Another history

I found this partial history that I had mom type. I remember giving her the question list, but she did the typing because the digit 1 is always a lower case L (as that is how she was taught to type it). They looked the same and L's were easier to type. There is much duplication with the other history, but I'm in the discovery mode. There were TONS and TONS of questions I deleted. I remember mom saying there were just too many for her to answer.


Personal History Questions

INTRODUCTION


What is your full name and why were you named it? (Maiden name for female
O’Leah Lasson Hurst.  I was named this odd name because my mother liked it.
Were you named after someone else?
No
Did you have a nickname as you were growing up?
No, but I changed  or shortened it to Lee when I entered college in l946.
Have you had any other nicknames as an adult?
Not to my face.
What do your family members call you now?
Mother or Mom, Grandma, or hey you.
When and where were you born?
January 20, l926 at Indianola, Utah which is in Sanpete County.
When were you baptized, and what was your religion?
I am not sure when I was baptized, but  I do know it was in the winter or early spring in the river near the Church in Birdseye.  I thought  I would freeze to death as I shivered and shook for an hour.

What was the religion of your parents and your grandparents?
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
 Were you born in a hospital or at home?
I was born in a private home and delivered by a midwife.
What were the circumstances you have heard about your birth?
I was a chubby, fat little female.  Mother already had one son and daughter, so I wasn’t new.
CHILDHOOD HOME INSIDE DESCRIPTION
What were your earliest memories of your home?
My earliest memories were when I was around four years of age.  We lived in a three-room old house on the Lasson  farm.  We all slept in one bedroom…that is Mother and Dad, Ward, Edythe, myself, and Electa.  We had a cellar outdoors where we kept or dairy foods cold and stored the potatoes and carrots for the winter.  We also had an outdoors bathroom, a three-holer a  short distance from the front door.  We had only one entrance to the house… definitely a fire hazard.

Do you have in your home today any furniture that came from your childhood home?
No.  I have a bowl that was my Grandma Spencers.
Did you have a telephone? Describe. Were you on a party line?
No, we did not have a telephone until I graduated from high school.
CHILDHOOD HOME—OUTDOOR SURROUNDINGS
Did you have a yard?
Yes. The whole ranch and it had a little stream flowing at the bottom of the hill, and we used to pretend we were fishing.  We did catch many minnows with our hands.
Was there a lawn, trees, swings, flowers, vegetable garden, orchard?
No, there was no lawn.  We had one big tree out by the sheds and Dad had put up a rope swing.
How much property did you have? What other buildings were on the property?
I have no idea.  We had a huge barn, sheds, chicken coops, etc.
Did you have farm animals?  Describe
We had cattle, milk cows, pigs, chickens, sheep and dogs and cats.
Where did you shop? Describe the stores. We shopped once a month at a Coop.
How big was the town you lived in? Did you travel to a bigger town to shop?
We didn’t live in a town.  We traveled to Fairview, Utah, to shop.

PARENTS
Full names, birthdates and place of birth, death dates and causes of death and place where they ar
Neils Oscar Lasson…born in Fairview, Utah on June 26, l897.  He was living alone and the stove he was using burned  fine coal…it backed up on him and smoked up the entire house.  No fire appeared so his son didn’t find him until the next morning.  He died of smoke inhaluation. 

Ursula Spencer Lasson…born in Birdseye, Utah on November l2, l897.  She died in the hospital in Payson, Utah from an brain anuerism.   She was 69 years old.  Steven was just a baby in arms. Mother got to see him before she passed away.
Describe mother and father physically, short or tall, thin or heavy, color of hair and eyes.
Did they have any unusual features in their appearance?
Mother was less than five foot tall and was on the heavy side.  Dad was around six foot tall and was quite slender.  He was bald headed as long as I can remember.
What kind of temperament did they have, easy going or tense, quick to anger, full of humor etc.
Both were very even tempered.  Mother was much more outgoing and loved people.  She liked to go places and visit relatives.  She had a keen sense of humor and was fun to be around.

What was your father’s role in the home as you grew up?  He was head of the house, but Mother had a great influence on his decision making.
How did he earn his living?
He was a farmer and cattle rancher.

Did he actively participate in family life or was he passive?  He was passive.
What was your mother’s role in the
 home?
Homemaker and mother.  Later in life, she drove a small school bus for the kindergarten children who lived in the canyon.
Did she work outside the
     home?  Yes, and she for a few years worked in the school lunch program at an Elementary School.
Are there stories or advice that your parents told you repeatedly?  If so, what?
* Dad stressed honesty at all times.  His word was binding  and he was a fair-dealing man.  He said to do nothing that would discredit the Lasson name.  He was very proud of his heritage.

BROTHERS AND SISTERS
What did your family do for fun when you were a child?
We went to movies, visiting relatives, going to see my father’s parents, picnics, etc.
Was there a chore you really hated doing as a child?
I hated it when we had to feed the harvesting crew, and we had to fix dinner for 12 to 15 men and that included a fully cooked meal with dessert and all.  Needless to say we had to wash all the dishes after they were done eating.
What kind of books did you like to read?
I read very few books.  I read all my assignments in school and was a conscientious student and got good grades all throughout my school days.  We did not have electricity and so we had to read by gasoline or coal oil lights.  They were very, very poor excuses for light.  We went to bed by eight o’clock each school night.  We got up early but had to wait for Dad to build fire in the cook stove to warm up the kitchen.  Many a time we let down the oven door and warmed our backside a wee bit.
Do you remember having a favorite nursery rhyme or bedtime story? What was it?  No, I cannot remember any special  story.  We knew all the nursery rhymes and fairy tales.
Do you remember not having enough food to eat because times were hard for your family?  I  cannot remember any scarcity of food.  Mother was a good cook and made cookies very often.  We often helped Mother when she made the cookies.
What were your favorite toys and what were they like?
We had very few toys and I cannot recall any favorites.

What were your favorite childhood games?  Tag, spin the bottle, pick up sticks, horse back riding.
Were there any fads during your youth that you remember vividly? No

Brothers and Sisters: Full names, birthdates, and place of birth, death dates, place of death, cause of death and where they are buried.
Ward Oscar Lasson  was born July 25, l918.  He died of a heart attach at home in
Birdseye, Utah.  He is buried in the Spanish Fork cemetery.
Edythe Lasson  Dame was born February in the year of l920.  She died of lung disease in Idaho, in the year           .
She was buried in Spanish Fork cemetery.
O’Leah Lasson Hurst was born January  20, l926.  I was still kicking and grumbling at the time of this typing. 
Electa Lasson Brown Inman was born May 5, l928 .  She was the third daughter and had auburn curly hair.  She was a darling baby….so petite… sweet disposition and she resembled our mother very much.
* Marilyn Kay Lasson Mitchell was born October l6, l936 in Birdseye, Utah, in our home that we lived in most of our growing up yearts.  Mother and  Dad lived there until they died. 
I was ten years old and  I can recall very vividly when she was born.  They had brought Mom’s bed out into the living room near the heat from the coal stove.  My aunt was there to help and so was the Dr. from Fairview.  Dad had to drive about l7 miles to tell him she was in lab or.  They sent all five of us into the bedroom to listen to the radio.   I can recall getting to hold that little girl baby when she was just a few minutes old.

Which is your place in the family, oldest child, youngest etc.?  I am the middle child of five.
How did your place in the birth order affect you?  Are you more responsible, spoiled, are you still treated as the dependable older sister or as the baby of the family?
Describe your relationship with each brother and sister.
I was closer to my sister, Electa, who was just 2 years younger than I.  We spent more time together than I did with the other siblings.  My brother was 8 years older and Edythe was 6 years older.  My  younger sister was l0 years younger and I was more   like a baby sitter for her.

EXTENDED FAMILY
Did you have favorite aunts and uncles?
My Uncle Frank and Aunt Rae were my favorite. Uncle Frank was mother’s older brother and they were the ones who lived  on a sheep ranch about five miles from our home.  Mother and Aunt Rae sere very close and so we interacted with them  very often.  We ate dinner many times at their home.  Uncle Frank smoked all the time, but he developed cancer of the lips and had to give it up. He was not active in the church until he married Aunt Rae and she wouldn’t marry anyone who was not active in the church.  She was a great influence in his life.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL  GRADES KINDERGARTEN THROUGH SIX
Names and locations of elementary schools you attended.  How far from your house was your school? Was the building large or small? approximately how  many classrooms and students?
I attended all six grades in a one-room schoolhouse.  There were probably a total of l9 students and they were all taught by one teacher.  I was the only one my age in first grade, so they promoted me to third grade from the first.  I wasn’t that sharp but they didn’t want to arrange teaching materials for only one student.  When they promoted me, there were three girls and three boys.


The school was located about seven miles from our home.  A school bus picked us up each morning.  Our home was the end of the bus route, so we had to be ready and on time the minute he showed  up at the end of the lane.  He didn’t wait for us or take excuses.

Was there a playground at your school?  Was there a grassy area or did it have black asphalt?  Was the school yard open all the time or were there gates around it and closed after school?
The playground was open and there wasn’t any grass or asphalt.  It was native grass and shrubs.

It had an outdoor bathroom facility…one for the girls and one for the boys.  We didn’t have water in the school building.  So  water was brought to school in a ten-gallon can and turned upside down with a faucet at the bottom where we could fill our white waxed paper cups.
How many rooms did your school have?  Was it a one room school or a large school with many classes?  Describe?
List names of teachers if you remember them.  Did you have the same teacher all day, or change to several teachers?  Were there special music and physical education teachers?  Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Which was your favorite subject and which subject did you do best in?
My best subject was math and reading and the other kids.  I wasn’t too keen on painting and crafts.



Did you eat hot lunch in the school cafeteria, eat a sack lunch or go home?  Did you have a special lunchbox?
No we did not have a school cafeteria.  We each had a sack lunch and many times we exchanged our lunches with the other kids.

Did you walk to school, take a school bus, or carpool?
We took a schoolbus.

What kind of clothing did you wear to school -  dresses, pants, uniforms, long woolen stockings,
We wore dresses with long stockings.   We wore heavy coats and mittens or gloves.  It was very cold in the winter up  Spanish  Fork Canyon.
How did you like school?   I loved school  every year and looked forward to it each autumn.
I got bored during the summer months on the ranch
RECREATION, FRIENDS AND PETS
Did you go barefoot?
As much as possible.

HOLIDAYS
Did you have a Christmas tree? Describe the decorations.  Did you decorate your home in addition  to a tree? Do you use any of these decorations in your home today?
We used to go up in the mountains with our horses to cut down our Christmas cedar trees.   I can recall being pulled on a sled behind the horse and holding on to the tree so it wouldn ‘t  fall from the sled.  My brother, Ward, used to set animal traps for coyotes, etc. and  I can remember going with him to check out his traps and haul the animal pelts on the back of the sled with me balancing myself on top of them.

How did you spend Christmas Eve?
We all gathered around the stove and  ate candy and nuts, as many as we desired, and then we got to open all our gifts except the ones that Santa brought.  We usually got new pajamas or gown

Did you hang a stocking and what was put in it?
Yes, we did hand our stockings by pinning them to the back of the sofa.
\
Did you believe in Santa Claus?
YES,  I did believe in Santa Claus and  I was quite old before I actually believed he did not exist.

Family Life during Childhood
What was the climate of your home - authoritarian, permissive, strict, happy, sad, etc?
Explain what made it that way.
It was fairly permissive.  It was a happy home and we shared much love.  We were  l8 years spread between  the oldest and youngest child.  We only had two bedrooms and so it was a crowded bedroom.
If you were a child during World War 1, the Depression or World War 2, what did you remember about these times?

We lived on a cattle ranch which was actually too small  to provide enough income to support a family.  We would have one or two good years and then a series of years when money had to be borrowed to sustain the family.  As children we were not treated as if we didn’t have any money. We thought we were living as high as the rest of the children  on the other ranches. 
I was a  sophomore in Spanish  Fork
 When World  II broke out.  I remember sugar and gasoline being rationed.  When I dated it was always with another couple or more because  gas and cars were very limited. 
Nylons were unavailable and so they were considered a luxury.  We were encouraged to buy savings bonds and saving stamps.                              

Describe yourself physically, small or tall for your age, fat, thin, color of hair and eyes. Did you have freckles? How did you wear your hair?  Did you wear glasses? Did you use your right hand, left hand, or both? Did you have pierced ears?   Describe your temperament - shy, outgoing, active, passive, show displays of temper, spoiled, etc. What worries or fears did you have as a child?

I  was fairly average in size…maybe on the short side.  I had hazel eyes and brown hair and yes I did have freckles.  I got a permanent in my hair each school opening whether I needed it or not. I just wore it pulled back with a ribbon tied around my head.  I had three sisters who were all red headed and my brother, Ward, used to tell me I was adopted because my hair didn’t match the other girls.

Junior High or Middle School


Names and location of the Jr. high school you attended.
I attended the Spanish Fork Junior High.  It housed the sixth, seventh, and ninth grades.  I absolutely loved  the Jr. High experience.  We had a teacher for each  subject…also we had ballroom dancing every Friday and I just lived for Friday.  I always had boys a plenty to dance with and it was good for my ego.  It was such a neat class as a sister and her brother taught the class.  He was married and she had never married and they were so cute together.

Describe the building inside and out.  It was a red brick rectangular building, all on the same floor.
There were approximately 300 to 350 students in the entire school.

How far was it from your home?  It was twenty-six  miles from my house. 
We had to catch a bus at seven-thirty each morning..We were at the end of the bus route and then he picked up students  as we drove down Spanish Fork Canyon.  We usually arrived at school about 8:45.   We left school about 4:15 p m  and arrived home  shortly after  five p.m.

What kind of clothing did you wear?  Did you wear a uniform?
We always wore dresses or skirts and sweaters with long winter coats.  It was very cold during most of the school year.  We wore long stockings or knee highs until spring when we would  b ring out the anklets.  We wore oxfords or casual slip-ons.  In the winter we sometimes wore galoshes.
We didn’t have any choices in subject matter.  The girls took Home Ec and the boys took Shop. We were taught to cook and to do simple sewing.  I remember making an apron which had bias tape sewn all around the edges of the apron.  I don’t think it stayed together long enough to be washed twice.
Which were your favorite classes and why?
I loved math and English and P.E.  I just loved school.
I liked basketball and other sports.  I wasn’t very tall but I was fast to run and dodge.

High School

What course of study did you pursue?
I didn’t have much class selection but was interested in business classes, such as typing, shorthand and bookkeeping.


Tell about some of the classes you particularly remember.   Favorite teachers?
I had a speech teacher that I just idolized.  Her name was Jane Tanner and she was single and dedicated to her teaching roll.  She taught drama, English and speech.  I had a class from her each year I was in school.  She was in charge of the school plays and I always felt left out because the practices were always done after school and I always had to catch the bus. 
When I was a sophomore I awoke one morning with severe pain in my chest and Mother was alarmed and drove me to the Dr. at five in the morning.  They found I had pneumonia in both of my lungs and was hospitalized at once.  I was there for three weeks and was in a coma about two of those weeks.  Sulfa drugs were just being used to fight infection and they were good but so slow. We did not have penicillin which would have been faster treatment.  In fact, they called all the family home to say goodbye as they thought I was leaving them.  I can remember of hearing robins singing outside my hospital window….I just thought I heard them. When I came out of the coma all I wanted to eat was lemons and salt and dill pickles.  Things have never been the same since.

Were you a serious student or a laid back student?
I wasn’t a very serious student but I did do my homework and got good grades.

What were the special activities you participated in - clubs, pep club, choirs, operettas, dramas, sports etc.  Describe special memories.
I was on the winning basketball girl’s team.  I was about to be in one drama when I got sick and could not complete it.
I was a student body officer all three years I was in high school.  I ran for office in ninth grade and didn’t get it, but it made me more visible and was successful in High School.  My senior year I made it as head cheerleader with my very closest friend. Zola Gull.  We thought we had the world by the tail..  Our family Dr. said he would come to the games to see all my energy.  He said when I was in the Hospital he never thought he see me with so much energy two years later.
Were you elected to a student office?
I was secretary for the Soph. Class, Queen of the Sweetheart Ball my Jr. year and cheerleader my Sr. year.   I was also the girls school representative one of those years.
Did you go to your Junior Prom?  Who was your date?  What did you wear?
I went to every Jr. Prom, Sr. Prom, Homecoming Dance and every other school dance for all three years.  I only missed the ones in May of my Soph. Year.  I never felt I was popular but they said I was.
Did you receive and special recognition, scholarships or other awards?
Describe your high school graduation.  Were, what did you wear, How did you celebrate after the ceremonies?
We had l00 in our graduating class and I was so unhappy for school to end.  I had a date and we went to a dance afterwards and then to dinner in Provo…then on to Salt Lake City and woke up my sister, Edythe, who was living in an apartment as she was working there.  We woke her up at three A.M. and all eight of us piled into her 4 x 4 apartment, and she graciously rubbed her eyes and fixed some breakfast for all of us.  I can’t remember what it was…only that it was fun.  I got home about dawn the next day.
How many years of education have you completed?
I have gone to USU over the course of several years, but I never did graduate but I do have enough credits to graduate but I never did do my student teaching for my senior block. 

Describe yourself as a young adult.
Very energetic and always on the go.  I loved to dance and date and that is mostly what I did.  When I graduated it was l943 and the war was on and so we, Zola and I, went to BYU and stayed with her parents and rode a trolley to Provo every day.  We only stayed one quarter as there were no cute boys to date and school alone was boring.  So we went to Palo Alto and worked a Moffitt Navy Air Base.  We had a friend working as a telegrapher there and we moved in with her.  She was in nursing school and accidentally gave the wrong medicine to a patient and she died.  ..She couldn’t handle it and so she had gone to California to get away from her bad experience.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
What was your first job?
My first job was at Ironton Steel Plant located between Springville and Provo.  Zola and I each got a job there… she in the accounting section as she was the smartest and a very good student.  I ended up in the Shipping and Receiving area, but I liked it there.  Then we decided to go to Calif.  We went to work right out of High School and then BYU and then California.
How did you decide on a career?
I was going to become secretary and I worked at that for the first four years of my marriage while Rex was getting his BS. And M.S.  When I was about 7 months pregnant with Craig, I quit work and stayed home with my children after that and Motherhood became my career.  At that time, when you got married, the women dropped out of school and let the husband get his degree.  She was expected to be a homemaker and the man the breadwinner.

What jobs have you had?
Did you make enough money to live comfortably?
We were very poor for the first seven years of our marriage as Rex was pursuing his Doctorate at Cornell University.  We didn’t have a car for the first two years of our marriage…no telephone and we heated our apt. with coal and wood.  Rex did some yard work and I did the laundry for the old lady who lived in the other half of the house.  This afforded us to rent the apt. for $ll.00 per month.
Who were your close friends during your teen years?
Zola Gull, Berniece Ostler, Betty, Ila,Toni and there were lots of boys who were friends.

Did you hang out with the same friends in and out of school?
Yes.