Life of Lauretta Hepworth Astle Written by her daughter, Arstanie Astle Nye

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Lauretta was always in attendance at Sunday School and Sacrament Meeting which followed. All the children went along each Sunday. Sometimes they were given a piece of bread to tide them over until dinner. Lauretta was very happy with each new baby, although it was more work and longer hours. Each child seemed to bring a greater blessing for the parents. Lauretta washed, mended and always kept them clean. A new baby was added about every seventeen or eighteen months. I remember hearing the cry of the new baby and Sister Constance Egyleston meeting us in the kitchen as we came downstairs, she being the mid-wife who Dad brought in during the night. We all surrounded the bed to see the baby and each in turn would get to hold it a few minutes.

The time of cutting the grain and threshing was an event which called for extra cooking and washing of dishes. Mother would be up at 4:00 a.m. to help milk the cows, care for the milk and cook the breakfast so the men could start the horse powered threshing machine by six or seven in the morning. At noon, she with the help of one or two others, would have a big dinner ready for ten or fifteen men. After the days work, at dark, some of the men would stay for supper.

Lauretta and John F. Astle Family - 1904 Back Row: Lauretta Hepworth, Klea Lauretta, John Francis Jr., John Francis Astle Front Row: Evelyn Vilate (Lauretta's Arms), Arstanie Elvira, Clara Pearl, David Elmer, Vernon Lenox

I remember helping to tend the babies while still quite small. One day mother had me sit in the big rocking chair with the baby on a pillow, to get it to stay asleep while she was washing. In those days, it took nearly all day to wash. By the time she carried in the water from the ditch or well, heated it on the wood fed stove, washed by hand all the clothes on a wash board, and then boiled and rinsed them and waited or them to dry, no wonder it was called a "wash day."

There were eight children born to them while living in that house. In 1906, the farm was sold and they bought a large house in town, Grover, along with a larger acreage farm. The house was across the street from the school. The older children could help with the morning work and still be to school on time. Francis, Jr. the oldest, but still only fourteen or fifteen years of age helped with much of the farm work.

On July 3, 1907, a rather dark stormy day, much thunder and lightning surrounded the house. In the early evening, Grandma Hepworth came from the bedroom where mother was and said, "You have a new baby girl in there." The family of eight, along with the parents, made her welcome. Doretta, just a baby of 15 months, hardly knowing what it was all about, was a little jealous of the new baby, but she soon got over that. In those days, the babies were dressed in long dresses, then at three months a new set of dresses were made. That was a very big event to all of us, the day the baby was "shortened!"

Mother did all the sewing for the family and taught each of the girls how to work as we got old enough. She had each of the girls help with the washing, ironing, cleaning, and of course, the farm work. There was always plenty of work for all to do. In the summer, a large garden was planted. Potatoes, turnips, beets and other vegetables that would keep would be put in an underground cellar or pit where they could be got during the winter months.

Mother would have a set time to do this and a set time to do that, Monday was wash day, Tuesday ironing, mending, baking, and so on.

The children all had the diseases as they came along. Mother would be up night and day caring for the sick, sometimes being so tired and weary, she could barely walk.

On May 23, 1909, a Sunday morning, stake conference was to be held in Afton. It was raining but the team was hooked to a covered wagon and all the older children were ready to go to the conference. Father, Mother and the two younger girls stayed home. It being President George Osmond's birthday made it much more impressive. A large black leather chair was given to him. When we returned home in the late afternoon, we found another baby girl had come to our home. She was the tenth child and the seventh girl. She was given the name of Elva May.

In the month of November 1909, Mother was left again with the family of ten children, a large farm to manage, cows to be milked, but Mother would not stand in the way when it was the Lord's work to be done. Father had been called to fill a mission in the Eastern States. It was a cold snowy morning; they were up very early to drive the distance of fifty miles to Montpelier, Idaho, where Father would take the train for Salt Lake City to be set apart to do missionary work.

There was much heavy outside work for Mother, but with some help from Francis, he being seventeen, and the other children, the work was completed each day. The responsibilities were really too much for Mother, but she didn't say, "I give up; it can't be done," she kept on trying. At the beginning of each day, Mother and the family would kneel in prayer and ask the Lord to help them; then before going to bed at night, they again gave thanks to their Father in Heaven for His guidance and protecting care He had given them that day.

July 1910, Father was released from his mission and returned home. A big load of responsibility was lifted form Mother's tired shoulders that day.

During the winter of 1910, the children all had whooping cough and the family was quarantined home for months, so it seemed. Evelyn, the fourth daughter, took pneumonia and past away March 23, 1911, at the age of seven. That was a great trial for Mother, but she kept up her courage and her faith.

February 19, 1912, another girl joined the family, Grace Emily. Then on January 16, 1914, Jane was born but only lived a few months. She died in April of 1914. July 14, 1915, a little boy was born. He was a large baby weighing 14 pounds, the fourth son and the first child to be born in a hospital. He too only lived a short time. Through the blessings of the Lord, Mother's life was spared. The large family needed her and was praying for her.

Along about this time the family packed furniture, clothes, dishes and moved to the farm during the summer months. We slept in tents and lived mainly in a lumber building that had been used as a grainery. Mother would go along helping at all times. She was a heavy woman which made it harder for her. We all worked together putting in long hours, but still never finding it to tiresome to play together.

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