History of Elden Orton Smith By Max L. Maxwell
Elden was born 17 Nov. 1909, in Summit, Iron, Utah. He was the son of Charles Clarence Smith and his mother was Rebecca Taylor Orton. His mother's father Samuel T. Orton was the first family to settle and build in Summit, in the spring of 1857, where they lived in a dugout during the first winter. His father's father William Hoy Smith at one time was one of the most well-to-do men in Summit and kept his boys and others in jobs. William worked on the farm, herded sheep and hauled freight to Delemar and Pioche, Nevada.
Elden's father's family had to move around quite a bit in order for his dad to find work and the family moved with him so they could stay together.
Elden was their first of four children, Elden - 17 Nov. 1909; Clara - 1 Oct. 1913; Charles Orton - 13 July 1918, and a baby daughter, who was bom dead, his mother called her Rhea - 22 Oct. 1925. They lived in Parowan, Summit, Iron Springs and Delta.
Elden's family was not too active in the church and when Elden was baptized and ordained to the Priesthood it was not by his father. He was almost 14 before he was ordained a Deacon.
Elden was a better than average student in school, he graduated from Parowan High School on the 4 May 1928. ' Elden then went on to collage at Branch Agricultural Collage of Utah, in Cedar City, Utah. He graduated on 5 May 1933. He also completed a Special course in Automotive Mechanics. The course consisted of 680 hours training on the following units of the automobile: Running gears and body, power transmission and control, power generation and electrical system. On the 20 May 1933. He completed many course in National Guard of The United States and of the state of Utah. A few or Field Artillery, Common Sub-Course and Auto Mechanics. He Completed his Vocational Training at Branch Agricultural Collage, He completed the W.P.A. Worker, (Semi-skilled) course on 3 Aug. 1941.
Elden's father would occasionally drink and when he came home he was very abusive to Elden and mother Smith. When Charles Orton (called Ort) was old enough Charles Clarence would take Ort with him on his drinking partys, they were mad that Elden wouldn't go with them so when they got home at times Dad Smith would have Ort hold Elden while he beat him. Elden held fast to what he believed in and never held hard feelings against either of them.
Things were hard for this family during the Depression and because of this Elden went to the C.C.C. (Civilian Conservation corps which at it's peak employed 500,000 young men. It was part of the "New Deal", which Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt put together to help the nation get out of the Depression.) to work. This helped his family out a great deal. He Enrolled 30 June 1933 at Camp F-17, Pine Valley, Utah. (Elden O. Smith, CC9-107278.)
It was while Elden was in the C.C.C. and working in the Pine Valley area that he went to a dance at the Veyo Swimming Pool. Here he met Remola for the first time. He was 23 and she was 20 years old. They knew that they were meant of each other. Elden was a strong 6 foot 2 inches tall and not a pound of fat on him and a good looking young man. Their first date was at a dance at the Pine Valley Chapel. It was a fathers and daughters outing in the afternoon with a dance that night. Elden met Remola at the dance. The Veyo group was staying in Gardner's Barn. Elden took her back to the barn after the dance. It was raining so Remola's father let them sit in the car and visit a while before he left.
Elden and Remola went together for nearly two years and were engaged quite a while before he had money to buy a ring for her, as Elden had to help his father meet his family debts. When Elden asked Remola to be his wife, they were out on the lawn at her home in Veyo, it was dark and the stars were bright. He said, "As soon as I can swing it, do you think it would be heaven on earth to spend the rest of your life with me"? Remola put her arm around him and said, "Oh Yes".
They planned to get married in June but because of a trip that Remola had the opportunity to go on they moved the date back to 3 July 1934, in the Salt Lake Temple. The St George Temple was closed and the Salt Lake Temple was closing on 3 July too. So Elden met her in Salt Lake City, and they went through the temple alone. They were married by George F. Richards. They went into the temple at 6 a.m. and got out at 2:30p.m. Their Honeymoon was in Salt Lake City, for 3 days. After they got out of the temple they went to a Shirley Temple movie. It was the first movie that either had ever been to and they liked it so much that they decided to name their first daughter Shirley. This they did, but Remola changed the spelling to Sherlie.
Elden's car was an old Essex, and just before he left for Salt Lake City, it broke down. So he hired Nelse Madson and his son Elmer to take him to Salt Lake. Madsens stayed at his daughter's home in Springville and then came and picked up the newly weds and took them back to Summit.
Elden and Remola lived with his family in Summit until they had money to move to a home of their own. Remola camped with Elden out on Buckhom Flat north of Paragonah and south of Beaver, while he was working with a crew to widen the road. When they had a break they took a bus to St George, where Remola's family picked them up and took them to Veyo for a wedding reception at the Veyo Swimming Pool. Clark Chadburn (a cousin) came and played for a dance. They had a large crowd. Ma Hopp made a beautiful Wedding cake and brought them a present too. After the lunch Elden and Remola sit up in the Band Stand and unwrapped all of the presents and showed them and told whom they were from. They got a lot of lovely things.
They made their first real home in Summit, Utah. They rented a place from Elden's uncle, Harold Smith. Elden still had to work at Buckhorn Flat so they would have some money to get house keeping setup. They went into debt and got a cook stove and a linoleum rug to go on the front room and bedroom floor, from Leighs Furniture in Cedar City. Mother Smith loaned them a bed and there were cupboards, a rocking chair, an old sofa, a table and an old bench already in the place. The bench was fixed for a wash bench by putting a curtain around it.
Sherlie was born while they were living in this home.
Elden built a home in Summit on his days off and after work. It was at the west end of town. Remola's sisters and brother came and lived with them while they went to high school in Cedar City. In return for this Remola's parents paid for the lot and fuunished them a cow to milk, a pig to fatten and chickens to eat that also furnished them eggs. The folks also gave them fruit and vegetables to bottle and anything they could to help them. Elden and Remola also had a garden.
The second child Shelden, their only boy, and the third child Omah Lee were born while living there in this home in Summit.
Sherlie - born 22 may 1935 - Cedar City, Utah (Iron Co. Hosp.) Shelden Chadbum - born 7 Oct. 1938 (Iron Co. Hosp) Omah Lee - born 26 May 1942 (Iron co. Hosp.)
On the 7 Dec. 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The USA was at War.
Lloyd, Remola's brother, who was living with them couldn't join the service fast enough. He was so set on joining the military, that he finally convinced his father Benjamin Chadbum to sign to give his permission, because he was not yet 18 years of age. He lost his life in this war, and he was home and buried, before he was even old enough to have been in the war. It wasn't long until the National Guard unit that Elden was in for 15 years was called up. (Elden O. Smith Sergeant Battery. "F" 222nd Field Artillery, Cedar City, Utah.) But Elden was not able to go, because of his family responsibilities. (This really hurt him.) With the war on, Elden was working in Cedar City for Lunt Motor Co., he was their front end and alignment man. (Best in the Country.) It became necessary for the family to move to Cedar City. They tried to sell their home in Summit but didn't even get a bite. Maser Dalley whom they borrowed money from every now then, suggested they build a basement on a lot in Cedar City and get Ketchum's Builders and Movers in Salt Lake to come and move the home from Summit to Cedar City. This they did. There was no damage to the home. All that needed to be fixed was a new flue.
By now they were expecting another little one. Joan was born 16 Oct 1946 in Cedar City, Iron, Utah. (Iron Co. Hosp.)
It was a special treat when Elden stayed home a little later than normal and fixed breakfast for the family, he made very special pancakes.
They lived in Cedar City a little over two years and then sold their home and made enough to buy a home and Service station/garage in Parowan. This gave their son, Shelden, a job as well as the rest of the family. The kids loved to go out with Elden when he took the wrecker out to pick up a car that had stop running. By this time Sherlie had married Brent Talbot from Paragonah, Iron, Utah, and Shelden had marriage on his mind. When Shelden married Luella Phillips, from Parowan, Elden and Shelden bought the old Relief Society building from the LDS church. This building had been donated to the church by Brigham Young. They proceeded to add an extra bedroom and carport on each end of the building with a basement to the north for furnace and storage for two families. Elden with his family on the east side and Shelden on the west side.This property is at 116 West Center, Parowan, Utah.
Elden was made a Seventy by EIRay L. Christianson, 13 Nov. 1954. He was one of the seven Presidents of the Seventy in the Parowan Stake. He was also called as a Stake Missionary and very active.
Elden took his family on a number of trips. One was to Wayne Wonderland, (Capitol Reef Natl. Park.) On this trip they were afraid that they might get caught in a flash flood. The road going through Wayne Wonderland at that time was just a dirt and gravel road. It cris-crossed the river bed dozens of times, and they were in the bottom of a very deep canyon when the storm hit, and on top of that the car stalled and Elden and Shelden had to hike out for help, leaving the rest of the family in the car as it was raining very hard. They were ready to spring out of the car, if they heard the flood sound and climb to higher ground. Remola said that it was a terrible time, but the children remember it as quite a thrill, but also frightening. They also went to the Giant Redwood forest in Northern California. Another trip was to Disneyland--also to the "Parade of Roses" on New Year's Day. Many short trips to the mountains and canyons, like Cedar Breaks, Navajo Lake, Bryce Canyon, and the sand dunes.
Elden had a heart attack on 8 Jan. 1958 when he was just 48 years old. He was working as a mechanic in his service station/garage in Parowan, when he dropped his wrench and the man waiting for his car said to Shelden, "I think
something is wrong with your Dad". When they pulled him out from under the car he was dead. This was just two months before they moved into the new home that they had been remodeling with Shelden. His funeral was on 11 Jan. 1958, and he was buried in the Parowan Cemetery.
I would like to quote from a talk that Grace Burt gave at Elden's funeral. "It's eleven years ago this June since they came to live in our neighborhood. Of course it's always been Elden's home more or less, but it was new to
Remola.... But from that time on we have enjoyed their deep friendship, association and their wonderful understanding." "We have watched their faith in what they did carry on in their lives. I remember when he decided to close the Station on Sunday. He said to me, "The few dollars I would make on that day could never make up for what I am losing by being away from my family." And he has been blessed by so doing. He has been a devoted husband and a kind and patient father."
"He kept one or two good cows in his back yard. He enjoyed them very much and he took such wonderful care of them. And May always admiring those cows and hinting around how she would like a calf and so on, and they were so fine. So. He says, "Well I'll tell you what I'll do May, when a steer arrives on the program, you can have it." But you know May never did get that, those cows went right on producing heifer calves to the number of eight. He, Elden and Remola and T. Taylor have virtually kept us in cream and milk."
"Elden was a mediator for peace and love among his people. He wasn't a perfect man, for who of us here is perfect? He was working hard on trying to live the Gospel and be a friend to all his fellow men. He told me one day that his hardest task had been to bring his fiery temper and his cranky attitudes under control, that he would be a better person for people to live with."
The real value of the kindly friend or neighbor who loves you with all your faults and failings thrown in, is priceless, and isn't bought with money. Fortunate indeed are those who know such fine people. We are told that the wealth o£ a man is the number of things he loves and blesses, which in return love and bless him.
We are going to miss Eldon a lot from our neighborhood and in our lives. Every morning he went out to the pasture to milk the cow. Every morning he drove away in the wrecker and we heard him come home at all hours of the night. And just grew a part of our lives, for having him come and go. But we'll always keep in our hearts the happy memories of a lasting friendship with him. The kingdom of heaven, we are told, is not a place but a state of mind. And we can all enjoy that if we put ourselves in tune and I pray that this family will remember all the fine things of their
I would like to take a Quote from Wm. Randolph Grimshaw talk also. "I have known Brother Elden a long time, but have been more intimately acquainted with him in the Quorum of Seventy, where he has been one of the Seven Presidents, and where he has been active and faithful and has taken care of his responsibilities. I have had experiences that indicate to me that they had a great deal of faith. And if they had faith, they will be all right. I asked Sister Remola if she was ready for a test of her faith, (This was just a few weeks ago.) But I had no idea and I'm sure she didn't that it would be such a great test as this. But I have no fear that she shall not loose her faith because it's pure and well grounded. She will hold fast to it. The Lord will buoy her up to carry on until her work is fmished and then she may join her husband again."
Elden spent a good share of his life in times that were hard. The Depression, then World War II. In spite of this he did well and provided for his family very well. He was a God fearing man that had a strong testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-he always taught his children to stand for the truth and not to be ashamed of being a member of the LDS church.
By Max L. Maxwell
The information in this history is right as for as I know. I never met Elden and went only on the history of others and the records of the family. To my knowledge there is no history written on Elden. If I have left something out that needs to be in or if something is wrong, just let me know. Max L. Maxwell, 1197 Baneberry Dr., St George, Utah
Source: Remola Chadbum History; Charles Clarence Smith History; History of Summit, Utah; Family record of Omah Lee Smith; Stories from family members, Transcript of Elden Smith Funeral Service; and Microsoft Home Encarta Encyclopedia.
