Beulah Henderson Riley

Beulah Henderson Riley - The Book

2007-04-25T17:11:00.000-04:00

Beulah Henderson Riley. A book created by combining Beulah's personal life story and other writings with family photographs. Created and Edited by Evan Mullins. Order a physical copy through Evan's store at Blurb.com.

Her autobiography and personal history. Born and raised in Roanoke, Virginia she tells her family history and recounts events in her life. Also contains local church history for the Roanoke Virginia area. Also features actual family photographs to coinside with her writings.

Appendix also contains:

A presentation she prepared for her mother Osceola Ferguson Henderson entitles "This is Your Life".
A talk she gave in Sacrament meeting discussing church history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Roanoake area.
A talk give by her daughter, Suzanne Riley Mullins, at her funeral in 1993.

Appendix

The Life of Beulah Henderson Riley Chapter 1

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My sojourn in this earth life began on the warm afternoon of August 30, 1916 in my parents home located in a rural area of Roanoke County. I was fortunate to be born in a most beautiful part of the world, that being the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Dr. E. O. Tinsley of Bent Mountain was the physician in attendance. A kindly neighbor, Mrs. Betty Owens, was also there. My parents, Herbert Henderson and Osceola Ferguson Henderson, had been married sixteen years when I came along, having been preceded by seven other children--four sons and three daughters. My older sisters were happy I was a little girl after having three brothers. Three years later I had another brother followed by four sisters--a total of thirteen children. All of us were born and reared in the same house. Moving was unknown to us until we left home. My parents had already lost a baby daughter, Roxie, just 10 months old, before I was born.

Beulah's Father, Herbert Murton Henderson at 10 years old, 1882.

Herbert M Henderson and Osceola Ferguson, Wedding Photograph, 1900.

My father farmed though I never thought of him as a farmer. He had many other interests. Being civic-minded, he was active in affairs in the community. He had studied to be a veterinarian, though his practice was a service to any friend or neighbor in need. He was twelve years my mother's senior. She was 16 years 8 months when they were married. They moved to Pennsylvania as newly-weds, but she, being so young, was homesick, and when she was expecting her first child, she returned home. He traveled back and forth from working in the coal mines for the first few years of their marriage.

Osceola Ferguson Henderson at 17 years old, 1901.

We lived in a rural area and my father used to bring me candy when he went to the store. I was fond of Tootsie rolls, a chocolate goody, and would inquire if he had brought me some--thus getting the nickname that has stuck with me lo these many years--"Toots".

We lived within walking distance of my maternal grandparents, and I have fond memories of visiting there when I was very young. It was a peaceful home where many found a helping hand in their travels. There, on many occasions the humble Mormon missionaries found refuge. It is common knowledge that my grandparents hid the Elders "stick-grips" under the feather beds while blackened-faced mobs made up of some of the 'religious' groups in the community came seeking them, only to find they had fled into the woods.

I also remember that my grandfather used to give me a nickel to go to the mailbox for him. He died when I was five years old. I also remember Grandmother Ferguson. She was very short and stout with gray hair. I can remember the smell of apple and pumpkin pies cooling in her hallway (where there was no heat). She moved into the house of one of her daughters, Ivie Christley, my mother's younger sister, who lived near our home. She also had a large family, and luckily, a girl only two months my senior, Elsie Christley. She and I were bosom pals always. Elsie and I used to be a source of aggravation to Grandmother Ferguson when she saw the boundless energy we had to waste in play when she thought we should be using that energy helping our mothers instead. She died three years after Grandpa Ferguson, when I was eight. Elsie and I graduated from high school together and had many happy experiences as we grew up.

William Harrison Ferguson (seated) and Margaret Rachel Owens (standing), Beulah's Maternal Grandparents.

Herbert and Ocie with Cap and Rachel, 1904.

Herbert Henderson Family (with Aunt Paulina) 1906.

Herbert Henderson Family, 1914.

Our other neighbor, the Owens family, always occupied that residence. The older children in our family found close friends there and their grandchildren, Durward and Eula Puckett, were special friends of my older brother and I. No one in the neighborhood ever thought of locking their doors when away from home.

With our grandparents nearby, we grew up feeling a part of a large clan. My mother had three sisters and one brother--all reared large families nearby. My father, on the other hand, had one brother who had one adopted daughter, Beulah Beatrice Henderson (Thomas), for whom I was named. They did not live in the area. I rode the train to Bristol, Tenn. to visit her while quite young. My parents did not live in luxury nor did they live in poverty. We enjoyed our home life and especially our many cousins. We made most of our fun and enjoyed many things my own children know little of. I remember rolling back the carpet for dances with live musicians, and having taffy pulls.

Woodrow, Paul, Beulah and baby Herb, 1919

My mother's parents, Harrison and Margaret Ferguson, had been among the first in the 1890's to be converted to the Mormon religion. My grandmother became a member shortly after hearing the Mormon Elders preach in 1888, and she was followed in this by her husband a couple of years later. This did not make them popular in a community where Protestantism prevailed. My grandfather had a mercantile business that he eventually sold and bought a farm from which he supported his family. Harrison had served in the Civil War when a young man and was so ill and frail upon his return to his father's home the family thought they were seeing a ghost leaning on the gate. Later in life he married and they had eleven children, but only five lived to maturity and raised large families.

Beulah at 5 years old, 1921.

My first memories are at age five when grandfather Ferguson's corpse was brought by our home for my mother to view him. She had just given birth to my sister, Hazel, on August 24th and he was hauled to the family cemetery for burial on----. In those days a mother spent nine or ten days in bed following a child's birth. I shall always remember with very tender feelings seeing my Father support her as she went to the end of the porch to see her father whom she loved dearly. It seemed she was closer to her father than to her mother. I was five years old but how well I remember that occasion. How my heart grieved for my mother losing her father. Her mother died 3 years later.

William Harrison, Margaret Rachel. His last photo, 12 August 1921.

Rachel, Ruth, Herb and Beulah, 1921.

Beulah on left, at age 13, 1926.

At six years of age I entered grade school at Back Creek School in Roanoke Co. We lived nearly three miles from school. In good weather we walked. We always returned home in the afternoons more leisurely than the morning rush. In fact, in the fall we had our rest stops under apples trees. Sometimes my older brother would take us in the buggy pulled by one of our horses. We were always delighted when it snowed. We got to take the sleigh pulled by two horses. There were stables behind the school where the animals could be put during school hours. We had good teachers, and we were taught well. I was glad we were taught phonics. My first grade teacher, Miss Annie Good, I credit with my learning to read, spell, and sound out words. Others who instructed me were Miss Loomis McCray, Mary O. Kiester, Miss Elsie Kennedy (Mrs. Harvey Wertz), Grant O. McGhee, and Ann Hogan.

Beulah in school group photograph, among siblings and cousins, early 1920's.

Chapter 2

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When I was eight years old our family had a heart-breaking experience when my brother Ernest, age fifteen, was fatally injured in a hunting accident. He was a tall, handsome, blond youth-so pleasant and friendly. Somehow we find the strength to face life's experiences. Again, I especially remember seeing the grief my mother and father experienced. The local preachers were not amenable to preaching at the service so the Mormon Elders did. This was the beginning of my father's softening toward the church. I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in April 1930, when I was 13 years old, along with Herbert and Hazel. It was an accomplishment to get my father's consent.

At school I was an active 4-H club member, and have fond memories of attending a 4-H short-course at Conehurst in Roanoke County, one of my first stays away from home. Others I remember attending with me were Dorothy Wade, a cousin, Sue Tinsley, Ruth Ferguson and the Goodwin twins. It was both helpful and enjoyable. Elsie Christley, Ruth Morris, Dorothy Wade and Mildred Ferguson were cousins near my age with whom much of my time was spent. We enjoyed getting together on an occasional overnight stay at their homes. I'm sure it was a source of aggravation to the parents but we enjoyed it. After graduation, Elsie went on a mission for the church, the other three married, and I eventually went into nursing. We knew every student and teacher in our school by name. We enjoyed sports-softball and basketball, morning chapel and though the school was small we learned much that gave us a background for the future. There were twelve students in my graduating class in 1933.

I was 16 when I graduated from High School. That was in the Depression and college looked like an impossibility. I was employed by Roanoke County as a librarian at the Back Creek High School the 1933-34 term. My oldest sister, Rachel Farley, lived in West Virginia about 120 miles away. I spent some time visiting in her home helping with her children and house duties.

Under Pres. F. D. Roosevelt's F.E.R.A. program, the Roanoke Resident School was organized for girls in the state who desired college but could not afford it. This was an experimental thing and only lasted the summer of 1934. It was held in South Roanoke at the Old Virginia College building. This also gave employment to public school teachers for the summer. I was chosen as one of two girls from Roanoke Co. to attend. It was a taste of college and I gained much there and made some life-long friends. Miss Duvahl Ridgeway, a physical education instructor there, later studied medicine and was the doctor who delivered five of my six children in Roanoke 1944-54. Mrs. Thelma Henderson Macom, a widow who was probably a distant cousin had known my sister Ruth. Miss Rose Hancock was the school nurse. Miss Ann Joplin from Rocky Mt. taught me knitting. In 1943 I met her again in D.C. when I was working as a nurse in a War Dept. Office Building and she was a clerk in that service.

The Civilian Conservation Corp (C.C.C.) for young men was another of Roosevelt's measures to give the unemployed youth work, which was beneficial to the country. Some nice fellows were involved in this activity. One such camp was between Salem and Catawba. That fall (of 1934) I secured employment at S. H. Kress 5&10 in Roanoke from Sept. to Christmas--my salary was $10.50 a week. In 1936 I worked as a saleslady in the men's dept. of Pugh's Dept. Store, and in March 1937 I went to St. Luke's Hospital in Bluefield, West Virginia to enroll in the nursing program. Miss Gertrude Hughes was our superintendent of nursing and a most unforgettable teacher and influence. She had been there when my older sister Ruth had been in training several years earlier.

My second cousin, Virginia Norton, enrolled with me. We were constant companions during the three years of training, and we became like sisters to each other. Her aunt and my cousin, Christine DeBusk, lived near the hospital with her husband Sam, and her son, Don, and we spent much of our time off in her home. My sister, Rachel, lived at Elkhorn, and my brother, Woodrow, was also in the area. Training wasn't easy but we graduated in a class of twelve, cum laude. Our class stayed in Bluefield doing private duty until after taking the state board exams in Huntington. Salary was $5 for a 12-hour duty and $6 for 20 hours. We slept on a cot over night in the patient's room on the 20 hr. duty and were off 1-5 in the afternoons!

Virginia Norton and I went off to Washington D. C. to seek our fortunes. We were employed at Doctor's Hospital for $185.00 per month for 8 hr. duty, six days a week, including two meals a day and laundry. Other classmates also came to D.C. including Nell Bowling, June Baird, Mary French, Mabel McBride and Vivian Campbell. Nell, June, Virginia and I shared an apartment in Greystone Apts. At 815 18th St. N.W. I worked on obstetrics, and it was pleasant seeing young couples excitement over the birth of their babies.

While in D.C. we took advantage of the opportunity to visit many interesting places in the area, and we made many friends at the Mormon Church at 16th and Columbia Rd. There was a lively Mutual Improvement Association where all the singles had a good time, and the meetings were not to be missed. We were in Washington from Sept. 1940 to March 1941.

Virginia and I resigned in the Spring to take a position on the nursing staff at Kecoughtan in the Veterans Administration nurse corp in Hampton, Va. Our room-mate in Washington, Nell Bowling, had become ill and left. Jane Baird and Ann Custer from Chicago joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corp, and we sold our furniture we were buying on the good old installment plan to four government employees. It was a great life while it lasted, but we thought we needed to earn some more money, so we made the change. We were very unhappy with working conditions there and resigned after about six weeks. Virginia went to California where she later became a hostess with United Airlines. I went to Roanoke where and did private duty nursing for a short while.

Osceola with Elizabeth & Buck Farley about 1941.

Beulah at 10-12 years old.

Beulah's school picture, at 10 years old.

Cap about 1925.

1926 Herbert and Woodrow Henderson and Vivian Grisso.

1936 Herb Jr with Christley Cousins.

1937 Henderson Family.

1937 Ocie and Herbert.

Beulah (in center) and cousins, late 1920's.

Beulah Henderson and Elsie Christley (cousins) 1932.

Chapter 3

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My sister Ruth and her husband, Bill Blunck, visited Roanoke that summer with their little daughter, Virginia. I had been recuperating from a tonsillectomy performed by Dr. Blaydes in Bluefield. They persuaded me to go west to Idaho with them in June. I had entertained the idea of getting together again with Virginia Norton in California from there.

It was about 2:30 one Saturday afternoon in June 1941 when we reached Rexburg, Idaho on our trip from the Old Dominion. Although the trip itself had been pleasant and quite interesting, we were very tired and I expressed my desire to go in and rest completely for the rest of my life! Virginia, my little red-haired niece, bounced out of the car first thing and ran next door to see the kids who were in their teens and, in reality, her aunts. I was thrilled with Ruth's sweet little home. After getting unpacked, somewhat, I found myself lounging around in my blue housecoat, not expecting to make any acquaintances of importance.

Sometime in the afternoon, Virginia ran across the street yelling, "Harold, Harold!" when she saw a light gray Chevy coupe parking. The driver was Harold Riley, a friend of the family, and a 'special' friend of my sister, Hazel. Mr. Riley was clad in a red shirt, which seemed to be right in style in Rexburg. I understood that the men would be fined one dollar in Kangaroo Court on the corner by the City Bank if they went out in any color shirt. The idea was to advertise the upcoming Jubilee for July 3, 4, and 5th.

Ruth, winking and blinking her laughing dark brown eyes said, "You'll like Harold. He'll probably ask to take you out." Of course I thought to myself, well, perhaps as a last resort for something to pass away the lonely evenings I might go out, once I was asked, but far be it from me to get enthusiastic about it. After all, I could hardly expect to be interested in a choice of Hazel's, who was five years younger than me. Hazel, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending upon who observed the situation), was still visiting in Virginia, with Mother and Dad and was expected to be gone till the school season opened in September.

Harold dropped in to say hello to Ruth and of course she introduced us. He was preparing to go fishing the next day, having purchased minnows for bait from Mr. Taylor, across the street. Viola couldn't wait to ask, "How did you like Harold?" To which I replied, 'Oh, I guess he's O.K. but I'm sure I'd never go for him. It seemed as though he'd been in the habit of taking Virginia to Evans Ice Cream Store nearby for a treat, so, getting back to his old tricks again, he invited her to go there. He also invited me to come along, which I did, with Ruth's encouragement. Wishing to be nice to his girlfriend's sister, this young man namely Harold Riley was quite attentive to me. He drove us around town a bit so as to let us see just what the place was like. We got back to Ruth's about an hour later, and when I told Ruth that he'd been showing me the town she remarked that Rexburg had certainly grown bigger since they had been gone! He went on his way soon and dropped by hurriedly on Monday, leaving a fish for us. That Snake River trout was very good and I must admit my fondness for fish developed right up there in Idaho.

Rexburg being a small town, it doesn't take long for things to get around. Mrs. Rigby, Dr. Harlo Rigby's wife, had been having some difficulty with her nursing personnel at the hospital, so she came down and asked me to work in their hospital. I took the position temporarily, more or less, until I should decide to join Virginia Norton, my nomadic cousin, in California. On the following Wednesday evening, Mr. Riley called; chatted with Ruth awhile, and then asked for me. He invited me to go for a ride with him that night. I accepted.

We went to Rigby, a little place about twenty miles away, had drinks in the city drug store, wrote a postcard to Hazel, bowled, and even wound up dancing at Riverside Gardens before the evening was over. It must have been one o'clock when we got home. I found the young man a very good sport and a lot of fun. It seemed we'd done the evening up in full fashion.

About Friday afternoon, he came by and took me out to some ranch to help him measure sugar beets or some such crop. He told me later that the figures we got on the deal were so far wrong he didn't record them. When we left Ruth's house we said we'd be gone an hour or so, but it soon ran into three or four hours. I spent the time ducking my head when we'd pass a progressive farmer in those little by-roads. One place he was gone so long I sat on the side of the road and read a book while I waited. Some kids came by on horseback and I was ever so tempted to try my luck but didn't yield, not knowing the Western animals.

Soon I became a responsible general duty nurse at Rigby's Hospital where there were just sixteen beds. Ella, the cook, had one menu and one only-carrots, peas, and boiled potatoes. Before long, I acquired the habit of looking out the front around three o'clock in the afternoon to see if I could spy Mr. Riley waiting to drive me home. I was quite surprised to find myself so delighted on the days he was there! Occasionally I'd get a phone call around noon, and I didn't mind being called away from the table in the least. A very nice voice on the other end of the wire would say very cheerfully, "Hello there. How's my 'wife'?

Then came the Whoopee Days Celebration--three days of it. Ruth came to my rescue, relieved me at the hospital so Harold could take me to see a real western rodeo-quite an event. The Rileys, Ryttings, and Purringtons had a booth where their son, Harold, avoided too much work. I ran into him accidentally in the street mob that night where a beauty contest was being staged. There was also a boxing match between a white fellow and a colored one--the only Negro I saw in Idaho. He reminded me of the South to the extent I was glad to see him. We considered going dancing but being in slacks, we reconsidered and went for a ride.

Hazel returned to Rexburg in August. She had wired Harold to meet her at the station in Idaho Falls. He had called in a favor, and asked another fellow to do the honors. We had plans to spend the day in West Yellowstone with Ruth and Bill, which we did. I had made plans to return to D.C. rather than join my cousin in California, and I was re-employed at Doctor's Hospital. I roomed with Elizabeth French and Mabel McBride. Harold had an application for employment with the General Accounting Office in D.C. and soon received an appointment there with Uncle Sam.

Sterling W. Wheelwright married us Nov. 29, 1941 in the Washington Chapel Relief Society room. The Orval Goodsells stood up with us; George Longmire and Mary French also attended. Our honeymoon trip included Roanoke for Harold to meet my family, and Bluefield. We were returning to D.C. on Dec. 7, when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. We boarded with the Orval Goodsells in Arlington for a few months. Elder Wheelwright was organist and choir director of the Washington choir under whose direction I'd sing in Handel's Messiah that Christmas.

1940, Seven Henderson Sisters.

1942, Herbert Henderson Family.

Beulah 1941.

1942, Beulah and Hazel.

Beulah and Elsie, best friends and cousins, at 16 years old.

Nursing in 1940.

Chapter 4

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A letter to Harold's folks, dated Dec. 9, 1941:

"Dear Folks, I suppose you think we've gone off the deep end and have forgotten about you but we really haven't. We have been going around in a sort of dream world, however, and think this thing of being married is the real life. All of week before last we were quite excited over our plans but the very realization seemed to strike us at a dance at the Mayflower Hotel. We were a bit late going in and this being given by Doctor's Hospital, a number of the nurses present knew we were coming and had us 'framed'. Just as we got on the dance floor the orchestra swung into "Here Comes the Bride" from whatever piece they were playing. We blushed and felt very self-conscious, not knowing whether to stop and take a bow or keep dancing. We just kept whirling and blushing, really had a grand time. Harold had his tux on and I had a new pink taffeta dress and lovely flowers. This was Thursday night, Nov. 27. Friday evening we spent quietly at home and Saturday of course was the big day. We would have made it Sunday the 30th, his 27th birthday, but Saturday was a better day to leave town. I didn't work at the hospital after Thursday, and poor Harold had to work Saturday morning He was too rushed to eat lunch, even. Imagine going through all this on an empty stomach.

George Longmire, Virginia Norton's boyfriend, took me to the church after presenting me with a beautiful cut-glass marmalade dish. Elizabeth French, my room-mate, came with Harold. I had talked Harold into arriving in time to have our pictures taken together before the ceremony, so after posing for half an hour, under those bright lights I was glad to get that over with and the wedding underway. We then gathered in the chapel for a brief musical. Our guests sat near the back while our best man and maid of honor sat on the row with us. They were Pearl and Orval Goodsell. Dr. Sterling Wheelwright played Leibestraum on the organ, and then his wife sang At Dawn and I Love You. Then Sterling played "Here Comes the Bride" and we marched down to the Relief Society Parlor for the ceremony- followed by our friends.

We had the room decorated with two vases of fall flowers and two tall palms. My suit was light blue--3 pieces, with a shell pink satin blouse, pink beaver fur hat with veil, black suede shoes, gloves, and bag. Pearl wore a navy blue suit and pink rosebud corsage. Harold and Orval wore white carnations. My flowers were Rubrum Lilies and beautiful! Everyone was seated and Wheelwright motioned us to arise and step forward with Pearl and Orval. Well, that's where we made the move that counted. What he said, I'll never know, only that we both agreed to "I do". He then said, 'You may now kiss your wife.' We must have forgotten where we were or when to stop because everyone there seemed to burst into laughter, solemn, as the affair had been up to that moment. Incidentally, Orval produced a ring from somewhere in the meantime. Among our guests for the occasion were Hon. and Mrs. John Kee, congressman and family from West Virginia.

After our arrival at the Goodsells, a reception followed. Mr. Kee looked up through the trees at the pretty round moon and said, 'Oh, look at the gorgeous honeymoon. They presented us with a huge candle to burn on our anniversaries in their memory. We also received other lovely gifts. While I was in the act of cutting the pretty two-tier cake with a bride and groom atop, Maude Dixon called out, "Mrs. Riley". I certainly picked it up quickly for I answered right off. Harold was pretty proud of me for that one. Some kids came in and told us we had a flat tire and good old Bud Miner offered to fix it, but we learned it was a gag.

When we drove away we found rice in every pocket and every possible corner. Gasoline is cheaper in the District of Columbia so Harold intended to fill the tank before leaving. He stopped at a service station and evidently asked for five gallons--that's all we got. When he saw how low the gas registered a little later, he bawled the man out, then looking at the receipt we discovered he'd only said 'five gallons' instead of 'fill 'er up'. Maybe his mind wasn't on gasoline. Anyway I kidded him plenty about that.

Ever so often we'd look at the certificate of marriage, our rings, and each other to make sure we weren't dreaming. We had a lovely steak dinner at New Market, Virginia, a little town in the mountains. We spent the night in Harrisonburg, Va. at the Kavanaugh Hotel.

Next afternoon we drove on to Roanoke. The family was all excited upon our arrival. We attended church in Roanoke that night. There was another couple, newly-weds, present. The man conducting called on that groom to speak. At first we thought Harold would be the victim. We visited friends and relatives the next couple of days, then drove up to Bluefield, W. Va., a hundred miles from home. I took my training there at St. Luke's so enjoyed visiting Miss Hughes, my superintendent, and seeing lots of friends around.

We were guests of Goldie and Sam DeBusk there, and then went to Elkhorn to see my sister, Rachel, and family. On Friday we came back to Bluefield. Rachel, Harold, and I visited the Huffs on College Ave. for a little while and were delighted with some of their good wine. Goldie gave a buffet supper in our honor to which many of my friends came. Ruth Jones, Lillian Shedd, the Huffs, the Calfus, Juanita Thornberg, the John Wickhams, and others. I surely enjoyed having them meet Harold, as well as seeing them myself.

We drove back to Roanoke on Saturday. My brother, Herbert, came home from Hampton for the weekend. On Sunday we drove back to Washington and heard the terrible news of the Jap attack on Pearl Harbor. We are now boarding at Goodsells--2514 24th St. N. Arlington, Va. Sorry you couldn't be here and that we couldn't include Rexburg in our trip. We'll do our best to see that no one regrets this important step neither sooner nor later.

Love, Beulah

Wedding Day.

Wedding Day (cropped).

1941, Beulah's wedding day.

Chapter 5

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In February, Harold was sent to Knoxville to help audit the T.V.A. His supervisor, Mr. Erb, who apparently hated women said no wives allowed, but we defied him and I tagged along anyway, before long. When the boss heard some of the wives were there, he threatened to send the men back to D.C. So, then I went to Nashville, where I worked at Vanderbilt University Hospital and lived with Evaline and Harry Green for a while. We visited each other on weekends, returning to Washington the last of May.

We attended the wedding of my sister, Hazel, and Dee Pincock, also from Rexburg. He and Hazel were friends before she met Harold. I took a position with the War Dept. as office nurse, and to my dismay, learned shortly thereafter the cause of my morning nausea. I worked until about a month before our first son came. We lived in Chevy Chase that summer in the home of Bob Smith, a lawyer, whose wife was visiting in Utah. Harold was sent away on an assignment and I lived in N.W. with Shirley and Alma

Hobson and their son, Alvin. Alvin was a typical teenager. He was perplexed that I shouldn't gain weight (according to my Dr. Dusbabek) yet I took crackers and water to bed with me to eat before I arose to prevent morning nausea. My husband would bring me tea and toast earlier. If I lay still a half hour after taking this, I could manage O.K. One morning I decided I'd followed this practice long enough that it was 'mind over matter' so I treated myself to a nice breakfast of hot chocolate, bacon and eggs. Well, about 3/4 of the way downtown I realized I'd made a grave mistake, got off the bus and ran into a bookshop whose restroom was at the top of a long stairway, losing my breakfast en route. When I arrived at the Securities and Exchange Bldg. my co-worker was shocked at my appearance. Somehow, I made it through.

Hazel and Dee lived at Greenbelt, Md. We made occasional trips to Roanoke and anxiously anticipated the blessed event for Feb. 1943. We secured a room on Eye St. where we got room and board for $30 a month, each. Harold's annual salary was $1440. As the time approached for Brent's birth, Harold was sent on assignment to Philadelphia to audit books for a shipbuilding company.

Margaret Farley and I drove to Roanoke and I went on to Bluefield to have Dr. Charles Goodykoontz deliver me. Miss Hughes was there, as were many other acquaintances. It was like a homecoming. Dr. Goodykoontz was my choice because when I was in nurse's training there I had admired him as a very compassionate doctor, treating the poor with as much consideration as the wealthy. He gave his consent for a trip to Elkhorn where my oldest sister Rachel lived. On Feb. 26, I felt like my time had almost come. I had a very rough night, backache, etc. The next morning, the 27th, Rachel and I walked down the hill and caught a bus in the snow for the 18 mile trip to Bluefield. We took a taxi to good old St. Luke's Hospital, and called Harold in Philadelphia. Miss Hughes was great support. When she asked me about Virginia Norton, I replied, 'The fool is off getting married.'

I have no memory of the delivery and when I awoke I kept telling Rachel how much I dreaded going through my ordeal. She reassured me that I had been through it already and that I had a little boy! Christine DeBusk and Ruth McCroskey soon visited. All were delighted. Even my old friend John Wickham came the next day.

First thing the next morning, Harold arrived! What a joyous day! Brent Charles was physically perfect and I felt I had produced the 8th wonder of the world. Harold stayed at DeBusks and went to Roanoke to get my mother in a few days. When gas was rationed, we'd decided to park our 41 Chevy coupe at Mother's. So Harold got it going and drove them to Bluefield. Then he had to go back to Philadelphia. I went to Christine's for a couple of weeks before braving the highways for a trip to Roanoke to take Brent. Harold had left the car in Bluefield when he returned to work. The roads in Roanoke Co. were snowy so I spent the night with Aunt Ivy Christley, and Christine stayed at Dot's (her sister) home.

I was happy to show off our young son. Brent won the hearts of all. Harold surprised us with a week-end visit. I was caring for Brent about midnight, and I heard a sound like someone stroking the screen on the window. I imagined I could see the form of a person out there peering at me. But it was really Harold and he rushed in for a 'family reunion'. He had arrived in Roanoke and was at a loss for transportation out to my mother's home. He called my cousin, Oren Wade, who did not offer to come for him. So he had hired a taxi to bring him thirteen miles out in the country, which was expensive.

We had hoped Harold could be deferred from military service until after Brent arrived, and were thankful he hadn't been drafted. Men engaged in farming were deferred. Harold's uncle, Charlie Briggs, who lived outside of Rexburg, had a large farm where Harold and his brother were reared. Uncle Charlie wrote and asked Harold to come home and help on the farm and it was interesting to us. So in April we drove across country to Idaho. We used a dresser drawer from the motels where we stayed for Brent's bed. The motion of the car kept him sleeping by day so we had little sleep at night. I was breast feeding Brent so my diet included cold canned spinach for the sake of his health. Enroute, we stopped in Ogden, Utah to see my sister, Ruth, and her family. Regrettably, her son, Billy, had the measles and they were quarantined.

So on to Idaho where Harold's family were happy to see the first grandson in the family. We had seen Clifford's wife, Dora, in Salt Lake City at Uncle Clifford Goldthorpe's. Their son was several weeks younger than ours. We lived at Grandfather Riley's in Rexburg and Harold put in long hours at the farm. He would come home very late each evening and I didn't put Brent to bed as early as I should have. Brent charmed his grandmother and we always recall her English way of remarking, 'Eee my, he is a bonnie little thing.' The Bluncks visited us in the little white frame house owned by Grandpa Riley. Harold's Dad had got his tenant to move so we could have the little house and be close by.

I enjoyed Idaho but missed home and, more especially, that my mother wasn't seeing Brent grow and develop. Harold teased me saying I cried when we played Marion Anderson's recording of 'Carry Me Back to Old Virginny'. On weekends, Harold's brother, Keith, and family, and his sister Elva Purrington, and Bob and girls often came to Rexburg and the men went hunting or fishing. We joked that they could hear the dishes rattling as we prepared dinner. They always arrived hungry!

Harold said that in years to come it would be the men who had served in the armed forces who would govern the country, and he felt there was a pretty good chance that he would survive the military. His brother, Clifford, had returned to the farm, too.

So as we traveled to the East we went to the L.D.S. temple in Logan, Utah to be married for time and all eternity. I had made Brent's little white suit that he wore. He was beautiful when we were reunited with him at the end of the service when he was sealed to us. Elder Elray Christiansen performed the ordinance on July 25, 1944. We had been in Idaho for 15 months. We arrived in Roanoke the last of July.

My family was surprised to know that I was expecting a second child soon. Not knowing any obstetrician in Roanoke, I called Clede Grisso Bailey, a nurse who had graduated from high school with who was expecting her first child. She recommended Duvahl Ridgeway, whom I'd known back in 1934 at the Old Virginia College. The baby was expected in September but arrived a few weeks early, probably due to the long and exhausting car ride from Idaho. It was mid August, and a hotter August I couldn't remember. One evening Harold went with my oldest brother, Cap, and his friend, Ben Owens, over the hill to hear the dogs run. I felt a bit odd, but told Harold that if I needed him I would blow the car horn and he should come right home. Well, the horn blew and Harold came running. We made it to the hospital but just in time.

Paige Herbert (this being the name of his two grandfathers) came on August 14,1944 around 10 pm. He was about three weeks early, and being rather young, was rather scrawny looking. He had blue eyes, that stayed blue,and blond hair. He was a sweet baby, but I must say he caused me to lose many a good night's sleep.

After Harold's draft status changed to 1A, it was inevitable that he would go. He had applied for a commission as an officer in the Navy while in D.C. with the General Accounting Office in 1942 but he was turned down because of imperfect occlusion of his teeth. Since that had happened, and he also had flat feet we had hopes the Navy would not enlist him. (My older brother, Paul, had tried to enlist several years earlier and hadn't been accepted on account of flat feet.) Well, they did take him, so when Paige was two months old his father went into the Navy. He was sent to Great Lakes Training Center in Illinois. We lived with Ruth and Bill Blunck in Bluefield a short while before returning to Roanoke County.

A very amusing incident occurred which I have often recalled. Brent was nine months younger than his cousin, Billy Blunck. There was much excitement when we realized that one of the two had taken a tumble down a very long stairway. Ruth, in her excitable way, heaved a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't Billy who had fallen. Her remark was, 'Oh, for Heaven's sake. I thought it was Billy!' So much for Ruth!

Chapter 6

2007-04-17T16:48:00.000-04:00

My mother kept my brother, Paul's children at the time as their mother had become ill. So we had a full house with my father, mother, baby sister Nadine, who was 14 years old, Barbara, Paul Jr., Kay, Joe, and Annette, and me and my two sons. I received an allotment for myself and the boys and also Harold arranged for my mother to get one, too. Gas was rationed, as was meat and sugar. The roads were frozen ruts, and one day in January, I took Mother to town and bought her a new coat. On the way home we slipped over the bank near the mailbox and wrecked the car. Mother broke her right wrist and we were fortunate that a little apple tree stopped the car on its side, or we would have continued to roll down the steep hill.

We took Mother to Dr. Turner, where he set her wrist. It was very painful for her. I dreaded telling Harold about wrecking the car when he came home on leave, but he had talked to Ruth and he already knew. While he was home, Billy Christley, my cousin, helped him straighten out the bumps in the car. During basic training, Harold was clerk of the company. After basic training, Harold was assigned to Michigan City, Indiana and we were able to live with him there. So we put the car in the shop to be repaired and had it painted 'Miami sand'. I took Brent and Paige by train to Michigan City and we were fortunate to find a beach house called the 'White House' on the shores of Lake Michigan. It was furnished-even to a washing machine, dishes and cutlery.

Another Navy couple, Harold and Billie Anderson and their daughter, Cathy from Kansas City shared the house with us. They had brought a sewing machine, play pen, etc. so we were all set. There was an interesting zoo where the children really enjoyed the animals. Charlie Goldthorpe, Harold's cousin, came to visit us there. He was also in the Navy. Also, my younger sister, Belva, and her newly wed husband, Ray Engberson, a Marine, visited. They had married on March 28,1945 in D.C. and were on their way to Driggs, Idaho to visit Ray's family, and to go to the Salt Lake temple.

In April, the country was saddened by the passing of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Truman wasn't well known, and Roosevelt had been elected to the presidency four times. I had attended his third inauguration in D.C.

We enjoyed long walks on the shore of Lake Michigan. Times that Paige would fall asleep, I wondered if I could make it back to the house carrying him. The house wasn't geared for Winter but we managed for three months.

Harold's next tour of duty took him to the Brooklyn, N.Y. Navy yard as 'Storekeeper' mate. So we returned by train to Roanoke and Brent took the mumps on the way. I don't know yet whether or not Paige had them. We were rather disappointed to find that nothing had been done to the car except perhaps they had been driving it. When we visited at the Pincocks in D.C. Harold came to see us there. They had a daughter, Cynthia, one year younger than Brent. Our months apart were long for the boys, especially Brent. When Harold would get leave, and visit us, Brent wouldn't recognize him and he would bring his daddy's picture to show Harold who his daddy was. June Baird visited me there, too. She had returned from duty in the Pacific as an Army nurse.

In July of 1945, I left the boys with my mother and rode the bus to New York City where Harold and I had a second honeymoon. I was slightly pregnant and when we climbed the stairs to the top balcony of Carnegie Hall for entertainment, I wondered if it was worth it! Being a serviceman, many show were available for us to see. We saw several Broadway productions, one being 'I Remember Mama', saw our first television, took the tour of Radio City Music Hall, and attended Joan Stafford's radio show. It was rather warm and I tried to cool off by taking 2 or 3 cold baths a day.

In June, V.E. (Victory in Europe) Day came and August 14, 1945 (Paige's first birthday) marked the end of the war with V. Japan Day. They passed a ruling that a man could be discharged if he had three children, so we were very happy our third one was on the way. Harold often remembered being at Times Square on V.J. Day and seeing the people celebrating the end of World War II. Everyone was kissing everyone and all in all, lots of celebrating. The next evening he had patrol duty at the Astor Hotel Ball Room. Imagine all the drunken sailors, soldiers, and so forth, rejoicing that the war was over!

Harold was next sent to New Orleans, where he served until he was discharged the first week of December. His commanding officer told Harold to notify him when the baby was born and he would be allowed to leave immediately. On November 30, 1945, our third son was born, and since that was on a Friday Harold could not be processed out until the following Monday. He said that was a very long weekend!

Harold had celebrated by going to a football game between Tulane and L.S.U. One week later his father was discharged and home. Harold was surprised to learn that I had named the baby Harold Scott. He had come on Harold's 31st birthday, got his Daddy out of the Navy, and Uncle Sam even paid November allotment for him! Scott was another sweet baby, so handsome and loving.

Harold and I took Brent and Scott to D.C. for him to seek employment with the Internal Revenue Service. We left Paige with my mother. Harold was soon in Chicago, trying to find a house for us and working as an IRS agent. He had applied for Special Agent in Intelligence Division house was the first time I realized we could have gotten the position in Roanoke. I felt like one standing on the seashore and seeing my ship of good fortune sail away. We joked about the build-up I had given Mr. Furr for Harold when I went to his office a day or two later. I had been having some abdominal pains and tests showed an ovarian cyst, which necessitated surgery. Harold got the transfer to Roanoke, and April 1, 1946 was his first day there. He continued in this position for ten years. Guy and Ann Ferguson kept Scott while I was in the hospital. Mother had Brent and Paige. I had the surgery at the old Lewis Gale Hospital with Dr. Sibley as the surgeon, and I got along fairly well.

That autumn, the government had moved some army barracks-type buildings to Colonial Ave. for short term housing for veterans. We were among the first to move in along with our new friends and neighbors, the Gene Englemans, Bill Godseys, Benton Dillards, Bob Moores, and others. The rent was $27 per month. There were ice boxes, oil stoves for heating. Soon we were able to get an electric refrigerator and stove-quite a luxury! When I would get up in the night to get a drink of milk or water for one of the boys, I would open the refrigerator door just to enjoy the fact that I had one.

We celebrated Scott's first birthday and Harold's 32nd one right there in our own apartment. The Roanoke Council Of Garden Clubs had some of their members come out and organize the ladies into a club. We chose the name 'Mayflower' for it. Each member made an effort to have a flower garden and a vegetable garden on our little spot of earth. We often went up to Back Creek for church as there was no church in the city, but we did have a meeting house on Patterson Ave.

Chapter 7

2007-04-16T16:48:00.000-04:00

In 1947 we celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the Latter Day Saints entering the Salt Lake valley. We held a conference in a women's clubhouse near Lakeside. The singing of the choir was so beautiful that we felt voices of angels had joined us. President James R. Price was head of the Central Atlantic States Mission formed from the East Central States Mission headquarters in Louisville. He was a dynamic leader. One Sunday he announced that this was the beginning of a new era-one of building chapels. We would have one in Roanoke! He said he would go on record as giving the first one hundred dollars for the building fund. I told Harold to raise his hand to indicate that we would give the second one hundred, which he did. In January,1949, the ground was broken for the Grandin Rd. chapel.

The Roanoke branch began meeting in the new chapel August, 1949, and that was indeed a blessing to us. It was like a dream come true that we had our own chapel--It was great! I was work leader in our branch Relief Society, and served as the Primary president over the children. I also served as District R.S. secretary and treasurer. I shall never forget when I was first in the gymnasium on a Saturday morning when we were having a bazaar that day. I was alone in the farthest corner from the stage. I just stood there shedding tears of gratitude for this building.

The Green family were a great part of the group as were the Fergusons, Christleys, Wades,Bohons, Morrises, and others. We were organized into a District with Milan Christley as District President. Mamie Johnson was District Relief Society President, and I was her secretary. The District stretched from Bluefield, West Virginia to Charlottesville, Va. to Danville, Va. Ruth and Bill were then living in Bluefield, but later moved to Roanoke. The three years we were at the Veteran's Housing Project much happened. On November 29, 1946 (our fifth anniversary) my father, Maie, my sister in-law, and Corky, my nephew, were baptized. My father had been prejudiced against the Mormon church all my life, and I never expected him to join. I was also unaware that Maie was ready for this step.

Uncle Charlie Briggs, who had raised Harold from the time he was quite young was ill in Idaho. We made a trip out there in the winter of 1947 when he passed away. My brother, Herb, had become ill with Bright's Disease, a kidney ailment. He lived at Hampton, Va. with his wife and two young sons, Ronnie and Gary, who were four and five. He became more seriously ill over a two year period. On Sunday, July 11, 1948, Dee Pincock and Ray Engberson came to my door to tell us that Papa had died in his sleep. He had a bad heart and it had just stopped. Mama said Papa always slept curled up, and that morning when she awoke, he was lying flat on his back and she knew that he was gone. Nadine, Belva, and Hazel were at home with Mother at this time. Less than six months later, Herbert, Jr. died in old Lewis Gale Hospital January 2, 1949. He would have loved to raise his boys. Their mother, Edna, was hard to get to know well.

Harold did some traveling in his work investigating tax payers. Belva and Ray were in Blacksburg at V.P.I. a term and she came to Roanoke and stayed a week. I went to work nursing O.B. at Lewis Gale for a week. I had also been house hunting and a real estate man had been showing me houses. We made an offer of $10,500 on a house at 2432 Maiden Lane and it was accepted. Harold was surprised to return home one Friday afternoon to find his wife working and we had bought a house!

It was a new house, and we got to select the linoleum for the kitchen and baths. The Joe Lewises lived next door as did the Arthur Matthews. My cousin, Dot Snead, lived nearby in Raleigh Ct. area as did the Claude Rowlands. Brent and Paige were enrolled in Virginia Heights Grade School. Scott and I had a good time to ourselves. Harold's sister, Edna, and her husband, Joe Rytting, came out for a visit in the spring of 1950, bringing their daughter, Honey, and their niece, Karen Purrington. It was such a beautiful time of year. Television came to us at that time, too.

March 28, 1951-a real special date- we were blessed with a darling little girl that we named Suzanne. Harold called Idaho and broadcast the news. He called Aunt Ivie Christley and told her to spread the news. At first she thought he was pulling her leg that we had finally had a daughter. Everyone at church rejoiced with us. The three boys were delighted, too. Once the baby was crying and then she stopped. When I got to her, Scott had his only clean finger in her mouth! The boys had a tree house and at a fairly young age she learned to climb into it, but was sometimes left stranded when it came time to come down. Her brothers found it amusing. I was President of Primary and we did the production of Cinderella with Brent, Paige, Billy Blunck, Jerry Christley and Richard Rowland as little soldiers. We made the costumes and used all the young children--quite well done!

On October 24, 1953, we were blessed to become parents of a sweet little boy we named Gregory Keith. I had expected another girl but once I saw him, I was very happy. He was chosen to play the baby Jesus in the live Nativity that Christmas. He was so still and quiet, most people thought he was a doll until the very last when he cried. Jesse Mullins father came and gave me $1.00 to save for him. The next fall, Harold's sisters, Edna and Elva, came by train for a visit. They brought Grandpa Riley with them. I was expecting another baby by then but we enjoyed their visit.

Thirteen months after Greg was born, on November 17, 1954, I gave birth to a dark haired, dark-eyed daughter. We named her Charlotte. Greg took his first steps when Harold brought him to visit me at the hospital. Greg and Charlotte were both plump, healthy babies and soon they were almost like twins. One of my memories at that time was singing a solo for Harry Dutton's wedding. Suzanne was the flower girl for them.

In July of 1956, Brent and Paige went to Boy Scout camp. We had a message from Idaho that Harold's mother was very ill. So we took Scott, Suzanne and Greg to Idaho with us. We left Charlotte with my mother. We drove as hard as we could. She was unconscious in the Rexburg Hospital. I was with her when she died. Her legs and feet were swollen for she was a diabetic, but luckily she didn't know. She didn't realize we were there before she died. It was quite an experience. After the funeral, we returned to Virginia and prepared for our move to Richmond.

The Pincocks had moved to Kensington, Maryland, and were having an open house. Brent, Paige and I went up for it and were going on to Richmond to see their dad who was living at the Y.M.C.A. while working temporarily there. We went to the animal shelter in Maryland and got a beautiful collie we named Jeff. The boys slept in their dad's room and Harold and I stayed with the Frank Leakes. We didn't know at this time that Harold was going to Richmond for sure, so we didn't look for a house yet. The next trip, Suzanne and I went, and we did look. We found one at 7208 Three Chopt Rd. where it meets Horsepen being sold by the owner for $20,400. We sold the Roanoke house for $12,000--cash! Harold had been chosen to be Supervisor of Special Agents in the Richmond office. There were about sixteen agents under him in Richmond, Norfolk, and Alexandria.

On a very hot sultry day we moved to Richmond. All adjusted quite well to the move, Brent especially. We made frequent trips back to Roanoke. Suzanne started school at Crestview Elementary soon after we settled in Richmond. Due to over-crowded conditions, she was on half-day schedules. Her afternoons were spent practicing, or should I say imitating her teacher, with Greg and Charlotte as her students. I really think this was good experience for the three of them.

Greg learned so well that we put him in a private school his first year because he missed the public school cut-off. He was always about the smartest kid in his later school classes. He was a lovely little boy. As he grew, he made friends easily and was sports minded. He was active in Little League baseball and sandlot football. On one occasion when the teachers had conferences with the parents, his teacher was praising him. She looked me right in the eye and remarked, "I wonder if you realize what an exceptional child you have here." I suppose I really hadn't.

Our family boosted the Richmond ward's membership to 700. The ward met on Moss Side Ave. which was quite a drive for us. A new chapel was soon to be built on Monument Rd., just a few miles from our house. Bishop Tommy Henshaw was our bishop there and our much-admired stake president was Cashall Donahoe. He was in the Henrico Co. school system, and one of the most admirable people I have ever met. His wife, Myrtle, a lovely lady, and their three sons were quite an asset to the group. Others that we remember there are Brother Smoot, the Powers families, the Amos family, the Henshaws, Leakes, and others.

I did some nursing at Medical College of Virginia on the surgical floor. I had a great maid, a black girl who, unfortunately, came to work inebriated! She fried great chicken, though! Later I worked on the psychiatric floor part-time. I did some private duty nursing, taking some cases at the hospital, and some in patient's homes.

In 1958, I was asked to teach early American Literature in Relief Society, and I went to October conference in Salt Lake to boost my efforts with some ladies from Roanoke--Mamie Johnson, Doris Ferguson, Anne Ferguson, and Ava Trent. I thoroughly enjoyed teaching that class, and I learned much. I continued teaching it until 1964 when we moved back to Roanoke. Many of the older sisters said they had never been enthusiastic about literature before I taught it. I was also active in the ward choir with Jessie Fay Edison directing. I had some great experiences in that capacity. Richmond ward was part of the Washington Stake.

We had a three story house. The third floor was one large room. The three big boys and their friends really took advantage of the privacy. Sometimes we had some of their friends stay a few days due to a difference of opinion with their folks. Ed Eager was a very nice boy who had beautiful manners, but unfortunately he became quite an alcoholic. It was a sad situation--very indulging mother whose father was quite well off. Harold's sisters came to visit us in Richmond in 1959, as they had done five years earlier in Roanoke. Grandpa Riley died in December of 1959.

At the end of that school year, Brent and some friends went to the beach, and he got a bad sunburn on his back side, thighs and back of his legs. When I was told about Brent's sunburn, I went up and observed the situation. He was asleep on his stomach. I told him he could not go to the dance that night. He said that Jessica had bought a new dress for the dance and that he was going. To my surprise, he walked out the front door that night, very stiff-legged, and he managed somehow. He was determined! That year we had traded our blue '55 Ford wagon on a tan and cream '59 Ford wagon. When Harold's vacation came we drove to Idaho, leaving Richmond at 3 am. on a Saturday

(s any key Paige kidded him about that. The romance cooled off later.)

In October, 1960, we began using the new chapel. Harold conducted the first meeting held in it. Brent gave a 2 1/2 minute talk that morning, being the first person to speak there. He also blessed the sacrament the first time it was offered in the building. The following Tuesday I taught my literature lesson in Relief Society--the first Relief Society class held there. Paul Henderson, my brother, lived in Richmond as well. He helped build the building, being one of the few employed to do so. Much of the labor was donated except for contract jobs. Harold and the boys spent hours in donated labor. Two ladies would be asked to go down around 9 pm. and take a treat for the men after their volunteer work in the evenings. We sometimes took watermelon, desserts, and drinks and it was always appreciated.

Brent graduated from Douglas Southall Freeman High School where Paige was also attending. Scott was in Tuckahoe Jr. High trying Mr. Levenson's patience along with mine. Suzanne and Greg were in school at Crestview Elementary--quite model students. Charlotte entered first grade there in 1961. Suzanne's best friend was Margaret Mills, a nice little girl who lived nearby. Her parents, Vivian and Frances became our friends, as well. The day Brent left for B.Y.U. I shall always remember as one of the bluest of my life. After he got off, riding with a couple of fellows, I took Greg and Charlotte to M.C.V. for tonsillectomies. It poured rain. I cried and cried all day. Greg was nauseated, and Charlotte cried with her throat hurting--and I cried more and more. I worried about the children and I worried about Brent for fear he wouldn't eat right. How would he ever survive without me? Oh, dear! The trials we endure! Paige and Scott seemed to have a talent for selecting daring friends, which didn't help.

We lived in Richmond long enough that we felt like it was home. Aunt Ivie and Uncle Guilford Christley both passed away while we were there, and also, Dewey Farley, John Morris, and others in the Roanoke area. We had visitors often while in Richmond. My sisters and their families would visit when they could. Harold traveled with his work and many times we would exchange children with Nadine when he went to Alexandria so our younger children could get to know their cousins. In April 1961, mother came from D.C. to be at my place while I took a trip to southern California. While there, I was a contestant on a T.V. game show where I won fifty dollars! Quite exciting!

Osceola Ferguson Henderson, This is your Life!

2007-04-15T16:49:00.000-04:00

'This is your Life' in honor of Osceola Henderson upon the occasion of her 90th birthday, written and presented by Beulah Riley at the Grandin Rd. chapel in Roanoke, Va. -- April 11, 1974.

Into a beautiful part of this earth, in the Spring of 1884, on April 11, you were born into a loving home to William Harrison Ferguson and Margaret Rachel Owens Ferguson. It was a lovely time of year and all the earth must have been bubbling over with new creations. The house where you were born was located near the foot of Bent Mountain across from their store, which is now Rierson's store, near an area called Big Lick. President John Taylor was the president of the L.D.S. Church at the time of your birth. The president of the United States was Chester A. Arthur, who served from 1881-1885 following the assassination of James A. Garfield. Big Lick was given the name of Roanoke in 1884-- so our city celebrates its 90th anniversary this year also.

You have lived through many was eras. These were the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, Korean and Viet Nam Wars. But perhaps the war that you were most closely related to was the Civil War because of the stories related to you by your father. He had served in the Confederate army and was captured by the Yankees in Delaware and put into prison where he contracted fever. He was fed poorly and returned home so frail that his family observed him standing at the gate surveying his home and thought he was a ghost. He never cared for cornbread very much after his experience as a war prisoner, because he had eaten so much of it. Grandpa Henderson complained about not having cornbread because he liked it. Your father was tall and had a long white beard. He was kind and neighborly, and very honest in dealing with others.

Your mother was a very short woman, a bit stocky in her later life. (Garth and Patti exemplify them in appearance when they were young.) Your mother and father were blessed with eleven children of which you were the seventh. Only five of them lived to adulthood, but they each married locally and had large families of their own.

We can only imagine the heartache experienced by your parents and their children when the two oldest sons died at ages 16 and 17, three years apart.

Your sister, Icie, was next in line. How sad it must have been for a girl of thirteen to lose a brother and at 16 lose another. You were 6 yrs. and 10 yrs. at the time. Icie passed away at the age of 86, after having 12 children. Her daughter, Dorothy, represents her here tonight.

In 1881 there was a little son who was stillborn. The next year brought another son, Stephen, who was two years older than you. He died at age seven, when you were just five years old. You always spoke of his sweet nature. James was next. He lived to have a large family, but met his death by accident in 1922 at the age of 43. He is represented by his son, Guy, tonight. You were followed by a sister, Ivie, when you were two years old, and Clara came two years later. She only lived 3 1/2 months. Next was Maggie, born 1891. She is here with us tonight and we are so grateful that she is still with us. Two years later, there was the last child, a little son who was stillborn.

You had a happy childhood and you grew up living near your cousins. Their father was your father's business partner in the grocery business. Their store stood near where Rierson's store now stands. One of your cousins, Harve Ferguson, is here with us. They would often take trades for goods or food. One time, some butter was brought in to be exchanged for brown sugar. The butter felt a little heavy, so your father cut it and found a large bolt in it to add to the weight. When he measured out the sugar, he included the bolt back in it, and sent it back home with that dishonest customer.

Recently you told us that your parents would not allow any fighting between you and your cousins. Making faces at each other without adults observing was your means of taking out your frustrations on each other. Your schoolteacher was a Mr. Ratliff, who taught you the basics. Two elders that helped strengthen you in the church were Elder John DeGray Dixon, and Elder Nathaniel Thomas. Your Aunt Will Henderlite lived over on the river above Salem.

Your sister, Ivie, met a second cousin there named Herbert Henderson. She invited him to come to visit on this side of the mountain and thus you met him and a romance thrived. You were married on December 12, 1900, after about one year's acquaintance. You were just sixteen, and your new husband was 27. (Sweet Sixteen song) During the first part of your marriage you lived with your parents.

November 24, 1901 was a very special date for you. Robert was born. He has always been known as Cap which stood for Captain. This was the nickname he got from his grandfather. He is here to honor you tonight.

You then moved with Papa to Pennsylvania for a short time. But you decided against city life in the Yankee country and you returned home to Virginia. Papa continued to work in Pennsylvania for long periods of time until about 1919, when he returned home to stay. He did a little farming, and served as Justice of the Peace for a time. He had some veterinary training, and always was willing to help others doctor their animals.

Rachel was born in 1903 and Ruth arrived in 1905. About this time you and your family moved to the home where the rest of us were born and reared. Roxie was your next baby. She fell down some stairs, and died the next day when she was just 18 months of age. Ernest was born next. He died at the age of fifteen when his gun discharged by accident while he was hunting. Paul was born Sept. 1, 1911, and Woodrow followed two years later on Sept 11, 1913. Beulah came on Aug. 30, 1916, and then came Herbert on Jan. 19, 1919. Herb died in 1949, close to his 30th birthday. His son, Gary represents him tonight. Hazel was born Aug. 24, 1921, and Betty came on Sept. 21, 1924. Maurice is here to represent Betty and he will now play a tape she has made of a song for you --Mother Machree. Belva's birth was on June 24, 1927, and Nadine completed the family on Jan. 8, 1930.

You gave birth to 13 children in just over 28 years, the first being born when you were 17 yrs. and the last when you were 45 yrs.

During your life time you saw many modern inventions: radio, television, indoor plumbing and electricity. You have lived to see transportation change from horses to automobiles to airplanes, to man's walking on the moon. You have enjoyed traveling. In 1945 you made a trip to California where you were honored on Mother's Day for having the most children. Since then, you've spent much of your time in the homes of your children, helping where needed.

In 1964, you celebrated your 80th birthday with a big family gathering in Washington D.C. Many of us that are here tonight were at that celebration ten years ago. In the summer of 1972, you had a fall and fractured your hip. You were very ill during that time. After five weeks you left the hospital, and within a week, you returned with a gall bladder attack. That necessitated another major surgery. Since then your walking has slowed, and your hearing is a little weaker, and your eyes have dimmed a bit. For your age we think you are a marvel. You boast 65 grandchildren, 100 great grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren, with many more to come.

Opening song--Love At Home

Closing song--God Be With You.

Another hymn sang was--An Angel From on High.

Reo and Bonnie Colleen McBride played piano solos--I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen was Papa's favorite song, and it was played.

Also, some string music was played.

Roanoke History Talk, Beulah Henderson Riley

2007-04-14T16:50:00.000-04:00

This is a talk given by Beulah Riley in the Spring of 1993 at the Roanoke 1st Ward--

I want to thank the bishop for trusting me to inspire you with a bit of history of our area, and to relate some bit of knowledge of our past. Being a genuine Senior Citizen in this ward, I shall attempt to inspire as well as to inform some of you, even the very young about how it was back then. Brother Claude Rowland's roots are in the Gretna area, I believe, and mine are in what is now Roanoke 2nd Ward area.

The first missionaries who traveled on foot came to the area in the 1890's. Some converts chose to go west. Grandfather Ferguson spoke to the Mission President about moving. He had four daughters and one son. He was advised to stay here build up Zion here and he received a promise that his children would marry good people who would all eventually become members of the church. The eldest grandchild, Bertha Wade, did go west and married a missionary who was from Pima, Arizona. Now Pima was a small town but some wonderful people have begun their lives there-President Spencer W. Kimball and Brother Vearl McBride, to name a few.

My mother, Osceola Ferguson Henderson, was one of the four daughters. All their children had large families--Wades, Fergusons, Hendersons, Christleys, and Morrises. My grandfather donated the land for the first chapel in the area. The materials (trees) were cut and sawed on site for building the chapel. It had one large room with a very high ceiling, and the building creaked when the wind blew. On a windy day you could wonder if it would stand--well, it did.

A wood stove gave the heat in winter. Oil lamps gave the light for night meetings. Sister Adeline Bohon lived nearby and was so faithful to see that the oil lamps were filled and the floor was swept. I can picture her in her long black skirt. She'd take the keys out of her pocket to open the door after walking down from her home nearby. The church also had a pump organ for musical accompaniment. We have many precious memories of attending there, walking over the hills, using lantern light in the evenings. We loved all the missionaries and our Mission Presidents and families.

The old maid Ferguson sisters were the first Sunday School teachers I remember. I recall a picture of the Savior as a shepherd with a number of dots on it where we pasted little lambs each time we attended- a visual aid, if you will. We loved our sweet teachers. I have a little bench on my front porch that was built for the smallest children in that church. The benches were brought down to be used in the Roanoke Chapel on Grandin Rd. years later in the 1950's. Many years later the church was dismantled and rebuilt closer to the highway that went up on Bent Mountain.

My grandfather operated a country store out on Route 221 where some would bring eggs or butter and trade them for other things like salt, sugar or flour. He was a very honest man. One time some unscrupulous customer brought in some butter to trade. When my grandfather weighed it, it seemed heavy, so he cut it open and found a large, heavy bolt. When he weighed out the flour to send home in the trade, he quietly included the bolt in it to be sent back home.

When my grandmother heard the Elders preach, she was quickly converted. My grandfather joined a short time later. The missionaries as well as the members did suffer some persecution, but they took it well. It only seemed to make their testimonies stronger. My grandparents home was like a mission headquarters. We have pictures of 18 to 20 missionaries there for conference.

My grandmother was a self-made Relief Society President. She was a midwife, very charitable; determined in her ways. She led the way and Grandfather followed her thinking. She answered many calls to go and deliver babies because doctors were scarce out in the country. Sister Neighbors, who incidentally is the grandmother of Sister Guilliams, had twin girls. The mother asked Grandmother to name them. My grandfather had named my mother Osceola, after the Indian chief who is buried near Charleston, S.C., so my grandmother named the twins--one was Ocie and the other, Ola.

My father was a distant relation of my mother's family who came to visit when he was in his 20s. My mother was in her teens. After an acquaintance of about a year, they were married. She wore a lovely dress and hat that she herself had made. He was 27 and she was 16. He'd been born in Giles Co., Va. but when his parents went to the Bristol area to live, he had grown up in Tennessee.

When my father grew up, his father was a school teacher. My sister who made teaching her career now has his roll book showing my father and his brother listed as students, and also his school bell. His mother was the organist in the Presbyterian church and my father learned to appreciate music early in life. He played the piano enough to enjoy it himself, and he had a deep bass voice and enjoyed singing. He knew all the old Protestant hymns.

My father, being older than my mother, had more years of formal education than she. However, she was accomplished as a seamstress and other domestic duties. She tried to hold off the dating period for her daughters, but we reminded her of her early age at marriage. She said she cooked and sewed and made her own clothes. My father was born a Protestant. It took him a while to adjust to the idea of these young Elders bringing such a very important message to the area. Prejudice was rampant toward the missionaries throughout the area. He really had no quarrel with L.D.S. beliefs; he just saw that many of the early converts were very humble, uneducated people. My father had a genuine interest in seeing that his children had educational opportunities.

For the first five years of my life he was appointed Justice of the Peace in our district. Salem was a long trip to go for trials and judgments. So they had this arrangement for trying cases closer to the area where folks lived. He held court in the area at Bell’s Store.

The school system was a far cry from what we have today. In fact, there were several small schools built in Roanoke County where students could attend near their homes in one room schoolhouses. There was a Dink Ferguson school near the foot of the mountain, a Rowland Ferguson school, the James Ferguson school near where Sanford Bohon’s home is today, just to name a few. My father had vision of having a central school that would serve all these areas where teachers could be brought in for each grade level. There was opposition from those who felt the distance was too far for the children to travel. Remember, this was in the days before automobiles!

But better judgment prevailed and a school was built that served up to the 7th grade. Later it was expanded through high school. So, as a child, I walked nearly three miles to school. Sometimes we were lucky enough to get a ride. Now when it was rainy or snowing, oft times the horse and buggy system was used. Out behind the school there was a stable for the animals. In good weather, it was nice to walk and play along the way to, and mostly from school. We carried our lunch to school as there were no cafeterias then. These earlier schools served as recreational facilities with many a square dance held there. The music was provided by stringed instruments. The Virginia Reel and the Grapevine Twist were some of the types of dancing done, with the local talent providing the music.

My father had quite a sense of humor and had a booming laugh. He kept pretty well up on government and world affairs. I had a brother he named Woodrow Wilson--now that tells you he was a staunch Democrat! He had had some veterinary training, and gave many hours of service helping friends and neighbors with sick cattle or horses. I saw him with a knife plunged into a cow’s side to deflate her after she would eat gaseous grass, or with a long-necked bottle pouring medicine down the throat of a horse.

When I was eight years old, baptism age, my cousin who was close to my age, Elsie Christley, was baptized. My father would not give his consent, so I was very disappointed. I felt as though I was a member anyway, and attended church regularly. My mother would send us children to church, even if she could not attend. We would carry our good shoes and walk in our older ones. Then, when within sight of the church, we would leave our old shoes next to the fence, and put on our carried shoes to look presentable.

Five years lapsed, and at age thirteen, I had no opposition from him and was baptized the same day as my younger brother and sister, Herb and Hazel. My father had great respect for my mother’s parents, and this helped soften his heart toward the church. Also, I had an older brother, Ernest, who was killed in a hunting accident at age 15. The local preacher would not speak over his grave because, I believe, my mother was a Mormon. The missionaries were of service to my family at that sad time, and this impressed my father. Gradually, the missionaries were welcome in our home, even to spend the night, occasionally. We began to feel that my father would one day join the church.

An older missionary couple, Brother and Sister Isgreen, would come to the house and Brother Isgreen and Papa would sing as Sister Isgreen would play the piano. On one occasion, my sister, Nadine, and I joined Papa and Bro. Isgreen to sing a special musical number in sacrament meeting, even before he joined the church. I was greatly pleased and surprised when he was baptized Nov. 29, 1946 after I was married and had three sons of my own.

The war had just ended and many veterans families needed housing. The government built ‘barracks-like’ houses which had four apartments in each building. It was filled with young couples, most with small children, and we were fortunate enough to be one of those families. It stood where Virginia Western Community College now stands. We often went up to Back Creek for church as there was no church in the city, but we did have a meeting house on Patterson Ave.

On one occasion in my memory, was in 1947 when we celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the Latter Day Saints entering the Salt Lake valley. We held a conference in a women’s clubhouse near Lakeside. The singing of the choir was so beautiful that we felt voices of angels had joined us. Years ago, Roanoke was part of the Southern States Mission, which was headquartered in Atlanta. As the area grew, we then became part of the East Central States Mission centered in Louisville.

President James R. Price was head of the next division, the Central Atlantic States Mission formed from the East Central States Mission, and its headquarters were in Roanoke! He was a dynamic leader. One Sunday he announced that this was the beginning of a new era-one of building chapels. We would have one in Roanoke! He said he would go on record as giving the first one hundred dollars for the building fund. I told Harold to raise his hand to indicate that we would give the second one hundred, which he did--well, I pushed his elbow up! This was on a salary of $120 a month. Others pledged that night, too.

We had many projects through which funds were raised. Locally, we paid for 30% of the building with the Church covering the rest. In January, 1949, the ground was broken for the Grandin Rd. chapel. Milan Christley and I are probably the only ones here today who attended that occasion. Others there were Mamie Johnson, Flora Friend, Nancy Rickman, Frank Leake, the builder, various missionaries, President Price, and others. Among the children there were my three boys and many of their cousins. We purchased our first home on Maiden Lane that year, which was near the new building.

The Roanoke branch began meeting in the new chapel August, 1949, and that was indeed a blessing to us. It was like a dream come true that we had our own chapel--It was great! I was work leader in our branch Relief Society, and served as the Primary president over the children. I also served as District R.S. secretary and treasurer. I shall never forget when I was first in the gymnasium on a Saturday morning when we were having a bazaar that day. I was alone in the farthest corner from the stage. I just stood there shedding tears of gratitude for this building.

The Green family were a great part of the group as were the Fergusons, Christleys, Wades, Bohons, Morrises, and others. We were organized into a District with Milan Christley as District President. Mamie Johnson was District Relief Society President, and I was her secretary. The District stretched from Bluefield, West Virginia to Charlottesville, Va. to Danville, Va.

A memory I have of this time was when I was Primary President. One year we sponsored the play of Cinderella. We made all the costumes and used all the young children. We performed it for the adults and even invited the community. It was quite well done. also had the privilege of accompanying Pres. Price as he took the prophet, President George Albert Smith, on a tour of the building. This was the only time I can remember I walked with my children to the chapel.

On a Christmas program in 1953, my baby son was used as the Christ Child. He didn’t cry until the very last. Some thought a doll had been used up until then! Jesse Mullins’ father came up to me and gave me $1.00 to save for him. Little did he know that in later years his grandson and our daughter would bless us with six beautiful grandchildren!

The old Roanoke Chapel was cherished by so many. It was located in a nice area of the city with nice homes, a lovely high school and a library nearby. Many strong and dedicated members attended there, such as Milan and Thora Christley, Bro. Rowland, Bro. and Sis. Green, and many others. It was a time of growth for the church here in Roanoke, and it will continue to grow and prosper. I am grateful I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. (Her notes indicate that she bore her testimony to conclude.)

Beulah's Funeral Talk, Suzanne Riley Mullins

2007-04-13T16:51:00.000-04:00

Beulah's Funeral-

Beulah Beatrice Henderson Riley was born 77 years ago on August 30, 1916 to Osceola Ferguson Henderson and Herbert Murton Henderson. She was their eighth child out of an eventual 13 children, and, in a family with many sisters, she was surrounded by brothers. Her father used to bring her candy when she was quite little. She was especially fond of Tootsie Rolls and that inspired her nickname of 'toots'. She attended Back Creek school, which was a 3 1/2 mile walk in good weather. She looked forward to the snow because it meant her older brother would get to take the sleigh pulled by two horses.

Extended family lived nearby, and thus she grew up feeling a part of a large clan, which she was able to enjoy her whole life. She was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April, 1930 at the age of 13, along with her brother, Herb, and her sister, Hazel. Her church has always been a very important part of her life, and she always valued her testimony of it.

When she graduated from high school in 1933, there were 12 students in her graduating class. It was during the depression and college looked like an impossibility. She worked in various department stores in nearby Roanoke for $10.50 a week. In March 1937, at the age of 21 she entered nurse's training in Bluefield, West Virginia at St. Luke's Hospital, following her older sister Ruth's lead. Graduating 3 years later, she moved to Washington D.C. and worked at Doctor's Hospital with her cousin, Virginia Norton.

Years later when I was in nurse's training myself, she enjoyed comparing notes about that demanding time in her life and the easy time time I was having by comparison. She later returned to Roanoke and did private duty nursing. When her sister, Ruth, and her husband, Bill Blunck, came to Roanoke for a visit, she was persuaded to return to Idaho with them. As fate would have it, in Rexburg, Idaho she met a handsome bachelor named Harold Riley and they were married 6 months later on Nov. 29, 1941, just one week before Pearl Harbor.

15 months later their first child, Brent was born. They moved to Idaho for Harold to help on the farm where he grew up, and, shortly before returning to Va., they were sealed together for time and all eternity in the L.D.S. temple in Logan, Utah. Dad joined the navy and served during the last half of World War II. Paige had been born in Roanoke, and Mom and the boys lived with Grandma Ocie during that time.

Upon Scott's birth, Dad was discharged from the service. He began working for the Internal Revenue Service in Roanoke where Mom enjoyed motherhood and setting up housekeeping. They bought their first house here in 1950 (for $10,400). I was born shortly after that, and I'm told there was much excitement surrounding the long-awaited birth of a daughter. My birth was soon followed by Greg's, and then a year later, Charlotte's, and their family was then complete.

In 1956, we moved to Richmond, Va. where we lived 8 years before returning to Roanoke. Life was always hectic with a big family. Mom would occasionally do some private duty nursing, which she enjoyed. She was a member of the local garden club, and always enjoyed beautifying her home with flowers both inside and out. Through her church service, she taught literature classes in the women's auxiliary for years.

She also enjoyed music and sang in numerous choirs with her beautiful soprano voice. Right after they were married, she sang in the Messiah, and my dad, who is tone deaf, attended every concert to enjoy her singing. She listened to classical music and enjoyed Opera, much different than her children's taste in music. Her love of music was kindled at her father's knee as she listened to his beautiful bass voice as a child. Later she sang with him and now she's able to do that again.

She had many joys in her life, as well as trials. Mom always looked forward to visits with her 12 grandchildren. They were the highlight of her life. She enjoyed a close relationship with her mother until Grandma Ocie died, and Mom continued that loving family relationship with her brothers and sisters through the years. Mom always enjoyed traveling. We crossed the country in various station wagons as children numerous times and I have many memories of those trips.

My parents went to Hawaii soon after my dad retired, and they made the rounds often to visit each of their children whenever possible as we scattered around the country. My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1991, marking a landmark that few in today's world reach. Mom always enjoyed family get-togethers, and in recent years has hosted some special gatherings of family and friends, both at her home and at her place in the country near the place of her birth.

Mom was frugal by nature, and always liked finding a bargain. It was especially nice when it resulted in something one of us needed, so she was always thinking of others in this way. Along the way, she also had some trials. My brother Greg's untimely death was a time of great sadness for her. In addition, there have been health problems for both my parents in recent years.

Six years ago when my father had his stroke, Mom had to adjust to being in charge of all the business affairs that he had always handled, and that was difficult for her. Two years ago at this very time she suffered a major heart attack and we almost lost her. Since then we've had her on borrowed time. Recently, she felt an increased need to get her affairs in order. Just a few weeks ago we gathered for our family reunion, and we will savor that time with her as we remember her gentle nature and loving ways. Her absence will leave a void in our lives and we will look forward to another, more glorious reunion with her one day.

Mom, we miss you and will love you until then.