Luella Frank Jensen A Sketch or History of My Life - Started in January 1960

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I was baptized 28 July 1900 by Alfred Brigham Crabtree in Bear River just south of the bridge leading to Georgetown, Idaho. Bishop Edgar M. Lindsay confirmed me in Sacrament meeting. We moved back to Providence in August 1900 so mother could take care of her parents. I started here that fall with Diana Hammond as my teacher. I attended each grade in our public school with the following teachers: Diana Hammond, J. R. Thompson, Joseph Campbell, and Lorenzo E. Tibbitts. Mr. Tibbitts was the Principal.

Hazel and Luella

During the summers while I was growing up, I helped my father on the farm - helped haul hay. I would pitch hay onto the hayrack on one side of the wagon and father on the other side. Father farmed Grandfather Haderlie's farm. At different times I herded cows, sometimes Hazel went with me. We took some lunch and stayed practically all day. I love horses, and we had a very good riding pony. We called her Babe. She was a bay mare with a white stripe face. She was a wonderfully fast trotter. I used to drive the cows to pasture and bring them home. I would race any of the boys or girls in town and always came out ahead. I learned to milk cows. At one time, we had a roan cow called Shorty. I liked to milk her. She had a loose hanging wart on one teet. I pulled it off, away she went, tipping the milk over and me sitting there on the milk stool, while she ran round the corral. I worked in the sugar beet field, hoeing, thinning, and topping. In fact, I helped with the beet harvest the fall before I was married. Grandfather had several hives of honeybees, and in the summers, he took them out of the shed. Hazel and I tacked strips of carpet around to enclose our bed and slept there. Mother stored the coal heaters there for the summer. One morning, Father came to wake us. He laughed and said, "You girls better wake up and look at yourselves." We were really painted up like Indians with soot from the heaters and our clothes were hanging high up in the apple trees. We found it was a prank by Eliza and Julia Gessell, our neighbors.

I joined the young ladies mutual when I was 14 years old. Mary A. Marler Tibbitts was the president. I also enjoyed being on programs in school and other organizations. The school always held a program of drills and singing, dialogues, and recitations and a children's dance on Washington's birthday. I sometimes wish we had drills now-a-days. They were beautiful where we carried the stars and stripes. I had a good singing voice and took part in many of the programs both in school and the ward as I grew older. I joined the ward choir when I was 15 years old. Joseph A. Smith Sr. was the conductor. Emily Maddison was the organist. In May 1907 when our 8th grade students graduated, each Principal in the County took their class to the Brigham Young College in Logan and all took the examinations together with a teacher rather than our own watching each class. We spent 2 days taking examinations, then the students from the County held the graduating exercises at that same place, and my average was 96 per cent. We received our certificated there. From this exercise, I went to the home of Dr. and Mrs. O. H. Budge where I had promised to help with the house work and the children.

Soon after joining the mutual, I learned to waltz at one of the ward dances. Alfred B. Crabtree, the same man who baptized me and whom we affectionally called Uncle Al had the courage to teach me for which I am grateful. All our entertainments were held in the ward chapel in the rock building. The red brick portion was added in 1925. In 1905 a large pavilion was built across the street from our chapel with the best dance floor in the valley and a good stage where traveling groups came and some of our local talent performed. The young folks from all around came to enjoy themselves.

About twelve of we girls held lots of Halloween parties and candy pulls at one home or another, also surprise parties - never a dull moment. One evening some fellows from Millville kept bothering us, so we finally saw a chance to get rid of them. While part of the girls talked to them, the rest of us unharnessed their horse and put the harness in a canal. While they look for it we got away from them, "A mean trick." But it worked.

I stayed at the Budge home until August 1907, then came home to get ready to go to College. I wished to become a school teacher or a nurse, but I was disappointed, I couldn't save much money for school as my wages were $2.00 per week, and Dr. Budge fixed my teeth - $1.00 each week went on that bill which was $10.00. So I got a few clothes and that's about all. My folks didn't have the means to send me. Grandfather had promised he would send me, but he must have forgotten. He didn't say anything when it was time, and I wouldn't ask him. Father said he'd borrow the money, but I refused. So I went to work for different people in their homes, going back to the Budge home 3 different times when they needed me. They treated me like one of the family. I also worked at the Jacob Gessell home a short time, at the Horton Hammond home, at the John Spande home, at the J. E. Johnson home, and at the Charles H. Hart home - was only at this home about ten days when I got the mumps and exposed their children. Mrs. Hart was surely mad at me. I was only 16 years old and there were 17 rooms in the house, 5 children and a nephew, James Osmond, staying there going to College. It was a cold January day when I woke up all bloomed out with mumps on one side. The day before I worked hard all day, helping her to cook and she served 42 women of some club or other. I even went out and milked the cow as we ran out of milk for cooking. But when I had the mumps she was going to let me walk home to Providence. But the nephew said, "I'll miss a class in school to take her home," which he did. He hitched up the dappled grey and took me home. I have never seen him since but would certainly like to thank him for his kindness. I didn't go back there to work.

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