Thoughts and stories, by Pal

    We all wrote memories of our home life, which we gave to Mother on her 80th birthday.  I couldn't find mine, so my entry below was written in 1911, when we wrote the book of their lives.  This time, I won't underline certain parts -- It takes quite a bit of time which I don't have today.               MEMORIES OF MOTHER ON HER 80TH BIRTHDAY, BY MAVIS      I have many fond memories of you Mother, from my childhood years.  Some of these are concepts I had about you.  For example, I remember feeling overwhelmed about how hard you worked.  I remember the long days, the Saturdays, filled with cleaning, ironing, baking, and I remember feeling that you worked so very, very hard – which you did.  I was always so proud of you and the fact you were such a good woman.  You sewed so many lovely dresses for each of us.  I always felt lucky that I could usually have a new dress when I wan...

Mavis is born:       During this winter Pratt’s service connected disability check was increased from $12 to $35 a month.  We wanted more family and we decided we’d rather live on that amount than put off having another child.  So by the time school was out Mavis was on her way.  How thankful we’ve always been we did not procrastinate for we may have been eternally deprived of the wonderful blessing she has been to us.  During that winter Pratt was able to take care of the babies part time.  At other times we had a 16 year old girl.  I guess she did okay for her age, but my what a contrast from Grandma Aldridge.      By mid summer the doctor told me I was going to have twins.  (They didn’t X Ray then much.)  So I prepared and was happy with the thought of twins.  I even went up to Emily Foremaster’s to spend a few hours to see how she managed with her twins plus the 2 older ones.       We we...

This is a continuation of my mother Ruth Allen Miles's life, as she wrote it.  Her life story began in blog # 137, continued 138, 139, 140, 141, and 142.  Her birthday was May 10, 1908, and this May she would have reached age 106!  As Mother's Day approaches, I want to finish her writings in a few more entries.  Often her birthday was on or very near Mother's Day. Her writing continued:       The summer before the government had paid farmers $12 a head to kill their beef cattle because of the oversupply and depression.  They were not allowed to sell the meat but could use it "for their own families."  We went out to Panguitch when Earl killed several.  He gave us 2 veal (young beef) which we  bottled.   That was our meat for a few years.      The next winter Pratt was feeling some better.  Mother was with us.   We had 2 darling little girls and were doing a lot of public singing.   We now...