New Beginnings

I was born on the 24th of October 1928 in Antonito, Conejos County, Colorado, to James Edward Bingham and Cora Emily Dunn.

My parents were married in Manassa, at the home of my grandparents, Simeon Harmon Dunn and Anna Buletta Jensen. My dads parents had died when he was young, so grandma and grandpa Dunn were our only living grandparents.

I was born in Antonito, because my dad was working in a grocery store there. He was a meat cutter. We only lived there a short time and next we moved to Manassa, Colorado.

My brothers and sisters are: Keith Edward, he was born in Manassa, at the home of my grandparents, Sim and Annie Dunn. He was older than me. Leon, is my brother just younger than me. Leon and I were the only ones who were born in a home other than my grandparents. Leon was born in a house on the northwest side of Manassa. Keith, (Barbara, LaRue and Doris Faye, my sisters), were born at the home of our grandparents.

My memories of my youngest years are vague. The first that I remember was when we lived in Saguache, Colorado. My dad worked on a farm there. Keith and I were playing in a two wheeled trailer . We would go to the back and it would go to the ground , and then we'd go to the front and it would go to the ground. That seemed to be a lot of fun, until we fell our. I cut my head and Keith broke his arm. I still have a bald spot on my head from that sore.

We moved from Saguache to a home in the northeast side of Manassa. Eda and Rex Johnson own that home now. Keith and I were playing under the front porch of that home and Keith started a fire. It started the porch on fire. Mom was working behind the house and she came and saw the fire and put it our.

We moved from that house in the southwest corner of Manassa. We were across the street from Arch and Lillie McKenzie. Their daughter Helen was my age and we were good friends. We wanted to play together a lot, but our mothers wouldn't let us play very often. We lived there until I was eight years old. Helen is Gloria's, (my daughter-in-law), mother.

While we lived there, my dad's aunt Mattie, died. (She had helped to raise my dad, after his parents died). Mom and Dad went to California to the funeral and later we drove to California when they settled her estate. That time all of us went. Aunt Doris went with us, too. Doris Faye wasn't born yet. LaRue was less than a year old. That was a fun trip. Aunt Ethel and Aunt Hazel lived there and we spent time with each of them. While we were there we went to the beach and on the way back to Ethel's home there was a sign, "airplane rides $2", so Keith and Leon and Aunt Doris and Aunt Hazel and Mom and Dad and I went for a plane ride in a small plane. That was at a time that I had never seen an airplane on the ground and few times in the air.

On the way home we went to Mesa Arizona, to the temple and were sealed as a family for time and eternity. That was a great blessing in my life.