Roots part 1: The parents of Jacob Obed Gardner

The Parents of Jacob Obed Gardner:

The above was taken of Brigham Ozro Gardner and Emma Eunice Michaelson Gardner in Afton, Wyoming, 1932.

Jacob Obed Gardner was born to Brigham Ozro Gardner and Emma Eunice Michaelson Gardner on October 30, 1902. He was born in the small mountain valley of Northwestern Wyoming known as Star Valley, just North of the town of Afton. 

Today we will look at the man and woman who were his parents. I will not attempt an in depth look at these two, since doing so would not allow me to keep up with my weekly schedule of updating this blog. I will however highlight some things about Oz and Emma that are worth noting. I didn't attempt to delve into some of the more interesting details such as how they fell in love, but rather focused on the attributes which their children, including Grandpa, remember learning from them.

The following information was obtained from Judge Us, O Lord - a biography of Brigham Ozro Gardner and Emma Eunice Michaelson Gardner by Bonita Gardner Hopkin. Any direct quotations are in italics. The quotes included in this post that are directly attributed to Grandpa (Obed) are taken from a document written by Jacob Obed Gardner on January 11, 1965 entitled Recollections of Dad and Mother. The story of Ozro as Water Commisioner is attributed to Obed's brother Dean, written October 8, 1965.

Brigham Ozro Gardner (Oz) was the 38th child of 48 children, 27 sons, and 21 daughters. He was born in West Jordan, Utah on March 17, 1872. He was one of 11 children born to his mother Laura Althea Thompson Gardner, who was the fourth wife of Archibald Gardner, Oz's father.

Early in his life Brigham Ozro fell in love with the area known as Star Valley, Wyoming. In fact Aunt Bonnie felt that the valley was so much a part of him that she recites much of its history. She also explains that like the weather in Star Valley. To quote Aunt Bonnie:
"The nature of Brigham Ozro Gardner was as varied as the climate of Star Valley. His temperament fluctuated from the mildest summers day to the most severe winter's night; he variably could be meditative and 'deep' as the winter's snows, as 'high' as the fleecy white clouds, as sudden and swift and threatening as the unexpected electric storm, as mellow as the ripening wheat fields. He was quite unpredictable - a man of contrast."

Grandpa Obed didn't mention anything negative in the parts of his writing quoted in Aunt Bonnie's work, instead he compliments his dad on his great strength and his work ethic.
"I sent along with father many times when we were getting out logs.[Referring to frequent trips up the canyon of Swift Creek, where they would often go to get wood for fire, building, or for sale.] I didn't exactly like canyon work for it was hard. I remember many times bing on the end of that big crosscut saw with father on the other and we would saw down a huge tree about two feet in diameter without even taking a rest. I got so tired, sometimes, I wondered how father could work so hard and so fast and so long without a rest, but, rather than say I wanted a rest and admit letting my end of the work lag, I worked on and on. I wonder just what kept me going when I was so out of wind?...anyway, father really taught me how to work and to stay on the job.. when the going has been rough and I have felt tired and ready to quit then would always come to me so vividly this worthwhile experience I learned in the canyon getting out logs with father...This lesson of 'battle to the end, if needs be' was so indelibly taught me by father that it has become part of my very life."

Brigham Ozro was also mentioned as being a very influential man in the community. He served in the Wyoming state legislature, the local school board, and as the local Water Commissioner in Star Valley.  This last job was the source of some difficulty and even danger as squabbles over water rights became heated. The following incident quoted in Aunt Bonnie's work is instructive:
"He had regulated the water in Cottonwood Creek and one ditch received very little water because of more recent water rights. When one patron on the ditch learned of what happened, he said he was going to open his headgate and would shoot anyone who tried to stop him. The Smoot [the town just South of Afton in Star Valley] people notified Oz of this threat and warned him to stay away.

Oz thought about it, momentarily, then calmly drove to the S.B. ranch. S.B. came out, carrying his rifle and proceeded to tell Oz what he intended to do. Oz suggested that the proper place for the shooting was at the headgate and invited S.B. to ride with thim. As they drove to the main headgate, in the words of S.B., 'He didn't act like he was worried at all; just joked, talked about the drought, etc.' When they arrived at the headgate Oz told S. to make good his threat by openin the headgate but that he intended to close it again and he added, 'S., if you try and shoot me be sure you make the first shot good because if I'm not dead after it, you won;t get a chance for a second one!' At this S. reneged and (while S. often said Oz was a fool to challenge him) they were good friends from then on.  


Obed sums up his father's character in this way:
"He was known by his contemporaries as honest, trustworthy and dependable; he tried to be just that and succeeded to a very high degree.

Brigham Ozro was a devoted father and liked to surprise his children with gifts at unexpected times. He would never hesitate to do what was required to help his children when the need arose.  

Brigham Ozro died in Star Valley on October 2, 1957.

On May 12, 1874 Emma Eunice Michaelson was born to Jacob Michaleson and Elizabeth Emma Barker. She was in St. Charles, Idaho, near the shores of Bear Lake. 

She is described as a faithful wife, wonderful cook, and an excellent and extremely loving mother. 

Grandpa celebrated her mothering with the following words:
"Mother was never too busy, with all her tasks, to find time to tell us what we wished to know, to answer questions, and to make us feel we were the greatest children in all the world..in high school I had a lot of problems...Somehow Mother always gave me assurance that I would answer them correctly."

As Grandpa mentioned "all her tasks," lets talk a little about what those were.

Her daughter Bonita describes the daily routine for Emma:
"She seemed to be an untiring worker. A typical day for her began at 5:30 AM, summer or winter, even though she usually had only four hours sleep or less. Super over, Oz would  fold the paper, head for the bedroom and call, 'How come to bed, Emmie.' 'I won't be long,' she would answer. But there were many things to be done and it woujld be midnight, or later, before she could retire.
...Breakfast was at 7 AM. It consisted of hot biscuits or 'scones' 9for she mixed bread every night and made them from the fresh dough); cereal with cream and sugar, bacon and eggs (these latter two items only if available). 

Also from Estella Gardner, wife of Arch:
"Emma's life was dedicated to her husband and to her children. They seemed to be 'her whole world.'"

Obed penned about his mother:
"I remember, early in my life, when I used to lie in her lap and reach up my hands to touch her face. My, she was beautiful! Those deep, blue eyes and wavy brown hair (almost golden) and her unwrinkled cheeks had a smile just for me. I think if I have ever known love and felt it, I got this gift from my Mother...She was so kind and so tender with us we just felt secure and wanted and needed...Many times when I was tempted to do wrong, the vision of my Mother with her love, understanding and full confidence that we would do only those things which were right, would come to me...her loving eyes and sweet smile were so vivid before me that I just could not fail her..."

Emma died on December 5, 1945 at the age of 71, and after more than fifty years of marriage.

Next weeks post will be about Grandma Gardner's parents.

Then and Now - A Little bit of History Detective Work

Here is a picture taken, I assume, by Grandma Gardner of her family of boys. It is marked in her own hand as being taken in Geneva. Though the house bares little resemblance to the house of today. I wondered if the house in the background isn't a house across the street. Perhaps the Boehme, or Marx residence. It does appear as though there is a road between them and the house.

Below is another picture taken of Lynn and Rex and the same house.

 Here is another photo, perhaps taken by J.O. which appears to be of the same vintage, though probably taken on a Sunday, and different day than the others,  and possibly was taken by the Geneva home.

The number of windows also indicates that the home in the back is a larger home than the one which we visited in Geneva. It is pictured again below for comparison.

The first picture, with grandpa and the boys in the wagon was probably taken in the yard, camera facing North, catching the Boehme home in the background. Here is the Boehme home as it stands today, with two apparent additions, and taken from a different angle, but the roof is of the same type. as the one in the first picture.

Now if you can imagine the picture being taken from in front of the wall you see in the right of the picture, and imagine the added on portion removed and replaced with a porch, I think we may have a match!

This being perhaps settled, it looks like this picture was taken between the Creamery and the house.

The Boehme home is the one you can barely see behind the tree and the pickup truck. the foundation in the foreground also post-dates the pictures above, according to Delbert Marx. It is, he said, a furnace building that was added later to make steam, which made heat for the creamery. Interesting that it was added later and was taken down sooner!

A Trip to Geneva, Idaho. Part II

A Typical School Day:

Lynn and Rex were both of school age while Obed and Mary lived in Geneva. A typical school day no doubt would have consisted of getting dressed, eating some  breakfast, and walking the 0.35 mile distance to the school house.

For Lynn and Rex, I will say that the distance to the school is much farther than it looks in the aerial view below makes it seem. I will not, however vouch for how they could have walked the distance uphill through the snow both ways. (If this were  a text message I would insert a smiley here:))

Click on the image for a full size view.

 For a more clear perspective, here is the view of the Geneva Creamery taken from the school. This was taken with a zoom lens at 1x magnification.

Here is a view zoomed in at 10x magnification.

The power lines would be missing. There would probably also be a lot more growth along the old creek (located just past the weeds in the foreground before the creamery). This creek was diverted over ten years ago according to Mr. Delbert Marx, who lives across the street. Other than these changed, it is likely the view hasn't changed much since the days up to 1937 when Grandpa ran the creamery.

At school, Lynn and Rex would have been in the same class. The school had two groups of children, four grades in each group. Only grades four through eight were taught at this old schoolhouse, which would have been six or seven years old when the Gardner family moved from this location. The class sizes were likely only a dozen or so students per class or less. Besides these other students there were likely only the two teachers and an occasional visitor who would be in the school.

Today this school is no longer used. The students from the area are bussed the nearly fourteen miles to Montpelier, Idaho for school.

These two towns are separated by a mountain pass. Geneva is a little valley trapped between this range, and the one pictured behind the creamery in the above photos. This narrow valley and the ranchers and farmers that live in it represent the population of Geneva, Idaho today. All things considered, other than modernization of farming and ranching, very little has changed in this area.

A trip to Geneva, Idaho

This is the old house and creamery in Geneva, Idaho where Jacob Obed Gardner worked as a cheesemaker with his young family. 

The house itself is quite small, these pictures (with exception of this first one) make it look larger than it is. Notice my dad is standing in front of the entryway to give you scale.

The lathe and plaster walls have been completely removed, but the floor is in surprisingly good shape. This picture was taken from just inside the entryway (entryway as pictured above faces West, while the door enters from the North) in an area which I suppose was the kitchen/dining area. The camera is facing Northeast.

This is a view to the North from what dad and I guess is the living room. This window is visible from the far left of previous picture. You can see on the left through the window is the old Boehme (pronounced bay-me) home. This is a name dad remembered as we first drove up to the creamery. That is pretty amazing since he was only six when they moved from here to Hazelton!

This picture is taken from the living room looking to the South.

This is looking out the large window in the center room toward the East. The Wyoming boarder is only about half a mile away from this home. Grandpa Gardner's home town of Afton,Wyoming is only 35 miles away.

This is a view of the house from the Southeast.

The Old Creamery

Though presently the creamery is wired for electricity, according to the neighbor across the road, Mr. Delbert Marx, this was not the case when Grandpa worked here. This means that the process of making cheese was a much more time intensive line of work than it is today. This explains why Grandpa mentions in his audio recorded history having difficulty attending his Sunday meetings as he would have liked. Mr. Marx said electricity would have been connected to the house and creamery in the mid 1940s. This being said, many of the features in the barn are different today than they would have been in 1937 when Grandpa left for Hazelton.

From the attic window on the right of the building Dad remembers watching as the Gypsies approached. This is a story that I will include in full detail in a later post.

The above picture is inside the main room of the creamery. The boards on the floor are covering a gutter that runs the full length of the room. Jack Hart is pictured crossing the gutter, Dad is on the right. Behind Dad you can see the main entry which opens to the South. 

You will also notice that there is a stack of lumber in the left background of the photo. According to Mr. Marx, this building is listed as a historical building and apparently is about to be restored. I am glad we made this trip when we did!

This image is of the "cheese room" as Dad calls it. He remembers taking a bite out of several blocks of cheese. Something for which Grandpa probably wasn't very happy.

This is the room just up the stairs in the first indoor picture. I am not sure what the purpose of this upstairs room was, if any of you have any ideas I would appreciate your help!

On the next post I will put some pictures of the school and some of the surrounding areas of Geneva.

It was a very enjoyable and informative day. I felt like I connected with my Dad and my Grandpa in a way that I haven't before. It is interesting to see a piece of what life was like for them as they lived out that part of our family history! On this trip I imagined a young father who was just a year or two younger than I am now, probably only 34 years of age. He probably hadn't given much thought yet to what his posterity would be!
It is amazing to see the far-reaching effects of some of the little decisions that were made in such a humble place. It was here that Grandpa lived as he received a call to be bishop in a far away ward in a town he likely hadn't heard of before. It was here that the Spirit started preparing him for that very call in advance by prompting him to save up money and start buying cattle for a future opportunity to return to work on a farm. It was here too that Uncle Reid was born (in nearby Montpelier). Truly much has come from this humble little place!

If you would like any of these photos in their original size please let me know (steven@stevenogardner.com)