Back in Utah

Of course, Far had his traveling job with Ball-Band, and we could have continued farming, but he had hay fever so badly that we started to go up to Mirror Lake during the summers. It seemed the minute we got to Mirror Lake his hay fever cleared right up in a day. He was just as good as ever. Then when he started traveling again in the late summer, there was little foliage around so he was never bothered much with hay fever after that. On the farm his hay fever was so bad that I don't see how he could stand it. Sometimes in Salt Lake, it was so bad that we had to get up in the middle of the night and drive up into the mountains (we lived by big open fields covered with weeds). Mirror Lake, up in the Granddaddy region, turned out to be his salvation from hay fever. I can't remember the year, but I think Kristine was about four years old when we started to go to Mirror Lake. We tried other places, such as Brighton and Fish Lake, but they didn't help much because of the leafy trees. He was as bad there as at home.

But then we heard about Mirror Lake and went there.  We just had our tent. The country was very primitive country at that time, with wild flowers everywhere and forests of pine trees. It was really beautiful. All us loved it. The boys would go out on the lake. Far made them rafts and paddles

Camping at Mirror Lake

(At that time there weren't all these speed boats). They would get out on these rafts and play. We swam every day for about an hour and one half. We had company come up to visit us on week ends and took long walks everyday in the forest. Twice a week we walked up to Camp Steiner for the program of the Boy Scouts. We would stay at Mirror Lake for a period of four to six weeks. I got so sick one day driving down to Salt Lake early in the morning. Far had some business to attend to, and I was going to do the washing and shop. But I got deathly sick traveling down in those horseshoe turns in the road by Park City that I couldn't stand up when I got home. I had to go directly to Hildeborg's house on 17th East and go right to bed. Abel did some shopping and took care of his business, and then we drove back to Mirror Lake that night. We brought with us a scrubbing board, washtub and some old flatirons so we wouldn't have to go down to Salt Lake to do the washing and ironing. I heated the irons on the little stove that the CC Camp boys had built throughout the campground area. Bergliot was working for the Thompsons who had a lodge down by the Lake. They had some tent cabins and she slept there with their daughter Dean.

We had one tent for Finn and Abel to sleep in and one large tent that we slept in. Carl and Kristine slept in the car. We made a tent-roof to cover the kitchen table. We were really comfortable. We were even written up in one of the national magazines as the ideal campers in America. They had a picture of us along with the article. We all really enjoyed camping at Mirror Lake. The Thompsons had row boats for rent, but they frequently let us use one free, especially the boys went boating with their son Dale Thompson. Far was cured from his hay fever by going up there. We went every summer for nine years. Some of the kids in the neighborhood had the idea that we went to Norway every summer when we were just going to Mirror Lake.

Then the war broke out and we couldn't get gas, so we had to stop going up there. The children were getting older and had summer jobs in Salt Lake. So we were unable to go. But the forest ranger, Sonny Alsop, continued each year to save our campsite until the very last in the hope that we would come back because we always kept everything neat and clean. We never left any trash around and often cleaned the neighboring campsites. When Far couldn't find anything else to clean, he would go down and even clean trash from the lake. He had a rake with him and picked out the bottles and cans that people would throw in. We swam there so it was dangerous to have this trash in the lake.

During the war when Hitler was going in and taking one country after another, it seemed that there wasn't going to be any end to his conquests. At General Conference, J. Reuben Clark declared in his talk that we didn't need to worry about Hitler. He would be stopped in time, but that it was Communism and the Russians that we had to worry about. I thought to myself, "How in the world can he say anything like that?" Here Hitler had taken Denmark, Norway, and all these other countries, while Russia was on our side at the time. They were one of the Allies. I couldn't understand it until later when things went as they did. He had political knowledge, as well as being a prophet. We can all recognize the truth of his statement now.

Far was on the road traveling much of the time, but we seemed to get along even if he wasn't at home. I knew my place was there taking care of the family and troubling him as little as possible. I knew he had all he could do to keep going in his job and make a living for us. He wrote me every day and sometimes as many as three times a day. I wrote him every day when I had an address to mail it to. In that way, I told everything about the children and what was going on at home, and he told about his doings in the business; we felt as close as though he were home. When he did come home, the children were just tickled to death and so were the neighbor children. They all came running the minute they knew he was home. He was just that kind of a man. He loved children, and he liked to kind of tease them a little. One of the neighbor girls, Mary Reiser, came with a suitcase one day. She was going to move up to our place and asked if she could stay there. We told her yes, she was welcome to stay, but what was the reason? Her dad had done something she didn't like. She said, "Well, I'm moving up to Paulsens because they want me up there." So her parents said, "All right go and pack your suitcase and move." So she did. Of course we told her that she was welcome to stay, but maybe she had better go back and see if her dad had repented by this time. We told her we knew that he loved her and would really feel bad if she didn't come back. But if she still felt bad, to bring her suitcase and come back. Of course she didn't come back.

While Far was gone we never had a car at home, and we had to do all our shopping in Sugarhouse, five blocks away. We had to walk, and most every day we'd walk to Sugar House to shop or mail our letters. We did have a vegetable man that came around to our home every other day, a Mr. Bramble. We bought a lot of fresh vegetables and fruit which we are all fond of.

When the children got old enough so we could leave them, I often went with Far on trips for several days and maybe as much as a week at a time. One time when we were away, we called home from Richfield to find out how everything was going. We wondered how they were making out. Kristine answered and said, "Oh, we're making out just fine." She said that the previous night our cousin Norman from Idaho, who had been in the navy and was married back east, was bringing his bride up to Idaho to visit his parents. They came and asked if they had room for them to stay over night. Kristine said certainly. She gave them the front bedroom which she and her cousin Tudie (who was living with us) shared. Then there was another couple who came, and she gave them the sleeping porch, which we normally used. Shortly thereafter, there were four young boys from California who came. They had slept in their sleeping bags the night before on the lawn of a Bishop in Nevada. When they left Nevada, they asked the Bishop if he knew of anyone in Salt Lake who would let them sleep on their lawn. He told them that he was sure they could stay at the Abel Paulsen's. He told them that Paulsens had a big lawn and gave them our address. So they asked if they might. Kristine told them that they didn't need to stay on the lawn, that there was room in the house. In the big bedroom that is now the TV room, we had two big double beds. This is where they slept. When Abel came home late that night to go to bed, there were two fellows in his bed. So he decided to get in the other bed. There were two in that. So he thought well, I'll go on the sleeping porch, and there was a couple sleeping there. He thought, "Well, I'm not going in the basement." So he went in the front bedroom and found his cousin from Idaho with his wife. Then he thought, "I'll just sleep on one of the couches in the living room so I don't have to go in the basement" (He hadn't turned on the light because he didn't want to bother anyone). There he found Kristine and Tudie sleeping on the couches, so he finally went to bed in the basement.

I asked Kristine, "What did you do for breakfast when you had all those people there?" She said, "Oh, I made Norwegian pancakes and they thoroughly enjoyed it. They said it was a great breakfast." We learned from this that we didn't need to worry about the family at home when we went away. They were able to take care of themselves and do all right. There were so many of us at home when I was a child that I always worried when anyone was invited to stay over night as to where we would put them. I remember asking my mother where we were going to put them. My mother would say, "Don't worry about it. If there is room in your heart, there is room in your house." And in some way there was always room. That advice has always stayed with me. Throughout our married life, we have had friends and relatives living with us for extended periods of time. Hildeborg lived with us the first winter after we were married. She came up to Idaho and spent another winter with us. Paul came up to Idaho and stayed the first summer with us. Years later, Tudie lived with us in Salt Lake for about four years, and Willard Paulsen lived with us for quite a while. Berg and her family came and stayed for a year after they sold their house on Windsor Street, while they were building their home on 26th East. Carl and Carol stayed while they were building their new home on West Temple and again while we were in Norway and they were building their home on Glenna Drive. It seemed like no matter how many there were, there was always room. When Olaf Vogler had to find a place for a Norwegian emigrant, he often called to ask if I didn't want another jewel in my crown and take in some of the Norwegians. We always did and helped them until they found a home and work.

One day early in 1947, Abel came home from work with his cousin Huck Paulsen. Huck's wife, Beverly, felt run down and nervous. She had a new little baby. Huck wanted to take a little trip to California with Beverly to give her a rest. Abel asked me if I would take care of the baby, and I said, "Yes, I guess I could." So before I knew it, they were there the same day with the baby. Abel and Huck had it all planned and arranged beforehand. They told me that this baby would cry both day and night. I told them that I wasn't worrying about that. She won't cry here. No babies cry here. So don't worry about that. She'll be all right. A couple of days later Huck's brother, Byron, came to see me and asked how I was getting along with the baby. I said, "She's the cutest thing you ever saw. She smiles so cute and is as good as gold." He said, "I don't believe it. They claim she has done nothing but cry since she was born, and if she smiles I don't believe it." I said, "Let's go in to see her. She's asleep now, but we can wake her up. She will go to sleep again." So we woke her up, and she looked at us and smiled. He was so surprised, he couldn't believe it. I had no trouble with her day or night. I believe they stayed away eight days. I don't know how she was when they got her back home, but I think the baby sensed her mother's nervousness, and it affected her. I wasn't a bit nervous, and I'm sure the baby sensed this also.

I remember before Bergliot was married, Art came out in the Spring. He lived with us too (Berg and he were married in September). They all went to work in the morning, even Far worked out in Clearfield. I had to prepare breakfast for them and get their lunches put up. I nearly always made Norwegian pancakes, because they all liked them. They would eat about 10 each, except Carl. He didn't eat very many. I didn't have much time, but I would put the batter on the pan, run over and butter the bread for their lunch sandwiches, run back and turn the pancake, and then run back to the sandwiches, until I got them all taken care of. I did feel like I had done a day's work when they were all off. In some way we managed every morning to get them off on time.