mattiesfamily

HISTORIES OF
ELIZABETH MATILDA TRUMAN &
RAYMOND CANNON

Elizabeth Matilda Truman (Mattie)
by daughter - Aileen Cannon Schmutz

Mama was born on the 27th of Jan. 1892 in Gunlock, Utah, the oldest child of Albert Henry and Florence Matilda Bowler Truman. She was born in Joseph Huntman's granary. She was named after both of her grandmothers. Her maternal grandmother, Matilda Hill and her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Boyce. This name was soon shortened to "Mattie". She was known by this name for the rest of her life.

In the spring after her birth the family moved to the Truman field (south of Gunlock). The living conditions were a shed built out of cottonwood limbs against a wagon box where perishables were kept from getting wet. The field had been purchased by grandpa Truman from great-grandpa James Samuel Page Bowler. Every week they went into Gunlock to go to church and also to wash. In the fall they traded their harvest for staple items. In the fall they moved back into Gunlock to the Huntsman granary to spend the winter.

When mama was two and a half years old Esther was born. She was born the 2nd of Feb. 1894. The spring after Esther was born, the family moved to Hebron, Utah (west of Enterprise). The following year her father worked in the Delamar mine and in Pioche, Nevada. This was a tough winter for them. Grandma went into the winter with only a crock of potawatomie plums. There only light was a rag dipped in grease on a saucer. This light was called a bitch. The winter was so cold that the chickens all froze to death. The snow was so deep that they could walk over the fence. They carried water half a mile to do their washing with.

In the summer grandpa moved back and worked on the Enterprise reservoir. On the 12th of May 1896, Mary Jane was born at Hebron. They lived at Hebron until after Albert Henry Junior was born on the 30th of December 1898. The year after Bert was born they moved back to Gunlock. They lived at Harry Bowler's (grandma's brother) house while he went on a mission to Texas. Harry's house was a two room lumber house and they had plenty to eat while they lived there.

On December 15, 1900, mama's grandmother, Matilda Hill Bowler died. At that time grandma Truman moved her family in with great-grandpa Bowler to keep house for him as grandpa Truman was gone so much of the time. The rest of the winter she kept house for Walter, George and France as, well as her own family. On the 17th of May 1901 Uncle France got married and on the 29th of May grandma gave birth to Mable Hill.

Mama was 10 when they moved to Mesquite, Nevada. There were only 3 homes there at the time. Several families lived in tents and sheds. Grandpa had bought a house from a man moving to Mexico. They lived at that place until after Richard Alma was born on the 27th of September 1902. Grandpa traded that house for a piece of ground with nothing but (a house with) one room in it. Grandma was sick, the kids had measles and they were really poverty stricken. It was so cold that grandma stayed up a lot at night to keep the fire going.

The next summer they went back to Gunlock to stay with grandpa Bowler. While they were there they dried fruit and vegetables to take back to Mesquite. At this time there were six children in the family and they moved so much that they really had a hard time keeping the kid; in school. They spent one more winter in Mesquite and then grandpa sold that place and bought the Ike Burgess place. After that grandpa sold that place and they moved to the Beaver Dam to live.

Since mama was the oldest in the family she had a lot of responsibility. Her mother was not well and had many cares and responsibilities so mama was required to work very hard. In spite of this she loved school. She was a good student and skipped a grade in school. She received most of her schooling in Gunlock, Hebron and Mesquite. When she was finished in the eighth grade she wanted to go on so bad that she took the eighth grade over again, since that was as far as the school system went at that time. Her love for education carried over with us as a family. She always impressed on us the importance of an education.

Mama loved the church. I’m not sure about her early church training, but the family was very religious about family prayer. They always had a prayer on the food and they attended church whenever they could make it. Mama became a member of the church on July 7, 1901. Somehow, and none of us are sure quite how she did it, but she really instilled in all of her children a love for the church. As we were growing up we really had a lot of faith. Each of us have been married in the temple and are all active in the church. The reason we all wonder how mama and dad instilled all that religion in us is because none of us remember either dad or mama attending church all that much. Mama was always active in ward and stake Primary and Relief Society. She became quite ill the year before I graduated from Primary, but she was determined to stay on as organist until I graduated. She succeeded and retired from the Primary after I was finished.

In the spring of 1906, grandpa traded cattle for a place on the Bigelow Ranch. They moved into a board granary where Ellen was born and died. It was while they were here that grandpa and grandma took Claudie Bracken to raise. Sel (Marcel) Bracken's wife died while giving birth to Claudie and since grandma had lost Ellen at birth, Sel brought Claudie to grandma so that she could nurse him. Mama really loved Claudie as did the rest of the family. It really hurt the family when Sel came to take him home, at age 8, to live. Aunt Phyllis told us a cute story about Claudie. She said that when they had company the kids always had to wait to eat until after the company had eaten. One day, when they had company, Claudie was standing close by watching them eat. All of a sudden he scrunched up his face and said "there goes the last damn biscuit”.

In July of 1906 they moved back to Gunlock and into the Frank Holt place. It was a one room home with a lean to built on the back. On the l6th of October, 1906 Rodney Jacob was born.

Their next move was to the Magotsu ranch (better known as the Truman ranch) where Phyllis was born on August 22, 1911. A little more than two years later Helen Marie was born on the 16th of December 1913. She died the 22nd of December 1913. Grandma told Aunt Phyllis that it was a crib death. (At the time it wasn't known as crib death but later grandma recognized it, as more became known about it.) Mama was 20 when Phyllis was born. Life in general on the Truman ranch was excellent. They had fruit, corn and cane for molasses and hay and grain. Possibly for the first time in mama's life they had plenty to eat. In the evenings mama would play the organ and the family would sing. They were a fun family. Grandpa was really a joker so he kept things livened up for them. They played lots of tricks on each other.

During her growing up years mama had to work. She worked for the Indian agent, at the Indian Farm for two years. She told us the story that if they ever killed a snake they had to bury it in a hurry or the Indians would eat it. She worked in Enterprise for some time. She worked for many different families and at the time she met dad (Raymond Cannon) she was keeping house, in St. George, for students from the surrounding area.

One day dad went home and his mother excitedly told him that she had met the girl she wanted him to marry. She said she was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen and that she looked just like Martha Ashby (mama’s aunt), who she must have regarded highly. Grandma Cannon told dad that she had the most beautiful head of black hair and that she wore a braid down her back.

A short time later Uncle Bayard (dad's brother) came down to grandpa and grandma Cannon's house and asked dad to come up to visit at their house that night. Dad went suspecting, and probably hoping, that Bayard was playing the matchmaker, as he knew that mama and Aunt Roie were friends from the same area. Sure enough mama was there and after spending a, pleasant evening dad offered to take mama home. Mama accepted and as they turned a corner mama conviently said "You can smoke if you want to." Dad was really cross and told her that he didn't smoke and that furthermore he never had and asked mama where she got her information from that he did smoke. Mama. told him that she had heard it from the grapevine. Dad said, "Well I'm afraid the grapevine missed its mark because I don't smoke.” We all kind of thought that this was mama's way of finding out if he did smoke or not.

Their romance proceeded without too many hitches. At the beginning of the summer mama moved back to the Truman ranch and it took dad about 6 hours to get up to the ranch to visit her. So when he did make a visit he would stay two or three days and help out on the ranch. Sometimes dad and mama would saddle the horses and ride to Central or Gunlock. Phyllis told us about dad coming to see mama, apparently while some of the kids were still in school. She said the family had gathered around the big table to kneel and have family prayer. After the prayer had gone on for an unusually long time and the kids had all nudged each other, worrying for fear they would be late for school and hoping grandpa Truman would soon come to an end, he did and after that they all sat down to eat. Dad let out a very colorful oath. A shocked, tense silence came over the whole family as they waited to see grandpa arise to kick dad out of the house as he had never allowed any kind of profanity in his home. Nothing happened and they just went on and ate their breakfast. Aunt Phyllis said she never knew grandpa to allow anyone to get away with that, but dad. In years to come dad and grandpa became fast friends and worked on many jobs together and hauled many loads of wood together.

I can never remember a time when dad wasn't completely supportive of mama when it came to something she needed to do for her family. Dad was pretty strict with us and I can remember many days that I would have to give up doing some work he had assigned me to do to go hunt for grandpa. In grandpa's last years, his memory started to go and he would get lost, sometimes several times a day. Dad never said a word to me, if I had spent a lot of time in a day trying to find grandpa. If I just didn't get my work done or if I had done it and hadn't done it the way he wanted it done I had to do it over, but as long as I was helping to find grandpa everything was okay.

Dad and mama were married on the 15th of September 1914 in the St. George Temple. The ceremony was performed by dad's father, David H. Cannon. After mama and dad were married they moved out to the Washington fields to live at the Cannon farm. A couple or three years after they were married grandpa and grandma Truman moved to St. George to spend the winters.

In the meantime, Florence was born while they were living on the farm. She was born on June 19, 1915. Life on the farm was very difficult and one of the hardest things mama had to do was to bring her wash into St. George, weekly, to do it. However mama was always a hard worker and she never complained.

Mama was especially happy when grandma and grandpa Truman moved to St. George to spend the winters. I sometimes wonder if grandma and mama established a special relationship at that time as they were both expecting babies. Aunt Viola was born on the 22nd of September and (my son) Truman was born on the 12th of December 1917. It may be that mama and grandma always had a special relationship but as children we were well aware of the closeness that was between them.

As soon as Florence and Truman got old enough to get around good, mama become really miserable living on the farm. The canal ran close to the house and it was the fear of her life that she would have a child drown in that canal. Dad and Florence had an experience, while still on the farm, that mama repeated to us often. Dad was hauling hay and he had taken Florence with him. He would load the hay and then move along to the next stack. Florence was just playing around. When dad got on the wagon, on this particular day, and was all ready to move along to the next stack when a strong feeling came over hill to get down and look for Florence. As he did so he discovered her fast asleep with her head against the wheel of the wagon. If dad had moved the wagon, Florence's head would have been crushed. Mama reminded us regularly, as we were growing up, how strong the power of the Priesthood had been with dad that day.

After mama and dad moved back to St. George, the last four of their six children were born. Josephine was born April 6, 1920, Helen born March 16, 1922 and I don't know whether they were born at home or not. Muriel was born on July 29 1925 at a Mrs. Seegmiller's and I (Aileen) was born at home on December 1, 1927. Since I was the fifth girl and mama and dad had only one son I was a disappointment to them. However the disappointment must not have lasted to long as I felt really secure as a child.

Grandpa Cannon gave each of his youngest sons a lot next to their mother if they would build a house on it. Dad's mother was the second wife of a polygamist family and dad was the youngest son so he and mama got a lot next to grandma Cannon’s. Dad built a two roam home on it and mama was really happy, both with her home and to be in St. George. Mama found out though that living next door to grandma Cannon was quite a trial. For one thing, mama was really independent and so was grandma and then grandma would tell the kids yes to something mama had already told them no to. One day Jo went out and laid underneath the hedge that divided their homes and she really cried because mama wouldn't give her any money. Grandma came out to see what was the matter, and gave Jo fifty cents. Mama really resented this kind of thing going on.

As mama grew to know and understand grandma better she really grew to love and appreciate her. Grandma had had a hard time raising her children and her first six children died. Mama was tender-hearted and I'm sure this must have affected her deeply. I can remember her telling us about how grandma had milked the cow the day she died. When she told that story we could see the pride in her face, that grandma was so independent that she could do that. However, her advice to us was that we should never live next door to our mother-in-law.

As I have tried to write this history of mama the responsibility of it has weighed heavily on me because I can't see how a person could write down in a few pages what happened, to another person, and cover nearly 54 years. With much help from the rest of the family I have tried to give a bit of her early history but no history of mama could ever be complete without trying to capture the kind of a person she really was. All we can do is try to tell you what she was like and hope you realize that everything we saw in mama was colored with the rosy glow of love, so it's possible this account may not always be quite as (accurate as) those of you (who) knew mama but it's as accurate as those of us who loved her so much could possibly be.

Mama was honest, tender-hearted, clean, a good money manager, dependable, loyal, at times argumentative, afraid, determined, a hard worker, she had a lot of faith, willing to give service to her fellowman, fun, strict, a good listener, dependable, unselfish and philosophical. She undoubtedly was many other things but those are the ones that are foremost in our minds. Already I have left out what a good cook she was. Helen said about mama, “She knew how to make common things uncommonly good." Her cupboards were sometimes pretty bare but she always seemed able to scrape together something to feed tramps, Indians or visiting relatives. She made the best chicken and dumplings, rice pudding and pies that any of us have ever had. Mama's pie crust was so flaky and tender. The day before she left to go to Salt Lake for the operation that took her life, I remember that she made each of us our favorite pie. Dad, Muriel and I were the only ones home at the time and I don't know what their favorite pie was but mine was made from some berries that were similar to a blackberry. She got them from Aunt Esther up in Veyo. I have thought so many times of the love that went into those pies because she was really sick and had just a week to live. Unselfish, I would say and what a beautiful memory to leave to the loved ones that she knew she would never see again in Iifetime.

One more unselfish act. I was a senior in High School at this crucial time and I was taking shorthand. I would write my letters in shorthand, give her the book and she would read along to see if I had written my letter right. Never a word of complaint and I realize now how painful it had to be for her to do that because all the pain she had was in her head, yet she helped me right up to the day she left.

Before the depression mama and dad had added two bedrooms, a bath and two porches to the existing two rooms of their home. They borrowed the money and so their house payments were $16 a month. During the depression work was scarce and so was money. They just couldn't keep up the payments on the house. Dad was a hard worker but sometimes he would lose his temper and walk off a job. Mama did everything she could to help make ends meet and often had to do the chores for dad when he was off working. She lived in absolute fear (and as a result so did the rest of us) that we would lose our home. She managed to keep up the interest payments and I have seen her stall off some of the bankers but they did manage to save our home. It was really a red letter day at our house the day that last payment was made on our home. Dad had gone to Henderson, Nevada to work at the plant there and made the best money he had ever made and so they were able to pay off at last. The war years was when dad worked at Henderson.

Grandma Truman was always so clean and I'm sure mama either inherited or developed this quality from her. She really had a need for cleanliness and it really showed in her home. That just couldn't have been easy because our small two bedroom would be practically nothing compared to our homes today. I sometimes wonder where she put all eight of us but we never seemed to suffer.

Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter will always stand out in my mind as fun times at our house. She always managed to do something extra to make these days special for us. Jo remembers dad taking us to the river in the wagon for Easter picnics but I can remember that we walked down to the river once. There was always something new for the house (even if it was just a cover for a pillow) at Christmas. On Thanksgiving I remember getting together with grandma and grandpa Truman and as many of the rest of the family as possible. Grandpa Cannon died before I was born and grandma Cannon the year after I was born so I don't have any memories of them,

Truman said that there were just two things that dad and mama argued about. One was how to plant a garden and the other was how to vote. Mama was a Democrat and dad was a Republican. Mama tho't President Roosevelt was the next thing to God and I still remember the day he died. She cried and about had me convinced that the whole world was going to come to an end. Mama and dad always had a beautiful garden but we don't know who won either argument. Or maybe I should say arguments, as they argued plenty. Sometimes I look back and think that they both loved a good argument and indulged themselves regularly.

Mama was the kind of person who didn't do a lot of visiting with her neighbors but her neighbors came to her home to visit. One thing I remember, in particular, is that if anyone ever told mama about a girl in trouble and having to get married mama would always say, "I can't listen to talk about young girls in trouble because I have five daughters myself and I'm not sure that one of them won't get in trouble."

On June 8, 1978 priesthood blessings were extended to all worthy male members of the church. It was a day I will long remember because my thoughts really turned to mama. As we were growing up mama supported the church and really helped us gain a lot of faith but she really had a hard time accepting the fact that the Negro people could not hold the priesthood. Many times I heard her say that she thought God was a just God but she didn't think that he was being fair on that particular issue. On that day I kept thinking about what a hard worker mama had been and knowing she wouldn't be idle, thought, I’ll bet she has been up there, all these years, working on that issue.

Pauline Snow was the handicapped daughter of Jetta and Dilworth Snow. Mama had a tender heart and she tended Pauline for many years while Pauline's mother worked. I can still remember well the resentment I felt toward Pauline because mama would spend a lot of time trying to help Pauline do something, when I felt like I needed help.   I can remember mama, saying, so many times, "Pauline is more crippled in her mind than she is in her body." Either she had not been taught to do much or she had not accepted the teaching. Mama always felt that it was such a shame to see her mind and hands going to waste. The only pay that mama ever received was a permanent occasionally. I have learned since that our pay for service to our fellow men doesn't necessarily come all at once and in this instance our daughter and our family received full pay and then some for all the many things mama did for Pauline. When our daughter Terrilee was about a year old, we could tell that she wasn't developing normally. We took her to a specialist in Salt Lake City. After much testing he told us that she would never be able to walk. At that moment, as hurt as we were. I remember thinking, "she may never be able to walk but she is not going to be crippled in her mind." I immediately went to work on her, both physically and mentally. When we took her back to see the same doctor, at first he had a hard time believing that she was the same child he had seen. I'm not sure that we would have ever convinced him, that she was, but she had had a broken leg in the meantime and he was able to recognize the problem in that leg. He told us it was really a miracle that we had accomplished. She has been walking, running and doing everything else she has wanted to ever since. How much I gained from watching mama, try to teach Pauline and how grateful I am for a mother who cared about serving others. How great has been both mine and my daughter's reward as a result of mama's service.

Alene Harris was a special friend of mama's. Some of Alene's daughter's took piano lessons from mama. I asked Alene about Shirley, who was Alene's youngest and the one who mama was teaching almost up to the end of her life. Alene said that Shirley continued on with her music and still enjoys playing the piano. Alene related an incident about mama that I thought was interesting and one that probably none of us knew about. She said that toward the end of mama's life, when she was suffering so much, that mama wouldn't charge the girls for their lessons. Alene said that she felt bad even sending them but that mama encouraged her to keep sending them as they really helped her to keep her mind off her troubles.

I remember an incident concerning mama and Alene that I have remembered all my life. Earlier in Alene's life she and her husband Grant had had many marital problems. Grant was an alcoholic and sometimes made Alene’s life a literal hell. Alene came over one day to talk to mama about this and she was thinking about getting a divorce. (Alene's mother had divorced Alene's father years before this incident) Mama said to her, "Alene, was your mother happy after she divorced your father?" Alene told mama that her mother wasn't happy about it and that her mother still loved her father. Mama then told Alene to weigh getting a divorce carefully before she did anything. Alene didn't get a divorce from Grant (I don't know that it was a result of that advice) but Grant later quit drinking and, went on to become the first Director of the Alcoholism in the state of Nevada. He served in that position for 12 years. He later became a member of Alcoholic Anonymous, working hard to help Alcoholics in that area also. Alene worked with Grant, on a volunteer basis, with women alcoholics in Nevada and also with the women in the prison there. Due to Alene's persistence and willingness to “endure to the end" she lived to reap many rewards for her endeavors. I like to think that mama might have had some small part in their last years of happiness.

Mama always had some philosophical tidbit to throw out at us. For instance, "there's a Jack for every Jill," "If you do something better than anyone else even though you live in the middle of a forest, people will beat a path to your door," "Don't complain about life because we made our own beds and we are the ones who have to sleep in it," "A rolling stone gathers no moss." I have always felt that each time she talked about a rolling stone, she was possibly thinking of her early life, that was so filled with moves. Whatever, I think it would have taken a bomb or something that strong to have moved her out of her own home once she had it. I know that we, as children, watched her hang on to that home with her fingertips and sometimes I think some of her fingers slipped just a little. If one slipped she would hang on, with the rest, ,just a little bit harder. Muriel's comments about mama included her feelings for her family. Mama did live for her family and she taught us that families were the most important things in our lives. She taught us that families really are eternal. She loved us and she loved her brothers, sisters and parents.

As we think back we realize what an impact the Truman family had on our lives. I will never forget the day Uncle Rod left to go to the army. It was as if mama was completely immobilized. She spent the day on the bed crying until I thought nobody could cry that much. Muriel and I both remember Aunt Mary and Uncle Chet giving us our first ride to Zion. What a treat for a family who had no car. Mama enjoyed visiting with Aunt Mable so much when she lived on First South and Second West, just three blocks from us. It was during that time that Grandpa got so bad and we took so much time trying to find him. I don't remember the boys having the Evergreen station but I have heard mama talk about that period of time, often. Then of course the devastation she felt when Uncle Dick died. Mama really enjoyed having Uncle Bert and Aunt Ruth live across the street from her. She really loved Aunt Ruth and it was after they moved there that I really noticed mama going to visit her neighbors. I guess Aunt Ruth could hardly be called a neighbor but I remember mama visiting her often. Aunt Esther and Uncle June must have supplied us with a lot of the fruit mama bottled as I can remember them bringing it to us and one of my fondest memories are of those yummy berry pies that came from them. Uncle Max and Aunt Viola popped in on us every time they came to town and Aunt Viola gave me the first Christmas gift I ever received, outside Santa Claus. Some of you will remember the books called the “Big Little Books”. She and Uncle Max gave me two of those for Christmas and I can still remember how tickled I was. Aunt Phyllis was just always there. I can never remember a time when she lived anywhere but where she is now living and she and mama had a very special relationship. It seems like so many of our childhood memories involved Uncle Royal and Aunt Phyllis, their family and the ranch. The fish Uncle Royal caught for breakfast at the ranch, the watermelons they grew and all the many kindnesses they did for us kids. Aunt Phyllis always took mama to the doctor when she had to go and showed her so much kindness in her last months. Thru the years grandma and Aunt Phyllis regularly visited mama. It was just a common occurrence for them to be there. They were just part of our growing up years. The horror of Uncle Royal's murder will forever be implanted in our memory. It seemed like mama was close to her family before that but after that terrible tragedy, she seemed to draw everybody even closer. Aunt Phyllis, with her many kindnesses to us and her beautiful homemaking abilities, really served as a good example to us. We really felt the love and concern mama had for her brothers and sisters. This bond she felt has carried over and we have had this same closeness in our family. We may not see each other often but when we do we just take up from where we left off as if we had not been separated at all.

Mama really loved her children and was ever mindful of their welfare. She often went without things she needed and must have desired, to give to her children. She wanted us to have every cultural opportunity. Music was an important part of her life. She had had two music lessons as a young girl and had learned music pretty much by herself. She tried to see that we had the opportunity to learn how to play. When she was 35 years old she had her first real piano lessons. She went on to become quite proficient in music, taking lessons from Professor Brimhall, Evelyn Thurstan, Clara Woodhouse, The blind Nelsons and Mae Pace. She played the piano in primary for all my primary years and was also stake Primary organist for 15 years. She taught music for many years and really enjoyed both playing and teaching,

When I was four years old mama was operated on for a cancerous goiter. It was my understanding that from this the cancer spread into her brain. I was 18 years old when mama got sick. She was really suffering for the last 18 months of her life. She knew she was going to die and therefore she tried to cram all the things she thought she hadn't taught us into that time. Muriel and I were the only ones left at home and Muriel worked so it seemed like I really got a lot crammed into me. She told me regularly that she was going to die. I can remember sitting on the end of the couch, crying and telling her she wasn't. It was hard to imagine an existence without her. I'm sure this was her way of preparing us for her death. She went into the St. Mark’s hospital, where she had surgery on her brain. She lived a week without regaining consciousness and died on January 21, 1946, while still at the hospital in Salt Lake City. A vital part of us died with her that day, but so much of her still lives on in us. She left us with a great legacy and a large pact of that legacy came to her thru the Truman family.

I have tried to make this account of mama's life as accurate as possible. Without the help of Florence, Truman, Jo, Helen and Muriel this much would not have been possible. To Jo, especially, I give thanks for spending many days with me last year to help me sort thru and write a good portion of it. Thanks also go to her for the pictures.

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The following tribute was written and given by Lucy Graff Esplin at the funeral for
Elizabeth Matilda Truman Cannon.

A LIVING TRIBUTE TO MATTIE

MATTIE WAS A VERY DEAR FRIEND OF MINE
     AND THE THOUGHT OF HER SHALL IN MY MEMORIES SHINE.
SHE WAS NOBLE, KIND AND ALL THAT WAS GOOD
     AND A TRUE EXAMPLE OF LOVELY WOMANHOOD.

SHE WAS THE SWEETEST PERSON I EVER KNEW
    AND AS A FRIEND SHE WAS ALWAYS TRUE BLUE.
HER LIFE WAS NOT IN MAKING A BIG SHOW.
    BUT AS YOU KNEW HER, THAT LOVE WOULD GROW.

SHE WAS GIFTED AND TALENTED IN MANY WAYS,
    BUT SHE DIDN'T WANT A LOT OF PRAISE.
JUST WENT ABOUT HER WAY, S0 QUIET AND CALM.
    ALWAYS WILLING TO TEACH, OR PLAY FOR A SONG.

HER DESIRE TO DO GOOD AND SWEET PERSONALITY
   SHALL FOLLOW HER INTO THE GREAT ETERNITY.
BUT NOW HER BODY FROM THIS EARTH HAS GONE.
   LET US PREPARE TO MEET HER IN THE GREAT BEYOND.

MAY GOD COMFORT EACH ONE OF HER FAMILY.
   MAY THEY CONTINUE ON AND FAITHFUL BE.
MAY "HIS" HOLY COMFORTING SPIRIT BE WITH THEM THIS DAY
   AND SAY, "HIS WILL BE DONE," I HUMBLY PRAY.

********************************

ELIZABETH MATILDA TRUMAN and RAYMOND CANNON
by Aileen C. Schmutz

Mama was born to Florence Matilda Bowler and Albert Henry Truman on January 27, 1892 in Gunlock Utah. She was born with a beautiful complexion and gorgeous black hair with eyes to match. She was truly a beautiful lady both externally and internally. She was the oldest of 11 children. Two of the children died early. One stillborn and one that grandma always believed died a crib death at the age of 6 days.

As mama grew she assumed a lot of responsibility. They lived on a ranch and she did milking and chores that needed to be done. After she married dad “Raymond Cannon” and had Florence, Truman, Josephine, Helen, Muriel and Aileen she refused to let us girls learn to milk a cow because she had had to work so hard at milking and ranching when she was growing up. She made us work at other things but milking a cow was not one of them.

I guess the main thing that stands out in my mind about mama was her love for her family. She loved us so much and demonstrated her love in many ways. She was a demonstrative person and we never left the house without a kiss. She was firm in teaching us but so kind about it. She insisted on teaching us correct principles, praised us for what we did right, firmly slipped over the bad we did but we always knew she meant what she said. There was nothing wishy-washy about her. She was a woman of thrift and industry. As a wife and mother she was ever mindful of her husband’s and children’s welfare. She was fervent in teaching moral principals and guiding her children to follow the gospel principles. On one occasion when our father was in the hospital not expected to live she gathered all her children around the big black kitchen stove to kneel in prayer to ask our Father in Heaven to help our father recover. We were reminded that it was through our prayers and faith in our Heavenly Father that our father was healed.

She was always kind to our friends and most of the time they played at our house because the neighbors didn’t always want us at their homes. Our home seemed like it was open house both to our friends and relatives. Any time we had Cannon family members from out of town they stayed with us. The Trumans stayed with Grandma Truman so we didn’t get Truman overnighters. I sometimes wonder where we all slept during the times we had guests but the company was always welcome.

Mama loved her parents and her brothers and sisters. Many times we would walk up to Grandma Truman’s house on Sunday. We loved going up there even though it was a mile each way. Grandma had such a fun house and she let us play on her upstairs porch as well as her downstairs porch.

Mother had a lot of common sense. She was dependable, clean, steady, ambitious, interested in world affairs, not afraid to express her opinion or fight for the underdog. She was a woman of thrift and industry. As a wife and mother she was ever mindful of her husband’s and children’s welfare. She was fervent in teaching moral principals and in seeing that her children stayed on the straight and narrow path.

She had special feelings for the blacks and for years I was fed a diet of, “I believe our religion but I don’t understand why the blacks are not allowed to have the priesthood.” This was not just something she said and let go, it was something she talked about often. I really felt the day I heard that the blacks would be able to receive the priesthood that mama had been “up there” working on that very issue. Until I get there and she tells me she wasn’t I will believe that she was involved.

Dad and Mama were both verbal people and we certainly had our share of arguments over the dinner table. It was a common event for them to fight over politics, religion or dad’s swearing and yet they would get up from the table, dad would give mama a kiss and off he would go.

Both mom and dad were ambitious. Mama devoted her life to her home, her family and dad devoted his life to making a living, keeping a clean yard and keeping that big family fed. Every summer he raised the most beautiful garden with never a weed in it. It was a big garden and we basically ate, winter and summer, what he raised in the garden and in the corrals. We raised our own chickens and when dad would kill one we would watch that chicken, after dad had chopped it’s head off. It would flop all over the place. Then after our supper that night we would watch mama pluck all the feathers off then cut it open and clean it all out. The next day she would cook it and did we ever love that chicken. Dad always raised pigs so we really grew up on pork.

Dad was really a good father. He made Muriel and I a table, chairs and a cupboard, painted them green and we played with them for years. I can’t say about Muriel but I loved them and played with them long after I out grew them. He and Truman made adobe blocks out in the corral for years and you can still see some of them on the south side of the old Wadsworth theater building.

I guess I would have to say that dad was the religious one. He always led us in prayer at every meal. I honestly don’t remember who helped teach us to say our prayers at night but we always regularly said them. Since I was the baby of the family dad held me on his lap at night as we gathered around the stove. He recited a lot of poetry and sang little songs to me. He was a father that in my case, was totally involved. He gave me a feeling of importance that I have never forgotten.

Dad walked every where he went unless it was to the farm or the Washington Field Dam and then he either rode a horse or took a wagon and team. He hauled wood from the Arizona Strip and that is what my mother cooked and kept us warm with. One of the things I loved about dad was that he would meet someone on the street and he would always tip his hat. In my mind’s eye I still see him doing that. I always considered him a real gentleman because of it.

Helen tells about when she was eight years old, some of the children were playing ball in the street. A young man was bringing his grandmother’s cows from the fields so he could milk them. One of them knocked her down and stepped on her leg. It crushed the flesh almost off the bone even though she had on long stockings. After being in the hospital her leg began to heal but it took many trips to the hospital and dad took her there. When she arrived at the stage to begin walking Dad made some crutches for her and they really worked well. She said he was always patient with her even when she screamed her head off as the doctor pulled the scabs off so the flesh would heal underneath.

I can only remember two times, when I was growing up, that my dad lost his temper at me. Then when mama died he was really mad at the whole world. He turned on me like a rattler. At that time I didn’t understand the different stages of grief and one was anger. I have later learned that a person who is grieving can stay in one stage for an hour or for months. Dad was there for a long time and Muriel was working at the McGregor Clinic, she worked late, came home to shower and go out on a date. I was the one home and I got the full blast of his anger. Dad later married Charlotte Seegmiller and lived with her for 20 years then she died. After a year he married Charlotte Levanger.

It was at this time that dad decided he had to learn to drive because the first Charlotte had been his driver and the second Charlotte didn’t drive. What a crazy thought that turned out to be. He went up to the office took some driving classes. Then they gave him a driving permit and turned him loose on Truman and I to ride with him while he learned to drive. (You have to know that I use the term “learn to drive” loosely as he never did learn to drive) Truman and I (each with a family depending on us) put our lives on the line and went with him. I know that one time I was with him he was one inch from going in the canal. I still shudder when I think of leaving my little kids and going riding with him. Our son Jeff will never forgive me because I made him ride with dad up to the office the day dad was taking his driving test. Jeff described it as a wild ride and he was sure dad would never get a license but he did. I will never forget the day he drove from St. George to Pine Valley to visit us and he was in first gear in his 1963 Ford pickup all the way up. When he came to visit us in St. George the streets were gravel and when he got ready to leave the kids would all line up on the curb to watch him as he pulled away. He would shove the gas pedal to the floor, while holding the clutch in then let the clutch out rapidly and it would fishtail and throw gravel and rocks as he drove away.

Dad and Truman worked together as a team. They loved each other and Truman’s quiet personality really enjoyed dad’s more flamboyant style. They loved to work together, play together, get together and be together under any kind of circumstances. I have never seen a father and a son who enjoyed each other the way they did.

Dad was friendly, good natured, likeable, and he had many friends. I was amazed when he died at age 87 and the chapel was filled to capacity at his funeral. I thought it was very unusual for a man of that age. I thought most of his friends had already died but apparently they hadn’t.

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Created: 15 Aug 01
Updated 14 Sep 07
Owned and Maintained by Paul E. Price

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