More Memories of Murray (Church)
I have 2 or 3 memories of the chapel we attended in Murray. First is that the primary room was upstairs to the east of the walkway that connected the 2 sides of the building and the walkway had a window in it that looked down on sacrament meeting. Is this the way everyone else remembers the building? Well my first memory of the church is that mom was the primary chorister or something like that. I would always go and eat the sacrament bread after primary was over. When we got home Dad who at this time had not joined the church would ask me if I had eaten the sacrament bread and I would say yes and then he would spank me. I didn’t seem to learn my lesson because the next week I would eat the bread again. I also remember during primary going up and hiding behind moms dress. I must have only been 3 or 4 at the time. The only other strong memory is of sleeping in sacrament meeting. I think mom would count on me being asleep about 15 min. into the meeting. I would lay on the bench with my head on her lap. When did dad start attending church? I also remember dad’s funeral in the chapel but I will write about all those memories latter. The other memory is being told that dad probably worked more hours on the building of the church as a nonmember than any of the members of the ward. That he put all the ceiling tiles up in the gym because he didn’t like the way the other men did it. Was he a perfectionist? Another memory just came to mind. Sacrament meeting was in the late afternoon and I didn’t want to go to church, I must have been 5 or 6 because I think dad was a member or at least attending church, he told me ok you can stay home but you will be here all alone. Everyone left and went to the car. I remember crying and running out side saying don’t leave me. I hurried and changed my clothes and went to church with everyone else. What are your memories of Dad joining the church? All I remember is that Gar baptized him and that we went to the temple and got sealed before Gar left on his mission. I just looked it up and he was baptized on Sept. 1, 1956. But his endowment was not until 19 of March 1958, so Gar would have left on his mission right after our sealing as a family, is that correct? He would have turned 20 in June of 1958. So I was only 4 when dad joined the church and 6 when we went to the temple. I just realized that Gar and dad received their endowments on the same day. I would appreciate your memories since I was so young and mine are vague, fuzzy or nonexistent.
This is a picture of the Murray 3rd ward building on 4600 South and Brown St.
The hallway with the window was called the "cry room" and was supposed to be for mothers with crying children. In those days it would most likely have been mothers rather than fathers dealing with crying babies. It is true that Dad put in more time building the Murray 3rd and 8th Ward Chapel than any members other than the bishopric. He was very particular about having things done correctly. Mom was the Junior Sunday School Coordinator which is roughly equivalent to today's Primary President. The chapel had a regulation sized gymnasium. I remember that the high school basketball team practiced there occasionally. Ken Farrell was the coach and he lived in our ward. Maybe he was getting around rules about when a team could begin practicing or something.
ReplyDeleteThere was a large vacant field down the hill to the east of the chapel and the scouts would often meet there and have a camp fire. We would put out the fire by peeing on it until one of the boys, Frankie Peters, told his mother and she was horrified and complained to the bishop who put and end to our practical fire dousing technique. After that we had to haul water in a bucket from the chapel.
Tad, I still want to hear your memories of Dad's conversion and baptism.
ReplyDeleteI can't seem to dredge up any.
ReplyDeleteYour dad worked with a man whose last name was Huffaker and lived up by the state capitol. I remember meeting him once and he said he was a boyhood friend of Marion D. Hanks whose nickname was Duff so they were called Huff and Duff. Anyway, Huff began talking to your dad about the church while they worked together and soon he was lending him church books that your dad read voraciously. I think I was told by either your dad or mom that he would get up very early and read every morning before work. I think that's how it all started. Tove
ReplyDeleteGreat memories! Please keep them coming!
ReplyDelete