Fay and Lew Edison in front; their sons (L to R) Alan, Hal, and Monte in back.

History of L. Hal Edison

Husband of Alice Nelson Edison

Written in the year 2000.

Four score and a year ago I was born in Logan, Utah, 24th of August 1919, at the old Budge Hospital.  At this time we were living in Hyrum, Utah, where we resided until 1935.  Growing up in a small town was a wonderful experience with everyone knowing everyone and caring for each other in a special manner.  My father was Lewis Milton Edison and my mother Farrell Priscilla Evans Edison, commonly known as Fay.  We lived next door to Grandma and Grandpa Edison.  Their home has been torn down but our home is still standing and is being lived in.  I had two brothers, Alan Bud and Monte Clifton Edison.  Bud died in April 1943 and Monte died in June 1998.  We had a happy childhood playing games, swimming, attending church functions and Boy Scouts, hiking and many other wholesome activities.

Weather seemed to be more predictable in those days.  Winter was always cold with plenty of snow; spring was wet, muddy and refreshing; summers were hot, windy and dusty; and we looked forward to autumn with beautiful fall foliage and nature at its very best.  Some years we had Indian summers.

We had many swimming holes in the river bottoms where the Hyrum Dam is located.  We'd walk about a mile, all downhill, swim and bask in the sun on the beaches (some were even sandy); then head back, all uphill, be tired, unrefreshed, but ready to do it again on the next day.

My grandparents were dairy farmers.  I found out rather early that I didn't want to be one of them.  I didn't like to pitch hay, milk cows, clean the foul smelling barns, or even pick raspberries, especially on the mornings of the 24th of July.

We looked forward to the holidays:  Easter, Memorial Day, the 4th and the 24th of July.  We always had a program on Memorial Day with a prominent person speaking, the graves being covered with home-grown flowers and many people coming back to visit.  The parades on the 4th and 24th of July were something we always looked forward to in Logan and Hyrum.  The hot dogs and the hamburgers never tasted better.  The next day, after the concession stands were taken down, we would search through the dirt and grass for money and other valuables.  It would be a great thrill to find a nickel, dime or quarter.

I attended Lincoln Elementary School for 8 years and graduated in 1933.  The teachers were wonderful and caring.  I liked all the ones that taught me, Lila Eliason, Hilda Olson, Jenny Brown, Connie Peterson, Bill Bailey, and the Principal S. A. Dunn.  In the fall I enrolled at South Cache High School and started looking for a job.  We were right in the middle of the Depression but I secured employment at the American Food Store.  I worked after school sacking 10-pound bags of potatoes out of 100-pound bags.  I enjoyed this much better than farming.  My favorite subject in high school was history and my favorite teacher was my history teacher, C.L. Hall.  We had two excellent seminary teachers, J. Karl Wood and M.J. Smith.  Edward G. Payne and H.E. Kellett were exceptional math teachers, but they couldn't do much for me.  Mr. Payne was Bud's tennis coach and I had a lot of respect for him.  Our principal was Hugh Adams.  Flash Nielsen and Deb Young were coaches and great athletes in their own right.

I left South Cache High School after my sophomore year.  We moved to Logan in 1935 when Bud enrolled at Utah State Agricultural College.  I attended Logan High for my junior and senior years.  I kept my job in Hyrum, commuting on the Utah-Idaho Railway Friday afternoons and returning home on the Greyhound bus Saturday night.  This was a rigid schedule, but having a job during the Depression was something to hold onto.

Dad in the grocery business, working as a salesman for Nelson Ricks Creamery Company, then owned his own poultry and egg business.  At the start of the Depression he lost everything when the Ogden State Bank closed.  We didn't go hungry, but it was hard going.  At one time Dad worked for the WPA.  We ate our share of chicken and I remember Dad catching the chicken, cutting its head off, and the headless chicken getting away and running all over the back yard until it expired.  Then he would put it in a pail of boiling water and then pull the feathers out.  Mother would cook the chicken and we would eat the whole thing, even the neck.

When we were growing up in Hyrum, going to the movies and seeing all the cowboy shows was one of my favorite things to do.  Hoot Gibson, Fred Thompson, Ken Maynard, Warner Baxter were some of my favorite cowboys along with Tom Mix 'N Cement, or was it Tony?  There were no baritones or tenors or guitars: just a cowboy, a bad guy, a girl and a horse.  It was the horse that generally got kissed at the end of the show.  We also looked forward to the California Tent Players: the big tent and the great actors.  Floyd Morgan was very good.  He later became Prof. Morgan at the Utah State Agricultural College.  There were melodramas, mysteries, comedies, and probably love stories.  The Elite Hall was used for roller skating and dancing and at Christmas time some of the organizations or clubs would pass out little bags of candy, an apple or an orange.  These were welcome gifts.

I made a whole new group of friends at Logan High although it was difficult changing schools.  After graduating from high school, I decided to stay out of school a year.  Bud and I rented an apartment in the building just north of the post office.  Mother and Monte had gone to Spanish Fork to take care of Grandpa Evans.  I was now working in the Logan American Food Store.  A few of us decided we weren't making enough money so we went on strike.  Only one of our group showed up for work the following Monday; he later became mayor of Logan.  I was now out of a job, but soon found work picking tomatoes for an agent, in fields south of Logan.  At the end of the season I went to work for Earle Stone at Stone's Food Store.  I worked for Earle until I was drafted into the Army on 16th March 1942.

In September 1938 I enrolled at Utah State Agricultural College as a freshman.  Mother and Monte returned to Logan and we resided at 165 N. 200 West.  In the mornings I would catch the bus on the corner of 200 N. Main, attend classes; then walk down to the Sears Building where Stone's Food Store was attached to the north end of the building, and work until the store closed.  I would then go home and try to study.  For entertainment we would go to picture shows at the Capitol, Roxy, Lyric and Gem theaters.  We also attended church on Sundays, and we would have a tasty roast beef dinner Sunday afternoon to give us strength for the coming week.

On March 16, 1942, Max Wadsworth, George Peterson, myself, and many others boarded the Utah-Idaho Central Railway at the corner of 100 S. Main and headed for Fort Douglas, Utah.  We had been drafted.  George and Max talked about joining the paratroopers.  I was reluctant but before we went to Camp Roberts for basic training, George had backed out and Max and I had signed up.  After 13 weeks of basic training I was given an emergency furlough to visit Dad, who was ill, and when I returned to Camp Roberts, California [near Monterrey], Max had been given an emergency furlough to visit his sick dad in Los Angeles, California.  One morning while I was in NCO school, they called out my name and told me to get my gear and board the train heading for Fort Benning, Georgia to start my paratroop training.  As it turns out, the reluctant one was the only one to go!

The men I had trained with had gone the previous week, and just like in high school, I had to make new friends all over again.  We trained and made our five jumps to qualify and receive our wings as full-fledged paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne, 505th Regiment.  I received a furlough to go home and visit the family before going overseas.  This was the last time I was to see Bud alive as he died soon after.

I signed up for Officers Training School but my application was frozen due to the fact that our unit was ready to go overseas.  We left Fort Benning for Fort Bragg, North Carolina and trained there for a few weeks, making some jumps, and then we were on our way to Camp Edwards, Massachusetts.  This was an embarkation point and on 10th of May 1943, we boarded the USS Monterey at Staten Island.  We were in the biggest convoy of ships thus far to go overseas and we made a huge target for the German U Boats.  One night at midnight we were alerted to put on our Mae West lifejackets and be ready to go overboard, as the convoy had sighted some U Boats.  This made me realize why I didn't want any part of the Navy!  We docked at Casablanca, North Africa on the 26th of May.  We were welcomed with shouts from our own troops:  "Go on home!  What are you doing here?  The war's over!"  They were right.  The war had ended in North Africa but was just starting in Europe.  Our trip was not in vain.

We boarded a train bound for Oudja, North Africa, where we would set up camp and receive further training prior to our jump into Sicily.  We slept in tents under the clear blue North African skies.  The desert was our training ground, but not very friendly at times.  Standing in line for chow, with our mess kits open, the wind would start up and cover our food with a thin layer of Sahara desert sand (if you don't know what that would do to your system, you'll just have to guess).  Notwithstanding the miserable desert training and worrying about the jump, I received a telegram, on the 20th of May, of Bud's tragic death.  You would have had to have been in my situation to know the effect my brother's death had on me, but something I hadn't expected happened.

   Communication with home was done by way of V-Mail, which was like sending telegrams.  I didn't write home much while I was in the service and I got very few letters from home.

     Our pay in the army was $21 per month, from which was deducted $3 for cleaning our uniforms, so we received $18 per month.  However, paratroopers received $50 extra pay.  My pay was sent home to my mother, who deposited it in the bank.  I had $1200 when I got out of the service; without asking my mother had paid tithing on it.

I had been training as a member of a 30 mm light machine gun crew.  One day Jack Gavin, no relation to our regimental commander James Gavin, came down to camp to see me.  He was 1st sergeant of Headquarters Company.  He was looking for a clerk and asked me if I would be interested.  I told him that I would consider it a fine promotion for me, and accepted.  I was promoted from Private First Class to Corporal, and given a Thompson sub-machine gun to jump with.

We jumped into Sicily on July 10th at 12:37 a.m. and missed our drop zone by 40 miles.  Later we found out that this was fortunate inasmuch as Company A 1st Battalion had landed right on target and the Germans were waiting to ambush our troops, and they did.  The enemy must have known that we were coming ahead of time.  The next night the 504th Division jumped and we thought they were Germans and started shooting at our own men.  Our Navy shot down some of our planes.  The gliders had a difficult time landing and many were destroyed.  The casualties were heavy and as a result all airborne operations were called off.  The Italian troops were cowards, always shooting someone and then raising a white flag or their arms, and then surrendering.

We marched on through Sicily seeing many villages destroyed but meeting little resistance.  We returned to Oudja to prepare for our jump into Italy.  We now had a foothold and the battle into Europe was underway.

During this period I came down with a high fever, chills, and a miserable backache.  I was diagnosed as having sand fly fever, a form of malaria, and to this day my blood is not accepted at the blood banks.

On September 14th, at 23:30 hour, we jumped into the toe of Italy.  On the 1st of October we were the first troops to enter Naples.  The enemy had set time bombs in many buildings, including the post office, and these bombs would detonate periodically, destroying the buildings, killing and injuring many civilians and servicemen.  This was another cowardly and dirty war tactic.  At this time the Anzio beachhead was being secured and the 504th Regiment was called upon to help in this bloody and dangerous battle.  We were fortunate to miss this action.  On November 18th at 17:15 we sailed out of Naples Harbor heading for Ireland.

On the 8th of December we arrived at Belfast, Ireland, and then boarded a train for Cookstown.  We were there until February 11th, 1944, when we left for Quorn, England, to prepare for the Normandy invasion.  We arrived in Camp Quorn on the 15th.  We trained hard and made a few practice jumps.

A tragic accident happened on the 12th of May, as Fred Freeland and I were coming back to camp on a bicycle.  As we were about a mile from camp, all downhill, an English taxi came up over a hill and hit us head-on.  Fred was riding on the bar and was thrown off, uninjured, but I was hit in the chest by the fender.  I received a punctured lung and two or three broken ribs.  An ambulance arrived from camp shortly, and I was given a shot of morphine.  This helped my breathing and I was transported to a hospital where I stayed for a month.  This is why I missed the Normandy invasion.  Later on, after an investigation, it was determined that we could have made camp on time.  This saved us from being AWOL and not receiving our pay and allowances for this period.

On June 18th I rejoined my unit.  We were planning for the Holland invasion.  This would be the first daylight jump.  On September 20th we took off at 10:20 and jumped into the town of Groosbeek at 13:06.  We encountered no resistance as the town had been evacuated.  We set up camp in a wooded area outside of town and commenced to dig our foxholes as the Germans had started shelling the crossroads hoping to hit our vehicles and tanks.  We had some worry, other than being hit ourselves, as an abandoned ammunition train of four or five cars was to our side.  If it had been hit we would all have been blown to smithereens.  Luckily it wasn't.  At this stage of my army service I was company clerk in the Headquarters company.

The first of two fateful events happened to one of my two best friends during this invasion.  Jack Gavin had been given a battlefield promotion to Second Lieutenant.  As he was directing his men to shoot anything that moved in front of them, he became disoriented in the dark.  He accidentally walked in front of them and he was shot and killed.  We moved on to Nijmegan and on September 29th the bridge was blown up.

When the invasion ended we returned to Rheims, France, preparing for the final push into Germany, but the Battle of the Bulge got in the way.  We did get a leave to go to Paris for a few days.  And I got to ride in a glider for the first time.  When the glider is cut loose from the plane everything becomes still and quiet and the wind is the only sound you hear.

We returned to camp and were enjoying a movie one Sunday night when the lights in the theater came on and we were given 15 minutes to get our gear and be on the trucks ready to move out.  This was December 17th and the start of the Battle of the Bulge.  We rode all night passing through Bastogne on our way to the front.  Meanwhile the Germans cut off Bastogne as the 101st Airborne Division approached.  General McAullif was given the command by the Germans to surrender and he yelled back "Nuts!"

We were way out in front of everyone.  The conditions were terrible.  Frigid cold, hard to maintain equipment, difficult to travel, and the German command was saying, "Take no prisoners."  During this time Fred Freeland, my other friend, was a guide for Company F.  While leading his platoon he stepped on a land mine and was killed instantly.

After this last ditch effort by the Germans failed we were ready for the kill.  We went through the Hurtgen Forest along the Elbe River, passing by Cologne, Germany, with the cathedral being the only standing structure, the remainder of the town having been flattened.  We could still hear the buzz bombs heading for London and this was a reminder that the war was still ongoing.  The Germans surrendered on the 8th of May.  We were in Ludwigslust, Germany, and had met the Russians there.  They offered us vodka.  I imagine it was like drinking gasoline.  There was a small concentration camp in town with bodies all over the place.  The townspeople were made to dig graves, bury the bodies, have a short service, stand at attention with their hats off, and pay respect to those who had perished.

Lt. Colonel Norton, the Division G-3 Plans and Training Officer, asked if I would like to go to Berlin.  I declined, thinking 3-1/2 years was long enough to serve.

On June 1st I left for Camp Sissone, France, my second time in a glider.  On the 25th I left the 82nd Airborne Division and joined up with the 17th.  They were heading for Japan.  On September 7th we left for Marseilles, France, to sail to the U.S. on the USS Mariposa, a sister ship to the Monterey, which we had come over on.

We left for Boston at 18:00.  On the ship coming home I saw the biggest crap game I had ever witnessed.  One guy won a big jackpot on stud poker with a pair of jacks.  We docked in Boston Harbor at 15:00 on September 15th, and I touched American soil at 17:05.  Passing by the Statue of Liberty gave me a warm feeling.  I considered myself very fortunate to be back again alive and well.  I felt sorry for all my friends who had died in the service of our country, but I felt good for having known them for the short time we had been together.  The most important thing I learned from my service in the army I learned to obey orders.  I guess wars are a necessary evil; I wasn't in favor of the Vietnam war--when the French got out we shouldn't have gotten ourselves into it.  The Korean war was just as bad as Vietnam.

We arrived at Camp Miles Standish at 20:00.  We rode the train back to Fort Douglas where on September 25th, 1945 I received an honorable discharge from the Army.  I made a big mistake after being discharged--I signed up for the Reserves.  Later on this proved to be monumental.

When I arrived home, I decided it was too late to sign up for the fall quarter.  I did attend winter, spring, and summer quarters, but I didn't receive my diploma until June of 1947.  I received my degree in Business Administration.  The GI Bill was a great help.  I had more study time, less work time, and received better grades.

In the meantime Earle Stone had sold his grocery business and had received training in the drug store field.  He was able to secure the old Ben Franklin store on 1st North and Main and turn it into a low-cost drug store.  He opened about the first week of June and I went back to work for him.  I worked for him until I was called into the Korean War.

We hired many young college students who were looking for work.  One day a very lovely young lady applied for work and was hired.  This was great because this beautiful young lady later became my wife.  We were married on Christmas Day, December 25th, in Tooele, Utah, later to become solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple.  This is the best thing that ever happened to me, and we're still in love with each other.  We've been through both good and bad times, but the good far offsets the bad.

Though I had signed up for the Reserves, I never attended a meeting.  Now wouldn't you know it would be the inactive Reserves that got called up?  I had a good job and was making enough money that Alice and I went back to Detroit and purchased a brand new 1951 Hudson Pacemaker.  It was pale blue and we thought it was the prettiest car in Logan.  When we returned home we were both surprised and disappointed to receive a greeting from the Army that I was to be inducted once again.  I arrived at Fort Ord, California, fully expecting to be assigned to a paratroop division.  Luckily we were given a test and instead of an assignment with the infantry, I was sent to Fort Lawton, Washington, into the Finance Corps.  Alice came up and we rented a small apartment in downtown Seattle.  We were really on a budget now, splitting tuna fish sandwiches, apples, and most everything else, all on account of the lousy car payment.  Alice was expecting in January, and the baby arrived on the 16th.  We named her Carol Anne.  Alice's mother came up for two weeks to help out.  We appreciated this very much for the time and energy she gave.  Carol Anne was born in an Army hospital and Alice was scared half to death with the doctor that had been assigned.  He was a large hairy doctor that she would not have chosen in civilian life.  She had a very hard delivery, and to make matters worse, she was put on a salt free diet.  When we took the baby home it snowed in Seattle for the first time in 25 years, and we had a hard time getting home on the snow-covered hills.

Later on a group of us were sent to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana for additional finance training.  Alice went back to Tooele to stay with her parents.  This was difficult on both of us, but it was just for a short time.  When I returned I had received my commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the infantry.  I tried to get it changed to the Finance Corps, but to no avail.  I still didn't want to go to Korea, so I turned it down.  Alice and the baby came back to Seattle and we stayed together from then until August when I had enough points to be discharged.  After 11 months of service we returned to Tooele.

I didn't want to return to retailing.  I applied for a job with McKesson Drug Company in Ogden, Utah, and went to work the 17th of September 1951.  I worked for them the next 33 years.  We moved to Ogden and lived in the Ranch and Wagon Wheel motels until I was given a territory in Salt Lake.  I went to Rock Springs every other Tuesday, returning on Thursday evening.  We rented an apartment at 1511 S. 1300 East until we were able to purchase a home.

I made my first call on on 31st December 1951, only having one car and having to use it for work was a great disadvantage.  I did accumulate a car allowance to help in purchasing a new car, but it barely made the down payment.  The Hudson conked out in the fall of 1953.  I bought a 1954 Pontiac that I drove for 18 months.  I traded it in on a 1955 Bel Air Chevy.

Alice was now expecting our second child and I was still traveling to Wyoming.  Alice had gone out to Magna to stay with her sister and brother-in-law, Earlene and Bob Bowers.  I was working in the City Drug in Evanston, Wyoming when I received a call that the baby was due anytime and I was to meet them at the hospital.  I arrived about 8:00 p.m. and the baby hadn't been born yet.  Dr. Sorenson stayed up all night waiting for the delivery, which finally came in the early morning.  We named our second daughter Margaret and she was born the 22nd of April 1953.

We had been negotiating for a new home at 925 Mark Avenue (2650 S. 900 East) with Louis Bowers, the builder, and the First Security Bank.  We closed the deal and Alice and the baby came home to a new house.  The place was quite dirty, especially the bathtub.  Bob and Earlene Bowers helped us, and we finally got settled in our new home.  We thought this was a miracle having a new home and a new baby at the same time.

My territory changed after two years and I gave up Wyoming, replacing it with stores in Davis County as far north as Farmington.  The volume was about the same.  I was now able to be at home every night.  I finally became active in the church due to the efforts of Ed White and Louis Roberts of the Elder's Quorum in Fairmont Ward.  We gained new friends by going to church, and as a result became better friends with our neighbors.  Having one car was a great imposition on Alice.  We finally purchased a 1950 Plymouth from a pharmacist.  It helped Alice to go places during the week.  Our 1955 Chevy finally wore out and we purchased a 1959 Ford Fairlane 500.  We drove it up to Alta one day and the radiator boiled over.  The radiator was too small for the engine; instead of replacing it, they provided an adaptor.

Alice received her degree in elementary education, June 1950.  She didn't consider teaching until Margaret entered Junior High and wouldn't be coming home for lunch any longer.  Finally she applied for a job at Roosevelt Elementary School on 33rd South and 9th East.  She was accepted and taught half-day for the first year, then full time after that at Roosevelt and at Libby Edwards Elementary located on 33rd South and 15th East.

We purchased a 1962 Chevy from Olsen Chevrolet in Layton going through Bill Johnson who later became owner of Menlove Dodge/Toyota in Bountiful.  In 1965 we purchased a Pontiac Catalina from Fred A. Carleson and gave the '62 Chevy to the kids.

In 1968 I gave up my territory to go to work for McKesson Laboratories headquartered in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  I was able to reside in Salt Lake City, working in Utah and Idaho.  The Labs furnished cars for the salesmen and I chose a Plymouth Fury 3 from Freed's Motor Company.  I ordered yellow and when it was delivered the color was unbelievable, a mixture of green and yellow!  I drove it home and put it in the garage, with the door down, afraid that I would be in trouble when Alice saw it, and I was.  It was so horrible that she cried.  But later on she thought it was the most attractive car she had ever seen, and it grew on me too.  For one thing, you could spot it instantly in a parking lot.

In 1972 I became a District Representative.  I had to give up my car and I covered twelve states.  I would fly out Monday mornings and return Friday evenings for three weeks a month, then spend one week in Utah and Idaho.  This job lasted about a year when I was let go because the Labs were reducing their sales force of 65.  I was out of a job for a day, but in the 33 years I worked for McKesson, I never missed a paycheck.

My friend Ken McKay, former sales manager and the guy who talked me into going to work for the Labs, told me there was an opening in Denver or Sacramento.  I chose Sacramento and flew down there for an interview with the Division Manager, Al Rossi.  I was given a territory in Sparks, Nevada calling on the ten Eagle Thrifty drug and grocery stores in the area and on an independent drug store in Susanville, California.  This was a server blow to our family as Alice was teaching and the kids were in school.  I packed up for Sparks to cover my territory.  I lodged at a Motel 6 for three months, and then I got an apartment.  I would travel home every other Friday afternoon, 518 miles each way, return on Sunday afternoon and be ready for work on Monday morning.  I did this until school was out in June.  Alice decided that she would take a leave of absence from Libby Edwards School, expecting to get her job back when she returned.  This backfired when she reapplied for her job, thanks to her principal, Maurice Wilkinson.

Alice and the kids came down to Sparks in June and we looked for a condominium or home to buy.  We finally settled on a home at 944 Glen Meadows Drive in Sparks.  We moved in without air conditioning, which was a big mistake.  Our neighbors were the Langbergs, Dave and Luilla.  Dave was a pharmacist whom I had known in Salt Lake when he worked for Orville Leddy at the Buy Wise Pharmacy in Rose Park.

We were in the Sparks First Ward and were welcomed very warmly.  We were invited to a ward banquet and Bishop O'Mealley picked us up.  When Bruce Smith became Bishop he asked me to become his Executive Secretary.  Alice was a Sunday School teacher and a Counselor in the Stake Primary.  We enjoyed our involvement in the church, making many new friends and acquaintances.  This was our social life.

We had our three dogs with us:  Pepe, Sam, and Minnie.  One Sunday morning Pepe ate some DeCon mouse killer in the garage and paid for it with her life.  We had a solemn burial for her in the pet cemetery and we missed her very much.

While Carol Anne was in Sparks, she got employment at a restaurant.  The owner really liked her and she was able to bring home pieces of steak for the dogs that the patrons had not eaten.  This was exceptionally good meat, as the restaurant catered to a ritzy clientele.  In the fall Carol Anne went back to school at the University of Utah, having been appointed House Mother for the Delta Gamma sorority.  She did this while going to the University of Utah, getting her Master's degree.  She had a safe place to stay and we felt very good about that.  Margaret stayed with us and went through boyfriend after boyfriend, not deciding on any of them.  She got a job at a bank and she still remembers the old guy who came in dressed as a tramp, his deposit in a brown paper bag, coming up to her window.  She later found out that he was very rich, and that was a big surprise to her.

While we were in Sparks we leased our home to LaVar Wood, his family owned the Wood Oldsmobile automobile agency and we thought he would be a reliable person to trust in taking care of the house.  Instead he proved to be a liar, a cheat, and much more.  He said he wasn't married, which may have been true, but he brought his girlfriend in from California, with her two kids who were wild and destructive.  We didn't get a cleaning deposit, which was an error on our part.  In 11 months he didn't mow the lawn and it became a wild patch of weeds and our neighbors had to install a fence.  Stuart Pulsipher had installed a fireplace in our basement made out of white prince block.  We had never used it.  We had a gas log installed and for some unknown reason they managed to stain both the upstairs fireplace and the white block downstairs with black smoke.

We had Carol Anne pick up the rent and sometimes LaVar gave her a bad time.  After 11 months of this we kicked him and his so-called family out.

Once a month I would drive to Sacramento for a sales meeting.  Sometimes Alice would accompany me and we would visit with Monte and Rhea.  One afternoon we left Reno with a small amount of snow falling.  As we drove up the mountain road the snow kept falling faster and faster until we were practically blinded.  We were following behind a semi until we lost sight of it.  We finally ended up on the far left side of the road against a barrier.  I couldn't get out of my side as the door was blocked.  I crawled over Alice to get out and was able to flag down a truck that was there for the express purpose of pulling cars out.  We were very grateful to be back on the road.  He asked for $20 and I gladly gave him the money.  We still had a little way to go to reach the summit, but made it without further incident.  This was, without a doubt, the worst snowstorm we had ever been in.  If the road barrier hadn't been there to stop us, we would have toppled down 25 to 30 feet to the freeway below.

After taking the chains off the back tires I was thoroughly soaked and miserably cold.  Alice was just about as wet and cold.  The snow finally turned to rain and we arrived at our warm and cozy motel room thankful that we were alive and safe.

After living a year in Sparks Alice decided to return to Salt Lake to continue teaching.  She applied for her old job at Libby Edwards School, but Principal Wilkinson had filled it with one of his favorite teacher's relatives.  Alice applied at many schools and finally found a job at Stansbury Elementary in West Valley.  She had been driving a mile to and from school, now it was more like 20 miles in heavy traffic.  She was also sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor as our furniture was still in Nevada.  Although the conditions left something to be desired, she was contented being back home.

Margaret and I remained in Sparks wondering what was going to happen.  I continued driving home every other week, hoping that something good would happen.  One day, in November, I received a call from Sacramento that there would be a sales position open shortly in Salt Lake.  This is what we had been waiting for.  I had too many years in the company to quit my job and start over.

We were able to sell our home in Sparks.  Margaret wanted to stay.  She moved into a house with some other girls, and we felt that she would be happy and safe there.  We loaded our furniture on a van and returned to our home in Salt Lake.

In 1970 we bought a Chevy Vega for the girls to drive.  They drove it for 50,000 miles and we had to have the engine replaced.  We found out later that this was part of the Vega's history, and breaking down in John Day, Oregon was mighty inconvenient.

Alice was looking for a new car.  She didn't want an American made.  We ended up buying a 1975 Toyota Corona from Menlove Dodge Toyota in Bountiful.  In 1989, after having driven it for around 50,000 miles, Alice gave it to Margaret and bought a Toyota Camry from Toyota of Ogden.  In 1978 we purchased a Buick LeSabre from Peck and Shaw in Murray.  We drove it for 18 years, proving the old commercial right:  "When better cars are built, Buick will build them."

I retired from McKesson Drug in 1984 after working 33 years for the company.  Alice was still teaching and continued for the next 5 years.  House Bill 60 was available which allowed me to audit any class at the University that wasn't filled.  This gave me something to do and was very educational.  I studied under many professors and teaching assistants.  All were great instructors.  During this time, while in a geography class, we heard the news of the space shuttle Challenger exploding and all aboard being killed.  This was memorable, just as was the assassination of President Kennedy.

Alice retired in 1989 after teaching 21 years.  This took its toll on her health, having had bronchitis a number of times, and now coming down with rheumatoid arthritis and Paget's disease.

We were called as ordinance workers in the Salt Lake Temple and started work on October 31st, 1989, Halloween.  We were able to learn the parts and once in awhile participate in the same session.  We served six years, meeting and associating with the finest people this side of heaven.

I had three operations during this period: prostate cancer removal, a cataract removal on my right eye, and an operation on my hand.

We have been able to travel all over the U.S., Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii.  We have cruised the Alaskan Inland Passage, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, and Eastern and Western Caribbean.  We have had flights to Jamaica, Scandinavia, the British Isles, Western Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji.  We're still anticipating many more travels.

We have a small but happy family of seven.  Margaret married James Robert Greenberg of Pacific Palisades, California on December 7th, 1979.  He came to the University of Utah on a tennis scholarship and played all four years under Coach Harry James.  Jim became a good friend of Coach James and admired and respected him.  Jim earned a degree in psychology and is employed by Franklin Covey.  Margaret is a secretary at Arcadia Elementary.  They gave us two beautiful granddaughters, Jamie and Kristen.  Academically both girls are exceptionally bright.  Both play the piano, one the flute, and the other the violin.  Kristen is a junior at Cottonwood High and Jamie is a freshman at Washington University in St. Louis on a scholarship.  Margaret has had many church callings and is currently the Young Women's President in her ward.  She enjoys it because Jamie and Kristen have been in the Young Women's program with her.  Carol Anne, our older daughter, remains single.  She has a responsible and interesting position with the State of Utah as the Folk Arts Coordinator.  She has a Master's degree in English from the University of Utah and is able to use her skills and talents on her job.  She travels all over the country meeting many interesting people, and is involved in a variety of projects.

To read the autobiograph of Hal's wife Alice, click here.

To view an album of the Edison's family photographs, click here.

To return to Eunice Richardson's history of the Evans and Richardson families, click here.

To return to the Richardson Family index page, click here.

To return to the Christensen Family index page, click here.

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