Dad and Mom first met in their early twenties while attending meetings in the old Farmers Ward (later McKinley Ward of the Granite Stake), in Salt Lake City, Utah. 1 Indeed, finding themselves in the same neighborhood and ward, from our point of view as their progeny, does not seem to have been mere happenstance. In light of the ensuing events which would unfold in their lives, and ours, too, of course, it was essential.
Our records show that the Howells family had lived in this general area for decades. 2 Grandpa Howells was raised nearby as a boy, and he and Grandma had their reception following their wedding in the Salt Lake Temple, 26 March 1896, at their residence, on “West Temple, between Eleventh and Twelfth South.” 3 They later took up residence at 2017 West Temple, where Mom was born on 20 July 1903, the fourth of six children. 4 She had two older brothers and an older sister (Ed, Evelyn, and Jack), and two younger brothers (Steve and Dan). 5 Subsequently, the family’s permanent home was erected at 1993 South West Temple Street, where the children were then raised to maturity.
We don’t have a lot of information about Mom’s early years, but we do know from her baptismal record that she was baptized at age eight, on 4 November 1911, in the Farmers Ward. We also have a picture of her, in March, 1912 (age 9), with her elementary school class. We know from a diploma and class picture (age 13+) that she graduated from the 8th Grade at the Burton School, in Salt Lake City. 6
Mom’s childhood nickname was Tommy, as in tomboy, because she enjoyed sports and roughhousing with her four active, athletic brothers. Her two older brothers were prominent athletes at the University of Utah. I remember Mom telling us children that Ed was a pitcher on the baseball team and Jack received All-American Honorable Mention Honors in 1926 as a running back on the football team. Her two younger brothers became avid golfers in later life; Steve was a Utah state senior champion.
Mom also loved to play games. Her niece, Nancy N. Froning, reported that Mom would sit on the floor and play games with her and her siblings for hours, laughing and giggling and having a good time, as she had with her own siblings. 7 As an adult, she still loved to play card games with her friends, especially Canasta and Samba—and she liked to win!
With a large house, garden, and orchard to attend to, there were regular family chores, and Grandpa Howells was a real taskmaster. Mom learned her lessons well, for she taught us the same values as we grew up. Beds were to be made first thing every morning, clothes and toys put away, and dishes done after every meal. Chores had to be done well or done over. The twins recall having to redo the bathroom floor more than once. Teaching good work ethics and orderliness to her children was important to her.
Mom attended West High School in Salt Lake City, but according to Sue, her first years there were unhappy and awkward. Mom told her that at age sixteen, she was suffering from a large ovarian tumor the size of a watermelon. This caused her much pain and deep embarrassment before it was operated. People thought that she was pregnant, and the kids teased her. Following the operation, with but one ovary remaining, she had great concern about ever having children. 8
However, following the successful surgery she evidently got along well both socially and academically. Known to have a beautiful contralto voice, she played Countess Marie in a school musical, The Bells of Beaujolais, on 19 May 1923, 9 and received her graduation diploma a few weeks later, on 8 June (age 19+). 10 She then determined to attend the University of Utah in the near future. However, she did not get there for two more years.
We learn in letters from her mother and a girlfriend that she was in New York City during April and May of 1924, enjoying the big, bustling city and all that it had to offer. She was staying with her brother Ed and his wife, Myrtle Gibson (newly weds of five months), residing at 645 W. 174th Street. There would have been frequent shopping jaunts to famous, trendy stores, along with periodic excursions to world renowned museums, historical sites, and entertainment venues—all wonderfully exciting for a young, single girl from rural Utah. 11 From a program found in her personal souvenirs, we can assume that she attended at least one grand opera during her extended stay in “the Big Apple”: on 17 April 1924, she attended Cavalleria Rusticanna,at the Metropolitan Opera House. 12
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