Life in Whiteriver

In 1922, the family moved to Whiteriver because her father got a job with the civil service. They lived here among the Indians for about two years. Mother was very impressed with the running water in the house, a sink in the kitchen, and a tub in the bathroom. No toilet in the bathroom since this was outside. They had a Model T Ford while they were here and they used this to go to Snowflake and Lakeside. There were no sides on the car, so they had to wrap up well when it was cold.

There was no LDS church in Whiteriver so the children were sometimes allowed to attend Sunday School at the Lutheran church in town. Bible stories and pictures were enjoyed and so were the Indian festivities and dances. The total family really enjoyed the beautiful countryside and they had picnics in many pretty places. However, they did not like the tarantulas that were around here and they had to keep a sharp lookout for them when they played outside the house.

Visits to Grandpa Hansen's ranch were special to Mother. In fact, she felt Grandpa Hansen was her ideal person. She felt he made the best bread in all the world. He always kept the loaves in a small trunk, wrapped in red and white checkered cloth and she loved to see it come out for eating. In addition, Grandpa Hansen raised the best apples in all the world. However, he had a rooster that did not like kids and so the kids always had to be on the lookout for the rooster to come around them. Otherwise, everything was great at the ranch. She felt the bread and butter was always delicious and the milk was always ice cold. And their root cellar was always full of vegetables in the winter time.

During these years, the number of doctors was limited and medical treatment many times was by members of the family. Mother tells of the time that she and her brothers, Ralph and Kenneth, were playing on the baled hay in the barn. The bales began rolling, the three of them fell and Ralph broke one arm. Since no doctor was nearby, Grandpa Hansen set the arm and placed slits of boards onto it to hold it perfectly straight. Later, Mother developed an infection in a sore on her knee which needed some treatment very quickly since it turned to blood poison. It was the middle of the night and Mother was in bad shape. While Mother lay in bed, her sister Ruby and her father and mother used a lantern to search for and find a prickly pear cactus so they could cut the leaf and place this over the infected sore. This treatment solved the problem very quickly.