Grandpa Sam PERRINS loved his beer!

This is a 'fun' story that was sent to me by cousin Barbara Gray Winkler.  Barbara's mother, Freda, was the youngest of eight children of our grandparents,  Sam and Edna Perrins who lived in Albion, Idaho.   In her younger years, Barbara and her older brother Gerald and younger sister Joyce lived  just 'through the block' from Gramma and Grandfather's house. 

"As long as I can remember our grandparents lived on the same street as the High School and Training School, as everyone called it.  [We know it as a Grade School]
Grandpa worked at the Normal School [college].  His favorite pass time was making home made beer.  My dad [Robert aka Bob Gray] told him, the way he was making it and tasting it, it was going to kill him!  Ha!  Grandpa had a cast iron stomach.  In the house, under the kitchen floor, there was a cellar.  You could access it through the kitchen.  Gramma kept her fruit and etc. there because it was cool and kept things from spoiling.  That was Grandpa's hide away for making beer.  It was against everything Gramma believed in.  One early evening after dinner, Grandpa went down in the cellar to check his beer and when he did this, of course, he always had to taste it, a number of times.  Gramma hated it when he did this, because he always smelled like beer.  He never, never abused drinking!  This particular evening, the visiting Home Teachers came by.  Gramma hurried and closed the cellar door which was on the floor and moved the wash stand over it, so grandpa couldn't get out.  She let the Home Teachers in.  Just as the Home Teachers were leaving, Grandpa decided he was through with his tasting and wanted to come back up the stairs and, of course he couldn't get out.  He called to Gramma but, Gramma ignored him, she was thanking the HomeTeachers for coming by and saying goodbye and that took a few minutes.  Finally, yelling wasn't doing any good, so he found a mop in the cellar and started banging on the cellar door, yelling 'Mother let me out' repeatedly.  Finally the Home Teachers left and Gramma let Grandpa out. As you know their marriage still survived. 
A few years after Gramma died Grandpa decided he was going to get baptized.  He told the Bishop that he drank just a taste of beer a day.  The Bishop told him about the Word of Wisdom, Grandpa replied, that just a little beer keeps his kidneys working and he had been doing it all his life. [as prescribed  by his Doctor] The Bishop agreed at his age, he was  81, it would be acceptable if it was just a taste. "

Thanks Barbara, for this memory.  More is yet to be posted!

2010 Venteran's Day in honor of Ralph H. Hepworth d1945

"Life without one who serves their country proud, freely, and valiantly would be a life void of love, dreams, freedom, a life void of the many treasurers so many of us call life.  To those of you who wear the uniform of our country with pride today, and  for those of you who wore the uniform in days past, these few words go our to you.  Thank You!"

"24 July 1945, two PBY4-2 airplane's took off from Yontan Field, Okinawa, for an anti- shipping sweep along the west coast of Korea.  Two message's were received, one that two planes had been attacked by enemy aircraft.  No position given.  Another, referred to a successful attack on a Japanese merchant ship.  The planes did not return to base the next morning and all available planes were sent out and an exhaustive search was made.  No trace was found of the missing plane's or its crew.  Among the missing was Ralph Huntington  Hepworth.

This is Dad's younger  first cousin.  There is more to the story which I will write 

about for the Memorial Day Celebration in May.

Dad the Clown

This picture is a result of being on Facebook!
So there is good reason in joining FB.  A friend Gina Kramm whose husband is my third cousin
posted this picture. Thank You Gina!! The fellow in the car window I am 99.9 % sure it is Dad.
Two of the girls are  his cousins, Pauline and Kate, girl's that dad has written about in his life history.   Notice how well dressed he is!!
Who of his descendants look's like him  at first glance?  I thought of my handsome nephew TAD.
Do you agree?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

These three ladies are ready to party
at the Cottonwood Cove entertainment
center.  Check out the two wearing their
Black Slips, could they get more daring?
Then Mother in her Hawaiian pants  with
matching sash!  Mother is 80 years old.
Bedtime; 9pm.
October 1994
Pocatello, Idaho

A thought!

Want to have Halloween everyday?

Join a band!

Why did the skeleton cross the road?  To go to a body shop!

(This would be a Verona joke for sure!)

Verona's first date with Dad.

Even a bad pix -you can recognize handsome Vern. 

      Mother's first impression of Dad happened on the first day of school, she was a Sophomore; Dad a Junior.  "Wow," she thought, "What a guy to have."  Vern opened the door for her then shut it in front of  her !"   Dad was a kidder.   Mother always thought the Hepworth's were so much better off than her family.  On there first date Mother was disturb  that the electricity was turned off at her house because her father didn't pay the bill.  She told Dad to come at a time that it would be light outside so he wouldn't know that the Perrins didn't have electricity.  Mother writes,"Vern came after dark, so I had to turn on the lantern.  I was so embarrassed and apologized.  Vern said not to worry about it, 'We are all in the same boat.' "  Dad was a genuine guy.  His family was 'better off' than the Perrins.  He didn't have a pretentious bone in his body. 
Mother writes about the day Dad was riding on top of a car.  The car swerved across the road and knocked Dad off the top.  He got up, ran caught up with the car and got in. 

That guy, I bet his mother didn't find out about it!

Today is Dad's Birthday

Here I go!  I have been fussing with this for the past several days.  As you see I am starting  with our dad only I write only of MY memories.  If Gary and Ted want to add a comment of their memories, Please do.  I am learning about how to blog as I go so this is pretty basic.

2 Aug 1913 baby boy born 12 lbs.

     This is my dad and me.  I always felt very secure very loved by my dad.  We are sitting on our porch at 512 E. 6th Ave. Jerome, Idaho. I'm about three years old so that would put the year 1945.  Do you see a resemblance?  He called me by the nickname of Smokey, like an Indian that would sit around a campfire. Dad was the one who read to me, especially the 'funny paper' cartoon Katzenjammer Kids.  He would use a different tone of voice for each kid and talk in the foreign  dialect of the kids. 
     When he was home in the evenings it was Dad that put me to bed and would make up bedtime stories.  If he wasn't home when it was my bedtime I would lay awake listening for him to return and the second I heard the front door open I would call to him to come and finish the story he had started the night before or repeat an old one.  No matter how tired he was he never refused my request. 
     When I was six and no longer believed in Santa, I wouldn't let on that I no longer 'believed' because it would take away the fun for Dad in our listening for Santa's Sleigh and his reindeer on Christmas Eve.
     Dad was my Principal when I was in the first and second grade at Lincoln School in our small town.  I would wait for him in his office after school until he was finished with his work and we would walk home together (our house was about 1 mile away)
 or I should say we would skip home.  Dad would say a ditty of "Skippity Hop to the barber shop to buy a stick of candy, one for you and one for me and one for sister Sandy."  As young as I was I always wondered what people thought when they would come to their door to watch this big man and a little girl skipping down the street (no sidewalks) hearing our singsongy voices of Skippity Hop.  I dearly loved my dad.





     Why or why didn't I ask my Grandmother TOMLINSON  what it was like giving birth to a 12 pound baby!  One thing, at least Dad was born in a hospital and not at home.  He was born in the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City on 2 Aug 1913.  At the time his parents, Ethel and George, were living with Ethel's parents, James and Sarah HEPWORTH at 757 West 1st N. (today it's 2nd N).   The dress he is wearing is not the beautiful 'blessing dress' that many of us have used in blessing our children. 

He was given the name Vern Wherrett TOMLINSON.   On the 19 Nov. 1914 another child was born to Ethel and George.  She was named Katherine and sadly died 21 Nov 1914.   Then another sister was born 12 Feb 1918 she was given the name Louise Wherrett TOMLINSON.   


Once, I did ask Dad where the middle name came from.  All he said was he thought it was the the maiden name of a great- grandmother on his fathers side.(Not So, that's another story)  Aunt Louise had no idea where the name came from only stating "What an awful middle name to give to a child!"  However, Grandmother Ethel told my mother (Verona) the name was to be kept in the family in order to be eligible for any family money.  How amusing! 

I'm guessing that Dad was about four years of age when this picture was taken.  His HEPWORTH grandparents owned
a large square piece of land in the center of the same block where their house was located and where there was a  large horse barn that housed quite a number of horses.
Across the street was the Jackson School where Dad attended the first and second grade.  His parents moved to Ogden where he attended the third grade.  Then back to Salt Lake City for the fourth grade. His parents would move back and forth between Ogden and Salt Lake City for the next several years. 

This is the only picture I have of Dad with his dad George Wherrett TOMLINSON.  George's business was managing and/or (over the years) owning a live stock commission company.  He bought and sold cattle, sheep, and hogs

 
     Can you pick out Dad? The six footer in the middle!  Through the years Dad played football, basketball, baseball, tennis, was a wonderful swimmer. This is his freshman year,1928 at Central Jr. High School in Ogden, Utah in an opera comedy "Pickles" or "In Old Vienna"  11 March to be exact.  What a well rounded guy!! 

     The summer of 1928 Dad had appendicitis and spent two weeks in the hospital and "made splendid recovery."   Then his father sold out his business and the family moved to Stockton, California.  Less than a week  into his Sophomore year at Stockton High School  the football coach invited Dad to try out for the football team.  When he got home that afternoon and told his mother about it she immediately protested, "You just had an operation, that game is for Seniors, and the like".  So he had to give up the idea of playing football.  Dad did play basketball!  The team name - "THE TARZANS!"  I'm still chuckling!  

Don't you just love this picture?!!  If you look closely, Dad has his name 'Vern' etched in the grime of his right pant leg. 
I asked him about the dirty, dirty pants and he said it was the "fad" not to wash your pants!  Dad was so 'IN'.   Dad is 17 years old Mother is 16. The car is parked in front of Mother's house.  Dad is known by the nickname of "Butch" because his family owned the Butcher Shoppe in Albion.

It is now 1929/30.  Dad's mother and father separated and Dad his mother Ethel and sister Louise move to Albion and again live with Dads' grandparents who have moved to Albion from Salt Lake City.  


     This is 'Butch' age 17 washing the family car!  So typical!!
The is a new Buick that was given to Ethel in the separation agreement. The divorce is not final until 1936.
I was so pleased to get this photo sent to me just a  few years ago by a cousin of Dad's who lives in Cheney Washington.  The shed in the background still stands next to the 'HEPWORTH' house in Albion. 




I am going to end the tribute here.  Since this is my first blog on people who have gone to the other side (dead) I'll see just what the response will be to all you kin folk.  Besides, at this writing I don't know what I am doing (Blog wise)  If anyone wants a copy of Dad's autobiography just let me know, I can send it to you.