Personal History of Edward William Edwards

I was born into a wonderful family on the 28^th day of June 1910 to Charlie Edwards and Elizabeth Dixon Bone Edwards, the fifth child of a family of seven, at Lehi, Utah.

Soon after this momentous event the family moved to Garland, Utah.  Father worked for the Utah Idaho Sugar Co. and moving from place to place became a way of life with us. To Brigham City Utah, Yakima Washington, back to Garland and Delta Utah, and finally Shelley Idaho.

Shelley was a rough little potato town at that time.  We lived there for 18 years and finally got to thinking it to be home.

During this time I met Maude Estella Munsee and we were married Dec 16^th 1929.  Right at the start of the great depression.  There was very little work to be had and less money but they were happy years.  We enjoyed the family get togethers, fishing, and hunting trips.

In 1935, I became permanently employed by the U&I Sugar Co., and we started moving from place to place as had my parents.  Sugar City Idaho, back to Shelly.  West Jordan Utah, back to Shelley.  Moses Lake Washington, Gunnison Utah, Garland Utah, back to Gunnison, back to Garland, and finally to Toppenish Washington where I am presently employed as Master Mechanic.

All our children managed to be born in Shelley.  Ralph M in 1933, Echo M in 1938, Carole V in 1944, and Dale W and Dean C (twins) in 1947.

There really isn’t much more to be said about my history.  Have done a little work in the church but the continual moving and work has kept me from becoming too entrenched in church and civic affairs.  There really isn’t so much good, and I certainly wouldn’t tell you the bad.

Not so my wife, a very wonderful wife and mother deeply devoted to the gospel, she is an untiring worker for her family and the church.

 I am very proud of my family.  Parents, brothers and sisters and children.  They are all the best.  Guess I was just lucky.

And I am very proud of my ancestors and the heritage they left us.

I was named Edwards William Edwards, much to my chagrin, an old family name, and have gone thru the names of Willie, William, Ed, but Bill is the one that has finally stuck.

Dad's early years - Dale

Dad grew up in a very difficult time for his family.  His father had severe health problems and passed away when Dad was only a young teenager.  Since his older brother, Charlie, had left for college, Dad was the oldest boy left at home.  He felt the responsibility of taking care of his mother, older sisters, and little twin brothers.

This is why Dad went to work at the Sugar Factory at such a young age – so he would be able to provide for the family.

He gave up any hope of going to college himself, knowing his family could not afford to send him, and they needed his income to even get by.

He never regretted helping his family and providing for them.  He always felt close to his sisters and brothers and was always concerned about their well-being.

Dad's Sense of Humor - Dale

Dad always found humor in things around him.  He tried not to take himself or others too seriously.  He would tell stories such as the time he went out to see Grandpa Munsee out at the barn when Grandpa was milking the cow.  When he went into the barn the cow saw him, but Grandpa didn’t.  The cow was startled and kicked over the milk bucket, knocking Grandpa off the stool and onto the ground.  Grandpa was so mad at the cow that he hit her with the stool several times, swearing up a storm.

Dad figured this was no time for a chat so he quietly left the barn and never told Grandpa that he had caused the commotion.

Dad would tell this story and laugh at all the problems he had caused and nobody knew.

He would also tell Sugar factory stories of himself and others who would think up practical jokes such as wiring up a toilet seat to an electric current and shocking those who had a tendency to sit too long.

Dad loved to repeat serious stories and tweak them a bit, adding his own slant of humor.  One story was about a sister, Aunt Victoria, I think.  Aunt Victoria was being courted after the death of her first husband.  She told him a story of a man who had taken her to dinner.  As they were sitting across the table from each other, she said that the man started to “grow horns.”  She was very serious about the story and felt this was a sign from above that she should not date him anymore.  Dad burst out laughing and put is twist on the story…(Dean, do you remember this, or have anymore details of the story?)

Honeymoon and Early Marriage - Dale

Right after Mom and Dad were married in 1929, they went on a honeymoon from Shelley, Idaho to Logan, Utah. This was a fairly short distance, but in that time with road conditions as they were in December, it was quite a trip.

When they returned, they went shopping for furniture in a local furniture store. Dad's brother, Charlie, came to the store and told them not to buy anything. He said they had just posted a list at the U&I Sugar Company of those being laid off, and Dad's name was on it.

For the next several years Dad did not have steady employment. The only work he could find was day work from the local farmers and businesses that just needed someone to work on a daily basis. Obviously, they didn't buy any furniture, and for years they got by with almost no furniture, except for some hand-me-downs from family. This was the start of the Great Depression. They lived very frugally. The effects of the depression lasted for years, but effected their lives for a lifetime.

Mom and Dad remembered these times as being happy times, since they had a lot of time to spend with each other doing things that cost NO money - such as playing checkers, going on picnics, and enjoying one another's company.

After the worst of the depression, Dad again got employment with the U&I Sugar Compay and worked for them until he retired (about 48 years as he started with them in his early teens).

Timeline

We need a timeline of where Grandma and Grandpa lived. Please fill in any dates that we don't have.

1908-Feb 24 Maude Estella Munsee was born in Hooper, UT
1910-June 28 Edward William Edwards was born in Lehi, UT
1929-Dec 16 Married in Shelley, ID
1933-April 17 Ralph M Edwards was born in Shelley, ID
1938-Jan 2 Echo M Edwards was born in Idaho Falls, ID
1939-July 26 Sealed in the Logan Temple
1944-Feb 14 Carole V Edwards was born in Shelley, ID
1947-Sept 7 Dale W Edwards was born in Idaho Falls, ID
-Sept 7 Dean C Edwards was born in Idaho Falls, ID
1952-1954 Edwards family lived in Moses Lake, WA
1954-1957 Edwards family lived in Gunnison, UT
1957-1959 Edwards family lived in Garland, UT
1959-1961 Edwards family lived in Salina, UT
1961-1968 Edwards family lived in Garland, UT
1968-1975 Bill and Maude lived in Toppenish, WA
1975 Bill retired after approx. 48 yrs at the U&I (Utah and Idaho) Sugar Co.
1975 -1976 Bill and Maude lived in Provo, UT
1976-1988 Bill and Maude live in Spanish Fork, UT
1982-Sept 21 Bill passed away in Spanish Fork, UT
1988-Oct 13 Maude passed away in Spanish Fork, UT

Photo Album

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