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Condensed from the book "A Journey Back in Time" by Mary Olson Almond | |
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Husband
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MY WONDERFUL MOTHER My mother, Celinda Jane Twitchell Olson, was born in Beaver, Utah on December 13, 1873. Her father, James Ephraim Twitchell, and her mother, Margaret Frances Moore Twitchell were early pioneers of Beaver, Utah. Celinda told me much of her early life. It is interesting to compare her schools, and the methods of teaching used then, with the methods used in our schools today. Although they were not called that, I found they had many visual aids in those days. In the first grade she learned to count by the spokes of a big wheel passing over a square. The square was placed behind the wheel. The teacher had huge charts and a pointer, as well as beautiful big pictures. Each child had their own slate. The curriculum was quite limited, with reading, writing, arithmetic, history, and a little geography. Reading included literature in the form of stories and poetry, which always seemed to have a moral, and was meant for character building. Celinda loved school. She started high school, but a higher education was not considered important for girls in those days, so she quit school and went to work for wages. Her father told her it was the boys who needed the education, to support a family. Celinda was a beautiful, healthy girl, who worked hard all her life. She learned many skills, and was devoted to the service of others. In her culture this was supposed to be the thing for a girl to do. A girl needed to be skilled in helping others. She was a very capable and fast worker. She stayed out on her father's ranch at Indian Creek--close to Beaver, Utah--keeping house, cooking for the hay crew, the threshers, (including her many brothers) washing for them on a washboard, mending their clothes, and knitting their socks. Other seasons she worked in a hotel, or for private families. She once took her pay in the form of knitting lessons. She had a beautiful voice and in town she appeared in many programs in duets and choruses. However, her greatest ambitions were always marriage, children, a home, and a good husband. With her background and ability one can understand why she became a capable mother and homemaker. MARRIAGE Being the pretty girl that she was, she always had many beaus. However, she was secretly in love with Charles F. Olson, handsome man-about-town, who "wouldn't give her a look for three years." The first time he noticed Celinda was at a big dinner at the home of Willard Hutchings. Charles fell for Celinda that day, and from then on he could think of no one else. After about a year they were married on August 4, 1897, in the St. George Temple at St. George, Utah. It took two days to go by horse and wagon to St. George. On the way to the Temple Celinda and her mother, Margaret Moore Twitchell, slept in the wagon at night, and my father slept under the wagon. For the first three months they lived in Brigham City, Utah, after which they lived in Beaver for three years. The first year there, they lived on a short street called Twin Street. Twin Street was given its name because there had been eight pairs of twins and one set of triplets born on that street. Imagine their surprise, then, when their firstborn was also a pair of twins born April 17, 1898. They named them Mable and Margaret. In 1900 Celinda and Charles left Beaver, and went to find new land, where they hoped they could do better financially. They went north into Idaho. They visited Grandpa John Nils Per Olson on the way at Portage, Utah which is just south of Malad, Idaho. They went on through Idaho, but they were not satisfied with any of the places they found in Idaho, no matter where they stopped, for they had heard from Celinda's brother, Willis, of a wonderful new country called Lucerne Valley. He made it sound like the Garden of Eden. By the time they arrived in Lucerne Valley they were too poor to leave. I have already written in another book titled "Mary Almond Sings Again" about their life out there. Celinda and Charles worked hard to create the ranch in Lucerne Valley and it finally became very productive. They hauled logs from the mountains near by to build everything on the ranch. I want you to know about one experience they had. It is as follows: It took two or three days to get the big trees cut down, cut the branches off, cut the logs the right length, and get them loaded on the wagon. One night while they were still in the forest, my father, Charlie, prepared a makeshift mattress with the very ends of pine branches, for their bed under the largest tree he could find; so if it rained they would have shelter. It did sound like rain with big thunder and lightning. After they were in bed, my mother, Celinda, said, "We must move this bed out from under this tree." Father said, "Oh go to sleep; this is good." Mother would not rest. She had a prompting from the Holy Ghost that they must move. She had to insist three or four times before my dad finally said, "Oh all right, you silly woman!" They moved their bed far from that big, big tree. It didn't rain much, but in the morning they looked over by that giant tree where they had first made their bed, and the tree had been hit by lightning, was split apart, and had fallen right where their bed had been. Dad had to admit it probably would have killed them both. They raised hay, grain, and beef cattle on the ranch; they had good pasture and grazing land. They had about 10 milk cows and Mom sold 40 pounds of butter each week to the grocery store in Manila. Then there was a creamery and they sold cream. More rooms were added to the house, and other buildings were made, and finally more acreage was added. It was the beginning of the "Circle Bar Ranch" which is now 2,000 acres, and still in the Olson family.
 Sickness and hardship seemed to test the faith of these people, and this kind of life brought the family very close together. Celinda's life ambition was truly realized--a wonderful husband, a fine family, and a good home. And so in accomplishing her own great ambition, Celinda added another achievement, the greatest of them all, that of being a wonderful mother. She was a pioneer in Manila, Daggett County, Utah; a great woman who stood behind her husband, supporting him in all his great work. She was also a community leader. She not only had a strong constitution, but a strong willpower to go through all the hardships that came her way. She was a rare, beautiful and wonderful woman; truly one of the very elect of God. In spite of all her hard work and humble circumstances, Celinda retained her beauty. There were no elegant clothes for her. Hers was a beauty enhanced by honesty, generosity, love, and intelligence. Mingled with all this, there was a certain pride and dignity about her that was beyond reproach. I marveled at my mother--she knew so much. She had many talents and among them was the talent of discernment. Her judgment and skill in dealing with children was superior. She seemed to know more than those who had specialized in these things. She, my mother, had the spirit of the Holy Ghost with her, and bore her testimony to me as we worked together. She taught the importance of virtue in order to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. She was an avid reader. She was an on the spot quick-wit, with a good sense of humor. On her 98th birthday, her neighbor, an attorney, Clarence Potts, teased her, saying, "Are you going to run a race with me today?" To which she quickly replied, "I'm not going run a race with you. I wouldn't want the neighbors to think you were chasing me." She voted the year she was 98, in the general election. My mother, Celinda, lived to be almost 104 years old. She died at my house in my arms. Her testimony of the true gospel of Christ was still great and strong as ever, but she was honest when she said she was timid about entering the unknown. She prayed she could just step through an open door, just like "goin home," as the song says, without pain and without fear. This I am sure she did. She spoke to me, then just laid her head on my shoulder and stopped breathing. She died on September 30, l977, and she would have been l04 years old on December 13, 1977. What a wonderful century through which to live as she did: from the old midwife, to the heart transplant; from candlelight to kerosene, to gas light to electric light; from the washboard to the modern washing machine; from the surrey with the fringe on top, and the cutter in the snow to the space age when she rode in a big fast jet; and later watched the landings on the moon. Some of these reflections give one a quick insight into the experience and wisdom of this modern 1890's girl. I am glad I was permitted to be born to her.
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