparents. Her mother, LeReta, and my Grandfather, Norwood, are siblings. On that occasion in September, I was with two separate relatives of my Mom. How small is the world and the church?
Aliza, Paul, Lillian, James, Hiram, and Amanda Ross at Olympic National Park
Sometimes in life you have grand plans and then life takes you a different direction. This principle was taught to the Ross family again in 2020. We visited Olympic National Park and we told we had to go see Hurricane Ridge. “You have some amazing panoramic views from Hurricane Ridge.” To get to Hurricane Ridge you have to drive to Port Angeles, Washington and drive like 20 miles into the park.
As you can see, we made it to Hurricane Ridge. The interpretive sign points out 17 different peaks all viewable from the overlook. You can also see two rivers and a glacier. Except we couldn’t. We just saw a wall of clouds and had to use our imaginations.
View from Hurricane Ridge on 6 August 2020
While we did not capture the view from the outlook, I think the drive up there was the most beautiful road I have ever driven. The views were magnificent on the way and the wildflowers were abundant. Our drive up was worth more than the destination. Another lesson we apparently needed a reminder.
Sagacity 