Momentous Day in History

A momentous day in history - June 30th, 2015! This is the day that Dean retires after working thirty-four years as a tax accountant. 

After graduating with his Masters of Accountancy from BYU, he worked in the tax department of Peat, Marwick & Mitchell (KPMG) in Billings, Montana, four years. Then our family migrated to St. George, Utah, where he joined the firm of Carter, Kemp, & Hinton. 

The small local firm has grown by leaps and bounds since Dean was hired back in 1985. It now has offices in three states and clients in all fifty states. We jokingly say that this is all due to Dean's expertise, with a tiny bit of help from his partners, of course. In all seriousness, his name and reputation have certainly been an important contributing factor in the firm's success. The company is currently known as HintonBurdick CPAs & Advisors and that name will most likely continue, banking on the positive brand that has been built.

This is a day of celebration of his accomplishments and well deserved chance to move on to other interests and pursuits, including missionary and church service.

Missing in Action

Grandma Ethel Hurst Speas

My Grandmother Ethel Hurst Speas valiantly endured the heartache, anguish and worry that only a wife and mother of servicemen could possibly understand, times five. First, she waited for the return of her husband Rector Speas from his tour of duty in World War I. Later, during World War II, three of the Speas sons served in the conflict, as well as her daughter Veda. 

When someone you know and love is connected to the tales in a history book, numbers become faces and statistics are meaningless as you focus on your very own family members, one by one. 

History comes alive when reading this report from The Post Register dated April 23, 1944: "Shelley Officer Missing; Believed German Prisoner". It grips my heart to read of the message that Grandma received March 7th from the United States Intelligence Department. A telegram later confirmed her son Kenneth's status, but it was not published in the newspaper until the following month.

The nights in Woodville were undoubtedly long and sleepless as she awaited further word, stressed about his treatment and the conditions in which he was being held, and prayed for his protection and survival. 

Grandma's Greatest Gift

1953

This is how I remember Grandma and Grandpa Speas' church in Woodville, Idaho, in my earliest recollection. However, this was not the first chapel for the saints in Woodville, nor the last.

The first Woodville branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formed in 1894, Sunday meetings and weekday primary were held in various homes and in the one room schoolhouse. It was not until 1904 that Woodville was organized into a ward.

1906

As a ward, the congregation needed an official meeting house. The saints saved and collected funds to purchase a building lot on the town site and a white frame Cultural Hall and Chapel (left) was built in 1906, which consisted of simply one large room with curtains used to separate the classrooms. This structure served the ward until the red brick chapel (below) was built in 1919.

1919

As the community grew and the population of the Ward increased, the building was not adequate. Plans for additions and remodeling were made and construction was started July 30th, 1951.  An entirely new chapel was erected adjacent to the old Chapel. The old portion of the building was converted into a

Mathew Cowley

recreation hall and classrooms. The completed renovation (as shown at the top of this post) was dedicated on Sunday, June 21, 1953, by Mathew Cooley of the Council of the Twelve.

Robert L. Simpson

This building served the Woodville saints well until construction of a new building was started on September 10th, 1967. 

My most memorable early spiritual experiences occurred at the dedication service of the new structure in the spring of 1968, which I attended with Grandma Speas. The presiding authority was Elder Robert L. Simpson who was serving in the Presiding Bishopric at that time. I distinctly remember the powerful spirit of love that I felt radiating from him. I had never before witnessed someone who could smile continually while he spoke. His face had permanent smile lines etched from his ever happy expression.

Grandma encouraged me to go forward and meet him at the end of the dedication service. As he took my hand in his, I felt that I (just a nine year old girl) was the total focus of his attention. There was no glance over my head to see how many others were waiting in line. His smiling eyes looked directly into mine and I knew that he was the Lord's servant. I can still vividly recall Grandma's face as I returned to her side; tears were in her eyes and she was gleaming with joy.

I will always be grateful to Grandma for taking me to the dedication and nudging me forward to shake the hand of Elder Simpson.  I feel this was her way of sharing her testimony with me and it was the greatest gift that Grandma ever gave me.

The Beard Brothers Blue Ox

The American tall tale hero Paul Bunyan debuted in print in 1914 in a promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company. He was usually depicted with his sidekick Babe, a blue ox. 

Meanwhile, in the shadows of the Teton Peaks, the Beard brothers were making a name for themselves with their teams of oxen. It's too bad that more adventures of the Beard oxen have not been recorded, they might have taken on folk hero status like Paul and Babe.

Following the advertising campaign featuring Paul Bunyan, here are the oxen carting lumber from the Beard mill in 1923.

Great Uncle Joseph Beard with Ox Team

Beard Ox Team

The first mention of my Great Grandfather James Thomas Beard, Sr., working with oxen is in Coalville, Utah, shortly after his marriage to Mary Goodworth. When James and Mary moved to Idaho in 1900, they used their oxen to clear the sagebrush from the land. The next year the oxen were employed skidding logs into the river near Marysville.

Eventually the Beard family included seven sons and five daughters (Another daughter, Violet, died as an infant.). Surprisingly, the oxen are featured more prominently in Great Grandfather Beard's history than his offspring.

In 1910 the family moved their sawmill to Teton Basin, with a purported twelve yoke of oxen. In 1918 histories mention the oxen hauling boilers and sawmill equipment to the coalmine.

It becomes clear that the Beard family appreciated a good ox. They claimed that their oxen were the finest breed and extolled the following advantages of using oxen over horses:

• "Oxen are less nervous and excitable and less inclined to worry when at rough work, such as plowing in stony or stumpy ground."
• "There is a slight saving of time in hitching and unhitching as compared to horses."
• "They can be turned out to pasture with less care."
• "They can subsist on much coarser feed that horses."
• "They are best suited to heavy work that requires a slow and even gait."

Well known for their prime bloodline of oxen, the Beard brothers showed their teams in the local parades. The oxen were also used in several movies, with Thomas and his sons as handlers.

My Great Uncle Richard S. Beard

Paul Bunyan had super human strength and a blue ox to bring him fame. I am blessed with the rich heritage of the Beard family, and they are super heroes to me.

Civil War Prisoner

My history classes in school might have left out a few details about the Civil War period, or perhaps I was not paying attention. Of late when I have read historical events with a familial connection, the happenings have become vibrant and real, not merely words in Social Studies books. Suddenly those who fought bravely, suffered unimaginably and left this legacy for me, speak from the dust and I understand more fully what they experienced. Unfortunately, in this case my eyes have been opened to great sadness - the shocking reality of the inhumanity of man during wartime. This story is about the life of my Great, Great Grandfather Henley C. Rigney.

Henley was born in 1823 in Montgomery, Virginia. Little is known about his early years. He married Eliza Edwards when he was twenty-five and the couple had six children, two sons and four daughters.

In February, 1861, just after the birth of Henley’s sixth child, when Henley was thirty-eight, seven states seceded from the United States, forming a confederacy. Two months later Virginia’s convention voted to secede.

Confederate Soldier Hat

At this time the Rigney family was living in Fancy Gap, Virginia, 269 miles southwest of Richmond, the new Confederate States capitol. 

It seems that Henley was reluctant to join the cause, waiting two and a half years before he volunteered in Dublin, a town forty-four miles north of Fancy Gap, for the duration of the war. He left his wife and six children to become a Private in Company G, 45th Regiment of the Virginia Infantry. 

After Henley enlisted, his regiment was given the assignment to defend the mines in Eastern Tennessee. As the war progressed, he participated in the skirmishes at Cloyd’s Mountain, Port Republic, Staunton, Piedmont, Lynchburg, Heaton’s Crossroads, Cool Spring, Kernstown, Chambersburg and Opequon Creek.

It was in the third battle of Winchester that Henley was captured along with 78 other Confederate soldiers on September 19, 1864. He was sent to a prisoner camp at Point Lookout, Maryland, the largest Union prison camp, which had been established after the Battle of Gettysburg.

The atrocities that occurred in the prison camp are shocking, but their truth is attested by many first-hand journal accounts from prisoners. Below are excerpts from diaries, journals, letters, and civil testimony of other Confederate prisoners held at Point Lookout. Henley did not leave any accounts or writings about his time there. I have attempted to give an idea of the suffering in the prison camp while avoiding the most graphic and disturbing descriptions.

• "Our tents were miserable affairs, being full of holes, and very rotten and into each sixteen men were crowded. In order to lay down at night, the men were compelled to lay so close together as to exclude sleep."  

• "Gloom, privation and starvation were staring us in the face, snow fell and there was not a stick of wood in camp. The day was bitter cold, most of us were but poorly clad, and very few of us had shoes of any description. We were compelled to stand in our damp tents, and "mark time" to keep from freezing." 

• "Our rations were now reduced as follows: for breakfast, half-pint, coffee, or, 'regather', slop water; for dinner, half-pint greasy water (called soup for etiquette), also a small piece of meat, perhaps three or four ounces. For bread we were allowed eight ounces per day; this you could press together in your hand and take at a mouthful. Our water was of such a character that we could scarcely use it, being so highly tinctured with sulphur and iron as to render it almost unbearable. Clothes which were washed in it were turned black and yellow. To our suffering from the cold and the want of pure water was now added that of hunger. To those who have never suffered in this respect, it is almost impossible to describe the sensations. The writer has known large, stout men to lay in their tents at night and cry like little babies from hunger and cold. We were not allowed to walk about, but were compelled to retire to our tents at "taps," which were sounded quite early. Even the poor privilege of keeping ourselves warm by walking up and down in front of our tents was denied us, and we were compelled to lay in the cold. The supply of blankets was very scant, and bunks were unknown. The cold ground was our bed, and pillows we had none."

• "The shooting of a prisoner was looked upon as an everyday affair. 

... The health of the men began to fail; fever in every shape abounded, and smallpox was epidemic. Nearly every tent contained one or two cases of this loathsome disease. The hospital could not accommodate all the sick, and they were left in their tents, many of them with only a blanket to protect them from the damp ground, and entirely destitute of proper nourishment."

• "The guards never let an opportunity pass to show their animosity and hatred towards us, and the man who shot a Rebel was regarded as a good soldier. They carried their authority to the extreme, and would shoot upon the slightest provocation. If a prisoner happened to violate even one of the simplest regulations, he was sure to be shot at, and should he be so unfortunate as to turn over in his sleep, groan or make any noise, which some were apt to do while sleeping, the tent in which he lay would be fired into. For instance, one night someone happened to groan in his sleep. The patrol was near, heard it, and fired into the tent, killing two and wounding several others. These were killed while sleeping and were unconscious of having committed any offense whatever."

• "I was assigned, with two others, to a tent having already twenty-three occupants. I cannot describe the appearance of that tent and the men in it. If there is a word more comprehensive than filthy I would use it. There was given me a half loaf of bread and a small rusty salt mackerel, which I was informed was for next day's rations. I declared I would not sleep in the tent, but was told there was no alternative, as the guards or patrol would shoot me if I slept outside. It was a horrible night. Weary, exhausted, almost heart-broken, I ate a part of my scanty loaf, and placed the remainder under my head with the fish. I soon forgot my troubles in sleep. Waked in the morning and found I had been relieved of any further anxiety for my bread, as it had been taken from me by some starving individual (a common occurrence). The mackerel was left as undesirable." 

• "
Many were without shelter of any kind and exposed to the bad weather. We had but few blankets and most of us had to lie on the bare ground; so when it rained our situation became truly deplorable. Our rations were just such as kept us perpetually on the point of starvation, causing a painful feeling of hunger to us helpless, half starved prisoners. The scurvy, brought on by this wretched diet, was prevalent in its most awful form."

• "The hospital could only accommodate about twelve hundred sick, and there were no less than six thousand sick and dying men lying within the main building and in the tents surrounding it."

• "The praying, crying, and the fearful struggles of the dying during the dark night, lit up by a single small lantern, was awful. The first night about five or six died, and the next morning found me lying next to two dead comrades." 

• "Stringent orders were given to the guard to fire upon any prisoners who were seen out of their quarters after eight o’clock at night. Many prisoners were unaware of the orders and incautiously ventured out for the performance of nature calls, when they were ruthlessly shot down. Several cases of the kind occurred." 

• "I have known persons to be frost bitten, and when some of them provided for themselves little mud chimneys to their tents, gathering chips and other small fuel, the Yankee officers would send a guard to ruthlessly destroy them and deprive them of the extra blankets which were their own personal property, leaving the soldier to freeze to death." 

• "Catching rats and selling them for food became quite a business, and they pursued the avocation with quite a profit, the demand being steady. Many died from insufficient and improper food."

• "No barracks were ever built.  The Confederate soldiers were given tents to sleep in until overcrowding became so bad, there were not even enough tents to go around."   

• "One Confederate who had managed to purchase his freedom from the prison reported that 'murder was not only not scrupled at, but guards were known to have been offered as much as $10 and $15 apiece for every prisoner they could shoot in the discharge of their duty.'" 

On January 1, 1864, after my Great, Great Grandfather Henley had endured four months in these conditions, an order came from Washington that a list of prisoners should be made out for exchange, consisting of those only who, by reason of age, sickness, or wounds, would be unfit for service for sixty days. Henley was among those selected for exchange as he had contracted dysentery. 

The exchange took place on January 27th and the emaciated and diseased prisoners were sent to Aikens Landing.  

Less than three weeks later Henley passed away on February 14, 1865. 

Arthur - Never Forgotten

Great Grandma Emily Francis Taylor Chase was the oldest child born to John and Mary Jane Standley Taylor, followed by three brothers whom she adored. Four youngest sisters were in a group of their own at the end of the family. 

She got along great with the boys, so when Emily married Guss Chase, her greatest desire was for a son, but her firstborn son, Alva, did not survive childbirth. 

It was three years before a second child was born, but little Sarah lived only seven days past her first birthday. 

Once again Emily's arms ached for a child, especially a son, but I'm sure she was overjoyed when a baby daughter, Stella, was born eight months later in good health. 

Five long years later the much anticipated baby son joined the family. Emily and her husband Guss were over the moon with Arthur John; so very proud. Their prayers had been answered. Arthur had been named after Emily's Uncle, her father's older brother, Arthur Taylor.

Sadly, Arthur had not been sent to stay. The following Christmas Guss, Emily, Stella and their little pride and joy traveled to Springville, Utah, for a family holiday visit. Arthur never returned to Idaho, as he passed away from a sudden illness and was buried in Utah. He had only lived fifteen short months. Emily was overcome with grief to return home without him.

Four years later my Grandmother, Lucille, was born and it was not a secret that her parents would have preferred a son. Two more daughters, Reta and Bessie came along within the following three years, as well as a stillbirth, but Emily and Guss were not destined to have another son in their home.

My Grandma grew up loving her brother Arthur that she had never known, because her parents loved and missed him so much and spoke of him often.

The name Arthur was held in great reverence and when Emily and Guss's first grandchild was born, Lucille honored her brother by naming her son Harold Arthur. This picture is of Emily and her first grandson, Harold Arthur.

The wonderful name Arthur continued when Lucille's first grandson was born to her daughter Ramona, who named him Larry Arthur Hatch, honoring both her brother and her departed uncle.

The following generation, Harold's first grandson, the son of Kevin and Marilyn McCracken was also given the name Arthur.

Wouldn't Guss and Emily be happy to know that the name Arthur is being remembered and honored.

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

My Mom loved musicals.  One of her favorites was "Oklahoma". We played the long-playing 33 rpm record of the soundtrack dozens and dozens of times.

Ado Annie

She especially enjoyed Ado-Annie's, "I Can't Say No". She used to tell me I had the same problem and needed to start practicing telling people "no" instead of agreeing to help or babysit for anyone who asked me.

Curly

I think it is safe to say that she had a crush on Curly.

Her favorite song from the album must have been, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning", because that's the one I would hear her humming in the garden.


This video combines images that remind me of summer in Idaho Falls with Mom's favorite song from Oklahoma, however this version is by James Taylor. Sorry, Mom, I like his arrangement better. 

Kenneth Speas Boy Scout

Kenneth - Star Scout

Kenneth

My Uncle Kenneth R. Speas belonged to Troop 31 of The Boy Scouts of America in which he earned at least the rank of Star as noted in the article on the left from The Post Register dated January 16, 1934. 

The following year, on May 21, 1935, the newspaper reported that Kenneth had been selected to attend the 1st National Jamboree scheduled to be held in August of that year in Washington DC. 

Kenneth Chosen to Attend

Can you imagine the excitement a sixteen year old boy from the tiny farming community of Woodville, Idaho, anticipating a trip to the nation's capitol with thirty thousand other Boy Scouts from around the United States? This event marking the 25th anniversary of scouting in America was touted to be the greatest gathering of boys on American soil.

Poster advertising the
1st National Jamboree

The very sad end to this tale is that an outbreak of polio early in the summer of 1935 caused the cancellation of the Jamboree.  The fear of the dread disease promoted the quarantine of the entire city of Annapolis, Maryland. 

The National Jamboree was rescheduled and held in the summer of 1937. I can only assume that Kenneth attended as we have photos of him in scouting attire at Mount Vernon.

Grandpa Demar McCracken

My knowledge of my Grandpa Demar McCracken is very limited. I was overjoyed to unearth this photograph of his 1911 school class at North Leigh, Idaho School District #8. Demar would have been 14 years old and although his name is captioned in the picture, he is not specifically labeled. Judging from his age, he is most likely one of the boys kneeling on the front row. My guess would be the second from the left, two to the right of the teacher, but that is just a guess.

It is fascinating to me to look at the details in the school room, the wallpaper, the desks, the plank flooring, the chalkboards and the clothing. My imagination can fill in many blanks.

It is interesting to remember that Demar's future wife, Lucille, was born in 1911, the year this photograph was taken. 

The picture was captioned according to the names in the souvenir program. Rather than McCracken, Demar was known by the shortened surname of Mack that his family used at this time.

Willie Henrie, Maggie Hubbard, Leta Henrie, Ida Dunn, Clara Dunn, William Clark, Edna Weaver, Viola Henrie, Susie Henrie, Mabel Hubbard, Arthur Dunn, Albert Dunn, Norris Henrie, Lawrence Hatch, Cecil Hatch, Paul Hansen, Cleve Hansen, Lillie Henrie, Ruby Jensen, Howard Jensen, Owen Weaver, Demar Mack, Arnold Hansen, Sarah Weaver, Florence Dunn, Leslie Dunn. Eldon Hatch, Newel Henrie, Lorin Hubbard, Leo Weaver, Jesse Thomas, Allie Dunn. Betty Hunter Teacher.

Father McCracken

Because of hostile Indian activity, the Mormon settlers in Summit Utah constructed and moved into a fort between 1860 and 1863, following the counsel of Brigham Young, to safeguard their families.

This graph shows the layout of the fort, with the inner set of squares representing homes and the outer set of squares representing corrals. On the east end, the second square below Summit Creek belonged to my Great, Great Grandfather Henry McCracken. 

The settlers are listed in the plat by first and last name with few exceptions, the Widow White, the Wallin Family and one more who is listed with an impressive title.

The one with the title is my Great, Great Grandfather, whose space bears the name "Father McCracken". Never has a more honorable title been given. I'm proud that the town referred to him as "Father". Some might assume that this was a religious designation, but not so, the Mormon faith does not use the term Father for its pastors. One could say that this came about because his son James lived two houses south of him, but I am not satisfied with that explanation.  James had shortened his surname to "Mack".  There would have been no reason to distinguish between two McCracken families.

I prefer to believe that the name "Father" was a sign of respect, a symbol of endearment and as proof of his fatherly behavior toward his neighbors.

Ezra Taft Benson

The Prophet Ezra Taft Benson stated that the title of "father" is sacred; indeed it is shared by the Almighty.

My Father

Today, the Great Grandson of Henry lives in Archer, Idaho, and could similarly be referred to by all who know him. He is my father, has been a father of a ward, a step father, and a guiding influence to a large number of people who have been "fathered" by his loving counsel.

Ezra Taft Benson went on to say, "Fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth; it is a matter of desire, diligence and determination to see one’s family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters."

Don't hammer nails

Lillie Viola Russell Standley

The imagery of a lesson taught by my Great Grandfather Chase's cousin, Lillie Viola Russell Standley is powerful. It was one of her favorite sayings and was often repeated to her children. As with all lessons, actions and example must support what is taught. I know that Lillie lived this principle because her daughter, Mary Luella remembered it throughout her life and spoke of the profound influence it had on her behavior.

The simple lesson was about the power of words and the importance of watching carefully what you say about others. She said:

“Be careful what you say about other people.

It’s like driving a nail in a board. 

You can pull out the nail, but the hole is still there.”

Two Little Boys

My Grandma, Lucille Chase McCracken was left a young widow in June, 1938, when her husband Demar succumbed to skin cancer. It is heartbreaking to think of this time in her life. She was only twenty-seven years

Harold and Ramona 1932

old; her son Harold was not quite eleven, and sweet little Ramona was seven. 

The burden of caring for Harold and Mona, keeping house, and providing for the three of them in the harsh climate of Teton Basin must have overwhelmed her, but she was strong. Lucille did housekeeping, took in laundry, waited tables in Mrs. Hoopes' Cafe in Tetonia, worked in the potato fields in the fall and at any other odd jobs she could find to provide for the family. They rented an apartment in the old lumberyard west of the drugstore in Tetonia.

Before the end of the year, Lucille was once again a bride on Christmas Eve, 1938. Her new husband was thirty-three year old Elmer Beard. My father relates that Elmer and Lucille had known each other for many years and had been chums during their school days. 

Aaron 1940

Elmer moved right into the role of father and was wonderful to Harold and Ramona, but the family was not complete. Before the next Christmas, a darling baby boy, Aaron, made his appearance.

Leon 1943

Two and a half years later Leon was born in May, 1942. 

These words written by an unknown author describe Lucille and Elmer's feelings about their young sons as the family blended together.

Little Boys

Little boys come in all shapes and sizes,
Shy and adventurous, full of surprises,
With misshapen halos and mischievous grins,
Small dirty faces, and sweet, sticky chins.

They'll keep you so busy, and yet all the while
Nothing can brighten the world like their smile.
And no greater treasure has brought homes more joy
Than a curious, active, and lovable boy!

Aaron and Leon

Elmer, Aaron and Leon