Memorial Day Remembrances

On Monday (Memorial Day 2013), Iris and I made a brief journey over to the Bear Lake Valley to pay our respects to some of our kindred dead.  Of course, we went to the Lanark Cemetery and contemplated the blessings that are ours  in large part due to the love, work, and sacrifice of Darrell and Edna Eborn, our parents and grandparents.  I miss them greatly and come to realize each day just how big a role they played in our lives and how blessed we all are because for them in so many, many ways.  I always reflect on Mom telling me how beautiful she thought  Lanark was in the springtime looking northward over the rolling green hills toward Liberty, where she was raised.  These two small towns were not far apart and opportunities to travel very far beyond their boundaries were more limited than we can imagine in our day and age.  I praise the day they found each other and all they did to show their love and care for us as we grew up.

Lately I have been thinking a great deal about another of our ancestors, my Great Grandmother, Mary Ann Pitman.  We found her grave stone in the Liberty Cemetery and left a small potted flower as a token of our appreciation.  As you can see from the picture below, Mary Ann Pitman Hymas did not lead a long life and we can rest assured that her life was not easy by our standards.  Her love and sacrifice were demonstrated by the children she bore and cared for in the pioneer community of Liberty, where she passed away at the age of 32.

She came to America when she was ten years old after conversion to the LDS Church and first went to Iowa where they prepared for the journey to the Salt Lake valley to be with the Saints in the Rocky Mountains.  Her father, James Pitman, died in Nebraska before their party was ready for the overland wagon journey.  It is interesting to note that they came across the plains to Utah with the Homer Duncan Company in 1861, just as the U.S. Civil War was beginning.  Her mother, Ann Moulton King Pitman, who, interestingly enough, was later married to a Joseph Lewis and eventually settled in Paris, Idaho, where she died in 1905.  She is the great-great grandmother of one of our daughters-in-law, Candice Pope, our Stephen's wife and the mother of four of the best looking grand kids anyone could every hope to have.  One of her children, while before passing in 1878, was our grandfather, Benjamin Pitman Hymas.  Father of Edna Hymas, our mother.

They had the following children:
2 i. John William (1865-1959)
3 ii. Mary Ann Adelia (1866-1944)
4 iii. Joseph Manassah (1867-1932)
5 iv. Benjamin Pitman (1869-1940)
6 v. Clara Drucilla (1872-1901)
  

John A. Hymas of Essex and Idaho

 John Arnold Hymas. Born on 1 September 1839 in Rayleigh, Essex, England. Christened on 1 October 1839 in Rayleigh, Essex, England. John Arnold died in Liberty, Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States on 8 November 1917, he was 78. Buried on 11 November 1917 in Liberty, Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States.

Information from Ancestry.com Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah.  

"John A. Hymas Son of William Hymas and Mary Ann Atkins. Born Sept. 1, 1839, Rayleigh, Essex, Eng. Came to Utah October, 1861. HYMAS, JOHN A. (son of William Hymas and Mary Ann Atkins). Born Sept. 1, 1839, at Rayleigh, Essex, Eng. Came to Utah Oct. 1861, Creighton telegraph train. William Hymas was born July 26, 1806, at Rayleigh, Essex, England, the son of Edward and Sarah Howler Hymas. He was married to Mary Ann Atkins January 6, 1834. She was born December 20, 1815, at Hockley, Essex, England, and was the daughter of Willam and Lucy Hart Atkins. They were the parents of 8 children: George, born in 1834; William Alfred, 1837; John I., 1839; Sarah, 1841; Susan, 1844; Benjamin, 1846; James, 1849; and Mary Ann, 1851. In 1853 William and his family first heard the gospel message and by 1856, when John sailed for America on the ship Caravan all the family except the oldest son had joined the Church. The following year William Alfred sailed on the George Washington and joined brother John in Iowa. William and Mary Ann saved their money and made plans to take the remaining members of their family to America. Their plans were at least partially realized when all except George sailed on the ship Underwriter on April 23, 1861."

On 10 November 1861 when John Arnold was 22, he first married Mary Ann Pitman, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. Born on 4 October 1846 in Parish Of Hound, Southampton, Hampshire, England. Mary Ann died in Liberty, Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States on 22 January 1878, she was 31. Buried on 27 January 1878 in Liberty, Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States.

Treasures of Pioneer History Treasures of Pioneer History: Vol 4 the Price of Pioneering They Gave Their Lives

"James Pitman and his wife, Anne M. King Pitman, with their daughter Mary Ann, then ten years of age, came to America in the year 1857 from South Hampton, England. James was listed as forty-four years of age and his wife forty-two. When they reached the New World the family went to Iowa where they were to make preparations for the journey West to join with the Saints in Utah. James Pitman died the following year. While Ann and Mary Ann were living in Omaha, they became acquainted with Joseph Lewis whom Ann later married. When Mary Ann grew to young womanhood, she married John Hymas in Salt Lake City in 1861, and her mother and Joseph Lewis joined them the following year. The Lewis family made their home at Paris, Idaho and the Hymas family settled at Liberty, Idaho. ”Edith Haddock and Mary O. Lewis"  

Her husband, John A. Hymas married again later and had several more children.  This is chronicled more completely elsewhere in this blog.

Below are the two Liberty Ward churches with which I am familiar.  The picture immediately below was completed in 1958.  I actually had the opportunity to do work on the construction of this building when I was a teenager.  This, I consider to be my home ward to this date.  It was from this ward that I was called to serve my mission in 1960.  I lived with our young family in the old Lyme Hymas home about a mile to the south.  We had three little boys while we lived there for three years and I well remember pulling Jason and Jared to the Church on sunny summer mornings in their little red wagon.

This is the Liberty Ward LDS Chapel.  It was dedicated in 1958. 

Below is the old Liberty Ward Church where mother attended meetings etc. as a child and was still in use for a few years after the Lanark Ward was joined with the Liberty-Sharon Ward to become the Liberty Ward I knew as a teen ager.

 

When the Lanark Ward was merged into the Liberty Ward I was a young high school aged boy.

I remember how terrified I was when asked to give a two and a half minute talk in Sunday School

before so many strangers.  I did know most of the young people because we all attended school together in Paris and rode the same school bus to and from school much of the time.  I learned to love the Liberty Ward and to this day I consider it my home ward..  It was there that Bishop Marvin Hymas interviewed me for my mission back in the summer of 1960.  I still have many fond memories

of the people and activities of the Liberty Ward and shall ever be grateful for the guidance and support I got as a member of that ward.  The building above was the Liberty Church when we joined the ward.  Mother told us of the many good times she had while she lived in the small community of Liberty and these experiences helped shape her life.

This Daughters of Utah Pioneers marker is situated on the southwest corner of the Liberty, Idaho LDS Chapel located along the north side of Highway 36. It is visible from the highway, with the plaque facing east. The marker is attached to a large base made of carved stones. It reads:

Liberty is a small ranching community in the northwest corner of Bear Lake Valley, built on the south-facing slope of a hill between Mill Creek and Ovid Creek. Narrow fingers of the valley extend towards the Bear River Mountains in this area, separated by hilly areas. Irrigated fields fill the valley, where hay is the main crop, and hills are covered with grass and sagebrush. The forested peaks of the mountains provide a beautiful backdrop to the scenery. The only public structure in Liberty is the Mormon church at the main intersection.

Mormon settlers arrived in 1863, descending into the valley through Emigration Canyon, which lies northwest of Liberty, and settled at Paris, several miles to the south. Liberty was settled soon after, as recorded on a historic marker in Liberty.

State Highway 36 passes through Liberty, leading to Emigration Canyon on the northwest, and Ovid to the southeast. Lanark Road begins at Liberty and heads south along the west edge of the valley. The elevation is 5,980 feet at the low end of town, and houses extend up the hill to about 6,080 feet. The population may be about 100 people.

Posted by Bart

A Visit with Aunt Helen Rae

For the last several  months Reed and I have talked about going down to Soda Springs to visit our Aunt Helen Rae.  She is one of two surviving children of our grandparents, Aurthur Phipp and Nina Passey Eborn.  She is currently 88 years old and we hadn't seen her for quite a long time. The other surviving child is Uncle Weldon, who is currently in the nursing home in Montpelier.  We need to make a point to go and see him too. 

Aunt Helen Rae  has always been special to many in the family.  She has gone out of her way to visit us, send us Christmas cards, give us phone calls and just generally shown an interest in so many members of the extended family.  Reed reminded her that nearly everyone who speaks of her includes the word "angel" in their description.  I remember when we lived in Montpelier many of the people we knew always spoke kindly of her after finding that she was our aunt.  I know Mom and Dad appreciated her frequent visits to their home in Lanark, and especially when they were at the Bear Lake Memorial Hospital in Montpelier.  She would often bring a treat and always an encouraging word and a listening ear.  When we lived in Montpelier she and Harry would sometimes stop by to check on Iris and me and our family.  Whenever their was a wedding reception in our family or the extended family she always made an effort to be there.  I can only imagine how many wedding receptions she has attended over the years.

In Aunt Helen Rae's advancing years her body is showing the signs of wear, but her mind is alert and her memory keen.  She takes great pride in her loving family and their accomplishments.  She is fortunate to have her daughter, Janet, and her family living close by in Soda Springs.  While we were there Janet just happened to show up to check on her, which she does often.  This is a great comfort to Aunt Helen Rae.

As I look back over the many years at my own relationship with Aunt Helen Rae, I remember that she always lifted our spirits with her happy smile and words of encouragement.  She never went away without having lifted us and making us feel better than when she came.  What a marvelous ability, one we all should cultivate.

Aunt Helen Rae has always been an example of what a true Christian should be.  She quietly went about doing good wherever she could.  In the process she touched the lives of many people.  Aunt Helen Rae served as a temple officiator for several years in the Logan Temple and it has been a joy to see her there since we started our service.  Lately she has not been able to come because it is becoming to difficult to get around.  In her absence it has been good to see, Janet, at the Temple from time to time.

Aunt Helen Rae was not really thrilled about posing for a picture, but she relented.  Here we see Aunt Helen Rae and her daughter Janet at home in Soda Springs, Idaho.

Here we (Reed and Bart) are with our dear Aunt Helen Rae.  It certainly was worth making the trip to see her.  We hope to do it again.  Today was Valentine's Day and we took her a few roses.  She was happy to be remembered.

So God Made a Farmer

Like many others, I'm glad we had the chance to grow up on a farm.  Life wasn't always easy, but it greatly helped to make us what we are and I think that it was for our good.  I like this Youtube video which very much typifies our parents and our grandparents who were also farmers, as were nearly all of our friends and neighbors and their families back in the "good old days".

http://youtu.be/AMpZ0TGjbWE

So God Made a Farmer
And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer.
God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the field, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the township board.” So God made a farmer.
“I need somebody with arms strong enough to wrestle a calf and yet gentle enough to cradle his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait for lunch until his wife’s done feeding visiting ladies, then tell the ladies to be sure to come back real soon and mean it.” So God made a farmer.
God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt and watch it die, then dry his eyes and say, ‘Maybe next year,’ I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from an ash tree, shoe a horse, who can fix a harness with hay wire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. Who, during planting time and harvest season will finish his 40-hour week by Tuesday noon and then, paining from tractor back, up in another 72 hours.” So God made a farmer.
God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor’s place. So God made a farmer.
God said, “I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bales, yet gentle enough to help a newborn calf begin to suckle and tend the pink-comb pullets, who will stop his mower in an instant to avoid the nest of meadowlarks.”
It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed, brake, disk, plow, plant, strain the milk, replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week’s work with an eight mile drive to church. Somebody who’d bale a family together with the soft, strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh, and then sigh and then reply with smiling eyes when his family says that they are proud of what Dad does. “So God made a farmer.”

by Bart