Great Grandmother Edna Richardson lived just down the lane from our house and I saw her nearly every day. Us kids would hover around the heater in her small, quaint kitchen while waiting for the school bus. And then, after school and before my walk back up the lane, I often stopped in to visit her. She had plenty of stories to tell, and I enjoyed them immensely. On her dinning room table sat her Book of Remembrance, or journal. I looked forward, with anticipation, to see what entries she had made for the day. The old pictures and vivid stories helped connect generations of families together. And, I was part of that!
Photos courtesy of Western Railroad and Mining Museum, Helper, Utah
Grandmother was born September 2,1879 and lived to a ripe old age of 94. Although she was not born in Carbon County, she lived there off and on for most of her life. In 1898 grandmother went to Helper to visit her mother. In her journal she describes the surroundings of the place.
"This is my second visit to Helper. I have always liked Helper, situated as it is where Price Canyon opens out into a small valley almost entirely surrounded by rather barren-looking hills. To the east and north, the hills are a gray-blue color, surmounted by majestic pink cliffs--part of the famous Book Cliffs. On the west are low, flat-top hills covered with pinion pine and scrub cedars. The Price River meanders lazily down through the cotton woods on the west side of the valley, a small stream except in the spring when it can become a raging torrent.
Helper is a terminal on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and is the central point in the coal mining district. It is the shipping point from which all the coal is shipped by rail. Helper received its name because when a train pulls out of Helper going north extra engines have to be added to help the train to the top of Soldier Summit. Hence, the name Helper. It was a new and very small place when I first went there. It is still a small place but much larger than it was then.
At the time there were the usual things that make up such a place--round house, shop, water tanks, coal chutes, tracks, etc. In close proximity to the tracks was a depot, just a little north of the site of the present railroad station, the eating house, and a few residences."Grandmother met the man she would marry on that visit to Helper. She describes him as the "onry brakeman". But after a lot persistence and charm, he eventually won her over and they married. Working for the railroad required many moves, mostly within the state of Utah. After years of moving, they finally came back to Carbon County to stay! Grandpa built a home in Spring Glen, a couple of miles south of Helper, and they moved in on April 15, 1929.
I have many happy memories at grandmother's place. Playing with blocks. Raking the leaves in the fall, from the large cotton wood and maple trees, and jumping in them. Playing hide and seek in the lilac bushes that lined the south side of the property. Acting out the "Christmas Story" on Christmas Eve. Watching her hand stitch together squares that would eventually be made into a beautiful quilt. I especially loved listening to the stories of her youth. Grandmother often wore fancy white, ivory and black lace gloves. They were so dainty and I thought they were so beautiful! Years later, when I was grown and married, my grandmother, Ida--grandmother Richardson's daughter, gave me those lacy gloves. It was a complete surprise. I so do treasure them!
Grandmother Richardson and I in her front yard, Spring Glen -- 1962
When I was seventeen years old, grandmother passed away in her home surrounded by loving family. My father bought the house and property. A few years later (1979), after I had married and started my own family, dad gave us the property next to grandmother's house.
We built us a beautiful rambler, but the real reward is that we were lucky enough to live in grandmother's house while we did. And.... it was still much the same as I remembered! I was once again surrounded by the love and memories of the "not so long days gone by."
Edna Cummings Richardson - 1879-1974
We lived in grandmother's house from 1979 to 1981.
Writing prompt #2: Find a photo of your grandmother's hometown and share it.
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