Dad's Life Story

Well, I'm home again, for a little while.  Alyssa didn't have her baby yet, but we decided it would be more peaceful at her house if the girls and I went home until she goes into labor, which could be any moment or a week.  So for now, I'm back on schedule with posting one story each day. 

Today I thought I would take a break from telling my personal memories and post some of my dad's autobiography.  His birthday is this Wednesday, so now is a good time to tell about him.  His name was Ralph, Edward Russell, and he was, is, my hero.

My Life Story

 Chapter I  

My Parents and Early Home

By Ralph E. Russell

  

My father, Ernest Edward Russell.....was born December 24, 1880, at Eager, Arizona.  When he was ten they moved to the Gila Valley... Life was hard there, but the family remained in the area until dad was grown. 

In the fall of 1911, when he was 21, dad came to Tempe to go to college.  He worked for the US Department of Agriculture as an entomologist....for thirty years.

Mother, Ethel H Stewart, was born March 3, 1894 ...in her parent’s home on the corner of

West Main Street

and

Alma School Road

.   Mother graduated form Mesa High School and from Tempe Normal School and was awarded a teaching certificate.  She taught for several years...

Mother and dad were second cousins, and when dad was twenty nine and thinking of marriage, mom was probably the best looking eligible female he knew.  They were married...on June 1, 1920.

In 1927, dad was moved to Tempe and they bought what was left of Grandpa Stewart's homestead, 27 acres on

Alma School Road

and

West Main Street

.  I was born there the next year; in the same room my mother was born.  Dad established a small dairy and we all grew up milking and feeding cows.  The City of Mesa was a long way off and we didn't go there very often.  In fact, I probably went to Tempe where dad worked or even to Phoenix where mother did most of her shopping for clothes almost as often as Mesa.

As far back as I can remember I spent at least part of every summer until I went into the army hauling hay.  Dad grew watermelons one year and another year we had a big field of tomatoes, but we always had hay and cows.  We also had at least one horse.  Old Polly was the horse we rode most as children.  She was so fat we sometimes used the step ladder to climb on her back.

The house we lived in ....was built in the beginning by Grandpa Stewart.  It was an interesting house to me.  It was mostly made of adobe but some soft red brick was used and also some wood siding which came from Prescott in the very early days.  The roof was cedar shingles and the early nails were cast iron with square heads. 

..... We didn't have a regular hot water heater like we think of now until I was in high school.  To get hot water for our Saturday night baths we built a fire under a tank.  We had many palm trees so we used the dried palm limbs for the fire.  They didn't burn long, but they were very hot. 

I remember heating water for mother to wash clothes in an old tub outside over an open fire.  Mother put lie in the water to make it soft, then skimmed it off before cutting up a bar of soap into it,  We carried the water in a bucket to the wash machine on the back porch. When mother had a lot of fat she made her own soap.  When we killed the pig we made enough soap to last a whole year.

Mother was good to us kids.  I think she had a lot of love for everyone.  I do not remember friction in our home; we all got along quite well most of the time.  Mother was the teacher and dad was the disciplinarian. When dad said to do something he meant now!  Mother would thump us on the head with her thimble when she got disgusted with us.

Mother was promised in her patriarchal blessing that she would have the privilege of entertaining one of the three Nephites.  During the depression there were thousands of 'tramps' traveling along the railroad tracks close to our home and almost every day for many years one or more of them was fed by mother.

Dad worked very hard.  It seemed to me he was gone working most of the time I was growing up. He rarely had time to play.  I was the middle child and felt especially loved.  I'm sure mom and dad loved all their children equally, but I felt they specially loved me.  Stewart was the oldest. David was next, four years later me, two years later Dan, then two more years Ray.  Mother and dad always wanted a daughter; dad thought a red headed one would do just fine.

Dad was in the Sunday School Superintendency when I was young and when the old Fourth Ward was divided and the Alma Ward was formed dad was in the first bishopric.  In later life dad and I were especially close.  Our interests were alike and we spent a lot of time together.  We found the Haigler Creek property together and both built cabins there.  We liked to go out to the farm in east Mesa to look after the cattle. 

Both mother and dad lived with us before they had to be put in extended care facilities before they died.  We buried mom next to her father in the Mesa cemetery and dad next to her.  I dearly love my parents.  Mom was always so optimistic and full of love for everyone and dad truly wanted to do what was right.