5 Our family 50 years ago

Excerpts from the September 1961 diary of Dorothy Batt Cleverly (1915–1982). The full text of her diary can be found online at Dorothy's Idaho Diaries and is updated daily, exactly 50 years to the day after it was originally written. The family at the time lived on Montana Avenue in Nampa, Idaho.

Sat, Sept 2.  Jerry didn’t work today. He woke me up at 7:30 & told me goodbye, he was going up to catch the bus for Utah. Gene killed 3 chickens & Ivard cleaned them for tomorrow. Gene left for Nyssa about 3: in pick-up to help Gail haul garbage.

Sun, Sept 3.  I bottled rest of peaches 12 qts, & cooked chicken & got dinner. I have 49 qts peaches up now. I didn’t go to church, the rest did, it was Primary programe & Ivard had to talk or me. He said he wouldn’t – but he did. Any way I had a bad stomache.

Mon, Sept 4.  Gene got home from Nyssa just in time to dash up to practice. Ray went to Idaho City church camp all day with Sunday school class. Gene left for Nyssa again at 1: to help Gail move over to Owyhee Corner. Peaches weren’t ready but found 11 qts pears ready & did them.

Tues, Sept 5.  Kids all started back to school today & Ray got a job at Dairy Queen during his lunch hr for 50¢ lunch every day, he started Seminary this morning. Gene came from Nyssa in time for school. I bottled 18 qts pears.

Wed, Sept 6.  Jerry got home from Colorado.

Thurs, Sept 7.  Jerry went back to work after his trip & few days off. I washed a couple batches of cloths & spent all day doing 27 qts pears. Gene came home from school & helped me get a double batch of peach Jam on to cook. Dean fixed supper & milked. Ivard took Jackie to Primary & met Dale & took him to sign for little legue foot ball & to Primary.

Fri, Sept 8.  I came home from work & went to bed. When I got up Ivard had bottles washed & he helped me peel peaches & we bottled 19 qts. Dean, Dale & I went up town & got them some gym shoes & Dean some gym cloths.

Sat, Sept 9.  Ivard went without his crutches for first time [since he broke his foot on June 12]. Ivard helped me peel & we did 12 qts peaches & 18 qts pears.

Sun, Sept 10.  I should have done fruit but I didn’t.

Mon, Sept 11.  I came home from work & changed the Kids beds & washed 4 batches of cloths and Ivard peeled pears and I bottled 27 qts. It was 3: when I went to bed.

Tues, Sept 12.  Debbie was 5. I came home from work & went to bed until 2: & got up & Ivard had bottles washed & he helped me peel & we did 9 qts pears & 5 qts peaches & 10 qts jam (peach) that’s end of peaches. Ivard met Dale after school & bought him a suit for little legue foot ball (11.50) & took him to practice. Lynda called & we went over to Debbie’s birthday Party at 7 & got home at 10:30. I went to work at 11:

Wed, Sept 13.  Ivard washed bottles & I did 9 qts pears & cooked the Kids a good supper for a change. Dale came from school & went to cub scouts then him & Ivard went & got his helmet at foot ball practice.

Thurs, Sept 14.  I came home from work & went to bed. Ivard woke me up at 2:30 & he had the last of pears peeled & bottles washed. I cored them & bottled 14 qts.

Fri, Sept 15.  While we were up town Jerry went to work on paper & left Jackie alone. When we came home after dark Jackie was gone. We hunted all over, up to foot ball game & every where. I was just going to Police when Dale came with her, he’d been selling tickets & came home & found her alone & took her. Ray had gone to Scout meeting – game & dance.

Sat, Sept 16.  I made 16 qts of mustard pickle.

Tues, Sept 19.  Got letter from Kay – he’s transferred to Lima.

Wed, Sept 20.  I came home from work & went to bed. Ivard got up & tended Sis. I got up at 1: & made 16 qts prune jam. Ivard peeled apples & I made a pie for supper & 2 Ivard took over to neighbors, the man died, & 3 little ones for Jerrys lunch.

Thurs, Sept 21.  I got up at 2: & Ivard had a double batch of apples peeled. I bottled 17 qts apple sauce. I called & enrolled Jackie for next Tuesday for dance lessons.

Sat, Sept 23.  I feel awful. Gene went & had his Senior Pictures taken. At 7:15 Ivard & I & Jackie went up to High School to little legue Jamboree. Dale played in first game.

Sun, Sept 24.  Dean did dishes & chores & they all went to church. I still don’t feel good so I laid off again.

Tues, Sept 26.  I came home from work & slept 1 hr. then Jackie & I went to Relief Society Opening Social, brunch & programe. Came home & had lunch & Ivard took Jackie up to Mrs. Hatche’s & Jackie started her first dance lessons. She did real good. I slept an hr. in between relief society & dance practice. Dean went to Caldwell to song leading class.

Wed, Sept 27.  I came home from work & Lynda & Kids were here, they’d brought car over to garage. I put a batch of cloths in & went right to bed. When Ivard woke me up at noon him & Lynda had rest of apples peeled, ready to bottle & Lynda had lunch ready. We ate. I washed 2 batches of cloths & bottled 2 batches of apples (15 qts). Ray came home & went to work & Dale went to Cub Scouts.

Thurs, Sept 28.  I came home from work & went to bed & when I got up at 2: Ivard had ½ bu of grapes cooked & I strained them & bottled 10 qts grape juice & made 10 pts grape jam. Dale was supposed to make a cake for Pack meeting & Ivard & I had to make it for him because he went to foot ball practice after Primary. I had to make a batch of fudge for it too. Gene & Ivard left for Nyssa foot ball game, they droped Ray off at the Adrian game. Lynda had my birthday party after, thought I was comeing. Sent me a black & white Sunday dress & a potted yellow chrysthun from the Boys away from home, Lyle, Gail & Kay.

Fri, Sept 29.  Got a birthday cared & letter from Mother, Ruth & Claudia & a card from Berniece, a slip from Mother & $10. from Jerry & $5. from Kids. I came home from work & laid down awhile but couldn’t sleep. At 12:30 we left for Idaho Falls with Don & Charlotte Taylor, in their car, to Foot ball game. Got there at 6: & got a room apiece at “Rays” Motel then walked up & ate & went to foot ball game. There was 4 in. of snow it was all melted when we got there but it was cold. We won 19 to 14 real exciting. We got back to motel at 10: & I droped into bed. I was dead.

Sat, Sept 30.  We got up at 6: A.M. & left for home. We stoped in Arco & had breakfast. We got home & got Jackie & was home by 11:30. Ray was sick in bed all day & didn’t go to work. We listened to conference & played Scrabble. Tonite, after we had supper, Ivard, Jerry & Dean went to stake House to Priesthood Conference.

6 What in the world

Hurricane Irene

The most recent natural disaster to hit the United States, in a year of many natural disasters, Irene moved in from the Atlantic Ocean and strengthened into a Category 3 major hurricane as it passed over the Bahamas. Curving toward the north, the storm made landfall on North Carolina's Outer Banks as a Category 1 hurricane. Although the storm weakened into a mere tropical storm, it resulted in extensive flooding and damage as far north as Vermont. In anticipation of the storm, New York closed down its subway system for the first time ever for weather-related causes. Millions of people across the 12 affected states were without power. Vermont suffered its worst flooding in centuries. The Catskill Mountains in New York received between 10 and 12 inches of rain. That's a whole lot of rain. At least 48 deaths occurred as a result of the storm.

New book published for women

A new book, Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society, has recently been published under the direction of the First Presidency and is currently being distributed to all Mormon women over the age of 18 to help them in their efforts to follow the Savior, increase their personal faith, strengthen their families, and serve others. The book is intended as a resource for personal study and teaching in the Church and in the home.

Daughters in My Kingdom is unique in the Church in that it was written by an individual woman rather than a committee. It was written by Susan W. Tanner, a former general Young Women president who now serves a mission with her husband John in Brazil. (Incidentally, John grew up in the same ward in southern California that Claudia grew up in. John and I served missions in Brazil at the same time in the late 1960s, I in the north and he in the south. After our missions, he served as my vice-president when I was president of English Circle at Brigham Young University. For many recent years John was academic vice-president at BYU.)

General women's meeting

The annual general Relief Society meeting will be held in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday evening, September 24, beginning at 6:00 p.m. MDT. It will be broadcast widely to stake centers throughout the world, over the Internet, and on local television stations in Utah. It is anticipated that members of the Relief Society general presidency and a member of the First Presidency will address the sisters.

7 A final word

School has started again. Some years ago, when we still had children at home, I started a tradition of reading the following piece by Robert Fulgham, entitled "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" (first published in the Kansas City Times, Sept. 17, 1976), before each new school year began. It contains as simple and as fine a summary as I've ever come across about how to get along in this old world as decent, Christian people.

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands be­fore you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Re­mem­ber the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup—they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: look. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sani­ta­tion. Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all—the whole world—had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

1 Idaho Census Results

The Constitution requires that a census be conducted every ten years. We have counted ourselves as a nation every decade since 1790.

Idaho, home to many in our family, had 1,567,582 people living in it, as of the 2010 Census. That represents a 21 percent increase over 2000, making the Gem State fourth in terms of fastest growing states. Idaho ranks 40th among the states in overall population.

The Census also showed that the five most populous cities in Idaho are:
- Boise, 205,671 (a 10.7 percent increase since 2000)
- Nampa, 81,557 (a 57.2 percent increase)
- Meridian, 75,092 (a 115 percent increase)
- Idaho Falls, 56,813 (a 12 percent increase)
- Pocatello, 54,255 (a 5.4 percent increase)

The five most populous counties in Idaho are:
- Ada, 392,365 (a 30.4 percent increase since 2000)
- Canyon, 188,923 (an increase of 43.7 percent)
- Kootenai, 138,494 (an increase of 27.4 percent)
- Bonneville, 104,234 (an increase of 26.3 percent)
- Bannock, 82,839 (an increase of 9.6 percent)

Boise and Meridian are located in Ada County. Nampa, Caldwell, and Parma are in Canyon County.