Tressa Ricks

History of Tressa Elvera (Hansen) Ricks
4th November 1905 – 3rd August 1989

Daughter of:
Niels Christian Hansen
Carrie Matilda Williams

Married:
September 19^th, 1923 in Manti Temple Howard Ricks

Tressa was my grandma, the only one I really knew well. My other grandma passed away in January of 1972, right after I turned nine years old. Tressa was the Grandma that I remember the most and I loved spending time with her and learned so much from her. I have collected and compiled information for this history from several places. For her younger years, I paraphrased information from the history her sister Thelma wrote. Some of the history was collected when I was younger and had the opportunity to interview Grandma about her childhood. The latter part came from my own recollections.

Tressa’s Biography
On November 4^th, 1905, the heavens opened and the band started playing “Roll Out the Barrels” when Neils and Carrie Hansen announced the birth of their baby girl, Tressa Elvera Hansen.  She was born in Emery, Emery County, Utah. She was the second oldest girl out of four girls and then four boys were born later.

Arvella 1/28/1904 – 2/10/1997
Tressa Elvera 11/4/1905 – 8/3/1989
Mary Thelma 3/2/1908 – 8/17/1991
Vaunda Jenel 12/20/1909 – 7/12/1984
Virgil N. 1/19/1912 – 1/31/2000
Donald J. 10/2/1913 – 1/18/1994       
Leland Clive 3/24/1916 – 1/7/199
Glendon 12/14/1917 – 4/15/1997

After having four girls, Tressa’s dad was disappointed and he declared, “I will fill the yard up with girls until I get a boy!” The next four children born into the family were boys.

According to her sister, Thelma, in those days, when a baby was born, a midwife came to the house for the birth and then the mother was to stay in bed for ten days so that “everything would go back into place and the mother could get up”.

THE TOWN OF EMERY UTAH
The town of Emery where Tressa grew up is near the south end of Castle Valley. The city of Price is at the north end. From 1890 to about 1920, a large percent of the population in Emery were Stephen Williams’ children and grandchildren. Stephen and Emma Jane (Tressa’s maternal grandparents) spent the last years of their life there and were buried there.

Castle Valley was named for its weird castle-like formation. Some of the country’s richest coal fields are in the area. Great beds of high grade coal lie underneath the surface and in the mountains to the west. Some veins of the choice coal are up to sixteen feet thick. In the early days, some of the farmers sold rights to the underground which spurred plans for great strip mining activity in the area.

Emery is unlike most other small Utah towns in that it is several miles from the creek (Muddy Creek) that provides its water. To get water to the town, it was necessary to tunnel through a hill with crude instruments, it was a gigantic task. It took many months of discouraging labor over a period of two to three years to build the tunnel and canal. When it was all completed, other problems developed. The slope of the underground rock strata is toward the west mountain while the slop of the tillable soil is toward the east, creating bad drainage conditions. Soon after the irrigation started, alkali rose to the surface of the ground and swept over most of the town killing trees, shrubs and gardens. It even crept up the walls of the adobe houses causing the bottom layers of adobe to disintegrate and causing some to worry how long their houses would last.

The winds that periodically hit Emery were strange. They usually came at night and would come in pockets or relays from west to east. Each succeeding pocket could be heard coming minutes before it would strike. And it would really strike, at times lifting roofs from houses and barns. Then all was quite for a brief time only to have it repeated again and again often until morning. One night the roof of their new eight room schoolhouse was blown off.

The mountains west of Emery were impressive. In the morning, the sunlight was bright and golden yellow. The Hansen kids loved to climb the slopes, and play among the weird castles, hunt for pine nuts and gum on the pine trees and survey the valley below from the top. It was their opinion that for the best effect, the slope should be seen at sunrise.

Before the canal was ready for use, these pioneers hauled water in barrels from the creek for drinking, cooking, washing, adobe making and for making mortar for laying the adobes. The boys drove the cows and horses to the creek daily for watering. They also drove their work horses up on the mountain in the evening for grazing to save on hay. Then in the morning they went back up the mountain, rounded them up and drove them home again for the days work. This was before hay was produced in the Emery fields.

GROWING UP ON A FARM
HER PAPA’S BOY
Tressa grew up in a large family. Her dad was a farmer and there was always lots of work to do. One of the first chores the Hansen girls did was to get the wood and coal into the house. It would take two of them just to carry in the coal bucket. Since their dad’s early help was all girls, they had to do many “boy” chores. Tressa was known to everyone as her “dad’s boy,” she was her dads right hand man and could do any farm work that any boy could do, plow, milk, slop pigs and trump hay. In her own words she said: “We had a real good family life, plenty to eat and wear. I was papa’s boy. I could do anything to please him.” 

HOUSEHOLD CHORES
Thelma said that Arvella was much better help in the house. This makes sense after reading Tressa’s thoughts on the matter, she said, “Arvella was the house cleaner. If I mopped the floor, I knew I had to do it twice, so I just slopped over it the first time and done pretty good the second time. I hit the spots I missed the first time.”

Tressa didn’t care much for the house cleaning chores, when it came to washing dishes, you could always find dirty dishes hidden in the warming oven and under the sink. 

Tressa’s mother taught them all about the duties of cleaning a house and bottling fruit, cleaning clothes and making the most of what you had and being happy. She also taught them how to sew and most of their clothes were home made.

Another chore Tressa recalled doing was going down to a big ditch in the center of town to get water.  She said, “We had two barrels on a sleigh with one horse. When we got it home we had to settle it with a little milk.”

CARING FOR THE ANIMALS
When they got older they were allowed to feed the calves. Their dad fixed up five gallon honey cans for milk buckets so it was quite a reach for them when they had to let the calves suck their finger and then guide the calves nose down inside the milk bucket. After a day or two they would slip their finger out and they would go on drinking [without our help]. Feeding calves was much easier then.

One of Tressa’s jobs was to milk the cows before going to school, she said, “sometimes it was so cold [the milk] looked like ice cream by the time I got to the house.”  Thelma also took her turn at milking the cows, taking them and getting them from pasture (in old field), hoeing corn, tromping hay and helping shock bundles of grain as it fell from the binder. Thelma said, “Two of us would each take a bundle and then lean them up against each other. It was hot tiring work”.

Thelma recalled times when she went to get the cows and would find one that had tried to cross the “wash” or canal and would mire down to where she couldn’t get out. Immediately she would go for help. Her dad would bring a couple of horses and throw a rope on the cow’s neck and proceed to drag them out. “How the poor thing would struggle,” she said, “It seemed like their head would come off their body before they would finally come out.” She said that always worried her.

Tressa’s sister Arvella said she remembered one time her dad had sent her to the field to harrow (break up and smooth the soil) and the horse got caught in the harness and she walked home crying. Her dad told Tressa to go take care of it. So, Tressa went back to the field and gave the horse one good slap on the rear and the horse just stepped over the harness so easy, then she finished the harrowing! Arvella was so grateful!

One time, Tressa’s dad told her to go down and herd the cows; one of them had gotten into the Lucerne, (a type of alfalfa not good for cows). The cow got really bloated and was in danger of dying but Tressa knew exactly what to do, she plunged a knife deep into the left side of the cow’s belly and ran like heck to get away from the smell! She was credited with saving the cows life that day.

Another time, they had a mother pig that was pregnant. The pig had terrible hemorrhoids and was having trouble birthing her piglets. They thought the pig was going to die, but again, Tressa saved the day. She took clippers, cut the hemorrhoids off and then cut the birth canal bigger. She helped that pig deliver thirteen healthy little piglets then she sent her sister into the house to retrieve her violin and her mother’s darning needle. Then she pulled the string off her violin and used it to sew the pig back up! And they all lived thanks to her quick thinking and courage.

COLLECTING EGGS
On the farm, they had eggs, butter, milk and cream that they sold to the store to buy their needed groceries. It was the girls job to gather the eggs. Sometimes when mother would hear a hen cackling she would hike one of the kids in the direction of the ‘advertising’ to find the nest. Nearly always, a hen would cackle when she had laid an egg. It was easy to get them out of the chicken coop but usually the hen would lay eggs out in the hay or out in the orchard. Often they would have to crawl under the old granary to check for eggs and if they found a nest full of eggs, they would have to inch them ahead two or three at a time. That was a dirty job! Tressa caught on rather early to the egg gimmick. She’d hide eggs she’d collected in the old out house and then later take them to the store to trade them for candy.

FOOD ON THE FARM
Their father had planted a large orchard with Wealthy, Ben Davies, Roman Beauty, Crab and White Transparent apples. They had pears, peaches, Italian prunes and yellow plums. To the top of the garden were “Pottie Wattomies” (Potawatomi plums) and sweet raisin plums.

In the fall they picked up apples and fed them to the pigs. Thelma recalled how they used to dry ‘tons’ of apples. She said the only memory she had of her grandfather Hansen was of him sitting on a chair on the south side of the house peeling apples. The kids would take a large darning needle and string the apples up. Then they would go over the line to dry. The flies used to speck them up generously however they were always soaked well and washed before using. Dad used to give apples to anyone who would come and pick them. Uncle Dick always wanted them after they had them dried – the same with cucumbers.

Their mother would always put up lots of pickles – in addition she would salt down in brine a barrel of cukes. Then she would make them up during the winter.

In the fall, they had to pick up potatoes and put them in the potato pit behind the cellar. The apples went in the cellar too. They would help their mother dry corn and prunes. Their dad would bring the corn in from the corn field south of the corral, then the kids would husk it and the older ones would cut it of the cob (that was Tressa’s job) and then they spread it out on large sheets on top of the machine shed. It was spread thin so it would dry quickly. Occasionally they would have to stir the corn. Their mother had several recipes she would use for the dried corn; creamed corn was one of their favorite dishes and their mother would cook a big kettle of it at a time. Four prune trees grew right behind the granary and machine shed. The prunes that weren’t made up into preserves would be pitted and put out to dry just like the corn.

In the winter the kids would sit around the dining room table with a coal oil lamp and study. In the evening after studies were done, their Papa would ask two of the kids to go get a pan of apples or pop a little corn. Making a batch of honey candy was a real treat.

Honey Candy Recipe
2 cups honey
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of cream

Directions:
Mix ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat until it is at hard ball or hard crack stage. Pour into a buttered platter. When it cools, pull until it’s a golden color. Cut into 1 inch pieces and wrap in wax paper.

Supper was nearly always bread and milk, honey, jam and butter. They always had plenty of milk (skim with a little cream added), butter and bread. With ten in the family, their mother baked eight loaves of bread every other day. Getting milk toast was a real treat. Their mother would hold a slice of bread on a fork toward live coals until it was nice and brown. Breakfast was usually mush (Germade), sometimes eggs, pork, or fried potatoes. Thelma said their mother was a good cook and could stir up dinner for extra guests without much effort. A favorite was macaroni and tomatoes and chocolate cake.

The eggs they got and butter they churned was their mother’s only means of getting money for groceries like salt, soap, coal oil, thread, stockings, lye, etc. Mother always made their own washing soap out of tallow, suet, grease of any kind and lye. Thelma said much of their shoes and clothes were bought with egg and butter money. Mother made her own cheese and Jenel and Thelma would have to churn the butter each week. Mother’s butter was always in demand; her pounds were always twenty ounces and fresh.

Their dad used to sell his grain by hauling it up to Price, Utah in the fall. It was then that he would bring back a year’s supply of sugar. After threshing he would take a load of grain to Ferron to have ground into flour. This was also our year’s supply.

In the fall, their dad would butcher a couple of large hogs. The hams and shoulders were smoked, the head made into head cheese and the balance into sausage. They would clean out the intestines, scrub and scrape them until almost transparent and then they screwed them up over a long bottle neck that had been carefully cut from the bottle. Then the ‘stuffin’ began. As their mother stuffed the seasoned sausage, one of the kids would be at her side to jab air holes into the intestines with a darning needle.

Their Dad would go to the coal mine and bring back a load of coal for $.75 cents a ton; that is if you got out of the mine alive. Several loads took care of their winter needs. A trip or two to the mountains supplied all of our wood. Thelma couldn’t ever recall having an over abundance, however they never went cold or hungry. Tressa said, “they always had plenty to eat and wear.”

CHURCH
Tressa said, “On Sunday the whole family would go to church.”  Her sister said they were taught love and respect and Tressa carried these virtues throughout her life.

Thelma recalled that church had always been a special part of her life. She explained that as soon as they were able to attend classes by themselves, their mother saw to it that they attended both Sunday-School and Primary. She said she vaguely recalled that children did not go to Sacrament Meeting back then as they do now so her mother and dad would give her and Edna (a neighbor) each a dime if they stayed home with the younger children during the sacrament time. When her parents returned home, they would march down to “Parks Confection and Ice Cream Store” and invariably buy an Opera bar (United States first candy bar, the “Opera Bar,” had three layers of cream filling chocolate, vanilla and strawberry that sold for ten cents) and a nut bar.

They attended church in the old frame church in Emery. First they would hold opening exercises in the old church and then march a block to attend Sunday-School classes in the school house. For Primary we would stay in the church and cluster in small groups. She said the children today sing many of the same songs that they did when she was little, I Have Two Little Hands, Dare to Do Right, Little Purple Pansies, I’ll Be a Sunbeam and Give Said the Little Stream.

Thelma talked about her baptism; I’m sure Tressa’s was much the same. Thelma said, “Since our church had no font, those whose birthdays occurring between August one year and July the next year were ushered up to the canal west of town where there in a special hole, baptism would take place. Changing clothes had to take place behind a bushes or people. All the baptisms were performed on Sunday right after Sunday-School, confirmations performed the same day in Sacrament meeting.”

In mutual (Young Women’s), they had to learn the Beehive Code, each girl was required to memorize “The Spirit of the Hive,” which was the Beehive motto: “On my honor each day I will have faith, seek knowledge, safeguard health, honor womanhood, understand beauty, know work, love truth, taste the sweetness of service, feel joy.”  They had seals they worked on for various fields, “service, home, religion, etc.” When they filled a requirement then they could put a seal in their book. When it was filled they were ready to become a Jr. Gleaner.

In Thelma’s youth she recalled that sacrament bread was passed to everyone on a silver plate with a handle. The sacrament water was poured from two beautifully carved silver tall pitchers with hinged lids on them. The lids would be opened when the blessing was to be pronounced. They would pour the water into four silver pedestal cups with handles on each side. The deacons would then pass the cups throughout the congregation and each would take a sip of water. She said she often wondered whatever happened to those beautiful pieces of silver. Later individual paper cups were used and new plates for the bread were purchased. She said she never could recall anyone getting sick or passing disease by sharing the same cups. Various people in the ward furnished the bread. Sometimes it was a nice light bread and other times not so light.

Thelma said, “it was always a pleasure to recall the old church bell ringing at 9:30 a.m., then 9:50 a.m. and then the final summons at 10:00 a.m. Brother Peter Olsen was the custodian and he always greeted us with the sweetest smile and always words of encouragement.” Thelma said she has a vivid mental picture of him pulling the bell rope.

Their dad was never too religious. He practiced religion by seeing that the widows in town or those less fortunate than they were, had meat, fuel and flour. He would donate his services first on any worthwhile project. He was strictly honest and dependable and much less a disciplinarian than mother. He would always say, “By Gary, the next time you do it, you’ll get a lickin!” He couldn’t stand to see a kid or dumb animal beaten. Thelma said she doesn’t “ever remember seeing dad smoke”, however she remembered how mother dreaded some of the holidays as some of dad’s friends, Oliver and Bennie Larsen and Uncle Al would invite dad to have a drink with them. Mother would be so mortified and disgusted when he would be seen with that gang, and she had no sympathy for him when he came home drunk. Thelma only remembered seeing him drunk once. He and mother were sealed in the temple after Jenel was born. Thelma said she heard her mother say it took twenty years to bring dad around, by that she meant total abstinence and his activity in the church.

CAR
Their dad bought the third car in Emery. It was a 1921 Chevrolet two-seater that had two little holes in the back you could look out. It cost $940.  When Tressa was thirteen years old, she snuck the keys out of her dad’s pocket while they were at church and then snuck out and drove around. Tressa said she almost ran Parker off the road and he was mad and went and told her father!

EDUCATION
Mother’s greatest desire was to have her children have greater advantages than she had. She only went to the 4th reader herself however she would put many high school and college students to shame in reading, spelling and writing. She educated herself as she helped us with our lessons year in and year out.

Tressa walked a half a mile to school each day. They had a two room school house with an old pot belly stove in the middle for seventy-five kids. She said the teachers were really strict. If Tressa needed discipline and got hit by the teacher, she was supposed to go home and tell her dad and then he would hit her again, so she never told him.

Tressa said, “One time our teacher was mad at us kids and locked us in the classroom and left. So we decided to have a party! We quickly came up with the idea to hook all our belts together and send the smallest girl in a coal bucket out the window and carefully lower her to the ground. When she got down, she went to the store and got some candy and brought it back for us all to share.”

At recess, they would play ball, hop scotch, marbles, swing on the old “home made” merry-go-round and cluster in front of the outside toilets just before the bell rang. When it snowed, the boys would wash our faces with snow as well as snowball us. Often they would play “Fox and Geese.” Some other games they played were Black Hawk War, Kick the Can, Run Sheep Run and they would always run races.

At twelve noon they would dash home for lunch and be back by one. If the weather was bad their mama would fix them a lunch, usually a pork sandwich and apple wrapped in newspaper. Sacks were very scarce.

Her sister said Tressa always had a lot of boyfriends at school as she got older and after school, they would “borrow” chickens and corn from the neighbors without asking and then head for their favorite cook-out stop for a feast. Tressa said she recalled having lots of school outings, and enjoyable sleigh rides in the winter.

MUSIC
Tressa said “Mama wanted us to play the piano. I took a few lessons then decided to try the violin. I took lessons from uncle Irvin; he didn’t know one string from the other. Mama made me go up in the orchard and put my book in a tree and then I could fiddle away. I got pretty good. I played in a little orchestra for dances.”

PLAY
Tressa said, “We had lots of play time with all the neighbor kids so life was really great.” Thelma said, growing up, her and Jenel played a lot together. They always had dolls and liked the same things. She recalled they had dolls that were about eight inches high, and they kept mothers rag bag pretty slim making dresses for them.

SOCIAL ACTIVITY
Thelma said their mother was always the motivating force behind their social activity. Dad provided the means, however, mother was the pusher and always saw to it that they had costumes for the plays and that they learned their parts well.

With a big family there wasn’t much money, but the family knew how to have fun. There were always friends at their home ready to have a good time. Her sister said, “Tressa would sit at the piano, tickling the ivories and everyone would soon join in singing and dancing – it wasn’t long before they were making candy, popping popcorn and bobbing for apples and having a grand ole’ time.”

Thelma recalled that their mother and dad were always good sports when it came to helping them entertain their friends. They could always roll up the rug and dance in the parlor or open the window and dance on the lawn that stretched in front of the house. When their papa brought the first Orthophonic phonograph in town, their parlor was crowded with friends of all ages listening to Six Feet of Earth Makes Us all of One Size by Oscar L. Coffey and The Evan Sisters, and many more of the latest records.

Thelma said, “They helped us put up quilts so we could have shows, and we were always first to receive an assignment of food for any party. Mother was an excellent cook and our food always went first. They had pictures shows in the old church once a week and a dance nearly every Friday.”

TOWN CELEBRATIONS
In Emery, town celebrations were always something to look forward to. The Hansen sisters got new dresses at Christmas and the fourth of July. The fourth of July dresses had to do for the twenty-forth celebrations as well.

The July celebrations always started with the cannons going off at 4:00 a.m. and at intervals until 6:00 a.m. Then the band would assemble and on a wide hay rack—later a truck —would go up and down the streets of the town, stopping at intervals to play. Often, people would treat them to a cake and homemade root beer; Thelma said they always did at their home.

At 10:00 a.m. a patriotic program, songs, orations, drills and readings would be presented in the church.

Each child in our family was given $.25 cents to spend for the day. $.10 cents would go for an ice cream cone and popcorn in the morning and $.15 cents in the afternoon.

Everyone went home for lunch, in the afternoon the orchestra tuned for a “children’s dance”.

At 4:00 p.m. the competitive sports took place. There were always races. Edna and Thelma would always win first and second place in their division. Some of the town’s people complained and said it wasn’t fair because just before the holidays Niels Hansen and Charlie Worthington would have their kids practice running on the country roads. When Thelma got a little older, her mom would pay her not to run.

There would be sack races, three-legged races, and later horse races. The celebration would climax with a big dance in the evening. Thelma said she was chief baby tender so until she was about twelve years old she wasn’t allowed to go to the dance.

The July twenty-forth celebration was in much the same order, however preceding the program often they would have an Indian skirmish with some pioneers or a pioneer parade.

One time their dad hooked up “Old Pete” a huge ignoble horse with “Shortie” a little midget pony to a pioneer wagon. Whatever it was–couldn’t have been greater. As time passed, people moved and people lost their enthusiasm. Thelma said she was so glad that she lived in Emery when patriotism ran high.

CHIRSTMAS
Usually their Christmas was very slim. If the boys got a harmonica, that was all. If the girls’ got dolls, that was it. One time Thelma remembers getting a little set of dishes. Thelma said, “That was the time mama fixed Lee (our cousin who was living with us) up as Santa and we watched him come in and leave us our gifts. It was a real treat to get an orange in our stocking. It was always nuts and hard tack candy. Occasionally we ran on to a “painted” chocolate piece of cream candy.”

Part of the Christmas fun for the Hansen’s was to slip over to the neighbors and holler “Christmas Gift!” first. The school usually put on a Christmas program. The Sunday-School always had their “Manger Story” and on Christmas day a little dance was held for the kids.

The older people always danced at night. They danced around a big pot belly stove that heated the hall. The blue painted benches were slid against the wall for spectators. The orchestra played on the stage. The orchestra was made up of local people. Uncle Irvin Williams was always the leader. He taught every instrument, even the violin. Elva Simmonsen was the pianist, Tressa and Odess Petty took turns on the violin, Wes Hansen (cousin) on the banjo and drums, Alonzo on the trombone. We really had good times. If some of the boys had a little too much to drink, our dad would usher them out.

TOWN DANCES
It was said that Tressa could dance the socks off of anyone. She loved to dance and have a good time.  This is a story she shared in her own words, “We shined our shoes with Stove Black. One night Arvella got the good shoes to dance in and I had to sit up on the stage fiddling away with an old pair. After a time, I had to lay my fiddle down and down I went to dance. Papa was the floor walker. I did a little too much raggin’ in the corner so he made an example out of me.” 

Tressa recalled the first new pair high heel shoes she ever had, “I wore them to a dance. I wore my old shoes down there and then changed [into the heels] and put my old shoes in a bush. When I came out [of the dance], I had a boyfriend and didn’t dare to go get my old shoes. It nearly killed me to walk home in high heels for the first time!”

BIRTHDAYS
Every four years they would get to celebrate their birthdays and invite their own group of friends. They would have whipping cream on their cake and dish of peaches for their dessert.

Tressa said one time, “It was Arvella’s birthday. I was dating Jonnie Neilson and I had a date with him that night. I found a water snake and put it in a paper sack and gave it to her saying it was from Joe Broderick, she put her hand in the sack and you can guess the rest.”

SPORTS
Their dad was sports minded, so when the town decided to have a sports outing, their family was one of the first to be on their way. Sometimes it was a fishing trip, or just a day on Pitcher Flat. Whatever it was, dad was sure to be there. Dad was indeed a leader (not religiously) but he was on the canal board, town board, school board, and any celebration board that came along. He used to be the dance manager. That’s the way all the Hansen’s got started to dance early. Dad and Mother were both good dancers and under Dad’s supervision the kids all learned correct dance protocol.

He always like sports and encouraged his kids to participate. Thelma remembered one time her dad bet Merrill Allred $5.00 that she could outrun her friend, Ora Clark. She had been washing clothes on the board and was tired, but she still won the race, however, she said she didn’t remember ever being compensated for winning.

Tressa was known as the family “tease” it just came natural to her. Even the Tinker-man knew he would run into trouble at the Hansen house because the big tease was always on duty.

WORK OUTSIDE THE HOME
Thelma said, “Our family had little money so when we had a chance to make a dime we felt it our duty to work.” For a days work, Thelma would get 25 cents. That would buy the material for a front apron. Thelma said, “We all wore front aprons to school. We all envied Melva Nielson because she could have a clean one on every day.” When Thelma was fourteen or fifteen years old, she got a job helping in the hotel. They had to wash lots of sheets, as well as lots of dishes.

Often in the middle of the night Rosie Duzzett would knock on their door and roust them out of bed because travelers had stopped and need food and beds for the night. For that job Thelma received 75 cents a day.

Tressa said, “When I was thirteen, I went out to the Oak Spring Ranch to help cook. Rena Ralphs was the main cook. I stayed that summer and had lots of fun.”

SALT LAKE CITY LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL
Tressa wrote, “After completing high school in Emery, I came to Salt Lake in 1922.  I worked at Willis Shorn Drug store and lived with Aunt Carolina. I helped her for my board and room. That is where I met my husband Howard; he worked for the railroad and was boarding there. He asked me for a date to go to a show. I asked Aunt Carolina if she thought it was alright. She said yes, anyone that speaks so well of his mother and dad can’t be too bad, so I went and six months later I was married to him in the Manti Temple on 19^th of September 1923.” 

From Thelma’s history we read that Tressa had married and was living in Salt Lake City (61 Downingtown Avenue) when Thelma came to live with them so she could attend High School in Salt Lake. Tressa was expecting Howard Lee and the plan was to have Thelma baby-sit and help around the house. Thelma was told to go to West High because it was cheaper. When Tressa took her there to register in September of 1924, she was eight months pregnant. Thelma said she was a “country greelin” and had a hard time making new friends.

At this point in time, Tressa created a little bit of heaven in her own home. Tressa first son was born on the 15^th of October, 1924 in Salt Lake City.  His name was Howard Lee (my dad), after his father, since he was almost an exact duplicate of him.

In November of 1924, Howard was initiated into the Elks Club in Salt Lake City. The Elks club was a prestigious fraternal order that was founded in 1868 as a social club in New York City. The club was originally intended for minstrel show performers. They borrowed many of their practices from free masonry and until 1973 the membership was restricted to only white men. In later years, this group expanded to include charitable programs, veteran’s services and youth programs.

When the school year was over, Tressa’s dad came up in June of 1925 and brought a couple of boys with him. They all went to Liberty Park together to see “Tom Mix” the movie star. Tressa and the baby went to Emery and stayed for several days with her family.

The next fall Thelma stayed with Tressa again but during the second half of that year, Thelma and Tressa got into a disagreement. According to Thelma, Tressa accused her of things she never thought of and told her to get out. Thelma said she was sure maybe Howard had something to do with it. Later they made amends and Tressa and Howard went to Thelma’s graduation.

Several months after her graduation, Thelma got a job at Purity Biscuit Company paying $15.00 a week. Tressa and Howard were having a time meeting bills and they persuaded Thelma to board with them once again and thereby help pay expenses. Thelma said she had about $75 saved up when Tressa asked her to let them have the money to help pay their taxes.

Tressa soon gave birth to another son, Robert Don, on 15^th of August 1926 while still living in Salt Lake City.  His nickname was Bobbie. Cleo, Tressa first daughter was born on the 15^th of February, 1930 in Salt Lake City. Shortly after she was born, Tressa and Howard moved to Lehi and Thelma moved out. On the 26^th of July, 1931 in Lehi Utah, Kenneth Ray was born and their family was well underway.

Larry, the caboose of the Ricks family was born ten years later on the 22nd of April, 1941 in Lehi, Utah.

Howard and Tressa were actively engaged in the activities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tressa served in many callings; she worked in the Primary, she was a Sunshine Worker which I believe had something to do with Relief Society, she worked with the youth in the Mutual Improvement Association (M.I.A.), she worked with the Gleaner Girls, a group of young women who had just turned 18 and were transitioning into Relief Society. She was part of a Singing Mothers group and helped with temple excursions. Tressa once told me that she didn’t need to write her own history because everything there was to know about her was published in the newspaper! I don’t think she liked all that public attention and everyone knowing her business. The following articles came from the Lehi Sun, a small local newspaper. I have enjoyed reading all about her and it has helped to paint a picture of her church life from March 17^th, 1932 to October 10th, 1940.

In 1939 and 1940, Tressa was actively involved in the Parent Teacher Association (P.T.A.) at the school. And she was president of the Lehi High School Band Mothers Association where she was instrumental in helping the marching band to obtain new uniforms!

If there is one thing I know about Tressa, she knew how to have fun and if there was fun to be had, she was right in the middle of it, she LOVED a good party. Tressa always could dance the socks off anyone.  Howard had a job cut out for him just to keep up with her. She was one of the best entertainers I knew and I grew up learning all about being the perfect hostess from setting the table properly, to knowing what kinds of foods to serve and how to make your guests feel welcomed, at home and well cared for. These articles from 1932 to 1956 explain a lot about her personality.

Tressa and Howard did a lot of traveling and had many friends and lots of fun, while Howard was in good health. Here are a couple articles about some traveling she did close to home but she also traveled abroad quite a bit.

Howard and Tressa knew joy as well as tragedy.  In later years they lost one son that was involved in the service. Robert had enlisted as a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps in November of 1944 and did his basic training at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. He began overseas duty on April 11th, 1945 and was fighting in World War II when he was wounded. He later died on June 26th, 1945 (age 18) in Okinawa, Japan. He was flown to the United States and buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii (Plot P, 591).

Thelma wrote about the time Bob died: “Howard Lee was also enlisted in the Army Airforce Corps in Beford, Massechusetts but he was able to come home early. Larry fulfilled a mission and brought much joy to their lives. Tressa’s only daughter has always been a great comfort to them.” I’m guessing this picture was taken sometime after Bob’s death as he is noticeably missing from the photo.

Howard started a business, Ricks Furnace and Appliance in 1947 (not sure on the exact year). His first shop was located on 2319 South State Street in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tressa helped him do a little advertising by entering a ‘Mad Hatters’ contest where she took third place. They crafted a hat that resembled a furnace and Tressa posed a sad face for a picture that went in the newspaper.

Tressa also did a little work on the side advertising appliances. I’m unclear about whether she did this for the business or if she was just trying to earn a little extra money on the side.

I wish I could remember all of the exotic and wonderful places that Howard and Tressa traveled to. I know they went to Japan and Spain, and they went Cuba more than once but one of my personal favorites was to hear them talk about their trips to Hawaii. Often times when our family visited there’s on a Sunday evening, I would beg for Grandpa to set up the old projector which shown larger than life on their dining room wall and I would get lost in dreams of far off places. Below are a few travel pictures.

In 1952, Howard and Tressa help Tressa’s parent to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They had an open house at their home in Springville. They were married on December 28th, 1902 in the Manti Temple.

Tressa and Howard has cleaned and remodeled and sold seventeen different homes together. Some of them they actually lived in before they sold the property. Here are pictures of a few of them.

Howard, being the astute business man that he was decided to take on a new venture, he became a contractor and was instrumental in having Holladay Villa Apartments built which were later turned into condominiums where they spent the rest of their lives. Below is an add for an open house that was placed on June 8th of 1962 and the complex was finished in 1963. Currently, in the year 2020, fifteen of these units are for sale and they cost around $310,000 for a 2 bedroom place.

At this point in our story, I will start referring to Tressa as Grandma. It just doesn’t feel right to use any other name…

In the condo where they lived, they had a swimming pool. Grandma was the one who taught me how to swim. She would take me over to the pool and teach me how to paddle around using the paddle boards they had. She worked and worked with me so I wouldn’t be so afraid of the water. At one point, she’d had enough and she threw me in the water and said “swim or drown!!!”  As I started to go under the water, I quickly realized that if I didn’t paddle harder, I really would sink! This was the real beginning of my swimming. Next she taught me how to knee dive off the side of the pool, then I learned how to dive off the diving board. I’ve never been a strong swimmer and I’m sure I don’t do the whole breathing thing right but I can hold my own in the water and I’m not afraid.

My Boynton cousins, Aunt Cleo’s kids would often swim with us, she had five boys; Steve, Brent, Tom, Mark and Paul. They took great delight in walking by and pushing me in the pool, clothes and all and they LOVED to dunk me under the water. Eventually I got pretty good at defending myself. Those were the days, we laughed and laughed and sure had a good time together. Many times after swimming we got to get out the barbeque and have a wonderful dinner together out on the lawn.

I spent hours upon hours playing in that blessed swimming pool. I wanted to be there every weekend and as I got older I often called Grandma and begged her to let me and a few friends come to the pool. She grew weary of this since every time I came, she had to be with me and she quickly learned how to say no when she didn’t want me there.

One not so great memory I have of that pool comes from the time it started raining while I was swimming. I was getting ready to get out of the water when the lightning hit the cinderblock wall next to the pool, causing pieces to explode and fall into the pool. Needless to say, it was a terrifying experience for me and I had nightmares about swimming in that pool for a long time that went something like lightning striking, things exploding and falling into the water injuring the people who were swimming, the pool water would turn into blood. 

Eventually, the condo association decided the pool took too much maintenance and that it wasn’t being used enough so they filled it in with cement and currently it is part of their parking structure. It was a sad day for me when that happened. I absolutely love to go swimming to this day, especially at an outdoor pool and I have had great joy in teaching a few of my grandkids how to swim.

Tressa’s joy continued to grow with her grandkids and great grandkids. Some are pictured here in her living room standing in front of the fireplace. Stephen Boynton is missing, I believe because he was enlisted to serve in Vietnam at the time and of course the younger ones who weren’t born yet!

When I was a little girl, I distinctly remember Grandma sitting me down and teaching me how to use a ruler. She had me take paper and mark off one inch on every side then she instructed me to connect the marks to make a grid. It took me a long time and she insisted that I be exact. Looking back, it was probably her crafty way of getting me out of her hair for a few minutes. However, even in this she was teaching me as I learned quite well all about the little markings on a ruler. 

Grandma and Grandpa were very patriotic people. They loved their country and the flag. I remember them marching with me around the house while I waved the flag and we sang “It’s a grand ole flag, it’s a high flying flag!” one of my favorite songs to this day. We had long discussions about being proud of where you lived and also about being proud of the name that you bear. We talked a lot about the importance of honoring the Ricks name and how we shouldn’t ever do anything to bring dishonor or disgrace to our family and to that name. This really made me feel like I belonged to something great, something bigger than myself and I really did feel proud to be a Ricks who was born into such a wonderful, prominent family.

Thelma wrote: “There never could have been a more dedicated wife than Tress as she stood strong and watched the passing of her loving mate in April 1971.” Grandpa had Type II Diabetes which caused him to lose both of his legs. He walked with crutches the whole time I knew him. I remember Grandma having to give him frequent insulin shots and she was always fretted over that. I’m sure she missed him terribly after he passed and although she had many friends and found things to keep her busy, I’m not aware that she ever really dated anyone and she never remarried.

The world wasn’t going to pass her by after Grandpa passed away. Grandma knew she had to keep going. She wanted to get out and see parts of the world she’d never seen. She loved to travel and she always had a suit case packed and read to go. Shortly after her son, my dad, Howard Lee passed away, Grandma, Cleo, Thelma and my mother, LaVerna decided to take an exotic trip to New Zealand, Australia and Tahiti where they had a great time.

Thelma said: “Tress always knew how to bridge the generation gap between the old and especially the young. She always knew what the kids liked to do. When her nephews and nieces came around to visit she’d always take them to the park and zoo and do and eat the things they liked best. One time she got them out of bed at midnight and sat them on the floor and ate cherry pie. She was always a good sport and willing to help anyone achieve their goals. Tress would counsel, lend a hand and was always a good listener. She never complained about the wave set running down her back while she was a model for a beautician. Her hair was never too short, it was always just right.” My sisters also talked about a time Grandma got them out of bed at midnight and had them eat “bloody worms” in the dark with her. Really it was a half gallon of vanilla ice cream in a bowl with root beer poured over the top. They each had a long straw dipped into their side of the bowl.

I loved to visit Grandma and Grandpa which we did often. I have so many fond memories of visiting on Sundays and watching the “Wonderful World of Disney” together. I have fond memories of sleeping over at Grandma’s house, usually I got to sleep with Grandma on Grandpa’s bed after he passed away. I distinctly remember listening to the air conditioning unit cycle on and off during the night, the sound would lull me off to sleep. Sometimes, in the summer, I got to sleep out on the balcony in one of their fancy chaise lounge chairs and breathe the fresh air all night. I especially liked that because I was up off the ground and I knew there wasn’t any bugs getting at me. In the morning, Grandma would always have a special breakfast, usually an egg and toast with of some sort of fruit or my favorite peaches and cream with sugar on top. It was always an adventure getting to take a bath at Grandma’s house too. Her bathroom was beautifully decorated fantasy land for a little girl.  Her bathtub and sink were a rosy pink color and she had these awesome ceramic fish on the tiled walls surrounding the tub with a fancy draped shower curtain.

Grandma loved to play games and she would sit for hours and play slap jack with me. She taught me how to shuffle cards and do that fancy bridge. Sometimes we’d play marbles, mom, dad and grandma needed a fourth player to even the odds so I almost always got to be grandma’s partner. We’d play until late into the night and I often found that at some point I fell asleep and would mysteriously wake up in my own bed.

Grandma liked to shop at a clothing store called Pykettes and she loved to take us girls shopping with her. She was so generous and wanted to buy us new outfits, however, I always felt like the clothes were too “old fashioned” for me, really not my style. They looked great on her, most of the clothes were polyester prints with vibrant colors and designs, I was more into jeans and plain colored blouses, the last thing I wanted was to stand out. I could just imagine how the kids at school would tease me if I showed up in one of those outfits. I don’t think she ever understood why I consistently refused to let her buy clothes for me. 

We occasionally took some small road trips with Grandma. I specifically remember going to Yellowstone with her when I was a kid. I remember stopping a few cafes to eat along the way. When supper was over, Grandma was always sure to take her left over food with her along with the silverware and salt and pepper shakers that she put in her great big purse. She felt that if she had to pay for a meal, she’d bought the table setting too. I remember my parents trying to talk her out of it but she just laughed and laughed and did it anyway. After all, no one was going to take advantage of her!

Grandma really did know how to cook, she could make the most elegant meals and she would set a beautiful table. She was a good hostess and taught me all about manners and how to behave when dining out. I remember her beautiful china, Franciscan Desert Rose. Grandma’s favorite color was red and so naturally she had beautiful red crystal water goblets, bowls and plates. I was always expected to clean up after dinner and that included washing all the dishes, drying them and putting them away. I must admit I hated that job and I was genuinely afraid that I would drop a plate or chip the china but somehow it all survived.

Thelma wrote about Tressa, “Her love and time even went deeper towards her friends and family.  Her visitors always found a hot meal and a warm bed in her gracious home. She could whip up an elegant meal out of nothing. Tressa had a lovely home and she welcomed you with a friendly, loving heart. (The early years are gone, later in life she loved her dishes done up and in the cupboard where they belong, with a good laugh of memories.) She enjoyed picking up old friends from the rest home and they brought a few friends and she would take them for a ride and out to lunch.” Grandma also hosted luncheons at her house two or three times a month where she’d invite friends or people from her Bridge club. She really enjoyed entertaining and she loved to play cards.

One of the things I loved about visiting Grandma is that she enjoyed making special treats. It gave her something to do during those long hours she spent by herself. She’d often make great big tubs of colorful candied popcorn to share. At Christmas she made the best peanut brittle and divinity I think I’ve ever tasted. One of my personal favorites was the chocolate covered pretzels she made; I really had a hard time resisting those.

On occasion I had the privilege of going to church with Grandma. She had a great ward but the thing I remember most was how everybody knew and loved Grandma. Even though she has been gone for several years now I still, on occasion, run into people who knew her. For example, just the other day I met Kirk MacKay. He mentioned he was affiliated with Cottonwood MacKay Mortuary and after learning he was John’s son, I asked him if he remembered Tressa. His face lit up as he told me she was his primary teacher and a good friend of his family. He said over and over that I came from “good stock” and how I should be proud of my heritage. I also had the occasion to work with a nurse named Kathy who grew up near grandma and she remembered her fondly as well. Grandma had a way of connecting with people that made lasting impressions on them.

Grandma loved music, I never heard her play the violin but I loved to listen to her play the piano. She taught me how to play a few different versions of chopsticks and I would beg her to play the duet with me every time I visited her house. She always encouraged me to learn how to read music, she gave me some of her old piano books and I would practice and practice but I was never was able to play without hitting the wrong notes but I did become very familiar with all those old, wonderful songs. Grandma wanted me to be able to perform on the piano so one time she set up a time for me to go play a few songs on the piano for the Veterans up at the VA Hospital. I was so shy and self conscious and needless to say it didn’t go well at all, I felt she was so disappointed in me. At one point, she gave me the sheet music to Dr. Zhivago, it was one of her favorites and was even played at her funeral. She told me she’d give me $20 if I learned how to play it with no mistakes but it hasn’t happened yet. Unfortunately, I don’t think I inherited her musical talent.

Tressa always found a way to keep busy. One of her passions was her talent for making someone feel important and being involved is spread wide throughout her many years of volunteer work. She has spent many hours working with the Disabled American Veterans, VA Hospital and the Utah Social Service Organizations, being awarded numerous times for her VALIANT work and efforts. She involved me in this service from time to time as well. One year, 1972 (2nd grade), I got to help sell poppies to raise money for the Disabled American Veterans. My friend, Karie and I took to the streets of Salt Lake City and sold little poppies. People paid $1 for each one. We had a lot of fun doing this and I had the second highest poppy sales that year.

Another big thing Grandma always did was to make sure the Disabled Veterans had a wonderful Christmas party each year. She would plan it out for months; the anticipation of waiting for that event was almost more than I bear. I spent hours helping Grandma decorate the hall and set up the long tables with her fancy home made centerpieces. Finally, the day would arrive and we’d all gather in the big hall for dinner. I think we all helped serve the food and after everyone enjoyed a nice meal, we’d gather into a large room and Grandma would enthusiastically lead us in singing Christmas songs like Jingle Bells and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and then if we sang Up On The House Top loud enough Santa Clause would come in jingling his bells with a big Ho-Ho-Ho – Merry Christmas! We each got a turn to sit on his knee, even the adults, and tell him what we wanted for Christmas and then he’d give is a net stocking full of candy and other fun things. Grandma just had a special way of making it all simply magical for everyone.

Grandma enjoyed doing crafts. I loved spending time with her while she created wonderful things. I remember one time she and my mother made the most beautiful pictures of peacocks out of egg cartons and jewels they had collected. She also liked to crochet little dolls to hide toilet paper rolls and colorful crocheted carnations. In the 1970’s, grape lights were all the rage and Grandma made several of these. The grape-like balls were made from hard acrylic that was poured into molds. Once it hardened, they would carefully drill holes through the acrylic and thread a wire through it to connect the grape clusters together then they would wind the lights into the cluster and add some leaves and a chain for hanging. They were beautiful.

With the left over balls, she made “clackers” which eventually became a marketable toy; however they were taken out of circulation due to the heavy, fast moving balls that sometimes shattered when striking each other. Nevertheless, my cousins and I spent hours upon hours playing with these and mastering the “double clack” which was a hard fast synchronized move to connect the balls below and then above your hand, over and over. Sometimes we compete against each other seeing how long we could keep the thing “clacking” the longest.

Grandma loved pretty things. She had one of the first of its kind fiber optic globe lamp. She was so proud of that piece and could hardly wait for us to come over so she could show it off. It was a big, round lamp with a color changing, rotating fiber spray, similar to the one below. Light would travel down the thin hollow fiber optic line and then shine out bright on the end. It truly was beautiful and mesmerizing to watch.

One time when my boys were little, I took them to visit Grandma. Chris and Justin started being a little rambunctious and they accidentally bumped into a table and broke one of Grandma’s vases. I was mortified; I knew how much that piece meant to her. She was disappointed and I had a hard time visiting her house for a time after that but she wasn’t one to hold a grudge and she eventually forgave us.

Tressa was very generous at heart. In 1977, the dairy industry was failing and President Jimmy Carter poured two billion dollars out to the dairy farmers. Suddenly the farmers who were hurting had a surplus of cash and they used it to produce as much milk as they could so they could keep the government money coming in. The government in turn bought the excess milk and processed it into cheese and other products. Soon the stockpile grew to over 500 million pounds of cheese stored in hundreds of warehouses in 35 states, but what to do with all that cheese. In 1981, the USDA considered dumping it into the ocean. President Ronald Reagan’s answer to the cheese dilemma was to distribute it to Americans and so they did. Tressa was the recipient of a lot of those 5 pound blocks of processed cheddar cheese! Enough so that she kept her entire family stocked with cheese for about ten years. I’m not sure if it was part of this same program but she often had huge cartons of eggs to hand out as well.

Tressa was generous with money too. She often gave me money when I needed it, especially after I was married. One time she gave me $500 when I really needed it to pay rent. She never expected anything in return, it was always just a gift. Her sister Thelma wrote about her, “Tress has always been there when you needed her. She always seemed to manage to slide a neatly folded check into your pocket to help you out when you needed it.”

Tressa’s sister spoke of Grandmas love of sports and this continued throughout her life. She was on a bowling league and in 1986 when she was 81 years of age, she could still score a 236 in bowling! She also loved basketball and baseball. I remember her taking me to many baseball games at the old Derk’s Field on 1300 South.

WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH GRANDMA?
Another time, Grandma called us in a panic. Someone had stolen her car! She had spent the day shopping at Mervyns and when she came out, her car was gone. She immediately called the police and reported it stolen. The cop gave her a ride home and reassured her that they would notify her if her car turned up. Upon arriving home, she immediately called my mother (they were pretty close). She was so terribly upset. Later that evening, she received a call from the police; they had located her car and wanted to return it to her. She was shocked and embarrassed to learn that they had found it in the Mervyn’s parking lot, right where she had left it, on the OTHER SIDE of the store! She had gone in one door and out the other never realizing her mistake.

Another time, David and I had invited Grandma to have dinner at our house. We were so excited that she said she would come, we set a date and time and were eager to prepare a delicious meal to share with her. Unfortunately, she showed up two days early and we weren’t home. Later she called and was quite upset with us. How dare we invite her over and then not even be there! I was upset too that she came on the wrong day!

Shortly after that, we learned that Grandma had Leukemia, a cancer of the blood. They told us she probably had it for quite some time but just didn’t know it. I’m certain that it had affected her brain functioning and this explained the abnormal behavior we had been experiencing.

Tressa’s son Larry and his wife Carolyn, both registered nurses, moved in with her and took care of her until she passed. It was terribly hard to say goodbye to Grandma. How do you say goodbye to someone you loved so much, someone who’d had such a huge impact on your life? I found it awkward to visit; I didn’t know what to say to her or how to be with her without breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably.  When I said my last goodbyes, only two short years had passed since my daughter died.  I decided to write Grandma a letter and in that letter I asked her to look after my daughter on the other side until I could be there with them. She promised she would, we hugged and I kissed her then I left and that was the last time I saw her.

Thelma (her sister) wrote of Tressa: “She had the expensive taste of a queen. She loved items that reflected their own beauty in all ways. But the things that made her more happy is when she received a simple card or note or a kiss and hug in return.  To each of her family members they were unable to put a price on her love because it was priceless and rare and they wouldn’t give it up for anything. Tressa is truly a servant of our Father in Heaven. Her favorite color is red. It seems to fit and sums up a lot of Tressa’s life. Red means charity, bravery and courage. She had all of these and many more.”