History of Fanny Fern Miller Poor
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
HISTORY OF FANNY FERN MILLER POOR By LeGrande C. Poor My mother, Fanny Fern Miller Poor was a remarkable woman. She was loved by everyone. In the community of Herriman, where she was born and raised and where she died, she was Aunt Fern to everyone. Her grandson, Lindsay Thomas, moved to Herriman to live a number of years ago. He said that many people told him how much they loved and appreciated his grandmother. Early in her life, as a result of a bout with whooping cough she lost much of her hearing. In spite of that she raised four children. Although hard of hearing she was able to hear her children when she needed to when we were babies. In her history she recounts the problems she had in being unable to hear. I recall when attending a movie we would ask her if she could hear it and her answer always was, “Pretty good”. We never went to a movie or any other activity when the car wasn’t filled with other kids, usually her nieces and nephews. Having lunch at her place was an excursion. She would make a lunch and then we would go to the top of our lot, under the trees or bushes and have a picnic. We would also go to my grandfather’s farm for a picnic. My mother’s favorite candy bar was Mounds. During World War II I was stationed in California and prior to being shipped out I came home on leave and brought Mom a box of Mound candy bars. The kid who ran the “Ship’s store did me a favor and sold me a box. She was tickled to death. As usual, she shared them with others. Prior to being discharged I was stationed at the Navel Supply Depot at Clearfield, Utah. At the commissary, there I purchased a number of things that were in short supply at home, such as pepper. When I gave them to Mom her first thought was of whom she might share them with. My Dad died about three weeks after I was discharged from the Navy. This was a difficult time for Mom. She lived without Dad more years than she lived with him. While in the Navy I sent money home each month to be saved for me. Because dad was sick during that time they used the money to live on. When Dad died and everything was settled, insurance, etc. she insisted that the money be repaid. She loved her children and grandchildren. LeAnn liked lemon pie. Every time we went to visit she made a lemon pie for LeAnn. My favorite dessert was her raisin pie. She also made rhubarb pie and a gooseberry pie that would pucker your mouth. When we would go to Utah on vacation, our kids loved to visit Grandma Poor. When Peggy first became acquainted with my mother she was surprised to see her get down on the floor and play with her grandkids. She hadn’t experienced this before. Now Peggy does the same with our grandkids. I have a black notebook in which my mother kept her financial records. She kept a record of what she paid in tithing, budget and fast donations each year. It also contains a record of her income. For instance in March of 1952 she received a check for $48.36 and Laddie a check for $32.23. These were probably from railroad retirment. Some entries are “Vet’s Check, some are identified as social security. $80.59 was not a lot of money, even in 1952. She kept a record of her debts and the payment on each. There are entries for coal, shingles, hearing aid, Granite Furniture and assessments on pipeline water. On the very last page of the notebook is “Cecil died May 23, 1946,was 48 years old”. On another slip of paper appears, “Bought kitchen table and chairs April 6, 1950”. “My GE Refrigerator was got July 11, 1940”. This was the first refrigerator my dad and mother 1 purchased. Her sister Maybelle had just purchased one from Brinton Electric in Murray, Utah and mom and dad purchased theirs at the same place. “My electric stove was got in 1950”. My small coal stove, 1950”. Had my teeth extracted June 27, 1950”. “Got my teeth in Aug. 1950”. Her mention of having her teeth extracted reminds me of the difficulty she had at that time. I recall that late the night she had them out she woke me and her mouth was bleeding. I contacted her dentist and ended up taking her to the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake for treatment. In her papers is a certificate of promotion from the Grammar Grades in the Jordan School District. It is signed by James Prestwich who was her favorite teacher, I am sure, because he was good to her and understanding of her hard of hearing problem. Mom was a member of the National Society of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, her membership number was 33912. On her 70 th birthday her children and grandchildren held an open house in her honor at the Herriman Lions Club Center. I was unable to attend. I don’t remember why but looking back I wish that I had been there. She died on May 28, 1975 of cancer of the stomach and metastasis. She was living with Elise at the time. On Mother’s day of that year or it may have been the previous year, I am not sure, Reg and I made the effort to visit her at Elise’s and she had all her children together at that time. During her life, when we were living in Illinois and later in Colorado, she would visit us. Usually when Peggy and I had to be away at a convention or something similar we would have her come back and stay with out kids. She really enjoyed doing that. On occasion she would return to Illinois with us when we were in Utah on vacation. My father and mother set an example for their children in living the gospel. They set an example of church service. They taught us respect for Church Leaders. I learned some of this the hard way. The Herriman Ward chapel had large pictures of the presidents of the church on the wall. On one occasion someone was making a presentation perhaps in Sunday School. I don’t remember how old I was at the time, but I think 8 or 9 years old. The person in charge asked the kids present, pointing to the pictures on the wall, who these individuals were. When called upon I identified them as “the big shots”. That my answer was inappropriate was pointed out to me in no uncertain terms when I got home. My father at one time had a shoe repair shop in Riverton. This was during the depression and times were bleak. On many occasions he would come home and report what he had taken in that day. It was usually nothing or ten cents. On one occasion we had cause for celebration he reported making $10.00 that day. My parents each night would “settle up”. This meant that they set aside the tithing from that which was earned. It was customary in our ward to bring tithing up to date or “settle tithing” once a year at tithing settlement. My parents kept their tithing at home and then at tithing settlement would pay what they owed. On occasion throughout the year when in need of cash, they would “borrow” from tithing. They always paid it back and at the end of the year were always full tithe payers. As I pointed out earlier, in the little black book she kept after may father died was a detailed record of what she had paid in tithing and offerings. My mother was the town nurse. If someone was ill she helped out. She learned how to give shots and would be called on to give them to others. In the community when someone passed away they would have the body on display in the home. Individuals would sit with the family and the casket during the night. My mother did so on many occasions. During the winter she would have a supply of apples on hand and in the evening she would sit, peel and quarter apples for all of us to eat. I remember her being up with me at night when I was ill. She was devoted to her husband and they were very close. She and my father were married in the Salt Lake Temple on October 24, 1923. I was born on October 1, 1924. In trying to keep this straight she sometimes would say something like I was married in 1923 and LeGrande was born in 1924 or I was married in 1924 and LeGrande was born in 1923. 2 The following history, in my mother’s handwriting, was in a note book which she kept She indicates in her writing that she was 67 years old when she wrote the following. FANNY FERN MILLER POOR In the year of 1897, on April 1st, I, a little girl, was born on my Grandfather Crane’s birthday in my grandmother’s home in the south—west bedroom which is now the Henry Bodell residence in the town of Herriman Utah. It is a beautiful little town at the foot of the mountains. After I was three weeks old, we came back to my own home which now belongs to my brother Art.