The first son of Allanna Nichols and Aaron Benjamin
Porter Jr. was Aaron Osmer, named after his grandfather, father, and an admired
missionary companion of his father, Elder Osmer Flake from Arizona. He was a healthy child, with blonde hair
and blue eyes. As he grew older, he set
a good example for his younger siblings as he accepted and carried through with
all responsibilities that were placed upon him through the long years of
"The Great Depression" as the eldest of six remaining children in the
family.
Sometimes Osmer
and his Uncle Leland Nichols, who was his same age, would tease younger brother, Sarel, to a point of
deep frustration and anger, especially if they called him "curly-headed
bishop". Then, with two doubled-up fists, dark eyes flashing, and like a
whirlwind of rage and determination, Sarel would tear into the two of
them,sending them scrambling in every direction for safety. However, at school or other places, Osmer
was a staunch defender of his little brother, encouraging him to stand up for his rights and was very
proud of him when he was able to defend himself against any offenders. With
regard to his sisters, Osmer followed his father's counsel to respect and
champion girls and women and as a result, they loved and respected him.
At school, Osmer
was a good student, among the top achievers, excelling especially in
mathematics, spelling and english. He
graduated from high school and had one year of college at Ricks Normal College.
He then signed up for a business course and received the highest marks in all
subjects as he graduated at the end of
the summer, having completed a two-year course in one.
Osmer had a good
ear for music and loved to sing, having a clear, baritone voice. He would immediately wince at the sound of a
sour note rendered by anyone either in the family orchestra or the one at
school, where he played first violin and his sister, Thora, played in the
second section. On April 29, 1918, when Osmer would have been fourteen and one-half years old, his mother took him
and Thora to the home of Patriarch A. J. Hansen in Rexburg to have him give them blessings. Thora has her original copy with the
notation that it is No. 1020 and recorded in Book "E". Osmer's is no doubt No. 1019. Copies of his blessing may be obtained by
any of his descendants upon request.
(Note: The family were members of the Rexburg First Ward. The name
of the Stake is not given on the
blessing and cannot be recalled. The name of the county was Fremont until about 1915 when it was
changed to Madison.)
As the family
began homesteading a farm at Green Timber, twelve miles east of Ashton, Idaho,
Osmer was his father's big helper-1914-1919. They cleared brush and trees,
carrying them to stacks to be burned. Then the virgin soil would be plowed, harrowed
and planted. The dry farm crops matured early, but the clearing of other fields
would go on all summer, along with the hauling of water for all the family
needs, which was obtained from a canal or the river about a half a mile away.
About the third summer, Osmer helped his father dig a well and install a pump
in a hollow near
the two-room log cabin which his father had built. The cabin loft served as the boys' bedroom, which they entered
through a window after climbing up an outside ladder. Trying to sleep, they
could hear rats chasing each other under the bed and sometimes had to hunt next
morning for a shoe or sock that had been carried away. They were also bothered with bees or bats
flying in and out of the window.
All phases of
living there were such as the early pioneers experienced: no running water, one
little stove for cooking and heating, coal-oil lamps, scant furnishings,
clothing, etc. The nearest store was about ten miles away. Wild berries picked
from nearby bushes were the usual dessert.
Nights were scarey, as noises sometimes heard nearby were known to be
made by wild animals. When it came time for the children to be back in school,
everything would be packed up, the door locked, and the family would make the
return trip to Rexburg for the winter months.
Upon entering the home there, everything would always be found as it had
been left, apparently no one having entered, even though the doors had been
left unlocked!
September 1, 1919
Farr was born and the Green Timber years ended. Unknown to Farr until many years later, he was the
reason for obtaining the farm at Salem. No feeding was found that would agree
with him. He grew thinner and weaker through the winter and the doctor
concluded that the only thing that would save his life was bottle after bottle
of rich milk from Jersey cows feeding on green pastures. So his father looked for such fields and
found them on irrigated farms at Salem, four miles north of Rexburg. It is not known how the Green Timber farm
was disposed of. If sold, it was
apparently for very little cash. The
Salem farm of about 60 acres was purchased by placing a mortgage on the Rexburg
home with stated amounts to be paid
thereon at regular
Intervals.
In the spring of
1920 the family moved again into a little two-room house in Salem- again with a
bedroom loft and open window for bees, bats and mosquitos-and with living
conditions not much better than at Green Timber. There was no electricity, but the water pump was closer to the
house, which saved a little energy!
Osmer again worked the fields with his father, plowing, harrowing,
planting, irrigating, weeding such crops as beets, and eventually harvesting,
if the torrential hailstorms which seemed to come every fall, had left any
crops still standing.
Each September the
children had to again get to Rexburg for school, sometimes making it there and
back by buggy until the roads were clogged with snow. If the town home was full
of renters, it would be necessary to find winter quarters elsewhere around
town, in which case animals would have to be left at the farm, requiring trips
twice dally to feed and water them and milk the cows. This was generally Osmer's responsibility, with Sarel's help. They would have to get up very early and
make the trip by wagon or sleigh and get back in time to change clothes, eat
and get to school. Osmer handled these challenging chores very well, sometimes
having a difficult time trying to keep himself and brother from freezing to
death!
Year after year,
when crop failures put Osmer at risk for tuition money for schooling, he would
search for and faithfully complete any paying jobs available. Included in some of these Jobs were: herding livestock belonging to his Uncles
Ross and Milburn Porter as they were transferred to or from Squirrel Meadows to
Burton (west of Rexburg). This required
being out on the road with the animals day and night for some length of time
(Osmer and his father are missing on at least one Nichols Family Group picture
due to their being engaged in this manner); helping his uncles at
sheep-shearing time; working with road crews grading or repairing county or
state roads; sorting peas in the "pea factory" at Sugar City, which
required driving there early in the mornings and sitting on high, backless
stools all day picking out culls as tons of peas rolled by on belts, with time
out only at noon to eat a lunch brought from home. Thora would be along as a participant in this back-breaking job
(a hired hand on crop-threshing crews
in hot weather, perhaps for weeks at a time).
If, after all this
work during the summer still more cash was needed to get him through the school year, one job that he detested
had to be undertaken perhaps several times during the winter. It was the hauling of items that were needed
at the school cafeteria such as butter, milk, cream, eggs or cheese which his
mother had agreed to furnish. He would trudge up College Hill in Rexburg very
early in the morning, his arms loaded with books and dairy products, breaking a
trail through deep snow and facing a bitter, cold wind. In this Job, too, would
be Thora, following closely in his footsteps with arms full of the same. Being in their teens, such a job was felt to
be "too demeaning" to be discovered by other students or members of
the faculty. Best to get it over with as quickly as possible!
One day at the
farm, immediately following another crop having been ruined by a hailstorm, his
father called a family meeting for the purpose of again discussing what could
be done by each member to help earn sufficient money to carry through to
another spring planting. Osmer vented
his frustration with farm work by saying, "I hate it, and I don't want to
stay to put in another crop on this farm. Just to see it ruined before it can
be harvested! I think I'll leave and take my chances on finding some other kind
of work." Sarel at once backed up his brother by stating that he, too,
felt like leaving farm work behind. It
was a wise father who then said, quietly, "All right, then we will all
walk off this farm together as a family, not as one member at a time, to
scatter in every direction."
The question now
became, "How shall we equip ourselves for other employment?" It
was decided that Osmer and Thora should
change their schooling to business courses that fall. The discussion on finding jobs now proceeded with much more
enthusiasm and purpose. Thus, the die
was cast and in late August of 1923, the family left Rexburg and reached
Pocatello with very little money but with a determination to work unitedly
together in making a new beginning.
In a strange
environment, Osmer was the first to lead the way as he soon found employment at
the Mutual Creamery Company. His father was employed intermitently at the
Pacific Fruit Express rebuilding fruit cars for the railroad, and Thora was put
on the payroll at Armour Creameries, perhaps due to her brother passing along a
good word for her at the competitors. Both businesses were on the same street
and Osmer would drop by occasionally to say, "Hi, Sis, how're you doing?"
For the twelve years she worked there, she was known only by the name of
"Sis".
Each member
contributed the bigger share of his earnings to the family coffers and in a
short time a down payment was made on a small house just off Main on Carson
Street into which the family settled. It was found that they were members of
the Third Ward, Pocatello Stake and the ward building was less than a block
away. All the family members became happily involved with church activities,
Osmer enjoying association with the large crowd of young people who attended
M.I.A. He surprised everyone when he
agreed to play the leading character in a play whose name was
"Jerry". He did so well in this endeavor that the name stuck to him
and thereafter he was known by no other, except for immediate family members.
Among the young
girls who came to Mutual along with her sister Emily, was a vivacious and
pretty redhead, Helen Margaret Vaughn. Osmer and Helen were soon attracted to
each other and before very long became engaged. They were married on April 20,
1925.
When the family
found that the Carson home was too small and cramped, they sought a larger
place and found it at 439 Riverside Drive, across the Portneuf River. The
Carson property was rented, mostly by relatives, Osmer and Helen living there
for several years, during which time they had a bedroom built in the basement.
In his work at the Mutual Creamery, Osmer was a hard-working, dependable,
valued employee. His business education
stood him in good stead as he was in the office most of the time in charge of
the bookkeeping and most of the work there. He advanced in knowledge and
responsibility and was moved into Montpelier, Idaho to manage their operations
there.
Some of the Things
that Osmer Enjoyed:
One vehicle the family
acquired early in the Green Timber years was a 1914 Ford car. As a result, the
family made the trips back and forth from Rexburg much faster and more
comfortably. This also made it possible
to get to Marysville or Ashton to church services on a Sunday. It was one of
the first cars seen in that farming community around Green Timber and Osmer
took pride in showing it off. He was a happy boy when he was permitted to be
the driver. In fact, that Ford was the means of all three of the older
childrens' learning how to drive a car-but there was never enough money for
very much pleasure driving. The old car carried the family and needed supplies through Yellowstone Park at least
twice.
Osmer rode
horseback to Squirrel Meadows Wyoming several times (about 10 miles from Green Timber...just a guess) mostly
because extra help was needed there,
and enjoyed his visits. Uncles Ross and Milt were great entertainers,
with all sorts of stories sprinkled
with a lot of humor, and Aunt Blanche was a wonderful cook, so the times he spent with them were always a lot of fun,
good food and recreation-going fishing
or hunting. At Green Timber, Osmer and Sarel always wanted to introduce male
cousins or other overnight visitors to their loft bedroom for a night's adventure with the various creatures
there. (But the noise they created resulted in very little
sleep for those in the room beneath them!)
Fishing trips and
hikes through the nearby scenic mountains were always a great pleasure for
Osmer, and especially fun to go with a large crowd of relatives to pick
huckleberries growing on the northern slopes of the mountains. Several days would be spent in this
undertaking, requiring sleeping out under the stars at night, fearful that
bears or other wild animals might be close by and would come snooping around
them!
At Salem, Osmer no
longer found it fun to show off his sleeping quarters. The waters of the big
canal which ran along the front of the property were now a big drawing card for
him and Sarel. Practically naked and diving into the deepest spots was what
pleased them, and any other boys who happened by. There was no sign, but girls
knew they were not allowed nearby. This was mostly in the evenings, though, as
the days were very busy for Osmer and Sarel-and it was understood that Sundays
were not for "skinny-dipping".
Osmer loved
ice-skating. He was an exceptionally good dancer. He attended baseball and
basketball games but never had the time to become a member of any teams that
played regularly. When the tennis court was completed at the home on Riverside
Drive, he would occasionally come after work, bringing Helen and Jack with him,
and join the boys for a round of games. He was a very good competitor. He
enjoyed singing. After the tennis playing, he would join the group that
had gathered around the piano and
provide some good harmony as they sang. That was fun for all-male and female, young and old!
He enjoyed being a
husband and father, proud and happy for his healthy, handsome little boy.