by IRENE NIELSEN JESSOP
When mother and dad first settled on this farm in Cedar View, we had land that was very rocky and hard to cultivate because of rocks. They had to get out with the children and pick the rocks up and load them in a wagon, load after load, to clear the field so we could raise our crops. We raised wheat, clover and alfalfa. We also raised cows, pigs, horses, chickens, ducks and turkeys. And we always had our own garden and made or own butter. We had a separator to separate our milk from the cream. We sold cream to buy things we needed. That was our paycheck on the farm. This helped us to managed our groceries and clothing. Sometimes we would milk as high as 20 cows at a time. Dad would make sure all his children would know how to milk cows, even the girls. We all had to do our part in helping to run the farm, and we all worked hard to help Dad. We never had much time to play. We never had the conveniences such as running water and electric lights in the house then. We hauled our water from the canal which was about 100 feet away from the house. The house was a one-room log house with a dirt roof and mud chinks between the logs to hold out the weather. But mother did all she could to make it a home. She tried to keep it as clean as possible. There was not much room to raise a family of eight children.
Dad would kill a pig for the winter and also a beef sometimes. We always had plenty to eat, but not very many clothes to wear. The children would have to go to bed so that mother could wash their clothes for the next day to keep them clean for school. It was lucky that Dad could get shoes for us to go to school. Mother had to wash on a board most of the time. Then we did get a washer, it was one with an engine separate from the washer. Dad would have to start this engine in order to get the washer going. So we really had a job keeping things up some of the time. It was just plenty of hard work. But the children seemed to enjoy it all, going through our hardships.
Mother was always thankful for the Lord's help in helping us along as well as he did. She always tried to do to the best of her understanding in all things. We had our happy moments and our sad moments. She tried to teach the children the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She sent us to church to learn also because she believed it to be the truth and she wanted her children to become believers or the truth and its importance to help us children from going astray. Mother always loved to read about the Gospel and learn the things of our Father in Heaven. These things always seemed to ring true. She loved it, and this was the way mother always tried to raise her family. If it wasn't for the faith she had in our Father in Heaven, we couldn't have stood the hardships that were mapped for us in this life. We had to have his protection and guidance through life in order to build our characters to where they could be used to build his Kingdom. The children seemed to like to go to Church, Primary and Mutual. We took part in whatever we were asked to take part in.
We always had a UBIC (Uinta Basin Indian Celebration?) every year. We children were always anxious to go to the 3-day celebration. We would take our tent and stay the three days while it was going on. We had our fair and Indian sun dances, and they always had circus shows every night. It was always a fun time. Mother and Dad would go with us.
We had our school here in Cedar View which consisted of the first grade to the 8th grade all in one room, with only one teacher for several students. But they always sent high school students to Roosevelt. That kept Cedar View from growing. This was started in 1930.
There were plenty of trees and bushes and we able to get our firewood without going to any other district to gather it. It was a real challenge to live in this country. Our home consisted of a two-room log house with a dirt roof and mud chinks to keep the weather out, but it was still a little better house to us than the one in Cedar View. We had the Duchesne River running about 1/2 mile away. Sometimes when a big rain would come it would bring a big flood and the river would wash down through the trees. It would be very muddy and have an awful smell to it. The children would go swimming in it during the summer when it was low and clear. The children went to school in Myton. The grade school was in Myton and the High School was in Roosevelt.
On the 13th of February, 1936 John married Mazie Alexander and went to Montwell to live. As time went on, the three boys grew tired of the farm. Dad tried to encourage them to stay. It seemed to them they couldn't make enough money to supply their pleasures in life. Dad had worked hard always to make a go of it as much as he could. It was always a struggle for him to get the bills paid. He was a good father and he was always concerned about us as far as he could be.
On 5 May 1936 Dad died with the Rocky Mountain tick fever. This was a sad day for us all because we dearly loved our Dad. We buried him in the Roosevelt Cemetery. This left Mother with six children to raise. We helped as much as we could. We had to get out and see that the fences were taken care of. Mother even dug post holes and fences to keep the animals in. The boys stayed on the farm a while longer. But finally it got to where it was all they could stand. LeRoy, Stanley and Glen went to Washington to work. LeRoy went first, then Glen and Stanley. That left myself, Calvin and Joseph to help mother with the farm. The boys would come home now and again. But it was just us younger ones to carry the load while they were gone. We did it for a year or two.
Then Mother decided since we were not making it so good, we would be making another move. It made us sell all the animals and other things we had to make a down payment on a house in Salt Lake City. But we only managed to get $500.00 out of it all. We had a grain field full of wheat growing. We decided to give it to Loyal to have and to keep what he got off it.
We took a few of our belongings which didn't consist of much more than our clothes and a few dishes. We had a man by the name of Mr. Lublin take us to a man's place by the name of Charles F. Zitting. He was a Real Estate man and he gave us his home to live in until we were able to locate another place of our own. This happened in 1941. In the process of waiting for our new home, we helped his family in any way to pay for our being there. We stayed there for about six months. Then we found a home that just fit our situation in every way. It was owned by a Mrs. Nelson. She said she was getting to old to keep it any longer and wanted to sell and go to California to live with her children. It was sold with furniture and it had its own well water piped in. Mother gave her a down payment of $500.00 and then a month later we moved in. To us it was a beautiful home. It had two French glass doors and the windows in front were large. This home was located on 150 E 24th S., Salt Lake City, Utah.
Salt Lake was quite a boon to our family. We had many places of recreation to go and have the fun we needed. We had Lagoon as well as other places. Salt Lake is plenty warm in the summer and plenty cold in the winter. It stands a monument to the Mormon Saints, a place the Lord picked for them to come to when they were driven from Nauvoo. The Saints built it into a beautiful city under the direction of Brigham Young. It is beautiful with roses in the month of June. Mother loved to raise flowers. She spent a lot of her time among her flowers, especially her roses. She studied herbs and raised them and learned to use them.
Calvin and I went to Granite Jr. High and Joseph went to the Madison school. It got to where Calvin and I had to quit school and get jobs to help pay for the place. We did different kinds of jobs till one day I got a job at the Fisher Bakery and Calvin got a job at the Utah Sash & Door Co. The two companies were within walking distance from where we lived so we didn't have to ride the buss. Mother was not able to work at this time.
World War II began in December, 1941. I do not remember the dates my brothers went to war but we had all six brothers in the army all at once. Stanley was in India along the Burma Road where he was hurt in combat. I can't remember where LeRoy, Glen, John and Calvin went. Joseph was put in the National Guard. They all came home safe. We never failed to pray for them while they were gone. I know the Lord did protect them.
In 1942 LeRoy married Elizabeth Lanzenby, from Manti, Utah. They made their home in Midvale, Utah. In 1943 Glen married Gertude Mott from Duchesne. They made their home in North Salt Lake. When the war ended John went to Phoenix, Arizona to work. One of his children had rheumatic fever and that was the reason for going there. It was a warm place where people with different diseases go to recover. It seemed as if the family rather went many different places about this time. We hardly get to see each other . we were all to busy. 
In 1947 Irene married Edison P. Jessop and we made our home in Colorado City, Arizona. In 1948 Stanley married NaDine Radfield Simpson and made their home in Salt Lake City. She already had a family of four little girls which were sealed to them in the Temple. Calvin married Marjorie Javoylle and they had one son before they divorced. In 1949 he married Eva Zitting. Joseph was still going to school at this time. He later married ReNae. I never did get her last name or marriage date.
I was never around them much. This is all that I can think of. I hope the others can continue on from here.
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