An account of the Moves of Frank and Lillie Esplin Harmon

On August 29, 1921 in company with my Mother and brother, Israel, I left Orderville for Salt Lake City to get married, Frank Harmon being the lucky man. Israel took us as far as Richfield in his car. There, Mother and I took the train and Israel stayed to see about business affairs. It was a rainy season with plenty of floods and the train was delayed about three hours. I was afraid Frank wouldn't be there to meet us and he says he was afraid I wasn't coming.

We were married on August 31 - some say why such an unromantic day - when just one more day it would have been September- but we have never found it unromantic. September first Mother went back to Orderville. Frank and I stayed in Salt Lake a day or two and then went on to Logan. Frank had a "job" at the A.C. (Agricultural College) for that winter teaching part time. I decided to go to school, art, costume design and sewing being my special subjects. Frank's sister, Alice came and stayed with us and went to school at the A.C. also. I only went until Christmas time. The first of March we moved from our humble abode at Stettlers to the Practice Farm where Frank now had a job working with the Federal Fellows in fruits and vegetables. We had a fine house to live in but since we had to furnish it, the furniture was scarce, but we got along fine anyway.

On July 21, 1922 our first baby - a girl - was born and we named her Emily for my mother and Frank's sister. The day the baby was nine days old Mother came and the baby died on July 31^st - her heart was never all right. Mother stayed with us a month.

About September Frank got a job in Laketown, Rich County, Utah as principal of their Junior High School at $1600. So we loaded all our belongings on a Dodge truck and took a trip through Logan Canyon and over the mountains to Bear Lake country. Bear Lake is the most beautiful blue lake I have ever seen and it is a great place to spend the summer - and winter too if you like lots of snow.

After school was over and the roads were still impassable with cars we decided to go through Blacksmith Forks Canyon with a team. So Frank hired one of his school boys, Stanley Walstrom, to take us back to Logan. We sold part of our things before leaving Laketown.

The summer we spent in Logan we went to summer school. Frank specialized in shop work - he had signed up to teach in the Junior High at Orderville; while I again specialized in costume design and millinery. We rented at Ziddies and Mr. Crooks. My sister Vera stayed with us and went to summer school too.

In July the 23^rd, 1923 we arrived in Orderville not quite two years since I had left. We went by team (with Jack and Dutch) to St. George to visit Frank's folks - stopping at Cane Beds to visit Alice who was now married to Waldon Ballard.

Frank must have made a success at the school in Orderville for they wanted him again at a higher wage. Frank spent most of the summer in the mountains herding Israel's sheep and I was with him about 5 weeks.

That winter we lived in part of Mother's house (Mother and Father were in St. George working in the temple) and Lucy and Lawrence lived in the other part. Frank milked cows and I churned the butter to pay for our milk and butter. Lucy looked after the milk and separated it.

In January of 1925 Frank had a siege of rheumatism for about three weeks.

When school had closed we had decided to go to Logan again. Frank had been offered a position part time teaching in the Horticulture Department same as he had when we were married only under a different man. So we decided it was a good chance for Frank to get his Master's degree.

We took a round about way to go to Logan taking in Kanab, Cane Beds (where Alice and Waldon were) and St. George, my father and mother being there as well as Frank's folks. We arrived in Salt Lake on June the ninth. The big MIA parade was the next day. We left for Logan on the eleventh I think.

Mr. Abell, the horticulture professor and his wife and children were just ready to go on a six weeks trip to the northwest and wanted us to stay in their house rent free and look after their garden which we did and both attended the National Summer School. This time I was interested in McCollum's Nutrition class and Miss Wilkerson's Interior Decoration.

Our neighbors, the Winsors were intending to go to California for the winter and since we were in the moving business wanted us to rent their place for the winter and we did. Lenna Esplin came and stayed with us and went to school at the BYC

In November the 23^rd 1925 our second baby, a boy was born and he didn't weigh six pounds but was a husky little fellow. Aunt Ellie Chamberlain was in Logan then, so she came and stayed with us a week after I left the hospital, and I learned all I could from her but still I did considerable unnecessary worrying about whether the baby was all right. We named him Frank Wendell on January 3^rd 1926. Bishop K. C. Schaub blessed him as also the first baby.

Wendell grew so fast; he would gain a pound a week sometimes. You should have seen how tickled his daddy was when he first began to notice things - his daddy in particular. And you should have seen me when he first smiled. And we were so delighted the first time he laughed out loud we frightened him. By the time the baby was six months old he weighed 17 pounds almost tripled his birth weight and they are only supposed to double it.

On May 23^rd when Wendell was six months old, Lenna went back home and I had to learn to manage with a baby without her. Up until then I hadn't the family washing though I had done diapers, shirts etc. a plenty.

On May 29^th we moved from Winsors down to Ziddies and Mrs. Crooks - with just two rooms. After all the room we had at Winsors I didn't know what to do and it was so noisy the baby couldn't get his sleep, at least in the day time and early evening. I thought I was getting him trained about right and my plans were all shattered.

During the winter Frank took some civil service exams in the horticulture line. In June he received a letter asking if he would be interested in a job at Riverside, California working with a Mr. Shamel in citrus fruit on bud selection and he wrote that he was interested. Immediately a telegram came appointing him to the job - rather surprising us as we had hardly expected it. Then there was rapd change of plans as Frank had signed up to teach in Orderville again. He hadn't finished all his work for his Masters yet either so there were days and nights of work and every minute counted.

We also decided to make our first big buy a Ford car. Frank had to go back to Washington D.C. for two weeks. So on July 18^th we packed everything we could get in the Ford and started for Orderville. Frank left Wendell and I there to visit while he went back to Washington. He was only gone two weeks as they were in a hurry for him to get to his work. Frank only stayed in Orderville one day to visit. Then we went on to St. George where we stayed for two days. We left St. George on August ninth 1926 for our first trip to California. We arrived in Riverside after dark on the tenth of August.

We rented an apartment from Mrs. Wilbur on 334 LaCadena (a romantic name we thought). We liked the location it being out of town and also near a small orange grove, this being a novel affair to be where we could watch oranges grow.

That Christmas of 1926 we spent in St. George taking with us Waldon Ballard who was on a mission at Sacramento at that time but had a week off for Christmas holidays. My father and mother being in St. George too we spent a very enjoyable Christmas.

In the spring of 1927 we decided to move from our apartment on LaCadena. We chose an unfurnished house on East Ninth Street so we had to buy furniture but we had lots more room and a big back yard with two orange trees, a big walnut tree which made a fine shade for a play ground and also furnished us walnuts for every use and to spare. There was also room for a garden and a chicken coop where we kept a few hens.

We spent our vacation in southern Utah - St. George and Orderville. At Orderville mother's family all except Maggie had an outing up on the mountain. Had a good time. All went up to Duck Lake and had a boat ride.

On November 20, 1927, a Sunday, Lillian was born. Mother and Father arrived there at noon and she was born at 11:00 o'clock that night. Father stayed for two weeks and Mother stayed till the baby was five weeks old. I had a busy time from then on with two babies and Frank was President of the Riverside Branch of the Church. So there was always company or meetings.

Elder Busby of Arizona and Elder Tolman of Idaho who were in Corona working were our most frequent company, staying us ever time they were over to Riverside for a night meeting.

Israel come to see us the first of March 1928 and we went to Los Angeles with him twice and once to Catalina Island. Wendell didn't like riding on a boat but later thought it was the best sport he could find.

We had a few hens all along and it was Wendell's delight to gather the eggs. One day I missed him and called. No answer. So I went to search and found him on the nest. "Lay egg", he said. Another time I found him he had gathered the eggs - two in one pocket, three in another and one in another and more broken. And he was on the nest laying one himself- so he said. The last time he tried to lay eggs was beside a setting hen and she pecked him. So he gave up the practice.

We spent our vacation in southern Utah in 1928 too. We went in time for the Woodbury reunion on August 11^th. It was hot and the children were cross. We spent several days in Orderville - had a party - ice cream on Maggie's lawn one evening. Wendell ate so much ice cream he was sick the next day. We went on the mountain and took mother and father and Nan and ate dinner with Wynn and Amy. (Lynn was married October 12, 1927 to Amy Heaton) On this trip to Orderville was the last time I saw my mother alive - the next summer we weren't able to take a vacation.

Starting in the fall of 1928 the Riverside Branch began active work on a chapel. Frank being president he had the main supervising and carrying on or pushing of the job. And it meant work and meetings and more work and trips to Los Angeles to see President McMurrin and get funds. The children and I usually went with him so we grew to know him (Pres. McMurrin) rather well. So when on August 29, 1929 our second boy was born we named him Duane McMurrin. Practically all the summer before he was born I was sick and as Emily Harmon was in California on her vacation at the time we coaxed her to stay with us for a while. In the fore part of August Irvin and family came through Riverside and visited a few days with us. They were on their way to Berkeley where Irvin was going to school. Vera Harmon came with them. She and Emily stayed two weeks and left on August 23 - not quite a week before Duane was born. Vera and Verna spent about ten days with us the year before, Vera coming back with us when we came back from our vacation. Verna came on the bus.

Anecdotes written in Frank N. Harmon's handwriting.

3/23/33 Chilly night. Duane in sleep calls out to put a tent house over him. An investigation revealed him without covers. He and Lillian had been playing house in front room with chairs and quilts.

3/24/33 To satisfy Lillian and Duane we promised them a bonfire and weiner roast the night before a scout trip. Duane told every body he saw of the big bonfire he was going to have. It went over big. Carrying the limbs to put on fire developed big appetite especially in Duane

Lillian's Philosophizing March 1933

Sonny sure has lots of suckers but he gets lots of switchings - (after a few moments pause) - I would like his suckers but I wouldn't like his switchings.

Lillian was told to clean the radishes. She asked why she said that to her.

Lillie asked, "Why not?"

Lillian, "well it saves you work but it makes work for me."

Goes about cleaning radishes and remarks, "Little girls ought to help their mamas but is is hard work for the little girls"

Sept 19, 1932

Wendell was found at the foot of the 2^nd grade and put on the trial list to see whether he could stay in high 2^nd. Returning from school one day he said, "me and Donald Terry are the worst of them all, but I am a little bit better than him as I could find 'there' and he couldn't."

March 1933 Mrs. Newfeld was sick one day. Mrs Hansen taught class. Wendell said nothing about it. At auxiliary Mrs. Hansen asked if Wendell told about her teaching. Lillie said, "No."

"Isn't that just like a boy" said Mrs. Hansen.

Lillie asked Wendell who taught him yesterday. He said, "Mrs. Hansen."

"Why didn't you tell us?" said his mother.

"Did you want to see her?" asked Wendell

March 1933 The school romms had their pictures taken. A few weeks after we found out about it and asked Wendell why he didn't get one. He said that they cost too much money. We asked how much they cost and he said, "Fifteen cents,"

Nov 8, 1933 We've made another move so it behooves me to do some recording

When Duane was one month old Lillian and Wendell started with the whooping cough and maybe you don't think we were worried. He, Duane, was so tiny that we did everything possible under the circumstances to keep him from having the whooping cough. Being so tiny he slept almost all the time and in another room from the rest of us so by all means possible and the blessings of the Lord he never caught it and withing nine weeks Lillian and Wendell had stopped coughing and never had a cough all the rest of the winter. And were we thankful that Thanksgiving. During this time we were preparing and expecting to be moved to Shafter at the Experiment Station there to work with Mr. Scott. The chapel we were building in Riverside was almost completed when we left, a big job that we thought we had helped to put over and we had to consider our mission in Riverside completed.

So on Dec. 9, 1929 all our household belongings were loaded on a big truck and sent on to Shafter. Our neighbor Mrs. Joe Porter was kind enough to take care of us that night and fed us and sent us on feeling fine. We teased Wendell about where he was going to sleep that night and when we missed him once we found him with a cushion and blanket out in the car.

On Dec 10, 1929 we arrived in Shafter bag and baggage and our too adding quite a bit to the population and noise of the experiment station. It being just two weeks from Christmas and no shopping done and how time does fly with three babies to feed, dress and keep clean. We managed all right and spent a happy Christmas.

On February the 13^th 1930 we received a telegram from father saying my mother had passed to the great beyond the evening before. I never will forget the beautiful sunrise there was that morning - the sky was red and pink and "curdled" practically all over like a celebration was being carried on in the heavens.

Being afraid to take the journey in our old Ford we bought a new Chev - and with the help of the Scotts and some fast work on our part we left that night for Orderville at 6 o'clock - traveling all night - arriving in St. George at eight o'clock Wednesday night where we stopped(overnight) with Frank's folks, Father and Israel being there in St. George also. They were expecting Lawrence and Lynn in from the sheepherd too- None of Mother's children being with her when she died. Thursday Feb. 20 we all went on to Orderville - taking Frank's father and mother with us making our first trip thru the famous Mt. Carmel - Zion tunnel a little over a mile long.

Mother's funeral was held that afternoon Feb. 20 for my sake- I think my birthday being Feb. 21. There was whooping cough in Orderville, so Duane had to be kept away from all children and meetings - and you never saw such a good baby - he was good for hours without me.

On the evening of Feb. 21 the folks had a family gathering and we all had a good visit considering the occasion, and on Saturday we left for St. George where we stayed for several days.

When we had been in Shafter a little over a year on Janet Scott's birthday she invited all the children to her birthday party and much to every ones surprise gave them all the measles. They all had it at once.

In the spring of 1931 they decided to remodel (after we suggested it) the house we were living in. When they had done all they could without starting to tear down -Frank took myself and the children to St. George - where we stayed for six weeks. While there Vera and Verna were married - also my niece Lenna and I was there to see her married much to her surprise.

The house still wasn't finished when we came back on the 4^th of July. After a long time and lots of hot weather they finally finished it and we liked it so much we surely hated to leave the house.

While in Shafter I learned to swim - something I thought I would never accomplish and after I did start to learn things didn't look very hopeful for a long time. Wendell learned to swim the summer he was six and by the time he was seven could beat me at it. Lillian also learned to swim the summer she was five. The reason for this swimming activity was because the pond was handy on the station and there was plenty of hot weather and there's nothing will cool you off like a swim.

In the spring of 1932 when the depression was beginning to get in swing all government employees pay was cut and by the next year we began to think we might lose our job but it ended up by another cut and a transfer to Fresno.

We moved to Fresno on Sept 1, 1933. Frank had a house rented and I didn't like it much so when we had time to look around we rented a place on Platt Avenue just a half a block from the Jackson School.