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The week that my car, that had been Elma and Boyd's burned, Larry had a terrible mishap. He was working at a service station, a part of a school program, He was trying to take the steering wheel off his car, for some unknown reason and I called to tell him to hurry home or he would be late for Grandpa Dunn's funeral. A short time later Gordon Dean came to the mortuary and said Larry had been in a car accident and was in the hospital, which was by the place where the accident happened. Larry did not put the screws back in the steering wheel and it came off in his hands. The car was hit broadside by Mr and Mrs Zinn and their baby (Troy, Marcy's husband) and Mrs Zinn was in the hospital also. Arlo and I were in a state of shock. We didn't know if we should go to the funeral or the hospital. I called the hospital and talked to Doctor Thomas. He said Larry has cuts and bruises and some broken ribs, but he will be alright, so go to the funeral. Larry had cuts on his throat by his jugular vein, but he as OK.

Kent Had an accident on the way to Colorado Springs, after the funeral, where he was stationed in the Army. He was on the east side of Wolf Creel Pass, almost to walsenburg. Kent called Arlo but he wasn't at the station. Ronnie Nite went to see how he was and take him where he needed to go and I didn't even know anything about it until Ronnie had already gone. I was really upset that they didn't give me a chance to go to see how he was. His car was in a garage in Walsenburg until it was repaired. The insurance that Kent had on the car sent a check to pay the damage, but the man at the garage would not accept the check, so Kent had to go back again with the money to pay for the car. I went with him, the man was not going to accept the money either. I was so aggravated at the man. Kent told him to take the money or the car. He then said take your car. I told the man that he was not an honest man. I embarrassed Kent. He had been afoot for quite a while and needed the car. He made three trips to pick it up. Kent, please, add some of the things about your accident.

That was three cars in three days. Kent got his back. Mine was ruined. Larry's was as bad as a car could be and he got out of it alive. I think there is a picture of it somewhere.


I got a long way ahead of my story. After we went to the temple, the missions, began. Donnie went to a Central American Mission. He served in several countries. I would like for each of you to tell us (in this history), some things about your missions.

Kent went to Mexico on his mission. Bonnie went to Idaho on her mission and Larry went to Argentina. Arlo and I went to Arizona, Holbrook for our mission. After Arlo died I went to Seattle Washington and after I married Ward, we went to Chicago, North. Our missions were a wonderful part of our lives. Please each one of you tell about your missions.

Before these things happened, The Manassa High School was joined with LaJara, in a new school building, South of LaJara. The School was called Centauri. Donnie and Kent and Bonnie all graduated from Centauri High school. Larry was a senior. Donnie had played football and broke his shoulder and wasn't able to play anymore. All of my children were smarter than I was in school. Kent was working in the school library and they were combining an old library in Capulin and had duplicate books. Kent brought several boxes of books home. There were some of the classics.

I was helping Arlo in the garage, because all of his helpers were busy at other things. The books that Kent brought home were such good books and as I helped in the garage, I read most of the books. I enjoyed working at the garage with Arlo. I think that was the best time we had together. We really enjoyed each other. Well, our mission was also a great time.

I'm not sure the order of things. I'm just telling things as they come to my mind. Not necessarily in the time they happened.

TO BE CONTINUED!

80--CONTINUED--8

I don't remember the year that we moved to our home on 3rd street. A lot of things happened while we lived there. Arlo was still working for Boyd Pagett. We lived across the street from Elma and Boyd. Grandma Dunn had died and Doris and Verden moved into Grandpa's house. Loyd and Cathryn still lived in Manassa. Keith had married Erma Rae and Leon Married Jean, LaRue and Harold were married. Barbara was alone with her children. Doris Faye and Bill were married. Our lives were surrounded by family. Isabel and Alta had died.

Arlo's back was doing good. He worked from daylight until dark at the station. He loved fishing and hunting. Those things took his off time. I took the children and went to LosAlamos and visited with Keith and Erma and their family. I think Barbara and Doris Faye went too. We also went to Pueblo and visited Nona and her family. We went in the VW pickup and it broke down in Pueblo. We had to find another way home.

Larry got Brights disease and when I took him to the Doctor. (Dale Thomas), He said we needed to take him to Denver, the next day, to a specialist. That night I took him to Alamosa to the hospital, because he couldn't go home. Before we I took him, we went by Mrs Brothers, Jerry Dunn was the and gave him a Priesthood blessing. We waited in the waiting room for about 3 hours, because they didn't have a bed for him. The hospital was full. It was getting late and Dr. Thomas hadn't come yet. I decided to go home and get some things ready to go to Denver the next morning. I hadn't been home long when Dr. Thomas called and said that Larry's blood pressure had gone so high that he didn't know if he would be alive until we got there He said that he was going to give him a shot that could be fatal. All of the way to the hospital, I prayed that whatever was best for Larry would be. When we got there the shot had worked and his blood pressure had come down. Arlo took us to Denver the next morning and Larry was admitted, then Arlo went home. That was in January and it was so cold in Denver, I wasn't prepared for that cold. I got a room close to the hospital. I walked to be with him each morning and back to the room each night. The temperature didn't get above zero the ten days that he was there. That is the coldest I have ever been. Larry and I rode a bus home.


I think it was earlier when Bonnie Lynn had surgery to correct her eyes. Later Bonnie got hit in the ear by someone when she was swimming and got an infection in her ear. We took her to the doctor right away, but they couldn't stop the infection and it destroyed her ear drum. I took her to Denver, where she had surgery to replace the ear drum. It was like a miracle. She didn't loose any of the hearing in that ear. She couldn't go home so we stayed in Denver for a week and then we went to Nona's for a week. We couldn't take her over a mountain pass, because it would have too much pressure on her ear. We had to wait two weeks.

We took her back several times for check ups. I think all of the children went with us and we went to shows and ate at a restaurant where they had a toy train that ran around the the top of the restaurant. We also went to the museum while we were there.

TO BE CONTINUED--8

80 CONTINUED--7

When we moved to the Christenson house, I was still working at hot lunch. I don't remember how long I worked there. Arlo was still working for Boyd. Arlo had an old red pickup, that he drove to work. When it was snowy, and the roads were slick, I tried to drive the monster and it would just jack knife. I didn't know how to drive that pickup when the roads were icy.

We bought a Plymouth coupe that was just right for our family. I don't know what happened to that car. It was a good little car. Later Arlo did some work on the model A and we drove that for quite a while.

We were living there when we bought a T V. Everyone else seemed to have one and the children were going to other homes to watch them so we decided to buy one. Arlo watched it as soon as he got home from work until it went off at night. He really loved to watch television. It did keep the children home, too. The first T V, I ever saw was just after World War II. The programs then were so good. I Love Lucy was so popular that everything seemed to stop when it was on. There were good musical shows and fun things. It has really changed in the last 50 years.

The first time I heard of a recorder, I thought that was strange. Why would anyone want to record things. I surely didn't understand all of the things that came because of that instrument.

I remember times when Bonnie Lynn would go to Nancy's after school or would go back to the garage with Arlo after lunch and one day I tied her to the clothesline with a rope that went the full length of the line. She still tells me about tying her to the clothesline. She didn't go again without permission.

Maggie Weston worked at hot lunch with me. I learned a lot from her. I loved that lady.

While we lived there, Donnie and Kent were in scouting and the ward was taking the Mutual boys to Arizona to the Dam. The boys were all ready to go, but our alarm didn't go off and they were left. I have always felt bad about that.

While we lived there, Barbara was left alone in Denver. Doris Faye and I went to Denver to get her and the children. It was quite an adventure. Barbara's car broke down on the way back home and we left it there and all of us rode in Doris Faye's car to Manassa. Barbara and her children lived with us for a time. We bought the house on 3rd street. where we live for the remainder of the time we lived in Manassa. Barbara lived in our old house for a time, until she moved into the house that Doris Faye and Bill owned.