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Brigham Harold Spackman and Eva Housmann

B. Harold Spackman (1890-1953)

Harold was born 3 November 1890 in Lewiston, Cache, Utah to an English immigrant father (Brigham Spackman) and a Utah-born mother (Laura Ellen Pitkin). He grew up on a family farm in Lewiston, where he learned to work hard, often carrying more than his share of responsibility. For a time, he also worked at a sugar factory. At the age of twenty, he moved with his parents to Lund, Idaho where he became his father's right-hand man in farming new land.

In Lund, Harold became involved in community theater and it was there that he met Eva Housmann. They were married 3 August 1912 in Pocatello. At first they lived on his parents' farm and then later bought one of their own. During their fifteen married years in Lund, five daughters were born. Harold worked hard, but found it increasingly difficult to keep his farm going and help take care of his father's place. Harold had no sons and he was determined not to turn his daughters into farm hands. In 1927, they sold the farm and moved to Pocatello.

Harold worked for Texaco Oil for ten years, then ran a gas station for his son-in-law. Later on he worked for Kraft Foods.

A tall, good-looking man, Harold was also good-natured and had a sense of humor. His family was important to him. For years, he would get all of his children and grandchildren together for holiday celebrations and picnics. Almost weekly, he made the rounds to visit their families. He would come into the home dancing a soft shoe and singing "Where Did You Get That Hat?" He danced with his grandchildren and told them stories.

Harold was not a church-going man, but he faithfully read his scriptures every Sunday. During the week, his passion was listening to the "Lone Ranger" program on the radio. He passed away 16 April 1953 in Pocatello, Idaho from a heart ailment. He was sixty-two.

See history of Brigham Spackman and Laura Ellen Pitkin

Eva Housmann (1895-1969)

Eva Housmann, daughter of Andreas Housmann and Margaretha Bauer, was born 27 February 1895 at Center Creek, Wasatch, Utah. Eva's early life took place on farms in Utah and at Millburne, Wyoming where her German immigrant parents struggled to make a life in a new country. Her father died when she was only eleven years old. Her mother later remarried and moved the family to Lund, Idaho. As a teenager in Lund, Eva worked at the general store and was active in the local community theater. It was there that she met Harold Spackman. When they married 3 August 1912, Eva was seventeen and Harold was twenty-two.

The first fifteen years of their marriage were spent in Lund where Eva took on the duties of a farmer's wife and cared for her dying mother-in-law. She bore five daughters: Thora, Gretta, Laura, Beth and Marjorie. In 1927, the family gave up farming and moved to Pocatello.

Eva was known to be kind, generous, pleasant and hard working. She worked along side her husband at a gas station on 5th Avenue where she ran the cafe. For many years, she worked at the Bidwell Motel where she cleaned rooms and ran the switchboard. Eva was always ready to help people. Several of her children, grandchildren and other relatives lived with her at different times. She was a gardener and could often be seen among her vegetables and flowers wearing her big straw hat. Eva did embroidery and crocheting. In later years, she often donned slacks and went fishing. Visitors to her home went away with a milk carton in which a fish had been frozen in a block of ice. The Spackman home on 5th Avenue was located next to Idaho State University. It was eventually purchased by the school and replaced by a parking lot.

Harold died when Eva was fifty-eight. During the next five years, Eva lived alone and spent time with her sisters, Lena and Barbara, who were also widows. On 8 February 1958, she married Russell Yardley in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the age of seventy-four, Eva passed away on 15 August 1969 in Pocatello, Bannock, Idaho. She suffered from lung problems.

See history of Andreas Christian Housmann and Margaretha Bauer

The Children

  1. Thora Mae Spackman (1913-2006) md. George Roy Martz and 1 other
  2. Gretta Spackman (1914-2000) md. Tim K. Pugmire
  3. Laura Ellen Spackman (1917-2003) md. Otho Lewis Raymond and 1 living
  4. Eva Beth Spackman (1923-2005) md. Kenneth Lovell McCarron
  5. Marjorie Spackman (1924-1999) md. Frederick LeRoy Bidwell


Spackman Family Photo:     (Front) Eva, Harold, Thora;   (Back) Gretta, Laura, Beth, Marjorie

Sources

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