Point of Vue, Oliver Hansen

Oliver Hansen

              Oliver was born in Ogden, Utah on June 11, 1909. His parents, Caroline and Frederick Hansen were divorced when he was 12 years old. Shortly after the divorce, Caroline married John Wise. Oliver used his step father’s last name until 1930 when Branch President Peter L. Ferguson suggested he change it back to his correct name of Hansen.

              A series of circumstances brought the family from Ogden, Utah, to Reno. Oliver wrote a journal entry about the strenuous tour across the desert. “The trip to Reno took three days, traveling all day, early to late. We drove across the Salt Flats to Wendover, Utah, a tiny place. I don’t remember clearly, but somewhere near Wendover we rented a little cabin for a night’s lodging.”

              “Early in the morning we resumed our journey. There were no highways in those days as we think of them now. There were only dirt roads. I remember good gravel roads at and near Elko, Nevada. As I recall, the first pavement we encountered was a two lane pavement in Sparks, Nevada which extended from about First Street, along B Street to Fifteenth Street, then north to County Road. (Now Prater Way)”

              “The second night on the road. . . we were directed to a tourist camp outside of Battle Mountain. This camp consisted of two small, crude buildings with open sides facing each other. There was drinking water available from a faucet. We parked our Dodge in the open near the buildings and slept uncomfortable in the car.”

              “A traveling speed of twenty to twenty five miles per hour was not bad on some of the roads. We traveled thirty to thirty five miles per hour at times. Forty five miles per hour was a high top speed for our 1919 Dodge car even on smooth paved roads. I do not think that we ever attained this speed on the trip.”

              “On the night of October 26, 1926 we arrived in Reno, Nevada about midnight.”

              “A good friend, a fine man, named Seth Burgess. . . got me a job with the Southern Pacific Railroad in the Sparks shops as a boilermaker apprentice. I filled out the employment papers on February 1, 1927 and went to work on February 2.”

              “There was a boilermaker named William G. Peterson. I openly professed to being a Mormon and talked some about it. He immediately, in a friendly way, advised me not to let it be known that I was a Mormon as I would be persecuted. However I did not take his advice and received some persecution, if you could call it by that name. I was regarded as a curiosity by some. By others I was disliked and avoided. It seemed to me the boss made it a little tough for me because of my religion. He did openly criticize me and berate me.”

              “Peterson told me that Brother Lloyd Bedell a boilermaker had worked there and because he was a Mormon his job was made miserable and he was fired. Brother Bedell later confirmed these facts.”

Scouting

       Possibly the earliest, most honored and continual member of the scouting program in the church is Oliver Hansen. He merits commendation for his devotion to the program and the community he served. He revered and kept the very first scout membership card given him dated June 6, 1927, signed by Erwin J. Sherman and Peter L. Ferguson, chairman of the troop committee which certified him as a Tenderfoot Scout. Oliver acknowledged that much of his character and profound dedication to his family, religion and country came from his participation in scouting.

              His journal bears the following entry, “Before long, a young boilermaker from Ogden, Utah went to work in the boiler department. His name was Erwin J. Sherman. He was a good Mormon and became the scoutmaster of the LDS Sparks Branch, Troop 4.”

              “Scoutmaster Sherman invited and encouraged me to join his Boy Scout Troop. I was very lonely and desired friends and companions. I investigated the joining requirement and liked them all very much except the duty to God part. I thought duty to God meant going to Sunday School, and I did not like the idea of going. I decided to join anyway.”

              “I became active in the troop and in the branch. Shortly, I was appointed as assistant scoutmaster. About September, Brother Sherman was laid off at the railroad. He and Peter L. Ferguson assigned me to carry on the troop activities.”

Sparks NV Boy Scout Troop 12.
Council Snow Carnival Winners
Winter 1931-1932.
Left to right. Don Purdy, Bill Casey, Merrill Carlson,
John Naughton,Harold Ferguson, Herman Layton
Dellas Richins, Henry Swart, Oliver Hansen
Dean Call, Harlyn Vidavich.

              “One Tuesday evening, I and some scouts went to MIA Meeting, but we, especially I, were hesitant to enter the chapel. I had never, almost, attended meetings and felt bashful and out of place. Sister Glayds Huyck was president of YWMIA. She noticed that we were outside and brought us each a bowl of fine chili and invited us to come inside. She seemed so warm and friendly and reassuring that we all went in to the meeting. I have always been grateful to Sister Huyck for her loving, understanding, kindly service to me. After breaking the ice by attending the first meeting I have been active in the church ever since.

Tithing

              “In the early 1920’s I had a girl friend who was a true Latter-day Saint, as was her family. She taught me the principle of tithing and kept urging me to pay it. At length I told her that I would pay. I received $30.00 for half a month’s work. I met Branch President Peter L. Ferguson on the sidewalk near the front of the branch building and gave him $3.00 for tithing, then I Iooked at the remaining $27.00 and said to myself, “Oliver you are a fool. . . There will be no more of this foolishness.”

              “Next payday rolled around and I did not pay. Shortly I had a date with my girlfriend. I knew she would ask me if I had paid. When she asked, I lied. She immediately said to me, “Oliver you are lying to me.” What could I say? She knew that I had lied and I knew it too. She gave me a long lecture and I promised to pay. The next payment was somewhat pleasant and I liked it. The more often I paid the more I liked it. I believe that I have paid a full tithing since then.”

              “I have often thought to myself that I like to pay tithing because the Church can spend the money on things that I want it spent for, better than I can spend it myself. For example, the Church can spend the money far better than I can for education, temples, missionary efforts,

buildings and maintenance as well as various programs to help the needy and relief for catastrophes.”

Mission

              Oliver was 29 years old and worked for Southern Pacific Railroad for over ten years when he was inspired to serve a full time mission for the church. In June of 1938 he wrote a formal letter addressed to the Master Mechanic stating, “The authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have asked me to go on a mission. . . this is a serious and sacred calling to me. I will receive no financial remuneration for my services but will be obliged to support myself from my personal savings. He then asked for, and received, a leave of absence to fulfill the two year commitment. 

              Called to the Northern States mission, Oliver was assigned to Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1939 to clean up Temple Square and make necessary preparations for a great conference which was held there. The spirit of Nauvoo left an indelible mark on him that resonated throughout his life.

              Coincidentally while serving his mission, Oliver met the Ira and Ellen Holloman family in Boone, Iowa. He quite enjoyed their company, in fact he married their daughter, Ruth. The couple were sealed for all time and eternity in the Salt Lake Temple in 1941. As time went on, all of Ruth’s family followed them to Sparks adding their imprint and influence in the church and community.

              From 1952-1957 Oliver served as the bishop of the Sparks West Ward as it was designated at the time. Bishop Hansen’s administration was unique in that his zeal permeated his quest for excellence. Attention to details of administration and leadership strengthened the ward membership.

              Bryant S. Hinckley served as the Northern States Mission president while Oliver was on his mission.  With love and veneration in his heart for Pres. Hinckley, Oliver wrote to him on the occasion of his 87^th birthday. “No one can know how many souls you have helped to elevate, but I do know that you helped me greatly.” Since the letter to President Hinckley was sent while Oliver was serving as bishop, He wanted his mission president to know that he and his family had been true to the faith.

              President Hinckley’s reply letter to Oliver denotes the outstanding qualities of both men. It stated, “I have a vivid recollection of you and of the fine missionary work which you did in the Northern States. . . you were a faithful and dependable missionary; a fine good man,  and a credit to your Church and to your community. I am sure the Lord will reward you for your faithfulness.”

Spiritualize Outdoor Activities

Scout Camp Troop 12, 1928, Max Carver Assistant Scout Master
Left to right, Harlon Purdy, Edwin Huyck, Oliver Wise (Hansen) Max Carver,
Ross Hall, Frank Ferguson, Giles Vanderhoof, Milton Harre.  

              During his decades of scout activity, Oliver had many occasions to speak to boys and parents at Courts of Honor. Oft times, duty, faith, community and church history were his subjects mingled with scriptural references.

One talk was entitled, “How to Spiritualize Outdoor Scouting Activities.” He started by saying, “I bear my testimony, usually at the close of a hike as to how Scout training helped me on my mission. Then I say, “If you are good Scouts, the training will help you when you go on your mission. I always emphasize, “when” not “if” you go on your mission.”

He ended the talk with a survival code and a personal story. “I have five principles of survival in the outdoors that I am pleased to call the F.F.F.S.T. Factors of Survival. These letters stand for faith, food, fire, shelter and travel.”

 “If you get in trouble and need help to survive, the Holy Ghost can help you. A few years ago my son Daniel, a scoutmaster took his scouts on an overnight back pack hike to Price Lake. That night it snowed unexpectedly about six inches on them. They did well during the night and had a good breakfast in the morning. They had a hard hike on a steep, slippery, rugged, snow-covered trail to return home. To make matters worse they had taken a lot of muskrat traps which were heavy to carry. In the morning a strong feeling came over me that I should help them. So I rode my big, strong quarter horse, Washoe Dancer, up the trail as far as I could to meet them. I waited for the Scouts under a huge white fir tree which I call shelter tree. The scouts came struggling along and were delighted to see me. They were tired and wet. We lightened their heavy loads by putting much of it on Washoe Dancer. With this help the scouts were able to hike to their cars quite easily. I carried a small scout’s pack as he was really tired. The troop had prayed for help before they went on the camp out

  and again in the morning. The Holy Ghost sent me to help them.”

Being a prolific writer gave Oliver an outlet to channel his thoughts, his curiosity and his appreciation for others. His memoirs and writings have bound together the pioneers of the branch with many decades of saints and citizens that have come and gone, hither and thither. After writing a 13-page paper entitled, “A History of Sparks from My Point of Vue,” he concluded his musings by asking himself, “Are these things important that I write? And answer myself, “Maybe they will be of interest to someone, someday.”

Yes! Oliver, they are indeed!   

Oliver came to stay. He stayed in the church, he stayed with scouting, he stayed with his wife and five children, he even stayed in Sparks, in the same house on H Street for many decades. After fighting the effects of Leukemia, he died in 1991. 

Peter Ferguson, Blessings of Tithing

Peter

Peter Lee Ferguson is a latter day icon of the church. He first served with Giles Vanderhoof and his own brother, George, in Sunday School; he then served with President Vanderhoof and George as first counselor in the Branch Presidency. When he was released, he served in other prominent positions until he was called as the third branch president. The records show that he served in that rigorous office for 12 long years. Through 100 years of local church history, Peter  served the longest in that particular leadership capacity. Peter’s life sketch is written in the Sparks Branch Presidents chapter with the exception of this faith promoting story that is written as a portion of George’s personal history compilation.

“As Peter was going to work one day, he announced to his wife that he was going to take the ten dollars they owed for tithing to the bishop. His wife was a bit distraught because he would not get paid for two more weeks and Alma, their son, needed a new pair of shoes. He had gone barefoot all summer, and he did not have any shoes. . . that fit him now that fall was to begin. Besides that was their last ten dollars, and Peter would not even have money to take the bus to work.”

“Peter assured his wife, that if they followed the Lord’s commandments that He would provide. Peter paid the tithing, and used his last bus ticket to go to work.”

“During work that morning, the factory owner called all of his workers together. He told them that he did not know why he was calling them together, because he was losing money for taking them off their jobs, but that his good friend was moving to Ogden, Utah, and had something for one of them. All of the men lined up in a long line. The factory owner’s friend started walking down the line. He would pause in front of each man, look at him, and shake his head and go on. Peter Ferguson was the next to the last person in line. The man studied him a little bit longer. He finally said, “You’ve got a boy about eight years old – and he wears size five shoes, and he doesn’t have any.”

“Why, yes,” said Peter. “But how do you know? You don’t know me, and I don’t know you?”

The man continued, “I have a son that is your son’s age. He has a new pair of shoes that he refuses to wear. They have only been worn once, and are perfectly good.” He produced a pair of shoes that he had been carrying in a brown paper bag. “Also, I’ve got two weeks worth of bus tickets between Reno and Sparks that I won’t be using now that I am moving.” He gave those to Peter as well, and left.”

George Ferguson, Mormon Horns

Before George moved to Sparks, he worked in a variety of jobs. According to his biography he worked as a deliveryman in Ogden. 

One time he was sent to pick up a man at the train depot. As they traveled the man looked as if he were bothered. Finally George asked him what was wrong?  He said, ‘I am looking for Mormons.’ George told him, ‘I am a Mormon.’ Whereupon the fellow asked, ‘Where are your horns?’ George replied, ‘Well they now have a potion they put on us when we are babies. When I was a baby they didn’t get it in quite the right place so one of mine came partly out. Here, feel.’ He took the man’s hand and put it on a bump on the top of his head. George had acquired the bump that morning when he hadn’t ducked enough going through a low door. As soon as the man felt the bump he jumped off the wagon seat, even though the wagon was moving, and the last George saw of the man, he was running up the road. George called him to stop but he wouldn’t. George just took the man’s bags and dropped them off at the hotel where the man was supposed to stay. He never saw the fellow again.”

He was later trained as a plumber. Quoting his biography, “In those days, the railroads required plumbers and pipe fitters, not only for new construction and kitchen/bathroom repairs, but also for a host of other functions. Much of the machinery in the roundhouses and other railroad buildings ran on steam rather than on electricity. Given these needs, George was hired by the Southern Pacific railroad around 1910.”

By this time, George had wooed his childhood sweetheart, Estella, whom he loved and adored. They were married, then one and half years later they had a baby girl named Helen. When Helen was less than a year old, George had a couple of accidents that left him with a badly broken leg and a limp for the rest of his life.

There was one definite difference between the two affable brothers. George had a predisposition to addictions stemming from a broad swath of alcoholism in the family. Off and on throughout his youth, George indulged in alcohol, smoking and chewing tobacco. Peter never touched alcohol at all.

 George’s background reinforced his bad habits on one hand and diverted his afflictions on the other. “He absolutely did not want to put his family through what his mother and he had gone through.” When the family moved to Sparks, his wife Estella, Pete and other church members in Sparks encouraged George to change. With the spiritual cost of breaking the Word of Wisdom, George had become passive about his activity in the church. After many years of continued support from family and friends he quit smoking “When he became active, he thoroughly dedicated himself to serving the Lord. He would spend the next forty years of his life trying to make up for the time he spent in inactivity and the things he had done that he was not proud of.”

“When George was getting back into activity in the church, he was taught the principle of tithing. He was making $100 per month and spending every penny of it. He was finally convinced to try paying his tithing when he was promised that if he did, things would work out. The first month he paid his tithing he expenses were $110. Luckily he had a small savings account to draw on. The second month the same thing happened. So he went to his branch president and complained. He was told he should keep paying his tithing, and things would work out. For the first six months, his monthly expenditures were $10 more per month than his income. The seventh month his expenditures, including tithing came to $95 so he was able to put some money back in the bank. Things improved from there until at the end of the year, he was able to put $10 in the bank each month, pay his tithing and still live as well as he had been doing. He never lost his testimony of tithing and that was always the first check he wrote out when he paid his monthly bills.”

“Once George became active again in the church, he tried to serve the Lord with full heart, might, mind and strength. Nevertheless, he believed the Lord gave him a family to care for and he always tried to put his family first.

On one occasion, Branch President Giles Vanderhoof and George’s brother Pete met him just as he was arriving home from work. They said, “Brother George we have to go and administer to Sister so and so and we need you to come with us.” George said, “Let me go in and tell my wife where we are going.” They replied, “No, we are on the Lord’s work, and we have to go right now.” George said, “My wife is expecting me home for dinner. The Lord gave me a family to take care of and that is my first responsibility.” He then went in and told his wife where he was going and why. When he came out the two brothers chastised him, telling him that if he did the Lord’s work first, the Lord would take care of his family. George still maintained that his first responsibility was to his family and that if he properly took care of his family, he could and would also find time to properly take care of the Lord’s work. And he did. George maintained that putting family first would not guarantee all your family would remain active in the church, but it would give you a better chance of keeping them close to you and to the church.”

During their vacation back to Ogden, the family enjoyed a fishing trip together. They had gone fishing several times before but this time was memorable in that Stella announced she was to have another baby. It had been nine years since she had their first child; a little girl named Helen.

Shortly after Helen was born, Stella expected another child. A few months passed and Stella became nervous about the future birth. In April of 1919, a baby boy was born by Caesarean section, a fairly new procedure at the time. The birth seemed to go smoothly at first. Stella was told to rest in the hospital for 10 days and another week at home. At the end of that period, Stella died of a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in the pulmonary artery. There was nothing that could be done.

“Not only did George and young Helen have to deal with the loss of their wife and mother, but soon they also had to deal with the loss of the baby. The baby was born with a heart defect and only lived another two and a half weeks after his mother’s death.”

“Estella’s death devastated George. He had been getting his life in order, he had been ordained an Elder two months before, and he and Estella were preparing to go to the temple and be sealed the next month in June. After many years, he was seriously trying to do what the Lord wanted him to do, and the Lord took from him his beloved wife. For the next three years, his daily prayer would be an anguished, “why?” Even so, George never lost his new-found faith.

“Later in July 1919, George was set apart as the second counselor in the Sparks branch presidency. He also served twice as Sunday School Superintendent over the next three and a half years.”

Following Estella’s death, George and Helen lived by themselves in their little home in Sparks. George worked ten hours a day. While he was gone at work during the day, Helen would stay with close family friends, or the Purdy family, another founding family of Sparks. Margaret Purdy and Helen became best friends.

Around 1920, Helen became very ill with a viral form of pneumonia. The doctor was surprised she survived. “George’s mother decided she should stay and take care of Helen and keep house for them. She did this for a number of months, but then her health failed, due to her diabetes. Grandmother Annie wanted to go back to Ogden so it was agreed that Helen would go back and nurse her grandmother as her grandmother had nursed her.

On one of George’s visits back to Ogden, they met an old friend from Sparks, Roy Porter. Right then, Roy determined George should meet an old acquaintance named Charlotte. The three of them: George, Helen and Charlotte became great friends. Charlotte became a real blessing in their lives as she and George were married in the Salt Lake temple and moved to Carlin, Nevada to live in 1923.  

Brothers George and Peter Ferguson. Beacons of Faith.

Brothers Peter L. and George C. Ferguson

      George, and his brother, Peter Ferguson, served together in the first branch presidency under President Giles Vanderhoof in 1919. Both were raised in Utah, under difficult circumstances, complicated by alcoholism, resulting in a broken home. George was about 12 years older than Peter, Peter being the baby of the family.  Both moved to Sparks around 1915 with the Southern Pacific railroad. Peter, as a sheet metal worker/ tin smith and George as a plumber. Both would later face personal and financial setbacks that would shake ordinary men, but they were extra ordinary men, especially in their dedication to the gospel.

The next two blogs are written about George and Peter. Both men are inestimable resources of historical value for the early Sparks Branch of Northern Nevada.

Gladys Huyck Grieve, A Lady of Extraordinary Depth.

Gladys Huyck Grieve

Gladys Grieve came to Sparks in 1910 as a new bride at age 19. Her husband, Curran Burr Huyck, worked for Southern Pacific Railroad. He died in 1937 in a horrific railroad accident.

 Before Gladys died at the age of 79, a lady of extraordinary depth, she accrued a variety of accolades that were listed in her obituary in 1971, some of which are listed here.

 “As an officer of the Sparks Civic Club, she led a successful campaign to replace old Cottonwood trees in Sparks with Chinese Elms.”

“She also aided a project to turn Dee Park from a camping ground into a park-playground.”

“In 1925, she was appointed registrar of the United States Land Office in Carson City, and was one of only three women in the United States hold such an office at that time.”

“She became Post Master in the Sparks Post Office in 1920 and at the same time ran an auto court in Sparks on Prater Way.”

“Six years later she sold the auto court and bought 176 acres of farm land. The land extended from Prater Way to the Greenbrae Shopping Center and east from Pyramid to Stanford Way.”

Annie Ashby was a dear friend to Gladys; they had known each other for decades. Being such a dear friend, Annie cared for Gladys toward the end of her life when Gladys became very ill. The two had time to reflect about Gladys life as Annie wrote some of the highlights for a life sketch.  After Gladys’ death, Annie related some of the things she remembered about her as well.

Gladys’ Memories

“I was born in Vernal, Uintah County, Utah on Dec. 19, 1891 or 1892. I was a honey blonde, and they called me a toe head. The Indians from the reservation came and they would yank and pull at my hair then discuss it.

There was an epidemic of Diphtheria which struck with only one doctor in town. He called it Membranus Croup or Sore Throat but one of our Mormon neighbors lost five children with it. Our family had it, my brother Burt, Sister Viola and myself. My sister Viola, four years old, died with it. By that time they sent for a doctor in Denver. He took cultures and was so rough with me I wouldn’t let him swab my throat because it was so sore. He gave me pills but I dropped them behind the bed.

Then [my folks] sent for two Mormon missionaries. One or the other of them would take care of us until we were able to care for ourselves.  They stayed right in our home.

Because I wouldn’t let them care for me, the Diphtheria ate the lining of the passageway from my throat to my nose so that it affected me throughout the years.

I went to school in DeBeque, Colorado. They were very bitter against the Mormons. We were studying the history of Utah. Someone said, “There are only Mormons living there.” Then the teacher said, “Oh, there are some white people.”

About this time there were two missionaries trying to work in town, but they couldn’t get in. They finally left and on their way out they heard the Devil talking to them. He said, “So you are giving up?” and he laughed at them.

I came to Sparks, Nevada with my husband as a bride in 1910. He worked on the railroad.

I served in the community as head of the Red Cross Sewing Center; making shirts, pajamas, etc., for the soldiers in the First World War, 1917-1918. I also worked for the Canteen Service, serving food for soldiers passing through on the train. I was privileged to sit on the stage at the Granada Theatre with President Woodrow Wilson.

I was appointed by Mayor Adams during the depression as chairman of the Welfare Committee, searching out the poor and distributing food for the families out of work, of which there were a great many.

When the government took over this work I was charged with distributing the first flour, then later came the clothing for those in need.

I started working for a Democrat Committee for Senator Key Pittman before I was old enough to vote. I helped organize a group of women voters into a club called, “The Silver Key.” I continued to work in the Democratic party and became a personal friend of some of the “Greats” during these years, Senator Pittman, Governor Schrugham, Governor Fred Belzar, Judge McKnight, Lester Summerfield and many others.

I worked in the Sparks Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under Branch Presidents Giles Vanderhoof, Leland T. Fife and Peter L. Ferguson. I was President of the Y.L.M.I.A. in 1926.

One winter about 1935 or 1936, while living in Sparks, Burr Huyck, my husband and I were working in Carson City. We took our three children, Viola, Phillip and Edwin with us. There was a snow storm so bad that morning that we had a hard time getting there.

We left home at 8 A.M. but didn’t arrive until noon. There were cars stalled all along the way and we helped others to get out. One car barely missed hitting us and went into the bank and stayed there for several weeks.

One man and his wife and child didn’t observe the detour sign and drove in anyway and got caught in deep snow. The man got out and left to get help, fell over a cliff and broke his leg. He was found a few weeks later, he had shot himself and was dead.

The woman kept calling for help. The only food she had was a little oatmeal which she fed to the baby. She would reach out of the car and get snow to moisten their lips with. Two men on snow shoes came by and heard her cries. They got help for them and took them to the hospital in Carson.

The day we got to Carson at noon we went right over and got a room. It was lucky we did for it was more than a week before we could leave.

That week other people, who were stranded, filled the homes and hotels and even the prison. Snow was piled high on the sides of the roads, fifteen and twenty feet. Plumbing was frozen in the homes in Sparks as well as in Carson. It was a terribly cold winter.

I helped to put on many dinners with the Relief Society in the Robinson Hall where we fed hundreds of people and earned money to build the new meeting house on C Street and Prater Way for the L.D.S. church.

My Testimony

I made myself some Brigham Tea and while drinking it one of the joints got caught in my throat and somehow went into my nasal passage. The pain was so severe I went to the doctor to have it removed. He couldn’t get it out without surgery. I went home and had the elders administer to me and the next morning the mucus was streaming from my nose and with it came the joint. It was 1 ½ long. The doctor said, “Gladys, you almost persuade me to become a Mormon.”

Sometime later I decided to take a trip to Europe, but I had this lump in my side. I went to this same doctor. He examined my side and asked his wife who was an R.N. to feel the lump. They decided that I would need surgery before I made the trip. I felt if I had surgery I wouldn’t be going, so I asked to be administered to and when it was done the pain left and so did the lump. I went to Europe and it didn’t bother me at all. The doctor was amazed.

In 1936, when I had surgery they didn’t think I would live. I was administered to by Peter L. Ferguson. During the operation, they said I repeated his prayer.

I know the church is true. There is a God, I couldn’t deny it, even if I were burned to my very death.

Annie Ashby’s Reflections

After serving big dinners, she would take the leftovers to families who had little children where the husband was out of work. I remember, personally, her bringing a big pan of turkey gravy to my home to feed my little ones when my husband was laid off from the railroad for nearly two years. She always shared what she had and you never left her home hungry.

She loved to entertain family and friends. Great crowds of people would come to parties she held in her back yard or in her home. She had a home at Lake Tahoe where she invited many to share her hospitality. Always big meals planned and all we could eat.

In our meetings when we first came to Sparks she led songs, played piano, taught speech and dramatics. No gathering politically, socially, or religiously was held wherein she did not assist. Not only did she assist her own church but other churches as well.

She served with Bertha J. Purdy in the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. She later became the Captain and County President and worked very hard with all of us to get our papers sent into the Central Company. We had a large group of women who became members from her persuasion.

She was a friend to the needy and oppressed and helped in the homes where there was sickness.

I always felt that she was a very special person and a very special leader and organizer. There were times, I’ll confess, I envied her the energy she possessed.

I spent the last few weeks of her life taking care of her. I’m so glad I had the distinguished privilege of serving her as best I could until she passed from this life.

Bertha Purdy, Woman Ahead of Her Time.

OLIVER AND BERTHA PURDY FAMILY

More than anyone else Bertha Purdy was responsible for breaking down prejudice against Mormons in the community. Bertha was an amazing mover and shaker, in fact a woman ahead of her time considering a woman’s role in society during her era.   

Bertha was born February 18, 1884 in Beaver, Utah, not far from Ogden, in her grandmother’s log cabin. Many of her activities were chores that required feeding the animals at the proper time of day. She learned to saddle a horse and ride; to hitch a horse to a cart or buggy then drive the buggy.

Bertha records in her history, “In good weather we walked one mile to school where children from six years old to twenty years were all in the same room. The same adobe building was used for Sunday School. Sunday School, Primary and M.I.A. were always enjoyable.” 

“Because my mother was in such poor health between 1888 and 1894, I spent much time living at Grandmother Matson’s home. Before joining the church, she was a Swedish Lutheran.”

“I was thirteen when our family consisted of my father and five children, mother died while giving birth to our tiny baby sister Margaret.”

Her family moved to Ogden where the schools were an attraction as well as the church.  She graduated from eighth grade, attended Ogden High School one year then moved to Logan, Utah to take a business course for two years. 

Failure in the sheep business caused her father to call her home from school to take the place of the hired girl.  Bertha said, “This was a wonderful experience – a chance to put into practice some of my learning. Teaching a class of boys in Sunday School was the greatest challenge in my life.”

She met her future husband at a missionary farewell dance in 1904. She married Oliver George Purdy in the Salt Lake Temple the year after on June 28, 1905. Shortly after they married, Oliver and Bertha received railroad transfer orders to Sparks, Nevada. When they arrived, B Street was partly a board walk since the city had been not been incorporated yet. Jittery people passed ‘gossip’ around town the railroad would not remain in Sparks despite the obvious expense of building a roundhouse and transferring the whole rail town of Wadsworth. 

Their first child, Norman was born in Sparks in 1906. 

In her own words she said, “I came to Sparks as a bride in 1905.  I remember the little frame houses brought from Wadsworth that sat on wide, planned streets, dusty in the summer, muddy and rutted in the winter.” 

“In those days it was just as well not to mention to people that you were a Mormon. If it had not been for my landlady I don’t know what I would have done. I was terribly lonely and depressed. She was sweet and sometimes would invite me to attend her church with her.  Of course, it was nothing to compare to our Mormon teachings, but would cheer me and afford me a little social life; and social life was scarce in those days. Then we moved to Imlay in 1908 and I did not return to Sparks until 1916.”

In 1908, the Purdy family moved into a home in Ogden where Bertha took care of her Grandmother Purdy. Their daughter, Margaret was born in Ogden, Utah in 1908. Their son Paul was born in 1911, but died in Ogden as an infant of 15 months. Harlon, their son was born in 1913. 

When Oliver and Bertha decided to move their family from Imlay, NV back to Sparks in June of 1916, their three children, Norman, Margaret and Harlon laid on the floor and “howled in unison” at their plight. They did not understand why they had to leave Imlay.  Their sadness didn’t last long. The move to the new community of 607 people proved to hold many wonderful surprises. The couple’s last child, Donald, was born in Sparks on September 12, 1917.      

Bertha tells a story that when the Purdy’s were having their new home built at 916 F street in Sparks; the contractor told Bertha that she could purchase ½ of the neighbor’s land in addition to her own. O.G. Purdy was on a “run” so she made the decision on her own, to buy the land and widen the home by several feet. The neighbors told her she was foolish to put money into it.  “But, Mr. Purdy said we needed a house and we couldn’t buy one as good as we could build.”  The home was not complete when they moved in so the family lived for several weeks with a blanket for a front door. Great was their excitement to have a home with a real bath room, complete with hot and cold water, large spacious rooms and many other modern conveniences and comforts. 

Daughter Margaret wrote, “When we first moved to Sparks there were only 6-7 families in the Sparks Branch with us. Now at last we were able to attend a regular L.D.S. Sunday School and I could be baptized. On July 2, 1917, I was baptized in an irrigation ditch near White Bridge. We attended, first in the Engineer’s Hall on 9^th Street and later on, the second floor of the old Robison’s Hall. For years the dances were held here and for several years before it was condemned and torn down it was considered unsafe as it rocked and shook when the crowd started dancing.”

“During the years we were growing up, our lives were enriched by the elders, who were frequently in our home. For many, sometimes doing the laundry, and occasionally staying with us for brief periods. Many enriching experiences ensued. Once, mother nursed an Elder Meller back to health, who had complications from an appendectomy. It was only through faith, prayers and excellent nursing care that he survived.”

“When ten years of age, I started taking piano lessons from Miss Mckenna on Sierra Street in Reno.  Once a week, Clodile Allard and I rode the street car to Reno, walked three or four blocks up Sierra Street and took piano lessons for about two years.”

“Our favorite past time was to try to jip the street car conductor out of the fare of five cents and spend it on candy at the 5 & 10 Cent Store (Woolworths). Not always, but occasionally, we succeeded in holding out the fare on the way to Reno. We seldom had any money to spend foolishly, so I longed to buy some of the nick-nacks from the store besides. Oh, if only someone would forget and leave a package! Then one day, someone did. No one was around so I picked up a wrapped package that someone had left or forgotten. What was my disgust when arriving home and opening it - I found it to be someone’s extracted teeth. From then on I decided honesty was the best policy.”

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Bertha became a civic minded, service oriented citizen at a young age. She served in her husband’s lodge and became, “The grand lady of the G.I.A to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers” This organization had a membership of 22,000 throughout the United States. They work for the widows and orphans, as well as better conditions, insurance programs, higher pensions and other things too numerous to mention. In 1960 this efficient, grand lady, was awarded a forty-year pin from their national president. Her husband Oliver worked many years as an engineer for the railroad. Both he and Bertha were instrumental in the development of the Engineer Hall at 9^th and C Street in Sparks. 

Sometime after the Purdy’s came to Sparks, Bertha became an active supporter of the National Federation of Women who promoted and acted as the advisory council to the Sparks Parent Teacher Association founded in 1914. By 1923, she was voted in as president, in which office she served for thirteen years. Having taken a keen interest in the club’s work, she was elected president of the Nevada Federation of Women’s clubs in 1937 and served for three years.

During Sister Purdy’s term of office, the Sparks schools enrolled about 200 children in the junior high school, 100 in the high school, 325 in Robert H. Mitchell and about 135 in Mary L. Nichols, and nearly 100 in Kate Smith School. “Organizing a Parent-Teachers Association grew out of a disagreement on where money was to be spent. I called a meeting of the teachers and got them behind me. One of their complaints was that mothers never showed up at school unless Johnny was in trouble and we needed better relations between the parents and the teachers.” 

At the time Bertha was the president, there was only one P.T.A. organization in the city. Assisted by Mrs. Erickson of Reno, Mrs. Purdy organized separate units in each of the schools. Each school could then govern themselves and their finances to suit their circumstances. 

The club sponsored the state song, composed by Mrs. Martha A. Coleman then complimented each school with a medium-sized Nevada flag. 

The schools were short of supplementary reading material, so the foundation work was started for school libraries and a public library. Bertha Purdy was attributed with the power to pull off insurmountable odds to accomplish the goal. She corresponded with the Library of Congress, and U.N.R and the Reno library then more and more people became interested. When at last the library became a reality she spread out the compliments to include everyone. She said, “This project, like all of my life, has been what everybody has put into it.  It’s like fancy work or textile printing, there is always a new design. If anything on the subject of libraries appeared in a magazine, we wrote for it. It was like turning over every rock to see what was underneath. You could say that the library was brought about by the inception of progressive citizens who conceived the idea and started a library movement. I hung on to the idea, but I do not want all the credit.”

[The old Sparks Library is now the Sparks Heritage Museum on Victorian Avenue and Pyramid Way. It is a lovely building with twin stairs leading to the second story front door designed by Fred De Longchamps, who was the architect for the Washoe County Building on Virginia Street in Reno.  Inside was a unique circular staircase.]

At the time Bertha served on various other boards, she served as inspector of Election in and for Sparks 5 Election Precinct. Voting happened in the Purdy home at 916 F. Street.  The carpets would be rolled up in the front room and dining parlor to make way for the equipment to facilitate voting.

She was devoted to other positions and boards for community causes. She served as a member of The Board of Trustees for Washoe County Hospital in 1934. She was the vice president of Nevada Public Health Association in 1934.  She also served on the Sparks School Board for a term starting in 1935. 

One of the inspirational thoughts she clipped and kept in her scrap book reflects her sense of devotion to a community:

            It Isn’t the Town. . . It’s You!

            If you want to live in the kind of a town

            Like the kind of a town you like,

            You needn’t slip your clothes in a grip

            And start on a long, long hike.

            You’ll only find what you left behind,

            For there’s nothing that’s really new,

            It’s a knock at yourself when you knock the town,

            It isn’t the town – IT’S YOU!

Real towns are not made by men afraid

Lest someone else gets ahead,

When everyone works and nobody shirks,

You can raise a town from the dead.

And if while you make your personal stake,

Your neighbor can make one, too,

Your town will be what you want it to be,

It isn’t the town – IT’S YOU!

Proper protocol required a woman’s name be written or listed as her husband’s name with a Madame or a Mrs, indicating she was his wife.  It is rather antiquated to us now, in fact, odd or even sexist. Bertha was a well-known activist, but owing deference to her husband she insisted the newspaper refer to her as Mrs. O.G. [Oliver George] Purdy. 

When Bertha was elected as president of the Nevada Federation of Women’s Clubs, she was to attend the National meetings in Washington D.C. as a delegate. Local newspaper articles reported her schedule and who she would be meeting.  “Mrs. O.G. Purdy At Sessions In Washington”. . . . Mrs. Purdy left yesterday for Washington , D.C. where she will represent Nevada at the midwinter board meeting of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs.  Headquarters for the sessions will be the Mayflower hotel. [Bill Clinton notoriety]  Following the board meetings Mrs. Purdy will attend the conference to be held on the “Cause and Cure of War” to be held in Washington.  [Hot topic even then.]  Members will also be received at the White House by Mrs. Roosevelt for tea. [She remembers Eleanor Roosevelt singling her out to know more about Reno as she had a child/children who lived in Reno for the required six weeks before getting a divorce.] It is expected that the president will attend the tea informally and talk to the guests at that time.  On Friday afternoon the board members will be conducted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the invitation of J. Edgar Hoover.” 

There is another honorable mention to bestow upon this wonder woman of yesteryear. Bertha was called to serve on the Grand Jury, a first for women. According to newspaper accounts, Bertha was called to the panel due to the fact none of the court attaches recognized her name to be that of a woman. Bertha says of the event, “I’ve never become involved in politics and I never earned a dollar in my life except on the grand jury. The men were embarrassed. They didn’t know whether they should take my coat, ask permission to smoke, offer me a cigarette or what. I told them I was a juror, not attending a social tea and I would get the same $4.00 a day they did. They relaxed.”  Since that time, judges have placed women on all federal juries.

FIRST STAKE RELIEF SOCIETY PRESIDENT

It was during a National Federation of Women Conference in Washington D.C. when Sister Purdy was called as the first Reno Stake Relief Society President. The first stake conference was held in February of 1941. Stake President Nathan Hurst sustained her completely without her knowledge. In that day, long distance phone calls were not usually done. She was not notified in any way until her return home. The Stake Relief Society board was organized by June 1, 1941.

Sister Bertha Purdy’s church service was well remembered best by those she taught in Sunday School and worked with her in Relief Society. Oliver Hansen, Vincent Keele were just a couple of the students she taught Evelyn Ainsworth and many other sisters accredited Sis. Purdy as their mentor.

FUND RAISERS

There are a couple of record books that reveal a fastidious side to Bertha. At a time when the funds of the church were handled on a local level, the R.S. maintained their own budget as well as donated funds to the general ward budget. These two notebooks identify how many hours of work were given to two events during the 50’s and 60’s.

The first notebook lists pages and pages of donation contacts Bertha called on for the Sparks Country Fair held as a fund raiser every year. The community embraced the affair, and according to the record book offered a generous amount of goods.  Business-like in nature, Bertha was the perfect emissary to gather both business and personal donations.  Since the first several pages are torn off the notebook, the first page is written on April 17, 1958, entitled the “Food Booth.”  She lists people, their phone numbers (in only five digits) and their donations.  It looks as if on occasion she asked people to donate something in particular instead of a random choice, at which she checked off the item.

Many of the names are familiar old timers: Sneddon, Schelin, Ainsworth, Collins, O’Mealy, Faragher, Inman, Nord, Bohman, Grieve, Hauder and Humphery, for example.

A sample of the local businesses that she contacted were:  Sierra Pacific, Sparks Fuel, First National Bank, Bakers Market, Boyd Stewart’s Flying A Service and Ross Photo.  The lists give insight into the working and dealings of well organized function aided by a devoted, faithful woman.

The second ledger deals fundraisers conducted in her home. She thoroughly enjoyed being involved in women’s handcrafts such as quilting. The Relief Society was well-known for their quilting expertise so Bertha turned it into a fund raiser. Not only did she sponsor quilting bees in her home for bazaars, the ladies took private orders as well. Her log demonstrates the number of hours each quilt required and the names of sisters who came through the week to donate quilting time. She recorded exactly who donated lunch and even those who offered rides to and from her home.

PURDY FAMILY CELEBRATES A CENTURY OF LIFE IN SPARKS/RENO

Bertha and O.G. had three sons serve in World War II – Harlon, Norman and Don. Their youngest, Don, was listed as missing in action 26 March, 1943. He had graduated from Sparks High and the University of Nevada and filled a mission to the New England Mission. 

Norman and Harlon returned from their service in the Navy and built homes in Sparks.  Norman made a career of bread delivery, driving all over the valley. Harlon returned to manage Baker’s Grocery.  He married Lillie Johnston and added Alan and Aaron to their family.

Daughter Margaret married a Sparks boy, Robert Baker, following her graduation from the University of Nevada.  Together they eventually built a home on 13^th and E Streets where they reared four children – Neil, Carma, Milton and Karen.  Margaret continued the tradition of church and community service. 

Robert and his mother Emma Baker purchased a small grocery store on “B” Street when Robert was a senior in high school. Baker’s was the primary grocery store from 1927 until 1966. Baker’s Furniture and Hardware joined the “B” Street business district in the 40’s.

Margaret, Robert and Karen were returning from San Francisco in their 4-place Navion airplane and seemingly lost their way; crashing into the mountain near Colfax, California in 1965. Their children Neil, Carma and Milton joined together to take care of the family home and businesses. All three graduated from Brigham Young University.

Neil developed Baker’s Interiors and moved the main operation from Sparks to Reno.  Carma and her husband Don Watts developed Executive Financial Services in Sparks, especially focusing on income tax preparation.

Milton served in the army and returned to the family operation for a time. He and his bride, Betty Nixon from Kansas settled in Orem, Utah where he pursued a career as an electrician.

Carma and Don were privileged to participate in the City Redevelopment committees-especially Don was treasurer to the Bicentennial Committee. Carma was a member of The Status of Women in Reno as well as the Citizen’s Policy Planning Advisory Committee to the City Council. She also served as Parent-Teacher President and sat on the Sex Education Advisory Committee for Washoe County School. In 1999, she served as the Reno Nevada Stake Relief Society President.

Two more generations of the O.G. and Bertha Purdy family descendants have continued to reside in Sparks and Reno. They carry on the tradition of church and community service. A great example set by their honorable ancestor pioneers. 

It has been most fortunate that Bertha Purdy kept a scrap book as well as numerous artifacts to collaborate historical research and family stories.   

Local newspapers documented much of her community service and served as a valuable resource material as well as family. A long article written from an interview of Bertha Purdy by Grace Cate from the Sparks Tribune in June of 1960 is entitled, “Sparks is Proud of Mrs. O.G. Purdy.” Bertha’s scrapbook is full of newspaper articles in reference to her great achievements and accolades.  

Women Were the Backbone: Linnie Higgenbotham Rossiter

                                                       Linnie Higginbotham Rossiter 

Samuel and Mary Higginbotham Family. Linnie is sitting right, front.

   Linnie was born June 21, 1882 in Ogden, Utah in the unity of a big family. She married James Joseph Rossiter, a man 8 years her senior, who was a member of the Catholic Church. Even though he a member of another faith, he was supportive of her church activity in the LDS church. She was 26 years old, he was 34 when they married. Directly after they married he was transferred to Sparks on the Southern Pacific Railroad as a conductor in 1908.

   Linnie gave birth to their first child, Robert James, on November 25, 1908. They affectionately nicknamed him, Robley. Five more  children would bless their home: John, Paul, Phyllis, Anna and Peery. Being one of the few big families of the branch, the children grew up mingling and associating with the stalwart members of that day. The family were present when the branch organized the first Primary and Mutual; their names have been recorded on attendance sheets preserved for future reference confirming their place in history.

   Relief Society, the woman’s organization of the church, was organized for the branch sisters in 1916. Linnie served as a counselor in the original presidency for several years.

   Health issues and disease were troubling concerns for families in the early days of the 20^th century. Not all would survive the dreaded diseases that plagued people without vaccines and medications taken for granted in future years. Such was the case for 14 year old Robley. A few days before his birthday in November, he contracted Diphtheria. Linnie watched as her firstborn son suffered the effects of the disease and died in her home. Only 2 cases had been reported in Sparks that year. Sadly, the vaccine for Diphtheria became available within months of his death.  

  Robley lay in state until a funeral service was conducted in their home located on the Sparks Reserve at Conductor Heights. A memorial service for him was held on a Sunday morning at the C Street chapel December 3, 1922.

   The Rossiter home was put under quarantine for a time. Regardless of the precautions, it is thought by the family that James, Linnie’s husband and father to four surviving children, died at age 50 from the same disease on February 11, 1923, just 2 ½  months after Robley. He had been transported to the Southern Pacific Railroad hospital in San Francisco in hopes he could survive. To make matters worse, Linnie was four months pregnant with their sixth child at the time of his death. His funeral was held in the Catholic church in Sparks.

   The loss of her husband and son in such a short time was a devastating loss. Within the framework of disease and trials, Linnie would take a few more trips to the railroad hospital with her son John who, two years after the death of his father, became ill with Typhoid Fever. John recuperated favorably well as he would later become a star athlete at the University of Nevada.

   As tragedy and loss were Linnie’s companions for a while; faith served as her inspiration to heal, never allowing the quagmire of sorrow overwhelm her responsibilities to family and church. Linnie moved her family to Reno in 1927 for a fresh start.

   Reno Branch slowly grew enough that by 1938 the church ran a pilot program in Northern Nevada. The mission district was sufficiently strong enough to make an independent district only in this case it was designated a Junior Stake. It allowed sufficient leadership training for the time when Reno could be organized into a full-fledged stake. During this transition, Linnie was called to serve as the Reno Branch Relief Society president. Not forgetting her roots, in 1938, Linnie invited both branches, Sparks and Reno, to the Relief Society annual birthday party to honor the society’s organization in March, 1842.

   At age 74, on a Tuesday, September 18, 1956, Linnie passed away leaving behind a legacy of solid roots in the gospel and strength in adversity.