Vera Pauline Hansen Johnson

Special attributes I remember about my Mother. Striving for education.

-By Freeman Johnson

Vera Pauline Hansen, 1906 - 1999. My mother. Even though her birth certificate says she was a boy, we children believed otherwise. We didn’t find this out until she moved to the care center and we were trying to tidy up some of her legal documents. At this point she said that she didn’t worry about it and wasn’t interested trying to get it changed officially. She was born in Richfield Utah along with her twin brother Vern Paul. She moved to Bolder as a small child. That is where she grew up. Most of her adult life was spent in Richfield (the town in which I grew up), and only late in life after all us kids had left home did she and Dad move to Salina (to be near Bob). She died in Provo Utah at the Country View Manor care center, where she lived her last 2 years. This at last gave the opportunity to see her often (though perhaps not enough) in her last years of life. I think that David saw her almost every day, while usually saw her twice a week.

Now as for how I remember my mother as a child. As far back as I can remember, Mother was always there for me, and I knew that she cared. A great source of security. Excepting for one short period while I was older (high school I think) mother never worked outside the home. Even though we didn’t have a lot, Mom and Dad always seemed to manage. Mother was always involved in something... cooking, sewing, cleaning the house, caring for the yard and garden and other tasks, such as feeding the mink, chickens, cows etc. while Dad was gone. I think the only thing she didn’t do was milk cows. I am not sure why, perhaps it was that she grew up on the ranch and never did that as a girl. She was also always busy in some type of church job. As you can see she was always there for us kids when we needed our mother (conversely we were always there when she need us for something). Perhaps I summarize all of this as the trait of consistency.

In terms of discipline, I never felt that we were treated unfairly or harshly. Dad never spanked, that was left up to Mother. Spankings were a rarity, and may have been by hand, a small stick, a fly swatter or even by the straw part of the broom. Though I don’t remember the occasion, once when I was small when we lived in the tar paper shack, I had done something to upset my mother. As punishment she swung the new broom at my back-side, result a broken broom handle, and a kid that laughed. Mom said the hardest part of all, was she could not afford a new broom, and ever time she swept the floor, she was reminded of “beating” her kid with the new broom. Perhaps this may explain why spankings were few and far between, though I would like to think it was because we were pretty good kids.

Another trait of my mothers that always stood out was her love of education. Mother only completed the eight grade, though you would never have suspected it if she didn’t tell you. She had always wanted more, but her childhood circumstances would not allow it. As I recall, she went an extra year in the 8th grade, just to get a little more education. Her teacher tried to help her with some advanced studies. At the time there was only one teacher and just 8 grades in Bolder. Even today kids in Jr. High and High School are bussed to Escalante to finish their schooling. There was one fall that Mother came out to Richfield to live with her grandmother and to go to high school. I don’t remember the reason that she had to go back to Boulder before Christmas. There was one time (about the time of her mission) that she went to Salt Lake (with several of her siblings) where she went to beauty school for a few months. She never worked at that profession. During the time that I was growing up, Mother was always taking extension classes offered by Utah State Univ. Extension service. She studied a number of things from writing, to cooking, food preservation to oil painting. In this format she really extended her education even though it was not formally in the classroom. Mother always (almost) encouraged us kids in our education and we all knew that a college education was important. Perhaps I ought to explain the “almost” comment. As I neared the completion of my BA studies at the Y and told Mother that I had made the decision to get married and to go on to graduate studies. She exclaimed “Oh no”, that you should really get a job and go to work, because they couldn’t continue to support me financially in college. I quickly explained that I planned to do that on my own, that it would involve a paid assistantship and that I was not looking for continued support from them. At that point she was happy, and continued to give moral support.

Another trait of Mom’s was determination/ stick-to-it-ness. Once she started a project she never quit (I also guess that was also a trait of my Dad’s, they matched each other on this). Her gardening was a prime example of this (as was her work in the Relief Society). In fact it was the gardening that finally got her down, quite literally. She tripped and fell over a garden hose breaking her hip which resulted in a hip replacement. Things were never quite the same for her after the replacement. I must have inherited this stick-to-it-ness trait from my parents, it has been something which served me well over the years in both schooling and my plant breeding research.

Clean, neat, but nothing fancy would also describe Mom. Mother was never sloppy, work clothes - yes, and dirt when appropriate, as well as Sunday “go-to-meeting” clothes when they were called for. The house was always in order, clean and looked nice (not “fancy”, nice). Dishes were always done. Grass was mowed (which usually could be attributed to her making sure that we boys did our mowing as needed). The garden was planted on time, always watered as the irrigation turn dictated, and weeded. The garden was harvested and used in our meals or bottled (or latter on frozen) to be used the rest of the year. Her biggest hindrance was the Johnson trait of saving things, because someday it might be useful.

One story she relished telling, was a comment our family doctor told to a neighbor about how clean mother kept house in the tar Paper Shack, he had been to our place for a call (likely for me) and couldn’t help noticing how clean our humble little house was. He said he was tempted to take out his white handkerchief and wipe above the door sill (but didn’t dare). He said he was sure that there wouldn’t be any dust there either.

One of Mothers strongest attributes was devotion. We always went to church, and were always on time. She accepted any call given, and served in many capacities. I remember her working in the MIA (Young Women’s) when I was younger. She loved to sing, and was especially proud to be in the Stake singing mothers that sang at General Conference one time. Both Mother and Dad sang in the ward choir, I knew that Mother sang well, but it was a surprise to me to notice (after my mission) what a good voice my Father had. Mother regularly read the church magazines. I remember Her reading to us as small children from a book we had of children’s stories of the Book of Mormon. One occasion of this I vividly recall is one summer day her  reading this book to us outside on the front lawn in the shade of a large lilac bush we had next to the sidewalk. Perhaps her most proud memory was that of her mission to the Pacific Northwest (she served along with her twin Brother Vern). She had this neat photo album of the mission, and would always tell us stories about it.

I think the church position she loved the most was that of Relief Society President. This occurred after I had left home, but I heard about it via her letters, and during our visits back to Richfield. It was not about the prestige that is associated with the position, but the chance for service and being involved in the inner workings of the ward. This was back in the days when the had their own checking accounts and needed to have fund-raises to carry out the various functions of the organization. Mother was involved in the bread making/selling project for several years. She purchased a wheat mill to grind her own flour, and became recognized for her excellent whole-wheat bread. There were quilting projects, funerals to care for and sisters to visit. She kept busy. I suspect she was a great president, and I am sure she really enjoyed the calling.

Sewing and Canning... These were two of the homemaking skills that Mom excelled at. I think she made all of her own clothes. I remember of her taking an extension class on tailoring so she could make herself a suit. She made clothes (but not jeans or overalls) for us kids as well. Her sewing machine as Singer treadle machine, which she had as long as I can remember. Later on (it may have while I was in Jr. High) she purchase a conversion kit and Dad made it into an electric machine. It didn’t have all the fancy operations that machines have today, but for regular sewing (including button holes) it would do a great job. We kids even learned a little about sewing. I remember Bob making a shirt one time and wearing it to school to show off. None of the girls would believe that he made it. Both Dorothy Ann and David have become excellent sewers. Mother was often found at her sewing machine.

Canning was the other noticeable homemaking skill of Mother’s. There was always green beans, tomatoes and corn. Probably some other vegetables as well. There were pickles, of which her pickled beets and mint pickled yellow wax beans were real treats. I do not remember of her ever making sauerkraut. She bottled fruit when it was available. Usually there wasn’t much. She also made jellies and jams. Her plum jam was a favorite- as we always had plums. Watching the pressure of the pressure cooker was always an item of importance. It perhaps was a little  more difficult as she cooked on a wood stove in those days. I don’t know who inherited her pressure cooker, it was a real classic, with screw lugs around the sides.

Problem of low self esteem. This may have started during her childhood because she was Danish, her last name was Hansen. In Boulder the “Danes” were looked down upon, some even changed their names so as to not reflect their heritage (Petersen became Peters, their closest neighbors). Though I think the biggest factor was her lack of formal education. She always wished that she would have had more. To me she was “educated”, and she was always learning new things. It had been a hope of hers that her children would graduate from college and go on to be school teachers. All have university degrees and two (Bob and David) made a career of school teaching. Perhaps she can forgive me even though I dabbled in teaching, the additional degrees perhaps could offset that deficiency. I also sensed that she felt disappointed that Dad never really had a leadership position in the church (I felt that he did more important things like being scoutmaster). Perhaps the strangest part was that the low esteem was most pronounced in her relationship with her oldest brother Franklin. This was likely from their personality differences. We kids did not notice this trait of mothers until later in life. Her mission was perhaps the best offsetting factor.

At the end of her life, she kept saying that she didn’t know that “enduring to the end” (endurance) would be so difficult. She had been afraid that she would die young, but in the final  analysis she was the last of her siblings to die. I remember the last few months of her life as David and I visited her in the care center, how she would express that she was too tired and would ask why couldn’t she die. We would respond that we were not the ones who decided that and that she had our permission to pass on. We were so glad that at the last she had a very kind and considerate roommate, who had also fulfilled a mission and loved education. I was real lesson to me to see how mother bore the burden of endurance.

By Freeman Keith Johnson (son). June 20, 2006.

Vera Hansen Johnson

-By Dorothy Ann Johnson Gurley

The eldest daughter of Christian A. and Annie C. Larsen Hansen.

Memories of my Mother. One of the first things I remember was bath day in the round (I think # 13) tub in the kitchen. I don’t suppose she baked molasses bread every week, but how good it tasted and how good it smelled.

I remember sitting on the back steps snapping beans or shelling peas, or washing & drying dishes together - her teaching me to cook, can and sew. Mom was always there for us. I never realized that we never had much money because all our neighbors lived about the same as us. We always had a big garden, chickens, a cow for milk and butter. In the fall we would sometimes get fruit from Grandmother in Boulder, Sometimes from Esther & Lafe in Lehi; this we would bottle for the winter. Life was good. Together we would go to church, to visit relatives, work at the farm or go to the pasture to milk the cow. It seemed like we had time to breath and enjoy life.

Mom was always busy, doing for the family or thinking of others. She taught me to love family and our heritage by the stories she would tell me as we worked together. 

Mother always felt bad she never had a chance to graduate from high school, so (she) always took advantage of night classes thru the high school extension service - even going to Logan once with a group doing upholstery. She liked to learn new ideas whenever she had the opportunity. She could out-spell all of her children I think & her handwriting was good. She set high standards for us.

In mom’s latter years- when I’d take her in her wheelchair to Richfield to shop, doctor, etc. And people would say “Have a good day” she would always reply “I will if I make it that way”. Another saying I herd often was not just “to endure to the end”, but “to endure to the end CHEERFULLY”.

Mom & Dad were a good team. Us children were proud of them & proud of each other. Life was good growing up on 460 E. Center St. In Richfield. I am thankful to have grown up in a family full of love– I hope I was able to pass some of the good things Mom & Dad stood for to My Children. Most of all I want to thank my wonderful ancestors who came to America, who joined the Church and made it possible that I could enjoy a good life. I am grateful for my 3 brothers & and so grateful for my husband Dale & our precious children, grandchildren & now even great grand children.

Dorothy Ann Johnson Gurley. 15 July, 2006.