Monday, February 8, 2010

Goodbye Plain City: Hello Stone


Goodbye Plain City; Hello Stone
Thomas Edward (Mel’s Great Grandfather) lives a good life in Plain City, continuing to expand his produce farm and his family (12 children in all, with 4 dying in infancy). He works with his brother William and many of his progeny live in Plain City today. TE died March 8th, 1908 is buried in the Plain City Cemetery. Now, let’s get on with the story.
Thomas Henry Cottle (Mel’s Grandfather) is at a difficult crossroad in his relatively young life. He is the oldest son of TE and as such it is expected he will take over the family farm. So he works his whole life toward this end. He meets Ella Neal when her family travels from Snowville, Utah to Salt Lake City for general conference and stays overnight with some Plain City friends. It is love at first sight and in November, 1898, just 7 months after their first meeting they are married in the SLC temple. Thomas Henry rents a small home in Far West, UT, close to Plain City and the family farm. He continues to work on the farm but he is bitten by the cowboy bug (a malady that continues in some members of the family to this day). Why hoe carrots, or spend hours under the boiling sun thinning onions – then going home smelling l such a way that you bring tears to wife when you hug her? Why indeed, when you could be sitting on hill astride a beautiful roan stallion viewing the valley below, dotted with fat cattle, your cattle. So Thomas daydreams more and more. Then in 1901 a healthy baby boy is born into the family – the first child and first son. Christened Leland Thomas after his father and grandfather he starts his time on this earth. Thomas Henry believes the time has now come to make his dream come true. The crossroad is fast approaching and if he does not act now it will soon be just a blur in his rear view mirror and the cowboy dream will be dead and he will spend the rest of his life buried in potatoes and zucchini squash.
So acting on a tip from Ella’s family, and almost sight unseen, he purchases a “ranch” in Stone, ID a small town just over the border from Snowville, UT. It is a wide open prairie, with only a few settlers in what is called the Curlew Valley stretching north from Snowville toward Malad, ID some 50 miles away. There are few roads and fewer neighbors. Thomas Henry loves it, but Ella, not so much; she has fallen in love with the more “civilized” Plain City area and makes the move somewhat reluctantly.
As with many dreams, reality is somewhat harsher. The property contains a one room home, with a sod storage area built on the back. To start with, the “ranch” livestock consists of one milk cow, two pigs and a dozen chickens, all making the trip from Plain City. The first winter sees record low temperatures and lots of snow. One of the pigs gets lost in the snow and freezes, but at least it is found in time to provide cured hams, bacon and lots of lard (grease) for the family to live on. They survive that first winter, and began to put down roots. Thomas adds a real room to the house, a baby girl, Loretta (1903), joins the family. Thomas is able to trade work for a couple of cows and life moves on. Dewey (1906) comes next and the years roll by. Then the unexpected happens! In April 1910 Ella gives birth to a second girl, Ella Harriet, and all seems well. However, shortly after the birth, mother Ella starts to feel weak and unable to carry on her daily tasks. She tries to shrug it off, but not only does she have little energy, she starts to have stomach pains. Ella takes to her bed, with just enough strength to nurse little Harriet. Finally, Thomas sees no choice but to seek out a doctor. The closest certified physician is in Tremonton, some 30 miles to the south. It takes a long day’s ride to get the doctor and then a second day for him to return. The news is not good; it seems that Ella is still suffering from the aftereffects of the recent child birth. He tells Thomas to make Ella comfortable, give her aspirin for the pain and fever and wait. She will either recover on her own – or not. Unfortunately, it turns out in the worst possible way. On May 6, 1910 Ella Neal Cottle, 32 years of age, passes away. Thomas is left with 4 young children, the oldest, Leland is just nine and the baby, Harriet is 1 month old. Thomas is a long way from family – trying to build a ranch and take care of a young family. What to do? (Photo taken from the Stone Cemetery looking across Curlew Valley)
To be continued

1 comment:

craig said...

I can so identify with Ella when you say "she has fallen in love with the more 'civilized' Plain City area." Almost brings tears to my eyes.....