Salt Lake Telegram 21 July 1902 A TRAGIC STORY

     Isn't it awful how 'living' gets in the way of your life?   I said I would be 'blogging' about the KIDGELL family but, just haven't gotten their story together because of the everyday 'things' in my life that get in the way!
So I thought I'd post this article I found some months ago while doing newspaper research. 
      BTW, newspaper search is hard, tedious and time consuming but, OH!! the results are so worth it! 
      I have been researching the John HEPWORTH family for a whole year (Started in the first week of January 2010)  when I came across this title "JUMPED TO HER DEATH" and of course had to read it.  I was very surprised when half way through the story I discovered that this tragic accident happened in front of the John HEPWORTH house and Elvira was even carried into HEPWORTH house, as you will read. 


Let me explain, below I have transcribed the article into three pages of two columns for each page.  The font size is small so, for those who have a hard time reading it you will need to increase your screen size.  Hopefully, you know how to do that. 



This tragic event happened 109 years ago in July. Even so long ago my heart just ached for the family as I read the story. And can you just imagine the feelings of the Hepworth family to  experience such a tragedy first hand.  Something you just don't get over. I know the Hepworth's did everything they could to comfort the grieving McEvoy family. The John HEPWORTH family was not without their own family tragedy's (which I will blog about in the future)

The John HEPWORTH family are our 'double cousins'. John is the brother of our gggrandfather Thomas HEPWORTH. John's wife Frances Amelia FLETCHER is a sister to our gggrandmother Mary FLETCHER married to Thomas.
Date: 21 July 1902

 Page 2

 Page 3

What does 'Normal' mean as in Albion State Normal?

I will be leaving the area of Albion but, before I do;

Swanger Hall 1896 (Named for 1st college president F. A. Swanger)

 Do you know what the term  'Normal' means in the title Albion State Normal? "How odd" I thought, I knew it was a college that trained High School graduates to become teachers, then my mind had quite an  imagination for the Normal part, who is normal and who is not normal that was to become a teacher!  I've had my share of 'not so normal' teacher's in my life so I was sure they didn't get their training at the Albion State Normal School!

Normal is a French word for model, a rule, a pattern.  The term Normal School is to indicate a teacher training institution or the idea of a 'model school' for practice.   The Albion school grades 1 though 9 were taught by the students under the direction of a certified teacher.   
The history of how the college was built in Albion is a very interesting story as well as it's demise.  Here is a link that gives the history in a nutshell. http://www.albionvalley.com/campus.htm
Grandfather Sam Perrins was one of the 'continual'  promoter's of building the college in Albion.  He is quoted as saying about the town people [they] "put their shoulders to the wheel and went to work."

In 1864 Albion was known as Marsh Valley.    1879 Cassia County was formed, and Marsh Valley became Albion, meaning 'mountain land high and white." 

Grandfather Sam Perrins came to the valley with his parents in 1881 at age 5.

Grandmother Edna Phippen came to the Albion Valley in 1884 at age 6.

Hepworth Meat Market came in about 1892 owned by Joseph Hepworth a great granduncle.  His partner was a brother-in-law Charles Albertson.   Later, sometime in the 1900's, his brother James, our great grandfather, became a partner.

I have many wonderful memories visiting Albion in the summers.  I always stayed with my Grandmother Tomlinson.  Aunt Louise and her children,  cousins Ardyth and Lee (the only cousins on my Dad's side) also lived in the 'Hepworth' house  with Grandmother, and we spent many hours playing on the playground at the 'Normal' school.   

Whispers From The Past/Tales Told: First Year/Vern and Verona

Whispers From The Past/Tales Told: First Year/Vern and Verona: " After a three day honey-moon in Salt Lake City, Mother's first&nbs..."

First Year/Vern and Verona

           After a three day honey-moon
in Salt Lake City,  
Mother's first visit to the City in her 20 years (she turned 20 on the 5th of December) Dad, Mother, Grandmother Tomlinson and Aunt Louise returned to Albion on Christmas Eve, followed by a wedding reception after Christmas day.  
    They set up "house keeping" in a one room apartment in Almo, Cassia, Idaho where Dad (Butch) was in the middle of his second year of teaching and being principal of the Almo Elementary School, grades one through nine.  Almo had a country store, a church, and the school house.  They didn't have a car and only a few families in the town had a radio.  Relatives and friends helped out in driving them to Albion once a month to visit. 

What did they do for entertainment living in such a place as Almo.  They played basketball!!  
  
 "The church MIA basketball Program was just getting a good start.  However, there were not enough 'elegible' basketball players to field a qualified team, so we organized an 'outlaw' team of over aged, under aged and Butch, a college letter man who would  play ball with anyone that wanted to play.  Verona, was drafted to be the referee and she did such a good job that she refereed the games Butch was playing in and  helped him referee when other teams played."  (from the life history of Vern and Verona) 
In the spring of 1935, Dad applied for another teaching job in Jerome, Idaho.  This job paid $96.00 a month so Mom  and Dad moved to Jerome in late August. 
This will be the last 'post' for Vern and Verona for a while.  Next post  will be about the KIDGELL's.

Whispers From The Past/Tales Told: Shortest day of the year 76 Years ago

Whispers From The Past/Tales Told: Shortest day of the year 76 Years ago: "Albion Campus, Wintertime (Just across the street from the Perrins Home) Fall of 1934 Mother is going to Albion State Normal Schoo..."

Shortest day of the year 76 Years ago

Albion Campus, Wintertime  (Just across the street from the Perrins Home)

Fall of 1934

• Mother is going to Albion State Normal School .

• Dad is in his second year of teaching at Almo.

December 1934, Verona had decided to give it one more try at becoming a teacher and enrolled in the Albion State Normal  School.  She was living in her parents home just across the street from the campus.
Vern, had received his "Life Certificate" in June of 1933 from Albion State Normal School  which qualified him to teach  in Idaho, grades one thru nine.  He was twenty years old when he got a teaching job in Almo, Idaho, thirty miles south of Albion earning $75.00 a month.  

School where Vern's first teaching job in Almo, Idaho.  Burned to the ground in 1945

Vern and Verona decided to get married during Christmas vacation.
But, there was a problem - Vern's mother, Ethel was not happy about 
Vern marrying Verona and went to Verona's house to talk her out of it. Verona told Ethel  that they were getting married in the Temple and since Ethel had never 'gone through the Temple' she  was invited to go with them to get her own endowments.  Then Verona told her if she disapproved with that plan then they would go to Twin Falls, a town about seventy miles away and be married by the judge.  Verona reminded her how they had gone together for several years and were ready to be married.  Ethel changed her mind and said she would go along with what Verona  and Vern had planned. 

They were to be married in the Logan Temple on Friday the 21st so the plan was to  pick up Vern on Thursday afternoon and drive to Logan that same day.   Verona, Ethel and Louise (Vern's sister, age 16) left Albion on Wednesday for Almo, Verona writes, " the  road to Almo was not very good in the summer, so in the winter the road was terrible, and there was lots of snow on the road."  Verona didn't know how to drive, and Ethel who's right leg was permanently stiff (another story to be told) Verona writes,  "Because of Ethel's stiff leg she wasn't the best driver, it was very hard for her to manage the  gas pedal, clutch, and brake.   (I just can't imagine!)    Verona really thought a few times they would not make it to Almo but, with a lot of praying and much encouragement from Louise and Verona, Ethel kept going.  They arrived in Almo safely, Vern was ready to go, so they continued their journey to Logan arriving there late but, in time for a late dinner with Vern's Uncle Fred and Aunt Lilly Kidgell, the relatives they were going to stay with.
After dinner, Uncle Fred and Aunt Lilly started gathering up  temple clothes for Vern.  Verona writes  "We could rent clothes at the Temple but, we had to save money where we could."  They couldn't find pants large enough for Vern so on Thursday, Ethel and Lilly put a V shaped piece of white  cloth in the back to make them large enough for him.
Verona's wedding dress was made from material of her mother's wedding dress.  Verona's sister Gladys and sister Kerma  and sister-in-law Ida all wore this dress when they were married.

Logan Temple in Winter

21 December 1934, 76 Years ago today

Verona and Vern entered the Logan Temple at seven  in the morning.  That V that was put in Vern's pants, Verona writes," Seems like that was all I could see all the way through the Temple when I would see Vern climb up the stairs going from room to room." 

(Oh my!  This is so typical of Mom.)

Verona writes "There was only one other couple married that day and they were an Indian couple.  I must say the sisters in the Temple were so kind and sweet to me.  One sister gave me a pink ribbon to tie around the marriage license.  She said she had picked Vern out as my husband because he was so handsome and she could just see what beautiful couple we would make."

Now husband and wife, they went back to Uncle Fred's house to get their  luggage for their 'honeymoon' to Salt Lake City.   While they were saying  their good byes to Ethel and  Louise, Ethel had a request, would they take Louise with them!  NO!

This would be Verona's first trip to a big city like Salt Lake.   It was raining hard and they had a flat tire!  Vern fixed it, and was completely soaked when he got back in the car. 

They stayed at the Temple Square Hotel, room 242 at $3.00 a night for the next three nights.    Saturday night they went dancing at the Rainbow Gardens.

Twice they were invited to dinner, once at Vern's cousin home, Pauline and husband Gorton Matson  and Vern's Aunt Mary's home.  

Vern & Verona 1935

Verona writes, "The three days went by very fast.  We left Salt Lake Monday morning, picked up Vern's mother and Louise in Logan then onto Albion to spend the rest of the Christmas Holidays with our families before taking up house keeping in Almo in a one room apartment."

Mother was 20 years old and Dad was 21.

Christmas Gifts for Verona

It was the era of the depression during Vern and Verona's teen years.  Mother remembers two gifts that Dad gave her for Christmas. "One year Vern came carrying a large box.  I unwrapped it only to find another box, then another!  The boxes kept getting smaller and smaller until it was the size of a ring box, only it wasn't a ring, it was a locket!  I was so thrilled and so happy.  Another Christmas he gave me a wine colored suede jacket.  I don't know where he got the money because they were about as poor as we were!" 

I have no idea if Mother is wearing the jacket she  refers to in this picture.   Maybe Gary knows?  Does it look like a suede jacket to you?