The Old Coal Furnace and Baby on the Way

It was the year 1957. Dad was working on his Masters Degree at Utah State University In Logan, Utah. Working for the Utah State Fish and Game Department and on his thesis demanded long and rigorous hours. Dad worked hard to support his growing family. And.. it didn't matter where life took my parents, dad always bought a house. He didn't believe in renting. And he was right... buying a home always proved to be a wise investment. Mom said dad was drawn to the small homes... fixer-uppers. There were sacrifices to this strategy, but the payoffs in the end were huge. 

The house dad bought was a small cottage-type located just two blocks west of Old Main Hill... underneath its majestic and towering shadows. The house was in need of repair, and remodeling was a part of life. Mother was pregnant with me at the time but was always willing to help with the repairs. An old coal furnace in the house didn't work well enough to keep the chill of the morning air from making its way into the uninsulated house. It was September and the early mornings were quite chilly. Dad hired a furnace company to replace the old coal furnace with a gas one. It presented quite a challenge. There was no basement under the house; just a crawl space. So it took some time, longer than they wanted.

Mom and dad returned home from visiting family in Price on September 19. This is when the story of my birth begins... written by mother.

"Jim left and went back to work. The day after we got home, I cleaned house and pulled out my washing machine and sorted our clothes and put the whites to soak before going to bed with the intention of getting up early to do my laundry. Early in the morning, my baby decided it was time for her arrival. There I was home alone with my two small children and in labor. I lay there as long as I could, then got up about 6:00 a.m. The only thing I could think of was go get my neighbor. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew lived next door. They were a very nice older couple. We had a friend of Jim's tell us if we needed them they would be glad to take the children. I went next door and asked Mrs. Andrews if she would take me to the hospital. Which she agreed to. I got Patty and Billy up and dressed and we took them to Ralph and Barbara Cisco's two blocks up the street. They were still in bed. They had a baby at the time. I was so glad I had someone to help me. I checked into the hospital about 7:30 a.m. I guess someone contacted Jim. He was at White River trapping.

 Well the day progressed on as did my labor. I finally had my baby at 3:50 p.m. in the afternoon (father's were not allowed in the delivery room at the time). She was a beautiful baby girl, almost a carbon copy of Patty except she didn't have as much hair. She weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 19 inches long. Dr. Cragun, our family doctor, delivered her. She was a beautiful little girl. Her hair was dark and she had the cutest little rose-bud mouth and great big beautiful eyes and was so cuddly and sweet. I don't know when Jim arrived. He had taken the other kids to stay with Aunt Ruth in Salt Lake. We named our baby Carol Ann. We were so happy to add another precious angel to our family. She was born 21 September 1957 on a cool crisp but sunny beautiful Indian summer day. She was my baby that loved to be cuddled and I enjoyed her so much.

Grandma Bates came to stay and help me with the kids. They came to pick us up at the Logan hospital on September 24. It was a beautiful September day. It was sunny but crisp and cold. Grandma had done the washing I had ready to do. When we got home the furnace men were installing the furnace. The house was quite cool.

Jim and Ross Butler had gone up the canyon and thinking they did us a big favor and picked 2 number 10 wash tubs full of elder berries. Grandma didn't feel well and I wasn't much up to canning yet, but between the 3 of us we got them washed and made into juice and bottled it. Later I made jelly with them, but it didn't set up. I can tell you, though, it was the best elderberry pancake syrup I ever tasted. Jim and I managed alright after Grandma left. The days began to get quite cold and the furnace still wasn't in. 

I bathed Carol in a wash pan sitting on top of the heater. I really had to do it fast because she was so cold and blue. One morning as I was bathing her, the furnace men were under the house in the crawl space. I heard one of them say "We'd better hurry and get this job done, they have a new baby." It wasn't too long before the new gas furnace was in and the house was warm and toasty. I sure was glad. No more house full of smoke and scrubbing down walls every week."

Well... I am here today partly because of a new gas furnace! Thank goodness the old coal furnace was replaced and mom was able to bathe her new baby girl in a toasty, warm wash pan in a toasty, warm home!

Writing prompt # 3: tell us about the story of your birth