Monday, June 20, 2011

Henry Green: 1906 to 1921, Part 2 of 2

The Greens camping in Big Cottonwood Canyon, date unknown.

Another son, Jack Heber, was born to Harry and Eliza on October 14, 1912. When Jack was about two years old, he had a very serious accident—he pulled a pot of scalding cabbage over on him which burned him terribly. His skin came off with his clothes. To make things worse, the power was off at the time due to an electrical storm. For weeks he was bandaged like a mummy. Lucile and Leone stayed up at nights wheeling him in a wagon to comfort him.

The family had its share of serious illnesses. When Bert was a baby he had pneumonia and almost died. Lucile had typhoid fever, Mildred had diphtheria, and Jack had scarlet fever.

Another daughter, May, was born October 5, 1914. Two and one-half years later, a baby was stillborn (February 2, 1917). About this time, twelve-year-old Mildred was given the ultimatum that she couldn’t keep packing her trunk and going from one home to another. Papa said, “This is it, no more!” Aunt May and Aunt Lily had both wanted to adopt her. Mildred, in living with the Pettits, had a big family to spoil her. Will had a grocery store; he brought her candy and rocked her until she was five. Lily, a dressmaker, saw that she was dressed beautifully; she had hairdos and new shoes often and plenty of spending money. Everyone made a big fuss over her, but she had no one person to tie to. When she came home and had to work and baby-sit, she resented it. Especially as a teenager, when her friends were having a good time, she had to stay home and tend May while the family went to church. She said this helped make her feel resentful toward the Church. Leone, at 20, was working as a bookkeeper and would escape housework by going to shows. Lucile ended up being the one to help at home.

Henry Green prospecting.

Around 1916 or 1917, Harry went prospecting for gold in Arizona. He worked in the Joy mine near Kingman, in northwestern Arizona. To extract the gold ore from the slurry mixture, Harry used a centrifugal machine shaped like a pot-bellied stove. After his prospecting was over, his kids delighted to watch the extracting machine whir around as it sat in the barn on 2nd West. Harry had many adventures while mining in Arizona. Once he got stuck in some quicksand while getting logs. On his way home to Salt Lake, he brought back petrified wood from the Petrified Forest in north-central Arizona.

Harry kept very busy with his plumbing business, trying to support his large family. Leone remembers that the family ate alone many times in the evening while he was at work. He was also active in church work. At first he was president of the branch of the 4th Ward that met in a small building on the north side of 13th South, east of 2nd West. Later the 30th Ward building, made of white glazed brick, was built on Goltz Avenue. Here he was called as superintendent of the Sunday School; when released, he was presented with a leather rocking chair. Later, in August 1919, he became counselor to Bishop Charles Cottrell.

His daughter, Leone, married Howard J. Layton when he came home from his mission in England. They had dated before and corresponded during his mission. Lucille remembers peeking over the transom in the library to see if he kissed her while he was courting her. On October 17, 1917, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple. A reception followed at the home, which was decorated with ferns and autumn leaves. Howard and Leone built a small home on 121 Goltz Avenue in the same ward as her parents.

Harry’s son, Harry, and his son-in-law, Howard, were both in the army during World War I. Harry had been attending Utah State University where he was a big football star. He continued playing while a lieutenant in the cavalry.

Harry’s children looked to him for help and counsel. Howard wrote while in the service, “Somehow your letters seem to give a fellow something to think about and a sort of a stimulant to keep his head up and his proverbial ‘upper lip’ stiff. I am glad to think that now I have a couple of ‘dads’ to look up to and to get advice from.”

Howard asked him to use his influence to get him released two weeks before discharge to be home for the birth of his first child. He did so, and Harry’s first grandchild, Jean, was born January 19, 1919, to Leone and Howard. Harry gave her a name and a blessing. A big fuss was made over her. Mildred and Lucille used to fight to see who would get to take care of her. Being the first grandchild on both sides of the family, she received lots of attention.

To be continued...

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