When I was young I loved to go to my grandma and grandpa's house. They lived in Panguitch, Utah and so we often went there to visit and stayed several days since they lived 235 miles away. When I was little, their house seemed like the biggest house on earth, probably because it was a two story home. It sat on a huge lot with large trees and a fence. It was a great place for a kid to explore and play.
The house was actually very small, but it sat up on a high foundation making it appear bigger than it really was. The outside of the house was covered with roofing shingles rather than wood or brick. The house was on a very big lot with a fence made of cedar posts and wire with a wooden rail top surrounding the yard. I remember trying to walk along the top of the fence. The boards were warped and cracked in places, and it was difficult to walk very far. A swinging wooden gate opened to a long concrete walk leading to the steps of the front porch. At one time, a porch circled the entire house, but it was dismantled long ago and was changed into the smaller simpler porch.
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| Faye and Bell. Shows fence around yard |
Grandma's parents owned the house at 189 West 2nd South before my grandparents. When Grandma's mother died, no one in their family wanted to pay for her burial. My grandma and grandpa paid for her burial. In doing so, they got her house for their own. They moved there when my mom, Faye was about four.
On the main floor of the house was a front room or parlor, as they called it in my grandma's day, a bedroom, the kitchen and a bathroom. The door to the stairway that led to two upstairs bedrooms was in the parlor. Originally, there was no bathroom in the house. When it was added, a little corner room was built inside the kitchen area of the house.
The parlor was a simple room. It contained a couch, two overstuffed chairs and a black upright piano. Framed faces of cousins, aunts and uncles lined the top of the piano. Lace curtains hung over the three small rectangular windows in the room. There was an oil stove between the windows at the end of the room. At one time there must have been a fireplace there because on the wall above the stove, there was still a mantle. Grandma had a clock on the mantle that tick-tocked the day away chiming every hour. Most every afternoon you could usually hear the sound of snoring and the ticking of the clock in the parlor. In one corner in the front of the room was my grandpa's chair. On the opposite side of the room in the corner was my grandma's chair. There was a little telephone table next to the chair. A handmade afghan draped the back of the couch. A pretty mirror hung on the wall over the couch. There were four doorways in this room, one going upstairs, one going to my grandma's bedroom, one going into the kitchen, and the front door.
The kitchen was in the back and ran the full width of the house. A wood and coal stove sat in a corner of the room. This and the oil stove in the parlor was the sole means of heat in the house. I can hardly imagine how difficult it must have been for my grandma in her elderly years to get up on a cold winter morning and start a fire in the wood stove so she could make breakfast.
The kitchen was a combination of an old house that over the years had been updated in an attempt to make it more modern. Necessary wiring and changes had been made to accommodate, but it was neither a modern or a pioneer kitchen. Besides the coal stove, there was an electric stove in the room. These stoves took up much of the room. To the right of the electric stove was a freestanding sink. There was a window over both the electric stove and the sink. Next to the sink was the back door and on the other side of the door, a small fridge stood in the corner next to the table. White metal cabinets hung on the wall above the table. There was a small covered porch outside the back door.
The parlor was a simple room. It contained a couch, two overstuffed chairs and a black upright piano. Framed faces of cousins, aunts and uncles lined the top of the piano. Lace curtains hung over the three small rectangular windows in the room. There was an oil stove between the windows at the end of the room. At one time there must have been a fireplace there because on the wall above the stove, there was still a mantle. Grandma had a clock on the mantle that tick-tocked the day away chiming every hour. Most every afternoon you could usually hear the sound of snoring and the ticking of the clock in the parlor. In one corner in the front of the room was my grandpa's chair. On the opposite side of the room in the corner was my grandma's chair. There was a little telephone table next to the chair. A handmade afghan draped the back of the couch. A pretty mirror hung on the wall over the couch. There were four doorways in this room, one going upstairs, one going to my grandma's bedroom, one going into the kitchen, and the front door.
The kitchen was in the back and ran the full width of the house. A wood and coal stove sat in a corner of the room. This and the oil stove in the parlor was the sole means of heat in the house. I can hardly imagine how difficult it must have been for my grandma in her elderly years to get up on a cold winter morning and start a fire in the wood stove so she could make breakfast.
The kitchen was a combination of an old house that over the years had been updated in an attempt to make it more modern. Necessary wiring and changes had been made to accommodate, but it was neither a modern or a pioneer kitchen. Besides the coal stove, there was an electric stove in the room. These stoves took up much of the room. To the right of the electric stove was a freestanding sink. There was a window over both the electric stove and the sink. Next to the sink was the back door and on the other side of the door, a small fridge stood in the corner next to the table. White metal cabinets hung on the wall above the table. There was a small covered porch outside the back door.
I remember that Gram threw the grease and the leftovers out the back door for the chickens and the stray cats. I always thought that this was strange, yet convenient. It was fun to just throw your food out the door with no worry about it at all which was contrary to the way things were done at my house. I remember that the dirt outside the back door smelled rancid and was oily.
The kitchen was a wonderful place, full of warmth, full of delicious aromas and full of laughter. Whenever we would go to Grammy's house, we would be greeted by the scents of homemade bread and chicken and noodles, or homemade soup. She always made us something good to eat for our arrival. The kitchen was also a place where I played the card game, "Spoons" with Gram. She would laugh and laugh when I stole the spoon and took her pile of cards. She seemed almost pleased that I had stolen her pile. She was always such a happy, loving, good person. I had a lot of fun with her. She always made me feel like I was the smartest and most talented girl in the world.
There were two bedrooms upstairs, the one where we slept directly at the top of the stairs, and a bedroom that was not used The other room was latched shut and looked as if it hadn't been used in a long time. I was always scared of that room, and was glad that my mom had to sleep upstairs with me so that I didn't have to be up there alone. Sometimes we would open the door and look inside just to scare ourselves. We were told to not go in there. I don't know why. I think that at one time there had been a fire in that room. Grandma said that the floor boards were brittle and we might break through the ceiling into the parlor. But it was dark in there, with no lights, and we were afraid to go in there for more reasons than breaking through the floor. At night, we were glad that the door latched on our side.
There were two bedrooms upstairs, the one where we slept directly at the top of the stairs, and a bedroom that was not used The other room was latched shut and looked as if it hadn't been used in a long time. I was always scared of that room, and was glad that my mom had to sleep upstairs with me so that I didn't have to be up there alone. Sometimes we would open the door and look inside just to scare ourselves. We were told to not go in there. I don't know why. I think that at one time there had been a fire in that room. Grandma said that the floor boards were brittle and we might break through the ceiling into the parlor. But it was dark in there, with no lights, and we were afraid to go in there for more reasons than breaking through the floor. At night, we were glad that the door latched on our side.
There was room for a double and a single bed in the small bedroom upstairs. The ceiling was flat in the center and slanted from the center on each side of the room. The room had once been papered, but had been painted over and in places the paper peeled from the wall. The floor was covered with vinyl flooring. The bigger bed was next to the wall and the single bed sat next to the stair rail. There were two windows in the room, again covered with lace curtains. A old fashioned dresser was between the windows. At night in the summer, we would go upstairs and raise the windows to cool the room before bedtime. The windows looked toward the sawmill. I liked to look out the window at night and see the embers drifting from the sawdust burner.
My grandparent's bedroom was the room next to the parlor. It was a small room with two windows, one in the front of the house and one on the side. A small closet was beneath the stairwell. Grandma had a cedar chest under the window in the front of the room. A dresser with a big round mirror sat diagonally in the corner between the windows. The head of the bed was against the wall directly across from the door. I don't remember the colors of the room as I didn't go in there often, but I remember a picture that hung over her bed. It was an oval face of a cherub. I have that picture today on my night stand. It was the one thing that I wanted that was Gram's.
My grandpa went to work as a sheepherder at the age of 13 and had spent most of his life away from home at the sheep camp for months at a time. After he retired from that, he often kept a few sheep in their yard. As a result, there was always sheep droppings on the lawn and the grass was purposely not mowed. It was left for the sheep to eat. Every spring when we would go to Grandma's, there would be new baby lambs. The lambs were cute, but we did not like the big ewes and rams so much. In fact Grandpa told us to stay away from them, so it wasn't so much fun playing in the yard when he had sheep.
In the back of the lot was a chicken coop, a barn and a pig pen. I remember one time that Grandpa had a big pig and it was fun to throw things in the pen and watch the pig eat them. Once, my big brother threw stink bombs in the pen and the pig ate them. No wonder my grandpa didn't like us messing with the animals. I also remember a time when they had chickens in the chicken coop. Each day it was fun to go out and gather the eggs from the nests.
There was an irrigation ditch that ran across the yard dividing the barn area from the house area. There was a little bridge that went over the ditch because water was running through the ditch most of the time. This was a place that we really liked to play. We would float all kinds of boats down the length of the ditch and would build houses along the shores pretending it was a lake. We could pass a lot of the day away playing in the ditch.
Once a week or so, my grandpa would put a board in the ditch to stop the flow of water in the ditch and make it flood into his yard. This was the way that he watered his lot. He paid to have a share of the water which allowed him to have the water for a certain number of hours once or twice a week. After the water had flowed into his yard for that amount of hours, he would go back out and pull the board from the ditch and make the water go back into the main irrigation ditch.
In back of the house there was an old fashioned water spigot. I remember that I thought it was funny because it had a pump on the side that you had to pump up and down to bring the water out of the spout. It also had a big crank handle on top where you could turn the water on and off but you had to pump it to make it come out. This was one of my favorite things in their yard. Right in back of the house was a clothesline. Between the clothesline and the fence was an area that we were forbidden to tread. It was where the septic tank was buried and we were told to never walk there in case it caved in. Also near there on that side of the house was a tank for the oil stove that was in the parlor.
In the back of the lot was a chicken coop, a barn and a pig pen. I remember one time that Grandpa had a big pig and it was fun to throw things in the pen and watch the pig eat them. Once, my big brother threw stink bombs in the pen and the pig ate them. No wonder my grandpa didn't like us messing with the animals. I also remember a time when they had chickens in the chicken coop. Each day it was fun to go out and gather the eggs from the nests.
There was an irrigation ditch that ran across the yard dividing the barn area from the house area. There was a little bridge that went over the ditch because water was running through the ditch most of the time. This was a place that we really liked to play. We would float all kinds of boats down the length of the ditch and would build houses along the shores pretending it was a lake. We could pass a lot of the day away playing in the ditch.
Once a week or so, my grandpa would put a board in the ditch to stop the flow of water in the ditch and make it flood into his yard. This was the way that he watered his lot. He paid to have a share of the water which allowed him to have the water for a certain number of hours once or twice a week. After the water had flowed into his yard for that amount of hours, he would go back out and pull the board from the ditch and make the water go back into the main irrigation ditch.
In back of the house there was an old fashioned water spigot. I remember that I thought it was funny because it had a pump on the side that you had to pump up and down to bring the water out of the spout. It also had a big crank handle on top where you could turn the water on and off but you had to pump it to make it come out. This was one of my favorite things in their yard. Right in back of the house was a clothesline. Between the clothesline and the fence was an area that we were forbidden to tread. It was where the septic tank was buried and we were told to never walk there in case it caved in. Also near there on that side of the house was a tank for the oil stove that was in the parlor.
Panguitch is a beautiful little place, in fact we always said that the birds sang, "Panguitch is a pretty little place." In the distance you can see the red cliffs leading to the scenic areas of Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon. The little town is surrounded by small farms, meadows with meandering creeks, and the town is situated in a cove of foothills. There is a large billboard outside town showing a big fish saying: "Meet me in Panguitch!" Panguitch means "big fish," and Panguitch Lake is just up the road from town. These are the things we liked to see and the places we wanted to visit when we went to Grandma's. We always loved to go to Red Canyon and take a picnic. There we would hike and play among the red rock spires in the picnic grounds. Gram would make a lunch and pack it in a tin bucket. A stop at the Indian Curio Store was a requirement. It still is.
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| Lynn Rosenberg, Bell Cooper, Aunt Grace, Me in front, Joann Liston, Than Cooper, Aunt Jean and Mom (Faye Rosenberg) at Red Canyon |
Across the street from Grandma's house was Panguitch Elementary. It had a playground, so usually every day we went there to play on the playground equipment. We put in plenty of hours on the merry-go-round and monkey bars at Panguitch Elementary School.
It was always fun when other family members came to visit Grandma when we were there. I loved it when Uncle Grant and Aunt Jean got together and began to reminisce about their childhood. One story called for another and there were some pretty tall tales. Then my mom and Aunt Mae would join in with some antics of their own. The stories were so funny and we all laughed so much. This was often the only time we would see some of our relatives. Everyone was so happy, especially my grandma. She loved visitors as she was alone so much of the time. "Come again soon." She would say.
Going to stay with my grandparent's might not seem like an exciting time for kids today. There really wasn't much to do, but we had fun. I remember the drive there was awfully long to a child, but as we drove the last few miles approaching the town, we watched in anticipation for the sawmill smoke which let us know that we were almost there. It's funny that today if I travel toward Panguitch, I still feel the same excitement. I loved going there. I loved to spend time with my dear grandparents, to sleep upstairs in the little bedroom and look outside at the glowing sawmill embers. I loved to explore the yard, walk on the fence, swing on the gate, and float boats down the ditch. I loved spending the 24th of July there with my relatives, watching the Panguitch parade, and going to the rodeo. These are all treasured memories!
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