Obituary: Dawn G. James
Hope Dawn Gardiner James, 77, passed away October 11, 2004, at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center from complications relating to the cancer she had patiently and valiantly endured for 18 months.Born to Frederick and Hope Hulet Gardiner on December 30, 1926 in Peterson, Utah, Dawn was raised in Malta, Idaho. She attended Albion Normal School in Albion, Idaho, and graduated in elementary education from Utah State University in 1949. She taught school in Park Valley, Utah from 1949 to 1951 and again from 1953 to 1954.
From 1951 to 1953, Dawn served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the West Central States Mission.
She married Sydney C. James on April 16, 1954, in the Logan Temple; they celebrated their 50th anniversary earlier this year. Dawn and Syd have one son and four daughters, born in Idaho, Utah, Oregon, New Mexico, and Iowa. The family spent 20 years in Ames, Iowa, before moving to Orem, Utah in 1983, where they have resided since.
Talented in the homemaking arts, Dawn particularly enjoyed baking, sewing, gardening, painting in oils and watercolor, reading, and doing family history and name-extraction work.
Besides fulfilling teaching and leadership positions in the LDS Church on the ward and stake levels, Dawn joined Syd in serving two missions as a senior couple. From 1994 to 1996, they served in Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri; from 1999 - 2001, they taught English to Doctors and medical professionals in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Vientiane, Laos.
She is survived by her husband; daughter Susan (Martin) Holman of Greenville, MA; son, Clair F. (Bernice) James of Blacksburg, VA; daughter, Cheryl (Scott) Taylor of Provo; daughter, LeAnn (Michael) Hunter of Lehi; daughter, Jennifer (Jonathan) Spell of Orem; 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She is also survived by siblings, James (Carol) Gardiner of Glendale, CA; Golden (Barbara) Gardiner of Malta; Mary Gardiner of Salt Lake; Gloria (Dean) Ottley of Quincey, WA; and Frank (Lillian) Gardiner of Provo. She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Robert H. Gardiner and a sister, Margaret Ottley.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 16, 2004, at 11:00 a.m., in the Sunset Heights LDS Stake Center, 1260 South 400 West, Orem. Friends may call at the Berg Mortuary of Provo, 185 East Center Street, Friday evening, from 6-8 p.m., or Saturday morning, at the Stake Center, one hour prior to services. Interment, Orem City Cemetery.
Note: Dawn did a lot of research on the Gardiner and Stewart lines. He had the talent of really looking at family history information in a detailed, thoughtful way. Kent
Hope Dawn Gardiner James
written by Sydney C. James, 2005
Dawn was born to Frederick
and Hope Hulet Gardiner in Perterson, Morgan, Utah, 30 December 1926. She was named after her mother, but never
went by anything but Dawn, except on church or legal documents. Later, after she married Sydney Carter James,
she signed her name Dawn G. James.
Peterson was not the home of Fred and Hope and it is uncertain why they
were there except for the birthing. In
fact, it is uncertain just where Fred and Hope considered their home on that
date. They established their first home
at Meadow Creek, Cassia, Idaho, at the time of their marriage, 2 June 1920, in
the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Meadow
Creek is located about 10 miles west of Malta, where they finally settled. Fred homesteaded 160 acres at Meadow Creek
prior to 1914 when he received the patent to it. Subsequently he purchased another 380 acres
in three parcels. Hope came to Declo,
Idaho, to teach school. Declo is located
west of Burley about 8 miles and north-west of Malta about 20 miles. Hope had previously taught school in
Peterson, Utah, but was persuaded to come to Declo in 1918 by her
brother-in-law, Raymond Whittier, Hope’s older sister Opal’s husband, who was
involved with the school system. Hope
first needed to certify by taking some courses at Albion Normal School,
nearby. During the summer of 1919 she
taught a few students at Sublett, located just a few miles North of Meadow
Creek and lived with the Welch family who were renting Fred’s ranch home at
Meadow Creek.. After Fred and Home were married they lived at Sublett for a
time and this is where their first child, James Hulet (JH), was born. But, Fred was having financial difficulties
and lost all of his land–the 160 acres he homesteaded plus 280 acres he had purchased
prior to his marriage. It was not the
marriage that bankrupted him–it was the weather and thievery. Fred had acquired a band of sheep and lost
many of them in a spring storm at lambing time.
Next, 300 head were stolen, and there went his source of income. This was also a period of economic hard times
across the nation. Just where Fred and
Hope lived between 1922 and 1929 is unknown.
We know that Fred homesteaded a piece of land at Bridge, about 10 miles
south of Malta. And, he worked for Art Pierce
in Malta and lived in a small house owned by him. About 1929 he bought 120 acres on the west
side of Hwy. 30S (now 81) next to Cassia Creek just south of the Malta’s civic
center. We know that Golden and Mary,
the second and third children, were likewise born in Peterson. So the family must have spent considerable
time there–at least Hope did. It could be that Hope appreciated the larger
house of her parents and the help provided by her mother and siblings. Peterson also had much better medical support
if needed.
Hope was raised until she was
15 years old in Summit, Iron, Utah.
Summit is just north of Cedar City (about 70 miles north of St.
George). This must have been a happy
time for her because her memories often turned to that period of her life. Her father, Sylvanus Cyrus Hulet, Jr., moved
there with his father in 1873. The Hulet’s
had been called from Springville, Utah, by Brigham Young to help settle Saint
George, Utah, in 1861. Sylvanus married
Mary Ida Dalley, a beauty living in Summit, 25 April 1883, in the St George
Temple. Shortly after their 4th
child was born (Oscar S., Ida May, John, Edna) Sylvanus was called to Ohio,
Pennsylvania and W. Virginia, on a church mission. After his return Opal (1891), Hope (24
December 1893), Nephi (1895), Eleanor (1898), Verda (1901) Belva (1904), Thora
(1906), and Howard (1908) were born.
During this time the family prospered greatly, owning land, over 2,200
sheep, cattle, horses, donkeys, chickens, etc.
A summer ranch was owned up in the mountains near Cedar Breaks called
Deep Canyon. This is where the family
spent much of their summers. . But, for reasons unknown, maybe the heat and the
fact that the children were moving away, Sylvanus sold it all in 1908 and
bought a ranch in Peterson, Morgan, Utah.
Hope was 15 years old. At one time Hope owned several riding horses and
cattle. Peterson is now located about 25
miles SE of Ogden, Utah, just off I84.
Sylvanus encouraged his children to get good educations. Hope, after finishing the 8th
grade in Peterson, went to Ogden High School for one year and then dropped out
of high school for about two years when her father contracted blood poisoning
in his leg from a blister on his ankle.
Sylvanus later purchased a house in Logan so his children could go to
school at the Agricultural College. He
took produce (including a milk cow) from his farm in Peterson to Logan in a
wagon. Hope studied three more years
there, finishing her high school education.
Hope, much later finished the equivalent of two years of college through
correspondence courses. She taught
school in Malta after her children were older.
Thus, it seems quite natural
that Fred and Hope would go to Peterson and stay extended periods during these
early days of their marriage, particularly at the birth of a new child. The Hulet’s home was large and spacious and
they were always welcome. It should be
noted that Hope was a very good student and talented in music (piano). She was a fine seamstress and a good
cook. It is understandable why Hope
would not settle for anything less than a temple marriage.
Frederick’s background is not
so orderly or clear as was Hope’s. He
was born in Salt Lake City 26 March 1879–14 years before Hope. Both of Fred’s parents, Robert and Margaret
Stewart Gardiner, were born in Scotland
where they joined the LDS church in 1855.
In SLC Robert was a baker and candy maker. Fred helped with this trade during some of
his early years. In fact, it was
necessary for Fred to drop out of school for a time to help support the family’s
livelihood. Robert had acquired a good
business but had lost most of it during the depression of the 1890s. In 1893 the record shows that Fred worked for
Zion’s Co-operative Mercantile Institution and was a machinery operator. It is not known if Fred ever finished the 8th
grade, but there is record of him attending business school part time during
1898-1902. Between1894 and 1898 he
likely worked full or part time for Henry Sutton, James Marsh or James Wrathall
as a sheep herder and/or camp mover in the Grantsville, Utah, area. There is a record of him herding sheep in
Summit County. Probably through connections with sheep men we find Frederick in
Pocatello, Idaho, in 1908 and on Meadow Creek in 1910. Perhaps it was the possibility of
homesteading some property that attracted him there. There is evidence that both he and his father
did some prospecting for precious metals–perhaps a haunting past-time. Even
though Fred didn’t attend church regularly we cannot say he was inactive or that
he was unworthy. Quite the contrary, he
was baptized and ordained a deacon on schedule and ordained an Elder by his
brother, Clarence, in 1920. While
Clarence was on his mission Fred helped pay for his expenses. Frederick had nine brothers and sisters:
Robert (1869), Margaret (1872), Violette (1874), William (1876), Clarence
(1881), Eva (1883), Charles (1885), Adelaine (1889), and Beatrice (1891).
When Fred and Hope acquired
the Malta property just west of the main highway near the creek a small house
was already there. The foundation was
poorly constructed with rocks and mortar which later fell apart. Later there was a dugout basement under the
kitchen with wood stairs leading down for the storage of canned fruit and raw
vegetables. This also was used to house
the milk separator. Construction of the
house was not good–sawdust was used for insulation. Due to its location near the creek the basement was often flooded with the
spring run off. There were only three
small rooms–kitchen, living room and bedroom. The roof was steep and a ladder
was used to reach this space that was used for sleeping. Conditions were primitive without indoor
plumbing. It is not known when they got
electricity, but it would not have been prior to about 1940 when the REA came
to town. Heating was primarily by the
wood burning cook stove. Dawn remembers
her Dad rattling the grates while taking out the ashes in the early morning
hours. Substantial improvements to the house were not made until after Dawn had
left home. Indoor water and plumbing
were first added in about 1948 and about 1968 a nice big room was added and the
attic improved. An oil burning stove was
added for heat. Thus, the children were
packed in, nestling under heavy, but warm, home made quilts.
To Fred and Hope four more
children were added to the family: Margaret (1929), Gloria (1931), Robert
(1934), and Frank (1937); all born in Malta.
Robert lived only about six months.
That still left eight people (parents and six children) living together
in a very small house.
Just for a moment can you
imagine keeping up with the laundry for this bunch. More than one of the children would have been
in diapers at the same time, and Hope without a washer. The water would have been heated on the cook
stove and the soap home made using lye (or ashes) and beef tallow. The clothes were sometimes boiled to get them
clean. When a washer became available much of the laundry was still done by
hand. Ironing was done with a “sad iron”
heated on the kitchen stove. These also
were useful for heating a cold bed or to keep feet warm in a wagon or old car
without a heater.
Food for this growing family
was largely home grown with a big garden, beef, pigs, chickens and milk cows.
Fruit was purchased by the bushel for canning. Sometimes the relatives would bring things
when they came for a visit. Clothes were
largely sewn at home, using whatever material was available–sometimes someone’s
old dress or a printed flour sack.
Again, relatives helped out. This
was often a two way acquisition. The
basics of a typical meal would be home made bread and boiled potatoes. Dawn said that when meal preparations were a
little late her mother would say, “Put on the potatoes to boil, your Dad will
be coming any minute and he will think food is on the way.” To these basics there would always be milk to
drink and fruit for desert. Often there
would be meat or eggs and vegetables.
Hope cooked largely without a recipe.
(But not Dawn, she had many recipes.)
What did Dawn play with as a
child? I do not know. I suppose that she played with her sisters
and brothers doing simple things. Surely
she had a doll and a few of the typical toys other little girls had at the
time. Sometimes a stick or rock can be a
great toy. Add some water to dirt and it
can become a cake. But, I would think
that Dawn’s mother Hope had a lot of ideas to keep her children occupied and
happy. I know she let them help
cook. She had been a teacher of the
primary grades and undoubtedly had many things from her teaching. Dawn and our children could find lots of
things in the attic to keep them entertained for hours. Toys there included ...?. There is no indication that Dawn learned to
ride horses, milked the cows, or was a tom-boy.
She was attached to the old treadle White sewing machine her mother
acquired and did lots of sewing when she grew a little older.
You would say this family was
poor, and they certainly were by today’s standards–maybe by the standards of
many during their time. But, in terms of
the community, and other communities in the vicinity, including Dawn’s future
husband, Sydney James, theirs was not atypical.
They looked a lot like many of the other kids in their school. How did they survive, you may ask? The answer is that they learned to do without
and enjoy the simple things. They were
busy surviving and they learned to cooperate and help each other. The other children “mothered” the younger
ones. When the older children could get
work out of the home they did so and shared their earnings. Later on Hope went back to teaching school in
Malta. There are almost always some in a
community who prosper and this was the case in Malta. These persons often benefit from hiring
others trying to get ahead. This
happened in Malta and the Gardiner family benefitted from part-time employment
from neighbors.
Apart from the school, life
in this small rural community revolved around the church. It was not only a place of worship, but the
center of their social lives. This is where dances were held and the first
movies were shown. In a sense, the church, by default, became the civic center
with its leaders playing a large role in civic affairs. In those days there was not just Sunday
worship (Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School were separated) but the Relief
Society, Primary and Mutual Improvement Association (MIA) were held other days
of the week. For some this meant four or
five trips the church each week. The
church, then, had various work project to help each other, produce welfare
products, earn funds for new buildings or the ward budget, etc. The Gardiners
were involved in all of this because they were an active family.
School for Dawn was a fun and
exciting , as it is for the talented and gifted, and she was one of them–as
were the whole family. This can be
partly attributed to her passion for books.
Her pile of reading certificates during grade school is high. She admitted that she sometimes got so
involved in her reading that she forgot to do some of her assigned tasks about
the home. She seldom missed school–supported
by certificates of perfect attendance. Her course transcripts are full of As, a
few Bs and one or two Cs–they were good enough to earn her “valedictorian” of
her 1945 highschool graduating
class.
In addition to the public
school education Dawn took LDS Church seminary during high school and
graduated. She also was active in 4-H
projects sponsored by the Idaho Cooperative Extension Service. It is not known how long she participated.
Dawn received a Patriarchal
Blessing from Frederick Hugh Ottley, Raft River Stake, in 1944 at the age of
17. It was pronounced that she was of
the lineage of Ephraim with all the attendant blessing of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. She was told that she would be a
leader among the righteous daughters in Zion to help increase their
faith.. Marvelous things would happen
that she had never thought of. She was
to a comfort to her parents. She was
told to be careful in who she set her affections on as the prospect of her
greatest exaltation. If she walked the
path of virtue and righteousness she would have success in life and would look
back with satisfaction and forward with joy and heavenly hope. She would be mindful of physical dangers as
well as moral evils and would be permitted to fill out her full mission and
purpose in the world and move on to the eternities of bliss and happiness that
the Lord has promised to his faithful children.
Dawn was a worthy candidate for the fulfillment of these choice
promises, and I trust she is there now after 77 years on earth. (A full transcript of this blessing is
attached.)
The dedication of the family
to education is indicated by their achievements in higher education. Of the six living children two received
masters degrees, two became registered nurses, one a pharmacist, and one BS
degree. JH studied at Utah State
Agricultural College after he was married, receiving a MS in Sociology. However, he never worked in this field. While in the military he was trained in
radio-television technology and after college worked for NBC. Golden received a MS in electrical
engineering at the University of Utah and later took a job with the Rural
Electrical Association in Malta, becoming its head. Mary studied nursing at ?, worked for the LDS
Hospital in SLC and for Dr. Cannon in private practice. Gloria trained for nursing at ?, worked for
the LDS Hospital in SLC before joining the Red Cross blood unit. Frank studied pharmacology at ?, and worked
in Southern California before moving to Utah where he worked for Allen’s Food
Store. Dawn first attended Albion Normal
College for about one year before going to Utah State Agricultural College
(later Utah State University) at Logan, Utah.
She graduated in 1949 with honors, being inducted into the Honor Society
of Phi Kappa Phi. She majored in
Elementary Education and minored in Art.
While there she was active in Lama Delta Sigma and participated in snow
sculpturing among other things.
It is not known why Dawn took
her first teaching job in the Box Elder County Schools at the two-teacher
school in Park Valley in 1949. Lael
Carter was the other teacher. The
previous year the other teacher was Rowena, Lael’s wife, but she quit to have a
baby. Here Dawn had grades one through
five. Can you imagine doing that your
first year out of college? There were
about 3-5 students in each grade. During
the summer Dawn took a class at Brigham Young University–I think in arts and
crafts. She came back to teach in Park
Valley the following year. The first
year she made $2,410 and the next year $2,470. $30 was added to the base salary
due to ‘isolation and remoteness’. Dawn
did an excellent job, with her students rating above the average for the
county, including the city schools. Dawn
probably would have returned for the third year had she not accepted the call
to serve her church as a missionary in the North Central States Mission with
headquarters in Missoula, Montana. Two
years later at the end of her mission a petition by the parents of her students
was waiting for her to teach again in Park Valley, which she did beginning in
1953. That may have been her biggest
mistake because the other teacher became Sydney C. James, whom she married 16
April 1954, and that ended her teaching career.
It was always a joy for Dawn to meet her former students who greeted her
with fondness. It was a happy time for
her and her students. Syd taught some of
Dawn’s former students.
Missionary work was another
passion of the Gardiner family. Of the
six living children four served full-time missions for the LDS Church. Golden went to the Eastern States, Mary to
New England (Maine), Dawn to the West Central States, Gloria to Argentina and
Frank to the ?. JH probably would have
served a mission had it not been for the military and marriage. He served his county in the ?. Golden served in the Navy.
One might ask, “How could
they go to school and on missions when they were so poor?” Well, it wasn’t easy, and took a lot of
faith, hard work, dedication, and cooperation.
They learned to help each other.
All of them had worked and saved before they went on missions. The GI Bill helped JH and Golden go to
school. During a couple of the years
when they were students at Utah State they lived together in an apartment at
400 N. Main Street with the Lucas family.
Dawn’s mission was another
highlight in her development. She
entered the mission home in SLC in July, 1951, expecting to be gone only 18
months. But, the mission was short of
missionaries and she was asked to extend 6 months, which she gladly did. Personally, I think the president just wanted
to keep her because of her superior ways.
This worked out well for her because she returned in time to begin
teaching the fall of 1953. Dawn’s
bishop at the time of her call was Kenneth G. Carter, Syd’s uncle. She was interviewed by Alma Sonne and set
apart by Richard L. Evans in route by Union Pacific to Billings, Montana, to
meet her mission president, Sylvester Broadbent. (Note: I had to look through a lot of papers
before I found that his first name was not President.) Sister Helen Meldrum must have accompanied
Dawn into the mission field from SLC.
They became very good friends.
Dawn’s first assignment was in Riverton Wyoming with Sister Vera Evans
as her companions. She was a good mentor
for Dawn, giving her a good foundation in missionary work. While there were some successes in finding
people to teach it seemed that much of Dawn’s time was spent in the somewhat
useless activity of knocking on doors.
Her other time was spent, like most other missionaries, in study;
preparation meetings; cottage meetings; visiting members, investigators and
friends; training and support meetings including conferences. At the end of September, 1951, Dawn was
transferred to Douglas to work with Sister Ardith Sudweeks. (Note: She called me after Dawn’s funeral–now
lives near the Provo Temple as a widow.)
Work continued much as it did in Riverton. I might add that the effort by the
missionaries was substantial, 70-80 hours per week. in missionary related
activities. In the beginning Dawn mildly complained of the walking and tired
feet, exposure to the elements and the lack of rest. From time to time there was a package from
home containing clothing and other things she needed. After receiving some house slippers, scarf,
stationary and church books she wrote, “My family are still the best people on
earth as far as I’m concerned.”
The middle of December
brought transfers for Dawn, Sis. Sudweeks and Sis. Meldrum. Douglas was being closed and Dawn was going
to Rapid City in the Black Hills of South Dakota, via. Belle Fourche. Meldrum would stay there and Dawn would move on
to R.C. to become Sis. Adelaide Weaver’s companion. It is interesting that Dawn spent her first
night with the Kiholms (Branch President), a place Syd had been to several
times. On Monday they moved on to Rapid
City. Dawn commented on how beautiful the
Black Hills are in the winter time–a perfect setting for Christmas. Rapid City was the first place Syd was sent
to after he went to the Western States Mission in 1948. Dawn mentioned visiting some of the same
people he did who still were good friends but not interested in joining the church. On Sunday, December 30 Dawn celebrated her 25th
birthday at Sis. Mabel Thomas’s house with cake and ice-cream, after which Dawn
gave a talk in church. On March 3 Dawn
received another transfer, this time to Belle Fourche. This assignment included several little
nearby towns, including Sturgis, Lead, Deadwood and Spearfish. This was a tough
period for Dawn, primarily because she contracted a cold or the flu and had a
hard time getting rid of it. It lasted
two or three weeks or longer. It left
her physically drained and somewhat discouraged. Nevertheless, she kept working. Overall Belle Fourche was a good experience
and she made lots of friends. Sister
Meldrum stayed with her until Betty Barnes replaced her on August 1, after five
months together. On July 17th
she wrote, “Received the greatest shock since coming out; a letter from my
mother telling me of the death of Margaret’s and Dean’s baby, Forrest Dean, –
who lived only two days.”
I, Syd, will insert here that
it was when Dawn went to the Black hills that I started writing to her. At the
time I was in Huntington, Utah, south of Price, doing practice teaching in
Vocational Agriculture. The connection
is this. I came from my mission in
August, 1950–a month early because Dad had an operation and could not ride a
horse to gather the cattle. But, I did
not meet Dawn until later. I was busy
when school started and eager to get back into school at Utah State
Agricultural College. I had finished two
years before my mission to the Western States.
At that time I was assigned to work in the Black Hills at Rapid
City. I continued there for 14 months,
including 4 months on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation before being
transferred to Durango, Colorado. Before
being released the mission was split with the creation of the West Central States
Mission, and the Black Hills went with it–also parts of Wyoming. Thus, I had a good excuse to write to this
person I hardly knew. But, I knew of her
from my Uncle Kenneth, her bishop, and my mother who cooked the school lunch at
Park Valley. How could I resist? We almost met in Logan. When she rented at the Lucas’s in 1947-48 I
went there for breakfast and dinner from just across the street. But, at that time I had another Dawn that I
was courting. After Dawn’s death I found
those letters all tied up in a bundle.
Also, I ran across some letters received from former companions asking
about me. Maybe, I made a good
impression on her. I don’t know about
that but I do remember being excited to go see her in August, 1853, after her
return and my finishing ROTC summer camp.
Dawn stayed in the Black
Hills until November 26, 1952, when she was transferred to Helena, Montana,
with a new companion, Birchall Bundy.
Also, it was during this time that Dawn received an extension to her
mission call for another 6 months. Of
course, she accepted–even to stay in cold Montana for the winter. A month later Dawn went to a conference in
Butte and had a wonderful time. Pres.
And Sis. Broadbent were there. He
expressed appreciation for her staying longer, and Dawn responded that she had
more than been repaid. On Dawn’s 26th
birthday she received another transfer to Missoula, Montana to be a companion
to Patricia Shumway. Elder Rex L. Lee
was her District Supervisor. There was
discouragement and confusion during the period around March 15. It seems that Sis. Shumway was being
transferred and Dawn was without a “real” companion for awhile. She wrote to
Elder Poulton, her supervisor, “The incidents of the last week have produced a
confused state of mind that makes it hard to express my true feelings. Sister Shumway’s transfer was quite a blow to
me; I feel like I’d lost my right arm.
She is a wonderful person and I feel privileged to have been her
companion.” A local convert went with
her a few times. Then, I do not know what happened because Dawn didn’t
write in her journal for a couple of weeks.
Her journal contains several periods when nothing was written, just
empty pages waiting for nothing better to do, and I guess it didn’t
happen.. Dawn later Dawn wrote, “I think
I can say this has been the most unusual month of my mission, and one of the
most valuable to me. I have been forced
to take a survey of myself and I didn’t approve of all I’ve found. So I’m going to try to do something about it.” Then she tells of a wonderful tracting
experience. Her new companion was a
Sister Barnes (42 and unmarried) from Lewiston, Idaho. From here on Dawn’s missionary journal is
silent. She was honorably released from
her mission June 28, 1953. Even though
there were days of struggle and discouragement Dawn’s missionary experience was
a highlight in her life. She not only strengthened her testimony of the gospel
and learned to teach its principles but learned how to get along with
companions and meet people in many different circumstances. By nature Dawn was reserved and quiet, hiding
many of her real talents. She was an
excellent speaker, when forced into it.
Those things learned in the mission carried over into life with a
husband and children, making her a better wife and mother. It carried over into the many church callings
of responsibility she would receive. She
became a solid citizen in God’s earthly kingdom to the very end, never wavering
and usually upbeat.
For a more complete and
personal account of Dawn’s missionary experiences you may want to read her
missionary journal, and look at other preserved records.
Dawn had only a couple of
months to rest and get ready to teach school again in Park Valley. A petition by the parents was waiting that
would have been difficult to turn down.
School would have started near the beginning of September, and she would
again live in the Lawrence G. And Emma Kunzler Carter home-hotel. Her meals were prepared by Emma. The bathroom was the same one used by the
family. There was running water in the
home provided from a well with a pump and pressure tank. Dawn’s room was without running water and
heated with a little wood burning stove, as there was not a furnace installed. She walked a quarter of a mile to
school. After her mission this must have
seemed but a small distance. She taught
grades 1 through 4.
The other teacher at the Park
Valley school was to have been a fellow who had married Barbara Burton. I do not remember whether he started teaching
or not, but about that time I, Syd, received a visit from the Box Elder County
School District asking me to become the teacher of the other grades, 5th,
7th and 9th, and also be the principal. I explained that I had a reserve USAF
commitment for two years and didn’t know when the call would come, but if they
were willing to accept that I would be pleased to do so. Barbara’s husband had taken a job at the
Indian School in Brigham City. My visit
with him was not impressive and I was glad Dawn didn’t have to put up with his
slovenly ways. So, this is how the story
unfolds of how Dawn and Syd got together–it may have taken place otherwise,
given that both of us were old enough, liked each other and living in the same
community. I knew that with our
commitments to the gospel everything else would work out alright. A near miracle happened when the Air Force
was gracious enough to write a letter near the beginning of 1954 asking when I
wanted to begin my service. I explained
my situation and received a call to begin service as soon as school was
over. They didn’t know they were an
accomplice to our courtship. When
Valentine’s Day rolled in Syd was ready to ask Dawn on bended knee to be his
eternal companion, and she accepted.
This was on a Friday or Saturday and Sunday was Stake Conference in
Garland. There were many oohs and ahs by
the townspeople. You can understand that
there was much teasing. But, I think it
was not a great surprise–a story that would be told over and over. We were married in the Logan Temple the 16th
of April with both our families present.
On our return from a short
honeymoon to Craters of the Moon and Boise, Idaho we stopped in Burley to
window shop at the Chevrolet dealership.
We were hooked on a 4-door red car and signed with GMAC to pay for it
with anticipated earnings. It happened
just that way, but we were convinced there must be a better way of buying
things–cash. Often, items can be purchased cheaper for cash,
interest increases the cost and there are no interest receipts from
savings. Actually, it turned out to be a
good thing in that the car Syd received from his folks that was used as a trade
had a cracked engine.
Our first apartment was in the Carter hotel, a small
unit that Lael and Rowena had lived in.
There was no running water but we had access to the family friendly bath
room, and there was a path as well. We
were comfortable and happy. Celebrations
ended with a big dance that was well attended by many from the surrounding
communities. But, it didn’t end when
most every one went home. The chivaree
ended at Syd’s Uncle Jess and Aunt Beth’s house with oyster soup. When we got home after the cock had crowed we
found our bed full of corn flakes and jam smeared around. It was up to Ma Carter’s we went for a late
breakfast and rest before the cleanup began.
I’m not sure that Dawn ever really liked that red
car. You see, she became pregnant before
we left for San Antonio, Texas, where Syd would process into the Air Force. The red car and the red scenery through
Southern Utah and New Mexico were almost too much for her “morning sickness.” The time in San Antonio would not have been
so bad if it hadn’t happened that the pregnancy was terminated there with an
abortion. The weather was hot and humid,
and the swamp cooler we rented didn’t help much. We stayed in a small motel room during our
30-day plus stay there. But, we were
together and that meant a lot to us.
1946 Utah State Univ Buzzer yearbook:
1949 Utah State Univ:
Research:
2011
Dawn died 11 October 2004 and not 5 October. Jennifer was born 4 July 1969 in Ames, Story, Iowa. My genealogy data base is split into several parts and I may not have recorded Dawn's death in all of them (James, Carter, Goodliffe, Gardiner, Heulet). Thanks for the things you are doing.
S.
Kent,
I have"Life Histories of Hope Hulet Gardiner and Frederick Gardiner," written by Hope and edited by Mary and Gloria; "Historical Notes, Writings and Geneologies pertaining to Frederick Gardiner and to Hope Hulet after she became a Gardiner," compiled by Dawn and Sydney James; "Gardiner Family Histories"; and Dalley Family Histories," by William and Ann Davis. And, I think I have a compilation of Hulet short histories written by various sisters of Hope. It is interesting that the same story sometimes takes on a different twist of events.
I gave all of Dawn's genealogy notes to Nate including the roller book case I built for Dawn to keep them in. He has a copy of everything I have, as do M and G.
Best regards,
S
I attached an article from the Deseret News in Salt Lake. The article is written by Scott Taylor -- he writes a lot for the Church News and the Deseret News. He used to be one of the sports editors. He is married to Cheryl James (Sid James and Dawn Gardiner James' daughter). He lived across the hall from me at Helaman Halls as a freshman at BYU. Cheryl lived in Helaman Halls as well. Scott's grandmother, Etta Taylor from Almo, Idaho, taught my dad in grade school and she taught Nathan and I in the 4th grade at Malta as well. He was released a year or two ago as a stake president in Provo. C
Family links: Parents: Frederick Gardiner (1879 - 1960) Hope H. Gardiner (1893 - 1988) | |
| Burial: Orem City Cemetery Orem Utah County Utah, USA |
Research:
Eli M. Oboler Library
Idaho State University
850 South 9th Avenue
Pocatello, Idaho 83209-8089
Phone: (208) 282-2958
Fax: (208) 282-5847
Idaho State University
850 South 9th Avenue
Pocatello, Idaho 83209-8089
Phone: (208) 282-2958
Fax: (208) 282-5847
The following items are located in the Oboler Library:
