now at what they set their minds to do on our particular ranches. Such are my sentiments as a father. It is wonderful to be the father of a large family if he can retain his children’s love. But he must not get tired or discouraged.
        Work that I have been able to do has never seemed too hard for me when I thought my family appreciated what I was doing. So it is in life. The things we do ourselves we appreciate more than we could do if it had been done by someone else.
        None other can quite do our work as we would do it. No others can take our place. And so it was with Harold. And just so I feel about all my children. There is a feeling in my heart for all of them. My greatest desire is that each of them will grow up to be good men or women, raise good families and love and serve the Lord.
        It is hard for me now to change my thoughts or control my feelings now that I have been writing as I have.
        If our children and their posterity only understand how much their mother and I have loved them, they will not be offended at us even though we have made mistakes.

HAROLD’S EXPERIENCES AS BISHOP

        Before I go on with my story, I think it appropriate that I should turn back again in my story and tell of how the inhabitants of Woodland received our family as members of the ward and as neighbors.
        Generally speaking, no community of people could have treated us better. We soon became as one with them in their church activities and community socials, etc. We furnished work for quite a number of poor people through our building and farm improvement program. This help we gave seemed to be appreciated.
        However, there were a few who seemed a little jealous of us having obtained as much property as we had in the close vicinity. The area of Woodland was small and not many could secure as much property in the neighborhood as we had done.
        It was in the summer of 1930 that Harold was set apart as Bishop of the Woodland Ward with Merlin D. Simmons as first counselor and Dee Clark as second counselor.
        Harold’s reason for selecting Merlin to be the First Counselor was the fact that Harold expected to be gone on the show circuit several months and lots of work would be left for the counselors to take care of. Harold felt that, inasmuch as Merlin was working with our family, we would not complain if Merlin had to spend extra time with his church work.
        Harold worked hard to try to do his duty as a Bishop and to get inactive members of the ward to take part in church activities; no longer should they be distinguished as Upper Enders and Lower Enders. Those living on the lower end should be called into service in the wards.
        As Harold had visited such wards as he found at Phoenix, Arizona, and other places and could see the activity, he hoped that in some way to get Woodland to pattern after those wards.
        He hoped to establish a budget system whereby the ward expenses could be more easily taken care of and also to be able to create more amusement for the young and old.
        The old ward orchestra seemed to have gotten tired of playing often in the ward, so some of the young people got together with those of the original players, who were willing to still carry on. I speak of Harold, Luella, Elma, John Lufler and others, and for some time we had some good entertainments and dances.
        It was not until the early spring of 1931 when we began to realize how strong was the feeling in the ward against Harold and our whole family.
        The M.I.A. of the ward had decided they would like to have a piano in the church house and decided to put on entertainments and to raise money to pay for the piano. Mrs. Lucy Peterson had offered to sell them one of her pianos and would wait a reasonable time for the money. Accordingly, the piano was purchased and moved to the church house.
        Donations were made by members of the ward for the first payment. Then there was a dance to raise more funds. A dance, ice cream was donated and sold to help raise funds. A few of the boys purposely threw ice cream on the floor. Harold saw what had happened, but thinking it was just an accident, took the dust pan and gathered up the mess on the floor as best he could, then took it to the furnace room to throw it away.
        The boys followed, thinking Harold had gone outside and thus missed Harold until he had returned to the main hall. Thus Harold avoided a bodily attack by them.
        While the dance was still going on, Harold was then on the alert. He had learned the boys motive. He went over to me and whispered, telling me to go to the telephone and call Harold Bothorpe, the deputy county sheriff.
        My son, Clair, then quite small, did not want me to be outside alone, so he followed. On our return to the dance hall, two boys were near the front gate to stop us.
        We darted by them but they got near enough to Clair to hit him a couple of times. I stopped at the steps in the front. I made a call for help and was doing the best I could with my fists to keep those two boys back when out rushed my daughter Luella, who was playing in the orchestra, but had heard my call. She hit those boys so hard that it overbalanced them and caused them to stagger. By that time, ex-bishop Carlile was out there to see what was going on.
        No doubt, it was a good thing I called for the sheriff.
        Through our investigations the next few days, as we tried to secure witnesses and evidence, we learned that an attack on our family had been planned to take place that night. Several had been told to be there if they wished to see some fun. There were people whom we thought were our friends, who told us they did not blame the boys because it was all our fault.
        That was the last dance that Harold ever attended.
        Harold was very much interested in the Boy Scout movements and personally went with the boys to their meetings and practices. He was so interested that he was taking the tests himself along with the boys.
        One night a bunch of boys were taking the time speed test. One boy thought he should do his part to help put the Wintertons in their place, so when he saw his chance while with his friends, he started hitting Omni in the face.
        Omni wondered what was the matter and made no resistance at first, until Clair cried, "Whip him, Omni!" Omni gave the young man what he deserved, a good whipping.
        When the above incident occurred, Harold was down at the starting point, starting the boys out for the tests. (As I understand, the boys were trying to travel a certain distance in a certain specified time.)
        One of Harold’s troubles was to try to satisfy the Relief Society sisters of the ward.
        They had made up their mind to build a Relief Society building separate and apart from the main church building. Harold had listened to the demands of the Relief Society Presidency and had made three different trips down to Henefer to confer with President Orion Stevens. The Stake Presidency were all opposed to the Relief Society building any privately owned buildings on the Church Property. And without the consent of the Stake Presidency, Harold (the Bishop) could not consent to their demands.
        It was on April 7, the day before Harold was killed, that Harold learned that the Relief Society had met and voted to put Dee Clark in as chairman of the building committee, and to proceed with the work and complete the building as soon as possible.
        I don’t know what they could have done to hurt Harold more. On the way down Provo Canyon, as he and I were on our way to the Spanish Fork Show, he told me of the actions of the Relief Society sisters while the tears ran down his cheeks. Never before had I ever seen that boy when he seemed to feel so heart-broken as he did at that time. Nothing else could occupy his mind.
        He could not understand why, when he had been doing all he could to help them, who they had turned against him and why they were so impatient and so determined to commence building without the consent of the Stake Presidency.
        Harold asked me to keep out of the trouble and to say nothing because they would not listen to me. Said he, "I am their Bishop. I have got to try and get along with them if I can." Harold would not have been able to keep such troubles tied up in his own heart without saying something to me. He always had before come to me for encouragement and advice.
        I don’t remember that I said much to him that morning. I was so deep in thought and sympathy for the boy, who seemed to be weighed down with grief and sorrow.