Oral Interviews of Francis M. Gibbons (1921-2016)—Part 10

 (From an Interview of Francis Marion Gibbons conducted by Daniel Bay Gibbons September 26, 2001 in Salt Lake City, Utah)

My Brothers and Sisters

The Children of Adeline Christensen and Andrew Smith Gibbons
Taken at a final family reunion, April 1, 1961, before the death of Ruth Gibbons Elliott
Standing: Andrew Smith Gibbons, Jr. and Francis Marion Gibbons
Seated: LeVon Gibbons Thurber, Pauline Gibbons Clarke and Ruth Naomi Gibbons Elliott

Andrew’s Education and Attempts to Pass the Bar

My brother Andrew had a scholarship to the University of Arizona.  And he went down to Tucson, and perhaps got in with the wrong crowd and was very indifferent towards his schooling – wasn’t taking a real interest in it.  That really hit my father, because he made such a sacrifice to get his education and here was an education handed to his son, who had good possibilities, good mentality.  Here the education was handed to him and he frittered it away.  And so that was always a point of conflict between my father and Andrew.  Because of the natural sense of inferiority my brother had toward my father intellectually, this was the thing that really drove a wedge between them.  I remember one interchange between them one morning.  We all used to sleep up on this open porch in the Summertime so we could get every breath of air, and we’d have this oscillating fan that was on all night.  Early one morning my father and my brother were having some kind of a conversation.  And my father had apparently been very critical of Andrew because he wasn’t buckling down and wasn’t doing what my father thought he ought to do.  I could tell my brother was really agitated when he left and went downstairs.  

 

This relationship was further cankered by the fact that Andrew studied law for several years there in Phoenix after my father was a partner in Cunningham, Carson & Gibbons.  They had a library in their suite of offices and Andrew would go down and study there in the suite. I think he failed two or three times taking the Bar.  And so I think that really hit Andrew hard that he couldn’t cut the mustard.  And in our eyes that added to the status of my father and all of his accomplishments scholastically and on the bench and practicing law. 

Andrew Smith Gibbons, Jr. in about 1943

   

Andrew’s Later Success in Other Endeavors

Of course Andrew shouldn’t have felt that way because he was highly intelligent and did well professionally.  He went with the telephone company and he absolutely excelled there.  He went right up the ladder and he finally became kind of a spot shooter for them.  He would handle matters before the legislature and he had an executive position, and did very well.  But I think the fact that he did not become a lawyer just stuck to him like a burr.  So that created somewhat of an estrangement between my brother and my Dad.  

 

Andrew Takes Charge in Camp on Paradise Creek

Now, I’ve told you about this camping trip that we took together for two weeks.  We went up on the Paradise Creek in the White Mountains, which was really a wonderful thing.  When we went up there my brother really took charge.  He’s the one that set up the camp.  He’s the one that did all of the cooking.  He just had that ability to do things like that.  At night he would put a pot of beans cooking and bury them in the ashes and by morning the beans were cooked.  And he would make sour dough biscuits.  He’s the one who built this garage in the back of our house with this sleeping porch above it.  He was a good carpenter.  So he was handy with his hands.  And he idolized my father.  So it was a rather unfortunate situation that developed between Andrew and my father.  

 

My Father’s Views on My Future Education

Because of Andrew’s experience in Tucson I think my father was converted to the idea that I shouldn’t go to the University.  And I remember that one weekend I went down to Tucson with a friend Larry Anderson.  He was a cheerleader at the high school and also was in the business college at the time I was there in Phoenix.  So he had a brother in Tucson who had one of these – it would be similar to a Big Mac – McDonalds – although he had a franchise and he had his own shop.  So Larry and I went down to Tucson one weekend and stayed with him.  My mother told me later that when I went down, my father was really negative about it, and he made the comment, “He’ll go down there to the University and he’ll get the desire to go to the University like Andrew.”  And he didn’t want me to go. So when I got back – I could tell when he was displeased, he was kind of withdrawn and negative.  So he was very satisfied that I went to Business College and that was enough.  (Laughter).  So its interesting to see how a family turns out.

Four older siblings of Francis M. Gibbons in about 1920
Rear: Andrew and LeVon
Front: Ruth and Pauline

 

DBG:    Tell me about your sisters.

 

My Sister LeVon Gibbons Thurber’s Interest in My Writing

FMG:    LeVon, the oldest, was to me a very beautiful girl.  She was always good to me. She, more than any other member of the family took a real interest in my writing.  When I started writing and publishing I would always send her a copy.  She’d read every book I wrote, and then she would critique it for me.  She was very encouraging to me, more so than any other member of my family, including your mother.  Now your mother’s been supportive, and I think that she may have read some of my books, but never with the intensity that my sister LeVon did.

 

LeVon’s Education and First Marriage

My sister LeVon was a good student and she attended the Northern Arizona State Teachers College in Flagstaff, which is now the Northern University of Arizona.  She did very well there, and that’s where she met Bob Garlow, her first husband, who was the son of a newspaper man in Globe, Arizona.  Bob Garlow was a spoiled kid.  Bob Garlow was a brilliant guy.  They fell in love and were married and it was a disaster from the beginning.  They didn’t stay together very long.  He never really took an interest in his son, Reed.  They were soon divorced and Reed lived with us for a year in Phoenix while LeVon taught school in Concho.  Then LeVon later got a master’s degree and she had a fine career as a teacher there in St. Johns.  She was very well thought of.  She did very well as a teacher.  I think she was in the system for maybe thirty years and retired as one of the teachers in the St. Johns High School.  

LeVon’s Divinity Candy

LeVon was a fine cook.  Her speciality was divinity candy.  I always loved to go visit her because she’d always make me a batch of divinity candy.  So I had a very good relationship with LeVon.  

The five children of Andy and Addie Gibbons
Rear: Andrew, Jr.
Middle: Ruth, Pauline and LeVon
Front: Frank

 

My One Conflict with LeVon Involving Her Son, Reed Thurber

There’s only one incident that ever arose between us.  Thank the Lord that it was settled as it was.  Her son Reed was a Bishop in Tucson.  He came to General Conference and stayed with us.  The Church, of course, paid his way and brought him up to Salt Lake for instruction.  Saturday night of General Conference the University of Arizona was playing football at Utah.  And Reed skipped the General Priesthood Meeting and went to that football game.  I always looked upon him as a little brother.  So I read the riot act to him.  I said, “Reed.  What are you doing?  The Church has brought you up here to give you instruction as a Bishop and you skip the main Priesthood Meeting and go to a ball game!”  I admit it, I was tough on him.  And I felt that I was entitled to do that because he was staying in my home, he was like my little brother, and I was with the First Presidency at that time.  I was really irked with him.  Well, Reed blabbed to his wife, about how I had read the riot act to him, and his wife blabbed to LeVon (laughing), and she sent me really a scorching letter.  I think it started out, “FRANK! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” (Laughter).  And that was just the beginning.  I mean, she really took the hide off of me.  So, fortunately I didn’t answer in kind.  I wrote her just a little short letter. I said, “LeVon.  I must tell you about this some time when we can sit down together and I can explain what happened.”  That’s about all I said.  She never responded to my answer.  So after a while she cooled down and nothing ever came of it.  But that’s the only time there was ever any real conflict between me and my sister LeVon.  

 

DBG:    Hang on one second here. [Tape change]

 

LeVon’s Happy Marriage to Ez Thurber

FMG:    She later married Ez Thurber.  They had dated as young people, so they had known each other for a long time.  Ez Thurber was a good man.  They had a very happy marriage.  He adopted Reed, so he changed his name from Garlow to Thurber.  Then LeVon bore two other children, Vance and Sue.  So she bore three children.  So that was my sister LeVon.

 

My Father’s Opinion of the Intellect of My Sister, Pauline Gibbons Clarke

My sister Pauline.  I heard my father say once that of all of his children he felt that Pauline had more mentality than anybody else.  Its interesting.  That never affected me because I knew he was wrong. (Laughter) So Pauline was a very bright girl.  She also went to Flagstaff.  Then she went to a business college in Phoenix and was a very skilled secretary.  

 

Pauline’s Marriage to Eddie Clarke

She married Eddie Clarke – Eston Clarke.  He was not a member of the Church when they married.  They lived there in Phoenix for many years.  I remember I used to go to there little apartment quite often to have meals with them.  They were very kind to me.

 

Hearing of My Father’s Accident and Seeing Him in the Hospital

When my father was hit by the car I’d been having my meals regularly with them because it had been arranged that I would eat with them all the while my parents were in Yuma.  So Pauline called me in a very agitated state to say that Dad had been in this terrible accident.  I went immediately to the hospital and saw him as they were working on him.  Apparently he had suffered several broken ribs in addition to multiple fractures in his leg.  The were working on him when I saw him.  He obviously in great pain.  In any event it was Pauline who called to tell me that my father had been struck by the car.  

 

Incidental Relationship with Pauline

So my relationship with Pauline was only incidental.  She was pretty much up and out of the house by the time I was conscious what was going on.  So I was never really close to her as I grew up.  And that, of course, applied to LeVon and Andrew.  Ruth was the only child who really had any impact upon me as I was growing up in St. Johns.  Later Pauline and Eddie moved to California and it was there Pauline bore her only child, Joe.  Joe Clarke.  He is their natural child.  And then she adopted a child named Teddy.  But in any event, Pauline and Eddy did well in Los Angeles.  Eddy had his own station.  They had a nice house in a nice neighborhood and did very well.  

 

Visiting Pauline While I was in the Navy and Later at Stanford

When I was at Stanford we drove down through Los Angeles on our way to Yuma before we headed over to Phoenix and we stayed with Pauline and Eddy one night there and attended Church with them.  Eddie later joined the Church and was a member of the Bishopric and did very well.  When I was in the Navy Pauline and Eddy were living in the California city north of Los Angeles called Santa Maria and a time or two I hitchhiked up to Santa Maria to visit them and stayed with them and they were always very kind to me.  So we visited off and on at different times.  

 

Persuading Joe Clarke to Dedicate His Parents’ Graves

I was never really close to Pauline but I always loved her and admired her and she was really a wonderful person.  I was privileged to speak at her funeral and at Eddy’s funeral.  I went down to Los Angeles for that purpose.  I was especially interested in Eddy’s funeral.  He died first.  Joe had never been active.  Joe came up to BYU and he got into some trouble down there.  Pauline called all agitated and so I went down and served as Joe’s attorney in one court proceeding down there.  That was always a very difficult thing for Pauline to take.  Joe finally straightened up and graduated and got a degree in Spanish.  Joe is a fine linguist.  Because of the large Mexican population in Los Angeles a guy who is bilingual is really in a strong position.  And so Joe for years worked with a company that hired a lot of Mexicans, and because of his ability to communicate with them, why he was one of their key employees.  He later married a Mexican girl.  What I began to tell you was that, because of this background and the fact that Joe never filled a mission, and really was never gung ho in the Church, when his father died I was visiting with Joe and Pauline one night before the funeral, and I said to Joe, “Joe.  Why don’t you dedicate your father’s grave?”  He’s an Elder.  And later Pauline said, “He’ll never do it.”  But he did do it.  And he was very pleased to do it.  So Joe dedicated his father’s grave.  He’s buried there in a lovely cemetery, kind of on the side of a hill with a lot of beautiful trees, and Pauline is buried right beside him.  So when I went down for Pauline’s funeral later, why Joe dedicated Pauline’s grave.  So he dedicated the graves of his parents.  Unfortunately I’ve never had the occasion to be close to Joe.  I’ve regretted that.  I kind of think that if I’d have been near at hand I might have helped to bring him along.  So that was Pauline, and as I say, my father thought she had more brain power than any of his children.  

 

California Vacations with My Parents and Ruthie

Ruthie was just three years older than me and we were always very close, both in St. Johns and later in Phoenix.  Ruthie went with me and our parents in 1937 on a vacation in Long Beach.  It was the first time either of us had seen the ocean.  We really had a wonderful time.  We had an apartment not far from the beach.  So there were the four of us.  It was a lovely, lovely vacation for us.  There was a midway there and of course swimming in the surf.  It was really exciting.  And then later, after she was married, in 1939, she joined us – (Laughing) she left her husband at home – and she went with us to the Worlds Fair in San Francisco.  We spent one or two weeks up in the Bay area.  

Ruth and Frank in about 1944

Birth of My Desire to Attend Stanford University

That’s where was born my desire to go to Stanford.  One day while we were there we took a drive down the peninsula to Palo Alto.  My father showed us around the campus and around Menlo Park.  There’s a very pleasant odor down in that area.  It comes from the foliage.  And my father commented on the fact that he remembered it distinctly how he enjoyed being in that area when he was a young student down there.  So we had a good time.  We visited all of the pavilions of the worlds fair which was held on the island that they had built up there in the middle of the Bay.  We had a great time.  

 

Visit to My Father’s Birthplace in Glendale

Then, on the way home was the occasion when we stopped in Glendale and we went into the home there where my father was born.  Unannounced we stopped at that home and my father said to the woman who answered, “I’m Andrew Gibbons.  I was born in this house.  Would you mind if I looked in the bedroom to see where I was born?”  (Laughing).  So we all went in and saw the place where my father was born.

Birthplace of Andrew Smith Gibbons in Glendale,  Utah
This house, no longer standing in 2020, was located on the west side of Highway 89 

“How could a fine Irish girl like you be a Mormon?”

Well getting back to Ruthie.  Ruthie was a bright girl.  She graduated from the Phoenix Union High School.  Then she trained as a nurse in the Catholic Hospital there in Phoenix.  The St. Joseph’s Hospital.  She became the president of the student body and was very much admired by the Sisters there.  Because of the name “Gibbons”, which to many people is an Irish name, there was this one Sister who used to say to Ruthie, “How could a fine Irish girl like you be a Mormon?” (Laughing).  But she had a good relationship there and the fact that she was the student body president would indicate the stature she had.  So she became a registered nurse.  She worked for the State of Arizona Department of Health.  She was a health nurse and was moved to Yuma.  That’s where she met Howard Elliott and she married him.  He was not a member of the Church.  

Oral Interviews of Francis M. Gibbons (1921-2016)—Part 9

(From an Interview of Francis Marion Gibbons conducted by Daniel Bay Gibbons September 26, 2001 in Salt Lake City, Utah)

Family and Church

St. Johns Stake Academy
The center of spiritual life for the Latter-day Saints in St. Johns

My Father’s Church Service in St. Johns

DBG:    Dad, let me ask about Grandpa’s Church service both in St. Johns and Phoenix.
FMG:    In St. Johns I really have no recollection of his service.  He was on the High Council.  Levi Udall was the Stake President.  As a member of the High Council he would go with the Stake family to the various Wards in the Stake or Ward conferences.  The Stake1 would have included Springerville, Eagar, a little community up on the New Mexico Border, Alpine, Concho, then over on the Railroad there were a couple of little branches over there.  So his role as a member of the High Council would have involved attending, as I have stated, the Stake functions held in these various units.  They would travel around as a group, the Stake Presidency and members of the High Council.  I don’t remember how they had divided their responsibilities.  Maybe one of the Counselors would take two or three members of the High Council and they’d go to this unit and then the President and other High Councillors would take other units.  I don’t know how they did it.  But you would know from your service on the High Council how that would happen.  So he would participate and would be called on to speak.  I’m sure that they used him heavily in giving instructions on teaching and what not.   So that was his role in St. Johns.

Aunts and Uncles of Judge Andrew Smith Gibbons on his father's side
Standing: Uncles Bill, Dick, Josh and Roy
Seated: Aunt Eliza, father Andrew Vinson, and Aunt Martha

Long Service of Extended Family in the St. Johns Stake

Its interesting that the Pioneer was the senior member of the High Council in the St. Johns Stake, and A.V. was a member of the High Council of that Stake, as was my father.  So there were three generations in our family who were members of that High Council.  And of course there were the other Gibbons boys, Uncle Bill, Uncle Dick, Uncle Roy and Uncle Josh.  I’m sure that the various organizations of the Ward and of the Stake were peopled with a lot of Gibbons.  So our family was very prominent in that part of the State.

Bishop John H. Udall of the Phoenix First Ward

My Father’s Church Service in Phoenix

Then when he went to Phoenix, he was on the Stake Sunday School Board, and in that capacity I guess they used him chiefly, because of his ability as a teacher, to train other teachers.  That would have applied to the whole Maricopa Stake.2  When we went down into the valley there was only one Stake there in the whole valley.  It was called the Maricopa Stake.  That’s the name of the County.  The headquarters were in Mesa.  Prior to the time I went on my mission there was still just the one Stake there and we held all of the Stake conferences over in Mesa in a building called “The Mezona Hall” that the Church had built.  That’s where the Stake conferences were held.  And we traveled from Phoenix the eighteen miles over to Mesa to hold the Stake conferences.  And so my father’s role in the Stake Sunday School Superintendency would be to participate in the various activities of these Wards in connection with their Sunday Schools.  

Mezona Hall in Mesa, Arizona, purchased by the Church in 1919 and expanded in 1926.
The name "Mezona" is combination of Mesa and Arizona.

The Phoenix First and Second Wards

In Phoenix, when we first went there, there was just the one Ward.3  There was a Phoenix First Ward which was just a block from the Phoenix Union High School.  So we would travel clear across town to go to the Phoenix First Ward.  And when we moved there the Bishop was John H. Udall, the brother of Levi and Jesse and the son of D.K.  Because he had been raised in St. Johns there was a very close tie with our family.  When they built the Second Ward we didn’t move our membership at first.  I think maybe the reason was because of John H.  There was a very close relationship there.  But later we moved our recommends from the First to the Second Ward.  Our Bishop in the Second Ward was George M. Price.  George’s brother, J.R. Price, was the Stake President.  J.R. Price had been a missionary under Heber J. Grant in England.  So there was a close relationship between J.R. Price and President Grant.

July 16, 1915 article in the Holbrook News
Mentioning the teaching of Andrew Smith Gibbons in
the Holbrook Stake

My Father as a Gospel Teacher

After we moved into the Second Ward my father became the teacher in the High Priests Quorum and also taught the Sunday School class.  So he was very heavily called upon because of his teaching ability.  But he never occupied a position of principal administrative responsibility in the Church.  His whole Church career was in the judicial system, the High Council, or in teaching.  He seemed very comfortable with that and he did well at it.  His ability was recognized throughout the Mormon community in the Salt River Valley.  So that was the extent of my father’s connection with the Church.  I’m satisfied that he was handicapped because of his failure fully to live the Word of Wisdom.  I can’t help but think that the leaders of the Church knew that he wasn’t a gung-ho thousand percent latter-day saint.  In a sense he was kind of on the fringe.  He would have been well known in the professional community there because of his role with that firm, which was one of the finest firms in town, and his connection with the Arizona Club, and what not.  But I’ve told you before many times I’m sure, that at one point – and I don’t know what prompted it – but he finally came to the point where he decided, “I’m not going to do this any more.”  He gave up his tobacco and he gave up his social drinking and became a really converted latter-day saint except for coffee (laughing) and tea.  He couldn’t quite make the complete break  (Laughing) but he did well.  He did very, very well.

Fannie Christensen and her daughters,
Jessie Christensen Morgan and Adeline Christensen Gibbons
After her husband's death, Addie served in many church callings

My Mother’s Church Service in St. Johns and Phoenix

DBG:    What about Nana’s Church service during your growing up years?

FMG:    In St. Johns my mother was a counselor in the Stake Primary Presidency.  So in that position she would travel to these different units of the Church in the St. Johns area and give instructions in the Primary.  She was always active in the Relief Society.  I can remember going to Relief Society meetings with her as a little kid.  They did a lot of quilting.  They had bazaars and things of that kind.  Of course with her singing ability and her association with this guitar group, she was very active in musical circles in St. Johns. My parents had a group of special friends that they used to socialize with a lot, in addition to the regular socials for the Church.  They would get together and have socials in their homes and what not.  So they had a very full life.  When she went to Phoenix, she became a counselor in the Stake Young Women’s Association at a time when Delbert Stapley was the Superintendent of the Young Men.  So, because of that my mother and Delbert Stapley became very well acquainted.  So my mother always called him, “Dell.”  Never Brother Stapley or President Stapley or Elder Stapley, she just called him “Dell.” And he called her Addie. So she was very active in the Young Women’s program in Phoenix for many years.  I never really saw her perform because of the fact that it was the Young Women’s organization, but I knew that she was active.  She became active in the Relief Society in Phoenix also.  

So my parents were really active latter-day saints.  If the truth were known, I suppose a large majority of the people in the Church at that time had their coffee, had their tea.  It was just not a big deal back in those days.  It became a big deal with the emphasis Brother Grant gave to it.  So they enjoyed the Church and they enjoyed the members of the Church and they were always very supportive.

Children of Adeline and Andrew Smith Gibbons
Standing: Andrew Smith Gibbons, Jr., and Francis M. Gibbons
Seated: La Von Gibbons Thurber, Pauline Gibbons Clarke, and Ruth Gibbons Elliott
Judge Andrew Smith Gibbons vetoed the idea of missions for both of his sons

My Father Vetoes a Full Time Mission for Me

In that respect, I heard later that when I turned nineteen, Bishop Price went to my father to talk about sending me on a mission, and my father vetoed it.  My suspicion is that my father felt that I would be better off not going on a mission and that I would do better to concentrate on my business activities, saving my money, building up my financial status so that I could go into the grocery business on my own.  He just couldn’t see the value of it.  They never had a missionary in the family.  My father wasn’t missionary minded.  I guess it was a judgment he made that it was not worthwhile.  It’s unfortunate that he never really saw that side of the Church, nor did he understand the impact that a mission could have on a young man.

My Father’s Regrets About Not Sending Andrew on a Mission

I did hear him say later that he regretted that he didn’t send Andrew on a mission. I think that a mission would have been the making of my brother Andrew because he later became a very diligent Stake Missionary.  He was the Stake Mission President in Phoenix and they were really doing a lot of missionary work.  Then he became a member of a Bishopric and was a counselor in the Presidency of the London Temple when he was a mature man.  But what a blessing it would have been for my brother Andrew to have gone on a mission.  Especially at a time when he was at that age.  He was born in 1907 so that he would have been 19 years old in 1926 or so.  That would have been the ideal time for my brother to go on his mission.  

Notes

1 The St. Johns Arizona Stake was created 23 July 1887 with David K. Udall as Stake President. Deseret News 2001-2002 Church Almanac , page 172.  ASG’s uncle William H. Gibbons served as a counselor to D.K. Udall.  D.K. served until April 30, 1922, when he was succeeded by his son, Levi S. Udall.  Levi served as Stake President from 1922 to 1945.  Levi was an attorney who had been coached through the Bar by ASG, and who would defeat ASG for the judgeship in the election of 1930.  ASG’s service on the St. Johns Stake High Council was likely under President Levi S. Udall.

2 The Maricopa Stake (later renamed the Mesa Arizona Maricopa Stake) was created 10 December 1882 with Alexander F. MacDonald as Stake President.

3 The Phoenix ward split had actually occurred 20 February 1928.  Church historical records contain the following information regarding the Phoenix First and Second Wards as of December 31, 1930, the very month that ASG and his family arrived in Phoenix:

“PHOENIX 1ST WARD consists of Latter-day Saints residing in the east part of the city of Phoenix, or in that section lying east of Central Avenue. The ward was organized Feb. 20, 1928, when the Phoenix Ward was divided, and John H. Udall, who still presides (1930), was chosen as Bishop. The Phoenix Ward chapel, to which an amusement hall was added in 1922, became the meeting house for the Phoenix 1st Ward. On Dec. 31, 1930, the Phoenix 1st Ward had 690 members, including 172 children.  PHOENIX 2ND WARD, Maricopa Stake, consists of Latter-day Saints residing in the west part of the city of Phoenix, or in that section lying west of Central Avenue. The ward was organized Feb. 20, 1928, when the Phoenix Ward was divided. George F. Price, who had acted as Bishop of the Phoenix Ward, was chosen as Bishop of the newly organized Phoenix 2nd Ward, and he still acts in that position. A fine modern chapel, built in Spanish style at a cost of $80,000, has been erected in the ward since its organization. It is of interest to note that many non-Mormons donated generously towards the erection of this chapel, and a certain member who does not desire his name to be disclosed, donated a pipe organ costing $4,000. The membership of the Phoenix 2nd Ward Dec. 31, 1930, was 680, including 151 children.”

Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church , pages 653 to 654.  Because the ASG home in Phoenix was “west of Central Avenue”, the Gibbons family was technically in the Phoenix Second Ward from the time they moved to Phoenix in December of 1930.

Oral Interviews of Francis M. Gibbons (1921-2016)—Part 8

(From an Interview of Francis Marion Gibbons conducted by Daniel Bay Gibbons September 26, 2001 in Salt Lake City, Utah)

St. Johns Town Life

Wagons entering St. Johns

Patriarch Willard Farr (1856-1951)

Town Celebrations on the Twenty-Fourth of July

I remember on the twenty-fourth of July there would usually be a reenactment of the arrival of Brigham Young into the valley.  The children would be dressed up in pioneer attire and would have little wagons with covers on them, and we would march down Cleveland Avenue and enter the Church grounds and there we would have festivities all day.  There would be races of different kinds.  Three legged races.  Regular races for different age groups.  On one occasion I worked out a deal with Brother Farr,1 who was our Stake Patriarch.  He had a little service station and sold some candies and canned goods.  I took a box of – I think they were Baby Ruths – and I hawked them there on the grounds of the Church and I got one free candy bar for selling the whole box of candy.  So there would be stuff to eat and drink.  It was a very festive occasion which was always touched off early in the morning with a dynamite blast.  Someone had the responsibility to go up near the Church building and set off a charge of dynamite, which could be heard all over the valley.  And that was the signal for everybody to get up and get ready for the festivities. So, they were very special occasions and all the kids especially looked forward to enjoying that kind of an outing.

DBG:    What other kinds of community life were there for the town – for the Ward?

Silent Movies in the Dance Hall

FMG:    There was a hall.  I guess it was intended originally as a dance hall. It had a stage.  I can remember attending silent movies in that hall.  My father, because of his status, had a special place for him and his family that was near the stove.  They had a stove that would keep you warm.  It was really very pleasant in cold weather to go there and sit near that stove and watch the show.  Very often the kids would crowd down front near the stage.  They’d leave their parents and go down front near the stage so they could see the show better.  I can remember there were sockets for bulbs for the dramas.  I remember that my cousin Rendol used to go down there and we’d like to stick our finger in that socket to get a little shock. It was really exciting. (Laughter) So we had that movie house.  

ASG's cousin Dodd Greer (left) and his sons were town musicians

Town Musicians

There was a town orchestra that had been organized by the town barber, Jim Shreeve.2  So when there were dances, either in that hall or over in the High School, why usually Jim Shreeve’s orchestra would play.  Later, when we moved out of St. Johns, I understand that Rendol and my cousin Calvin “Top” Greer,3 Dodd’s son, who was a fine musician, and Ez Thurber4 had a little band.  They would provide most of the live music for the people in St. Johns for their dances and so forth.  They used to go over – we called it the railroad – they’d go over to Sanders and Houck and several little towns there on the railroad, not far from Holbrook. And they’d go over there and play for their dances.  

The Traveling “Bronson Players”

Also, when I was a boy there was a traveling group called the Bronson Players.5  There was a couple named Bronson who had dramatic ability and they had organized a little company.  And they would travel around to these little towns.  For example, they’d come into St. Johns and they had their own tent, and they’d set up the tent there on the triangular lot near the anchor of Cleveland Avenue, and they would stay there for a couple of weeks.  They would have show every night except Sunday.  I remember when they came into town they needed a lot of help to set up their tents, so the guys that were big enough could work for the Bronsons setting up their tent and they’d get free tickets.  So we would go to those Bronson shows almost every night while they were in town.  

DBG:    Wasn’t there a little song that was played by the Bronson players?

The Bronson Refrain: “Diddle Town to Dawdle Town”

FMG:    Yes.  Yes.  That song – at least the one I remember – went this way:

(Singing)

Diddle Town to Dawdle Town is eighteen miles.

From Dawdle Town to Diddle Town is eighteen miles.

From Diddle Town to Dawdle Town,

From Dawdle Town to Diddle Town,

From Diddle Town to Dawdle Town is eighteen miles.

(Laughter)

Advent of Radio in 1926

Then later, when we got electricity, which was I think in 1926 when I would have been five years old, then of course we had the radio.  I remember the first radio that my father purchased.  It was an Atwater Kent.  We used to listen to it almost every night for a while.  

“Amos and Andy” – Racist Attitudes in St. Johns

The children were permitted to stay up until Amos and Andy was over.  That was the cutoff, when you’d heard Amos and Andy, then you had to go to bed.  Of course it was a racist show. The Kingfish – “Buzz me, Miss Blue!” We never thought a thing about it.  It was good entertainment.  It was funny.  And so we were raised with those racist attitudes.  

Things Lost with the Coming of Radio

In any event, after electricity and the radio came in I guess we really lost a lot by that, because up until then you were on your own resources for entertainment.  As a result, most of the families in St. Johns insisted that their children learn instruments. Now my sisters, LeVon and Pauline, both played the piano.  We had a piano in our home.  My brother Andrew played the horn – the bass horn.  Rendol was very skilled as a musician.  In fact that’s how he made his life.  The Greer boys were fine musicians.  And so you’d find in most Mormon families there was a lot of musical talent. So they would entertain themselves, and they’d get together with little groups.  I mentioned my mother’s guitar club.  They used to get together regularly and practice and then they would perform.  So that was the nature of the entertainment.  

Early Radio Programming

But, as I say, when the radio came in, why then too much we were glued to the radio.  There was not a lot of programming, so that it was not a twenty four hour thing.  But there were certain shows that we used to enjoy.  They had a lot of dramas on radio.  I remember there was a program called the Campagna Italian Balm.  It was kind of like this Jurgens Lotion.  This was a sponsor.  And they’d have these mystery shows on the radio and all of the sound effects and what not.  So the family would gather around the radio and really enjoy the drama of it.  Then there was the Maxwell House Playhouse Theater, and so forth.  That added a very interesting aspect to life

My Only Experience in “Trotting the Boards”

Then I’ve told you, I’m sure, many times about my only experience in trotting the boards.  Rendol’s sister Leona6 put together this play and she roped Rendol and me into performing.  She had us all dressed up in little suits and plug hats with canes.  We performed in this little theater that I told you about where we had the silent movies.  I still remember the song that Rendol and I sang together. It went:

(Singing)

While you’re gone

I’ll be good

Not because

I’m so good

But because 

I’m Kar-AAAAAzy for you.7

(Laughter). And then it went:

(Singing)

While you’re gone

I’ll be nice . . .

And so forth and so on.  So Rendol and I performed together under Leona Gibbons’ direction.  And so there were these kinds of dramatic things that went on.  

Marinus Christensen, left, had
a dramatic flair and was a frequent participant
in St. Johns dramatic productions

Grandpa Christensen on the Stage

My Grandpa Christensen was very much admired for his ability as a performer.  He performed often in those little plays and dramas that were organized in St. Johns.  I remember the one thing that I’ve heard my mother talk about many times.  He played the part of a butcher.  At one part in the play he had a ham and he was either on a park bench, or someplace, and he had that ham by him.  And Uncle David was in the audience.  There was a theft in progress.  That ham was being stolen.  And David stood up in the audience and said, “WATCH OUT PA, HE’S STEALING YOUR HAMMMMM!!! ”  (Laughter).  So Grandpa Christensen was very much in the midst of the entertainment.

DBG:    Dad, tell me more about the Courthouse.

Portico entrance to Apache County Courthouse

The Apache County Courthouse

FMG:    Father’s court was on the second floor of the Courthouse.  On the main floor was the Clerk’s office and the Assessor’s office and the Sheriff’s office.  And then in the back of the main floor was the jail.  I remember the feelings I had when I would see that jail.  It had a very forbidding appearance to me.  But the prisoners were kept right there in the jail on the first floor of the Courthouse.  You went up the stairs and on the upper floor was the courtroom, which you’ve seen. Then my father’s chambers were on the front of the building, or the north side of the building.  Then the County Attorney had an office up there.  And I think that’s just about all.  I think the top floor was devoted to the Court.  The courtroom, the chambers of the Judge, the County Attorney.  In my father’s chambers was a rotating – I don’t know what you’d call it – it was a kind of a little library.  He had his books that he was using there in that little carousel.  So you could turn it around, so if you had a book on the other side he just turned this carousel and there was the book right in front of him.  I remember as a little kid it was quite exciting to turn that carousel, which I didn’t do often because he didn’t like it.  That was one of the features of his chambers.  So he could go right from his chambers to the bench.  I neglected to mention, there would have been an office up there for the Court Reporter and his Bailiff and what not.  I was really too young to appreciate my father’s role as the presiding officer of that Court.  I had a very childlike perspective.  I was interested in things like this carousel with the books in, and things of that sort.  There was a peculiar odor connected with that Courthouse.  There were spittoons around – a lot of smoking that went on.  As a result over a period of years the odors would accumulate.  So the Courthouse had a very distinctive odor.  A combination of cigarette, tobacco smoke, pipe smoke, cigar smoke and whatever.  But to me it was an impressive building.  I can recall the sense of reflected importance that I had because that’s where my father presided.  

My Father’s “Good Life” on the Bench in St. Johns

I can envision that my father had a really good life there.  He had an assured income, which was good for the time.  He didn’t have any worry about money.  The load was not heavy, and of course that accounted for the fact that he so often went out of St. Johns to preside in other courts.  He was one of the prime movers in the construction of the St. Johns golf course, which was up on the bench adjacent to the “St. Johns International Airport.”  (Laughter).  So he liked to play golf.  He liked to hunt.  He liked to fish.  I’ve been fishing with him.  We used to go up to the Lyman reservoir and fish.  Then I’ve told you about the outings when we would go up into the White Mountains and fish for trout.  I was with him on one occasion on a hunting outing when they were deer hunting.  So he had these outdoor activities; golf, hunting, fishing.  He had the interest in this sheep herd and then a cattle herd.  He was an investor.  Never made any money out of it but, you know, he’d like to go out and watch them dip the sheep and brand.  I can remember going with him to watch them brand the young heifers.  So this was a nice outing for him.  As I say, he always had a nice car.  So it was kind of the Life of Riley,8 really.  

Judge A.S. Gibbons

My Father Returns to Law Practice at Age Fifty

For that reason I have always really admired my father for having left that rather cloistered – carefree in a sense – life to go down to the big city, Phoenix, the capital of the State and to go into the practice of law at age fifty.  Now he’d been County Attorney for a year or two, but he’d never really practiced law.  I’m sure that it was traumatic for him.  At the same time I’m satisfied that it gave him a good feeling that he went from the bench to the practice of law and excelled.  

Harmony Between Jews, Mexicans, Mormons and Indians in St. Johns

So really in my earliest life in St. Johns I lived a very sheltered, secure, uncomplicated life there with my family and enjoying the opportunities of the Church.  It was an unusual community, especially when you introduce the Jews into it.  The Barths9 and the Schusters.10  So you have the Jews, the Mexicans, the Mormons all thrown together in that little community.  The Catholics and the Mormons.  And we all lived in peace.  The days of the antagonisms between the two communities had subsided.  

DBG:    Also, you had three – actually four Indian tribes within a short distance.

FMG:    Oh yes.

DBG:    Zuni, Hopi, Navajo and Apache.

FMG:    Yeah.  The town was really ringed by the Indian tribes.  Because of my father’s position he had a lot of Indians in his court.  You know all about Emo and Prescott.

DBG:    Tell me more about Emo and Prescott.

Our Navajo Friends, Emo and Prescott

FMG:    Emo and Prescott were Navajos.  They had been in my father’s court for some reason, I don’t know.  He had made their acquaintance.  He knew of their agricultural skills.  So he hired them every Spring.  They’d come over from the Reservation to St. Johns and set up in the wash house and they made that their home while they were there.  They would sleep there.  Then during the day they would plow and plant the garden and get everything in ship shape.  They always brought little trinkets with them.  I remember they brought a bow and arrow on one occasion and little jewelry trinkets and what not.  They always had something for us.  Both of them put up their hair in little buns on the back, and I remember one and maybe both of them had rather colorful little things that they put over the knot of the hair in the back.  They always had a – they didn’t stink, but they had a distinctive odor about them, and it was really rather pleasant.  They were very friendly until Andrew played his joke, and that was the end of our relationship.  But it was a very interesting thing to have Emo and Prescott come and spend a few days with us, maybe a week or so getting everything in ship shape and then they’d go.

DBG:    What was Andrew’s joke?

Andrew Smith Gibbons, Jr. and Francis M. Gibbons
The two sons of Judge A.S. Gibbons and Adeline Christensen Gibbons
Photo taken in Salt Lake City about 1965

Andrew Plays a Joke on Emo and Prescott

FMG:    Well, he had a magneto.11  He hooked it up to the stove in the wash house.  Then he positioned himself where he could see their reaction.  And they came in one evening after they had finished their work and Andrew was there at the window watching and he give it this [cranking motion] with the magneto and it caused the pans on the stove to shake and move.  They were terrified and ran out of the wash house and wouldn’t go back in.  Mother found out what had happened and so she called my Dad immediately.  My Dad came down from the Courthouse and he demonstrated to them what had happened, but that didn’t make any difference.  They were convinced that the Gibbons wash house was beset with evil spirits and they wouldn’t go back in.  They spent the night outside and went home and never came back.  Of course Andrew, who was fifteen years older than me, was just having a little fun and he didn’t have any idea that that would be the impact.  That was the last of our relationship with Emo and Prescott.

1 Willard Farr: The Stake Patriarch in St. Johns during FMG’s boyhood. Born 5 July 1856 in Ogden, Weber County, Utah Territory to Lorin Farr and Mary Bingham.  He was called to be Bishop of the St. Johns Ward on 24 July 1887 at the age of 31.  He succeeded D.K. Udall, who had just become the President of the new St. Johns Stake.  He later served as St. Johns Stake Patriarch for many years before his death.  His occupations included farmer, school teacher, and the owner and operation of a service station in St. Johns.    History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake , page 153. On 13 October 1877 he married Mary E. Ballantyne, daughter of Richard Ballantyne and Mary Pierce. He arrived in St. Johns June 2, 1881. In 1894 he was elected probate judge of Apache county, and served in that position two years.   Andrew Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia , Vol. 1, page 557.  He served as Bishop from 1887 to 1894.  Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church , page 733.  Brother Farr also served two terms as St. Johns Stake Clerk: first from 1906 to 1912, and later from 1920 to 1928. Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church , page 732.  Of his personal qualities, it has been noted: “Elder Farr is five feet ten inches in height, of rather slender build, and has brown hair and eyes. He is unpretentious in demeanor, humble and unassuming in all the walks of life, deliberate in counsel and does not jump at conclusions hastily.”   Andrew Jenson, LDS Biographical Encyclopedia , Vol. 1, page 557. Apparently Brother Farr at one time had a home or farm in the Round Valley area, located on the Little Colorado River, about 20 miles below, or northwest of St. Johns. It was only a small village in which L. D. S. meetings were held in the school house.  At a sacrament meeting held May 29, 1910, at this home of Patriarch Farr, the saints at Hunt and Concho were organized as a ward with Asahel H. Smith as Bishop. Andrew Jenson, Encyclopedic History of the Church , page 346.  Willard Farr died 18 November 1951.  

2 James S. Shreeve (1891-1962): Town barber. The shop, known as  “Jim’s Barber Shop” was located on the “Whiting Block,” the main business district in St. Johns. See Wilhelm, A History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, page 144. See also, St. Johns Cemetery records at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/az/apache/cemeteries/stjohns.txt

3 Irl Calvin Greer (1919-1995): FMG’s second cousin. Calvin was the son of Dodd L. Greer and Wilmerth Hazel Butler, and the younger brother of Lacy Camp Greer, the “real cowboy” with his own horse, whom FMG always envied as a boy.

4 A. Ezrel Thurber, Sr. (1882-1974): Confirmed FMG a member of the Church on 7 July 1929 in the St. Johns Ward, St. Johns Arizona Stake.  Also known as “Pop” Thurber, he was the father of A. Ezrel Thurber, Jr., the future husband of FMG’s sister LeVon Gibbons.

5 The Claman Bronson Players: Traveling vaudeville company, active in Arizona during the 1920’s. The company would come into a small town for a period of a few days to two weeks, and perform a different show every night, thus encouraging people to attend night after night. The titles of the plays, gleaned from contemporary newspapers, are fascinating: “The Clodhopper,” “The Church and Its People,” “The Call of the North Woods,” “The Cowboy and the Girl,” “Jiggs and Maggie in a Mining Camp,” etc. The following newspaper articles from the period will give more detail about this company and how they operated:

From the Arizona Republic in Phoenix, December 17, 1921:

CLODHOPPER RETURNS TO ELKS

"Toby" comes back to the Elks theater today with a matinee at 2:30 and tonight at 8:15 in the smashing rural comedy-drama, "The Clodhopper." If you don't think that "Toby" has become immensely popular during his short stay in Phoenix Just try to get into the Elks tonight and then if you can't, take a friendly "tip" and make your reservations for Sunday to see the new play, "The Call of the North Woods," with "Toby" up in Canada. The Claman-Bronson company with "Toby" have made a decided hit. A pleasing feature of the Claman-Bronson players is that they give two complete shows in one a snappy drama and a rattling good vaudeville show. Either one could make good in itself.

From the Miami Daily Arizona Silver Belt, in Miami, Arizona, December 24, 1921:

XMAS PRESENT— 

What to give them? If you can’t decide what Xmas present to get your wife, mother, father, sister or the kiddies. Get them a season ticket. Let them come every night during Xmas week at the Unique theater to see "Toby” and the Claman Bronson company of players. The price is only 50c for the best seats, they will laugh and enjoy themselves and never forget it. They will thank you and you could not give them a more appropriate present. 

WHO IS TOBY?— 

Theater & amusement lovers In Miami should be delighted to know that they are to have the Claman Bronson company with "Toby” for the entire Xmas week at the Unique theater starting Sunday night, with entire change of play and vaudeville every night. Everyone in Miami will enjoy a good laugh! with Toby and soon everyone In Miami will know Toby and like, him. He will make you laugh and forget your troubles in every play that this company presents at the Unique during Xmas week. He'll drives away all your troubles and makes the world seem brighter. The Claman Bronson company is a capable one and comes highly recommended to Miami from Phoenix and other coast cities where they have appeared. 

EXTRA SPECIAL! CHRISTMAS ATTRACTION UNIQUE THEATER 

One Week Starting Sunday, Dec. 25 The Claman-Bronson Co., 12 Capable People, Including TOBY And the Famous Toby Quartette Direct From a Successful Stock Engagement at the Elks Theatre, Phoenix. HIGH CLASS VAUDEVILLE AND A REPER TOIRE OF THE BEST PLAYS “THE CLODHOPPER” “THE CHURCH AND ITS PEOPLE” “THE CALL OF THE NORTH WOODS” “THE COWBOY AND THE GIRL” “THE BARRIER” “WAY DOWN EAST” “SPUTTER” A Positive Riot of Fun PRICES ONLY 50c PLUS TAX Complete Change Each Night ONE SHOW EACH NIGHT At 8 p. in.—Doors Open 7:30 p. m.

From the Miami Daily Arizona Silver Belt, January 3, 1921:

Real Flesh and Blood Play For People Of A Mining District 

A rare treat, especially for the people of a mining district is promised in the four act comedy melodrama. “The Gambler and the Girl.” which is to be presented by the Claman-Bronson troupe at the Unique this evening. This evening’s play, otherwise entitled “Jiggs and Maggie in a Mining Camp,” is said to be replete in humorous situations and will undoubtedly appeal to all lovers of good clean comedy. The Claman-Bronson players, in their brief stay here in Miami have scored such a hit with local theater goers as is rarely accorded visiting stock companies. Through their excellent presentations of popular plays, their efforts have all been attended with large houses. They will stay in Miami for the remainder of the week, and their plays for the duration of the stay will include several that have made record runs in larger cities of the country. 

From the Graham Guardian in Safford, Arizona, January 20, 1922:

NOW PLAYING Layton Hall EXTRA SPECIAL THEATRICAL ATTRACTION 

Claman Bronson Players - 11 Capable People, including TOBY and the Famous TOBY QUARTETTE. Two shows in one Drama and Vaudeville DIFFERENT PLAY EACH NIGHT High Class Vaudeville Between Acts Admission Children 25c Adults 55c including tax.

6 Leona Gibbons: First cousin of ASG and contemporary of FMG and his sister Ruth.  Born 22 January 1913 the daughter of Lee Roy Gibbons and Armitta Nicoll (Uncle Roy’s first wife).  Leona had a twin sister who was stillborn.  Married William Clayton Jenkins, Jr. in Washington, D.C. on 4 August 1934.

7 Al Jolson, “I’m Ka-Razy for You,” 1929. For 1929 audio recording by Eddie Walters, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgt7w3x59wo

8 “Living the Life of Riley”: An oft-repeated phrase from FMG and ASG. Reportedly, it is an Irish-American phrase popularized during World War I.

9 The descendants of the brothers Solomon, Nathan and Morris Barth. Solomon Barth was a wealthy St. Johns resident.  One of a family of wealthy businessmen, including his brothers Nathan and Morris Barth.  The Barths were Jewish.  Solomon came to America in 1855 as a boy of thirteen from his native Poland.  He made crossings of the Little Colorado near the site of St. Johns as early as 1864 and operated a pack train, carrying salt from the Zuni Salt Lake to the mines in the Prescott area.  In 1870 he secured a lucrative contract from the U.S. government to haul supplies for the Army from the railhead at Dodge City, Kansas to Fort Apache in the White Mountains.  To help with this huge undertaking, Sol sent to Poland for his two brothers, Nathan and Morris, who came to join him and they all settled permanently in the area by 1873.  These three brothers and their descendants dominated the commercial enterprises of the entire Little Colorado River basin for fifty years or more.   See , History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake, page 20.  Solomon’s sons Isaac and Maurice were both lawyers and became close friends and associates of ASG.

10 The descendants of the Schuster brothers, Adolf and Ben.  Adolf Schuster was the principal of A & B Schuster Company in St. Johns.  The Schuster brothers, Adolf and Ben, reached Holbrook about the time the railroad arrived and established a general merchandise store there. Like the Barth brothers, Adolf and Ben were Jewish. They later established the A & B Schuster Company store in St. Johns, a sizeable cattle ranch with headquarters at Cedro, and two farming projects, one in the Salado Valley and another in the White Mountains.   See, History of the St. Johns Arizona Stake , page 307.

11 A magneto is a small generator with a hand crank, used in the earliest telephones, and could generate up to 100 volts or more of electricity, if cranked vigorously.