Early childhood experiences

When I was 2 years old we homesteaded a place east of Sanford called the Jack Bend. We lived there about 2 years. I remember going to town and Dad letting me hold the horses reins. The horses name was Diamond. I used to hollar at the horse and say "damn" "ou" Dinna. I remember being upstairs looking downstairs by the chimney. I fell thru into a dishpan of water that was on the stove. Mom rescued me. We moved back to Manassa when I was about 4 years old. Thats when Mama sent me to Sunday School with a pair of girls bloomers on because I didn't have clean shorts. I was really embarrassed. Then Dad bought a ranch about a mile south of town, called the Scott Ranch. I was 6 years old at the time.

I spent a lot of time with my cousin Alward Christensen and Helmer (Humpy) Sego. We rode horses a lot. We practically lived on our horses. I rode Toby most. We was the one I won in the boxing match. One of my favorite past times when we moved to the ranch was riding stick horses and pushing an old baby buggy down the field. I played like it was one of my truck and I had a mild route. I always liked anything with wheels on it. I used to help put up hay at Pete Anderson's when I was just a kid. One time the team ran away with me. They ran through a ditch and broke the tongue of the rake off. I held on to the reins and flew through the air a ways and finally hit the ground and got them stopped. I wasn't hurt. When I was about 14 I spent the winter over at Flat Top Mountain with a herd of sheep. I had a bunk house to stay in. I would get up each morning and take the sheep to the top of the mountain. I'd stay up there with the sheep until evening and then bring them back to camp and bed them down. I got to be a pretty good cook. Then Dad sold the sheep and I thought I would go to High School, but it didn't work out so I stayed around home and hauled wood for folks. I decided to leave and go to Albuquerque New Mexico when I was about 17 years old and work in the turquoise. I worked for Wendell King for about 2 years. Then I worked for Maisel's in Albuquerque. Then I went to work for Horace King and Nathan Sellers and I lived with them in their home. They were both married at the time. About this time Second World War had started and I was called in for a physical but I didn't pass. I decided to go to California and work in the airplane defense plants. I borrowed $30.00 from Pete King and arrived in California with about $5.00. I rented a room which was $4.00 a week. I went to work for Douglas Aircraft El Segundo Plant. It was about 3 weeks til pay day so I had to find a way to make some money until then. Rex King was in California at this time and he told me about an old man named Buck that was in the turquoise business. He gave me a job cutting turquoise for a few hours every night. That's how I got by until I got my first check. I was really stingy with my money. I went to a second hand store and bought some clothes. I finally saved enough money to put some in the bank. I thought I was really in the big times. I was really shy and bashful. I had my four front teeth out and I was really self-conscious about it. I finally saved enough money to go to the dentist and have my teeth fixed and get a partial plate for the missing front teeth. I was called into service about 6 months after. I got there but the company had me deferred. My partner and I were the company's top rivetors. I was called into the army in June 1943. So I went back to Albuquerque and left from there. All the guys I knew in Albuquerque threw a big party for me before I left. I came back to Manassa and visited with the folks before I left.