# The History of Myself, Ruth Elizabeth Pehrson Anderson

I was born on a hot and sultry day, July 20, 1914, on Monday forenoon in Logan,
Utah. A half hour later my twin sister was born.

When I was about seven months old, Mother couldn't let Ruby and myself together
when eating because Ruby would get done with her bottle first, then take mine.
Whenever I got a new nipple I would break it in, only to have Ruby take it and
I would have to break in two instead of one. I was told that I used to get
along fine with Ruby, and that we were together most of the time, sharing our
toys and being happy together. I think it will always be that way no matter
what happens.

At the age of one I tried to walk down our back steps in a walker. It was a
complete failure as I ended feet up in the air and head down. I received a bad
cut on my lip which was probably lucky for the neighbors, but not me. The scar
was a means for them to distinguish between myself and Ruby for a long time.

I can plainly remember sitting by the window and watching the neighbor children
coming and going to the Whittier school. My main interest was to see if they
were in step or not.

I started school September, 1919, at the Whittier School. My first teacher was
Mrs. Johnson; Miss Gessel, my second;, Mrs. Jennings, my third; Mrs. Borgoyne,
my fourth; Miss Davidsen, my fifth; and Mr. Wotton, Mr. Frank Baugh, and Mr.
Hansen, my sixth grade teachers. Mrs. Jennings brings to my mind time-tables,
and once when I copied from a paper for a spelling test. She tore my paper to
pieces and threw it in the waste basket. In the second grade I dance around the
May Pole.

The first and only time I rode on a train during my childhood was when I went
over to Mendon to spend Christmas with my grandparents. I have a dim
recollection of two brightly lighted and decorated Christmas trees at each end
of the Church hall. Everything in sight was decorated and I had a fine time.

In winter the Boulevard Hill would become so slippery it was almost impossible
to climb, but very easy to descend. I would sit on my coat, books, paper, tin,
or anything handy, and go bouncing and sliding down the hill. I froze my coat
stiff many times in the back sliding down slides. I remember once trying to get
into the house when my coat was in such a condition. I took my coat off before
reaching home, folded it up and carried it. I slipped into the house but my
idea didn't go over so good, for Mother wanted to see my coat the first thing,
and I had to show it to her. I was spanked or scolded, or maybe both, and my
coat hung up to thaw out.

When the soldiers came home from World War I, Mother took we children down to
see them in a parade. There was a lot of them all dressed in full uniform. Some
of them were crippled and otherwise injured.

I had about every children's disease possible and missed a lot of school. I can
remember laying in bed with Mother sick with the flu. Everyone had it except
Phyllis. I certainly was weak when I first got up. Later Phyllis had pneumonia
and nearly died with it.

Erma got Scarlet Fever when she was about five years old. I was sent up to Aunt
Hilda's place to stay. On the way home from school I would look down on our
house from the top of the hill. I got very homesick and sat at the bottom of
the stairs and cried. Everything seemed so big to what they are now. I was
surely glad to get home.

Ruby and I were invited to Fae Benson's party when in the fourth grade. We put
puzzles together and played games The cake had a nickel in it. Ruby took a
broken piece and found the nickel. She also got the puzzle together first and
received a glass doll as a prize. I felt badly because I hadn't got one and
didn't give Mother any peace until she weny down town and bought one for me
just like Ruby's.

I used to play for hours with Erma and our dolls. She had a little doll named
Thumbline. I had one named Donna. We would let them float down the ditch in
pans, make clothes for them, and play they were going swimming and let them get
drowned.

When there was a playground on the Tabernacle ground, Ruby, Erma, and I went
down there nearly every Sunday. I would get big broken blisters on my hands
from the giant-stride, swinging rings, and crossing a laddr with my hands, and
wear my clothes out going down the slide. I surely used to enjoy it.

In the sixth grade at the end of the third term, Mr. Wotton called myself and
some other students into his office. He gave us the terrorifing news that we
were to go to the Woodruff schoolfor the rest of the year because of lack of
room at Whittier. I nearly cried my self sick about it. The next day we went to
the Woodruff. The person I noticed most was Laurel Higgens on account of her
long ringlets. We drew cuts to see whom shouldgo to Mr. Baugh's class and whom
to Miss Hendricks. Ruby and I both drew odd numbers which meant to go to Mr.
Baugh's room. I was certainly glad of that. I liked him very much. He taught me
to write with my hand in the proper position, which I now appreciate very much.
My grief soon blew over after I became acquainted and I was glad that I had
been sent there. I used to stay until 4:30 p.m. every night playing on the
giant stride, bars, teters, swings and the slide, and I always had Ruby along
to enjoy them together. We also enjoyed going down to the Logan Senior High
School to watch the students swim and dive.

We went Christmas Carolling with Mr. Baugh and the class. We sang by the doors
of the houses. Many of them invited us in. As we were going through town, the
manager of Woolworth's gave each if ys a candy bar. We visited Mr. Hansen who
was sick in bed. He had had his tonsils taken out and had almost died with a
hemmorage. He was very glad to see us. We sang two or three songs for him.

There used to be a patch of lucern next to our house. I would lay in it and
listen to the bees, birds, grasshoppers, and other things. It was a dandy place
to hide in when playing Hide-and-Seek or other games. I used to get some flour,
go to the lucern, put it on for powder, and play house. I don't suppose Mr. L.
Hansen liked us to tramp it down so his goat couldn't eat it.

The older boys used to tell us that Skabelund's house was haunted. They would
go in the house, open and shut doors, bang things around and nearly scare us to
death. They tried to catch us and put us in the house. We would run, yell,
gather up courage, and then come back for more. I bet they got a lot of fun out
of it and we did too.

Ruby and I spent much of our time playing upon the claybanks, playing ball,
jumping the rope, playing hop-scotch, going sleigh-riding, and playing games
down to Skabelunde and Kennards. One summer we all went in for stunts and
acrobatics, which we learned to do pretty good after very much practising.

When Mr. Wallace Loughney, our neighbor, built his barn my sisters and I would
go over and watch him. We talked to him quite a lot and he told us many
interesting things and experiences about his past life; such as, getting
knocked off his house by lightning.

Our neighborhood had a track meet. It lasted nearly all afternoon and consisted
of races, javelin throwing, high jumping, broad jumping and hop-skip-and-jump.
Prizes were given. It was a lot of fun and also interesting. When about
fourteen or fifteen, while picking beans in Hyrum we went in swimming. The boss
came back from dinner and found us gone. He certainly was angry with his
daughter, May, for letting us go. We went back to work and didn't try that
anymore.

When I was fourteen, I went to Skabelund's camp and stayed for three days. The
weather was very pretty and I enjoyed it very much. Some boys came up one night
and we played "I Want a Wave". I slept with Esther Kennard and Ruby. We went
for a hike and found a snake in the rocks. We threw rocks at it until we killed
it, although it wasn't a very noble thing to do and I didn't enjoy it. We
played jacks, read books and watched ground squirrels eat the remains of the
eatables. We wrote our names in the sand by the edge of the river, and rode
home in Skabelund's old Ford. It was fun.

Ruby, Erma, and I stayed over to Mendon for three days. We rode over on a
milk-wagon with a man called "Uncle Charlie." He showed us some fish in the
river. Uncle Wilford let us ride his horse. We spent a lot of time walking the
railroad and cracking walnuts; helping Grandpa pick up some peas, for which he
seemed very grateful.

One night I went over to Skabelunds and played Flinch Ruby, Florence, Erma,
Mark, and Fred. I was sitting on the piano bench and it tipped over with me. I
didn't get hurt, the other got a laugh from it, but I was quite worried about
the piano bench.

Fred Scholes and Mark Skabelund would come up about every night and let us take
their bikes. They would also give us rides on their "bug", and play games with
us. I used to enjoy it a lot.

On September 4, 1930, I went for a wennie roast with Lowell Baxter, Ruby,
Deloris, Ethel, Fred, and Alex Christenson. We ate and then went around hitting
each other with sticks. We started walking home, climbed upon a mountain, and
then Mark came along, picked us up, and took us home. (Deloric Hansen, special
friend and Ethel Mickelson)

The family and I went to "The Message of the Ages" in Salt Lake City in 1930. I
have never seen anything so grand in my life. Things that especially impressed
me were the creation of the earth, singing, the Saints coming across the
plains, the tomb of Christ, Joseph Smith receiving the keys of the priesthood
and getting the plates from the Hill Commorah.

On Sunday, April 11, 1932, the family went down to Conference. We attended the
afternoon session. Elder Merrill, Elder Talmage, and Pres. Grant talked. Pres.
Grant mentioned the many lies that were circulating about himself and other
members of the Church, and wanted it understood they were false. One of the
songs they sand was "The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning." The organ was
interesting to me because it was the first time I had ever seen it. The
Conference thrilled me and helped me realize what wonderful and intelligent men
the authorities of the Church are. The day was very pretty and I liked to watch
the birds and especially the sea gulls as they hovered, swooped, and swirled
over the Temple grounds (Salt Lake City, Utah).

Mother and Dad always made such a wonderful home for us. Dad had an electrical
sore of his own--Pehrson Electric Company, and he was especially hard-working
for himself and also when he worked as a lineman, for Utah Power & Light
Company, and as an electrician. He took us with him in his trucks whenever
possible, and always came around our way to pick us up as we walked home from
school for lunch. We climbed in on the back of the truck on top of ladders,
rolls of wire, etc., or hung on the side of the running boards, and always
managed to get home safely. These "lifts" helped out a lot as we had quite a
way to walk to the Woodruff School, Logan Junior and Senior High Schools. I
enjoyed so much having four sisters and later one brother to be raised with in
our home. Mother was an excellent homemaker, cook, seamstress, great teacher
and help with our lessons, and one to whom we looked and got counsel. We all
attended Religion Class, Sunday School, Sacrament Meeting, and Mutual and
numerous practices for sports. Primary, too, was a highlight and I remember the
courses we had and being young when we attended all these things.

We all went for many hikes up Logan Canyon, did a lot of mountain climbing, had
family get-togethers with Aunt Ione and Uncle Wilford Larsen (Mother's brother)
from Mendon, and had wonderful times together in our home at birthdays,
parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas time. Dad loved Logan Canyon very much and
loved to take us up there and also over to Bear Lake. There we visited with his
sister Aunt Augusta Bunderson and family at Montpelier, Idaho, returned home in
the evening tired and sunburned from swimming in the lake. We always took
wonderful home-made refreshments and lunches and ice-cream with us. On one of
thse trips, Erma drifted far out across the lake in a leaky row boat, but was
brought back in by our cousin, Tony Pehrson. We prayed for her rescue, in the
car, and she was brought back safely to us. She was very cold from exposure,
but suffrered no bad effects.

It is a joy to look back and recall the prayers that we said in the evenings at
Mother's knee before going upstairs to bed. She took time to read to us--the
scriptures from the Doctrine and Covenants, the sounding of the seven trumps
from John's revelations, the signs of Christ's second coming, the Word of
Wisdom--these stand out in my mind. Also, we were kept up-to-date on the
newspaper's continued series about Peter Rabbit in the Cabbage Patch. She sat
in the rocking chair in the front room and read the complete novel of "Little
Women" to us. What a choice experience this was! This influenced me a lot in
encouraging me to do a lot of reading for myself later, and I always kept a
library card, filling up one after another, with rental books from the Logan
Library. During the summer vacations, Ruby and I would lay out on the lawn
reading our books, which ranged from our four scripture books (which we read
through, including the Bible and Book of Mormon) to the world's most famous
novels (Charles Dicken) and Shakespeare.

My sisters and I always had our assigned household duties to do. Phyllis helped
a lot with this, and Ruby and I helped a lot with the gardens and mowing the
lawns. Ruby and I were assigned bread-making when we were fourteen, and we
enjoyed this and continued with it through the years, making bread for our own
families. In the summer, we all picked strawberries, cleaned them, got up about
4:00 a.m. and walked up Canyon Road to Floyd Adam's patches (this area is now
all filled in with modern homes-about 10th east, island access roads). We all
remarked about the lucious loaded plants and berries we would see on our own
ceilings when we went to bed at night and closed our eyes. We also picked beans
in Hyrum.

A favorite summer past-time was shower-bathing and swimming in our own ditch
and later swimming and floating in the near-by four-foot canal on 6th East
Canyon Road. The water was very cold, and the moss deep and thick so we wore
old rubbers held on with old red bottle rubber seals. Ruby and I learned how to
swim quite well, enjoyed it in Logan Junior and Senior High School pools during
school months, and swam at Logana and the USAC pool during the summers. We also
loved to wander on the trails on the newby hills and claybanks above Canyon
Road. We played games with the neighborhood "kids" abd went for many pleasant
walks in the evenings.

All through our growing-up period, Ruby and I and Deloris Hansen wre the
closest of friends, making a fun "threesome." We were pals in the true sense of
the word. Mamie Hansen, Deloris' sister was Erma's pal, and they are to this
day. We were all three in the same highest sections all through school and
seminary.

Ruby and I graduated from Logan Seminary on May 24, 1931. We got a lot out of
the study of the New Testament, with L. Ray Robinson as teacher. Mr. Passey
took us through Church History and we used Mr. J. Evans "History of Joseph
Smith" as our text book.

On May 6th, 1932, we were graduated from Logan Senior High School, with Elder
Hugh B. Brown delivering the address. We got good grades and managed to stay in
the highest sections throughout, and I can honestly say that the courses were
interesting to me. We participated in the closing swimming meet which was a
well attended event. Mother made some beautiful long pink graduation dresses
for us.

Ruby and I began piano lessons in November, 1932, from Mrs. Lucy Baugh, who was
an excellent teacher and was so wonderful to us, and we enjoyed these lessons
so much and practised hard during the time we had to spend on it. Our father
rewired she and her husband's home on 2nd North and 1st East in Logan, and we
were allowed to take lessons while they worked out the complete job. We have
always been so grateful for this, and it makes our lives' activities so much
more interesting. We participated in two of Mrs. Baugh's recitals held in the
Logan 4th Ward Chapel, one on June 27, 1933, and another one held one year
later. We played some duets together in a number of the Logan Wards, and once
at St. Anthony, Idaho.

On Thursday, January 26, 1933, Bishop Joseph H. Watkins of the Seventh Ward
called Ruby and myself as correlation officers for the twelve, thirteen, and
four-teen year-old girls of the Wards. Then in September, 1933, we were called
as Primary teacher of "Zion's Boys and Girls Class." We worked hard fulfilling
this assignment and became well acquainted with the children. That year Ruby
and I attended General Conference in Salt Lake City, taking in nearly all the
sessions, all of the organ recitals (Frank Asper and Alexander Shrinner),
visited the Bureau of Information and relics on the grounds, the Children's
Hospital and the Relief Society Exhibit at the Z.C.M.I. Store. We stayed with
Aunt Maggie Bergener at SLC.

On Monday, March 12, 1934, Utah experienced the most severe earthquake in its
history at 8:06 a.m. and 11:21 a.m. It caused cracks and mud volcanoes near
Great Salt Lake. Our upstairs bedroom door was jarred out of line, preventing
proper closing.

Ruby and I received patriarchal blessings from Patriarch John E. Carlisle, of
Logan, Utah, on October 16, 1931. We received much joy and comfort from them
and re-read them many times. I received an additional one from Patriarch Samuel
B. Mitton on November 10th, 1937.

Our family was hit hard by the depression that occurred in 1929 and continued
on for about a decade. Dad's work was scarce; it was impossible to collect the
money from his debtors, and for the work which he did do. Money had to be
borrowed and the home mortgaged. It was so hard to see our parents so worried
about these problems. Three of us were in High School. We worked on meager jobs
to help pay tuition fees, and were very careful with what money we did get. WPA
Projects of the Government helped pull the country out of this slump and
gradually things started to improve. I did housework for a number of women, did
quite a lot of sewing, practiced hard on the piano, earning the money for my
own lessons by working up a small class of my own. Phyllis went into Nurses'
Training at the Budge Hospital, from which she graduated. Finally Ruby got a
job with Dr. E. I. Stewart Real Estate, as an office clerk and typist (about
1935). Ruby married Willard H. Esplin on Oct. 6, 1938, and I took over her job
as dental nurse (Sep. 19, 1938) until the Nov. 30 1940. I then taught music
lessons my full time and held a nice recital on March 31, 1941, in which
twenty-one students participated, with Virginia Carlson and myself playing the
concluding duet.

Mother was taken seriously ill with varicose vein leg infecion (phebitus),
lingered for nine weeks, then passed away on June 24th, 1941 at the age of
fifty-one. I felt her loss very deeply, and hope that I may always be an honor
to my wonderful mother. It was a great shock to Dad and very heartbreaking for
him to get along without her. We girls tried to help as best we could, and
helped to see that our brother Calvin was able to graduate from Logan High
School. Phyllis helped so much during Mother's illness, and also for the first
few months afterwards. We all missed her so much.

I worked my way through a nine-month secretarial course at Henegar Business
College in Salt Lake City, commencing June 1, 1941, and leaving in February
1942 to accept a position as typist at Remington Arms Plant, which position I
left the end of May, 1942, to come home and help. I immediately secured a
position in Logan with the Utah Mortgage and Loan Company on June 1, 1942,
working as a stenographer and assistant bookkeeper. I stayed until September 5,
1942, and left to accept a better position as stenographer with the United
States Employment Service and the War Manpower Commission in the Logan Office
(Sep. 7, 1942). I was required to take a three-hour difficult Merit System
examination which I was able to pass because I was fresh out of some difficult
classes at Henegar Business College, especially the Math one. Mr. Blaine Pitts
was the manager. I worked her until June 15, 1943.

Dad had been commuting back and forth to work at Ogden, Utah. He met Emma
Layne, a clerk in one of the stores, and she and Dad were married on October
30th, 1942. They lived in an apartmeny in Ogden, and I took over up home while
they were there. Three girls from Salt Lake City, namely, June Altop, Rosie
Henthorne, and Alice Eggleston, shared our home while they worked at the AAA
Governmeny Office at the College. We had so much fun together, meeting each
other's boy friends, and keeping house together. They stayed until 1943.

While at Henegar Business College, Floyd Simmons invited me to a party at Black
Rock, on the shore of the Great Salt Lake. We were swimming around out in water
over our heads when I heard a woman calling for help. She couldn't swim and had
floated out too far in the deep salty water, and was fighting it. I put into
practice what I had learned in my Red Cross Life Saving Swimming course at Utah
State Agricultural College, and swam with her safely to shore. She was a woman
about fifty years old and probably weighed about 165 pounds. She thanked me
sincerely and I said, "Oh! you're welcome," and went back to our party.

In the fall of 1942, I started to go out with Elmer Wesley Anderson, who just
lived a block away from our home. We went to Sunday School, for walks, to shows
and dances, Dick's Cafe, dinners at home with myself and the girls, and had a
very enjoyable winter. We were engaged in January, and set the date for June.
Elmer was inducted into the United States Army on April 1, 1943, as World War
II was going on. He was stationed at Fort Francis E. Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming,
as a member of the Quartermaster Corps. He had 14 weeks of basic training.

Elmer and I were married on a sunny Saturday afternoon at 6:30 p.m. on June 19,
1943, at Champayne Chapel on the grounds of Fort Francis E. Warren, Laramie
City, Cheyenne, Wyoming, by Louis B. Alder, a Chaplain of the United States
Army. We attended the LDS Services held there regularly and had an outstanding
teacher there. Due to crowded living conditions because of the Army stationed
there, it was impossible to find a suitable room, so I took a position doing
housework for Mrs. Buchanon, wife of the City Commissioner, and lived at their
home. Elmer came in from the Post nearly every night. We spent two very happy
months together, going walking, to shows, and visiting the Fort. We attended
the big "Frontier Days" celebration, which influded the famouse "Rodeo". He was
held over there until October 1, 1943, before being sent to Camp Stoneman,
Pittsburg, California.

During the furlough between the two stations, we returned to Logan and went
through the Logan Temple on Wednesday, October 6, 1943. We were sealed by
President ElRay L. Christiansen, and it was truly the happiest day of our
lives. My cousin, Elvina Pehrson and Aunt Ione Larsen went through the Temple
with us, and we were so grateful to them. Afterward, we went to Elmer's folks'
home and had a big dinner prepared by his mother, Jennie Anderson. We were glad
that it worked out so that we could go on Oct. 6, as this is the date that Ruby
and Willard were married in the Logan Temple. We then had two more months
together at Pittsburg, California, before he left for overseas duty on December
2, 1943. He served for twenty-one months and returned on October 16, 1945,
after the war had ended. He was with the 6th Army under General Krugger in New
Guinea, and participated in the invasions of Laytee and Luzon.

On April 16th, 1944, (Sunday, 12:30 p.m.) while Elmer was serving in New
Guinea, a nine pound, ten ounce son was born to us in the Cache Valley Hospital
at Logan, Utah. He was blessed and named Elmer Wesley Anderson, Jr. on June 4,
1944 by 7th Ward Bishop George A. Raymond. God indeed blessed us in sending us
such a nice son.

After leaving the hospital after Wesley's birth, we went to live in an
apartment located at 465 North 1st East, Logan, Utah. Shortly after, my brother
Calvin came to live with us as Dad and Emma had returned from Ogden and were
living in our home at 495 East First North, Logan. I cared for Wesley and kept
house for all of us and Calvin helped with the furnace and grounds. I spent
much time writiing to Elmer, using V-Mail stationery, and waiting for Elmer's
letters to us, and we were always so glad when they arrived as we then knew he
was safe. We received much news about their activities over the radio, and
always knew when their big drives were on. I also taugh music students during
this time. We then moved to apartments at 154 North 1st East, then to 483 East
Center Street, and were at this apartment when Elmer returned and went home to
stay with Dad and Emma. We all rejoiced in Elmer's safe return to us, and that
we we could be united as a family. Elmer was happy to get to be able to get
acquainted with his eighteenth month old son. We at once commenced to make
plans for our future lives and home.

## PRAYER

-- by Robert Louis Stevenson

"Father, we thak Thee for this place in which we dwell; for the love which unites us; for the hope with which we expect tomorrow, for the wealth, the work, the food and the bright skies that make our lives delightful, for our friends in all parts of the earth, and our earthly helpers in this land. Help us to repay in service one to another, the debt of Thine unmerited benefits and mercies. Grant that we may be set free from fear of vicissitudes and death, and may finish our course without dishonor to ourselves, or hurt others, and give us at last rest to the weary."

## OUR FATHER, WE THANK THEE

-- by Elmer W. Anderson

    Our Father, we thank Thee for sending Thy Son,
    To make the great Sacrifice that He has done
    So we can return again unto Thee.
    Oh! how such a marvelous thing can be.

    In Thy great wisdom, Oh Father above,
    Thou hast made known how great is Thy love.
    If we overcome in this worldly strife,
    The joy we can know in eternal life.

    We pray Thee, Oh God, to guide us aright,
    With Thy Holy Spirit help us to fight,
    As evils, ever near us, we may overcome,
    That we may be worthy to follow Thy Son.

    We thank Thee, dear God, for repentance' sake,
    That we need not suffer for each mistake.
    If we cleave unto Thee with our whole heart and soul,
    That we may be brought back every whit whole.

* * *

* Feb 2003 - Converted to HTML by Mark Esplin.
* 30 Sep 2010 - Converted to [markdown](http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown) by Daniel Esplin.