Clearfield Home

Clearfield

538 East 250 South (Cherry Hill)

1956

Living Room Fern

Fern

We had just moved into our new home in Clearfield, and my mother had determined that she would keep a fern growing in our front window. That fern turned out to be very temperamental; and its leaves would die if it didn't get enough water or if the tips of its leaves were even touched by anyone (at least according to my mother). As you might imagine, (young boys such as me and my brothers) we're going to ‘roughhouse' a fair amount. At any point, if my mother heard any kind of commotion coming from the living room, she would holler her out “don't you dare tip that fern over”. From time to time, something would happen to cause that delicate fern in its delicate, susceptible container to tip over. This was absolutely “verboten” in my youth; and I learned to absolutely hate that fern. Later when we were to live in the forest in Washington (Lake Tapps), ferns were very common and grew almost anywhere. When I first arrived there, I observed the ferns and took to stomping on a great many of them to take out my frustration on the fern that had been in our front window while I was a youth.

Our  Skates

Skating

Shortly after moving to Clearfield, I started using some roller skates I’d received; and was skating up and down the sidewalk in front of the houses. I was 5 going on 6. Because the top of our street was level and sloping from about three houses up from ours, I would skate on the level part of the street (where it was easier) and race down the street as gravity sped my dissent toward our house. After much practice, I got so I could traverse the corner from the sidewalk into our driveway at the speed gathered coming from the top all our street. I did not have skates like what are made today. The wheels were not a plastic nor necessarily freewheeling. Rather the skate wheels we're primarily metal and became somewhat worn with use. Nevertheless, that was what was available and I skated with them whenever I could. My cornering into the driveway was much more successful if it was empty and our car was gone. On the particular day in question, the driveway was empty; and I thought I could make the curve reasonably well. As I raced down the hill from in front of the Barnes's home, I gathered a fair amount of speed. As I attempted to corner into our driveway I fell on the cement. I was at the edge of our driveway and front lawn. Having fallen, I knew somehow that something was seriously wrong because I couldn't get up. Crying, I dragged myself across the lawn; and toward our front step. As I was dragging myself and crying, my mother came out on the step and asked “Ray, what are you doing!” She immediately saw that I was injured and came to my aid. It turned out (as I was taken to a doctor) that I had cracked my left kneecap and was hobble for a week or so on our front couch - unable to stand. It healed rather well; and I've not had any trouble with it since. Cracking kneecap from skating mishap

Room Divider

Room Divider

Because our home was laid out in a rather open fashion, my father decided to make an addition. The opening between the dining room and the living room was completely open. The dining room was completely open to the kitchen also. My father decided to build and install a room divider between the living room and the dining room. This room divider, was virtually open; in that it comprised of shelving (various length and width) from bottom to top. Thus, while the divider did not allow for any type of foot traffic, it allowed for one to see (in & out of the living room) rather easily. Unfortunately, as time passed the room divider became a location where young boys could simply put things - such as books, toys and pocket contents. My mother was constantly reminding her children to clear the room divider. It was intended for decoration and flowers. Which were there; but nevertheless, accompanied by us children's paraphernalia. The room divider stayed where it was the entire eight years that we lived in that home. Because directly across from the room divider was our TV, we children would line up chairs along the dining room side of the room divider. Thus, our family room was essentially part of our dining room, where we children would sometimes spend hours watching the TV - alongside the room divider. Walking through the room required  the person to pass in front of those sitting and on in to the dining portion of the room and into the kitchen. Additionally, we children would lie on the linoleum floor in front of the TV. Thus, anyone trying to traverse what had become our “TV” room had to walk in front of those sitting; and over top of those lying. This was how our home operated in that part of its layout.

Canaries

Canaries

In the first few years that we lived in Clearfield, we had a couple of canaries as pets. It was not entirely uncommon for us to let these canaries out of their cage; and fly around the living room every once in a while. One of the canary’s breasts was yellow (I don’t remember its name.) the others breast was blue. We called the one that was blue “Blue Boy”. These Canaries became sufficiently tame that we could hold them on our fingers while they were out of their cage. I don't know of another time that we actually had “official” pets

Barnes’s Dog

Inasmuch as I had been afraid of dogs since my early years, I did not necessarily like passing anyone’s home where they had a dog. As it turns out one of the families in the neighborhood had a very small dog - a Chihuahua. (It was Frank Barnes’s dog.) I don't know what they’d done to make this dog so unfriendly; but I could count on it to race to the sidewalk. barking, harassing and trying to bite my heels every time I passed their home. I learned to really hate that dog (and its owners). I knew that to be afraid of such a very small dog was virtually absurd. Nevertheless. I found the dogs aggressive behavior to be beyond annoying! It was downright terrifying; and thereby extremely irritating. For the Barnes to have such a dog; and not train it to be more accommodating, was deeply disturbing of the entire family! Because they only lived two houses away. it was not entirely uncommon for their dog to trespass on our property and be equally aggressive and troublesome.  

Separating Yards

Retaining Wall

When we moved into the home in Clearfield, the division between our neighbors (the Jacksons) and us in the backyard was a steep 5 foot hillside of strawberries. Mr. Jackson was not particularly accommodating to a family of boys moving next to him. Thus, in the first year, my father and Mr. Jackson agreed to put in a cement retaining wall between our properties. This retaining wall was to the east of our backyard and easily 4 feet tall It was topped with a 4-foot chain link fence. I remember the strawberries, and that it was not entirely uncommon four our balls to bounce into his strawberries. This was rather unacceptable to Mr. Jackson and we did what we could to avoid trampling any of his fruit. Thus, as the retaining wall was being constructed, we boys were somewhat intrigued by its development. Once the retaining wall was in, the east boundary of our backyard was a retaining wall where the Jacksons backyard was about eye level. Because the retaining wall only extended to the back of his house, the 10-foot grassy area between our homes was left open. This area bordered our patio; and it was not entirely uncommon for us boys to lie on its cool grass. Regardless however, we always had to keep a lookout to see if we were going to be chided by Mr. or Mrs. Jackson for trespassing on their grass. Not what I would call the friendliest of neighbors!

Aunt Marzetta's dog - Rosa

Rosa

Aunt Marzetta used to visit us quite a bit. Mom was her only sister and much younger than her. They had formed a rather strong bond and we would go to visit Aunt Marzetta frequently also. I remember her bringing her dog, a Chihuahua named Rosa. Rosa was almost identical to the Barnes’s Chihuahua. But Rosa was much better mannered and seldom barked at anyone. Rosa was almost like one of the family to Aunt Marzetta. I became somewhat familiar with Rosa and was not particularly frightened of her. Rosa would accompany Aunt Marzetta on her visits to our house quite frequently. She was allowed to enter our home and run somewhat freely only after we no longer had the canaries. Aunt Marzetta was an excellent dog owner! 

Basement Stairs

We boys had our bedrooms in the half basement of our home. There was a small utility room there that we used for clothes washing. Mom had an old washer with a ringer on it to do the washing. When we moved there, there was virtually nothing in the basement; and my father set about building wardrobes for each of his children. They were built to have two sets of drawers (side by side) and a wooden dowel to hang clothes above and to the side of the drawers. These wardrobes were easily 7 feet tall and about 4 feet wide. Thus, they easily were used to ‘define’ three separate bedrooms in the half basement. Jay and I we're in one of the bedrooms at one end; Hugh was in another (at the other end); and Rick was in the middle bedroom. The staircase came down and around itself and opened into the half basement. Thus Jay, I, and Hugh had to go through Rick's middle room in order to get into our own rooms. Light for the rooms was provided for in window wells (common to all basements); as well as barer lights installed in the center of all our bedrooms. The walls were cement because they had never been completed. Thus, us children resided in an unfinished basement the entire time we were in Clearfield. Of course, having no recourse, we became familiar with it. A small closet-like area (at the foot of the stairs) was shelved off so we could keep bottled Peaches, Pears and Apples (along with other foodstuffs) there. While I was not particularly frightened at being in the basement, for some reason I was quite uncomfortable as I mounted the tunnel-like stairs rising to our main floor! Thus, I very regularly would round the bottom of the stairs; and take the stairs three at a time in order to “stay ahead of any monsters that might the chasing me”. One could hear me coming up the stairs by recognizing the quickness of my running; and the few steps it took for me to come to the head of the stairs - closed off to the first floor buy a door.

On Patio

The Patio 

The back door to our home entered through the kitchen and was located near the rear of the house at the side of the garage. Because that entire area (about 10 feet) was not landscaped at all - but just dirt; my father decided to place that entire area in a cement patio; taking up almost all of the side of our house. I remember him building the forms and having the cement pored there. It became a regular play place for us boys; and I frequently (over the years) took to playing a kind of one-man tennis against the side of the garage. I became rather good at standing just off of the patio and bouncing the tennis ball (always avoiding the single window) against the garage and my tennis racket. I would sometimes do this hours on end; and was undoubtedly trespassing on the Jacksons grass. Hence, anyone walking into our back door (which we use most frequently) would notice my one-man tennis there. My mother, being the daughter of a nursery man (Grandpa Ford) planted petunias bordering the patio. They were rather pretty; but as a young boy I didn't take enough care nor notice them.

Christmas Morning

As Christmas approached each year, we boys would begin to get excited about it. It was not uncommon for us boys to talk amongst ourselves with anticipation of what we might get as presents. As we prepared for Christmas, our Christmas tree was often placed in a corner of the living room. There I would enjoy the lights and tinsil of the Christmas season as our Christmas tree was purchase, trimmed, put up. I would lie on my back under the Christmas tree looking up into the colored lights and smell the pine aroma. This is one of the more pleasant remembrances I have of the Christmases we had in Clearfield. On Christmas morning, wer boys in the basement would have difficulty going to sleep. And we would sometimes talk into the wee hours of the night (quietly so our parents could not hear us in their bedroom above). Additionally, we would sometimes awaken too early on Christmas morning and not quite know whether we should or should not entered the living room. (Where Santa would have left our presents on and around our living room furniture) Thus, we had a dilemma. Should we enter into the living room; or wait until we heard the footsteps of our parents and could enter the living room accompanied by them. I remember several Christmas mornings that we boys could be found on the 1st couple of steps at the top of the stairs. (This conspiracy was often led by our elder brother – Hugh!) Apparently, we weren't very quiet and my father Caught us there; demanding we returned to our beds. We sounded like a herd-of-turtles going down the steps to wait impatiently for Christmas morning to arrive. 

On one Christmas, I remember receiving a number of gifts. All us boys received brand new Schwin bicycles. Additionally, we each received a BB gun. Along with other ancillary gifts. As we unwrapped our Christmas gifts, the entire living room floor was covered with wrapping paper. This was to be one of the most prosperous Christmas days we enjoyed! Unfortunately, a few days later, as I attempted to ride my bicycle for the 1^st time; Frank Barnes (my nemesis) hurtled down the street in his bike and ran straight into the side of my front wheel - bending it beyond repair! I was very upset with Frank’s behavior and it's result on my bike. We never got my bike repaired and I only got to ride it about 10 feet! I suppose I never forgave Frank for his extreme lack of care.

Pots

Marbles

One of the games we used to play across the street from our house in Clearfield was called “Pots”. This was a game we played with marbles; and we played it frequently in the dirt that was directly across the street from our house. We neighborhood boys would play this game quite a bit; and enjoy the skill that it took. Skill would improve over time; but nevertheless, it took effort to become good at it. The game was played by digging 5 separate holes (called pots) in the dirt. Four of the holes were dug at the corners of an imaginary square; and the 5th hole was dug in the center. At the commencement of the game, each of the players would put one or more marbles (negotiated by the players) into the center pot (hence the name “pots”). Once agreed upon, the marbles placed in the center pot became the reward for winning the game. Each boy, taking his turn, would start at an agreed upon pot and attempt to circumnavigate the corner pots as quickly as he could. This was accomplished by ‘shooting’ with the marble between his forefinger and thumb in such a manner as to propel the marble to the next agreed upon pot. (The marble used for this was often his favorite marble – known as a taw.) If he was able to enter into the pot without rolling through it, he would get another turn. If he did not ‘make the pot’, his turn was over and he had to wait until the full complement of players took their turn. Upon traversing the four pots, the player would then attempt to enter the middle pot (where the marbles that were put up for winning were). Upon entering the middle pot, the player was then termed “poison”. He would then endeavor to “hit” any of the other players that we're trying to become poison. However, if a ‘poisoned’ player inadvertently entered any of the corner pots he would ‘die’ and leave the game. Upon “killing” any and all of the other players, the poisoned player would win the game; and all of the marbles in the 5th pot. If more than one player became poisoned, the poisoned player striking the other poisoned player killed the stricken player’s marble and would be eliminated from the game. Pots was a game we played a great deal; and always had a number of pots laid out where we could play the game. One particular nuance of the game was to create pots that had a smooth wide profile, making it difficult to 'shoot’ into a pot without rolling right through it! The worth of a great player was the number and quality of the marbles he had in his marble bag! Many of the taws used were called ‘steelies’, being made of steel. (Likely sizable ball bearings.) Less cherished marbles were ‘cats eyes’, having a kind of cat eye suspended in the center of the marble. 

Our Street

Across The Street

The area across the street from us was undeveloped; and composed primarily of dirt and weeds.  This extended from a few houses down the street all the way up to where the orchard began. Across the street from the houses at the top of the street; and extending throughout six or more acres, was an apricot orchard. It was rather well developed and probably included well over 100 20-foot trees. As the apricots ripened, we boys would together a number of apricots and enjoy eating them. We would also crack into the center and eat the apricot nut. The undeveloped area across the street became our DeFacto playground! It rose from the street up about 10 feet at a fairly steep incline; and was level from there to our neighbor’s backyard (Which was easily a lot or more away). We boys took delight in playing along that dirt hillside as well as along the top (level part). We developed numerous “dirt roads” into the side of the hill so we could play with our toy cars. Additionally, later on, we would develop larger bike trails that we could ride along on our bikes. Going up and down these trails built into the side of the dirt hill provided us with a measure of enjoyment and skill. Still later, we would dig rather deep “foxholes” on the top of the area. We would sometimes dig these foxholes deeper than we were tall; and sometimes covered them with available plywood. This created a playground that we could play “army” on. Once the depth of our foxholes was discovered by neighborhood adults, we were required to fill in the foxholes. This we did only partially and preserved a few of them until the neighborhood adults required us to fill in all of them. Unbeknownst to us, these covered foxholes created a dangerous playground for us. We enjoyed that dirt area across the street for a number of years while we boys were rather young. As we grew older and our interests aged, we did not play there near as much! 

Mush

Mush

I remember that I did not like any kind of “mush”. Mush was a name we had for all kinds of prepared breakfast foods that were warm. This included oatmeal, cream of wheat, cracked wheat, oatmeal with raisins, or any other kind of warm breakfast food. I did not like any of these nor any variations thereof! While I might eat them (if my mother was vigilant in requiring it of me), I never did willingly. Rather, I would wait until the activities of the morning required my mother to leave the dining room for any reason. At that point I would make every effort I could to quickly go to the kitchen sink and dispose of my mush and rinse the sink to destroy any evidence! I recognized that my behavior was deceptive and somewhat counter to my parent’s wishes. Nevertheless, after trying many times to forced down the mush that was put in front of me, I could not. I remember being late on numerous occasions to the 1^st grade because I would have to wait until my mother was out of sight and could dispose of the mush. I will avoid as much as possible mush to this day! 

What the City Pond looked like.

City Pond

When we first moved to Clearfield, there was a city pond located behind the elementary school (Wasatch) where we went. So, it was not very far from our home. Maybe a few blocks. My older brother Hugh, Jay and I went to go to the city pond and fish as often as we could. There were a number of planted trout there; and we enjoyed the opportunity to use our rods and reels. I find it interesting that we were allowed to be alone together at that time in a public place away from home. Nevertheless, those were different times! The pond was maybe 1/4 mile long and 1/8 mile wide. It had no noticeable free flowing water into it; and was somewhat stagnant for being a trout pond. The shore that we used to fish from was just off the main road by a yard or so; and composed of compacted dirt where we sat while endeavoring to catch a fish. Because our fishing rigs were rather rudimentary, we could not cast our bait out very far into the water; and we found that the fish we're much nearer the center of the pond. In order to reach much further into the pond, we would watch to make sure there were no cars coming on the road behind us; and we would stretch our fishing lines (with attached bait) across the road as far as we could. Then with one big yank, we would hurl our line and bait over our heads, quickly extending its full length in the air above the pond. It would then drop directly in front of us into the water. By using this means we were able to get our bait much further out; and occasionally catch a trout. This was great fun; and we enjoyed it thoroughly for several years. Unfortunately, the city decided to fill in the pond and put an Albertsons grocery store with its parking lot over our pond! Much to our dismay. 

Public Library

Public Library

Being in the first grade there, Jay and I were learning to read. Having a number of young children, my mother would take us to the Public Library where we could check out a number of books. She would wait in the car as we boys took a few minutes in the Public Library to check in our books and obtain three or four more. We would read these books throughout the week and return them at the end of the week for another bunch of books. My mother would listen to me read from these books in the living room as she ironed our clothes. This was a rather enjoyable experience for me; and I am confident that she contributed to my skill as a reader and speller.

Wasatch Elementary  School

Wasatch Elementary School

Jay and I attended Wasatch Elementary School in Clearfield. (All of us children did.) In our first year,  we were enrolled in Mrs. Flint's 1st grade class. Because the school was only a few blocks from our home, we would walk to school. This of course was not an undue burden on us; and we walked along with a number of our classmates each morning and afternoon. This was not a difficulty in the spring and fall months of the year. However, as winter set in, we would sometimes feel the bitter cold as we made our way to school. I remember on particular days (when it was very cold) that the hairs of my nose would freeze as they met the subfreezing temperatures. Additionally at this time, it was not uncommon for us young children to have to wear rubber galoshes over our shoes. There was a place along the hallway where   we were to place our galoshes and winter coats (hung on hooks along the hallway). Our path to and from school included a short trip down our street, across the sandlot, down the main street (toward the city pond), and up a street to our church meetinghouse. Then we’d traverse the meetinghouse parking lot to the school directly across the street. It was not a difficult path; but it took us about 15 to 25 minutes to traverse prior to and after each day of school. 

1^st Grade

Jay and I were enrolled in the first grade and the same classroom. It turns out that a set of triplets was also in the same class. Their names were Walter, Wesley, and Wilma; Wilma being a girl! Being in the same classroom was not entirely common; and a picture was taken by the local newspaper to be included in the daily news. Mrs. Flint must have had a significant challenge in dealing with these circumstances. I remember being included in a number of “reading groups”. These were groups of classmates who read at a certain level. I was not in the best reading group nor the worst. Each of us would be called upon to read a certain amount each day. No doubt our trips to and from the public library helped us to develop our reading skills. I remember sliding across the floor on my hands and knees from my table to jay's table in order to obtain the spelling of our last name. Jay became rather irritated with my query and responded, “D-A-V-I-S Now get back to your chair!” I suppose everyone saw me crawl across the floor; but this didn't seem to trouble me too much! Only Jays irritated response seemed to bother me. 

Rabbit Drive

About this time, I remember Dad taking me, Hugh and Jay up to Tremonton on a rabbit drive. This is where a great many people (usually hunters) gathered together and formed a very long line. Then they would walk along making as much noise as they could toward a fenced in area quite some distance away. The idea was to drive the rabbits in a funnel-like fashion toward the fenced in area. This was permitted in order to minimize the damage that the rabbits were doing to the farmland of that area. There was not an awful lot of snow; and it appeared to be either late fall or early spring that we participated in the drive. We set out from the highway, having left our cars there; and began walking along calling out every now and then to try and drive the rabbits ahead of us. Frequently we would see the rabbits running ahead of us. From time to time, rabbits would attempt to “hunker down” in order to allow the drivers to bypass them. The rabbits would then run away behind the drivers. Jay and I were not very old; and I remember once that my father called out, indicating that a rabbit had “hunkered down” near us. He verbally directed us to the bush; and Jay and I, having found the rabbit, kicked it with our boots until it was dead. I remember this as being a significant event; because I had never taken a life in this matter before. It left an indelible imprint on my mind. Nevertheless, Jay and I caught up with the rest of the drivers; and eventually ended up on the outside of the fences where the rabbits had been herded into. There must have been 1000 rabbits inside the pens. The adult drivers then entered the pens; and grabbing a rabbit, would club it to death with a wooden club. I had never heard rabbits squeal the way they did; and it unnerved me. This is the only time we ever participated in a rabbit drive. Recognizing that we had not taken in much acreage, there must have been a great many rabbits in that small area; and I can only imagine the damage they were doing to the farmland crops of the area!

Hobbs Reservoir

Hobbs Reservoir

I don't remember the particulars about this event, only that I remember driving down into a deep area that my father was helping with a survey crew headed by Harold Tibbets. Several of us children were in the back seat of our car as my mother drove, descending down a dirt road toward where my father was working. Once down there I learned that the body of water was called Hobbs Reservoir; and we located Dad and the rest of the crew there. They were on the shore of the water observing a school of fish some distance away. My father pointed it out to us in the car; and we observed this rather sizeable school of fish from the road. This reservoir is alongside the Hill Field Road as it progresses toward the mountain highway. Later this deep ravine was immediately behind my brother Rick's home in Layton.

Common Method of transporting harvested deer

Buick

My father went deer hunting almost every year; and it was not uncommon for us to shoot a deer and then tie it on to the front of our car (because that was the only place we could transported it). I remember one particular event when we had shot a deer; and we're bringing it home on the front of our Buick. It presented quite a sight; nevertheless, this was a relatively common occurrence during the deer hunt season along the Wasatch Front in Utah. I remember my parents discussing how they would get home with the deer attached to the front. Finally, I heard my father prevail and they would parade the deer up Washington Boulevard in Ogden. Washington Boulevard was the main street through Ogden; and it was a primary route in which to parade one’s achievements. For example, many youths wood parade Washington Boulevard on a given Saturday as they presented their various automobiles and sought young members of the opposite sex. Thus, I realize that we were parading our hunting prowess. I remember traveling along Washington Boulevard on our way home to Clearfield with a buck deer strapped to the fender of our Buick automobile. 

Buick (ours was dark blue)

Drafting

I remember one morning, very early, waking up in my bed in the basement; and seeing my father at his drafting table downstairs working. He'd been up much of the night drafting away at what was to become Vae View. Though I was very young, I remember thinking that he had put in a good long night working under the fluorescent drafting lab attached to his table. I doubt that he ever looked at me; but I looked at him (from my viewpoint) and recognized that he had worked for his family!