Rocky and Bullwinkle

D.Ann liked the cartoon Rocky and Bullwinkle.  She asked Santa one year for two flying squirrels for Christmas.  Her parents talked her out of asking for a moose.  Christmas morning came and she was a little disappointed when there was just an empty cage.  The squirrels came later and they were fun.  One time one got loose and they found it in Edwinna’s closet.  They were trying to catch it when it ran up Edwinna’s leg and up into her dress.  She did quite a dance as she squirmed and giggled as the squirrel moved around in her dress. 

(1965 Edwinna, Darlene, and D.Ann Perkins)

Drying Smitty

Edwinna had a Siamese cat named Smitty.  It loved to lay on top of the clothes dryer.  One time it climbed in the dryer when it was still warm.  They threw the next load in and turned it on without knowing she was in it.  After awhile, the family sat down for dinner and realized there were no tennis shoes in the dryer.  Dad pulled her out.  Her tongue was hanging out and he had to massage her back to life.

(1965 Edwinna, Darlene, Delbert, and D.Ann Perkins)

Camping at Big Springs

One time the Perkins family rented a cabin at Big Springs.  The cabin had a screened in porch where Evelyn and one of her friends slept.  Lamar had hung up his fishing gear in the rafters.  The girls woke up and though that there was a man in the rafters.  You can imagine the fuss they made until Lamar came out and turned on the lights.

One morning while they were there, Edwin had slept in and the men went fishing without him.  He went out and found some wild strawberries instead.  He must have picked a gallon of them.  Louise talked to the woman who ran the nearby store and was able to talk her out of five pounds of sugar.  Louise didn’t have any ration stamps for sugar so she may have traded her some Avon products to get the sugar.  She always had her Avon bag with her.

(1946 Evelyn, Lamar, and Louise Perkins)

 

A Fire and Help

From Doris Alene Argyle Maughan

 

In November 1976, my parents had their home destroyed.  This time it was by fire.  It started in the garage and swept through the house so fast that there was little time to rescue anything.  About all they had left was the clothes on their backs, the television set, and a couch they had managed to pull from the living room.  Brent and I were settled in Soda Springs, Caribou County, Idaho at this time and they came to stay with us until they could get back on their feet.  I watched as they pulled themselves together and began plans for a new home. 

The people of Chesterfield Ward and other friends were so good to help.  They were given showers to replace the items that had been lost in the fire.  People made quilts for them and gave them housewarming parties.  My father was overjoyed when he was going through the debris, trying to find anything that could be salvaged, and found the first diamond ring he had given to my mother.

My sister and her daughters spent many hours trying to replace irreplaceable items.  My mother and father demonstrated so much courage, trust in the Lord, and thankfulness to family and friends at this time.  It will always be an example to us, their posterity, as we recall these times.  Never once did she (Dora) let any of us see how truly devastated she was at this complete loss.  Once again, I witnessed her busy hands as she restocked her shelves for her two year supply.  She left a legacy of good works, putting trust in the Lord and always making the best of what had been placed in her path.

 

(1976 Delbert Argyle)

 

A Lasso in Church

When Doyle was 4 or 5 he lassoed a deacon while he was passing the sacrament in church.

He would also lasso Denece as a kid while she ran around the house.  He did it so much she got a rope burn around her neck and their mother Dora made him quit.

(1937 Doyle and Denece Argyle)

A Runaway Horse

When Denece was a little girl, there was a horse that was running away with her on it.  She was sure that she was barely hanging on by one stirrup.  Her mother (Dora) saved her.  When Denece was older she realized the horse was an old work horse.  Her father (Delbert) said “that horse never ran away with you.  I had the reins the whole time.”  There is even a picture of her on the horse.

(1936 Denece Ann Argyle)

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa

From Doris Alene Argyle Maughan

The grandchildren always loved to come to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Denece's children often came to spend the summers working and storing up memories of the wonderful times they had.  Dora was always willing to watch the kids whenever she was asked.  She loved them dearly and showed this many times and in many ways.  During the last few years of her life, she acquired the hobby of making lamps with beautiful dolls for the base of each.  She made one for every granddaughter plus Denece, Joyce, and myself.  She spent hours fashioning clothes and making hair out of fake fur.  She would make individual curls on each doll.  She even made rings for the tiny fingers, necklaces for the delicate necks of the dolls and lamp shades of frilly lace and ruffles.

(1969 Denece Perkins, Dora, Delbert, and Doyle Argyle, and Alene Maughan)

 

(1976 Delbert Argyle)

 

 

One of Dora's Beautiful Lamps, this one as a Bride

 

Moving Time

From Doris Alene Argyle Maughan

In the spring of 1970, my parents (Delbert and Dora) moved once again to the ranch near the home they lived in until Doyle and Joyce got married.  They bought a mobile home and fixed the yard and area to be beautiful.  Mother planted flowers and trees and loved it here.  My father helped my brother farm.  They both owned cattle and it was a family affair every spring and fall as branding and marketing chores were carried out.  Mother and Joyce used to get the dinner ready for the crew whiled the rest of us worked.

(1970 Delbert and Dora Argyle's Home)