by Irene Allen Young

George Young bought the old John Martinsen place in the foothills west of Thatcher. Samuel Bollwinkle was the closest neighbor to the east; Emanuel Crosley on the west, and William Irish on the north. Jim Mickelson was on the Christensen place to the south.

George and his wife, Rosina, called Rosa, and their children, Brigham, Vilda, Donna and Julia, moved to the new place in the early spring of 1927. The house hadn't been lived in for a few years so a lot of work was needed to make it comfortable. Part of the house had handmade doby bricks in the walls. There could have been additions from time to time. Four rooms were on the main floor and two rooms upstairs. Big shade trees bordered the yard on the north and east, making it a desirable setting for a home.

There was also another house at the edge of the lot between the trees and the creek. Later his house was torn down to help Brig start his new home.

Howard did not come with the family but stayed in Preston with Clyde and Ione Olverson and finished his senior year of high school. The day after school was out (near the end of May), he saddled the pony and headed for Thatcher. The first night he made it to Cleveland and stayed with the George Smith family who lived on the flat west of the old Cleveland church. The next morning he followed the Utah Power and Light line through the foothills to the ranch.

Ira Hogan was the bishop at the time. The Young family was grateful for his friendship. Rosa worked in the Primary that was held in the schoolhouse between Letho Pond's house and Roy Pond's place. All that is left to remind us of the school today is a post or upright of an old "giant stride" that the children had such fun on when recess time came.

Donna and Julia attended this school, but Vilda was ready for high school. She started her high school years at the Central High School in Thatcher. When the other girls were through with grade school, they also went to high school in Thatcher. This same building was later made into a grade school and is still is use today.

Howard and Irene Allen met in the Thatcher church house at a dance. Vera Bailey introduced them. Later Brig married Vera on the 27th of May 1941 and started to build a house south of the cemetery in the corner of the Young's property. Howard married Irene a year later on May 20, 1942. Both couples lived together in the family home for a few months until Brig and Vera were able to move to their new home.

Howard started a home just across the creek from the old house in 1950, but they did not move into it until the day before Christmas the next year. By this time Howard and Irene had three little boys. Later Carol came after the move to the new home.

George and Rosa left the ranch in the care of Brig and Howard and moved to Logan for a short period while Julia was in school. They finally bought a home in Preston about a block from his first home. This is where he died in 1949.

Howard remembers with fondness the fun times that the young men of the valley had playing ball games with other teams of the area. He remembers the dances and the rodeos. He also remembers the work--the hard work on the farm. During the Depression, he remembers loading wagons with shovels by hand when the cemetery road was graveled. The men were paid $1.00 a day for eight hours of work. It was the only work to be found so even that was welcome. Brig, Howard, Cliff Manhart, Clem Rasmussen, George Crossley, and no doubt others were among the young men of the area glad to get any kind of work..

We also have memories of the muddy roads. One time we were coming home from shopping to find the road wet and soggy. Howard got out of the car on the dugway between Barthlome's and Manhart's. He scraped the gobbed-up mud from the wheels of the car. The mud had collected on the wheels until they looked like loaded ice cream cones and were too heavy to turn.

Another time, just before Christmas, we returned to find the wind whipping the snow with a vengeance. We made it to the corner by Brig's house, but could go no farther. The lane was full of drifts. We left the car at the corner and carried kids, groceries, and a pet lamb up the road to our most welcome home. Each of the older boys remember holding hands and clinging to us as we trudged forward a few steps, then turned our backs to the blast while we caught our breath, and then moved forward again.

After a couple of winter storms, I remember driving a team of horses to Barthlome's to be able to get to Relief Society. I would tie the team up there and then go with Phyllis in her car where the main road was plowed free of snow. We would repeat the trip home when the meeting was over.

We have many fond memories of our life in Thatcher. It is the home our children grew up in and still call home today!