Married Lexia Dastrup 10 September 1913
Irvin-Marie
Died 4 February 1974 in Sigurd
Buried in Sigurd
1900 Census
1910 Census
1920 Census
1930 Census
A Struggle For Life
Irvin moved up and down the rows raking hay with his old-fashioned big wheel dump-rake. He had been on the farm, about a mile away from his morning. As he moved up and down the rows, he had a gnawing pain in his side. All went pretty well so long as he was traveling up and down the row, going with the furrows, but when he had to go crosswise of the furrows, the wheels bumped through each channel and the pain increased. With that staccato jolting up and down, the pain was soon unbearable. It became so intense that Irvin could take it no longer and he started for home. He rode the rake just as fast as he could stand the ride.
As he arrived home, he tied up the horses, leaving them hitched to the rake and stumbled into the house. There was no one at home, most of the home; he supposed his mother must be out nursing the sick somewhere in town as she usually did. By now the pain was excruciating. Irvin sprawled out on the floor, screaming in agony. Someone passing by out in the street heard him and came running in to see what was the trouble. Irvin lay struggling on the floor, crazy with pain. The passerby ran across the street to get Irvin's sister-in-law, Violet, then hurried to fetch the doctor.
Dr. Clark was out of town, so Dr. Loring came at once. He took something from his bag and gave it to Irvin, saying it would relieve the pain. Upon examination he pronounced the problem to be a burst (*4) appendix. Back in 1908 medicine was not what it is today and operations were rare. A burst appendix was considered fatal. Irvin's mother soon arrived and stayed by his bedside morning through night. The pain was so intense his arms and legs were strapped down to prevent him from injuring himself with his thrashing about. The struggle for life went on and on as Irvin lay unconscious for three weeks. The doctors did all they could. A tube inserted into Irvin's abdomen drained the poisonous fluids. After that they could only wait and watch. Irvin was given blessings by the priesthood, and many prayers of faith were offered m his behalf.
One day the priesthood brethren again gathered in behalf of the young man. A very special blessing was given by Irvin's brother-in-law, Bishop Heber Swindle. As he took his hands from Irvin's quiet head, the closed eyes flickered, and the first glimmer of consciousness flooded over the boy.
When he first regained his faculties, Irvin discovered that he was lying on a white board placed in the bed. When he got a peek at his tummy, it was as black as a coal pile, from his chest clear down to his legs. He noticed the tube draining from his intestines. As he finally opened his eyes fully and looked up, he could see Dr. Clark and his father in the room. The good Mormon doctor was saying "After such a blessing as that, he's just got to live." A conscious determination to live flooded over his whole being.
Over the time that followed, Irvin lay on the white sheets, recovering day by day. He thought of his chum, Burdett Whiting, who had been lying in the middle of a white bed for years, following a kid prank which had broken his back. Some kid put his knee in Burdett's back and pulled him over (*5) backward. It had happened right in front of Irvin's home at noon one time while they were going home to dinner, and Burdett never walked again. Irvin worried about , spending his life on white sheets.
As the days and weeks went by, there were many prayers by his loved ones and blessings by the Priesthood. With the patient, tender care of his darling Mother and others in nursing him, and the skill of the caring doctors of the day, Irvin recovered.
Irvin Warnock married Lexia Dastrup on Sept. 10, 1913, in the Salt Lake Temple. This was adapted from the account found in, the book Our Sixty Years written by lrvin L and Lexia Wamock.(p.70-71).
Beginning A Life Of Crime
The sun sparkled on the little items in the exhibit case of the Monroe drug store. To the little boy standing in front of the display table, the sight was very impressive. Oh, how nice they looked. 1 were fancy bottles and boxes, pretty toiletries of all kinds. Wouldn't it be fun to have of those pretty bottles of perfume? As little (*6) Irvin stood in front of the table he thought of all the ways he could obtain one of those little bottles. A plan began to form in his mind. Harry Bell, the owner of the drug store had put chicken wire around the display table to discourage little hands from stealing the things displayed there.
Irvin didn't really think he was stealing but he could see that if he worked just a little he could probably manipulate a small bottle of perfume through the chicken wire without Harry seeing him. With a little effort and very nimble fingers this is just what Irvin did. Glancing up to see that Harry wasn't looking he slipped the bottle into his pocket and took it home with him.
It would have been a nicer story if it could be said that Irvin was a poor little orphan boy or that the bottle contained something he really needed, but alas, neither was true. Irvin had fine parents, both a wonderful mother and a fine dad, who would be shocked and grieved if they even thought their son was a thief. Irvin knew this.
All evening and into the night Irvin contemplated his predicament. This little stolen bottle contained perfume, the easiest thing in the whole world to make itself known if he used it, arid the hardest thing to explain where it came from. After a long and sleepless night, Irvin resolved that if he was smart enough to take the bottle from the show case without anyone seeing him, he was also clever enough to put it right back where it came from without anyone knowing it – which he did.
Thus the life of crime led by Irvin Warnock had an early beginning but also came to a quick and uneventful end.
This story was adapted from an account found in the files of Irvin L. Warnock.
Jail Bird
It was Halloween night, 1908, back before the days of trick-or-treating. Irvin Warnock was a teenager of sixteen. He and some of his friends in the small town of Monroe, Utah, were out on the streets looking for some fun. They got a hold of a (*7) one-horse buggy. This buggy could seat two people in its riding box from which protruded two long rods from either side which could be fastened to the horse. This buggy worked great if it were fastened to the horse, but without the horse, the weight of the people in the riding box would cause the rods to swing overhead turning the riding box upside down, pinning the occupants under it.
The boys were having a merry time pulling the buggy and taking turns riding in the box. As they ran up and down the street, they were whooping and hollering and making considerable noise.
Now, in Monroe, Utah, the main livelihood was farming, and farmers work with the sun, meaning, they arise when the sun rises and work all day, and when the sun goes down, they also are ready to go down to bed. This Halloween night was no exception, the majority of the townsfolk had been in bed for a couple of hours at least. But with the commotion the boys were making, the tired farmers were having considerable trouble sleeping. The answer to their weariness was to call for "Tom" the town sheriff. Would please look into things and put an end to this Tom-foolery!
Tom came to the rescue of the sleepy farmers and headed off down the street. When the boys saw him coming, they yelled, "Here comes Tom!" With that, the boys pulling the buggy dropped the rods and ran every direction. This action, of course, (*9)resulted in the rods swinging up overhead, tipping the riding box upside down and pinning the two unfortunate riders underneath. One of the unfortunate riders happened to be Irvin Warnock. He and his friend were stuck with no way out.
Tom approached and apprehended the two boys saying, "Well, now we know who two of the troublemakers are." He took the two boys down to the jail and locked them up. In the morning, here came the mothers of the two boys. The friend's mother was weeping, "Oh, what ever shall I do; my son is a jailbird. He is a disgrace to the community. I shall never live this down." Irvin's mother, Philena, on the other hand, was a very sensible and practical woman. She marched up to her son and said, "Irvin, you were supposed to be in the field this morning at the crack of dawn and that was 2 hours ago. You've wasted two good hours of daylight. Now, march!"
Well, Tom decided that if the boys were being sentenced to work in the fields that was punishment enough, so he let them go.
This story is about Irvin Leroy Warnock. Jolene Christensen Dew (granddaughter of Irvin L. Warnock) heard this story from the friend who was with Irvin at the time. Grandma Warnock said Grandpa never liked this story so it wasn't told very much. I heard it after Grandpa died.
Christmas Oranges
The air was cool and crisp against his face as Irvin walked along the country road. It was Christmas time, a time of rejoicing, of candles and decorated trees, of cookies, candy, presents and oranges. Irvin let his mind wander over the Christmases of his childhood. Santa always came leaving toys for the little ones, store bought candy, and oranges. Always in the toe of their stockings was a sweet, juicy, orange, almost the crowning touch to Christmas.
As he walked, the happy memory cheered his heart. His thoughts retraced the merriment of each Christmas. These were not the visions of grandeur and monetary riches, for Irvin came from a humble home. But, somehow, there always seemed to be these same happy traditions of Santa bringing the(*10) presents, candy, and oranges. Mother prepared the lovely Christmas meals and the birth of our Savior was the highlighted theme.
A sudden gust of wind across the road brought Irvin back to the present and made him tug a little tighter on his coat. This Christmas, Irvin thought, was different, different from those in the past. Now at age fourteen, Irvin could understand the reasons why this Christmas must be different. The difference came because of money. This year there was so very little that many traditions must be set aside while the thoughts of survival from one week to the next took its place. There would be homemade dresses, shirts, even knitted sox, and as always, the wonderful meals which mother managed somehow, home-prepared as only she could. But no toys from the store, no candy except homemade molasses candy, and no oranges. And what was Christmas without oranges? These were disheartening thoughts to young Irvin. He wished there were something he could do.
Then a near-miracle happened. As Irvin turned the corner into his yard, the young couple who had moved into the house kitty-cornered across the street from their home came walking up. Would Irvin be interested in a job? They needed the wood in their yard chopped and piled next to the house. This could be the answer to Christmas that year. "Yes!" Of course he wanted the job.
Irvin set to work that very day. It was just three days till Christmas. Irvin worked hard all that day and the next. As he worked he dreamed of his trip to the town store to spend the money he would receive on the special Christmas things. Finally he could see that he was not going to finish before the store closed in town so he enlisted the help of his neighbor pal to help him on the last two hours. They worked like beavers and got the last sticks piled up nicely before darkness settled in. Reporting their work to their neighbor, the man looked over the job and handed Irvin $5.35. Five great big silver dollars, a quarter and a dime. It felt so heavy in his tired hand. Irvin thanked the man and after paying his pal, he hurried home to show his mother how rich he was. Then off he ran to Magleby's store before it closed.
As Christmas morning came to the Warnock home they were met with a very unexpected but wonderful sight. Santa had indeed come. There was "Dark Secret" candy for everyone, with real store bought hand-kerchiefs. Mother and Mary each got a new shiny pin for their hair, and there in the toe of each stocking swung a large, round, juicy orange. Christmas Oranges. Irvin was the happiest young man in all of Christendom.
That's the Girl I'm Going to Marry
(*20)Irvin looked up from his work as a hod carrier for his brother putting rock on the side of the Sigurd Ward (Utah) Chapel. Mud-hoe in hand, he watched spellbound as the "school marm" walked past him on her way to school. She was the most charming creature that he had ever laid his eyes on. She was dressed in white as she walked up the street north of the new building toward the schoolhouse. In her hand she held a letter which she was reading, so her walk was slow. Her head was slightly forward as she read, letting the afternoon sun outline her lovely face, revealing each beautiful feature. The vision before him would not soon be forgotten.
Irvin was brought forcefully back to the real world as his boss, in the form of his brother, threatened to "can" him if he didn't pay more attention to mud-mixing and less attention to mooning. Irvin again started his work, but as he did, his mind continued with (*21)the vision and he secretly made a momentous decision. "That's the girl I'm going to marry!"
Irvin's mind played games with him as he schemed plans for winning the affections of this lovely young gal. The first thing must be to meet her; but where and how?
Just a few days later, there was a dance planned for the community in the little one-room school-house. Irvin was there looking anxiously for the girl of his dreams. Finally she came. She was even prettier close up -- her shining dark hair pinned up in the back -- her flashing dark eyes gazing round the room. Irvin had to be introduced. He saw a new acquaintance of his, Homer Dastrup, talking with her, so when he was alone he begged Homer to introduce them. Of course, he would be happy to introduce them.
As they approached her side, Homer began, "Irvin, I would like you to meet my cousin Lexia Dastrup; she teaches school here in Sigurd, and Lexia, I would like you to meet a new friend of mine from Monroe, Irvin Warnock. He is working on the church."
With the formal introductions over the couple spent much of the evening together.
Over the next few weeks they met casually in many ways. Lexia's father was the on the church building committee, and sometimes Irvin would come to her home to be paid for his work on the church. A couple of times they met accidentally at Richfield.
When time came for the County Fair, Irvin was there with his uncle, Orson Washburn. They had brought some breeder horses to show. Irvin was busy taking care of the horses and preparing them for their part when he caught an unexpected glimpse that delighted him through and through. Across the way stood lovely Lexia Dastrup. He called to her and her smile came as readily as Irvin's had. After the horse show the happy couple spent the rest of the afternoon together talking and enjoying one another's company.
In the early summer, Lexia went to Monroe to care for her Aunt Millie. Millie had lost her newborn baby girl and had many complications because of the pregnancy. She was bedridden with phlebitis in her legs.
Lexia spent many hours hot-packing Millie's swollen legs. She kept the house, washed their clothes, cooked their meals, and did any other work that was necessary. I (*22)quite a while before Aunt Millie began to get well enough to care for herself and her husband.
One evening one of the neighbor girls asked Lexia if she would like to go to the dance in town. Aunt Millie was quite a bit better then and told Lexia she ought to go as it would probably do her good to get out of the house. Lexia was delighted and spent a little extra time in prettying herself up that evening. The other girls picked her up and they went to the dance together.
The dance was a festive occasion and it looked as if everyone in town were there. As Lexia chatted with the other young people, out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a familiar face. On the other side of the room and making his way toward her was Irvin Warnock. The couple quickly rekindled their friendship and spent the rest of the evening together. As Lexia put it, in telling the story over many years later, "I went over there to the dance with them. And I went home with him!"
They had a good time that evening and many other evenings before Lexia left to go home.
In those days it was a long ride over to Monroe from Sigurd, Utah. A car, if you were lucky enough to have one, could make the 20 mile trip in the incredible time of one hour, but of course any other means of travel was much longer. The distance between the two put a damper on the couple's visits but not on their spirits. At the close of summer Lexia was off to Snow Academy in Ephraim, Utah, to study Domestic Arts. As her studies of art, sewing and dressmaking proceeded, so did the letters between the two budding sweethearts.
At Christmas time Lexia came home from school and Irvin came to Sigurd to spend a few days of the holiday. By graduation in the springtime, Irvin made known his increasing attentions to her by making the long journey to Ephraim to attend the ceremonies.
The couple's admiration of each other soon turned to love, and as September crept forward and the time for Irvin's mission was fast approaching, they were talking of marriage. The two and one-half year mission would be a long one but they would be married as soon as he returned. As the time for his departure grew closer, Lexia went to Monroe to spend a few days prior to his leaving on his mission. Irvin had been struggling with the thoughts of leaving his sweet bride-to-be at home and unattached for so long a time. With these thoughts filling his head, one day he took his sweetheart by the (*23)hands and said, "Why don't we get married before I go?"
This was a new thought to Lexia. She knew what her mother would think of it. Her mother had a couple of step-sisters who got married before their husbands left on their missions, and when they got back, things weren't going well at all and they both finally broke up. She had always said that was one thing she wouldn't let a girl of hers do, so Lexia knew what she would say about it. Lexia's father had never voiced those kind of sentiments, so she called her father and asked him to come to Monroe to talk to her. As the young couple talked it over with her father, he said "Well, alright, if that is your decision, it is alright as far as I'm concerned."
Once the decision had been made, Lexia's mother accepted it and never said anything more about it. When Irvin came back home and life had finally settled down, Pauline and her son-in-law struck up a rare friendship that grew more lively through the years.
The next few weeks were a hustle and a bustle. Lexia accompanied her father back to Sigurd to get the recommends for the temple and such together. There was no time to make a wedding dress so Lexia wore her white graduation dress for the wedding. Her dress was a simple white cotton with beautiful cut-work along the bodice and sleeves. The blousey top accentuated her small waistline. The effect was lovely. She had done the many hours of handwork on it as her class project in her dressmaking class.
With all the plans made, Lexia 's parents drove the happy couple the full 180 miles to the Salt Lake Temple in Jacob's old Buick car. They had no problems with the engine but the trip was plagued with flat tires -- one after another all day long. In those days a flat tire had to be removed from the wheel and patched, then refitted to the wheel and pumped up again. It was a long drawn-out process to keep repeating over and over again. Finally, in the fields by Fayette they heard the too familiar sound of another flat tire. Jacob Dastrup was at his wits' end. "Damn!" he said, for that was as coarse a (*24)language as exasperation could ever wring from his lips. They all climbed out of the old Buick one more time and began the long process. Irvin tried his best to help but he didn't know much about cars as he did not own one. In this particular place, the mosquitoes were thicker than hops. Lexia and her mother swished and batted at the flies and mosquitoes to keep them off the men in their work. It was the only way to keep them from being eaten alive. Finally the work was done again and Jacob said, "If this doesn't hold until we get there, I don't know what we'll do. I'm about to the end of fixing and patching." This time the patches did hold and they finished out the trip without another delay. In Salt Lake City Jacob bought some more tires to go home on.
The next day was their wedding day, September 10, 1913. The temple ceremony was lovely and the couple was radiant with their love. They were married for time and all eternity by a servant of the Lord. It was special to have Lexia's parents there with them. Interestingly, their long-time friends Eugene W. Poulsen and Stella Payne were at the temple to be married the same day. They lived parallel lives with these friends, Irvin following Gene as Sevier Stake President.
That evening they drove to Provo and stayed with Jacob's brother Ephraim and returned home on Friday. There were many hugs and congratulations poured out upon the happy couple both in Sigurd and in Monroe.
Their time together as newlyweds was short-lived. The coming of the next Wednesday found them back in Salt Lake City, this time for a more tearful occasion at the train station. The new bride and groom bade each other a loving and longing goodbye. Irvin boarded the train knowing that Leroy Warnock and Lexia Dastrup the next two and one-half years he would spend serving the Lord in the Northern States Mission. The Lord had been generous in His blessings to this couple and their love would grow and mature as they tried to serve Him together through this mission.
This story is about Irvin Leroy Warnock and Lexia Dastrup Warnock. This story was adapted from a tape recording of the story told by Lexia Dastrup Warnock, also from a history of the life of lrvin L. Warnock found with some of his papers.
No Bride At The Train Station
(*25)Irvin was full of excitement and anticipation. It had been two-and-one-half long years since he had left his bride of only five short days to serve a mission for the Lord in Chicago, Illinois. His mission had been good but now it had ended and he was looking forward to seeing his bride again after such a long separation.
He tapped his fingers on the table as he tried to read the church book he had picked up to relax his mind so sleep would come. Tomorrow was the day. Through their letters he and Lexia (his bride) had decided that she should come by train to Chicago and meet him there. Then they would enjoy a belated honeymoon on the way home. His mind wandered to the train station where he saw her descend the train stairs and rush to his outstretched arms. No wonder it was hard to get to sleep that night.
The next day, the apartment was all a bustle as the other Elders joked and teased as only Elders will at the prospects of their companion 's meeting his wife for the first time in over two years. As the designated (*26)time for the train to arrive approached, ALL the Elders accompanied Irvin to the train station to witness the long-awaited reunion. Irvin would have much preferred to be alone at this special time but there was no hope of that.
The train chugged slowly to a halt and the doors were opened. One by one the passengers began to descend the stairs and walk away from the train. Some were greeted by friends and loved ones, and glorious reunions were taking place on all sides. Irvin watched, waiting anxiously for his lovely Lexia, as one after another, the passengers left the train. The flow of passengers came to a dribble as the train emptied and still there was no sign of the beautiful bride.
Irvin became frantic. He ran up and down the station asking everyone if they had seen her. Now there was no one coming from the train. The conductor motioned that all the passengers had left the train. How could that be? There must be one more -- a tall, slender, brown-eyed gal. Lexia Warnock was her name. The conductor got his board and declared that there was no one by that name on his passenger list. This was too much. He had waited so long and not for this. Where was his bride, his wife, his Lexia?
As the group of silent Elders turned dejectedly away from the station, Elder Warnock the most forlorn of all. Journeying home, they tried every way possible to console their forsaken companion: a pat on the back, an arm over his shoulder, a few kind words. The rest of the day their spirits hung low. By evening each missionary busied (*27)himself at some project or another. Irvin had retired early to his room and was left alone to sorrow in silence.
As the evening wore on, no one noticed the back door open and shut quietly as Irvin left the house. Alone, Irvin made his way over the familiar walkway back to the train station. Once there, he checked his watch; he glanced to each side to make sure he was alone. Soon a new train chugged to a stop. This time as the doors opened, a tall, slender, brown-eyed gal descended the stairs and rushed to the outstretched arms of her husband, just as he had imagined it would be when he met the right train, free from the on looking eyes of his companions.
Irvin Leroy Warnock married Lexia Dastrup on Sept. 10, 1913. Five days later Irvin left on his mission. Lexia went back to Sigurd and lived with her parents and clerked at the Sigurd Mercantile for the years until Irvin's mission was over. Grandma Lexia Warnock told me this story many times.
No comments:
Post a Comment