2013, Frank and I visited a little town with four or five buildings called Naf, Idaho near the Bridge property. The man that helped Hope in Bridge when the family of five were living in a wagon was Brother Louis J. Gunnell. He met his wife in the Naf Dancehall and he later became the bishop in Naf. When Frank was growing up people came from miles around to the Naf Dancehall and there was quite a bit of drinking. Fights broke out nightly.
Blogger: This is essentially all of Naf Idaho on the far southern border of the state with Utah. There are a few out buildings to the right, but no residences. Naf didn't even get electricity until the mid 1940's! The view is to the west, I love the gravel road. The dance hall and bar was well known gathering place in the 30's and 40's with brawls most every weekend.
Hope: So we bought a desert claim of 200 acres in the Bridge area. The land adjoined the ranch owned by Louis J. Gunnell.
It was rather crowded for five of us, but we managed quite well considering everything. Brother Gunnell let us put the camp wagon in his stack yard. We could get drinking water and buy fresh milk from them. They were wonderful neighbors.
Louis J. Gunnell's history: In 1908 I bought a ranch at Bridge, Idaho from Frank Burrows. (This was located down in the valley from Will’s place) Mother came out and cooked for me the summers of 1908 and 1909.
The spring of 1909 was memorable to me. A neighbor, Jed Hawkins stopped by to invite me to a dance at Naf Idaho that evening. I wasn’t going to go but when I met his beautiful Sister, Sarah, I made up my mind in a hurry.
At the dance an old friend of Sarah’s named Campbell asked her what she was doing out in this country and Jed spoke up and said, “Why didn’t you know Sarah and Lew are married?” Campbell congratulated her, and little later when Campbell and Sarah were talking over old times and I walked up and said “Don’t you think you are getting too chummy with this man? Campbell apologized.
When I took Sarah home that night she introduced me to Mother Hawkins as her husband and Mother Hawkins said” Oh, you soft thing.” When I finally asked Sarah to marry me, she said she didn’t like to think of raising a family where the husband was using tobacco, (I was chewing at the time). I told her the day she and I went into partnership, tobacco and I would dissolve partnership. I was true to my word and never used it again.
When I asked Father Hawkins for Sarah, I said, “ How do you feel about our marriage?” He pretended to not hear right and said” I feel just fine, I didn’t feel so good yesterday but I feel much better today”. And I said, “I didn’t ask about you, I have a more important matter to discuss with you.” Then he laughed and gave us his blessing.
We were married 14 December 1910 in the Logan Temple. After we were married Brother Morgan asked me if that was the first time I had kissed my wife and I said “Yes Sir.”
