Early Life of Verla Ellen Birt Barton

Grandma Barton wrote this life history of when she was a young girl. I am so glad she let me take it and type it up. I can't believe I haven't asked her more questions in the past. I love all the details she gives. Years apart and I find myself relating with her...her beloved kitty she was worried about transporting during the family move, her excitment for a little brother..maybe that's where I got my love for animals and little Brock;)

What have I learned? Well, I've gained a great appreciation for these hardworking great grandparents of mine. I can't believe I've ever worried about having a room for each child or having 2 vehicles or all the other petty and worldly things I can get wrapped up in. They just worked hard and enjoyed the simplicity of life. Also, I need to ask grandma more questions!

I, Verla Birt Barton, was born on September 29, 1923, the daughter of Joseph Arthur and Josephine Lunn Birt in the town of South Weber, UT. Myself, being their first child. We lived in a large rock house with father’s brother, Clarence, and his family living in part of the house. Father and his brother were farming land together there. While we were living there, another child, a son, was born to them, on Sept 25, 1925, the named him Arthur Leroy. Sometime between the years of 1925 and 1927, we moved from South Weber to Roy, Utah, where my father had intentions of buying a farm, they worked very hard to purchase that farm and in November of 1927, on the 15th day, another child was born, a girl, which they named LaVern. They couldn’t acquire a loan to buy the farm because it was the beginning of the depression years. So, Father’s Dad knew of the farm in Clinton, Ut, which was owned by Thomas Parker that was for sale, so Father’s Dad purchased the farm and we moved to Clinton in the Spring of 1929 (white cat story), Father agreeing to make payments each year to pay for the farm. Mother and Dad worked hard to meet the payments, and in the year of 1930 on September 19th, another child, a girl, was born and named Ileen. Mother intending her to be named Earlene, after Mother’s baby sister of that name. The years rolled by with mother, father, and children working hard on the farm with Father having to rent land from other farmers and also working for Davis Co on a WPA in the project in a gravel pit with his big team of horses, King and Duke.

On May 30, 1936, another son was born to them and was named John Sheldon. We were all delighted to have a new little baby brother in our family. The baby being born at home. All of we children were anxiously waiting for the baby to be born, but we were all crying because of our concern for our mother, because of it being Memorial Day, the doctor mother had engaged for the birth wasn’t available, so our neighbor, Kate Summers, got her doctor to come out to Clinton and deliver the baby.
Being the springtime, mother had very little time to stay in with the baby before she was back out in the fields helping with the planting of the crops. All we children had our duties to take care of as well as helping mother care for the new baby.

Verla remembers mother nursing Sheldon and working in the fields. Before she would nurse the baby, she would go down to a spring of water and cool herself.
Growing up, we children had our fun times as well as work times. Our fun times included going down to summer’s corner where all the neighborhood kids would collect after chore time. Some of the chores we had to do at that time was clean out the cow barn, put clean straw in before milking time, feed the cows hay, feed the chickens, fill the coal buckets, cut kindling, fill the water buckets every night so we’d have water to wash our faces and brush our teeth in the mornings. On Saturday nights we had to fill the boiler with water and put it on the stove to heat for our bath night.

After chores were done we could go down and play on the corner. On school nights we couldn’t stay too long, but on Saturday night was our night to howl on the corner with all the boys. We used to play in a big barn and jump off the hay and play hide and seek, kick the can, run sheep run, and tag.

Other things we did for fun were going to the 24th of July parades in Ogden every year. Father had a team of Clydesdale horses that he would take to Lagoon at Farm Bureau days where they held ahorse pulling contest. We also went to the Hooper Tomato days where there was a horse pulling contest also.

Another time, we were up to Grandpa Birt’s in South Weber. There were quite a few grandchildren there at the time. There was a hill off the front yard. Ileen ran off this hill into the path of a car. She was hit and thrown over the hood of the car into the road. Her shoes were missing and we searched the field for them. She wasn’t even taken to a doctor. There was no money for a doctor. I remember how mother sat holding Ileen in front of the oven most of that night. However, Ileen recovered after this accident.

We used to herd our cows to pasture in the morning and bring them home at night. We also herded them along the roadsides. Ileen and Lavern brought a bicycle with green stamps to use in herding the cows later on. Sheldon ran the bicycle in the ditch and wrecked it.

Sheldon had a dog named Shep and mother would never let a dog in the house but when Ileen left to go to work away from home and all except Sheldon had left home, she let old Shep into the house.

When we were moving to the Clinton Farm from Roy, Utah. I had a white cat and I worried how we were going to move this cat until Dad made me a kind of box cage to put it in.

One time I remember when Ileen was just maybe 2 years old. Art and I went to the neighbor’s to get a gallon of milk. We had Ileen in a little wagon with the milk. We were acting silly pulling the wagon back and forth across the road, when we got onto the bridge we tipped the wagon over and Ileen and the milk went into the ditch full of water. I ran screaming for mother, but Art got down in the ditch to pull Ileen out, when we got out there Art was dragging Ileen up the bank. Don’t know what happened to the milk.

Arthur and Verla used to play follow the leader with the Summer’s and other neighbor kids, jump the drain ditches. Also, run barefoot in the roads when they hauled new gravel and sprayed oil on it on the road in front of our home. We also played with the neighbor kids down on the corner in the evenings until after dark most nights.
Father retired from Defense Depot Ogden in 1962, soon after this, Sheldon had his home built just west of the folks home. Father helped all he was able to and was glad the home was being built there. Mom and dad bought a new truck and camper in about 1965 and they went on lots of camping trips with most of their children and grandchildren tagging along on these camp outs also. One of their favorite camp grounds was the Maliboo camp ground up Logan canyon. We enjoyed many good campouts there.

Father, not able now to do much farming, left the farming to Sheldon with Bill Barton helping him. Dad bought an Allis Chalmers tractor that was used on the farm. Father and Mother raised a large garden even in their retirement years and shared the produce with children, grandchildren, and others too.

In their retirement years, they also went to the Temple in Salt Lake City and did endowments. When mother could no longer go because of her health, Dad continued to go and he would take several women from their ward with him. He was anxiously waiting for the Ogden Temple to be built, but it wasn’t finished until a year after he passed away.