to dig more than two rods each day. Some men who dug more trench line than their
allotted amount never did get all the pay for their extra work.
My family had to pay for four homes or
connections, meaning four times that of others. We could not do all our own assessment
work, so others were glad to sell us some of their credits and take groceries for their
pay.
Dee Clark, whom the Relief Society sisters
voted for to direct the work on the Relief Society Building was appointed Bishop of the
Woodland Ward.
Harold Winterton no longer stood in their way.
They started to build a Relief Society Building. They succeeded in putting up the studding
for the outside walls and the rafters were laid. In that condition things stood still for
several years and no more work was done on the building.
When I learned the old frame was to be torn
down, I desired a picture. One of the children took a picture for me. Then said I,
"We will inscribe at the top of the picture, ‘Monument to
Disobedience’."
Dee Clark was a good bishop and tried to do his
duty.
OUR AFFAIR WITH ZCMI
We, as a family were having our financial
difficulties. We were owing a lot of money for the things that had burned in the fire. We
borrowed from Susie the $1,000.00 of Harold’s insurance money and turned it to ZCMI
for our indebtedness to them.
Our neighbors had but little money with which
to buy groceries. Everybody was really feeling the effects of the depression.
One day the manager of ZCMI came to me and
said, "Mr. Winterton, we are not afraid of you. We know you will do your best to pay
your debts. You are owing to us more than to anyone else and if you would give us a note
and mortgage on your store, it would give us some security and we would be better able to
extend to you more credit. If you don’t give us the mortgage, then others may ask for
me. We just want to help you." I agreed to his wishes. I thought he wanted to be
fair.
He brought to us the mortgage papers to be
signed by Sarah and I for $1,650.00, the amount we were owing the ZCMI grocery department.
I thought it strange that he did not write up
the mortgage to cover the full amount of indebtedness to ZCMI so I questioned him. His
excuse was that they did not want to mix their grocer store accounts with their dry good
store accounts.
We signed the note payable in 90 days. He said
that was their custom but we would have no trouble in getting extension of time because
they understood our troubles and were going to help us.
As soon as the note became due, the ACMI
commenced foreclosure proceedings. We plainly saw they had deceived us, and really caught
us napping.
The only thing to do then was to get $1,650.00
to save a building worth $6,000.00.
I told ZCMI to not proceed with the foreclosure
proceedings; that we would give them a deed for the property providing they would give us
six months in which to redeem the property. That privilege we would have if they
foreclosed. That would save extra expense. To that request they could not well refuse.
LaMont and Luella Walker were able to secure
the money. They paid ZCMI the $1,650.00 and obtained the deeds. They gave me back the 10
heifers I had given Luella besides other help. We did not feel so bad over the loss of the
store when it fell into the hands of member of the family.
It was the scheme of XCMI to get the store for
the $1,650.00 and then to take judgment against us for the balance we owed them amounting
to about $3,000.00.
That they commenced to do, but we borrowed
money from the Federal Land Bank and mortgaged our farms to get money to save our farm
property (and stop judgment proceedings I have learned).
You don’t know who your friends are until
you have dealings with them. If people take advantage of you, I think it not too wrong to
beat them at their own game.
ZCMI deceived me in leading me to believe they
did not want to foreclose. It was only through good judgment on my part that stopped them
from getting the store which was worth as much or more than the total amount I owed them,
and still I would be owing them $3,000.00.
When they proceeded to get judgment against me
for $3,000.00 balance, I thought there was no harm in making them believe that $1,000.00
in cash would be worth more to them than a judgment which might never do them any good.
They were the only outfit that did not get all
the money we owed them and the only people who did not give us a chance to work things out
as we were able.
Years passed by. Bishop Clark had moved out of
the ward. Leslie E. Moon was then Bishop of the Ward. John Lefler was still the
Superintendent of the Sunday School and my wife and I were still teaching the
parent’s class in Sunday School, besides, we had nearly always been called upon if
there was any canvassing of the ward to be done, such as soliciting for ward donations or
donations for seminary maintenance, etc. We could generally get about what we went after.
Especially was that true as to my wife’s ability to get what she went out after.
My family were quite regular attenders at
Church, Sunday School, and M.I.A., etc. My son Van was the Ward Clerk.
The boys who had given us trouble seemed to be
quite sociable.
There was still a very small attendance at the
Sunday afternoon Sacrament Meetings.
One day I addressed the Bishop about as
follows: "Bishop, I have been coming to church quite regularly for year. Not many
attend church. Once you told me I could have ten minutes that I might bear my testimony.
"I know that", he said, "but it
is for your own benefit that you have not been asked to take part. You don’t know the
prejudice there is against you in this ward. We have talked it over in our Bishop’s
meetings. Your son Van knows all about it."
I said, "If you will tell me who are
prejudiced, maybe I can go and talk to them. Maybe I can do something to make them feel
better towards me."
"No," said he, "I will not tell
you who they are. I don’t want any trouble."
I said, "Are they members of the
Bishopric?" He answered, "No."
"Are they other members of the ward who
sometimes come to church? I can generally count the number of male members in attendance
at Sacrament meeting on the fingers of one hand." I said.
He answered, "I am not telling you."
"Well, Bishop," said I, "My duty
is to be at church on the Sabbath Day. I have a right to partake of the Sacrament so long
as I am trying to do my duty. You can’t stop me from coming to church." I
continued to attend church and other ward meetings.
I asked Van if my name had ever been discussed
in the Bishop’s meetings for the purpose the Bishop had told me. Van said my name, in
that way, had not been mentioned in his presence.
As time rolled on, my family was called to act
in Stake positions. Luella for a long time was second counselor in the Stake Relief
Society. She was the Stake President of the Relief Society from 1951 to 1954.
Ruth was appointed Stake Magazine Director.
Grace was on the Stake Primary Board. Eva was appointed to act on the Stake Primary Board.
Ralph was set apart as one of the Seven
Presidents of Seventies in the Stake. He is now the Senior President of the Quorum. For
several years he acted as Stake Mission President. He has now been called to act as Church
Farm Manager and Director.
When Merlin Simmons and my daughter Grace moved
to Charleston, besides other work she was asked to do, she was the Music Director of the
Ward and was a member of the Ladies Adeline Chorus of the Wasatch Stake.
It was in the year 1939 that I had a
presentment of part of my boys moving out to the Uintah Basin. I seemed that I could see
them out there, that the people bid them welcome. It seemed that the church authorities
said they needed their help in the church. It seemed that farmers and stockmen said to
them, "We are glad you came out here in this country. We have confidence in you. We
will watch how you farm. If you can make a success out here, then we will know better what
to do." Said they, "We have been discouraged."
Then it seemed that the people showed a more
optimistic attitude and they started to work and began to prosper more.
At this time, February 14, 1958, I am happy to
say that everything I seemed to see has come to pass. The boys are out there doing the
best they can and have good positions in the church.
It was the Spring of 1939 when Van and family
and Omni moved to Roosevelt. Van served as counselor to the Bishop of the 1st
Ward of the Roosevelt Stake; Omni, the President of the Indian Branch at Randlett.
Clair divides his time in places most needed.
He has spent much time in work on the new ward building being erected at Woodland. After
moving to Ioka, he and Beatrice were first appointed Ward Amusement and Dance Directors.
They then later were appointed M.I.A. Dance Directors of the Stake.
My wife Sarah was always quite busy in the
Relief Society, the Sunday School and M.I.A. and often the Primary in the wards in which
she lived. She loved to teach a Sunday School Class or a Class in M.I.A. At Woodland, for
years, she was chairman of the Ward Genealogical Committee.
Stella Gardner was always active in the church
and church organizations, giving her time wherever needed.
Some of my activities have been:
June 21, 1900, I was ordained a Seventy by
Elder George Teasdale. I filled a mission in the Eastern States, leaving home June 19,
1900 and returned to my home in Charleston, June 23, 1902.
Some time after my return home, I was set apart
as one of the Seven Presidents of the 97 Quorum of Seventy. I held that position until I
moved my family to Woodland in the year 1928.
When I moved to Woodland there was no active
Quorum in the Summit Stake that I was able to contact. When the South Summit Stake was
organized, I became a member of the Quorum of that Stake.
I was asked if I did not wish to be ordained a
High Priest. My reply was, "I like to take part with the Seventies." I was
afraid I would be laid on the shelf if a High Priest in Woodland.
When Brother Joseph Andrus of Marion was called
to be President of the High Priests Quorum of South Summit Stake, he chose me to act as
his first counselor and Clyde Marchant as second counselor. It was then I was ordained a
High Priest by President Winter. I acted in that position until Brother Andrus and I were
released. (Brother Wagstaff was set apart as President of the Quorum and Brother Clyde
Marchant was selected as one of his counselors.)
It was while I was a member of the Presidency
of that Quorum that my wife Sarah and I filled two short term missions in the Southern
States: One winter at Booneville, Mississippi, and one winter at Winter Haven, Florida. In
those Branches I acted as Branch President each time. Sarah was President of the Relief
Society.
Under the leadership of Lee Potts as Bishop and
later with Grant Thomson, the Woodland Ward was a place I liked to live. The saints were
sociable and friendly. Our meetings and Sunday