Saturday, September 4, 2010

Hope Dawn Gardiner (James) 1926 - 2004

Obituary: Dawn G. James

Published: Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004 12:00 a.m. MDT
Hope Dawn Gardiner James, 77, passed away October 11, 2004, at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center from complications relating to the cancer she had patiently and valiantly endured for 18 months.

Born to Frederick and Hope Hulet Gardiner on December 30, 1926 in Peterson, Utah, Dawn was raised in Malta, Idaho. She attended Albion Normal School in Albion, Idaho, and graduated in elementary education from Utah State University in 1949. She taught school in Park Valley, Utah from 1949 to 1951 and again from 1953 to 1954.

From 1951 to 1953, Dawn served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the West Central States Mission.

She married Sydney C. James on April 16, 1954, in the Logan Temple; they celebrated their 50th anniversary earlier this year. Dawn and Syd have one son and four daughters, born in Idaho, Utah, Oregon, New Mexico, and Iowa. The family spent 20 years in Ames, Iowa, before moving to Orem, Utah in 1983, where they have resided since.

Talented in the homemaking arts, Dawn particularly enjoyed baking, sewing, gardening, painting in oils and watercolor, reading, and doing family history and name-extraction work.
Besides fulfilling teaching and leadership positions in the LDS Church on the ward and stake levels, Dawn joined Syd in serving two missions as a senior couple. From 1994 to 1996, they served in Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri; from 1999 - 2001, they taught English to Doctors and medical professionals in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Vientiane, Laos.

She is survived by her husband; daughter Susan (Martin) Holman of Greenville, MA; son, Clair F. (Bernice) James of Blacksburg, VA; daughter, Cheryl (Scott) Taylor of Provo; daughter, LeAnn (Michael) Hunter of Lehi; daughter, Jennifer (Jonathan) Spell of Orem; 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She is also survived by siblings, James (Carol) Gardiner of Glendale, CA; Golden (Barbara) Gardiner of Malta; Mary Gardiner of Salt Lake; Gloria (Dean) Ottley of Quincey, WA; and Frank (Lillian) Gardiner of Provo. She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Robert H. Gardiner and a sister, Margaret Ottley.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, October 16, 2004, at 11:00 a.m., in the Sunset Heights LDS Stake Center, 1260 South 400 West, Orem. Friends may call at the Berg Mortuary of Provo, 185 East Center Street, Friday evening, from 6-8 p.m., or Saturday morning, at the Stake Center, one hour prior to services. Interment, Orem City Cemetery.

Note: Dawn did a lot of research on the Gardiner and Stewart lines.  He had the talent of really looking at family history information in a detailed, thoughtful way.  Kent


Hope Dawn Gardiner James
written by Sydney C. James, 2005
                                                                       
Dawn was born to Frederick and Hope Hulet Gardiner in Perterson, Morgan, Utah, 30 December 1926.  She was named after her mother, but never went by anything but Dawn, except on church or legal documents.  Later, after she married Sydney Carter James, she signed her name Dawn G. James.  Peterson was not the home of Fred and Hope and it is uncertain why they were there except for the birthing.  In fact, it is uncertain just where Fred and Hope considered their home on that date.  They established their first home at Meadow Creek, Cassia, Idaho, at the time of their marriage, 2 June 1920, in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Meadow Creek is located about 10 miles west of Malta, where they finally settled.  Fred homesteaded 160 acres at Meadow Creek prior to 1914 when he received the patent to it.  Subsequently he purchased another 380 acres in three parcels.  Hope came to Declo, Idaho, to teach school.  Declo is located west of Burley about 8 miles and north-west of Malta about 20 miles.  Hope had previously taught school in Peterson, Utah, but was persuaded to come to Declo in 1918 by her brother-in-law, Raymond Whittier, Hope’s older sister Opal’s husband, who was involved with the school system.  Hope first needed to certify by taking some courses at Albion Normal School, nearby.  During the summer of 1919 she taught a few students at Sublett, located just a few miles North of Meadow Creek and lived with the Welch family who were renting Fred’s ranch home at Meadow Creek.. After Fred and Home were married they lived at Sublett for a time and this is where their first child, James Hulet (JH), was born.  But, Fred was having financial difficulties and lost all of his land–the 160 acres he homesteaded plus 280 acres he had purchased prior to his marriage.  It was not the marriage that bankrupted him–it was the weather and thievery.  Fred had acquired a band of sheep and lost many of them in a spring storm at lambing time.  Next, 300 head were stolen, and there went his source of income.  This was also a period of economic hard times across the nation.  Just where Fred and Hope lived between 1922 and 1929 is unknown.  We know that Fred homesteaded a piece of land at Bridge, about 10 miles south of Malta.  And, he worked for Art Pierce in Malta and lived in a small house owned by him.  About 1929 he bought 120 acres on the west side of Hwy. 30S (now 81) next to Cassia Creek just south of the Malta’s civic center.  We know that Golden and Mary, the second and third children, were likewise born in Peterson.  So the family must have spent considerable time there–at least Hope did. It could be that Hope appreciated the larger house of her parents and the help provided by her mother and siblings.  Peterson also had much better medical support if needed.

Hope was raised until she was 15 years old in Summit, Iron, Utah.  Summit is just north of Cedar City (about 70 miles north of St. George).  This must have been a happy time for her because her memories often turned to that period of her life.  Her father, Sylvanus Cyrus Hulet, Jr., moved there with his father in 1873.  The Hulet’s had been called from Springville, Utah, by Brigham Young to help settle Saint George, Utah, in 1861.  Sylvanus married Mary Ida Dalley, a beauty living in Summit, 25 April 1883, in the St George Temple.  Shortly after their 4th child was born (Oscar S., Ida May, John, Edna) Sylvanus was called to Ohio, Pennsylvania and W. Virginia, on a church mission.  After his return Opal (1891), Hope (24 December 1893), Nephi (1895), Eleanor (1898), Verda (1901) Belva (1904), Thora (1906), and Howard (1908) were born.  During this time the family prospered greatly, owning land, over 2,200 sheep, cattle, horses, donkeys, chickens, etc.  A summer ranch was owned up in the mountains near Cedar Breaks called Deep Canyon.  This is where the family spent much of their summers. . But, for reasons unknown, maybe the heat and the fact that the children were moving away, Sylvanus sold it all in 1908 and bought a ranch in Peterson, Morgan, Utah.  Hope was 15 years old. At one time Hope owned several riding horses and cattle.  Peterson is now located about 25 miles SE of Ogden, Utah, just off I84.  Sylvanus encouraged his children to get good educations.  Hope, after finishing the 8th grade in Peterson, went to Ogden High School for one year and then dropped out of high school for about two years when her father contracted blood poisoning in his leg from a blister on his ankle.  Sylvanus later purchased a house in Logan so his children could go to school at the Agricultural College.  He took produce (including a milk cow) from his farm in Peterson to Logan in a wagon.  Hope studied three more years there, finishing her high school education.  Hope, much later finished the equivalent of two years of college through correspondence courses.  She taught school in Malta after her children were older. 

Thus, it seems quite natural that Fred and Hope would go to Peterson and stay extended periods during these early days of their marriage, particularly at the birth of a new child.  The Hulet’s home was large and spacious and they were always welcome.  It should be noted that Hope was a very good student and talented in music (piano).  She was a fine seamstress and a good cook.  It is understandable why Hope would not settle for anything less than a temple marriage.

Frederick’s background is not so orderly or clear as was Hope’s.  He was born in Salt Lake City 26 March 1879–14 years before Hope.  Both of Fred’s parents, Robert and Margaret Stewart Gardiner,  were born in Scotland where they joined the LDS church in 1855.  In SLC Robert was a baker and candy maker.  Fred helped with this trade during some of his early years.  In fact, it was necessary for Fred to drop out of school for a time to help support the family’s livelihood.  Robert had acquired a good business but had lost most of it during the depression of the 1890s.  In 1893 the record shows that Fred worked for Zion’s Co-operative Mercantile Institution and was a machinery operator.  It is not known if Fred ever finished the 8th grade, but there is record of him attending business school part time during 1898-1902.  Between1894 and 1898 he likely worked full or part time for Henry Sutton, James Marsh or James Wrathall as a sheep herder and/or camp mover in the Grantsville, Utah, area.  There is a record of him herding sheep in Summit County. Probably through connections with sheep men we find Frederick in Pocatello, Idaho, in 1908 and on Meadow Creek in 1910.  Perhaps it was the possibility of homesteading some property that attracted him there.  There is evidence that both he and his father did some prospecting for precious metals–perhaps a haunting past-time. Even though Fred didn’t attend church regularly we cannot say he was inactive or that he was unworthy.  Quite the contrary, he was baptized and ordained a deacon on schedule and ordained an Elder by his brother, Clarence, in 1920.  While Clarence was on his mission Fred helped pay for his expenses.  Frederick had nine brothers and sisters: Robert (1869), Margaret (1872), Violette (1874), William (1876), Clarence (1881), Eva (1883), Charles (1885), Adelaine (1889), and Beatrice (1891). 

When Fred and Hope acquired the Malta property just west of the main highway near the creek a small house was already there.  The foundation was poorly constructed with rocks and mortar which later fell apart.  Later there was a dugout basement under the kitchen with wood stairs leading down for the storage of canned fruit and raw vegetables.  This also was used to house the milk separator.  Construction of the house was not good–sawdust was used for insulation.  Due to its location near the  creek the basement was often flooded with the spring run off.  There were only three small rooms–kitchen, living room and bedroom. The roof was steep and a ladder was used to reach this space that was used for sleeping.  Conditions were primitive without indoor plumbing.  It is not known when they got electricity, but it would not have been prior to about 1940 when the REA came to town.  Heating was primarily by the wood burning cook stove.  Dawn remembers her Dad rattling the grates while taking out the ashes in the early morning hours. Substantial improvements to the house were not made until after Dawn had left home.  Indoor water and plumbing were first added in about 1948 and about 1968 a nice big room was added and the attic improved.  An oil burning stove was added for heat.  Thus, the children were packed in, nestling under heavy, but warm, home made quilts.

To Fred and Hope four more children were added to the family: Margaret (1929), Gloria (1931), Robert (1934), and Frank (1937); all born in Malta.  Robert lived only about six months.  That still left eight people (parents and six children) living together in a very small house. 

Just for a moment can you imagine keeping up with the laundry for this bunch.  More than one of the children would have been in diapers at the same time, and Hope without a washer.  The water would have been heated on the cook stove and the soap home made using lye (or ashes) and beef tallow.  The clothes were sometimes boiled to get them clean. When a washer became available much of the laundry was still done by hand.  Ironing was done with a “sad iron” heated on the kitchen stove.  These also were useful for heating a cold bed or to keep feet warm in a wagon or old car without a heater.

Food for this growing family was largely home grown with a big garden, beef, pigs, chickens and  milk cows.  Fruit was purchased by the bushel for canning.  Sometimes the relatives would bring things when they came for a visit.  Clothes were largely sewn at home, using whatever material was available–sometimes someone’s old dress or a printed flour sack.  Again, relatives helped out.  This was often a two way acquisition.  The basics of a typical meal would be home made bread and boiled potatoes.  Dawn said that when meal preparations were a little late her mother would say, “Put on the potatoes to boil, your Dad will be coming any minute and he will think food is on the way.”  To these basics there would always be milk to drink and fruit for desert.  Often there would be meat or eggs and vegetables.  Hope cooked largely without a recipe.  (But not Dawn, she had many recipes.)  

What did Dawn play with as a child?  I do not know.  I suppose that she played with her sisters and brothers doing simple things.  Surely she had a doll and a few of the typical toys other little girls had at the time.  Sometimes a stick or rock can be a great toy.  Add some water to dirt and it can become a cake.  But, I would think that Dawn’s mother Hope had a lot of ideas to keep her children occupied and happy.  I know she let them help cook.  She had been a teacher of the primary grades and undoubtedly had many things from her teaching.  Dawn and our children could find lots of things in the attic to keep them entertained for hours.  Toys there included ...?.  There is no indication that Dawn learned to ride horses, milked the cows, or was a tom-boy.  She was attached to the old treadle White sewing machine her mother acquired and did lots of sewing when she grew a little older. 
 
You would say this family was poor, and they certainly were by today’s standards–maybe by the standards of many during their time.  But, in terms of the community, and other communities in the vicinity, including Dawn’s future husband, Sydney James, theirs was not atypical.  They looked a lot like many of the other kids in their school.  How did they survive, you may ask?  The answer is that they learned to do without and enjoy the simple things.  They were busy surviving and they learned to cooperate and help each other.  The other children “mothered” the younger ones.  When the older children could get work out of the home they did so and shared their earnings.  Later on Hope went back to teaching school in Malta.  There are almost always some in a community who prosper and this was the case in Malta.  These persons often benefit from hiring others trying to get ahead.  This happened in Malta and the Gardiner family benefitted from part-time employment from neighbors.

Apart from the school, life in this small rural community revolved around the church.  It was not only a place of worship, but the center of their social lives. This is where dances were held and the first movies were shown. In a sense, the church, by default, became the civic center with its leaders playing a large role in civic affairs.  In those days there was not just Sunday worship (Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School were separated) but the Relief Society, Primary and Mutual Improvement Association (MIA) were held other days of the week.  For some this meant four or five trips the church each week.  The church, then, had various work project to help each other, produce welfare products, earn funds for new buildings or the ward budget, etc. The Gardiners were involved in all of this because they were an active family.

School for Dawn was a fun and exciting , as it is for the talented and gifted, and she was one of them–as were the whole family.  This can be partly attributed to her passion for books.  Her pile of reading certificates during grade school is high.  She admitted that she sometimes got so involved in her reading that she forgot to do some of her assigned tasks about the home.  She seldom missed school–supported by certificates of perfect attendance. Her course transcripts are full of As, a few Bs and one or two Cs–they were good enough to earn her “valedictorian” of her 1945  highschool graduating class.   
          
In addition to the public school education Dawn took LDS Church seminary during high school and graduated.  She also was active in 4-H projects sponsored by the Idaho Cooperative Extension Service.  It is not known how long she participated. 

Dawn received a Patriarchal Blessing from Frederick Hugh Ottley, Raft River Stake, in 1944 at the age of 17.  It was pronounced that she was of the lineage of Ephraim with all the attendant blessing of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  She was told that she would be a leader among the righteous daughters in Zion to help increase their faith..  Marvelous things would happen that she had never thought of.  She was to a comfort to her parents.  She was told to be careful in who she set her affections on as the prospect of her greatest exaltation.  If she walked the path of virtue and righteousness she would have success in life and would look back with satisfaction and forward with joy and heavenly hope.  She would be mindful of physical dangers as well as moral evils and would be permitted to fill out her full mission and purpose in the world and move on to the eternities of bliss and happiness that the Lord has promised to his faithful children.  Dawn was a worthy candidate for the fulfillment of these choice promises, and I trust she is there now after 77 years on earth.  (A full transcript of this blessing is attached.)
    
The dedication of the family to education is indicated by their achievements in higher education.  Of the six living children two received masters degrees, two became registered nurses, one a pharmacist, and one BS degree.  JH studied at Utah State Agricultural College after he was married, receiving a MS in Sociology.  However, he never worked in this field.  While in the military he was trained in radio-television technology and after college worked for NBC.  Golden received a MS in electrical engineering at the University of Utah and later took a job with the Rural Electrical Association in Malta, becoming its head.  Mary studied nursing at ?, worked for the LDS Hospital in SLC and for Dr. Cannon in private practice.  Gloria trained for nursing at ?, worked for the LDS Hospital in SLC before joining the Red Cross blood unit.  Frank studied pharmacology at ?, and worked in Southern California before moving to Utah where he worked for Allen’s Food Store.  Dawn first attended Albion Normal College for about one year before going to Utah State Agricultural College (later Utah State University) at Logan, Utah.  She graduated in 1949 with honors, being inducted into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.  She majored in Elementary Education and minored in Art.  While there she was active in Lama Delta Sigma and participated in snow sculpturing among other things. 


It is not known why Dawn took her first teaching job in the Box Elder County Schools at the two-teacher school in Park Valley in 1949.  Lael Carter was the other teacher.  The previous year the other teacher was Rowena, Lael’s wife, but she quit to have a baby.  Here Dawn had grades one through five.  Can you imagine doing that your first year out of college?  There were about 3-5 students in each grade.  During the summer Dawn took a class at Brigham Young University–I think in arts and crafts.  She came back to teach in Park Valley the following year.  The first year she made $2,410 and the next year $2,470. $30 was added to the base salary due to ‘isolation and remoteness’.  Dawn did an excellent job, with her students rating above the average for the county, including the city schools.  Dawn probably would have returned for the third year had she not accepted the call to serve her church as a missionary in the North Central States Mission with headquarters in Missoula, Montana.   Two years later at the end of her mission a petition by the parents of her students was waiting for her to teach again in Park Valley, which she did beginning in 1953.  That may have been her biggest mistake because the other teacher became Sydney C. James, whom she married 16 April 1954, and that ended her teaching career.  It was always a joy for Dawn to meet her former students who greeted her with fondness.  It was a happy time for her and her students.  Syd taught some of Dawn’s former students.

Missionary work was another passion of the Gardiner family.  Of the six living children four served full-time missions for the LDS Church.  Golden went to the Eastern States, Mary to New England (Maine), Dawn to the West Central States, Gloria to Argentina and Frank to the ?.  JH probably would have served a mission had it not been for the military and marriage.  He served his county in the ?.  Golden served in the Navy. 

One might ask, “How could they go to school and on missions when they were so poor?”  Well, it wasn’t easy, and took a lot of faith, hard work, dedication, and cooperation.  They learned to help each other.  All of them had worked and saved before they went on missions.  The GI Bill helped JH and Golden go to school.  During a couple of the years when they were students at Utah State they lived together in an apartment at 400 N. Main Street with the Lucas family.

Dawn’s mission was another highlight in her development.  She entered the mission home in SLC in July, 1951, expecting to be gone only 18 months.  But, the mission was short of missionaries and she was asked to extend 6 months, which she gladly did.  Personally, I think the president just wanted to keep her because of her superior ways.  This worked out well for her because she returned in time to begin teaching the fall of 1953.   Dawn’s bishop at the time of her call was Kenneth G. Carter, Syd’s uncle.  She was interviewed by Alma Sonne and set apart by Richard L. Evans in route by Union Pacific to Billings, Montana, to meet her mission president, Sylvester Broadbent.  (Note: I had to look through a lot of papers before I found that his first name was not President.)  Sister Helen Meldrum must have accompanied Dawn into the mission field from SLC.  They became very good friends.  Dawn’s first assignment was in Riverton Wyoming with Sister Vera Evans as her companions.  She was a good mentor for Dawn, giving her a good foundation in missionary work.  While there were some successes in finding people to teach it seemed that much of Dawn’s time was spent in the somewhat useless activity of knocking on doors.  Her other time was spent, like most other missionaries, in study; preparation meetings; cottage meetings; visiting members, investigators and friends; training and support meetings including conferences.  At the end of September, 1951, Dawn was transferred to Douglas to work with Sister Ardith Sudweeks.  (Note: She called me after Dawn’s funeral–now lives near the Provo Temple as a widow.)  Work continued much as it did in Riverton.  I might add that the effort by the missionaries was substantial, 70-80 hours per week. in missionary related activities. In the beginning Dawn mildly complained of the walking and tired feet, exposure to the elements and the lack of rest.  From time to time there was a package from home containing clothing and other things she needed.  After receiving some house slippers, scarf, stationary and church books she wrote, “My family are still the best people on earth as far as I’m concerned.”  

The middle of December brought transfers for Dawn, Sis. Sudweeks and Sis. Meldrum.  Douglas was being closed and Dawn was going to Rapid City in the Black Hills of South Dakota, via. Belle Fourche.  Meldrum would stay there and Dawn would move on to R.C. to become Sis. Adelaide Weaver’s companion.  It is interesting that Dawn spent her first night with the Kiholms (Branch President), a place Syd had been to several times.  On Monday they moved on to Rapid City.   Dawn commented on how beautiful the Black Hills are in the winter time–a perfect setting for Christmas.   Rapid City was the first place Syd was sent to after he went to the Western States Mission in 1948.  Dawn mentioned visiting some of the same people he did who still were good friends but not interested in joining the church.  On Sunday, December 30 Dawn celebrated her 25th birthday at Sis. Mabel Thomas’s house with cake and ice-cream, after which Dawn gave a talk in church.  On March 3 Dawn received another transfer, this time to Belle Fourche.  This assignment included several little nearby towns, including Sturgis, Lead, Deadwood and Spearfish. This was a tough period for Dawn, primarily because she contracted a cold or the flu and had a hard time getting rid of it.  It lasted two or three weeks or longer.  It left her physically drained and somewhat discouraged.  Nevertheless, she kept working.  Overall Belle Fourche was a good experience and she made lots of friends.  Sister Meldrum stayed with her until Betty Barnes replaced her on August 1, after five months together.  On July 17th she wrote, “Received the greatest shock since coming out; a letter from my mother telling me of the death of Margaret’s and Dean’s baby, Forrest Dean, – who lived only two days.” 

I, Syd, will insert here that it was when Dawn went to the Black hills that I started writing to her. At the time I was in Huntington, Utah, south of Price, doing practice teaching in Vocational Agriculture.  The connection is this.  I came from my mission in August, 1950–a month early because Dad had an operation and could not ride a horse to gather the cattle.  But, I did not meet Dawn until later.  I was busy when school started and eager to get back into school at Utah State Agricultural College.  I had finished two years before my mission to the Western States.  At that time I was assigned to work in the Black Hills at Rapid City.  I continued there for 14 months, including 4 months on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation before being transferred to Durango, Colorado.  Before being released the mission was split with the creation of the West Central States Mission, and the Black Hills went with it–also parts of Wyoming.  Thus, I had a good excuse to write to this person I hardly knew.  But, I knew of her from my Uncle Kenneth, her bishop, and my mother who cooked the school lunch at Park Valley.  How could I resist?  We almost met in Logan.  When she rented at the Lucas’s in 1947-48 I went there for breakfast and dinner from just across the street.  But, at that time I had another Dawn that I was courting.  After Dawn’s death I found those letters all tied up in a bundle.  Also, I ran across some letters received from former companions asking about me.  Maybe, I made a good impression on her.  I don’t know about that but I do remember being excited to go see her in August, 1853, after her return and my finishing ROTC summer camp. 

Dawn stayed in the Black Hills until November 26, 1952, when she was transferred to Helena, Montana, with a new companion, Birchall Bundy.  Also, it was during this time that Dawn received an extension to her mission call for another 6 months.  Of course, she accepted–even to stay in cold Montana for the winter.  A month later Dawn went to a conference in Butte and had a wonderful time.  Pres. And Sis. Broadbent were there.  He expressed appreciation for her staying longer, and Dawn responded that she had more than been repaid.  On Dawn’s 26th birthday she received another transfer to Missoula, Montana to be a companion to Patricia Shumway.  Elder Rex L. Lee was her District Supervisor.  There was discouragement and confusion during the period around March 15.  It seems that Sis. Shumway was being transferred and Dawn was without a “real” companion for awhile. She wrote to Elder Poulton, her supervisor, “The incidents of the last week have produced a confused state of mind that makes it hard to express my true feelings.  Sister Shumway’s transfer was quite a blow to me; I feel like I’d lost my right arm.  She is a wonderful person and I feel privileged to have been her companion.”   A local convert went with her a few times.  Then,  I do not know what happened because Dawn didn’t write in her journal for a couple of weeks.  Her journal contains several periods when nothing was written, just empty pages waiting for nothing better to do, and I guess it didn’t happen..  Dawn later Dawn wrote, “I think I can say this has been the most unusual month of my mission, and one of the most valuable to me.  I have been forced to take a survey of myself and I didn’t approve of all I’ve found.  So I’m going to try to do something about it.”  Then she tells of a wonderful tracting experience.  Her new companion was a Sister Barnes (42 and unmarried) from Lewiston, Idaho.  From here on Dawn’s missionary journal is silent.  She was honorably released from her mission June 28, 1953.   Even though there were days of struggle and discouragement Dawn’s missionary experience was a highlight in her life. She not only strengthened her testimony of the gospel and learned to teach its principles but learned how to get along with companions and meet people in many different circumstances.  By nature Dawn was reserved and quiet, hiding many of her real talents.  She was an excellent speaker, when forced into it.  Those things learned in the mission carried over into life with a husband and children, making her a better wife and mother.  It carried over into the many church callings of responsibility she would receive.  She became a solid citizen in God’s earthly kingdom to the very end, never wavering and usually upbeat. 

For a more complete and personal account of Dawn’s missionary experiences you may want to read her missionary journal, and look at other preserved records.

Dawn had only a couple of months to rest and get ready to teach school again in Park Valley.  A petition by the parents was waiting that would have been difficult to turn down.  School would have started near the beginning of September, and she would again live in the Lawrence G. And Emma Kunzler Carter home-hotel.  Her meals were prepared by Emma.  The bathroom was the same one used by the family.  There was running water in the home provided from a well with a pump and pressure tank.  Dawn’s room was without running water and heated with a little wood burning stove, as there was not a furnace installed.  She walked a quarter of a mile to school.  After her mission this must have seemed but a small distance.  She taught grades 1 through 4. 

The other teacher at the Park Valley school was to have been a fellow who had married Barbara Burton.  I do not remember whether he started teaching or not, but about that time I, Syd, received a visit from the Box Elder County School District asking me to become the teacher of the other grades, 5th, 7th and 9th, and also be the principal.  I explained that I had a reserve USAF commitment for two years and didn’t know when the call would come, but if they were willing to accept that I would be pleased to do so.  Barbara’s husband had taken a job at the Indian School in Brigham City.  My visit with him was not impressive and I was glad Dawn didn’t have to put up with his slovenly ways.  So, this is how the story unfolds of how Dawn and Syd got together–it may have taken place otherwise, given that both of us were old enough, liked each other and living in the same community.  I knew that with our commitments to the gospel everything else would work out alright.  A near miracle happened when the Air Force was gracious enough to write a letter near the beginning of 1954 asking when I wanted to begin my service.  I explained my situation and received a call to begin service as soon as school was over.  They didn’t know they were an accomplice to our courtship.  When Valentine’s Day rolled in Syd was ready to ask Dawn on bended knee to be his eternal companion, and she accepted.  This was on a Friday or Saturday and Sunday was Stake Conference in Garland.  There were many oohs and ahs by the townspeople.  You can understand that there was much teasing.  But, I think it was not a great surprise–a story that would be told over and over.  We were married in the Logan Temple the 16th of April with both our families present. 

On our return from a short honeymoon to Craters of the Moon and Boise, Idaho we stopped in Burley to window shop at the Chevrolet dealership.  We were hooked on a 4-door red car and signed with GMAC to pay for it with anticipated earnings.  It happened just that way, but we were convinced there must be a better way of buying things–cash.  Often,  items can be purchased cheaper for cash, interest increases the cost and there are no interest receipts from savings.  Actually, it turned out to be a good thing in that the car Syd received from his folks that was used as a trade had a cracked engine. 

Our first apartment was in the Carter hotel, a small unit that Lael and Rowena had lived in.  There was no running water but we had access to the family friendly bath room, and there was a path as well.  We were comfortable and happy.  Celebrations ended with a big dance that was well attended by many from the surrounding communities.  But, it didn’t end when most every one went home.  The chivaree ended at Syd’s Uncle Jess and Aunt Beth’s house with oyster soup.  When we got home after the cock had crowed we found our bed full of corn flakes and jam smeared around.  It was up to Ma Carter’s we went for a late breakfast and rest before the cleanup began. 

I’m not sure that Dawn ever really liked that red car.  You see, she became pregnant before we left for San Antonio, Texas, where Syd would process into the Air Force.  The red car and the red scenery through Southern Utah and New Mexico were almost too much for her “morning sickness.”  The time in San Antonio would not have been so bad if it hadn’t happened that the pregnancy was terminated there with an abortion.  The weather was hot and humid, and the swamp cooler we rented didn’t help much.  We stayed in a small motel room during our 30-day plus stay there.  But, we were together and that meant a lot to us. 

1946 Utah State Univ Buzzer yearbook:

1948 Utah State Univ, Delta Club Buzzer yearbook


1949 Utah State Univ:





Research:
2011
Dawn died 11 October 2004 and not 5 October. Jennifer was born 4 July 1969 in Ames, Story, Iowa. My genealogy data base is split into several parts and I may not have recorded Dawn's death in all of them (James, Carter, Goodliffe, Gardiner, Heulet). Thanks for the things you are doing.
S.

Kent,
 I have"Life Histories of Hope Hulet Gardiner and Frederick Gardiner," written by Hope and edited by Mary and Gloria; "Historical Notes, Writings and Geneologies pertaining to Frederick Gardiner and to Hope Hulet after she became a Gardiner," compiled by Dawn and Sydney James; "Gardiner Family Histories";  and Dalley Family Histories," by William and Ann Davis. And, I think I have a compilation of Hulet short histories written by various sisters of Hope. It is interesting that the same story sometimes takes on a different twist of events.

I gave all of Dawn's genealogy notes to Nate including the roller book case I built for Dawn to keep them in. He has a copy of everything I have, as do M and G.

Best regards,
S


I attached an article from the Deseret News in Salt Lake.  The article is written by Scott Taylor -- he writes a lot for the Church News and the Deseret News.  He used to be one of the sports editors.  He is married to Cheryl James (Sid James and Dawn Gardiner James' daughter).  He lived across the hall from me at Helaman Halls as a freshman at BYU.  Cheryl lived in Helaman Halls as well.  Scott's grandmother, Etta Taylor from Almo, Idaho, taught my dad in grade school and she taught Nathan and I in the 4th grade at Malta as well.  He was released a year or two ago as a stake president in Provo. C



Family links:
 Parents:
  Frederick Gardiner (1879 - 1960)
  Hope H. Gardiner (1893 - 1988)
Burial:
Orem City Cemetery
Orem
Utah County
Utah, USA












Research:

Eli M. Oboler Library
Idaho State University
850 South 9th Avenue
Pocatello, Idaho 83209-8089
Phone: (208) 282-2958
Fax: (208) 282-5847

The following items are located in the Oboler Library: