ZERETA FARNSWORTH ANGLE

(Compiled by Joy Angle Layton, daughter)

My parents, Ernest Lafayette Farnsworth and Edith Caroline Marie Nielsen, came to the colonies in Mexico as young folks with their parents. Here they met, fell in love and were married in Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, Mexico on February 28, 1902.

I was blessed to be born of goodly parents. At birth, I was given the name of Zereta. In English, Zereta means Sarah. I was born in Colonia Dublan , Chihuahua , Mexico on March 7, 1903 at the home of my maternal grandparents - Carl and Sine Nielsen. My parents, Ernest and Edith Farnsworth, lived in Garcia. When it was about time for my arrival into the world, Mother went home to her parents in Dublan so as to receive the needed care for herself and the new baby. There were no doctors in the Colonies, only a midwife to assist with the delivery. I was born healthy. Good health is a gift I have enjoyed throughout my life.

My first memory is of being carried to church by my father, Ernest Lafayette Farnsworth. Some of the young ladies in the ward would meet us at the door and take care of me during meetings. Mother played the piano and Dad led the singing. He had a very good bass voice. My parents were active in church all of their lives. Mother served as Relief Society President, also worked in Primary and Mutual. Dad also possessed a deeply-rooted faith in the church serving in various capacities throughout his life. There were no cars. Everyone walked to church.

My brother, Ernest Leith, was born March 19, 1906 in Colonia Garcia. When I was about four years old and Leith around one year old, he had the measles which left him with a weak heart. The folks thought he had fully recovered, but time proved he hadn't. One night they left us with a babysitter and went to a dance. Around 10:00 pm, Leith woke up and cried so loud the babysitter woke me, got me dressed and sent me to the church house to get Mother and Dad. The church house was four or five blocks away, and it was very dark. I nearly ran over some cows that were lying in my path. However, I did arrive safely at the church house. Mother and Dad were dancing. I waited until they finished the waltz, then they took me home. To our sorrow, around a month later on May 9, 1907, Leith passed away in the night.

At other times, Mother and Dad left me with Grandma Nielsen, and I played and slept with her girls. Aunt Josephine was near my age being around three months older than me.

Baby sister, Lucille, was born November 8, 1908, also in Colonia Garcia. She was eagerly welcomed. Lucile was bothered with stomach problems most of her life. She died September 26, 1923 at the age of fourteen.

We were living in Garcia when I first started school. It was held in a little two room building. My first teacher was Clarinda Whetten.

Grandpa Alonzo Farnsworth was living in Idaho , USA , near Blackfoot. Mother and Dad decided to move there. We moved early in the spring. Dad bought a team of good horses, a plow and other necessary items. He rented a farm. We had a good garden. Everything went well until in the fall when it began to snow. The wind blew terribly, and the weather was miserable. Dad sold what we had, and we went back to Mexico . We went by way of California . I remember we went swimming in the ocean. Dad took me on his back. We had a great time.

After we came back from Idaho , we went to Madera , Mexico to visit Grandpa and Grandma Nielsen. While we were there, mother decided to give me some caster oil. She put it in some hot coffee - thought it would be easier to take, but I thought the coffee was worse than the caster oil. She made me drink it anyway, and that is the only cup of coffee I ever drank.

The day I was eight years old, Dad took me and my little friend down to the creek and baptized us.

A brother, Carl Alonzo, was born in Colonia Garcia on the 9th of August 1911. He passed away January 27, 2001 in Colorado . He lived to the age of eighty-nine and one half years. Carl was a rancher much of his life, a way of livelihood learned in his youth.

When Carl was about a year old, we had to leave Mexico (July 1912) because of the Mexican Revolution which began in 1910 and lasted several years. I was a little over eight years of age at the time. Pancho Villa was on the warpath. We went to El Paso , Texas by train. We couldn't take much with us. We were US citizens being forced out of Mexico by internal problems, therefore, the government helped us. We lived in lumber sheds in El Paso for a time and then were given a house to live in. The Government gave us food and clothes to help us. Grandpa and Grandma Nielsen and family lived with us. While living there, I had my tonsils and adenoids removed. The first thing I had to eat was an ice cream cone.

Pancho Villa and his soldiers threatened the people of the colonies at different times. I can remember when his men would come into the towns and take what they wanted. The soldiers wore bands across their shoulders filled with bullets. Sometimes when their ammunition gear became too heavy, the soldiers would seek relief by removing it and laying it by the side of the street. Pancho Villa could be very mean when antagonized. Sometimes the American citizens, in the colonies, felt their lives were spared by prayer only.

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The following incident is added to show the uncertainty of the colonist's position in Mexico during these troubled times of the Mexican Revolution. “Pancho” Villa was both powerful and temperamental.

We understood the reason why General Villa could not understand the vision which he saw. It was the hand of the Lord protecting his people when they were helpless to protect themselves.

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While living in El Paso, Dad's Uncle Ernest Tietjen (his mother's brother) invited us to come to Bluewater , New Mexico to run his farm. He gave us a house to live in, and we lived there a year.

Grandpa and Grandma Nielsen were living in Pima, Arizona in a large two-story house. We moved from Bluewater , New Mexico to Pima, and lived with them for a time. In Pima, I walked to school. I was in the third grade. Here I learned my times tables (multiplication). My teacher was Mrs. Campbell. I really liked her. My brother, Otto, was born in Pima on October 9, 1913. We lived in Pima a year. Dad wanted to take our family back to Mexico . He bought a big covered wagon and a good team. All that we owned was placed in the wagon, and we went back to Mexico . Uncle Steve Farnsworth, Uncle Byron Farnsworth and families traveled with us. We lived in Colonia Dublan in a big two story brick house.

Pancho Villa was still on the rampage. Colonia Dublan was full of soldiers. One General and his wife lived upstairs in our house. They were nice to us. The wife gave mother a string of nice beads. A Captain and attendants had their camp in the yard. In the summertime, we had a big garden. One night when Pancho Villa was moving his troops, a train load of soldiers with their wives and children came to town and stopped close to our place. When we got up in the morning, most of the garden had been picked. The chickens and everything they could carry was gone. Dad reported this to the General and we got most of our things back.

There was no house-breaking or molesting of people at this time, but the town was so full of soldiers that it was hard to get around. Dad sent Mother and us kids out to stay with Grandpa and Grandma Nielsen who were now living in Tombstone , Arizona . I was in the sixth grade. My teacher was Jenny Lind, a beautiful blonde. Dad came out later and hauled ore from the mines to the smelter. He had two big wagons and twelve horses. He was a good teamster.

My brother, Elmo, was born here in Tombstone on June 18, 1916. As soon as Mother was able to travel, we went back to Mexico . This time we lived in Juarez . We had quite a large place with fruit trees and berries, a large barn and corral that bordered on the Verde River . This is where I learned to swim. In rainy weather, the stream was very swift. We would jump into the current and be carried down stream. It was lots of fun. Dad was gone a lot. Being the oldest, I had to milk the cow and feed the animals. Events that happened here: Carl and Otto burned the barn down including all of the hay - there was no fire department; Carl had pneumonia and almost died; and Otto cut one of his toes off with the ax. Another brother, Douglas Lavere, was born here in Colonia Juarez on July 25, 1918.

I graduated from eighth grade in Juarez . The church maintained all schools in the Colonies. Theology was as much a part of the studies as was arithmetic, English and other subjects. It was a good school.

We next moved to a small farm in the little town of Colonia Garcia as that was more of a ranching country, and that is what Dad liked - farming and ranching. Dad built a house here. Dad also bought interest in a ranch up on the Gavilan (Turkey Buzzard in English) - just west of the town of Garcia . It was a big ranch. Between my Dad, an uncle and one or two other small ranchers, they had a ranch of a hundred square miles. It was a very beautiful ranch having many springs of water in different areas. The Gavilan River ran through the middle of it with a nice big stream of water the year round. It was good hunting and fishing territory. It was here in Colonia Garcia that my sister, Edith, was born on February 27, 1932.

I must mention a little about living in Mexico . The life style of the Saints was very simple. Mexico was behind the times and underdeveloped as compared with the United States . There were no cars, paved roads, telephones or qualified doctors where we lived. Transportation was by foot, horseback or wagon.

There was only one store in Garcia. It carried flour, rice, peylonecia (a cylinder-like chunk of brown sugar) and other staples. It also carried a small amount of cloth and notions. There were no shoes in the store. Cowhides were tanned in a tannery and local cobblers made shoes. A midwife attended the birth of a baby. The local chiropractor set broken bones.

Mother went out to El Paso , Texas once a year to buy school clothes, shoes etc. We had electricity for lights, a wood stove for cooking and did our washing in a # 3 round tub. Mother made our soap. Usually a Mexican lady was hired to wash clothes.

After the cows calved on the ranch, Dad would bring them in. We made cheese with the extra milk left over after feeding the calves.

Garcia was a small isolated town. We made our own entertainment. In the winter, we went sleigh riding, danced and put on plays. In summer, we rode horses, swam in the rivers, and had corn roasts. Church and related activities were a large part of our lives.

We also enjoyed the holidays. There was always a Christmas tree and a bag of goodies for everyone. For two years, I made the candy to go in the bags. For May Day, we usually had a picnic in the woods and a program. In summer, we celebrated July 4 th , 24 th and the Mexican holidays days in September. There was a program in the morning, a community potluck dinner, and in the afternoon a rodeo, horse races, foot races, ball games and all were a lot of fun.

We had lots of Aunts and Uncles. They all liked to get together for big dinners. There were a lot of good cooks and always lots of food and A goodies @ provided for these family get-togethers.

I had a little pony, and I used to ride a lot. One day, I took one year old Douglas with me. The horse was running. The cinch on the saddle broke, and we hit the ground. Douglas fell on a rock and appeared to be badly hurt. I carried him home and laid him on the bed. Dad wasn't home; Mother sent me for Grandpa Nielsen. He came and administered to Douglas . Douglas was alright after that.

I missed one year of school because it was 30 miles to Juarez , and we didn't have a car. It took a hard days drive with a good team, or riding horseback, over mountain roads to make it to Colonia Juarez where the Academy was located.

The next year, I moved into Juarez to attend the Juarez Stake Academy . I stayed with Sister Harper who ran a hotel. I helped her to partly pay for my keep. In the year following, I stayed with Aunt Josephine. Grandma Nielsen rented a little room for us. We did our own laundry and housework.

The last two years of high school, I stayed at the dorm which was run by Brother and Sister John Whetten and their daughter. I graduated from Juarez Stake Academy on May 18, 1923. I stayed home for a little over a year to help the folks. My brother, Keith Nielsen, was born on July 1, 1923 in Colonia Garcia , Mexico . As mentioned earlier, Lucille died in September of 1923. Losing their second child in death was hard for Mother and Dad.

In September of 1924, I went on a Mexican Mission. I spent one month in the mission home in El Paso , Texas and then was sent to Chihuahua City . The people were very much under the rule of the Catholic Priests. We did find some wonderful people. A few had the courage to break away from the Catholic Church and join our church. I spent 19 months in Chihuahua City , Mexico and the rest of the time in Bisbee and Douglas , Arizona . I was released August 2, 1926.

While I was away, the folks moved from Garcia back to Juarez so they could send the boys to school. Dad had a little store there. He also got his first car. Before leaving for the States, I helped in the store by making candy and also doing other things. Another brother, Grant Young, was born here in Colonia Juarez , Mexico in the fall - November 22, 1926. I was still at home to help Mother when Grant was born.

I got a message from a friend in Bisbee , Arizona that she had a job for me. I moved out to Bisbee. The job was helping Judge Sutter and his wife in their home. They had three boys. They were very good to me. I did the cooking and part of the housework. I was free on Sundays and other times to do as I wished. I stayed active in church attending Mutual, etc.

It was here, while attending church functions, that I met Andrew Angle. (Note: Son, Eldon, asked his Mom what she thought about Andrew when she first noticed him. She replied that he was sitting with the married folks, and she thought he was married so didn't pay much attention to him. Eldon asked if she worried about ever getting married. Her answer, so typical of her, was no she wasn't worried.)

Zereta later says, “I met Andrew Angle at Mutual in July. He was rather a handsome young man.” Our courting actually began when a convenient situation presented itself. I had gone to Mutual with my Aunt. Flu was going around. I needed a ride home, and Andrew offered to take me. We began courting. His moral character and his physical bearing appealed to me. The last of August we became engaged on condition he would take me to the temple. He also desired to be married in the temple. After becoming engaged, Andrew (Drew) suggested I quit my job and go home to Mexico to visit and prepare for our wedding. I came back to the States (USA) the first part of December.

In December of 1927, Drew and I went to Mesa to be married. Drew wanted to be married on his 27 th birthday which was December 9. We went early to get our marriage license which we had to get in Phoenix . The hotel we stayed in at night was very cold. There wasn't adequate heat or cover where Drew slept. After spending a couple of cold nights, Drew felt it best not to wait. We were married in the Mesa Arizona Temple on December 8, 1927 by James W. LeSeuer. An older couple from Colonia Garcia , Mexico served as our witness.

After the wedding, we drove through Safford on our way home to Bisbee where we would live. I had not yet met any of Drew's folks. We stopped in Cactus ( Lebanon ) where we visited Drew's Mother and brothers. His Dad (Andy) was at the orchard located in the lower hills of Mt. Graham . We went there to see him. He was down in the orchard working when we arrived. We walked down to meet him. Andy asked me to cook some dinner. As I had been cooking for a family of five, preparing this meal would be a simple task. There was no bread, therefore, I had to make biscuits. I found some of what I thought was salt in a jar. Surprise! I impressed my new husband and father-in-law by serving salt free, sugar-sweetened biscuits to them for their dinner!

We lived in Bisbee , Arizona for a year. Drew worked in the mines and was Branch President of the Ward. Joy was born here at the Copper Queen Hospital on October 7, 1928. She weighed eight pounds. She was a very cranky baby. This made it hard for Drew to get his sleep when he was working nights, but I thought she was special. Her crying didn't go well with the new father. I tried hard to keep her quiet when Drew was sleeping.

In December of 1928, Drew bought a farm in Artesia with an old two room adobe house on it. A lot of rattlesnakes came with the place. We moved there. Drew went to Miami to work in the mines.

Drew's father, Andy, died in May of 1929 at the age of 62. He was working on the orchard and attributed his developing pain to food poisoning. When the severe pain persisted, he felt to seek medical help. Since Grandmother didn't drive, Andy drove himself down from the mountain. He stopped in Cactus, left grandmother there and had a friend drive him to Safford to see the doctor. He was operated on for appendicitis. His appendix had ruptured, gangrene had set in, and he didn't survive. With his father's sudden death, Drew quit work at the mine and came home to be closer to his family. He raised a good garden.

Back to my Farnsworth parents. Sometime between the later part of 1928 and the first part of 1929, my folks sold out in Mexico and moved to Virden , New Mexico . My Dad bought a farm just across the New Mexico state line about three miles up river from Franklin , Arizona . The farm was located in Virden , New Mexico .

Our sister, Josephine, was born October 27, 1929 in Virden. She drowned in a canal shortly after turning one year of age. She drowned November 12,1930. Her death was very hard for my folks. Josephine was the third child the grieving parents lost in death.

(Note: Although there had been a slump in industry earlier, the stock market failure of October 1929 is regarded as the beginning of the A great depression. @ Banks failed and stocks sold at about 10% of their 1929 value. The market collapse was the signal for a widespread economic breakdown in the US .)

In the spring of 1930, Drew sold the Artesia property, and we moved to Franklin , Arizona on the old Shriver place and helped my Dad, Ernest Farnsworth, farm. They raised grain, hogs and a garden.

Here in Franklin is where Drew and I were blessed with our second child. A son, Eldon Preston, was born in the evening on Mother's Day, May 11, 1930. Eldon weighed ten pounds. He was such a good baby. Dr Neighbors was in attendance. Drew's niece, Ollie Williams and her little son, Farrell, came and stayed with us for a month and helped. Farrell was a little older than Joy. He delighted in teasing her which created a lot of commotion. Drew would make them sit side by side in a large chair together. Eldon was always a very active child and walked when he was ten months old. The name Preston came from Drew's father, Andrew Preston Angle.

Times were hard. Dad Farnsworth was afraid of losing the farm. He got a chance to trade the farm for some property back in Mexico . In Mexico , he traded property for cattle and went back up on the same old ranch. Mother didn't want to move back to Colonia Garcia. She insisted on

staying in Colonia Juarez. Dad bought a nice home there and fixed it up real nice. It was here in Colonia Juarez that Mother and Dad's last child, Robert Lynn, was born. He arrived on October 17, 1931. Robert was child number twelve.

Drew moved us back to Artesia. He worked on a contract job to clear the right-of-way for a road being built on Mt. Graham . In September 1930, Drew was made Branch President of the Lebanon Branch. Franklin Lafe Lee was first counselor and William Henry Crum second counselor.

Drew writes in his journal, A On October 11,1930 while working late in the evening, I fell an oak tree with an ax. It was less than a foot in diameter. It was on a downhill slope and had a fork about ten feet from the ground. I was uphill and arranged for it to fall away from me - downgrade. When ready to fall, a strong gust of wind caused the tree to fall toward me. Running upgrade to escape, I slipped on a rock outcropping and was in a position for the branches to envelop me with one on each side. I was caught in the crotch of the fork, the weight striking equally on both hips while I was in an upright position. ( More details are recorded in the Andrew Angle Life Story)

Drew suffered excruciating pain as he was carried in a makeshift stretcher by some of the guys to the Shannon Tool Box and from there down the mountain toward Arcadia . They had not gone too far when they met some men with a metal stretcher which was a definite improvement. After proceeding farther, they were met by Dr. Morris who gave Drew a hypo. At Arcadia , he was transported to an auto and taken to the hospital in Safford. Drew suffered some serious bone fractures. He spent a month in the old Morris Squib Hospital in Safford. His recovery was long and painful leaving him with one leg shorter than the other. Drew had suffered a broken hip which was not discovered, despite much complaining, until some months after the bones had grown together. This accident left Drew's once proud and stately body (ex-marine) somewhat crippled.

We moved back to the mountain and lived on the orchard for a while. In the meantime, Drew bought ten acres in Cactus (official name Lebanon ) which is located in the valley a few miles from the mountain. He built a two-room frame house on it and painted it a deep wine-red color. Later he added a porch and another room. We moved to Cactus which is located a few miles from the orchard.

Drew's and my third child, Edith Laree, was born on January 28, 1931 - about three months after my brother, Robert Lynn. She was a beautiful baby, also a good baby. Her birthplace - Lebanon , Arizona .

Drew cleared the land and planted a garden on our little Cactus farm. He bought more property across the road from our house.

Lila, our fourth child, was born on December 14, 1933 in Lebanon . I was reading the Relief Society Magazine that arrived the day Lila was born. There was a story in it about a person named Lila. I liked this name so well that we named our new baby daughter “Lila.”

In the summer of 1934, the children and I went to Mexico to visit my folks. We had the opportunity to ride to Mexico with my brother, Carl, and another man in a big truck with sideboards on the back. Some of us rode in the front and some rode in the back. We stopped at the border. Someone announced we were in Mexico . It was a desert-looking place - really quite desolate looking. The hot sun was shining on the little adobe house, and there was not a tree or bush around - not even another building in sight. A couple of young Mexican fellows came rushing out to greet us. This caused Joy some difficulty as she thought we had reached the grandparent's home. She couldn't understand why her young uncles had developed such dark skins. As she was contemplating which uncle was which, it was explained to her we had only reached the inspection station at the border crossing. After a short friendly visit, we all climbed back into the truck and started down the road. We suddenly heard one of the young men running toward us calling out something. The driver stopped to see what was wanted. The young man had Eldon in his arms. I had thought Eldon was in the back of the truck, and the ones in the back thought he was in front with me. This little incident caused Joy much anguish as she felt sure if the young man had not caught us, her brother would be lost forever.

I was not feeling well. The “doctor” told me to get some wine and take three tablespoons every morning. I got a half gallon from a neighbor, but did not like it so would not take it.

While in Mexico , some of my young brothers were to the stage of wanting to have more independence. They gathered up a few 2x4's and proceeded to attach their own private room to the back of the house. Dad had a discussion with them over where they were going to get all of the materials they needed. After some argument, they realized their idea was not realistic and turned their energies elsewhere. Mother cooked oatmeal for breakfast and my Dad called the boys in to have family prayer and eat breakfast. The boys didn't like oatmeal and argued with him about not being hungry. Dad stood firm with them. Grumbling, they came in for prayer and breakfast.

In Mexico , when my young sister, Edith, was not in school, she played with my children. Edith was 13 years old. It was special to my children to have their sweet, lovely young Aunt give them her attention.

The visit to Mexico was good for me. I visited old friends and relatives. I seldom got to see my folks. Distance separated us. The visit lasted only a few days, and we returned home.

Andrew Lafay, our second son and fifth child, was born October 20, 1935 in Lebanon . We were so happy to have our new little son. We named him Andrew after his Dad and Lafay after my Dad whose middle name is Lafayette . The name Lafayette was too long; we shortened it to Lafay. We chose to call him Lafay so as not to confuse him with his Dad or grandpa. Lafay was a good baby. He had brown eyes and light brown hair.

Around the middle of September 1936, we were living on the orchard located in the foothills of Mt. Graham . One day as I was in the process of bottling fruit, Lafay began crying. He was sitting in the kitchen in an apple box propped in a sitting position with pillows. The children tried to pacify him, but could not. He was crying with an unrelenting cry. I tried to sooth him every way I could. I sent the children after Drew who was working down in the orchard. We took him to town to see our doctor. The doctor thought he had diphtheria. Tests were made to verify this. While waiting for the results, we were very concerned because he was not recovering as quickly as we hoped.

On one of these nights, Drew and I were sitting with him by the fireplace at the orchard. We were using steam to relieve his breathing. Drew told me to go in the other room and pray for him. And while I was praying, the answer came to me that he was a very special Spirit, that he came to us for a body, and the Lord wanted and needed him back. Lafay died October 1, 1936. He was almost one year old. He was a sweet baby and we missed him very much, but felt it had been a special privilege to have him. He was buried in the Thatcher Cemetery in the Andrew P. Angle plot.

The doctor told us to bring the other children in to his clinic for a diphtheria shot. Drew took the children for their shots. This was a new experience for the children. They were given the shots in their stomachs. Instructions were to bring them back for the second shot if they complained of not feeling well. Eldon was the only one who complained. Drew administered to him, and he did receive the second shot as a precaution.

In January of 1936, word came from Mexico that my sister, Edith, had died. The news traveled a little slowly to us. Her death came as quite a shock. She had been so alive when we visited Mexico in the summer of 1934. She was almost 15 years of age when she died. Both Edith and Lucille seemed to die with similar problems as they matured into young womanhood. I'm not sure of the cause of their deaths. It was speculated to be with weak hearts that no longer met the needs of their maturing bodies. Out of the four girls born to Mother and Dad, I am the only daughter remaining.

After losing Lafay, the whole family missed having a baby in the home. Another baby was wanted - hopefully a boy. Our daughter, Velma, was born in Lebanon on June 21, 1937 - the longest day of the year. We all welcomed her even though she was a girl. After a few days, the children loved her and would not have traded her for a brother. When Velma was about four months old, my milk dried up. We tried feeding her cow's milk, but it made her sick. We were advised to get a goat and give her goat's milk. Drew borrowed a milk goat. Velma did well with goat milk. The goat was a character. She delighted the children with her antics. She would chew on anything and everything. One day when Velma was about a year old, and while we were at church, the goat disappeared. She could not be found anywhere. This ended Velma's goat milk. Her siblings like to tease her that she is who she is because of all the goat milk she drank.

In 1936, my folks moved out from Mexico for the last time. This time they moved to Lebanon to the old Underwood property. The house was located about 300 feet west of our house. Brothers Doug, Keith, Grant and Bob were still at home. It was good to have my family close. Dad planted a garden. He raised watermelons and other produce.

Mother used a crutch for support when walking in unstable places. She still suffered some crippling effects from a car accident in Mexico . The accident occurred when Dad asked Lucian Mecham to drive his car to Juarez for him. Lucian lost control while going downhill. The vehicle hit a tree. Mother's hip was broken, and little Robert's leg was broken. Dad took Mother to Lordsburg , New Mexico to receive medical treatment from a qualified doctor. The bones in her hip healed, but not in the best form as her body was never the same.

Drew was released as Branch President of the Lebanon Branch on August 7, 1938. Donald Lee replaced him, Ernest L. Farnsworth was selected as first Counselor and Orin Lee Timothy as second counselor. Mother was very active in the little Branch. She played the piano and taught in the different organizations.

Our daughter, Carol, was born December 16, 1938. She caught a cold the night she was born. She appeared to be getting worse instead of better. After about two weeks, we sent for Dr. Langdon. He came out late in the afternoon. He examined her and said she had pneumonia. He told us what to do for her and said he would be back in the morning. She had a high fever and could hardly breathe. That evening when Drew came in from the field, I asked him to administer to her. As soon as he did, her breathing became easier. She went to sleep and slept all night. Early the next morning, the doctor came and looked at her. He shook his head and said, “I didn't think she would live until morning, and here she is completely well. You are a wonderful nurse. I would like you to come work for me.” I didn't tell him the Lord cured her. He was not a Mormon.

(Note: Joy's memories of the night Carol was born. Dad was working nights in town at the cotton gin to earn a little supplemental cash. He left for work before Mother went into labor and was not there to take charge. Without telephone service, there was no way to quickly notify him. Mother sent us after Grandma and Grandpa Farnsworth. They came over. Word was sent to Dad, and the doctor was notified to come. It was getting close to evening time. We children were sent to bed in the adjoining room. Mother said the doctor was a little under the influence when he came to help with the delivery. Grandmother Farnsworth knew we children were still awake. In those days, we weren't sure how babies came - whether the doctor brought them, if they were delivered by the stork or just how they got here. This was not a subject grown-ups discussed with children. We were totally confused. Our curiosity urged us on toward solving the mystery. This night was my opportunity to find out the real scoop. I fought sleep and listened carefully for any clue. From the next room, I heard Grandmother say to the doctor in a loud, very distinctive voice so as curious ears could hear, “Did you bring the baby in the large satchel or in the small one?” The doctor said, “Huh!” Grandmother repeated the question as distinctly as she could speak. The doctor finally caught on. He replied, “The small one, yes, the small one. The large satchel is too big.” Well, I now had the real story to share with my friends. Doctors brought babies! That's why they needed two satchels!)

Mother Edith fell outside of her home on the afternoon of January 25, 1939. Her leg was broken.

(She had suffered a broken arm not too long before this accident. It had healed.) Mother was placed on a mattress and taken to town to the doctor's office to have her leg attended to. She was given an anesthetic. When she was brought home, I had the men leave her at my house because I felt I could take better care of her. She passed away in the early morning hours of January 26, 1939 without ever regaining consciousness. Dad came over in the dark of the early morning hours to check on her and found her gone. Her passing came as tremendous shock to all of us.

Drew decided it was time for the family to make a move. Earlier he had purchased the property across the road from where we lived in Cactus and traded it to his Mother for her part in the orchard. In 1940, Drew sold the little red house and ten acres where we lived. He also sold the orchard property to his brother, Rome . Drew had considered moving to northern New Mexico where irrigation water was plentiful, but after a trip there decided the timing was not right.

We moved into the large, old Allred house located on Highway 191 in Lebanon . It was located around five miles south of Safford.

Merlin was born in the Allred house in the late afternoon of December 4, 1940. He arrived without benefit of a doctor's attendance. Fortunately the woman who had been pre-arranged to spend the customary ten days caring for us was there to attend Merlin's birth. She had nursing experience which was helpful. Merlin was born without incident. The doctor arrived very shortly after Merlin's birth which was fortunate as there was a problem. The doctor soon learned the afterbirth (placenta and membranes) had become attached to my body. He worked off and on into the night getting it dislodged. Drew was thankful and very relieved to have both mother and baby all right. The next morning, he went to town and bought me a beautiful rose-colored robe to wear while recuperating.

Drew bought some land in Franklin , Arizona . When school was out, we moved there. We had good neighbors and made lasting friends during our time there. The people living on our lane were the Pease, Stinson, Christensen, and Crumb families.

Betty was born in Franklin on March 30, 1942. A family friend, Annie Rowald, who later married Herb Sigman came to help the family. Dr. Tryfee was in attendance. He arrived a little late. Annie was a practical nurse. Her experience came in handy. We all loved having a new baby in the family. Betty had big brown eyes. She and Edith were my brown eyed girls.

The country entered into World War II while we lived in Franklin . The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Sunday, December 7, 1941 - without any warning. Two and a half hours after the attack, Japan declared war on the United States and Great Britain . The act of bombing Pearl Harbor by the Japanese threw the United States officially into World War II.

When Betty was about 6 months old, Drew sold the place in Franklin and bought a nice place with an apple orchard in Aztec, New Mexico . After we moved there, we attended church in the two-room school house in Bloomfield which was several miles away. Lope McDaniels was bishop. He and his wife became very good friends of ours. Water was plentiful. We had a variety of fruit trees, berries, grapes and a good garden. Asparagus and rhubarb grew wild under the fruit trees and along the ditches. I was able to can lots of food. There was a nice cellar to store it in. While living here, with the war still going on, the government rationed some items such as coffee, sugar, gasoline, tires, etc. We did all right. We could trade our coffee stamps for sugar stamps. Drew managed with what gas was available. Farmers got a little extra gas. He worked in the mines in Colorado to help supplement our income.

Sister Dickerson gave Joy piano lessons. Drew and Eldon sprayed her fruit trees in payment. Joy would not practice to suit Sister Dickerson. Therefore, she refused to continue with the lessons as she said it was not fair to Drew. There were two other Mormon families who lived in Aztec besides us. Their last names were Lewis and Sanders.

It was in December that I had a miscarriage and lost my baby. I felt badly over this. I suffered a lot of pain and hemorrhaged badly. In the night, I was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Farmington , New Mexico which is located a few miles from Aztec. The doctors didn't know if they could save me or not. I spent a month in the hospital. While in a very weakened condition in the hospital, I had an impressive dream. I dreamt I went to the Spirit world. It was beautiful. I visited my mother there. She was busy teaching young children. It was such a pleasant place that I wanted to stay, but was told I couldn't because my work on earth was not finished, and that I had to go back. I did have eight young children and a husband who needed me badly.

(Joy's note: Shortly after Mother came home from the hospital, I remember being at her bedside one afternoon as she told of her dream. I was the oldest of the children (around age14) and Mother felt to share her experience. Others of the children were close by. I'm not sure if they listened or not. It was very scary when Mother was so close to death in the hospital. I remember going to the outhouse, where I could isolate myself, and praying that Mother would get well. We all needed her desperately.)

Joy graduated from 8th grade in Aztec in 1943. Eldon graduated in May of 1944.

Drew decided he wanted a larger place. In June of 1944, he sold the place in Aztec to some people by the name of Byrd. We moved to Kirtland.

Drew bought an orchard and farm in Kirtland , New Mexico which is located about eight miles from Farmington . The children rode the bus to school which was about a mile from our place.

I liked Kirtland. We made more special friends there. There was a good church in Kirtland. I was first counselor in the Primary to Daisy Jones. I was also in charge of the visiting teaching. Sister Tanner was President of the Relief Society. Cloard Beckstead was Bishop. Mrs. Wilson was Principal of the High School.

Drew farmed and, at times, worked in the mines in Superior , Arizona to supplement the family income. Joy graduated from Central High School in 1947. Drew sent her to Safford to stay with his brother's family (Sam Angle) to attend college. After a semester of college, Joy got a job as a telephone operator and went to work.

Eldon graduated from Central High School in 1948. He helped Drew on the farm during the summer. When fall arrived, he went to Safford to attend Gila Jr. College (later called Eastern Arizona College ) and live with Joy. He came home during the summer vacation to help out. When he was around 20 years of age, he was called to serve a mission in the Northern States Mission. He had been working and saving his money.

Drew built a barn and bought about 20 head of milk cows. He turned the responsibility of them over to me as a way of earning money for groceries and clothes. We sold milk. Lila and I milked the cows. Velma helped us some. We had to cool the milk down after milking and haul it from the barn to the highway for the milk truck to pick it up.

In the fall of 1950, Drew sold the cows, and the farm and everything in Kirtland. He actually did some trading of property with Keith Jackson in Franklin , Arizona where we had lived before moving to New Mexico . Edith had graduated from Central High School . She left for Silver City , New Mexico to attend college.

The day after Thanksgiving in 1950, Eldon caught the Greyhound bus to go to Salt Lake City to begin his missionary journey. Some of the children and I stood in the front yard to see him off. My heart was proud that he chose to go on a mission. It would make a difference in his life.

My brother, Elmo and family, moved into the house to care for the cows and property until the new owner could take over. Lila was left in Kirtland to show them the "ropes."

We moved back to Franklin , Arizona . We had a small farm with an old house on it. Drew farmed the land and was ditch boss. We lived there about a year.

Drew sold the Franklin property and bought a couple of acres including a house in Mesa , Arizona . The property was located on Powerhouse Road now known as Stapley. We moved to Mesa . Drew worked in the mine in Superior during the time we lived in Mesa . He traveled back and forth to Superior each day. This trip took a good hour plus one way. It became very tiring. Living in Mesa afforded the girls more advantages college-wise.

Edith came back home to Mesa , enrolled in college at ASU. She graduated from there and taught school in Bagdad . Velma lived with her in Bagdad . They had some interesting experiences. One such tale, they told, occurred as they were driving to Bagdad in the dark of night. Don't remember who was driving as they were clipping along in Edith's old car. They came to a tight spot with small reflective lights on each side of the road. As they sailed through, they realized the lights were the reflection of their own car lights on cow eyes! Close call!

Eldon was released from his mission on November 17, 1952. He worked hard and served an honorable mission. He was inducted into the army in February 1953. After training, he was stationed in Fairbanks , Alaska for the duration of his army experience. After leaving the army, Eldon continued his education. He spent many years teaching at Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher, Arizona . He also served as Bishop in Taylor and Thatcher, Arizona. Whatever Eldon engages in, he gives it his sincere dedication and best effort.

Lila graduated from Mesa High School in 1953. She attended Arizona State College in Tempe for one year then went to Lamson Business College in Phoenix . She got a job at Arizona State College and worked a year or more and then decided to go on a mission. In January of 1958, she left for the Great Lakes Mission.

Velma graduated from Mesa High School and attended nursing school for a year at St. Joseph 's Hospital in Phoenix . Marriage to Val Millett ended her nurse's training.

We sold the place in Mesa in late 1956 or early 1957. Drew bought a house in Safford from the Stewart's and moved us back to Safford , Arizona . The house was located on Second Avenue . Also, Drew bought about 350 acres of property in Cactus ( Lebanon ) known as the Olsen Place . He bought this land from Elmo Morris. It was located in Cactus up against the low foothills below Mt. Graham . About 90 acres of it were in cultivation. Drew built a one room building on it. He stayed there part of the time. His brother Joe farmed it, while Drew did some construction work.

Carol, Merlin and Betty came with us from Mesa . Carol graduated from Mesa High School in May of 1956. She attended Eastern Arizona College , worked a while, married Ralph Picha and moved to Minnesota . Merlin joined the army. Betty graduated from Eastern Arizona College and Arizona State University and taught school in Mesa after graduating. She also taught in Thatcher, Solomon, and Bonita. Betty is an excellent teacher.

After Merlin came out of the army, he went into construction work (building bridges) and has done some impressive work with his innovative ideas. Drew was proud of Merlin's accomplishments.

Drew eventually sold the Olson Property to the Bingham brothers and bought the adjoining Sigmond place. This property had a small house on it. Eldon and Wilford Stailey remodeled it and added a large room on the front with a fireplace. They painted the house beige. It was real nice. We traded the house in Safford to Eldon in payment for his work.

The Sigmond property consisted of around 22 acres. We kept 15 and sold seven to daughter, Betty, and husband, LeRoy Larson. They were good to us. Drew planted the place in alfalfa and grain. We had a garden, some fruit and nut trees, cows, pigs and chickens.

Drew, also, bought the Angle Orchard from Helen Crawford, Rome 's daughter, and Lucy Patterson, Rome 's first wife, for twenty thousand. We lived on the orchard part of the summer and took care of the fruit crop. We kept busy going back and forth between our Cactus home and our mountain home trying to keep up with all of the work and responsibilities during the summer. We always attended church on Sunday. Life was busy.

Drew and I raised eight good children to maturity and have been blessed with over 60 grandchildren. Many times, I go to help the children with my new grand babies.

Note: Zereta lived life to the end. Although moving more slowly and with shorter steps, she stayed active. She cooked the meals, and took care of her own housework. Her son, Merlin was in a very serious car accident the day after Thanksgiving in November of 1986. Doctor's expected him to need a long recovery time. Much sooner than expected, Merlin was released from the hospital. He called Mother on the evening of December 22. She told him she was ready for Christmas. Her Christmas cards were sent and all preparations made. She reported she was doing "just fine." Zereta got up early the next morning, December 23, 1986 and died shortly thereafter in her home in Lebanon (Cactus). Zereta died two and one half months short of reaching her 84 th birthday. She was ready for "Christmas!" What a Christmas she must have had! In life, she was a great example of unselfish service, of great patience, of perseverance, of dedication in her role as a wife, mother and grandmother, always keeping a deep love for and faith in her children and grandchildren. She was very proud of her posterity. Zereta was loyal to her family, her country, her church and her Savior. She left this mortal world a noble woman.

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REFERENCES:

Zereta's Journal.

Stories Shared by Zereta.

Andrew Angle Journal.

Otto Farnsworth Life Story.

Family Group Sheets of:

Carl E. Nielsen Family,

Alonzo Lafayette Family,

Ernest L. Farnsworth Family,

Andrew Angle Family.

Personal Knowledge of Carol and Lila - daughters.

Personal Knowledge and Memories of Joy Angle

Compton 's Encyclopedia 1968

Story - A Saved by a Village in Flames, @ V. W. Bently

Writings of Eldon Angle

Consultant - Elmo Farnsworth  

Joy's Comments: I have tried to portray this episode of Mother's story as accurately as possible. It is not all inclusive and is not intended to be. I do not pretend to have it exact and have no problem with any changes or corrections any of you feel to make. I have consulted some of you by telephone. I have referred to some of your writings. I have learned that we each view things from our individual perspectives as we were born at different times under different circumstances. I have also observed that our memories are uniquely our own as is our forgetfulness. If this could have been a conjoined effort, it would - no doubt - have added impact and interest. Please accept my efforts and feel free to take the liberty to change anything you feel to change.

I chose to write this in the first person as I have referred to Mother's writings, as well as her verbal accounts, to record her story. I am aware that many of the words are mine and not Mother's. I have tried to graciously portray Mother's story in a brief manner. I have not added many details about the children. That is an individual thing. In some portions, I have expounded a little more fully either for interest or understanding. From one of my children's hasty reading of this, some corrections were suggested in order to clarify some things for generations removed.

The incentive to write this episode of Mother's life came from my children who desire their ancestor's stories be told. It would be a wonderful contribution if all of the children would share their inspiring memories of Mother and Dad. The stories of our ancestors help us to better know who we are and what we can become.

I love you all. Joy