Life History
Of
Erich Reich

Born: 25 March 1898
In Berlin Germany
Died:

Son of Paul Adolph Reich who was born on 26 May 1866 in Berlin, Germany and died on 1 January 1935 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Paul Adolph Reich married Auguste Marowski on 20 April 1889. She was born on 10 August 1863 in Melletschen, East Prussia, Germany and died on 21 February 1948 in Salt lake City, Utah.

Their children are as follows:
Adolph Curt Heinrich
Born: 29 November 1889
Died: 3 March 1890

Maria Rosa Elisa
(known to our children as Tante Mariechen)
Born: 20 July 1891
Died: 25 November 1950

Johannes
Born: 15 October 1893
Died: 15 October 1893

Willi
Born: 8 May 1896
Died: 22 June 1914

Erich Herman Emil Gottlieb
Born: 25 March 1898
Died:




Johannes
(known to our children as Uncle Hans)
Born: 8 February 1900
Died: 12 December 1968

Margaraet
(known to our children as Tante Gretchen)
Born: 15 July 1901
Died: 27 June 1971


The names given to me at birth were Erich Herman Emil Gottlieb. When I became a citizen of the United States of America I dropped the names of Herman Emil Gottlieb and since that time I have been known as Erich Reich.
We didn’t have much but never considered ourselves poor. Our life was centered around the gospel. As a small child I sold Christmas cards door to door to earn money. This was my start in learning to work. As a boy, I sold candy in a picture show (they were all silent at that time), cleaned off tables of dishes and beer glasses and helped a magician on stage in an outdoor theater. Houses contained more than one family (apartment type). We were living in the back of the house on the fifth floor. There were two rooms, the kitchen and a bedroom – no bathroom. The toilet was between two floors and was to be used by two families. I don’t remember ever seeing toilet paper. We cut newspaper into small squares and nailed the to the wall. A floor above us, underneath the roof, was the washroom. My mother heated the water over a coal stove, washed in a large tub on a scrubbing board, and on Saturdays we took our turn in that same washing tub for our weekly bath. My parents were members of the Baptist Church. My mother was a very religious and spent much time studying the Bible. They came in contact with Seventh Day Adventist – found out they paid tithing according to scripture. Joined Seventh Day Adventist. Mother’s cousin was very ill and had not been able to sleep for almost 9 months. They had been praying but nothing seemed to help this sister get well. A friend came one day and asked if they were aware of the scripture in the Bible that tells of blessing the sick and anointing with oil by the laying on of hands. My mother said no but would be willing to try. The Elders from the L.D.S. church were called and administered to her. The next day this cousin was much better and was finally able to sleep ( James 5:14-15). This was a testimony to m parents – but her cousin, when she got well, continued in her old ways and finally died, never accepting the Church or the power that healed her. My mother studied the scripture even more after that experience. The Elders taught the gospel and my parents were baptized in 1901. I was baptized on the 6th of March, 1909.
The Church in Germany at this time was considered a sect. They had a right to hold their meetings each week but no missionaries were allowed in Germany. The young boys in the Aaronic Priesthood, of which I was one, would sit at the windows to watch for the police – who might come to arrest the missionaries - so they could leave through the back door without getting caught. When I was about twelve years old the then Prophet and President of our Church came for the first time to Germany and to our Branch in Berlin. It was Joseph F. Smith. I was very excited!! Everybody wanted to shake hands with him – I was one of the lucky ones who did.
I remember one missionary that was over 6 feet tall – the sisters pushed him into the ladies restroom in order to hide him. The police looked all around outside the building and inside. They checked the men’s restroom and wanted to check the ladies but the sisters wouldn’t let them. He was allowed only to push open the door. The missionary stood behind the door, scared to death. It was almost as if he was framed. When the police realized they couldn’t catch the missionaries while they were in uniform, th4ey started coming to the meetings in civilian clothes. They would sit in the congregation just like one of the members. When the missionaries would stand up to speak, the police would stand up and say, “In the name of the law you are arrested.”
One missionary was being arrested by the police and being taken outside. As they got close to the street a street car was coming. The front and back of the street car were open – the missionary saw his chance. H4e started running and as the street car went past he jumped on and went happily down the street. The police just stood and watched, not knowing what to do.
When I was about 10 years old our branch held a Christmas party to which everyone was invited. About 24 missionaries from all over Germany came to the party that night. As the party progressed one of the missionaries put on a Santa Claus suit and was going around greeting everyone when the police came in. They were guarding every door and were all around in the room. All of the Germans were ordered to leave and go home. Only the American missionaries remained. The one dressed as Santa was changing clothes under a table. When he finished my mother put all the presents on his arms and said, “Come on William, it is time to go home.” The other 23 missionaries were arrested, he was the only one that got away. When our family came to America and to Salt Lake, my parents looked up this missionary and went to see him. He was at that time the Chief of police in Salt Lake.
When the Sacrament was passed, the bread was done just as we do today but the water was done different. Each deacon had a pitcher of water and a glass. He would fill the glass and pass it fro person to person down the row. When it was empty, he would fill it up again. Each person would take a sip of water from the same glass.
Before one particular Fast and Testimony meeting I noticed two sisters talking as they were hanging up their coats. Soon they were hugging each other and kissing – both with tears streaming down their faces. The thought occurred to me that maybe they had had a problem or misunderstanding between them and before going into partake of the Sacrament of our Lord they worked their problems out. What a beautiful example this has always been to me. My parents invited the missionaries often to eat with us. We children would always stay in the kitchen while my parents and the missionaries would sit in the other room where the table and also the bed were (we only had two rooms). When they were finished eating we got what was left over. If nothing was left we only had a slice of bread.
My parents were strong believers of tithing – which the learned while they were Seventh Day Adventist. I remembered very well one day my father bringing home his pay which was twenty-nine mark. My mother took two mark and ninety pennies and put them away. “This is the Lord’s share,” she said, “We will have to live on what left.” This example has struck with me throughout my life. And even we were having hard times, our tithing was always paid first. My mother was a beautiful seamstress. In order to help out, she would go and get the material, take it home and sew it and then take it back to the company.
When I was 14 I got out of school one day and the next day I was an apprentice to become a steel-iron and sheet metal worker. When I was 16 or 17 years old we got gas in our house and I built our own burner to cook on. In 1914 the 1st World War broke out. My brother-in-law, Uncle Willi Ruster, was leaving to come to America. I needed to stay in Germany until I was 18 to finish my apprenticeship. I told him to save enough money so that when my apprenticeship was over I could leave Germany before I was drafted. (In Germany a young man was drafted at age 18). The 1st World War started in 1914 when I was 16 years old. But his is not how it happened. When I finished my apprenticeship I had a job with an airplane company building airplanes. Another job I held was for a small arms company. There were many girls working in an assembly line making parts for guns for the war. My job was to keep the machines in perfect running order. Then I was drafted into the army – in the infantry. I was sent to East Prussia close to the Russian border. It got so cold there in the winter that many soldiers were taken to the hospital. Every free minute we were running to keep warm. My ears and nose froze so bad that it still shows today. The first few weeks in the Army I had an experience. Every soldier in our company had a locker to put all his belongings in. One day one of the boys reported something stolen out of his locker. They found the boy who did it and punished him for it. In the course of the investigation it came out that the boy who reported the loss forgot to lock his locker and gave the thief the incentive to take something out. He received a small punishment also. Is there anything we can learn fro this? Do not lead me into temptation and do not give anybody an opportunity to be led into temptation by leaving the key in the car or not locking the doors while shopping and so on.
We were taught and trained in the use of guns, two kinds of grenades (the more powerful was the one shaped in the form of an egg) and the use of a gas mask. The heavier weapon was a little cannon to shoot a larger grenade, I think we called it a howitzer. One day while training, we were using live grenades (I think we call them here mortar shells), a few of them did not explode. The officer in charge ordered us to go and locate them. So we went. I found three of them, put them in my arm and walked over to the officer who was sitting on a horse looking in the opposite direction. After making myself known, he looked around and, seeing me holding three “live” grenades in my arm, gave his horse the spurs. After going far enough away, he turned around and told me to lay the grenades, one by one, slowly on the ground and to be sure they did not touch each other and then for me to get away from there as fast as I could. The detonation crew came and blew them up. If they would have blown up in my arms they would not have to look for me anymore. I had wanted to do something good but it did not work out that way. I am thankful that I am still here to write about this stunt of mine.
Before I left home to go to the service my mother’s last words to me were, “Eric, do not kill!” In the course of my training, we were asked by officers who could play an instrument. Without thinking I stepped forward and said I could play the mandolin. We had one at home and I had taught myself to play a few tunes. I was picked to be a musician and was told I could play either a horn or the drums. I hated all the constant noise of the drum so I picked the horn. I would go behind the barracks and barns and try to play the horn. Thinking of my mother’s words “do not kill” this was the only way at the time I could think of to get out of carrying a gun. But once again, it didn’t work out. Shortly after, I was called into the office and I was informed that I would be transferred into the Pioneers and would be going back to Berlin to my hometown. Much to my surprise, the company that I was assigned to had the newest equipment – a flame thrower – of which I was assigned to operate. This flame thrower works similar to our firemen. They shoot water out of their hoses to put out the flames and save life and property. We would shoot hot burning oil out of our hoses and kill those standing in its path. It took 2 men to operate each piece of equipment. One was to carry the equipment and the other carried the nozzle on the hose. There was only one company for the whole German Army that could use these flame throwers. The insignia on our arm was a skull and cross bones.
The French government issued an order to our company that anyone caught with our insignia was not to be taken prisoner but should be executed. All of the patches on our uniforms were left loose on the corner so that if we were caught we could rip them off quickly and pass for an infantryman. While I was stationed in Berlin I would take home to my parents some of the bread that I had to eat. One of my assignments was to go with the truck to get coal – on the way back I would sit on top of the coal. I remember one time we passed two ladies that were walking down the sidewalk. They were both wearing fur coats. I threw two pieces of coal onto the street and they both ran out to pick them up showing that even those with a little money would still accept a little help. In all my 24 years in Germany I had one ride in an automobile and then here on a truck in the army.
While I was in the army my Dad was called on a Stake Mission on May 5, 1917 by Mission President Angus J. Cannon.
Finally the day came when our troop was sent to the Argon Forest. Our job was to cross over into the French lines and find out what of their troops were there. The day before we were to cross the lines we had a day off. I walked for fifteen to twenty minutes, out away from everything else and there knelt down and prayed to my Heavenly Father, asking Him that my life would be spared and also that I wouldn’t have to take someone else’s life. As I was returning to camp I was walking along the front line, I looked up and could see a French officer talking with one of his soldiers. I could have shot and killed both of them. The thought came to me, l ‘who gives you the right to shoot and kill that man. He might be a better man than you are – he might be a family man. Who give you the right?’ As we layed in our bunks that night a bottle was passed around. I do not know if it was wine or whiskey or champagne. When it came to me I simply passed it by without taking a sip. My thoughts were at home with my family and with praying. We got up way before morning, while it was still dark, and dressed in our uniforms to prepare for the day’s activities. On both sides of the front line were barricades erected of barbed wire which made it a little harder for us or the enemy to get through. We were about the distance of a freeway across from our enemy. Our men had cut a hole in the barbed wire for us to go through. Then we would crawl on our bellies from one hole to the next (the holes were caused by grenades) trying not to be seen or heard. Our whole group assembled in one of these holes. Our commanding officer looked around at all the soldiers. These soldiers had all been bragging just minutes before about all the things they had done there on the front line. Now they were all shaking and crying because they were afraid. Our commanding officer pointed at me and said I would be the first to go. Because I had been praying all night I was completely calm and for that reason I was picked. We started crawling on our bellies across to the enemy line – there we stopped. It wasn’t very far that we had to crawl but with our packs on our backs and cannon fire going over our heads it seemed like it took forever to get there. A pipe that was filled with dynamite was pushed from behind us, it was kind of like a time bomb and would blow a hole in the enemy’s barbed wire fence big enough for us to hurry and get through and do whatever we had to do. Something went wrong and the switch that was to set off the dynamite would not work. A second pipe was called for and that one wouldn’t work either. This operation took place in the dark so that when it stared getting light we should be in there. When the dynamite wouldn’t work – 2 soldiers were told to go and cut the wire wit wire cutters. With all the confusion that was going on the French figured out that something was going on and started shooting wit machine guns. One of the men cutting the wire was killed and the other was seriously wounded. At this time we were all ordered to return to our own line and the attack was considered a failure. It was harder going back to our lines than when we were going to theirs because by now the whole camp on the French side was awake. Hand grenades and heavy artillery fire were being shot at us and the front lines. We lay as close to the ground as we could – crawling from one grenade hole to the other – stopping I each hole long enough to take a breath – always under machine gun fire. Our line had retreated, so we had to just keep crawling until we finally saw some of our soldiers standing in a line. We crawled towards them. Our officer was standing in front of our men – yelling and cussing, saying that as long as he had been In charge nothing like this had never happened. With all the excitement and even how dangerous the situation was, my heart was full and overflowing with thanks to my Heavenly Father for answering my prayer, a miracle had happened.
Now a little bit on the light side. We were staying back a ways from the front line. There were a few houses with people still living in them, kind of like a small village. As soldiers, or young men, we were always hungry. The army never gave us enough to fill us up. So another soldier and myself started walking around the village. The other soldier pointed to the different houses and said they have potatoes planted and they have carrots planted and whatever else there was. I made a mental note of what the houses looked like and what was planted at each one. That night when it was dark I went back and dug up some of the food and took it back so we could cook it and eat it. One day I knocked o the door of one of the houses and asked if I could buy some of the peaches they had on their trees. Not having a paper sack I filled my army hat with peaches. When I went to pay for them the man told me I could have them. Living in the house was a man and wife and a good looking young girl.
Here is a true story to show that German soldiers were not always the “barbarians” they are made out to be. One day our officer had us all lined up in one place. An elderly woman was brought before us and told to walk up and down our line, look into the faces and eyes of each soldier, to see if one of us had been the one that molested her. As far as I know she didn’t recognize anyone from our group. But nevertheless our whole group was punished for it.
When we found out the Americans were coming to fight against us we were all hoping they would bring us some chocolate. One day as we were doing our maneuvers, we were jumping from one trench to another. I had a 100 pound pack on my back. As I jumped into one of the trenches I had a severe pain in my right side that was a rupture. All that was done for me was a brace to wear. I was not relieved of any of my duties. I was expected to carry on just as before. (Remember this experience for later on).
Another time when I was in a trench, we were told to get out so I stood up and started to climb out when I was hit. My right arm started swinging back and forth just like the pendulum on a clock. I had no control or feeling in it. There was no pain. I had to take hold of it with my left hand to stop it. The first aid people could not do anything for me. After a few days I was put on a train and sent back to Germany. This was the first time I realized it must be something serious. I was taken to Karlsruhe in Baden. Neues Vincentius House is the hospital I was taken to. This was a Catholic hospital. I still had no specific pain. I could walk and do everything just fine. I could move my fingers, hand and elbow but could not move my whole arm. My first Sunday out of the hospital in this cit I walked from house to house looking for a sign telling me it represented the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I had my ears open to listen and hear some people singing our church hymns. I found nothing so I sent a letter to Berlin hoping to learn the address of where they were meeting in that city. When I received the address I attended my meetings there. This city was close to the French border. The Branch President did not recognize me as a member (ha-ha) because so many of the soldiers would go there looking for a handout. I went back to the hospital and wrote a letter back to Berlin – to the Branch President there – asking for some verification that I was a member. One Sunday while I was in meetings the air raid sirens started blaring. The French were staging an air attack. Some of the members became uneasy. The Branch President stopped his talk and said that they needed to have a prayer. A prayer was said after which the sirens stopped and no bombs were dropped that day. The meeting continued on. A few days later there was an air raid and a bomb was dropped right across the street from the hospital. The patients in the hospital that were bed-ridden had under their beds for protection and those that could walk went down into the basement. I took my camera and went outside to take a picture of the bombed house across the street. I had made some friends before all this happened so I went to th4eir home to develop the film. Only one and a half hours after the house was bombed I had pictures of it and went about selling them to earn some money.
The German army, at that time, had two different types of grenades. One was an egg-shaped one with a pin to set it off; the other was on a wooden handle. One day I performed a stupid mistake; I had seen some of the soldiers take gun powder and lay it in a line and then light it with a match and it would burn slowly to the end. One day I was holding an egg grenade. I very carefully opened it and poured the powder out in a line. Then set a match to it. It exploded all at once. Had it still have been in the “shell”, I would have been killed. I did not realize at the time that the powder in the grenade was different from gun powder. I had burns on both my arms, both hands and my face. There was no flesh burned but the hair was all burned off my hands. The pain I had was very severe. I opened the window put my arms out and swung them back and forth t cool them off and relieve the pain. This happened at the home of the same friends as I had developed the pictures earlier.
These friends had a 14 or 15 year old girl. After mama and I were married in 1922, this girl came to America and lived with us until she got married.
The day finally came that I was to have my shoulder operated on. My mother came from Berlin to be with me and comfort me. The next morning when I awoke I had big bandages around my neck and shoulder. The doctor that had operated on me came in my room with the highest or best doctor in the army. They stood at the foot of my bed while the one doctor explained what had happened and the procedure he had used in the operation. The main doctor came to the side of my bed and told me I was a very lucky young man. The grenade splinter that had entered my shoulder had cut all the nerves and veins and came to rest right next to the jugular vein. The doctor said he would be afraid to go that close to the jugular vein with his knife. I was very luck to be alive. I looked up into his face – I was unable to speak at this time – and I though to myself, “You call it luck – I call it a blessing and an answer to my prayers that I was not killed or did not kill.” My Heavenly Father truly had blessed me and answered my prayers. Once again I had that same warm, peaceful feeling in knowing my Heavenly Father was watching over me. For me, that was another miracle. Slowly I regained the use of my arm, not the strength, but I had feeling in it. At this time I was sent to headquarters in Berlin t see if I was ready to be sent back to the lines. I told them I could not lift my arm at all. They didn’t believe me and started sticking pins in my shoulder to see if I could feel it. Every once in a while they hit a nerve and I would jump so they knew that it was O.K. By this time though, the war was over and I didn’t have to go back.

The Jews
Let me say right here at the beginning that these are my own opinions formed by my personal observations and experiences. Close to our house, facing the street and a few steps below the sidewalk was a room; you could not call it a store. Inside was one large table and against the wall was a few boxes filled with eggs to be sold to the housewives. The operator was a Jew. A start to an independent life for him. As a boy I worked for a Jew. I would pull a handcart (similar to the ones the Pioneers pulled across the plains) and pick up material in the center of Berlin and take it back to this Jew. He would cut the material into patterns and give it to a few women who worked for him to sew it into men’s pants. He ironed them and I would deliver them back to headquarters; then I got new material and so it went on. Here at the center of Berlin, and many other places, I observed that most businessmen, doctors, professors, attorneys and officers in the army were Jews. In our house a dentist had his office. It was on the front side of the house, facing the street. We were living in the back on the fifth floor with no elevator and we had to carry wood and coal up for cooking and heating. Once I had a toothache so I went to see this dentist. I was in much pain and went with slippers on my feet. He noticed the slippers on my feet and sent me home to put shoes on before he would look at my teeth. When he was walking on the street he wore a top hat, tuxedo and a walking stick.
As a soldier in the war we had a Jew in our room – a good, educated boy. When we got our meal he gave it to one of the boys and we gladly took it because we were always hungry. I tried to get it whenever I had a chance. He went out to eat at restaurants because his parents were rich. Because of his education he was soon advanced in rank. All the rest of us, not having his education, were left out. On the front line the officer gave orders and let the man go ahead and do the work.
Now back to the Revolution in 1918 – Our section of the city, including our neighborhood, was heavily bombed wit heavy artillery. My family, up on the fifth floor, cold easily hear the bombs go by. My mother just took the genealogy book under her arm and we all went down to the basement for shelter. Many people were wounded, I don’t know if, or how many, got killed. My dad and my self went from house to house to ask for rags or whatever we could get t take care of the wounded. One day, while walking the streets, I talked to two soldiers, just like me. They hated and cussed the Jews. I listened for a while and then I asked where they bought the tings they carried. The said, “Over there by Tietz (a big store like Sears and Roebuck) from a Jew.” I asked, “Why do you buy there?” They said, “Because it is cheaper there than other places.” I said, “You give them your money and your business and make them rich and then you hate and cuss the Jews because they are rich. Why don’t you buy from your Christian brothers?”
Now, here is Adolph Hitler who is, or was, nine years older than I am, also a soldier in World War I, just like me. Maybe he had similar experiences like I had and hated the Jews, just as these two soldiers did, and let his hate work in him so much that he had all these millions of Jews killed in World War II.
For me, the Jews are just like us and the Bible says so. They are children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and so as our brothers and sisters, some are good and some are bad, just like the rest of us.
At the end of the War, Germany was in a revolution. The people stormed the Palace of the Kaiser and I was dumb enough to join in. As I was passing from one building to the next I was shot in the knee. I didn’t realize that I had been shot. The bullet passed between the knee cap and joint. It went straight through. For this reason I still cannot kneel down on my right knee for a length of time.
One day as I was walking down the street I passed by an officer. It was customary that when you saw an officer you would look him in the face and salute. I looked at him but did not salute. He came back and asked why I didn’t salute him. I raised my right arm with my left and told him I had been wounded and could not use my arm. I was released from the Army and could not find work for about six months. Finally I was able to find a good paying job as a machinist.
Now, the war is over. Germany lost – partly my fault because I did not kill anybody. Our Heavenly Father heard my prayers and I am still alive. All the soldiers were sent home with a small amount of money, I forget how much it was. Food was scarce, just like during the war. Very few could find a job, even when registered with some kind of University, Government or private. What was I to do, wait until someone offered me a job? No sir!! A lady friend of my family said that her husband, a waiter in a restaurant, was currently selling lamps to restaurants. To explain: to save on power, gas or electricity, the businesses had to turn their lights off at a certain time of night. To keep their business going they had to have light. So I talked to this man and started selling his carbide lamps. He paid me one mark for each lamp sold. It did not take me long to figure that if he paid me one mark, he would make, as middleman, so much more. I located a place where these lamps were sold and went there, made myself known as a small businessman and let them know that I would like to sell their product. They took me up on it. To get my wholesale price, I had to buy at least 20 lamps. I took my money out and had enough for only 13 or 15. I excused myself for not having the amount for 20 lamps with me. (In reality that was all the money I had and which the Army gave me when the war ended). My mother, a good seamstress made me a rucksack (a large bag with shoulder straps). Now I made all the profit on the sales. Here again, our Father in Heaven answered my prayers and I was very successful in selling the lamps, so much so that I had to change my way of selling. Instead of carrying all these lamps all day from then on I took only one lamp, nicely put in a little carton, taking orders at the places I visited and delivered the lamps on Saturday. Business got better and I had to deliver some in the middle of the week. Buy cash and sell cash. I don’t think I heard the word “credit.” My parents gave me a good example in every way. Soon I sold carbide for the lamps too. This way of business I followed all my life – CASH – and was a large part of my success. I never lost anything that way. The only money I lost was lending and investing money with some “supposed to be” good friends.
Now, let’s go back to my selling. When there were a few days I was not selling lamps, I took the train and went out in the country to buy a few hundred pounds of potatoes, as many as I was allowed to take into the train. There were always other men doing the same. The farmers would have them for us at the depot. Back home, I put the potatoes on a little cart and pulled or pushed it through the streets and people would stop me and buy the potatoes before I could get back home. Now, thinking back, and throughout all my life, I cannot see how a man can be without a job at any time. Men who have worked for many years for Kennecott Copper or any other big place, when they get laid off, have to rely on government aid. Some even lose their houses and can’t pay their utilities or buy food for their families.
Shortly after the war our mission president, Angus G. Cannon, came to Berlin. He was the first American elder to come to Germany since the beginning of the war. My mother was good friends with the branch president’s wife so we had a little pull in having the honor of having the mission president in our home for dinner. I was thinking of how I could talk with this mission president about me getting to America. After we had finished eating, the mission president, branch president, my dad and myself went to another church meeting at night. My mother stayed home to clean up from dinner and then followed. We got on the street car and were sitting on a long bench. First the mission president, then the branch president, myself and my dad next to me. The branch president was talking with the mission president when all of a sudden he got up and told me to move over. I moved over by the mission president and right there on the street car he said, “Brother Reich, would you like to go on a mission?” (In Germany we always admired the American missionaries and considered them to be almost angels). I was shocked at what the mission president had said and all I could say was, “I am not worthy to serve a mission.” The mission president was a little upset. He said, “I didn’t ask if you are worthy. I asked if you are willing to go on a mission?” Humbly I said, “Yes, I am wiling to go.” This day was September 22, 1919, a day I shall never forget. When we got off the street car I asked my dad if it would be O.K. if I went on a mission. During the course of the meeting the branch president said, “Our mission president wants t make a special announcement.” He got up and said that Brother Erich Reich had been called and had accepted a call to go on a mission. This was the first time my mother, who was sitting with the choir, knew that I had been called to be a missionary.
The company I was working for did not want me to quit and promised me an advancement and a good raise in pay if I would stay with them. I did not accept their offer and so I quit. Before quitting my job a small sliver of steel that I was shaving flew into my eye.
As a young boy at the age of 18 on May 7, 1916, I was ordained a Deacon with some of the other boys. A few years later some of them were ordained to the office of a teacher except me. When I was called to serve a mission I was ordained to the office of a Priest (September 11, 1919) in the Aaronic Priesthood never having served as a Teacher. I went to the branch president and asked him what my duties would be to be a missionary. His answer to me was, “Erich, if you don’t know, then I don’t know either.” Back then, we didn’t have Primary or M.I.A. or an M.T.C. to help prepare us for missionary work. The only meetings we had were Sunday School and Sacrament meetings to attend.
The day before I left on my mission, the whole Gospel Doctrine class, of which I was the teacher, came to our house for a farewell party and presented me with a briefcase. Earlier that day I had so much pain in my eye that I had to go see an eye specialist. He operated on my eye to remove the tiny piece of metal and showed it to me. I said thank you to the doctor and he said thanks was not enough, the worst was yet to come. This tiny piece of metal had started to “rust” in my eye and the doctor said he would have to scrape the rust out of my eye. He did not use anything to deaden my eye, he just went in and started scraping the rust out. I had so much pain in my eye, that I staggered all the way home, walking down the middle of the street, just as if I were drunk. In this condition I came home to my farewell party. The party was cut short and before I went to bed my mother rubbed some consecrated oil on my eye, we had a family prayer and then went to bed for the night. Next morning when I awoke I had no pain in my eye and I left for my mission. I said my good-byes and took the train to the city of Neubrandenburg. I looked up the branch president and he said, “Oh, you’re the new missionary.” He handed me a stack of tracs and that is the way I started my mission. Our church meetings were held in a small store at Kramer Street 18. Behind this store some members by the name of Wehse were living. They gave me a bed to sleep in but I had to set it up in the room we had our meetings in at night and then take it apart in the morning and put it in the hall. My parents gave me 40 Mark when I left home (that is equivalent to $10). I had a small pension from the army of about 26 Mark (about $6). That is all the money I had while on my mission. My parents didn’t have any money and could not send any. When I left on my mission I didn’t have a suit of clothes. I was still wearing my army uniform. Father let me have his suit of clothes. They were made of war material, not lake ours today.
One day as I was tracting, we had a heavy rainstorm. I was soaked clear to the bone. I went home, built a fire in my coal stove and proceeded to dry my suit. After my suit was dry and I put it on again, I found that it had shrunk “enormously.” My pants were now way to short, the vest had shrunk so much that my white shirt showed between my pants and vest. The arms on my coat had shrunk also when I got up to preach the gospel I had to pull my arms up and the sleeve down to make it look like everything fit. To cover up the space between my pants and vest, I had to close (or button) my coat. To do this, I had to pull in my stomach real tight. When I left for my mission I had only one small briefcase, when I came home I had three suitcases. One branch president in Cologne gave me his old tuxedo that he had worn at his wedding. We didn’t have the money to buy coal to heat our building in the winter months, so I would walk along the railroad tracks and pick up coal to take to our “place of worship” in order to heat it on Sundays. As I was out tracting I met some ministers from other religions. When I talked with them about the gospel they would open their scriptures and try to convince me that I was wrong. This got me to wondering and thinking about whether our message of the gospel was true. I went home for a few days and prayed and studied and studied and prayed, not to find out if they were wrong, but to find out if we were wrong. After much prayer and study and pondering the answer came that we were right and they were wrong. I call this the time of my conversion. I met with the ministers again. I talked with them, showed them the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants and said, “If you can prove to me these books are wrong, I will join your church.” They threw up their hands in disgust and left. That was the end of it.
The branch president and I went to the first pastor in town several times. He was friendly. Since I was new on my mission the branch president led the discussion. What ever subject he talked about, I found it in the Bible and gave it to him so we could prove our pint. We testified about our authority to preach the gospel and then I asked about this authority. He said that he was there to watch over the flock.
One day we knocked on a door and a lady came out. In the course of our discussion I read a few verses from the Bible. She said, “That is not right, I must have another Bible. I read the Bible every day and that is not in my Bible.” I asked her to get her Bible. She went to her room and as she was coming back I noticed her wiping the dust off her Bible (kind of funny – reading it every day and having dust on it). She opened it and started reading the verses by herself. I had the courage to ask her to read it out loud so I could hear it too. She did and it was the same words I had read to her. She was surprised and did not know what to say.
One experience in this branch I will never forget. One member family I visited has some non-member friends living in the next house. They did many things together including planting a garden in the backyard. They bought the same kind of seed, planted the same way, did everything the same, but when it came time to harvest their crops, the members’ produce was bigger than their friends. When asked how come it was like this, the member family said the only thing we did different was to pay our tithing. Many times I didn’t have anything to eat. I would tract long after dark until someone would invite me in and feed me. Before I left this branch we had several baptisms. Among these were two small businessmen. Later when I came to Utah these two men came to Utah also. One of them would help me with my trucking sometimes. After I had been out for about eight months, my mission president came and ordained me an elder on September 4, 1920. Then I was transferred to another branch. I was without a companion on my first place of labor and I didn’t have one at the place I was being sent to.
The district president took me personally to my new area. While we were traveling by train we came into one city and the district president said that one family was getting ready to leave for Salt Lake City and we should stop and bid them farewell. We did stop to visit them, an elderly couple, in their home. They were all packed and ready to go except for a few boxes that were standing in the corner waiting to be picked up. This short visit brought with it life long consequences as you will later find out.
Arriving at my new place of labor, in Essen, my acceptance was totally different. I lived with a member family and was invited out to eat quite often. I think the members in the branch there each paid a small amount of money to this sister to have her let me stay there. On our first Sunday, when we arrived at church, the organ was playing softly. As we walked in, the whole congregation stood up in our honor. While I was there they gave me clothes and underwear and treated me good.
Essen is quite a large city in the Rhineland. It is known worldwide because of Krupp who built cannons and large munitions for World War I. At one time, the workers there had a large meeting of some kind. One brother, maybe several, took me there. I don’t know if it had been arranged before, but these men got into an argument. They were very unfriendly and did not give me a chance to say much. Under questioning I told them that we don’t get paid for preaching the gospel, that we go without purse or script. They got quite hostile, grabbed my hand and, seeing that it was soft and clean, they got pretty rebellious. The brethren who were with me pulled me quickly through the crowd into safety. They were very afraid that I would get hurt. From Essen I was transferred to Elberfeld and from there I went to Bielefeld. This was the city where we had first visited with the old couple. Here I was called to be branch president for one year. Brother Wind, who was the branch president before me, was a shoemaker by trade. He made me a pair of shoes by hand. This man was a widower who lived alone and so quite often he would invite me to eat with him. He couldn’t cook much, so eh would just boil some potatoes and get some sour herring and that is what we ate. He was always saying, “Come on Brother Reich, eat some more,” and I would say, “You eat more.” Besides being branch president, I functioned as a mission and district secretary. As such, I sometimes had to travel to different branches. I served on my mission for two and one half years and was released on March 1, 1922. When I finished my mission the mission president, Serge F. Ballif, came to me personally and asked if I would like to go to Salt Lake.
While in Bielefeld – I would go each Sunday and get all the children and we would walk together down the middle of the street to Sunday School. At Christmas time the children and I would put on little plays. The children were so interested and excited about doing them that by the time we were through it took four hours to present them all. We held our meetings on the second floor of a building. On the first floor the owner had several marble products. The man was always there so unlock the door so there was no need for me to have a key. One Sunday we arrived at church and Mr. Stern was not there. We waited and waited for him to come. Finally, being that I was machinist, I took a wire and jimmied the lock and opened the door. The next day Mr. Stern called and gave me “hell”. After he finished accusing me of breaking into his building he invited me to dinner. I ate with him several times after that and we became good friends.
While working in Bielefeld I was living (or staying) with a family by the name of Fredericks. They talked at that time of going to Argentina. Later they did go with another family, the Hoppes, and started the mission there.
When a missionary is released he is sent back to where he came from by the Church, they pay his way home. Mission President Serge F. Ballif told me that if I didn’t tell anyone, other than my parents, they would make special arrangements to have me go to Salt Lake City (with the Church paying for it). So by my obedience to my Heavenly Father’s call – and serving a mission – the way was opened for me to travel to “Zion” without having to pay for it. Truly a blessing, or a miracle, for me. When I was released from my mission on the first day of March, 1922, I returned to Berlin for my homecoming and release. After I finished speaking, the branch president, Brother Buehnert, said he hoped that someday he would be able to speak as well as I could. Brother Buehnert was the owner of Buehner Block Co. here in Salt Lake. When I left to come to Salt Lake my sister, Margaret, came with me. We left Hamburg (Germany) on June 15, 1922 on a steamship with the name of “Mount Clay”, United American Lines. My mother had a passport to come also but did not have the money. She asked me that if when I got to Salt Lake I would try to borrow some money from someone, before her passport expired, so that she could come to America also. At this time there were no commercial airlines so we came across the “big water” by boat. It took ten days to cross the ocean. The fare was $102.50 for one person. On the way over we met a German-American man. We talked for a while and he told me the best advice I could get, “If you live like you did in Germany, you will get somewhere. But if you live like the Americans, you will have nothing.” In America the girls all used makeup and powder and stuff while in Germany the girls were very plain. That is what we did – living the old German way – and found out that our pioneers here were living that way too. Coming to America we passed the Statue of Liberty and came to Ellis Island. Before we left Germany we had to have a check up. While I was in with the doctor a man came in and said that some people had been sent back from the U.S. A. if they had a rupture. The doctor asked all of us if any of us had a rupture. I had one gut did not say so. Now here at Ellis Island we had a medical examination. I stood in line with only a shirt on. I pressed my rupture in (my rupture was the size of a small egg). As I came to the doctor he examined me and finally put this finger or hand on my rupture, which was inside, and told me to cough. I did, but very little. He said to cough louder. I did, but not much because I was afraid to let my rupture out. Finally he let me go without detecting my rupture. From that moment on, I never had any trouble wit it. Another miracle. I had to work hard, hauling coal, furniture, lifting pianos and working on the railroad with heavy machinery.
When we first came here we went to Evanston, Wyoming. Uncle Willi and Tante Mariechen were living there and we stayed with them. Uncle Willi was a plumber by trade but worked in Evanston as a shoemaker. He quit his job, we loaded all the furniture and belongings on a Model T truck and came to Salt Lake. As we came through Parley’s Canyon, at about 10:00 at night, we could just see the lights in the valley of our new home – Salt Lake City (Zion to us). The headlights on the truck went out at this time. Now, here in Salt Lake, a new life started for me. The first day Willi, my brother-in-law and I walked into Salt Lake. On several of the street corners I noticed a small truck with a driver waiting at the side of the road. I asked what they were doing. Willi told me they were in the business of hauling. They were waiting for people to hire them to haul something. This gave me an idea for later on. A little farther on we saw boys pushing a two-wheel handcart selling ice cream. I went into the ice cream business later, after several years. But the idea was formed at this time.
The truth of an old German saying that ‘the one who does not honor the penny is not worth the dollar’ was revealed to me one day while walking, I believe it was on 2nd South between Main and State Street. A middle-aged man, shabbily dressed and a little drunk, walked ahead of me. As he pulled a hankie out of his pant pocket some money came out with it and fell on the sidewalk. He stopped, looked around and when he saw it was only pennies he kept on walking. I stooped down and picked up every penny.
Soon I got a job with the railroad as a machinist. The railroad workers were on strike and I crossed the picket lines to get my job. In July there was a conference for the German speaking members. It was in the Granite Stake Tabernacle on 33rd South and State Street, where the Prudential Federal Savings building now stands. Being one of a few natural born German missionaries I was asked to speak at this conference. At the close of the meeting, as I was walking to the back of the chapel, an elderly sister stopped me and asked me if I remembered her. I said, “No, I don’t.” She said, “Don’t you remember, when you were on your mission and you stopped at our house just before we left to come to America?” Then I did remember her. She invited me to come to her house, about a mile away. We had to walk because neither of us had a car. She had her daughter wit her. The mother walked ahead and the daughter and I walked behind. Remembering my mother asking me to borrow some money, I asked this young girl if she had any money. She told me she had about $200 saved. I asked her if I could borrow it. She said she would have to ask her parents if it was O.K. and they said yes. I kept on seeing that young lady. I must have liked her right away and soon after I fell in love with her.
Thinking back about an experience I had on my mission – I would knock on the door and when the lady answered I would introduce myself as a missionary. She would say in an excited voice, “God – there is no God. If there was a God he would not have taken my only son.” I stood there, thinking to myself, “Is that the only one you could have had.” This thought came into my mind while I was wit this young lady. We talked about families and I asked her how many children she would have when she got married. She gave me an answer I had never heard before. “I’ll take all the children the Lord will give me.” That was proof enough for me that this was the girl I wanted to marry. I told her that if she was a good girl she would not get the money back and if she wasn’t a good girl, her $200 would be paid back. She decided to be a good girl and we set a date to be married. Everything we had was plain “pioneer style.” (Sixty years later, the Christmas of 1976, I decided to be a nice guy and pay her back her money but I didn’t pay her the interest). We thought it would be nice to be married on Joseph Smith’s birthday, December 23rd, but we found out the temple was closed that day so we took December 22, 1922. When we went to get our marriage license the clerk said to Mama, “No wonder you want to marry this man” (referring to the length of Mama’s maiden name ‘Hollinderbaumer’). We were sealed for time and eternity by George F. Richards. The funny thing about our sealing was that we could not understand one word of what was being said. Years later when we could understand the English language, we went to a sealing session in the temple to listen to what was said. I am thankful and happy that our marriage lasted for over 65 years.
Now our honeymoon – Coming home from the temple, around 4:00, I changed my clothes and went to work at the railroad (Denver and RioGrande). Helen, my new wife, worked that night at the American Lady Bakery. I finished working at midnight. I then walked from 8th West and 2nd South to 9th East and 9th South, waited for Mom until 6:00 a.m. when she finished work, and then together we took the streetcar and then walked another 2 miles to our home. The bakery where Helen worked did not have a wrapping machine so she wrapped thousands of loaves of bread by hand. This was my first chance to see what a good hard worker she was. We kept up this working schedule until just before Adolph was born (Get Mom’s History). Let me stop here for a moment – we stayed with Mama’s parents until Mama’s brother, Wilhelm, and his wife, Johanne, came form Germany. We had to make room for them and so we went to my parent’s place. Then my brother, Hans, came also with his wife, Tante Clarchen. Again, we had to make room so we moved ourselves to Fuller Avenue. This all happened during the first nine months of our marriage, before Adolph was born. If I remember right, all we had was a bed, an old stove, two chairs and a kind of cupboard where we could pull a large bread board out which we used as our table. One day my Day came to see us and I jumped over the fence into the next house, which was not occupied, and got an empty crate for Dad to sit on. Later, I can’t remember the exact time, a German family moved to California and we bought their old furniture which consisted of some pots and pans, knives and forks, and so on for $50 or $75 (which at that time was a lot of money – how different now). Most young couples have to have an expensive wedding dress, tuxedo, large reception, new furniture, a T.V., a car, and so on, besides a honeymoon. My mother made the wedding dress for Mama, very plain, but made with love. I feel kind of sad for Mama because she did not have any of these things. Adolph was born on September 20, 1923. Adolph was only 9 days old when I lost my job on the railroad. I brought my mom over wit the money I had borrowed from Helen and some that I had. We brought my dad, my brother and his wife over by using all the money both mom and I had earned (the fee to bring my brother, Hans, and his wife to America from Germany was $392.54 in good old American money). We did not pay tithing on this money but kept very good records of how much it was. My last paycheck was for about $110 in cash. I gritted my teeth together (I still had them at this time), but I would not tell him I was out of a job and had a 9-day old baby at home. I was out of work for 2 months. After this time, the railroad sent me to Denver to work. This job only lasted about 2 weeks before I was fired after I unintentionally cracked a cylinder head on an engine. During the time I was in Denver, Helen got a job cleaning apartments and had to take her baby with her from place to place. (Refer to Mom’s history). For a short time I worked for the city doing cement work on curb and gutter and sidewalks. I was even at times helping to clean out the pond at Liberty Park.
Coming back to the birth of little Adolph. Coming home fro the railroad the night before Adolph was born I came home to Denver Street between 4th and 5th East on 4th South (we were living with my parents in the beginning of our marriage) and found Mom sitting on the doorstep (not on ours), we walked home to Fuller Avenue on 11th East, she was in labor and would walk wit her legs crossed trying to stop anything from happening. We had a hard time getting home. When we finally got home she said for me to call the doctor (it was about one or two o’clock in the morning). I said I can’t call him in them middle of the night, but I finally did call him and he came. The doctor asked if I had a nurse or someone that could help him. He told me to get someone – QUICK! I said I don’t have a car. He told me to take his car. It was a Dodge. I knew how to drive a Ford but not a Dodge. The doctor came out and gave me a quick lesson on how to shift a Dodge. I took his car and drove over to get my mother. When I got to my mother’s house on Denver Street I went to put o the emergency brake and found I had been riding with it on all the time. No wonder that when I stepped on the gas it wouldn’t go very fast. During this time Helen was in much pain at home. The doctor said he could not take it, that it had to come natural. Finally “little” Adolph was born. I held him in my arms and ran around outside wit hi, excited to finally have our baby in our home. I did not know at that time that ten more would follow him and here they are:

Name Birthday Children G. Children G.G. Children

Adolph 20 Sep 1923 3 9 2

Erich 29 Jan 1925
15 Mar 1925

Henry 26 Oct 1926
29 Jun 1933

Ruth 17 Jun 1928 11 29
Clifford 8 May 1930 5 11

Alma 17 Sep 1931
29 Jun 1932

Marlene 28 Aug 1933 5 11

Viola 8 Jul 1935 5 10

Helen 15 Sep 1937 9 16

Hyrum 26 Jan 1939 6 4

David 28 Oct 1940 4

Have you noticed that Henry and Alma died on the same day but one year apart? Erich died when he was only 46 days old. On our way to the cemetery they put him in a casket. While on my knees all I could think of was, “The Lord gave him to us – the Lord took him; the name of the Lord shall be praised.”
As you see, we had 11 children, 48 grandchildren, 90 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren. Please don’t ask me the names of the 90 great-grandchildren as I would be in the same fix as President Brigham Young was. Here’s how the story goes: One day he went for a walk and saw a little boy playing and doing something bad. He walked over to the boy and said, “My boy, you should not do this. What would your dad say, seeing you do this? The boy got up, looked in his face and said, “You are my dad.”
All eight living children were married in the Temple.
Adolph could not speak the English language well before he went to school because we wanted him to learn the German language. (We could not speak the English language too good anyhow). Today, at 65, he is still able to converse a little in German. We, Mama and I, spoke and prayed most always in German. David always said, “Speak English!” Then eh went on his mission to Germany. In one of his first letters he said that he wished that he learned the German language at home. He did not do any better that I did myself. As a boy, my Mother always pleaded wit me, “Eric, read the Book of Mormon.” I rather liked to read a cowboy or Indian story of the Wild West in America. Then, when I came home from the war, I was set apart with two of my friends to be a teacher in the Theological class in Sunday school. The theme was THE BOOK OF MORMON. What is the lesson? Always follows the advice of your parents and then – ALL IS WELL. Now – back to my story.
I had a chance to get a job as the night watchman at a bakery on 9th South and Denver Street besides the job I already had. I did not get paid for this job but they gave us a house at 945 Denver Street that we could live in free of rent. The house was so dirty that we used scoop shovels to clean it out. Before moving into this house Mama was pregnant. There were so many steps to climb and one day she fell and had a miscarriage. The bakery did not have trucks to deliver their break to the stores; they used a horse and buggy. During the time when peaches were on we took the horse and buggy to Farmington to get some peaches. A trip that took us all day. We had about 20 bushels of peaches, most of which we picked up off the ground. We did not have to pay for them. Helen put them all up in bottles. In time we had been able to save about $125. We talked it over about what we should do with this money. Helen said she would like a dining room set. I said I would like to have a truck to do some hauling and make some more money and then buy mom her dining room set, so this is what we did. We were very anxious to buy a home. We got to know a Bishop Vetterly who was a real estate salesman and let him know of our plans. After a while he came to us and said he had a house at 537 Brixen Court (9th East between 5th and 6th South). The people wanted $250 as a down payment, which we did not have. The monthly payment was $25. I made him an offer which was double the monthly payment until the down payment was paid and after that, regular payments. The offer was accepted and we bought the house but did not move in. The renters that were there were paying us $20 a month which we lived in the bakery house rent free. One month I made a mistake. When I paid one of the bills (water or power), it was quite high so I raised their rent $5. The renters moved out. I should not have done this. So we moved into the house at this time. Before we moved, our home teacher came and asked if we could donate some money to help build onto the chapel. We told him we didn’t have any money, but he kept asking. I went into the bedroom and brought out $25. I told him that was our tithing money if he wanted that, but that was all we had. He did not take it.
A family that I had known while on my mission in Essen came over to the United States. We helped them get a house right next door to ours on Brixen Court. This was the man that helped me when I was doing some hauling. Another family that came from Neubrandenburg helped me with my hauling also. Even when I had a full-time job I still did some hauling in my spare time so I always had two jobs. The ovens in the bakeries, at this time, were not heated by gas but by coal. I had the chance to haul the coal for The American Lady, Buttercrest and Royal Baking Companies. I would haul the coal from the coal yard and haul it to the bakeries. They in turn, would pa me for hauling or delivering it to them. I would unload the coal and pick up the slack and the ashes and haul that away and get paid for that also. I would sell this slack to people to put in their driveways because no one could afford cement driveways. I was paid $.50 a load (I think). I was able to pick up some customers that I delivered the coal to their home. Many times mom would come along with me, helping to load and unload the coal. In order to build up my business of hauling coal, I told my customers that for every new family they got me that I would deliver coal to, I would give them $.50 off their next coal delivery. I even did some hauling for the coal company. I remember one time when I had a load of coal to deliver in the avenues somewhere, my truck did not have enough pull to go up the hill so I turned it around and backed up the hill. There were several truckers hauling coal for the yard. The deal with the truckers was: first come first served; as the orders were filled, the truckers who came late sometimes didn’t get a job. I always tried to be there early to be sure I would get some work. When I was through hauling for the company, I would fill my own orders and deliver to my customers. When there was no coal to haul I would haul other things including moving furniture. To make my work a little more easy and to gain more time to do all these things I bought a used dump-body. Now, whatever kind of hauling I had to do, I could change from stake-body to dump-body and back again.
Then Mr. Fisher, owner of American Lady Co., wanted me to work for him. They moved from 9th East and 9th South (where Mama used to work when we were married) to State Street. I was kind of the foreman in the nightshift. I still did my hauling in the daytime. For a while it went alright. Then he told me that he did not like me doing two jobs at a time so I handed him the keys.
When Mama used to work there they did not have a wrapping machine so Mama had to wrap all the bread by hand. When we were living on 8th West, Mr. Fischer, came and asked Mama to come and help out for a week, again wrapping the bread by hand, until they would have the wrapping machine fixed.
I once had the job of moving a whole house full of furniture to Seattle, Washington. I loaded my truck but most of the furniture was still there needing t be loaded so I started to pile it on top – up, up, up. On my way to Seattle every time I came to an overpass I had to stop and get out to see if I could make it under. Much to my good luck, I did not ever have to unload anything. On my way back I stopped and bought a 50-gallon drum and filled it with gasoline because it was cheaper to buy it on the coast. I was paid $65 for this trip.
I had a chance to do some hauling for an auctioneer. He made me an offer – if I got a new truck then he would let me do all the hauling for him after an auction and if there was no hauling he guaranteed to pay me $25 a week. So I kept busy with the auctioneer, coal hauling, furniture moving and whatever else I could do.
In anticipation of having a larger family we set about looking for a place out of the city where we could maybe have a farm. The opportunity came that we cold trade the equity in our home for two acres of empty ground on 8th West and 3500 South. We made the deal and right away build a garage on the property and moved into it. The garage had dirt floors with no door. We hung up an old carpet for the door. As soon as we could we build the house. At the time, we didn’t have running water so we hired a man to dig a well for us. There was so much iron in the water that yellow stains remained in the pans after we had cooked in them. We had plenty of room t plant a garden. This was really different for me because we had never had a garden, even when I was younger and lived in Berlin. I didn’t know anything about a garden. We planted peas, beans, corn, carrots, radishes and anything and everything we needed. Not knowing what the different plants would look like when they were grown, at the front of each row I put a stake with the name of whatever was planted there so I would know When we lived on Brixen Court we had a few rabbits. At our new home we started raising pigs. Wed had a sow that weighted about 300 pounds that was ready to deliver a litter of pigs. When it came time for the delivery, all of her insides came out and we had to kill her. This did not discourage us from wanting to raise pigs, we kept right on. We wanted to go into raising pigs “big” so we shopped around and finally bought 45 little piglets. We would drive into Salt Lake to the dairy and buy what was l3eft after all the milk and buttermilk and everything else was made. We would buy the leftovers in 50 gallon drums. From the restaurants and I used to deliver coal to, I would go and get the leftovers that the people didn’t eat. These leftovers, along with the milk slop, we fed to the pigs. At Buttercrest Bakery I would buy all the broken and stale bread they had for the pigs also. We would go through the bread first and pick out what was still good and fed that to the family. One day we noticed that the baby pigs were not very active. We called the veterinarian out to examine them. He took about four pigs out fro the rest and told us all of the others were sick with “choluria” and would have to be killed and burned. We dug a big hole in which to burn and bury them. We think that the leftovers we got from the cafes had some coffee grounds in it and this is what made the pigs sick. This was a big loss but we still continued raising pigs but not in such a large number. When the pigs got big and fat we sold them to Cudahays in North Salt Lake. A couple of time we received a ribbon for having the best fed and cleanest pigs.
Now we wanted a cow, so we bought a cow. They delivered the cow and it was standing there before us. We looked at each other and said, “What doo we do now?” Some German people lived on 6th West and they came and milked the cow for us. We wanted to do this ourselves so Mama started milking. But how? She would sit as far away from the cow as she could and reach for the tits. We bought a chain that hooked onto the cows back legs so that she couldn’t kick. One of the children or myself had to hold onto the tail so she couldn’t flip it around and hit with it. As time goes on, soon Adolph was big enough and it was his job to milk the cow. We were surprised that he was able to get more milk than mom did. Many years later he told us the reason for this. He would add water to the milk. We were not able to buy a lot of good things to eat but we did eat real butter, buttermilk wand we made what is now called yogurt. We would put sugar on it and then we ate it. All of these things we made ourselves. We even made homemade root beer and soap.
We had a small accident on State Street. We were driving on our side and he came over to our lane and hit our truck. He apologized but didn’t have the money to fix our truck (which wasn’t hurt bad) and offered to give us two sheep. He brought them and unloaded them on our driveway. We looked at them and they looked at us and before we knew it, they took off running. We had a hard time catching them.
One day our cow was gone. The whole family spent hours looking for it, even going as far as Redwood Road. That night we looked out the window and she was over in the neighbor’s garden. We, even at the time, had a couple of geese. One day both of them were missing. We looked all over for them but couldn’t find them anywhere. In the fall our two geese came strolling, along with 26 little ones following them.
When the depression hit (1932), I lost my job. When winter came, even though I didn’t want to, I went to the Bishop and asked for some help. We had a small baby (I don’t remember which one) and I asked if we could get some coal to heat our house. The Bishop was very cold towards me. He had been told that every morning I was going out with my truck and so he figured I had a job. I told him that, “Yes indeed I was taking my truck out every day. But that I was looking for work and couldn’t find any.” The Bishop was so cold and rude in his accusations that I made fists with both may hands (which were hidden in my pants pockets) and promised myself that I would never again ask the church for help and to this day, we never have. But working hard, most often having two full-time jobs and paying an honest tithing, the Lord blessed us. After my episode with the Bishop, mom went to the Relief Society president who lived on our street to ask her for some help. The Relief Society president told mom, “You have a cow and at least have milk,” but she didn’t know our cow was dry. Again we were refused help. Finally the Bishop gave in and said I could go and get a half-ton of coal.
On top of our barn we built a hay loft to store the hay in. A friend of ours was called to be president of the Argentine mission and asked us to keep his furniture for him. We put it up in the hay loft. In 1933 we had a fire in the barn and garage and it completely burned to the ground. All of our friend’s furniture was lost. Henry, who was 7 at the time, was very sick. When the fire came close to the house, I went in and carried him in my arms over to the neighbors. Mom had gone into Salt Lake shopping and while all this was going on I had to go up to 33rd South and State to meet mom at the bus stop. On the way home she noticed all the smoke and asked what was going on. I was very reluctant to tell her it was our place that was on fire. Henry died on June 29, 1933 the same year we had the fire. Mom always felt that he was too good for this world. To make things worse, Clifford, then about 3 years old, ate some poisoned berries off the fence on the street and was very sick.
My dad was working at Hotel Utah and, with his help, I was able to get a job there too. I worked in the pastry shop. Soon a job opened for someone to make ice ream. I worked at Hotel Utah for 19 years. I supposed to be the second best ice cream maker in Salt Lake. The bad thing abut this job was that every winter I would be layed off because they didn’t want to serve ice cream in the winter, and the in the spring they would beg me to come back to work for them. Ruth always enjoyed coming to the Hotel when I was working. She always enjoyed eating anything that came from the pastry shop. I remember every day having to whip a half gallon of cream by hand to make the whipping cream. Before we had electrical freezers, I would have to put my ice cream in a big box and pack it with ice and salt to make it freeze. One day while pulling one of the carts full of salt I slipped on the wet floor and fell down hitting my tail bone. The ice man that was there had me put my hands in ice cold water to forget the pain in my back. After a while, I went back to work, never having gone to a doctor. Maybe that is why I have so much pain in my back today. I made my own ice cream mix by boiling all the ingredients (eggs, sugar and cream) that were necessary in a big steam kettle. Soon, Hotel Utah built me my own room for making m ice cream. In it was a big walk-in freezer and places to make all my fancy ice creams and places or cabinets to store them. I made up and created many new recipes. Soon I was making ice cream for big banquets such as the Rotary Club or Kiawanas. Often times making up to 800 extra servings. This was in addition to the ice cream needed for the Coffee Shop and Roof Garden Restaurant. It was not an easy task to make that many “Baked Alaska” for those gatherings wit sometimes as many as 800 people. I worked the whole month for $95. My day off was Tuesday. The bad thing about this was that on Monday I had to work extra hard and get all the desserts and ice cream ready for parties and businesses that came in on my day off which was on Tuesday.
I worked for a few different pastry chefs at the Hotel. One of these pastry chefs called me into his office one morning. He was not a member of the Church. He told me that on Sunday he had gone to the Tabernacle to hear the sermon. The funny thing is, the speaker talked about keeping the Sabbath day holy, that we shouldn’t work on Sunday. The speaker emphasized his remarks by pounding his fist on the podium. This chef said to me, “You are a good Mormon and this Hotel is owned by the Church and they make you work on Sunday.”
While still living on the west side during the depression, we joined a non-profit organization called Natural Development Association, N.D.A. for short. The purpose was to help each other out, exchanging labor for produce or whatever you have. The organizer was Brother Stringham. It was kind of a forerunner for the Welfare Program of the L.D.S. Church. When we were there we became friends wit Owen Woodruff, son of Apostle Woodruff, grandson of Prophet Wilford Woodruf and son-in-law of my last mission president, Serge F. Ballif. He knew I was an ice cream maker and, a few years later, talked me into going into business with him, with his father-in-law putting up the money. We had two stores but had to give it up after a short time.
But still, during all this time, I still worked at the Hotel Utah. President Ballif asked me to take the business over but I could not take it over because of all the payments for machinery, rent and so on.
It was hard to raise a large family on the money I made so I kept on trucking while working at the hotel to make ends meet. All at once I had the chance to get back on at the railroad. I would leave home at 2:00 p.m. to work an 8-hour shift at the Hotel Utah. My uniform for the Hotel was all white. At 11:00 p.m. I got off at the Hotel, walked over to the railroad where I started wok at midnight. I would work there in dirty overalls another 8 hours on the engines of the trains. This was a drastic change in my appearance going from white clean clothes and a clean kitchen to dirty and greasy overalls and wok on the railroad. At 8:00 a.m. I went home, went to bed, got up about 1:00 p.m. and started the same thing over again.
In 1940, while still living on 8th West, I was using only pick and shovel to work the 2 acres of ground we had. I told mom I wanted to buy a tractor to do the work. She told me I was crazy and the neighbors would think I was crazy for having a tractor to work 2 acres. So I told her I wanted a bigger farm. We moved from 8th West and 2 acres to 9400 South ad 9th East and 20 acres. There was only an old log home on the property that we moved into. The roof leaked, the floor was warped (bowed) and the plumbing, or toilet, was outside. Two of my friends, who worked at the Hotel Utah, were carpenters. They came out and fixed the floor so we could live there. There was an old chicken coop on the property. The whole farm was covered wit sage brush. We cleared the sage brush by hand and planted a small garden. Every morning the kids would go through the rows on their knees and pull the weeds by hand. Finally we bought a horse to help with the work and then a cow. Soon after we bought more pigs and chickens. I was still working at the Hotel and would bring home the old bread for us to eat and also to feed the pigs. We cleared the ground of all the sage brush and planted alfalfa hey to feed the cow and the horse.
My day off at the Hotel was Tuesday. Sometimes, when we could make it all of us went in our truck to Lambs Canyon, taking my parents wit us, and some potato salad. We would pick up as many dry limbs and wood as we could find for our wood stove at home. A few times we baked a couple cream pies.
Ruth loved to come and see me at the Hotel, filling up on sweet pastry, strawberries and lots of whipping cream. On payday Mama came down to the Hotel. I gave her my paycheck, she would go net door to the bishop’s office, cash the check and pay our tithing.
As I mentioned before, I was layed off every winter from the Hotel Utah. One year, when I got off at midnight on Christmas Eve, I was told I was through. For a man with a new piece of property, no home, and a large family it was not a good Christmas present. Our new bishop, Bishop Bartlett in Sandy, somehow found out about losing my job and came to see if we needed any help. (Different from our bishop on the Westside). We, without hesitation, refused any help saying we didn’t need it.
At one time, we had a good Jersey cow. A man came down from Granite and offered us $75 for the cow which we refused. Next morning when we went out the cow was laying there dead.
At another time we had a cow and the veterinary wanted to put a tag in her ear. He asked me to hold her head tight. She was a gentle animal so I did not put much pressure holding her. When he punctured her ear, feeling the pain, her head struck up like lightning and hit my head. The result: I had a broken nose and cheekbone and saw a lot of blood.
Along 9400 South at that time there were only three or four houses. When we lived on 8th West we lived on a dead-end street. I promised myself at that time that next time we built or bought a home, it would be on a street. 9400 South is now a main road through Sandy. The traffic is so heavy you can hardly get in or out of the place. One day as I was driving down the road, the truck in front of me lost a tire. I stopped and picked it up but could not catch up with the truck to return it. Later I traded the tire to Betty Basta’s (a neighbor now) Grandfather for a horse. We now had two horses to work with. We bought some new equipment and were able to use the horses for plowing the ground, cutting the hay and other work around the farm. And now trouble again! Being born and raised in the city, I had no idea how to work the horses. One of them would be pulling forward while the other one would pull back. I didn’t know how to make them work together. Finally my dream came true and we were able to buy a Ford tractor. Here again I was able to make a little extra money by using the tractor and cutting hay for the neighbors. Cutting the hay and working my other two jobs (at the Hotel and the railroad) was getting to be too much for me. I put a note under the door of the head chef telling him that I would be quitting on such and such a day at the Hotel. During this time, and even back when we lived on 8th West, mom did most of the farm work, keeping up the house, taking care of the family and myself. The kids at this time had to be and were a lot of help to her. One day of every week she had to irrigate the farm for 15 hours continuously. This was done sometimes at night and sometimes in the daytime. So my hat goes off and I give all honor to Mom for taking care of everything on the farm and in raising our family. Whatever I have accomplished in my married life I could not have done without the love, support, faith and prayers of mom and the help of our children. I wanted to give my note of resignation to the head chef in person but he was not there. That is the reason I put it under the door. I was surprised that he did not say anything to me about the note and my quitting work. On the day I had told him I would be through, I went to him to thank him and say good-bye. He said he had not seen the note and did not know anything about it. He also told me I could not quit, that I belonged to the Hotel. I told him I was sorry but could not keep up with everything and work two jobs. Since the railroad was paying me quite a bit more than the Hotel that was the job I had to keep. He was very upset and bitter about my decision. He later quit the Hotel and moved to Laws Vegas to be a chef in the Flamingo Hotel. On a trip to California one year we stopped there. He was very friendly and cooked us a nice meal of Halibut at the hotel. We even went to visit him and his wife in Phoenix, Arizona on some of our other vacations. I will never forget the nice plum cake his wife baked for us while we were there.
Thinking about Mrs. Kohler now reminds me of an experience I had while working at the Hotel. One day while taking my ice cream up on the elevator. He said, “I hear you are expecting another baby. What will it be – a boy or a girl?” My answer was, “Chef, when you have as many children as we do you don’t ask what it will be, you just take what you get.” Inasmuch as they were unable to have children, they approached us with the idea of letting them adopt our new baby when it was born. Of course we said no! This was our last child, a son, David. I am no longer working for the Hotel and just have to work at the railroad. When I worked just for the railroad I felt kind of lonesome. Every morning just before quitting time the foreman would check the chart to see what needed to be done for overtime work. I would always make sure I passed by him at that time so that he would let me have the overtime work. One experience there that I will never forget. One day while walking in the Round House I saw a group of machinists talking to the foreman. So I walked over and stood in the back of all the men to see what was going on. One of the machinists had an argument with the foreman. He was complaining because the foreman was giving me more overtime that he was getting and he had more seniority than I. When an engine came in for repairs the foreman would write on a piece of paper the work needing to be done with the names of the person and his helper who were to do the job. This in turn was put up on the board. When the work was completed on the engine the machinist in charge would have to sing his name on the paper to show the work was done. The foreman told the man that was complaining that whenever he had a job he would see what it was first on the paper then he would go and check it out on the engine. If you thought it could still run without the work being done, you would then go and sign your name, saying the work was done when actually it was not. If I assign Erich t a job and he signs his name, I know the work is done. Working in the Round House on the engines, when they were running, it was extremely noisy and hard on your ears. Now when I am old and hard of hearing I know why I can’t hear so good anymore.
Now for something new in my life. While still at the Hotel, the store manager, Mr. Hollingshead, and three of his friends all got it in their heads to open up a restaurant. All of these men were good businessmen. Mr. Hollingshead approached me about making ice cream for them in their new business. This new place was called “The Farmer’s Daughter Restaurant” on 2200 South and Highland Drive. Me, never being one to turn down a job, accepted this responsibility. I had to pick out and order my own equipment to be installed in the place. They hired a chef from New York to do the cooking. But because of poor management, or for whatever reason, they were on the verge of bankruptcy after a little while.
All these years I had worked so much to pay the bills and try to get ahead that I was not at home with the family very much. This reminds me of a little story I once heard. Once there was a man who worked all hours of the day and night, pretty much the same as I did. One night he was at home to have dinner with his family. After he finished eating he left again to go to work. One of the children went to his mother and said, “Mom, who was that man that ate dinner with us tonight?”
Now, for the first time, I took my family to Lagoon. Here at Lagoon we met one of the owners of the Farmer’s Daughter. He told us about all the problems they were having running the business and asked me if I would be interested in taking it over. One of the owner/managers was living in Bountiful and if I was interested I cold go and talk to him. His name is Eric Seaich. Going home we had to pass by Bountiful. I was interested and so I stopped to talk to Eric. Mama was entirely opposed to it. For once I wanted to have my way. She said that even if I talked wit him, I should not mention the Farmer’s Daughter. We stopped and, after a few minutes, we were talking about the Farmer’s Daughter. They were in such bad shape that they could not pay any of the bills they had assumed. They were behind on taxes, rent, utilities and everything. Payments on machinery had not been made. They owed the dairy $800 or $900. He offered the whole business to me for a certain amount of money. I wish I could remember the amount but I don’t. The agreement we made was that I would pay all of the bills that were owed before paying them any money. What ever was left of the purchase price to be paid would be paid at this time. After having been happy about quitting the Hotel and having some extra time, once again I had created new troubles again. One night when I came home from work I fell asleep at the wheel and found myself on the wrong side of the road. My good luck was that it was late at night and there was no traffic when I found myself in this predicament.
Marlene had been working for a short time at a small restaurant in Midvale as a waitress. We thought that with her experience she could, in some way help us get started. When it came time for us to open our restaurant and for Marlene to work for us her husband, Harold, said he wonted his wife to stay at home and not work. I was still working at the railroad so we figured that money could help pay off some of the bills that came with the Farmer’s Daughter. Mama and I went to the place where Marlene had been working and wanted to watch how they cooked a hamburger. All of our married life we did not eat out so we had no idea what a hamburger looked like or had on it. I remember stopping one time for a hamburger. We really enjoyed it and said we would do it again but that was the last time. Several times we would stop and get two root beers. At that time, the children got their small root beer free. I was always kind of ashamed to order and pa for two rootbeers and then get four or five small ones free.
Finally the day came for us t open the Farmer’s Daughter for business. Up to this point, and ever since, we had spent a lot of time praying. Mama and I and a few of the children went early to peel the potatoes and get everything ready for our first day of business. We were all very excited about this new venture – but our hands were shaking and we were all a little bit afraid. While we were standing there, we heard a knock on the back door. I opened it to find a lady standing there. She introduced herself and said she had worked for the previous owner. She said she had left a small radio on the kitchen and wondered if she could pick it up. I told her that we had purchased the place with everything that was in it. But we did return her radio. I asked her if she would be willing to work for us for a while until we could get the business going. She agreed to do that. At this time our prayers had partly been answered. We, and especially Mama, stood and watched this lady cook so that we could learn. After a few days Mama said, “She doesn’t cook right, not the way we do.” This lady only wanted to help us get started so when she quit mama took over as cook. Business at first was very slow but gradually it picked up. Ruth, Helen and Viola came after school to be our waitresses and car hops. Ruth was already married, had one child, Linda, and still worked a full shift at the R.K.O. as a secretary. Viola was then 14 years old and Helen was 12 years old. The boys helped in the kitchen. They all did a wonderful job and we really appreciated their help. Everyday we had bill collectors coming and trying to collect the money owed them by the previous owner. I was still making my own ice cream so I went to Hi-land Dairy to see if I could get some credit for buying my cream for making ice cream. They flatly refused me credit and said that the business owed them $900. That was a lot of money at that time. At this time I decided we would not buy anything unless we cold pa cash for it. With the money I earned working at the railroad we were able to string along. We were able to slowly pay the bills off one by one.
Then new trouble started. The RioGrande railroad laid off all the machinists because of a strike. I was one of them that was laid off. I was lucky though because I got a job at Kennecott in Magna as a machinist for about a year. It turned out to be the best job I ever had. To make some extra money I took some company workers in my truck to work and then home again. So that paid for the gas and then some extra. Then the diesel engine came and we wee layed off. I worked for the Rio Grande Railroad one year in 1922 and again seven years from 1943 to 1950 and then one year for the Kenecott Copper Railroad. It was during this time, working there, that we bought the Farmer’s Daughter Restaurant. We did not sell beer or cigarettes so I changed the name to Farmer’s Daughter Café.
We were broken into once or twice and had our ups and downs. If you were ever to ask Mama she would always say, “SELL IT!” When I lost the job at Kennecott I was afraid that we could not make all the payments. But working long, hard hours and much praying got us through. Once we advertised and gave away a lot of fish and chips. Business got better; sometimes too much better. We made a lot of good friends with the Police because we gave them their coffee free. One time one officer had his coffee and laughed out loud during a real busy time. He laughed so hard I could hardly handle it. I got kind of mad and asked him about his behavior. He said that the owner before us didn’t have any business; he had blamed it on the location and everything else. He said, “Now look at your business.”

Here was our menu:
Fish and Chips (Halibut) $.75
Hamburger Steak .75
Dinner Steak .85
Breaded Veal Cutlet .85
Every order includes soup or salad and Jell-O or ice cream.
Sandwiches:
Farmburger .50
Steak Sandwich .50
Farm Dog .50
Cheeseburger .35
Hamburger .30
Every sandwich order included French fries.
Working from early morning until midnight, Mama was so worn out that many times I had to push her up the stairs when we got home. She used to say, “I can’t do it any more.” But the next morning when was the one to get me out of bed and said, “Let’s go.”
One winter the snow was piled so high on 9400 South that we had to leave our car on 7th East and walk home. We just about could touch the telephone wires. On the way home from work on one of these kinds of day, mama got sick. We had to call our doctor, Doctor Sorenson, and he had to walk over the snow, at night, also. Every once I a while, when the curtains were dirty, we took them down after closing time at midnight and Mama would take them home, wash and iron them early the next morning and we would hang them up before business started.
Things were also changing at home too. I was still working at the railroad. We sold the cow and since we now had a tractor, we got rid of the horses and chickens too. We kept the pigs though which we fed mostly the scraps from the Café. David, who was too young to work at the Café, stayed home and kept house. Instead of alfalfa, we now planted 275 peach, 75 pear, some apple, cherry and apricot trees and made an orchard out of the farm. All we had to do now was cultivating with the tractor and irrigate every week for 15 hours.
One day while David was feeding the pigs, he decided to burn some cardboard boxes. The wind picked up the flames and started the cow barn, pig pen and chicken coop on fire. They were all burned to the ground killing the pigs that were still in it. It was a sad day to lose it all, but financially it was O.K. because of the insurance we had.
Up to this point I had been working one shift on the railroad and then would go right to the Farmer’s Daughter to work another shift. Mama did all the cooking and the girls and myself were the waitresses and car hops. I was still making all the ice cream also. I was always embarrassed to serve the dish of ice cream to the customers because from working on the railroad my fingernails were always dirty from the grease at the railroad. I could not get them clean.
When we bought the café from Erich Seaich we bought the business and the building. The ground we leased from Curtis. Curtis owned a lot of property around the Sugar House area, including a coal yard that I had hauled coal for when I was out of a job. I was always nervous when it came time to renew our lease. I would always go over to the Curtis office to do this, but they would always put me off. At this time, I even offered to buy the property. Shortly before our lease was up, curtis came and said we had to move and that they wouldn’t renew our lease. He said that a tire company wanted that corner and would pay a lot more rent. We were really put on the spot. We didn’t have much time left on the lease and no where else to go. A friend of mine who was into real estate a little bit, Mr. Harris, took me and drove all over Salt Lake, and even out into Draper, looking for a new location but I couldn’t find anything I liked. He drove down on 33rd South from Highland Drive and pointed out one place that was for sale. On some places it was down below the street level by about 2 feet. The lot was on the south side of 33rd South and coming down a hill. I was totally against this piece of property but when we couldn’t find any other place, I decided to talk with the owners. The property was two separate parcels that were owned by two sisters of the Pratt family. They were great granddaughters of Parley P. Pratt. After a few days of negotiating about everything, I decided t buy the place. I paid Mr. Harris $400 for his trouble in helping me. That was all the cash I had at the time. Next I went all over Salt Lake to the different construction sites to ask if they had any “fill” if they would take it to our new property. The building of the Farmer’s Daughter was already up on blocks ready to be moved. We went through a very hectic time trying t get the ground leveled off and a foundation poured. I didn’t have the money to hire anyone to help me so I did most of the work myself. Finally, we moved the building onto the foundation but we were still trying to fill in the ground. Many people stopped and wanted to come in and eat. One man said, “Open up – I want to eat. I don’t care what it looks like on the outside.” Another man asked why we moved so far. I said it is only a few blocks, that it wasn’t very far at all. He said, “It is if you drive from Ogden.” Finally we were ready to open for business. Our new location was 1136 East 3300 South. When we first opened on Highland Drive, Adolph was in the Navy. He married while in Chicago. He was a cook in the Navy and I think worked in Chicago as a cook also. We asked him to come and wok for us but only if he wanted to. We left it completely up to him and his new wife, Rosalyn, to decide. They did come and he worked for us for a while. He made some friends wit people that worked for KUTV television station. They could pay him much more than I could so he went to work for them. But the girls still continued to work for us. After we moved to 33rd South, Mr. Curtis came in one night and sat out in his car. I went out and exchanged some words with him. I told him that even if he offered me the old place back for free, I would not take it. Not only was the location much better, but we had a huge parking lot. On Highland Drive we cold only park a few cars. On 33rd South we sometimes had as many as 15 employees besides the family and our kitchen helper, an old friend named Willi Wille. Business was so good in our new location that we built a new dining room on to the back. If I remember right, we now had 17 tables and 12 stools at the counter and also car service. The president of our Church, President Ezra Taft Benson, and his wife were regular customers of ours. Business was so good that often times we had people waiting to be seated. Many times when it was busy I wished it would simmer down a little. We cooked our own roasts and peeled all our potatoes by hand (later on we bought a potato peeler that took off part of the peeling, all we had to do after that was take the eyes out of the potatoes). We also made our own chili and syrups for milk shakes, sundaes and banana splits. On weekends we peeled about 200 pounds of potatoes. On Mother’s Day, we gave each mother a potted plant. On that day we used between 400 and 500 pounds of potatoes. On Mother’s Day I made mashed potatoes from morning until night. We also cut all our own French fries. Today most restaurants buy their foods already prepared and frozen. We made all our own ice cream just like I did at the Hotel. One Sunday one of our steady customers was sitting at a table by himself. I kept wishing he would get up so someone else could sit there. Finally he called me over and said he had been trying to figure out how we could make a profit on the price we charge for our meals.
Helen and Viola both met there husbands while working for us. Hyrum also met his wife at the restaurant. Clifford’s wife, Shirley, worked for us also, and Clifford met her there.
When our peaches in the orchard were ready to be picked, we were very busy at the café. Some people from White City asked if they could pick them and pay for them. We agreed to let them. They did come and pick them but never did pay for them.
In the spring we would buy several cases of strawberries and freeze them. From this we made our strawberry syrup and ice cream. The hamburger we bought in bulk, put it in a hamburger press and then, in a freezer. When it was just right we would slice it into patties. We cut all our own bacon and a good friend, Grant Hemsley, would come each night and slice our cheese. We also saved bread crusts and hamburger buns that didn’t look good to make bread crumbs. It is no wonder that we were so busy and people like our food, it was all fresh and homemade.
Finally one day the time came that I went to Mama and told her it was all paid for. She was so surprised and said, “Then it’s all ours.” Then she sat down and cried. David left on his mission to Germany in April of 1961.
About this time we decided to quit the Farmer’s Daughter and so we leased it out. Two men, Tom Notestine and Glen Viklund, were the ones who leased it. We started negotiating with them sometime in October or November. We wanted to wait until the first of the new year but they insisted on taking it over right sway. So, in December of 1960, they took over and we retired. Even with all their enthusiasm, they could not make it. They, in turn, sold it to someone else (Winters).
Now we were free to do what we liked to do, even though Mama was still cooking hamburgers in her dreams for a long time. We bought a 17-foot trailer and started traveling. There were two words we never knew during all our married life until now and they were “tired” and “vacation”. During the time we had the Farmer’s Daughter we had two days off every year: Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was that way for eleven years.
We happened to go to Lava Hot Springs and made some good friends there. The only bad thing about going there was that we saw larger and better equipped trailers and we were foolish enough to trade our trailer twice, finally ending up, the third time, with a 22-foot trailer. It had twin beds, a nice bathroom with a tub and shower, a kitchen and even a small front room with a television and more extras. We traveled several times to California, Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm and Sea World.
Once we went to Colorado to visit with Lillian, the daughter of my brother John and his wife, and then on to Canada. Aw we came to the border we were asked by the Canadian guard where we intended on going. When we told him we were on our way to the L.D.S. temple in Cardston, he said to go ahead and have a good time. “I am also L.D.S., “he added. As we got to the temple we found out that the day before was the last day the temple was open for the season. Too bad! So we had to come back some other time to attend the temple. As we returned to the Canadian border we noticed a guard searching, for a very long time, a car and a trailer that was also leaving the country. Finally he came to us, looked at us, looked in the trailer and said, “Go on.” I asked why he let us go on without checking when he was checking the other trailer for such a long time and he said that he could judge people well enough to know what to do.
After a couple of sessions in the temple in Canada, we traveled to Lake Louise and many other lakes, through Alberta and on to Victoria. One night we parked in a trailer park next to a trailer with a nice couple. As we unhooked our trailer the lady came out and talked to us for quite some time. We started talking about our families and we mentioned that one of our sons was in Germany. She wanted to know what he was doing there and we told her that he was serving a mission for the L.D.S. church. She said that she always listened to the Tabernacle Choir on Sunday mornings. That was the start we needed to tell her about the Church and bear our testimonies. To make a long story short: She invited us in her trailer to meet her husband. We had a hard time breathing because her husband smoked pretty heavy and the smoke was quite thick. We gave them tracts about the gospel and traveled with them for five days, making out in the evening where we would be at night so we could meet them and talk about the gospel. We exchanged addresses and said good bye. When we returned home we sent a letter to the mission president in Ohio and asked him to send missionaries to these people, the Byerleins. About 6 to 8 months later, when we had almost forgotten about them, we received a letter from a missionary letting us know that this family had been baptized and thanking us for helping in their conversion.
When we were first married we made friends with a couple by the name of Glad. We attended the temple quite regularly with them. Later on as our family grew and having two or more jobs, it was hard to keep going. But now we are free to start going again and we enjoy going regularly. We attend the Provo Temple at least once a week.
Once we took a temple vacation with our trailer. We left on the morning to go to the Provo Temple for a session. Then we left for Manti for a session there the same day. We stayed overnight in Manti and did another session the next morning and then headed for the St. George Temple for a session. Next we went to the Los Angeles Temple and attended another session. Here we stayed on the temple parking lot and went to a few more sessions. On our return trip we went back to the same temples and did more sessions.
On another vacation we went to Fort Ord, California to pick up David. He was in the National Guard, just like Hyrum was. David was down there doing his Basic Training. On our way back we were speeding down the highway; it was quite early in the morning so there wasn’t much traffic. We were going about 80 to 90 m.p.h. when a policeman stopped us. He took us to the Police station in Barstow, California and proceeded to bawl us out. He wanted to know if that’s how people drove in Utah. He fined us $20, which was quite a bit of money at that time, and sent us on our way. I was so scared, my knees were shaking. You can bet we went no faster than the speed limit the rest of the way home.
In 1962 David would be released from his mission. Mama and I made plans to go over to Germany and pick him up after he completed his mission. We made a tour with a group from the Credit Union for 28 days that took us though Europe. We left by train from Salt Lake and went to Ohio. Here we visited with our new friends, and now members of the Church, the Byerliens. We went together with them to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant, the Sacred Grove, Joseph Smith’s home, the place where he was martyred and other sacred places in our church history. We also went to the Kirtland Temple. The Kirkland Temple is now owned by the Reorganized Church so we had to get the custodian, who lived only a short way from the Temple, to let us in. He opened the doors for us so we could tour the building. He was happy to do this and while we were there he told us about Joseph Smith and the early history of the Church. He said that after the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, a small part of the church membership went to Utah. It was very interesting to us to see how the Temple was built, the floor plans and such. They were not having any ordinance work done in the temple and only used it for church meetings. When they would separate for classes, petitions were set up to divide the room into classes. There was no heat in the building so the members would bring heated rocks to set on the floor and put their feet on. This is the way they kept warm. He took us upstairs and showed us where Joseph Smith and his counselors sat and also where the other apostles and leaders sat. When we went downstairs he showed us a wooden rocking chair that Joseph Smith had been using.
At the home of the Byerliens I was playing around with one of their boys and accidently hit my foot on the banister and broke one of my toes. I was in a lot of pain and could not get my shoe on. Part of our trip to Germany I had to wear my slippers. We left the Byerliens and continued by train to New York.
On our way to New York our first room was the bridal suite but we rejected that and were given another room. Here we boarded the steamer, M.S. Berlin, for our trip to Germany on August 23, 1963. We were on the water for ten days because we wanted to be on, and enjoy, the water for a long time. A short time before leaving home I had gone on a diet. I was taking some powder to help me lose weight. I guess I overdid it on my dieting because several times as we were walking in different places I had to go between the houses and throw up. On the ship I got very sick. The ship’s doctor put me in bed for four days. It’s a good thing we were on the water for ten days so that I could still enjoy some of the trip.
Tante Paula and her son, Irvin met us at the pier when we arrived. It had been forty-three years since we left Germany for the first tie until we set foot on our homeland again. When we arrived in Germany we had decided to only speak German and not let anyone know we were Americans. One day Tante Paula asked me to go to the store for a quart of milk. ON my way I was trying to think of what I would say. When I got there I said, “Bitte, geben sie mir einen quart milch.” She looked at me kind of funny and bewildered and then I remembered I should have said “liter” instead of “quart”. I had given myself away. It was hard for people to realize we had been away for forty-three years and could still speak German so fluently. When we were at home we always spoke German. When Adolph was young we always spoke German to him and when he started school he could not speak or understand English.
We left Tante Paula and her children, took a train to Ostend, Belgium, traveled to Dover, England by boat or steamer, and on to London by train where we started our 28-day tour through Europe. That was September 13, 1963 at 7:45 a.m. We went back the same route as we had come to Ostend, where we took a couch to Brussels, the Belgian capital. In the center of the city we saw the Mannequin Pis Statue consisting of a boy taking a pee. The next day over Antwerp, Belgium to Rotterdam, Holland we visited the Hague, seat of the Dutch government. Then to Amsterdam, capital of Holland. There are many canals flowing through the city. The houses are so close and the stairs to the upper part of the house so steep, just like a spiral staircase going up, that they cannot take any furniture up the stairs. They must bring in a crane to transport any furniture to the upper rooms and put it through the windows. Mama and I went with a couple about our age through a section of the city known as the hangout for prostitutes. I noticed a house on the canal that was leaning over to one side quite a bit and was propped up by some timber, I pointed my finger at the house to show it to the man beside me so he could see it. At that same moment, I noticed two women behind a window who waved to us to come over. The next morning when we go on a bus, a middle-aged woman asked us, right out loud, if we had had a good time wit any of the girls in town. We ate lunch at Arnhem and drove into German. In the city of Cologne we visited the historic cathedral built in the twelfth century. Then we drove along the River Rhine to the now capital city of Bonn. We stayed overnight n that city. The next morning, on our fifth day, we passed Bad Godesberg, where Hitler met Chamberlain in 1938. At St. Goar we went aboard a Rhine steamer and traveled on the River past the Lorelei Rock. We caught our coach in Bingen, passed Mainz and stayed overnight in Heidelberg, known for the operetta “The Student Prince.” On the sixth day we went through the Black Forest to Donaueschingen and into Switzerland at Schaffhausen. There we visited the Rhinefalls and then on to Zurich. We spent that night in Lucerne. The next day we went sightseeing in the city and to Lake Lucerne. On the eighth day we went to Liechtenstein, one of the smallest states in Europe. After lunch we went into Austria by Feldkirch and on to St. Anton to stay overnight. The next day we went over the Resia Pass (4970 ft.) into Italy, past Merano and on to Bolzano. The tenth day took us through the Dolomite Mountains to Venice. Here we spent the next day. Venice is a city in water, foul-stinking and no run off. Houses are standing completely in water. We could hardly sleep at night in our hotel because of the foul air. Transportation is by boat only, called gondolas. While riding in a gondola one time they sang “Santa Lucia”. That was a nice experience. On the twelfth day we went pasta Padua, Rovigo, Ferrara, lunch in Bologna, through Sasso where Marconi, inventor of wireless, was born and on to Florence. I think it was here that we stayed in a hotel where the floors and walls were laid out in marble. We stayed one day and then went past Siena, Bolsena. The fifteenth day we went past Cassino to the Isle of Capri. There is a lake inside a mountain. The only way into it is by a small boat through a little opening. We had to stoop way down to pass through it. They call it “the Blue Grotto.” Then, on to Naples. Opposite the city is Vesuvius, one of the most active volcanoes in the world with the last eruption in 1933. In 79 A.D. an eruption buried Pompei (they are digging it out now). We have seen the ruins and were shown many things. Interesting to us especially were instruments used at that time by doctors. Just as fine and delicate as they are using now in the hospitals. One thing that was very interesting was a contraption like a corset or pantyhose for women, made out of some sort of steel/mesh for use by women, which could be locked making it impossible to have sex while the husband, mostly soldiers, were away. Now we leave Naples, have lunch in Formia, on past castles including Castle Gandolfo, the summer residence of the Pope. Finally, dinner and a night in Rome, the “eternal city.” Travel in the city is crazy. Cars go any where – no order. In the center of Rome is the independent “Vatican City” which belongs to the Pope. We visited his cathedral. In the early times there was always a rumor going around in Germany, and I think here in the U.S. also, that the Mormons have horns or their heads. If that is so, then we have seen the first Mormon here in the Cathedral of the Pope, a bronze statue of Moses, the prophet, with a horn on his forehead. Here, and in other cities in Italy, we observed that the cathedrals were laid out in gold on walls, windows and ceilings. Our bus took us about fifteen minutes away from the city and there we see families living in cardboard boxes and women washing their clothes under one cold water spout.
My broken toe still hurt and I was still using slippers on my feet. While in Rome I bought Mama an expensive red suit, made by measurement (it got ruined before we left there), and a small table with inlaid wood on top with a music box inside (it is still in our front room by the window with a lamp on top). On the twentieth day we toured along the Mediterranean Coast, ate lunch in Grosseto and came to Pisa, known for the world famous “leaning tower” which leans over 14 feet. Next day we went along the coast passing Viareggio, over the Bracco Pass and down to Papilla for lunch. Spent that night in Genoa. Next day, still along the coast, we entered France. Stayed the night in Monte Carlo in Monaco. Inside the Castle we saw Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly on one of the balconies. We went into the casino where the upper-class rich play. The twenty-fourth day we were off to Nice, spent the night in Grenoble in the French Alps. After passing through a few more places we arrived in Paris for lunch o the twenty-sixth day. We visited the Arc de Triomphe and the world famous Eiffel Tower which was built in 1889. Very interesting city. We bought a few trinkets mostly in Rome and Paris. On the twenty-eighth day we left Paris, drove through Northern France to Calais, where we got into a boat for Dover, England. From there we motored back to London for the end of our holiday.
When we completed the tour in London we took the opportunity and went to the London Temple. We arrived at the temple a little bit late and a session had already started. I kept knocking on the door and finally got the attention of the temple president and he came and opened the door. We explained that this was our only chance to go on a session. He stopped the session, helped me get dressed and ready and then we were able to go on the session also. After the session we ate dinner in the temple with other members who had been on the session. A special spirit was there that day. We enjoyed the friendship and good food. In England they do not charge for the food in the temple so we didn’t have to pay. We left London after this and returned to Germany. We went to Stuttgart where we picked up our new car, a Mercedes-Benz. Some friends from Salt Lake wanted us to order them a car also so we paid for theirs and had them sent home. In reality, we picked up three cars. No more riding the train or bus, we were driving our own car. In order to keep our warranty in order, we had the car inspected quite often. We went into one garage and across the back of the building was a sign which read, “Vernichftige Menschen-rauchen hier nicht, allen anderenist es verboten.” Translated this means, “Sensible people do not smoke here and all others are forbidden.” I was very impressed with this saying.
The time had finally come to pick up David from his mission. We drove to Düsseldorf and picked him up. We went to President Hinckley and asked permission for David to tour Europe with us for six months. President Hinckley said, “No! He should return home within a few days because he is a member of the National Guard.” We went to the National Guard and exp0lained our situation so they gave their permission for him to stay for six months. We traveled with David to all the same places we had been with the tour. We traveled to Berlin and visited at the mission headquarters. The mission president was a brother to our prophet, President Ezra Taft Benson. We told him about the problem with David staying and his homecoming and everything and he said we should keep David with us for the six months and eh would straighten everything out with President Hinckley. The mission headquarters is located in West Berlin. We had friends that were living in East Berlin. Mission President Benson said that the branch president in East Berlin was seriously ill in the hospital and had requested some medicine and his temple clothes. Mission President Benson asked us to take these things to him because they were not available in East Berlin. This was strictly forbidden but we were able to smuggle it in. We bought chocolate and bananas and some other things to take to our friends. We went every day into East Berlin. We had to be out by midnight so we could not stay the night. We gave the bananas to one brother and he took them to the brother in the hospital. So next time we took twice as man bananas. Every time we went in or out of East Berlin we had to go through ‘check point Charlie’ where everything we had was inspected. The first time we went through, the guards went completely through our car – top to bottom. The back seat was in pretty secure and so they even wanted to rip it apart to make sure we didn’t have anything that was forbidden. They had a large mirror on a handle so they could inspect underneath the car. We went into the building where there was one counter with one woman behind it. In the wall behind her was a small window. Through this she passed all our passports and papers so they could be checked by people in the next room making sure everything was in order. Here we were with no help from the United States and were at the mercy of the East Germans. One time when we went into this room, the lady asked us to empty our bag out onto the table. She looked over everything and took out a small can of condensed milk. She held up the can and asked what was in it. I told her it says on the can ‘condensed milk.’ She said, “I cannot see what is in it – there could be anything inside.” Then she picked up a bottle of whipping cream. “This I can see what is in it.” She did let us go this time, wit the milk and a warning.
One Sunday we went to meetings in East Berlin. The room was heated by a coal stove and the sacrament bread was stale. At this meeting I met my old girlfriend and her sister. The mission president in West Berlin invited us to attend a conference that was being held in Leipzig. Leipzig is a town in East Germany. It was difficult to get a pass to travel in East Germany but because of a big fair or celebration that was going on, it was a little easier to go there. For every day that you were in East Germany you had to have a certain amount of money in your pocket. We had to pay them a certain amount to travel in East Germany. The conference was held in a big building, but it was not big enough to hold the whole congregation. The congregation was divided into three separate groups and conference meetings were held at three different times. Each member or visitor was given a ticket. The tickets were three different colors. In this way, they had an equal number at each meeting. The mission president gave each one of us three tickets so that we could attend all three meetings. I was one of the speakers at one of the meetings. One sister from Czechoslovakia got up and bore her testimony. With tears in her eyes she said that this is the first meeting she had been able to attend in eleven years. She said that at home it was forbidden for two or three people to even stop and talk on the street. At the end of one of the meetings I met a man that I had been a companion teacher with forty-three years before. I did not recognize him until he told me who he was.
We were not interested in going to the fair so we did some shopping instead. We noticed that the floors of the stores were all wooden with holes in them. You had to watch your step so as not to fall. The shelves were only stocked with the bare necessities and not even much of that. Very early in the evening the streets were dead, hardly anyone was out. As we left each city you had to pass through a check point. Here they would mark on your paper the time you left. They knew exactly how much time it took to get to the next city and if you took longer than that, you had to explain where you had been and why it took so long. One time we turned off onto another road for a couple of blocks. A soldier with a gun over his shoulder stopped us and asked where we were going and told us to get back on the highway. As we got closer to West Berlin we were stopped and checked a few times and each time had to show our passport. One time, David handed the guard his passport and then looked the other way. The guard told him to look at him because he needed to check the picture to make sure it was him. Most of these soldiers wore shabby uniforms. One time we finally saw a guard with a nice clean uniform on. Seeing this guard looking so nice I thought we were in West Berlin. I made the comment to him that I was sure glad to be out of there. He looked me in the eye and said, “You are still wit us.” We learned our lesson about talking back. You never knew what could happen.
Upon returning to West Berlin we attended a conference that someone we knew was speaking at. After the conference Mama, David and I drove over to East Berlin where they were holding their meetings and delivered the message from the conference. They were not allowed to travel from East Berlin to West Berlin to attend the conference. Christmas was spent in Bielefeld with Tante Paula and her family. When spring came we went traveling and visited most of the places we went on our tour. We went to Switzerland and to the temple there. The missionaries from Germany were there at the temple when we went there including Mission President Benson and his wife from Berlin. Every day for three weeks we went to the Swiss Temple. We were the witness couple for every other session. Mission President Benson and his wife took the other sessions. We attended a testimony meeting in the temple for all the missionaries. The missionaries were so spiritually in tune that when one missionary was through, four or five others at a time would get up. The one in the back would actually try to make the one in front of him sit down so he could bear his testimony. President Benson finally put a stop to that and had the young men raise their hands and he would call on them in turn.
We came home from this trip in June of 1964. Our new Mercedes had to be inspected from top to bottom and completely cleaned inside and out before it could be shipped to the U.S. David could not come home with us because he had his ticket as a result of being a return missionary for the church. His ship took only four days to cross the Atlantic, where ours took ten days again. It seemed kind of funny that as we left on the ship to come home from Europe, David stood on the dock and waved good-bye to us. When our ship arrived at the port in New York, there was David waiting to welcome us back.
When we arrived in New York we had to go through customs before we were allowed to leave. The whole building was full of people with all their luggage and packages open waiting for the customs inspectors to O.K. what they had. We noticed several agents that were just coming to work and we were praying that we would not have to wait while everyone else was done. As the inspector got closer to us he stopped at the lady in front of us. He was very particular and careful as he went through her luggage and things. We were pretty nervous wondering how we would be treated. Finally it was our turn. He started going through one of the suitcases which held many gifts. He asked what they were for. I said they were souvenirs for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When we told him how many we had he went to Mama and said, “Come on lady, you need to sit down.” He told me to put everything back in the suitcase. He stamped the rest our our luggage with an O.K. and let us go through. You know me how I tie everything together wit rope, well all of our suitcases were tied with rope so that while on the ship they would not come open. The inspector told me to take all of them off the suitcases so it would look like they had been inspected.
Upon returning back to the U.S. we had the opportunity of attending the World’s Fair in New York. What a wonderful time we had there.
When we had to pack the car, the trunk and the back seat were filled clear to the top with suitcases and packages. Mama, David and I all had to ride in the front seat. From New York to our home here in Sandy was about 2,500 miles. It cost us about $25 for diesel fuel to travel that far. Finally we got home. We arrived home in June of 1964. Beth Webster, a neighbor that lived across the street, saw us coming. She called Helen to tell her and so the whole family was there to greet us. It’s always nice t go on a trip, but it was sure nice to be back home again.
After we greeted and talked with the family we unloaded the car. Everything was stacked in front of the car for the taking of a picture. You could not even see the car because of all the stuff.
The Farmer’s Daughter had been leased out the whole time we were gone. They had paid their rent on time each month and that is why we could stay away for so long. After we returned, the business was not going well. The time came that we had to make a decision of what to do with it. Not wanting to have to go back and work that hard again at our age, we decided to call all the family together to decide what to do. I explained the situation to all of them, telling them that there were many bills needing to be paid. The utilities were several months past due and the owner had purchased new equipment and only made a couple of payments on them and they needed to be paid for. I started, from oldest to yo9ungest, and asked if the would be wiling to step in and run the Farmer’s Daughter. Everyone from Adolph down, with their husbands or wives, refused the offer. Then it came down to Hyrum. He was the only one willing to take it over under these conditions. Hyrum and Elaine had been running their own café during this time. When David returned from his mission he worked wit them at Tammy’s Café. The people who had been leasing the Farmer’s Daughter finally gave up and walked out. This is when Hyrum took it over. They opened it on May 13, 1965. David was still working for them at this time. Now we were free again, so we continued with our traveling.
We decided we wanted to go back to Germany again. When the Bishop heard of our plans, he called us in. He had heard we wanted to go back to Germany. “I can help you get there if you will let me,” he said. On that day, November 12, 1965, Bishop Berrett called Mama and me to serve in the South Germany Mission. We didn’t have to think it over – very happily we accepted the call.
Our reason for wanting to go to Europe was to visit with Tante Paula. Now we had to change our plans when we accepted our call to go on a mission. As you will later see, we were not able to visit Tante Paula on account of Mama’s condition. President Kimball, then apostle, set us apart as missionaries. We entered the Missionary Training Center on Monday, January 10 at 2:00 p.m. We left the Salt Lake Airport on Monday, January 17, 1966 at 10:50 a.m. by Western Airline to Minneapolis, then by Eastern Airline to Chicago, and finally by Lufthause to Frankfurt, Germany. President John Fetzer and his wife met us and took us to the mission home. Every morning the missionaries living in the home, ourselves included would have a meeting. We would have to learn a new passage (of our own choosing) everyday and have to memorize it word for word. We could speak the language well but it was hard to say the scriptures in German so we would pick the easiest ones we could think of. President Fetzer said that our duties were not to go tracting but should be to work with inactive members. Our first assignment was in Freiburg in the Back Forest. (Freiburg had about 240 members.) Living close to Freiburg were two brothers that had been fighting for years and years. Both were members of the Church and held the Melchizedek Priesthood. The local church members had tried to bring these two together but had been unable to do so. The mission home had sent missionaries to them to try and settle the problems between them but had been unsuccessful also. President Fetzer said to us, “Brother and Sister Reich that is your first assignment: to see if you can bring these brothers back together.” We bought a Volkswagen and left for Freiburg. The district leader in Freiburg was supposed to have found a place for us to live. Upon arriving there we looked up the district leader. He was sick in bed and had not been able to find us a place to stay. We found a place a ”like” a motel that was behind a restaurant. The man said he had two rooms, one with a bath and one without. He showed us both rooms and I asked, “Where is the bath?” He went over to a corner and pulled down the bathtub. Just like we see in movies where they used to pull a bed out of the wall, only this time it was a bathtub. So this is the place we rented. With the help of the other missionaries we looked for the next week for a place to stay but were unable to find anything. Finally Mama said, “We have looked all over, prayed to our Heavenly Father for help, now we need to fast for help.” So we did. The next day we went out looking again. We went down one street, still nothing. As we were coming back up I noticed a small garden lot and over on the other side was a big house. I told Mama we should go and inquire, so we did. We knocked on the door and asked if they had any place for rent. The couple was very nice and said yes there was a room vacant but they usually only rented to students and that the room was being remodeled. They showed us the room and we told them if they could hurry and get it finished we would like to rent it. We told them we were Mormon missionaries. This couple was Catholic. So through fasting and prayer we were able to, with the help of our Heavenly Father, find a place to stay. The members in the branch were very friendly and made us feel welcome. We obtained a list of all the members in the branch. We made a list of our own of the inactive members and as quickly as we could, one by one we visited each one of them. Many of the missionaries were living outside the city. Sometimes we would drive for hours to visit an inactive member. It took us about 2 hours to drive to the city where these two brothers lived. We met with each one of them separately many times. Finally one day we asked if they wouldn’t like to settle their differences. We set up a meeting for them to talk things out. The older brother was very rough in his mannerism. He grabbed the D & C and tried to prove that he was in the right. After a long time they finally agreed to put it all behind them. We called the mission president and told him of our progress. The next Sunday a member came from the mission home and together we went to these two brothers. The Sacrament was passed and many tears were shed as these brother made up. They never became close but at least they solved their problems and could talk to one another. The younger brother had remained active in the Church and was the chorister in Sacrament but up to this point the older brother had been inactive.
One family we visited consisted of a boy that was a member and a mother who was not. She told us that missionaries had told her the book of Mormon was true. But she didn’t believe it. She told us, “If you can prove to me the Book of Mormon is true, then I will believe it.” We opened the Bible to Isaiah and Jeremiah and proved to her that the Book of Mormon was true.
A Brother Schmidt that we were assigned to visit was in prison so we went there to see him. It was really a strange feeling to walk in and have the iron doors close behind you. Walking down the aisle with men locked up was strange also. We had special permission to visit this brother because we were missionaries. We went back as often as we could. Later on at the dedication of the chapel that was built, Brother Schmidt asked permission to come to the meeting. He was able to attend the dedication but was accompanied by one of the prison guards.
We had been looking for one inactive sister for quite some time. We had an address but she had since moved and nobody seemed to know where or who she was. We were going past a shoe repair shop one day and I was prompted to go in and ask about her. The man knew her, gave us her address and told us how to get there. Once again, after much fasting and prayer, our Heavenly Father had helped us. Her name was Paasche. She was very happy when she opened the door and we introduced ourselves. She had been active most of her life and then was approached by the Jehovah Witness church and had left ours. We visited with her often and each time we went she would have some goodies there for us to eat. I was able to baptize her daughter. This was the only baptism we had in the eight months we were in Freiburg. We were able to get this Sister back into the church but after we left the city, she became inactive again. Her husband was not a member and objected to us coming to visit her. We made arrangements for her to visit with us in our home so as not to upset her husband. Now it was our turn to give her some goodies. I don’t know for sure but I always felt like maybe her husband stopped her from going to church.
The next couple we visited was the Kleiners. We knocked on their door and when she opened it we introduced ourselves. Sister Kleiner, with tears in her eyes, welcomed us in. Brother and Sister Kleiner were both members of the Church and she was very active. During the war he was involved in an accident and was left blind. Somehow he got his feelings hurt and became bitter against the Church. Because of this, she was not allowed to go either. To keep peace in the family, she didn’t argue and became inactive also. We visited with her often and man times he would remain in the room also. We would speak with him and even though he was blind he would look right at us. We had to be very careful of what we said and not talk about the gospel. Just to make this story short – we made good friends wit them and after we were transferred we learned that she was made president of either the Primary or Relief Society and that he was a counselor to the Bishop. We have been back to Germany three times since being released fro our mission. Each time we visited with Tante Paula and the other members and especially with the Kleiners. She has a picture of us sitting on her desk from the first time we went to visit them. She often told us that she considered us to be her American parents. They did send their boy and later their daughter on missions. In 1981, the Kleiners came to Salt Lake for a visit and stayed in our home during this time. Our children, when they came to visit, would always ask him to “yodel” for them.
Before we left Freiburg a new chapel was being built. Mama and I would go every morning to help on the building and then in the afternoon we would go out and do our missionary work. I remember very well kneeling with Mama and laying the hardwood floor in the chapel. We always had to help Mama up because she couldn’t get up by herself. Mama and another sister would prepare the meal for all those that were helping with the building. Mama would get lots of compliments on how good the good was. But we know and remember what a good cook Mama always was. While in Freiburg Mama became very sick and the doctor put her in the hospital for eighteen days. All kinds of tests were done and finally the doctor said there was nothing wrong with her, that it was just her nerves and so he sent her home.
Finally the chapel was finished and dedicated. The mission president said we had done all we could in Freiburg and so after eight months we were transferred to Nuremburg. Upon arriving in Nuremburg we started something new. President Fetzer released the branch president and called me to serve in that capacity. The president that was being released had some very bad feelings about being released after serving for such a short time. When the outgoing presidency was released and President Fetzer asked for the sustaining vote of me as branch president, the three in the old presidency voted against me. This was the first time I had ever witnessed a dissenting vote. After a long time, one of the counselors came to me and apologized for all three of them for their dissenting vote against me. He said they were not against me but against how the whole matter was handled. There was so much tension in the room at this time that Mama’s nerves got the best of her and she left the room sick.
I was unable to get a counselor to help me so I served by myself for quite a while. My first assignment as branch president was to excommunicate two members. I called the brethren together and made them aware of the problem we were facing. The former presidency was completely against the action I was proposing. So I appointed the three of them to go and talk with both parties and to come back and we would discuss it again. When they returned they said the right decision had been made and the excommunication should be done. The three brethren in the old presidency were always nice to us but we could still tell there were some bad feelings towards us. I was not al all familiar wit the way tithing and other donations were recorded so every month I had to go to the old branch president, he was a very young man, and he would help me with them. After several months of serving alone in the presidency, I befriended one of the counselors and he consented to serve wit me as a counselor for the remainder of my time. (A few years after we left our mission he was excommunicated).
Our prophet now, President Benson, had been visiting some of the different missions. He came over to Germany where we were serving. Mama and I were able to have a meeting with him. During this interview Mama told him that our reason for wanting to come to Germany was to visit her sister, Tante Paula, and would it be O.K. if we took a few days off to go and see her. President Benson asked if she lived in this mission and we said no. Hi reply was, “Then I would advise you not to go until after you have completed your mission. When you are through you can stay and visit as long as you want to.” As you will see later on, this never happened and we had to make another trip to Germany to visit with Tante Paula.
The American servicemen and their families had their own branch and were using our chapel. I was notified that a student group from B.Y.U. would come to Nuremburg just for a visit. I got in touch with them to give us their music and dance show, which they were glad to do. Now we had a hard time finding a large enough hall. The Catholic Church had one but refused to let me have it. Finally I went to the city and got permission to use, believe it or not, the large hall in the Castle of Nuremburg. Now we quickly had leaflets printed. The day came. The Hall was filled, the students had a prayer and then gave us a wonderful show. When the finished they came down and mingled with the public. Wonderful! I then went to the custodian to thank him for letting us use the Hall. He said that he hesitated to let us have the Hall but when he saw the performance of the group, he said that they were welcome anytime to use the Hall. That was on July 7, 1967.
We enjoyed serving our mission even though there was a lot of tension still with the old presidency. In our new chapel the old branch president had called an elderly man to be custodian of the building. He was not as particular or as clean as we would have liked, but he was an honest, hard-working individual. The old branch president told me that I should release the janitor and call someone else. Mama and I didn’t feel good about his suggestion so we decided to help him. One day as we were cleaning in the rest room, on our hands and knees, this former branch president came in and saw us. We were embarrassed that he saw us and once again he told us this man should be replaced.
Just to show you the kind of house we lived in – right directly behind the house were some railroad tracks and the trains were coming and going all the time. We lived on the upper level of this house with a horse stable right below us. Every time one of the horses would lay down or a train would go by, the whole house would shake. This house was only about a ten-minute walk to where Hitler had given his now famous speech.
At one time we arranged a cruise for our branch. Everybody was delighted; they never had anything like it before. We all enjoyed the views of the landscape from the deck of the ship. We invited the missionaries to come along. A few did so but said the missionary rules would not allow travel on the water so they were running on the street alongside the river to our destination. We felt bad about it. Later on we mentioned this incident to the Mission president and he told us that as the Branch President I had authority to let them go on the ship. We felt bad again.
We tried to get the members more interested in genealogical work and going go the Temple in Switzerland. At a visit to an elderly couple (in their late seventies and he had previously been the Branch President) we again mentioned genealogy. They said that they had not been to the Temple but had the wok done for their dead. As proof she handed us the sheets. After looking them over we were very surprised at who had done the work of the sealing. We could not believe our eyes, it was Mama and me! In 1962, when we picked up David after being released from his mission, we had traveled and did some Temple work in the Swiss Temple for three weeks.
Two of our missionaries worked wit a girl who then moved out of town, quite a distance, to work as a waitress. The Elders wanted to teach her more of the gospel so we offered to take them there. Arriving there we were told to wait a while because she was busy. In the meantime, another girl came and talked to us. She kind of looked at the Elders and finally asked something like, “When was the last time you have been to see a girl?” I can’t remember anymore how red all our faces were.
We visited one old brother whom we had never seen in meetings. He said that he was hard of hearing and could not understand what was preached. We told him to come anyhow, feel the spirit and partake of the Sacrament. He came one Sunday and I spoke extra loud but he did not come anymore. Twenty years later, here at home, I was in that same condition, could not understand what was being said and I too felt like staying home from the meetings. But then I remembered what I told this old brother and did not miss a meeting. Now, they provide me with a special hearing aid.
Mama was always inviting the missionaries to come and eat wit us on their P-day as well as many other times. One time, she had bought a roast that was big enough for us and two missionaries. We invited them over. We could see from our apartment window down a little alley way and onto the street. Mama saw a car stop and the two missionaries we were expecting get out. There were two other missionaries in the car that were going somewhere else. Mama sent me down to invite the up also. Our roast was only big enough for four people so later that night after the four missionaries left, we each ate a slice of bread. In Freiburg we met Brother John Hassler, a missionary. Brother Hassler was serving in Offenburg, which was a few hours drive away. When we met him in Offenburg he was a very sick young man. He asked me to give him a blessing which I was happy to do. Even to this very day he says I saved his life.
In all three of the branches we served in, the missionaries worked very hard but with out much success. Most of the Germans were Catholic and it is very hard to get in and teach them. We were transferred t Landshut on November 4, 1967 after serving fourteen months in Nuremburg. I need to explain how we came to be going to Landshut when it was time for us to be released from our mission. One Sunday we were in the chapel ready to start the meeting when I was called to the phone. It was our new mission president, President Orville Gunther, who later was here at home, the President of the Provo Temple. He asked if Mama was there with me and asked me to her. First he talked with her and then to me. He had asked us to stay on for another six months and serve in Landshut. He was having some problems there and felt like we were needed there. Brother and Sister Rensmann was the couple we relieved. Landshut was a very small branch. In Nuremburg there were 380 members wit about 70 of them always in our meetings. Landshut had about 101 members. Some of the members here were formerly Jehovah Witnesses. I presided over this branch for the six months we were there. The men that held the Melchizedek Priesthood here seemed to always be having problems and disagreements with one another. It was difficult trying to find a happy medium wit them. The building we met in for church in this branch was an old, old building. In the upstairs apartment there was a family living there that were members. The floor in their apartment was so warped that I called in a contractor to see what to do about it. He suggested that rather than another wood floor we should use blacktop which we finally did do and it worked out all right. The sisters were using one room for the Relief Society room and had requested a coal burning stove be put in so they could cook food for their meetings. All of the brethren were against it. I figured we had one in the churches back home in Salt Lake so why not here. We went ahead and put the stove in. The members here in Landshut were very friendly to us and welcomed us into their homes.
While in Nuremburg we worked with the Lenhardt family in trying to teach them the gospel and convert them to the Church. This family consisted of a mother, father and one son. We became very close friends wit them. When we received our transfer to Landshut we promised to come back when they were baptized. After a time we received a letter fro the Lenhardts telling us the day and time of their baptism. We called our mission president and asked for permission to go back for the baptism, which he gave us. It was January 13, 1968 and the snow at this time was very deep. We had to drive through several canyons and mountains to get there. In Neumarkt we were coming down a mountain hill on a slushy and slick road. Our car started to slide and we soon found ourselves on the left-hand side of the road going right to a big truck. There was nothing either of us could do. We hit head on. We were taken by ambulance to the hospital to be checked. I had a broken cheek bone and many cuts and bruises on my face. Mama had broken one leg (right?) in two places and the other one was cut and bruised. I called our mission president right away to let him know about the accident. I then called Nuremburg where the Lenhardt’s baptism was to be and told the person in charge what had happened and that we would not be there. I asked him not to tell the Lenhardts what had happened. That night President Gunther and a few of the missionaries came to the hospital to visit with us. President Gunther sent a telegram to our family in Salt Lake to inform them of our accident. Our family sent a large bouquet of flowers to the hospital. One of the other missionaries took my position as branch president in Landshut. Neither one of us required surgery. The doctors told me the pain in my face, a broken cheek bone, would continue for about two years before it would start to go away. But to this day, January 10, 1989, I still have pain in the left side of my face every one in a while. Mama’s leg was put in traction. She layed in her hospital bed for five and one-half months this way. After about a month in the hospital I was released and returned to Landshut and continued once again as branch president. Once or twice a week I would travel by train to visit Mama in the hospital. The trip on the train took two and one-half hours each way. Members from Landshut and Nuremburg visited with Mama in the hospital. In the five and one-half months Mama was there, 315 people visited her. Mama kept up her sweet spirit the whole time she was in the hospital. She never gave up. The sisters and others that visited with her were amazed at how well she was keeping in control. For her age and bad accident and being away from her home and family, they couldn’t get over how her spirit was always “up” and pleasant. She was an inspiration to all of them.
I received in the mail a letter of citation ordering me to appear before the judge. I went and he told me the accident was my fault and I would have to pay a fine. I argued with him telling him the condition of the road, being all slushy and stuff, and that there was nothing I could do. He told me that that didn’t matter, I was on the wrong side of the road so it was my fault. I explained that we were on a mission for the L.D.S. church and did not receive any pay so it would be hard to pay that much money before we left to go home. The judge told me to make payments until we left for the states and that would be the end of it. I only made one or two payments. One of the brethren in Lanshut sold our wrecked car for about $700. This money, and my insurance, I gave to the church to help pay for our hospital bill.
Our visa’s were ready to expire. I mentioned this to our mission president. Next I went to the doctor that had been taking care of Mama and asked him to release her to go home. He didn’t want to and finally, only upon the condition that Mama went in a wheelchair straight fro the hospital to the airport, did he give his consent. Brother Korman took us to the airport in Munich for our departure to home.
Right after the accident, in the Monthly Information Bulletin for the Missionaries, Mission President Orville Gunther put the following article:
Are you on of the lucky ones who have eaten Pfannekuchen at Sister Reich’s? If she gave you the imperial class recipe, you probably had the lightest, tastiest Pfannekuchen in all Germany! First she whips the egg whites into mountains of fluff and then she adds juicy ringed apple slices for the crowning touch.
Please don’t think we’re Indian-givers now, if we have to take your appetite away, just after giving it to you, but a sour note must follow. For the longer part of a month, (and you know how long a month in the hospital can be) Sister Reich has been in the hospital. She and her husband were both involved in a car accident on the road between Landshut and Nurnburg in January. Fortunately, Brother Reich was released last week and could return to keeping track of the Landshut Gemeinde, but Sister Reich can look forward to tending the cast on her broken leg for five and one-half months before she can be released to her Pfannekuchen kitchen and home.

We want to extend our best wishes and most encouraging spirits to Sister Reich for a speedy and complete recovery. If you would like to drop her a card, send it to:
Mrs. Erich Reich
Stadtisches Krankenhaus
843 Neumarkt/Oberpfalz
The bread you cast upon the waters may come back in the form of Pfannekuchen!
We were released from our mission on June 22, 1968 by Mission President Orville Gunther. We both felt good about our mission and everything that had happened to us except for one thing. President Benson, then Apostle, visited our Branch and we had a private interview with him. He promised that at the completion of our mission we could travel to Bielefeld to visit wit Tante Paula, Mama’s sister. This we were not able to do.
Our troubles coming home started as soon as we entered the airplane. For some reason our flight was delayed so we sat in the plane for two hours before we finally took off. This delay made us late for the other planes we were supposed to be on. The Kormans and two other sisters that had come to see us off waited very patiently inside the airport building for the two hours until our plane took off. Being late upon arriving in New York – remember that Mama is in a wheelchair this whole time. On our way from Denver our plane ran into a big tornado. The plane would bounce up and down, back and forth, just like a bouncing ball. Because of this weather we all had to be in our seats with our seat belts on. Two men that were drunk got up and wanted to go to the bathroom. The stewardesses on board would not let them go. All this time, when on the plane, remember that Mama is in a wheelchair. Finally, on June 16th, 1968, we arrived at the Salt Lake Airport. All of our family and the bishopric were there to welcome us home. Mama went to the hospital for a few days for a check-up. When she was released she was still under the doctor’s care. Because of the accident and Mama having to still be I bed, we never had a “homecoming.”
On August 16, 1933 I was ordained a Seventy and on August 30, 1959 I was ordained a High Priest. At my first meeting in the High Priest Quorum I was asked to teach that Quorum. As much as I liked to teach, I was really scared, having Bishops and High Councilmen in that group. I don’t know how good or bad I did.
In 1970 we went over again to Europe to visit with Mama’s sister, Tante Paula, and to visit all the branches we had worked in on our mission. Uncle Reno came with us but stayed in Holland to visit his sister. On coming to Freiburg we went, like we always did, to Church and I was asked by Brother Ziegenhagen (who was the Branch President there while we were on our mission) to take care with him at the Sacrament. When the time came we stood up, took the cover off the plate and there was no bread on it. Someone left to buy some but since it was Sunday most places were closed. We, and all the members, sat still – no talk, o organ playing – just waited. How long – I don’t know – it seemed like an eternity. It sure was embarrassing.
Coming to Munchen (Munich) we attended a conference of the whole mission. President Lee (the Prophet) was there. We met some of our members and friends from our mission.
When we came home we moved to a mobile home behind Marlene and Harold’s home. We gave all our children a lot. Helen and Hyrum got corner lots and one extra lot to help cover improvement costs. Marlene sold her lot and bought a boat. Viola sold hers and invested the money. Adolph also sold his. David got two extra lots, our house and also bought our mobile home later. Ruth sold her lot and paid some bills. Clifford built a small house on his lot (just east of Helen) and later sold it.
In 1973 and again in 1977 we went for the last time over to Europe to visit Tante Paula’s family and our friends fro our mission. On Sundays we always went to our meetings wherever we happened to be.
We made several trips to California and one to Colorado. We enjoyed going t Lava Hot Springs also. Where we missed out o good times, vacations and fun we made good on it now after retirement. As mentioned before, we had three trailers, not all at the same time. Then getting a bit older, and tired of pulling that 22’ trailer, we sold it and got a truck and put a custom-build camper on it. We just liked to travel. When we were doing that, we always made sure to be on a Sunday in a place or town where we cold to an L.D.S. church (with very few exceptions). Another thing – we always arranged our tips so that we could visit one or more of our temples. In fact, we wanted to go to all the temples. The church spoiled our goal. They started to build so many temples so fast that we had to give up.
On another trip we ran into trouble. Coming to Oakland we parked on the temple parking lot, right in front of the temple. We got out of the cab and into the camper to get ready to go to a session (we weren’t sure when it would start). Seeing a couple get out of their car and heading for the temple I jumped out of the camper to ask them when the next session would start. At that moment the truck started moving with Mama still in the camper. I ran, taking the keys out of my pocket (I had the doors locked) but I could not open the door of the truck. The truck moved fast across the parking lot and into a heavy cement wall that surrounded the temple. Mama was hurt as she fell against the table and the first words she cried out were, “I want to be administered to.” I ran into the temple and the brethren came out and gave her a blessing. The police came but gave us no ticket. Nobody was hurt besides Mama and there was no damage to other cars. I took Mama to the hospital and found that she had a few broken ribs and quite a bit of water in her lungs. It so happened that one of the nurses was L.D.S. and, after Mama was released, she took both of us to another member’s home (they were away for a few days). They were also friendly when they came home. They showed us a wheat grinder they were selling. To make it short, for letting us stay in their home we bought a grinder (a little under $200 if I remember right). I had the truck fixed and called Hyrum. He and Elaine came, stayed one night in the camper and drove it home the next day. Mama and I took a plane to go home. Our doctor then took care of Mama.
In 1980 we moved back into our house on 9400 South and on Thanksgiving Day, 1981, we moved into the house where we live now behind Hyrum and Elaine. Up until 1988 I kept a good-sized garden in our backyard. It was 75’ long and 25’ wide with NO WEEDS!!!
We were called to serve a Stake Mission on June 25, 1961 and were released on May 12, 1963. Later we were called to serve in the Extraction Program of the Church in the Sandy West Stake, 2nd Ward. We were released from that calling on February 13, 1981. We served again in the Extraction Program in the Hillcrest Stake, Sandy 31st Ward for four years.
Mama died on March 30, 1988. Since then I have lived in our home, by myself. The girls look after me.

Could I give you any advice??? YES!!!
Make your goal to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Joshua 24:15) revealed in these latter days by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Study the scriptures (John 5:39), pray always – morning, noon, and night, and whenever necessary (Hymn book pg. 140, 144, and 145).
Work hard, forget the words, “I am tired”. Use them when you are “retired.” Hard work and many hours of it have not killed me or Mama.
If you make mistakes (I have made plenty), don’t give up, learn by them and start all over again. God helps you if you let hem (James 4:7-8).
Live the Word of Wisdom, do not use any form of tobacco or any kind of drugs. Don’t drink tea, coffee, beer or any kind of alcoholic drinks (D & C Section 89). (We don’t even drink Coca Cola). With the money you save by not buying these things you can easily pay your tithing and there may even be money left to buy groceries or pay some of your bills. You save a lot of money on doctor and hospital bills and, the best of it, you are entitled to the blessing of our Father in Heaven as told in Malachi (the last book I the Old Testament) Chapter 3 fro the seventh verse on. I had a test taken on May 4, 1989 with the results as follows: blood cholesterol – 179; blood pressure – 130/84. The nurse said, “That is good.”
Do not buy anything on credit. Avoid paying interest except maybe on buying a house or a car. If you can’t afford it, you don’t need it that bad. You can get along without until you are able to pay for it with cash. We did. Credit cards, in any form or shape, are good – for what? – To be thrown into a garbage can. Again, if you can’t pay cash, don’t buy it. In our early married life, having a hard time, Thanksgiving Day came along. We did not have the money to buy a turkey as other folks did so Mama bought, for fifteen cents, bologna. That was our Thanksgiving dinner for our large family. Nobody complained. These two things – interest and credit cards – makes somebody rich and keeps you in the poor house.

The following remarks are those I gave a year ago at our family Christmas party:
A merry Christmas to all of you. This is a wonderful time to be together as a family, exchange greetings and renew our friendship towards each other in this wonderful Spirit of Christmas. This is a time when we give and receive presents to and from our children and to al our loved one, just as the three wise men brought gifts to the new born baby of Mary and Joseph, whose name was Jesus Christ. I hope that wit this giving of gifts we will not in our hearts forget the real purpose for which we celebrate Christmas. Let us remember Jesus Christ, His birth, His life, His mission and the plan of salvation, to bring us back into the presence of our Father in Heaven. How? By living the Gospel, as this plan of salvation is called. Let each one of us set a goal for this coming New Year to get closer tour Father in Heaven. Isn’t this a wonderful Christmas present we can give ourselves??? Everybody can afford this, it doesn’t cost a cent.
Now, today is the 22nd day of December, 1988. Do you know what day this is?? On this day, 66 years ago, Grandma and I got married and sealed in the Salt lake Temple for all time and eternity. Today, Grandma is not here with us anymore and that gives us a sad feeling. She has gone home, hopefully being with our three children who have gone many years before. She will be happy with them, her parents and all our loved ones who have departed. Let us keep her memory in our daily prayers.
So, no more klopf, klopf, klopf. Let us all sing later, Silent Night, Holy Night. I am still grateful and thank Marlene, Ruth and Helen for the unselfish patience and love they gave to Grandma in her last days and nights. Thank you again. May God bless you for it. Let me keep on saying thanks to all those who did come to visit me since that day and who said, “I love you.” And more thanks to them that have (and still do) bring me food to eat, drinks and sweets and who take me to their homes to share their food. Thanks for the rides, camping and vacations. And not to forget, thanks to them who came and, with our being asked, keep the house clean and in order, inside and outside, including weeks, lawn, flowers and now, the snow. And one ore, thanks for keeping me in good shape, physically and spiritually. To all, many THANKS.
There is no complaint or any kind of bad feelings in my heart, only praise and thanks to you. May all your children follow your example and be as good to you as you are to me. I like to call this “Love in Action.” May I give you a little thought to think about? Talking about the tree words – I love you. There is a little poem I want to read to you, good for all, young and old, her it is:
Which love best??
“I love you Mother!” said little Ben.
Then forgetting his work, his cap went on, and he was
Off to the garden swing and left her the water and wood to bring.

“I love you Mother!” said Rosy Nell, “I love you better than tongue can tell.”
Then she teased and pouted half of the day, till her mother rejoiced when she went to play.

“I love you Mother!” said little Fan, “Today I will help you all I can.
How glad I am school doesn’t keep, so she rocked the baby till it fell asleep. Then stepping softly, she fetched the broom and swept the floor and tidied the room; busy and happy all day was she, helpful and happy as a child could be, and hot to forget, she washed all the dishes too.

“I love you Mother!” again they all said, three little children going to bed. How do you think that Mother guessed which of them really loved her best?

It is true, you cannot get around it, there are many times when I feel lonesome, seeing the chairs in all the rooms and kitchen empty where Grandma used to sit. Lonesome maybe, but not lost. Grandma gave me 11 children, 8 of them alive and all here, I hope, 48 grandchildren, 89 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren. A wonder family, I am proud of all of you. As far as I know, none are using drugs – I (hope that I am right. With a couple exceptions, all live the Word of Wisdom, which gives me a pretty good feeling. Have I got reason to feel sad? I should say, “NO.” Thanks a thousand times. Thanks to our Father I Heaven for my parents who gave me life; to Grandma who stayed with me through thick and thin, in good and often bad times and who gave me such fine children, and with them, such a wonderful family. THANK YOU – THANK YOU. God bless you all wit your children and your families.
Now, go to it, have a Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy new Year and do not forget to make that goal I told you earlier, and try to live up to it. AGAIN, I LOVE YOU ALL.

Important Dates in my Live

Birth: March 25, 1898

Baptized: March 6, 1909

Ordained:
Deacon – May 7, 1916
Priest – September 11, 1919
Elder – June 4, 1920
Seventy – August 15, 1935
High Priest – August 30, 1959

Mission: September 22, 1919 to March 1, 1922

Stake Mission: June 25, 1961 to May 12, 1963

Secretary of Adult Aaronic Priesthood

Mission with Mama in Germany: November 9, 1965 to June 22, 1968

Extraction work in Genealogy (Mama and myself) for 6-1/2 years

Military Service:

Drafted into Army: November 17, 1916 to Osterode, East Prussia
1st Recr. Dap. Ers. Batl. Infantry Reg. 18 transferred
On January 12, 1917 to

3rd Company Ers. Batl. I.R. 18 transferred on January 21, 1917 to

2nd Garde Pionier Ersatz Batl. In Berlin transferred on July 5, 1917
To Garde Res. Pionier Regiment into the front in France.

Wounded on January 22, 1918 in Champagne – Argonne Forrest
Sent to Karlsruhe, Germany, Neues Vincentius Hospital (Catholic)
Released from Army on January 10, 1919 in Berlin.

CLOSING REMARKS

I am the father, and as such, the Head of my family. But Mama is the Crown on my head. She gave me eleven healthy children and raised eight of them to be good, honest, dependable, hard-working and God-fearing members of society. I love and I am proud of all of them. They are all married in the Temple. They all raised, with their husbands and wives, good families. Mama earned her crown, I give all honor to her. God bless her and all of us who are still here. I LOVE YOU ALL.
I would like to thank everyone who encourage me to write down this, my life, and all the ones who helped in any way to accomplish it.
GOD BLESS YOU.

ANSWER TO PRAYER

We ask for strength and God gives us difficulties which
Make us strong.

We pray for wisdom and God sends us problems,
The solution of which develops wisdom.

We plead for prosperity and God gives
Us brains and brawn to work.

We plead for courage and God gives us
Dangers to overcome.

We ask for favors --
God gives us opportunities.

THIS IS THE ANSWER!
Hugh B. Brown

Sung by Grandpa and Granpma every Christmas

Klopf, klopf, klopf, wer klopft an unsre Türe an,
Klopf, klopf, klopf, das ist der Weihnachtsmann.
Was stehst du draußen vor der Tür, komm doch zu uns herein,
Es sind nur artge Kinder hier, die sich schon lange freun.
Komm herein, sei unser Gast, bring uns, was uns Freude macht.

Trapp, trapp, trapp, nun geht er fort, was soll das sein?
Trapp, trapp, trapp, warum tritt er nicht ein?
Er muss noch zu so später Zeit zu vielen Kindern hin,
Die alle sich auf ihn gefreut mit kindlich frohem Sinn,
Und wird die Türe aufgemacht, so findest du, was er gebracht. 

Text of "knock, knock, knock"

 knock, knock, knock, who knocks on our door, Knock, knock, knock, that's Santa. What are you standing outside at the door, come in to us, There are only artge children here who have been enjoying themselves for a long time. Come in, be our guest, bring us what gives us pleasure. Trapp, trapp, trapp, now he's leaving, what's that supposed to be? Trapp, trapp, trapp, why doesn't he step in? He still has to go to many children at such a late time, All of whom looked forward to him with childishly happy sense, And if the door is opened, you will find what he brought.

About this Christmas song:  This song is suitable for children from about 4 years (kindergarten). The lyrics and melody are by Alexander Dorn (1833-1905, see wikipedia.org). Instrumental can accompany the song with a triangle, a rattle, with sound woods, etc. Alternatively, the children can clap along with the song.

LIFE OF HELEN HOLLINDERBAUMER REICH

I, Helen Hollinderbaumer Reich, would like to express my thoughts and recollections of my beloved Mother and Father, Caroline Woerhmann and Johann Heinrich Hollinderbaumer.
My Mother, Caroline, was born to Hanne Lisette Steinsick and Karl Friedrich Woehrmann, on the 3rd of January, 1866, at Schildesche, Blfld., Wstphl, Prussia. She passed away on the 3rd day of April, 1938, at her home in Salt Lake City, Utah.
My Father, Henry, was born on the 2nd day of August, 1864, at Vilsendorn, Blfld., Wstphl, Prussia, to Anna Catherine Ilsabein Bockerman and Casper Heinrich Hollinderbaumer. He passed away on March 19, 1939, in a Salt Lake hospital.
Henry and Caroline were married on November 8, 1888, in Schildesche, Blfld., Wstphl, Prussia.
I was born February 3, 1900 in Schildesche, Bielefeld, Germany. I had two sisters and two brothers. My oldest brother, Wilhelm, passed away in 1947; my oldest sister, Johanne, passed away in February of 1965, and one sister, Paula, lived in Germany until her death a few years ago. My sister, Anna, died as a child. My brother, Henry, lives in Salt Lake City.
My parents were very honest. When my husband, Erich, and I were back in Germany in 1962, and we were in Bielefeld, people would still talk about the Hollinderbaumers and how they were liked by everyone, and what honest people they were.
I had a good childhood. My parents tried to do their best to raise us with love. My parents didn’t have very much but they always provided a very good life for us.
When I was about three years old I was very ill. I had a disease that had something to do with the brain. They didn’t expect me to live. The neighbors would come over, according to what my Mother used to tell me, at about 5:00 a.m. and knock on the window and ask how I was doing. From then on my parents and brothers and sisters spoiled me. My Mother was very religious and she had much faith that I would recover.
My Mother worked very hard. She worked in the fields with the grain. At that time there was no machinery so everything had to be done by hand. When she would to into the field to do some work she would take the little children with her and many times nursed me in the field. She turned over about one or two acres of ground by hand. She was a very hard worker.
As a child, I can remember us children would have to do all our work before gong anywhere or playing. In the fall, we would have to go outside and dig up the ground in preparation for the spring planting.
In the summer, we would walk about two hours to my Mother’s sister, who lived in the forest, where we would pick blueberries. My Mother would make a lot of juice out of the berries.
When my brother, Henry, was born, I was six years old, and my Father stayed home from work to take care of us children. My Father would braid my hair and he did all the housework.
My Dad worked on the railroad. On Sunday, I would take him his lunch. My Dad had to go, pretty well every year, for about three months to a sanitarium to cure his pneumonia.
When I was twelve years old, I got a job after school cleaning house. At fourteen, I graduated from school from the eighth grade and then got a job in the linen factory. In 1914, I was about 17 or 18 years old, the war broke out and when they were short on men I got a job on the railroad working with a pick and shovel, doing a man’s job. It was wintertime and the cracks on my knuckles would bleed. My father helped me to get work inside the office on the telegraph and switchboard.
When Henry was about four years old he was very ill. An Aunt on my Mother’s side, Tante Hachtmeister, who had joined the Church, would tell my Mother about the Mormon missionaries who were living with her. The missionaries came and administered to my brother. He quickly improved and was soon better. It was at this time that my Mother began investigating the Church.
After that, my two older sisters, Johanna and Paula, joined the Church. News traveled fast in our little town and when the Pastor of our Church found out, he was very upset. Many times they would come to our home and try to convince Johanna and Paula not to join that sect. Many times, in the small town in which we lived, people would ask us where our horns were. One missionary wanted to take my sister, Paula, to America but people in our neighboring area would tell us that if she went to America she would become a slave. Then one day a more educated man from Bielefeld came to America and discovered it was nothing like they said. Our whole family eventually joined the Church. It was 1908 when Johanna and Paula were baptized – in the winter. The ice had to be broken to get to the water. In 1912 my oldest brother, Wilhelm, got baptized. When the missionaries came to our home my Father didn’t like it too much; he just was not interested. However, my mother always said, “This is the right Church – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.” It took my Dad a long time but he finally got convinced too. On August 15, 1916, I went into the water and was baptized. Eventually our whole family came to America, except for Paula, who remained in Germany and raised a family. Paula’s husband, however never joined the Church, some of her children did join but are not active at this time.
I came over to America with my parents and Henry in 1920. My sister, Johanna, and her two children, Helen and Herman, had preceded us in 1914, when the war broke out. Together, with two other families, they had left earlier. Their boxes had already been sent to Bremerhafen and when they arrived there they were told by officers that it was too dangerous to go any further. So they returned home. They eventually left in December, 1914, to come over to America and joined their husbands who left two years earlier. Then, after they left, my parents, Henry and myself were baptized and left for America in 1920. When we came over to this country, my Mother shed many tears.
In New York, at Tear Island, my mother and I were separated from my Father and Henry.
When we arrived in New York everyone had to be examined. My father had always had a double rupture and this was discovered when he was examined. They kept him FOR AT LEAST A HAL A DAY. They talked about maybe sending him back to Germany and my Mother said that if they did, she would go back with him and that I should go on to Salt Lake with Henry. It was finally decided my father could go on with us. We stayed four or five days on the island in a huge hall waiting for my sister, Johanna, who was in Midvale, to send papers. All this time we were still separated. We would be together only three times a day – when we ate our meals. Then one day our name was called out and we were able to go on. When we arrived in America we stayed with Johanna, who was living at the time in Midvale with her family. We stayed with them for about three or four months. They were able to get me a job at the Murray Laundry. I always saw many of the girls who I worked with buying candy bars so one day I was tempted to get me one too. My sister, Johanna, had given me a dime for my streetcar fare to go home. I took that dime and bought me a candy bar and then I had to walk from the Murray Laundry (about 42nd South and State Street) to my sister’s home (about 80th South and 7th West).
Later we stayed wit some people by the name of Gustave Walkinghorst, on West Temple. They had a large home. They let us have three rooms – one room downstairs and two rooms upstairs – and let us use the kitchen. They had a big family. At the time that we were living with them they had twin girls who were three or four months old and my Mother cared for these girls. We would all help in the field. Mr. Walkinghorst was a foreman at the American Lady Bakery. We all worked there – my father, my brother Henry, and myself. I always worked nights, 12 to 13 hours and started out making $12 a week and later on it was raised to $15 a week. That was very hard work for us, especially my Dad. Later on he worked for a clothing store on Main Street. He never learned the American language but he could help himself.
It was very hard for my parents having come from the old country and not knowing any of the language here. They worked very hard to keep going. Shortly after, they were sealed to each other in the salt Lake Temple.
My Mother was the best in the whole world. She was always kind to everyone.
I remember one year when the war was on in Germany, we were rationed on food, and my Mother took an old baby buggy and went to the farmers to get something to eat. She had potatoes, butter, bacon and some more things. A policeman saw her and took everything away from her.
My Mother always had her church books on the table. She studied the gospel all her life. She went only once to the movie and when she came home she told us, “No more of that.” It was her first movie and her last. She was more for the scriptures than the earthly things.
After my Mother had gained a strong testimony of the church, she brought in quite a few people in Germany. My Mother was not a big speaker but she always set a very good example for everyone. My Mother and Dad had the opportunity to go to the Salt Lake Temple and were sealed for all time and eternity.
I wish I would have talked more with my parents about heir earlier life. One of the things I remember them telling me was abut my Grandfather on my Father’s side. He was killed in the war in 1864. Before his death, when he had come home on leave, all the neighbors honored him and then he went back to war and was killed. My Grandfather’s name was put on a plaque in that little town of Schildesche. My Grandfather eventually remarried.
I met my husband, Erich, twice in Germany when he was on a mission. When he came to this country we met again on the first Sunday that Erich was in Salt Lake. He was the main speaker at a German conference in the old Granite Stake House on 33rd South and State Street, where the Prudential Band is now. When we talked to him he said he could not remember us. My Mother invited him right away to come to our home. On the way to our home he asked me right away if I could borrow him money to get his parents from Germany. I said I only had $200, which he borrowed. Erich said that if I was a good girl I would get my money back. If not, I wouldn’t! This was in June of 1922. I just got the money back last year (Christmas 1976); I guess I must have been a pretty good girl. We were married on December 22, 1922 for all time and eternity in the Salt Lake Temple by George F. Richards.
After our marriage, we came out of the Temple and Erich went right away to work at the railroad. In the evening I went to work at the bakery. At midnight Erich got off work and walked from 7th West and 2nd South to 9th East and 9th South to the American Lady Bakery and waited until I finished my shift at 6:00 a.m. We took the streetcar and then walked home together for another two miles. This was our honeymoon. We were blessed wit eleven children, three of which passed away – Erich, Alma and Henry.
When we got married we first lived with my parents for about three months. My Mother and Dad were always good to us. When my brother, Wilhelm, and his family came over from Germany we moved in wit my husband’s folks for about two months. When Erich’s brother, Hans, and his wife, Clarchen, came over from Germany, we had to move again. We then moved to Fuller Avenue where our first baby. Adolf, was born. He was born on the 20th of September, and the next week Erich lost his job. A month later he got transferred to Denver. That job lasted just about two weeks. Our Father in Heaven always helped us. We were so thankful for the gospel and for our testimonies of the true church.
My parents always helped us as much as they could. They had their garden, a cow, chickens and eggs. My parents lived on West Temple and they would come to Salt Lake to our home and sell their eggs in our neighborhood.
Our second son, Erich, was born on January 29th, 1925. He died on the 15th of March, 1925. That was a big shock to us for he was not sick but had a weak heart. He was such a beautiful baby. We knew one thing, and that was that some day we would see him again and have him in our family.
When we lost our child I stayed with my Mom and Dad. Little Adolf could not walk yet. He learned to walk when my Dad would give him a little bit of hay and then Adolf would walk to the cow to feed it.
Henry was born on October 26, 1926. He died June 19, 1933. The doctors told us that he could not live very long. We had him administered to by the Elders but I guess he could do more on the other side than here on earth. He really was a wonderful boy. I always said that he was too good for this earth. The day before he died we had a barn fire in which some furniture was being stored for a mission president in South America. It was all destroyed. I was also pregnant with our sixth baby and a few days later our fifth child, Clifford, at the age of three, ate some poisonous berries and was rushed to the hospital and was not expected to live, but did pull through it. Our fourth child, Ruth June, was born on June 17, 1928 at Grandpa and Grandma Reich’s home. Clifford was born on May 8, 1930. Alma was born on September 17, 1931 and died on June 29, 1932. That was another big loss and we always said if we hadn’t had the gospel we couldn’t have taken it the way we did; but even then, it was very hard on us. It was exactly one year later to the day that we lost Henry. Marlene Ester was born on August 28, 1933 and Viola on June 8, 1935. Helen Augusta was born on September 15, 1937. Hyrum was born on January 26, 1939 and David on October 28, 1940.
I would like to reflect on a few more memories of my parents. Many times my parents took me into Salt Lake and bought my lunch. I think our daughter, Ruth, remembers when they would pass by Blaine School around lunch time and they always had something for her. Our children liked to go to my parent’s home. I remember when we lived in Salt Lake I would walk down from State Street. That was when I had little Adolf and he was still a baby. My mother would always walk back to the street car with me and we both shed tears.
I remember that at one time, when we were having our family, Erich and I, with a horse and wagon, went up to Farmington and picked 25 bushels of peaches, mostly from the ground, and paid $.25 a bushel for them and, wit the help of my good Mother, put them all up for our family.
My parents always went to the German meeting at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square. My Mother would always prepare the Sunday dinner on Saturdays.
My Mother passed away on the 3rd of April, 1938. I remember we planted potatoes that morning. First I did not want to go but Erich talked me into it. I was thankful that I saw her that day. She died around 6:00 p.m.
I am so thankful for my parents and for Dad’s parents. I just wished we could have done more for all of them. I have many beautiful memories of my parents and my childhood. I love my parents very much and am grateful to them for all they did for me.
Adolf was in the service for four years and was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese bombed there. While in the Navy he met his good wife, Rosalyn Schmeltekopf. She was not a member of the Church but was later baptized on November 3, 1962 and in 1967 they were sealed to each other for all time and eternity.
We are so thankful that all our children have been through the House of the Lord and are sealed to their families for all time and eternity.
In 1949, Erich bought the Farmer’s Daughter Drive Inn on 2320 Highland Drive in Sugarhouse, where we worked some days 12 to 16 hours. It was a real struggle but all of our children helped and we made a go of it. David, our youngest, stayed home for the first few years and kept our house in order. During the winter of 1950, the snow was so deep that one night after working late at the Café, we had to park our car on 7th East and walk to our house. It was the next morning that I had a bad time with my hands due to the lack of calcium in my body. The doctor also had to walk up to our home in the snow from 7th East. During the whole year we only had two days off – Thanksgiving and Christmas. Many times we shed tears but our Father in Heaven always was with us. We gave our children a lot of credit for the help they gave us for we did make a success of this business.
In 1961, Dave was called on a mission to our homeland. He served in the same places where his Dad labored on his mission many years ago. Shortly before his release, we had the opportunity to go to Germany to meet with him and then the three of us toured Europe. This was our first return visit to our homeland since we came here to America. For three weeks we worked in the Swiss Temple, which we enjoyed very much. It was a wonderful experience.
In 1965, we had a wonderful thing happen. We received a call to go on a mission to South Germany. This is something I dreamed of all my life. I wish all our children could have this experience sometime. It was the best experience of our life. We had many trials and troubles in the mission field but always had a strong testimony of the gospel. It is different than being at home. When you are in the mission field you spend all your time for the Lord and you meet some wonderful people. The first place we worked in was Freiburg for eight months. We worked with the inactive members and had a lot of success with them. We just had one baptism in all that time but we had much enjoyment from working with the young missionaries together. Then we got transferred to Nuremburg where we worked for fourteen months. We got there in September and in October I got sick. Erich had to take me to the hospital where I stayed for three weeks. There I got all kinds of tests that you can think of. They even pumped my stomach but found nothing wrong. Erich and the missionaries administered to me and, with all the prayers from our children, the Lord was wit me and blessed me. Also in Nuremburg, I worked in the Primary.
After fourteen months in Nuremburg, Mission President Gunther asked if we would stay for six more months. We told him that we would. Then we were transferred to Landshut. It was just a small branch but we sure enjoyed it. Erich was Branch President with no counselors so I served as his counselor. We had a good spirit in that branch.
On the 12th of January, 1968, we were on our way to a baptismal service in Nuremburg where Erich was going to talk about the Holy Ghost but we had an accident. We slid into a big truck. The ambulance took us to the closest hospital which was in Neumarkt. We were about 40 miles from Nuremburg when this happened. We were both in terrible pain. The police had to take me out of the car for my legs were both terribly swollen up. The doctors set my legs in the hospital. My right leg was broken in two places and my left leg was cracked. I also had clots in my chest. They didn’t give me anything for pain while working on my legs. My left leg was in traction for about 5 months. After that they put it in a cast for a week. All totaled I stayed in the hospital for five and one-half months. I had 315 visitors during my stay in the hospital and met man new friends. The hospital was Catholic and the nurses and patients there offered me beer and champagne many times but I always refused. The first night in the hospital the traveling Elders came and administered to me and President Gunther said that it was because of all of our children, family, friends and members fasting and their prayers that I am alive today.
Some very dear members, Brother and Sister Korman, took Erich and me to Muchen to the airport and the 22nd of June where we boarded an airplane enroute to home where we were greeted by all our family, about 55 in all, besides two Bishops, a counselor and their wives.
I am so thankful for everything our children have done for us and I pray that our Father in Heaven will bless you all with health, love and understanding for each other.
All my love,
Your Grandma

Viola Reich Holman

Viola Reich was born July 8, 1935 in Salt Lake City Utah to Erich Reich and Helen Hollinderbaumer. Her parents had come to America about 1920. She was born at her parent’s home on 8th West and 35th South. The only thing mom remembers at this house was the presence of a very big black dog. She remembers attending Blaine elementary on 33rd South and Main. After one year of school, the Reich’s moved to the “log house”, as Grandpa Reich called it. The house was located on 94th South, just below the gravel pit. They owned a large farm with orchards and gardens. This was about 1942 and mom was about seven years old.
Mom had ten brothers and sisters. Adolf born in 1923, Erich in 1925-died two months later, Henry in 1926-died seven years later of Hoskins disease, Ruth in 1928, Clifford in 1930, Alma in 1931-died nine months later, Marlene in 1933, Viola in 1935, Helen in 1937, Hyrum in 1939, and David in 1940.
Their new home was all wood, small and cozy. Mom remembers the warped boards inside the house. They had a root cellar outside where they kept vegetables and milk cool. The old canal ran just west of the house. They had chicken coops northeast of the house where David played with fire and burnt the coop down. Mom remembers sleeping outside when the kids used to take the beds out into the cool summer nights and all sleep together.
Mom’s early days were spent pulling weeds in the large gardens. She couldn’t play with Karla Benson until the garden was weeded. She also remembers herding the cows to the upper pasture where the gravel pit is.
Mom always went to primary and church. She received a perfect attendance award for not missing a single day. Mom does remember the time when her schoolteacher broke a ruler over her hand for something she had done wrong. The only time her mother physically hit her was when mom came in late from playing. She was late and when she came through the door, her mother slapped her on the behind. Mom, Karla and her siblings played across the street playing “No bears are out tonight.”
Some of mom’s favorite meals were noodles and milk, with a little sugar added. This she ate for breakfast along with bread soup and oatmeal. Her mother saved old bread and then heated milk on the stove and then added the bread and sugar. Her mother Helen used to cook meal loaf on top of the stove in a pan. Mom became an excellent cook by watching her mother cook.
Mom’s best friend in Jr. High was Lalila Manyard. About this time she started working at the family business, the Farmer’s Daughter restaurant. She would take the bus to 21st Sough and State and transfer to another bus. This bus took her to 21st and Highland where a break was needed. She relished a grilled cheese sandwich, sweet pickle, and potato chips at Wallgreens. She then walked the short distance to the Farmer’s Daughter. Mom had never seen such orders as she was delivering to the vehicles, such as the large drinks. So one time as she was walking through the parking lot with an order she took a sip of the large drink. Well, somebody noticed and Viola got in trouble. Since she got paid nothing for her wages at first, the large sip must have been worth it. An older gentleman who was shell shocked from the war used to help out around the restaurant doing odds and ends. Mom remembers teasing him but enjoyed having him around.
Mom was still working at the restaurant in High School when she was introduced to a young service man. Merrill Holman had returned from the Korean War and his war buddy was engaged to a girl by the name of Helen Reich who worked at the Farmer’s Daughter. His buddy, Don Hermansen, said that Helen had a sister who Merrill should meet. Mom doesn’t remember much of when she first met dad but its effects were long lasting. Mom used to call dad “goo goo eyes” instead of Merrill because his name was so different. After their first date mom went home and told her sister Helen that she was going to marry that man someday. Mom was a junior in High School at the time. She used to drive a 1935 Chevy to the Farmer’s Daughter to meet dad but wouldn’t shift out of first gear because she didn’t know how to work the gearshift. When she graduated in 1954 she and dad were planning a wedding. Nine months later they were married in the Salt Lake Temple. The morning of the wedding mom was waiting outside the temple when one of the temple patrons asked if she were waiting for someone. She said, “Yes”, a young man. He asked if the young man was wearing a blue suit and she said yes again. He told her that a young man having the same description had just fallen and broken his leg. Mom was terrified until dad jumped out from behind the bushes. This was February 23, 1955.
Eleven months after they were married came a special gift in their lives. Marvin Reed Holman was born on January 28, 1956. Bruce followed in September of 57, Margie in May of 59, Steven in January of 1962, and Susan in July of 1963.
Mom and dad worked hard to provide for their family. They always made sure we had a wonderful Christmas. Each year they packed us into the car on Christmas Eve and drove us to Sandy for the Reich family Christmas party. Mom would tell us to watch for Santa’s sleigh as we drove south on 13th East. We would see a red light and knew for sure it was Santa and his reindeer. The Reich family had lots of cousins and we had our favorites. Mom and Dad would visit and the children played. Grandpa and Grandma Reich would get us all together and we’d sing Silent Night. We then received presents from underneath the Christmas tree. We went straight home to bed, for Santa would be coming to our house. The morning brought excitement and joy. Margie remembers the children lining up from youngest to oldest to enter the living room. Mom would put on an old Bing Crosby record as we opened our presents. Mom loved to be with her children on Christmas, it is her favorite holiday.
When the kids got a little older mom went to work at Pyketts. After a time she worked as a waitress at Millies in Sugar House for a month or two. She then worked at Osbornes making Pendleton shirts but couldn’t sew the backtack on the pockets so she was fired. She then worked at Barbara Jensen’s sewing drapes where she met many good friends.
Camping for Mom and Dad was a priority. We started camping in a tent but only Marvin remembers that episode. We then had a nice little trailer in which we all crowded into. It had an icebox! We went camping on the Skyline drive; places like Miller Flat, Joe’s valley, and Gooseberry reservoir. Dad would tell us stories and Mom kept us clean and fed. We loved to hear dad tell us of his early days as a sheepherder on the mountain.
Mom always made a big deal of Birthdays. Once she was in the hospital for asthma but her little girl still had a birthday cake. We always sang “heavy, heavy hang over thy poor head” before we’d bump the person on the head with their presents. Home life was pleasant and fun growing up. Winters were filled with sleigh rides on Little Mountain; fresh baked homemade bread on Saturdays, and rump roast dinners on Sundays.
Mom was involved in church and school functions. She taught primary and sold stamps at the grade schools. Her years were filled with service in her family. She always put a band-aid on with loving hands and shed a tear when one of her little ones got hurt. Mom was very tender hearted and loved her children by supporting them in whatever they wanted to do. During the summer months she would have water fights with the kids in the backyard pool. She was one of us.
Mom loved her mother in law, Zelda Holman. Zelda and her mother Zina would come and stay wit us so they could shop the malls. Mom spent a lot of time with them and enjoyed their company. When Zelda died, Zina would stay with us. Mom looked after her as if she were her own mother. Mom’s love for others is reflected in her many friends in the ward. At the time of this writing she is responsible for the Lunch Bunch in the ward. They get together every month and have lunch and socialize. She enjoys going to St. George with the ladies for a week of relaxation. Her hobbies are reading and model home making.
I remember when I was about four years old and jumping from one bed to another. The bed I jumped from gave way and I didn’t quite make the other bed. I hit my nose on an old peddle car and needed stitches. I’ll never forget mom holding me and dad driving me to the hospital. I’ll never forget mom’s French fries! I would sit at the dinner table and eat all my fries but my plate still had ketchup on it. I’d ask for more fries and mom would bring them on. Once mom tried to make me eat some green vegetables and when I did my stomach reacted. She never made me eat them again. I remember how much I loved my mom when just a child I attended a ward fair. I used the ticket I had to buy my mom a black flower vase. I was so excited to give it to mom.
Susan remembers mom crashing on the motorcycle on one our camping trips. We were camped out near Simpson Springs. Mom rode the Honda 90 into something and back she fell. She also remembers mom at an elementary school assembly. An Indian was going through the crowd pulling ladies hair and messing it up. Susan was horrified to see him getting close to mom, who just happened to be wearing a wig. The Indian stopped just in time. Susan was relieved. Susan also remembers mom driving Lois Lyon around in the car. Lois was the neighbor across the street and mom did what she could to care for her.
Margie remembers mom hiding our Easter baskets in the little trailer when camping. The trailer was small but this didn’t stop mom. She always found a place to make us search. Margie also recalls the times when mom would dress up for Halloween. Mom always had a sense of humor and seemed to love Halloween. People in the neighborhood didn’t know who was at the door. Mom was such a crack up.