I have a quick memory of seeing the mountains for the firs time. I thought they were so beautiful, magnificent and the air quality back in the sixties was excellent. I don’t remember ever hearing the word inversion. We moved into the Colonial Garden Apartments on 431 North 400 East.
My parents were having marriage challenges so mom wanted to be closer to her family who lived thirty minutes north from Bountiful. We started making trips to Ogden Utah for Christmas and spent many summers with my grandma, Aunt Lois and cousins.
One thing nice about the Colonial Gardens was the swimming pool! It wasn’t very big but it sure was fun during the hot summer days. The Carlson family also lived in the Colonial Gardens so my brothers and I became friends with Steven and Kenneth Carlson. One day Mom Carlson let us build a spook alley in their basement with a lot of blankets. I never remember seeing the older brother Gary Wayne Carlson but who would of thought I would end up marrying him twenty three years later.
Bishop Sheffield baptized me when I turned eight. My dad’s fishing buddy Willard Johansen confirmed me with the gift of the Holy Ghost. Mom met some pretty awesome people in our ward at that time. Kathleen Fox lived right next to our apartments and was a school teacher. She had a daughter named Trilby who was my age. The Mitten family moved near us and mom and Joan Mitten became good friends. I took ballet lessons from Joan for a short period and also started piano lessons but didn’t like practicing. Swimming was probably my favorite memory and going to Lagoon amusement park. We lived in the Colonial Gardens for two years. My brothers and I attended Tolman Elementary School.
During this time mom started driving to Ogden to attend Weber State College to get her teaching degree. I’m glad she was able to achieve getting her degree but it also meant spending more time with my dad who was not a very happy person. I think he suffered from depression and went fishing a lot! (I think it helped him cope with life) As children we didn’t know how to communicate to adults about what went on when our mom was gone for long hours. This is when I think my brothers started being mistreated. My dad also went to work all day and when he got home I think he struggled raising us kids.
My brothers and I spent a lot of days playing outside near home in the woods. There was a small river going through Bountiful. Back then if we were in a group we didn’t have to worry about strangers abducting us.We had quite the imagination and enjoyed make believing we were imaginary characters. These are good memories from my childhood. We also went on fun camping trips with our cousins and going to Lagoon in Farmington was a BIG treat!!
