Alda Caroline Swensen Lindstrom

When she was about two years old, the family moved to Mammoth, Utah, where her father earned his living leasing in the mines or sorting ore.

She attended school In Mammoth until 1914. The Commencement Exercises were held Tuesday evening May 29th at 8 p.m. at the L.D.S. Meeting House. As her part In the exercises, she sang the song "When I Dream of Home and Mother and of You. " She later tells the story of how terribly afraid she was to get up in front of that audience and sing alone. Her class mates were: Robert Kurtz; Ernest Andrus; Sterling Mikesell; Wm. Berquist; Lois Harding,, Eliza Steedman; Maude Houghton; Anna Jamison; Marvel Cowen; Ethel Bush; Jessie Hassell and Florence Smith (who later became her sister-in-law).

Her schooling was completed two and a half years later by attending high school in Eureka, Utah. The high school was located next to where the Tintic High School now stands. She rode in a ' horse-drawn bus --She and about 20 classmates--The weather was oft times very cold and miserable.

When they first arrived In Mammoth, they lived in a house high on a hill behind the church in Middle Town. Later they moved to Upper Town where Grandma ran a boarding house.

Her dearest and closest friend was Jessie Hassell, whose father ran a saloon and movie theater. She and Jessie used to sell and collect tickets at the movies. Jessie was hard of hearing and she called Mom her second pair of ears. Alter finishing school, she worked for a lady named Mattle Richards Hill Bard.

On the 24th of November, 1917, her sister Bessie died of Diptheria (in those days called Membranous Croupe). Their home was quarantined and the children weren't allowed to either attend the funeral or the burial. Uncle Lafe and Aunt Marie accompanied the body on the train to Moroni for burial. Grandma and Grandpa went by car from Eureka with a Mr. Conover who ran a car service as cars were very few in those days.

The mines closed down shortly after World War I started and Grandpa and Grandma Swensen moved to Freedom, Utah. Five acres of ground was given to Grandmother, by her mother, Maria Lauritzen Jensen, where they had a farm, orchard and dairy cattle. Grandpa started peddling fruit and meat and delivering them as far north as Tintic and Ely, Nevada.

At this time (1918-1919) Mom went to Salt Lake and lived with her sister, Dora, for about 18 months. She was living with Dora when Bernice and Irene were born. She also worked at Franklin's--a confection shop, located at 268 South Main Street, (later known as Keeleys).

One day In November, 1918, Mom was standing on the corner waiting for the trolley to take her to work, but the trolley never came, so she walked from 4th North and 5th West (that's where Dora lived at the time), to downtown Salt Lake. When she arrived in town, she found out World War I had ended, an Armistice was signed, and everyone was celebrating.

Around Christmas time in 1919, she and her sister, Kessie, went back to Mammoth to visit old friends. She to visit Jessie Hassell and Kessie to visit Louise Webb.

It was at this time she met her future husband (August Ivan Lindstrom- my father). Dad and his brother, Bert, were mining In Mammoth and boarding with Mrs. Webb. The story goes that Dad said to Bert - "See that young girl over there, she is going to be my wife, " and sure enough, a few months later, she indeed became his wife. Mom returned back to Salt Lake and she and Dad corresponded for several months. Later Dad came to Garfield, Utah to visit his brothers Al and Dave. He picked up Mom and took her to Garfield [Slat Lake co.]to visit her future in-laws. Al and Dena and Dave and Clara. Once again he returned back to Mammoth. In May he came to Salt Lake and he and Mother were married at the Court House - 5 May 1920 - by Brigham S. Young.

After marriage, they returned to Dad's birthplace and hometown of Santaquin, Utah and resided there until after their first child was born, my brother, Carl, born 29 January 1921.

After an unsuccessful try at farming on the East Bench near Santaquin, he, Mom and Carl returned once again to Mammoth where 1, Evelyn, was born, 7 April 1922. We lived in Mammoth from then on, from 1922 to 1935, except one summer in 1927 when Dad and Uncle Bert did carpenter work In Stockton, Utah, when there was a slowdown of work in the mines.

In 1924, Dad and Uncle Bert (married Florence Smith) were leasing at the Grand Central Mine when they struck a rich vein of ore. We purchased our first new car - a 1924 Model T. We took a trip to Zion's and Bryces' Canyon, of which I have no recollection, as I was only two years old.

But I do remember the trips to Freedom when we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Swensen. We'd leave Mammoth on a Saturday night right after dad finished work and drive as far as Santaquin and spend the night with Grandpa and Grandma Lindstrom. Then we'd get an early start Sunday morning for our trip to Freedom. Dad would drop Mom, Carl and I off in Freedom and then he would head back to Mammoth.

In those days, there was no paid vacations and they worked six days a week. We usually stayed in Freedom about two weeks.

I remember Grandpa and I sitting at the kitchen table eating bread and milk and sliced ham by a kerosene lamp. Also turning by hand the cream separator, it seemed like hours. Also turning by hand the old washing machine of Grandma's and ironing the clothes with the flat irons that had to be heated on the coal stove.

I remember picking the good June apples from Grandma's Orchard, plus how I used to love the gooseberries. What fun we used to have, when we'd go up to Maple Canyon, either on a picnic or to attend the Jensen Reunion, how all we cousins used to fight over who was going to ride on the tailgate of Grandpa's truck when we went to the canyon. I remember how anxiously we waited for Grandpa to come home from Moroni to Freedom - he always brought us candy bars, and for himself a bag of mints.

As this is written (1977) Mom is now 78 years old and has been widow for 34 years. Dad passed away 19 July 1943. It was a great loss when my Father died. I loved him very much, I only hope I can live up to the honesty and integrity he taught me. In my eyes, he was the greatest of men. I am very thankful to have had such wonderful parents and a great heritage.

They leave a posterity as follows-

Two children- Carl Ivan Lindstrom, married to Bertha Talbot
Evelyn Lindstrom, married to Wm. Foster "Pete" Crenshaw

Five grandchildren: James Ivan Lindstrom, Irene Lindstrom Losee,
Vickie Lindstrom Nielsen, Carl Dee Lindstrom
Jon Gary Crenshaw, deceased, unmarried

NOTE: [by Vickie 2001] There are also ten great grandchildren and ten great-great-grandchildren.

© 2001 Vickie L Nielsen and family
Submitted by Vickie