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Grandpa George Virgin had passed away in England after being baptized into the Latter-day Saints Church, leaving Grandma Virgin (Mary Ann Barker Virgin born 25 Jul 1831) with three small children. She and the children left England, crossed the ocean, and the plains in the early 1860’s, and They arrived in Salt Lake Valley October 19 1862. They lived in Grantsville, Utah. Two years later they moved to St. Charles, Idaho, in Bear Lake Valley to make their home in October 1864.

There are some things, which stand out in my memory of the times I used to stay with her after my brother Charles (Nephi Charles Virgin born 5 Jan 1878) got married, Charles lived with her until he was married, my brother Lee (Lehi Sidney Virgin born 16 Aug 1887) was her favorite grandson and my sister Eva (Eva Honora Virgin born 11 Nov 1893) was her favorite granddaughter. But Eva didn’t like to stay with her every night so one of the others had to stay with her.

She had a bolster for the head of her bed, filled with feathers or something solid to keep the bedspread straight and looking good on the bed. A woven carpet on the floor which was taken up each Fall thoroughly cleaned, fresh straw put on the floor then the job of stretching the carpet tight so it would reach from wall to wall and tacked down with tacks (carpet tacks) and it was good until the Fall cleaning time again. How I loved to lie on the newly stretched and clean carpet and listen to the ticking of the large clock on the wall and the swinging of the pendulum to and fro as it ticked off the minutes, then the striking of the hours.

Grandma had two brass buckets, one a little larger than the other. They would get stained either from water of just general use. She would mix some vinegar with a little salt in it polish them with a cloth, then rub them to a shine, I would help her they would stay shiny for a long time after such a cleaning.

There was a row of cottonwood trees along the sidewalk just outside the south fence; Grandma would gather leaves from these trees, boil them in water, drain off the water then put material in she wanted dyed and they came out the prettiest, brightest yellow one could ask for; To set the color so it was permanent she took the wood ashes from the stove, stood them in water over night, drain the water and the color was set, or Permanente so it wouldn’t fade.

A small patch of thimbleberries grew just west of her house, she called them that, they were small replicas of raspberries, but the taste was like nothing I have never tasted since. A most delicious taste which when made into jam couldn’t be excelled anywhere.

When we were small she wouldn’t’ allow us kids in the patch for fear of breaking the tender twigs, as we grew older we helped her pick them. How delicious they were in tarts, which she used to make often. I have never tasted any thimbleberries since leaving St. Charles.

Uncle Amos (Amos Moses Virgin born 23 Jan 1854), Fathers older brother had moved to the snake river valley early in the 1900’s, they liked the country so well that Father and Mother (Nephi Charles Virgin, and Cecily Hibbert) took a trip up to see if they would like it. They did, and in the Fall Father returned to Salem to buy a place so we could move in the spring. He put $500.00 Dollars down payment on a place in North Salem which was covered with snow at the time, when the spring thaw came, my brother Jay (Jehu George Thompston Virgin born 3 Apr 1886) found that it was just a swale, no good for farming. Mr. Larsen, that Father was buying it from refused to refund the down payment although he knew he was wrong in selling the land for farming, so father just lost the $500.00.

Father then purchased 40 acres south of Sugar City, all good land, 20 acres up near the canal and 20 acres a little southeast of it facing the east west road, “Moody Road”

Then Father sold our property in St. Charles. Charles my oldest brother, sold his, and Grandmother Virgin sold hers, and we all moved to Sugar-Salem vicinity in the Snake River Valley. The land was good for raising any farm products. We left St. Charles 5 April 1907. A railroad boxcar was hired at Montpelier, the nearest R. R. and household furniture, and goods, horse and cows were loaded and we left Montpelier April 6th, my 16th birthday.

When the people of St. Charles found we were moving they gave us a big sendoff, a big banquet in the Church, the only hall large enough, a band concert across the street from our place, and all said we would be missed and didn’t like to see us go, we disliked going as much as they did, but we know it was for the best.

We didn’t know any up there, only Uncle Amos’s family and they belonged to the Salem Ward, and we were in the Sugar City ward. Brothers Jay and Lee had been up there before to help Uncle Amos as he had no sons, his oldest son died in 1903, a young son was 4 years old at the time, so help was needed badly with the ranch work; so our boys knew a few young people in Salem. However it didn’t take long to get acquainted by going to Church and taking part.

Father was a friendly disposition and became active in the affairs of the ward, there were some lonely evenings, but we would gather around the organ many times, and I would play songs we knew, and it wasn’t so bad after all. Jay was about 21 and Lee close to 20 so their interest were mostly elsewhere. George was the older brother and Harold the young brother.

Sugar beets were raised on part of the land, grain and alfalfa on other parts and always a garden for vegetables.

Grandma used to make English pillow lace before we moved to the Snake River Valley in 1907. It was beautiful, she made her own patterns and would sell it for as much as $45.00 dollars a yard depending on the width of the lace which could be ten or twelve inches wide, there could be insertion to match. This lace was made on a square pillow she had stuffed real full; the pattern she had made was pinned at the four corners onto the pillow. Punching pins through rather heavy paper in the designs she wanted to make made the patterns. There were many beads and rings. She had dozens of bobbins made of bone about five inches long, about three eights of an inch thick, near one end was a place grooved out to hold thread, size sixty or a hundred, and near the other end of the bobbin a hole to guide the thread. There was a small wire ring attached to the opposite end where the thread was as a little weight to hold them in place better, then she would throw one over another close to where she was working and secure each thread in place with pins and work the pattern. That way all the way until she had the desired length.

She made narrow lace the same way, which was much cheaper. She tried to teach us how to make the lace, but kids like us weren’t interested. (Why can’t children have a little more sense?) She and her sisters learned this art in England while they were quite young. The young girls there had taskmasters and had a quota to meet, if they did not they received severe punishment; but we kids weren’t interested. However I prize highly some small pieces of her lace and keep them to remind me of what I could have learned.

Grandma always had a place for everything, and everything should be in its place, she stressed so much, that “I like to have things be in the same place so I can find them in the dark if I have to.”

One thing I used to enjoy at her place was the Chamomile tea she used to make. This herb grew profusely around our homes in St Charles. We gathered it and it could be used green or dried; that with bread and butter, tea sweetened and some cream added made a delicious meal.

One thing that always bothered me and the others who stayed with her nights was sometimes she asked what we would do if she should die in the night, this wasn’t very good for

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