Chapter XXV
Myra Rhoana (Henrie) Cameron

      MYRA RHOANA HENRIE, 7th child of James & Gedske (Schow) Henrie, was b. 11 Sept. 1894, Fredonia, Coconino Co., Arizona [bapt. 1902, end & S.to B. 1910s]; m. 1910s, Salt Lake City (L.D.S. Temple), to Philo Cameron, s. of Benjamin & Sarah Elizabeth (Allen) Cameron. He was b. 20 May 1893, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 20 June 1903, end. 1910s], d. 1930s, Panguitch, and bur. there 6 Jan.

      The parents of Myra Rhoana were devout Latter-day Saints and taught her the Gospel from the time she could comprehend what they were telling her. Then, she did not realize how much this meant to her, but in later years she came to appreciate their teachings.

      Her childhood was a very happy one. Fredonia was a small place; most of: the people were L.D.S. and they lived almost as one large family. Young and old mingled together in church, parties, dances, programs, games, and picnic

      Myra has a vivid recollection of a black plush cape her mother wore, which hung from her shoulders to below her waist. She would take Myra on one side of her and her brother on the other, and tuck them under her arms as she walked with them to whatever they were going to attend. ho matter how cold the weather, they were always snug and warm when they arrived. Sweet are the memories of those days and their mother. They were a very happy family. Myra’s older brother and sister taught her to play the guitar and they spent many pleasant evenings together, singing and playing

      On one occasion two little playmates and Myra were asked to take part in a school program. They were to sing and skip the rope at the same time. They started out bravely when for some reason the other two stopped and left her to sing and skip alone. She did sing and skip, but became so frightened she began to cry. However, she sang and skipped to the end of the song, much to the amusement of the congregation.

      At the age of 10 years, she won a book for being a good speller in school. The other students said it was because she was “teacher’s pet,” and that may have been the reason.

      One of Myra’s duties at home was to dip water out of the ditch that ran by the house and fill two 40-gallon barrels for culinary purposes, and to carry water from a well two blocks away for drinking and cooking. She helped weed the garden, and pick and prepare fruit for drying.

      She finished her schooling (8th grade) in Panguitch, Utah, after the family moved there. There were no high schools then.

      When she was 16 she commenced working in homes, to help earn her clothes and buy her trousseau. She married at the age of 18 years.

      Myra and her husband lived in Panguitch until 1925, and the next 2 years [p. 308] in Ogden and American Fork, Utah. Philo worked at most anything he could find to do then. He began hauling merchandise by team and wagon from Marysvale, Utah, to Kanab. There were no surfaced roads and he encountered many hardships by way of snow, sand, and mud. Later he bought a truck with hard rubber tires and hauled merchandise from Salt Lake City to Panguitch. He added other trucks and was granted a franchise from the State of Utah to haul from Salt Lake to Kanab. He was still in the business when he died of pneumonia in 1936, at the age of 42. Myra tried to carry on the business with the help of the boys, but it was a great responsibility for them as they were young and inexperienced. She decided to lease the trucks, but that proved unsuccessful and she sold them.

      She lived in Panguitch until 1942, when her health began to fail. The children thought she should sell her home and go to live with her married daughter, Arda, who was living at Flagstaff, Arizona. She lived with different ones of the children and they were very good to her.

      Myra Rhoana has worked in the Church most of her life, in different capacities, as member of the choir; teacher in Primary and Sunday School for years; counselor in Primary; stake Blazer director of the Primary; and second counselor to the Relief Society president.

      An outstanding event in her life has been her being selected as one of 15 ladies from Panguitch Stake to go to Salt Lake City and participate with the Singing Mothers of the Church in a General Conference. It seemed wonderful to be privileged to sit in the choir seats in that beautiful tabernacle and sing with such. a large group of women. She has been singing ever since she was a small child and has enjoyed participating in quartettes, choruses and trios, and the choir whenever occasions arose

      True happiness has come to her through working in the Church and giving service to her friends, neighbors, and fellow men. She has been blessed in numerous ways, healed through the power of the Priesthood when ill, and guided in all her walks of life.

      Philo and Myra Rhoana (Henrie) Cameron had 8 children:

1.       Arda Cameron, b. 1910s, Panguitch; m. Ralph Julius Harmon.

2.       Philo Garth Cameron, b. 1910s, Panguitch; m. Dorothy Miller.

3.       Maxine Excell Cameron, b. 1910s, Panguitch; m. William Fearl Lynn.

4.       O. Del Cameron, b. 1920s, Panguitch, d. 1920s.

5.       Jereld Henrie Cameron, b. 1920s, Panguitch [bapt. 1930s, end. 1940s]; m 6 July 1945, Logan (L.D.S. Temple), to Genevieve Noth. McBride, dau. of Soran Mikon & Eliza (Derbyshire) McBride. She was b 1920s, American Fork, Utah [bapt. 1930s, end. & S.to H. 1940s]. They had 2 children

(1)       Jereld Lane Cameron, b. 1940s, Kingman, Mohave Co., Ariz.

(2)       Kevin McBride Cameron, b. 1940s, Kingman. [p. 309]

6.       Nila Cameron, 6th child of Philo & Myra Rhoana (Henrie) Cameron, we b. 1920s, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1930s, end. & S.to H. 1940s]; m. 1940s, Salt Lake City (L.D.S. Temple), to Melt Maurice Hatch, s. of Meltiah & Irene (Syrett) Hatch He was b. 1920s, Panguitch [bapt. 1930s, end. 1940s]. They had 2 children:

(1)       William Maurice Hatch, b. 1940s, Flagstaff, Coconino Co., Ariz. [bapt. 1950s].

(2)       Laurel Kay Hatch (female), b. 1940s, Kingman, Mohave Co., Ariz.

7.       Eugene Grant Cameron, b. 1920s, Ogden, Utah [bapt. 1930s, end. 1940s]; m. 1940s, Mesa, Ariz. (L.D.S. Temple) to Phyllis Jean Overson, dau. of Henry Victor & Jessie Frances (Rice) Overson. She was b. 1920s, Williams, Coconino Co., Ariz. [bapt. 1930s, end. 1940s, S.to H. 1940s]. They had 2 children:

(1)       Randall Lee Cameron, b. 1950s, Phoenix, Maricopa Co., Ariz.

(2)       Vickie Ann Cameron, b. 1950s, Las Vegas, Clark Co., Nev.

8.       Nell Rae Cameron, b. 1920s, American Fork, Utah, d. 1930s.


ARDA (CAMERON) HARMON

      ARDA CAMERON, eldest child of Philo & Myra Rhoana (Henrie) Cameron, was b 1910s, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1920s, end. & S.to H. 1930s]; m. 1930s, Phoenix, Ariz., to Ralph Julius Harmon, s. of David Reese & Grace May (Hemenway) Harmon. He was b. 24 Jan. 1906, Granger, Salt Lake Co., Utah [bapt. 1910s, end. 1930s]. Arda m. Ralph as his 2nd wife; he m. (1) Gertrude Doxey, from whom he received a temple divorce.

      After high school graduation, Arda returned to school for another year to study advanced needle craft and chorus. Since then she has learned to do the bookkeeping in her husband’s wholesale and retail grocery business.

      She has performed the usual church duties that come to every member of the church if he but accept the calling. One memorable thing was taking a group of boys and girls from Flagstaff to the Mesa Temple to perform the ordinance of baptism for the dead.

      The 19 Nov. 1944 was also a memorable day for both Arda and her husband. They had gone to Snowflake, Ariz., a distance of 135 miles, to attend Stake Conference. Ralph left early to return home with the Bishop, Elder Benson, Nickolas G. Smith, Brother Lund, and others; and Arda drove the car home. The auto was loaded, as usual, for they never go to any Stake meeting in a [p. 310] partially loaded car. They had two flat tires on the trip back and began to wonder if they would ever reach home. Ralph and others were to be ordained, Ralph as a High Priest, and Arda was just sure they would already have received the ordination, and she did so much want to be there to witness his promotion. She finally arrived at 11:15 P.M. and they were waiting for her. She was truly thankful, for this was the first Apostle ever to visit their home and she wanted to be there to hear every word. After the ordinations were performed, they sat down to a midnight supper which had been prepared by her mother and other sisters of the ward. Elder Benson and Brother Smith stayed with them that night.

      In April 1945 they were again visited by another of the Apostles, Mathew Cowley. Her mother was very ill and Elder Cowley blessed her and told her she should live to be a comfort to her children, and she is still with them.

      Arda and Ralph moved to Kingman, Ariz., in 1946 and found plenty of work to be done in the branch there. There were few Saints and everyone had something to do. For 13 Sundays after regular exercises they studied the Articles of Faith, by Talmage, which was interesting and profitable. One member of the branch was an outsider who would come for a few Sundays and then attend the Baptist Church for a time, to compare the doctrines.

      They held various religious services in their home, from the Primary to the Relief Society, and had the privilege of entertaining many of the presiding authorities of the Church, stake presidents, bishops, and others. They also enjoyed entertaining the children and college students, a clean, fine group of young people, all interested in the work of the Church.

      August 1947 they were privileged to adopt a lovely baby boy. Arda was Relief Society president at the time but was able to care for the baby and attend to the duties of her calling. The women served dinners, had food sales, banquets, and did a great deal of sewing, to raise money for the completion of the church building.

      April 1950 they were again privileged to adopt another baby. They had hoped it would be a girl. They made preparations to receive the child and felt they would be happy if it were either a boy or a girl. The baby was not born till the 5th of June and they were very happy to add a little girl to their family. They are very thankful for these two lovely children.

      Their little branch is growing in spirit and increasing in numbers. Some non-Mormon children are in attendance at most of the junior meetings, which helps the work along. They feel humble and thankful for their blessings and membership and are striving to obey and keep all the commandments required. Their 2 adopted children:

1.       David Ralph Harmon, b. 1940s, Kingman, Mohave Co., Ariz. [S. to P. 1950s].

2.       Gayle Harmon, b. 1950s, Kingman [S.to P. 1950s]. [p. 311]


PHILO GARTH CAMERON

      PHILO GARTH CAMERON, 2nd child of Philo & Myra Rhoana (Henrie) Cameron, was b. 1910s, Panguitch, Utah rapt’ 3 May 1924, end. 1930s]; m. 1930s, Salt Lake City (L.D.S. Temple), to Dorothy Miller, dau. of James Lazel & Ruth Agnes (Reid) Miller. She was b. 1910s, Panguitch [bapt. 1920s, end. & S.to H. 1930s]. They had 3 children:

1.       Bruce Garth Cameron, b. 1930s, Panguitch [bapt. 1940s].

2.       Ralph Gerald Cameron, b. 1930s, Panguitch [bapt. 1940s].

3.       Kenneth L. Cameron, b. 1940s, Flagstaff, Ariz. [bapt. 1950s].


MAXINE EXCELL (CAMERON) LYNN

      MAXINE EXCELL CAMERON, 3rd child of Philo & Myra Rhoana (Henrie) Cameron was b. 1910s, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1920s, end. & S.to H. 1930s]; m. 1930s, Salt Lake City (L.D.S. Temple), to William Fearl Lynn, s. of William Hess & Myrtle (Tate) Lynn. He was b. 1910s, Panguitch [bapt. 1920s, end. 1930s].

      The first 7 years of Maxine’s life were spent at Panguitch, and the next 4 in northern Utah where she attended school at Ogden and American Fork. The family then moved back to Panguitch School did not particularly impress her until she entered high school; then she began to realize what it was she wanted to do. The friends she had and the activities, school work, and teachers all began to influence and change her way of thinking. Her aim was to attend college, but due to the death of her father in 1936, the year she graduated from high school, this desire was not to be realized.

      During the next year she worked as a telephone operator for Mountain States Telephone Co. On 30 Apr. 1937 she married Fearl in the Salt Lake Temple. He was working for her mother on the truck line, so they continued to live at Panguitch. After her mother sold the line, Maxine and Fearl moved to Salt Lake and Fearl continued to drive trucks. His employer sent them back East to bring back some trucks for him. They visited several car plants in Detroit and Flint, Michigan. They were also privileged to attend the World’s Fair being held in New York City. It was an educational and impressive trip for both of them.

      They again moved to Panguitch and Fearl decided to change employment and try driving a bus for a while. In 1942 he began driving for Sante Fe Bus Lines. This line later became the Continental Western Lines.

      They moved to Flagstaff, Ariz., in 1943, and soon thereafter Fearl was inducted into the service in World War II. He was gone 2 years, spending one year in Germany.

      Her sister Nila’s husband was also in service so they pooled their resources and lived together. Nila kept the home and cared for the children [p. 312] while Maxine worked for her brother-in-law in a grocery store. The experiences she gained and the friends she made while working there have been some of the highlights of her life, particularly her association with the Indian people. She learned a little of their language before her husband returned and she discontinued her work. He was employed by the same company and they continued to live in Flagstaff, where they have purchased a home and now reside.

      At this time Maxine began to realize how much her membership in the Latter-day Saint Church meant to her, the privileges extended to her to work in and for the Church, and she began to enjoy Church service very much. She had worked in some of the organizations of the Church previous to this time, but it was not until now that she began to realize what true happiness can come to one, in the service of the Lord.

      She has been a teacher in Primary, Relief Society, and Sunday School; activity counselor in M.I.A. and then president of the organization for 5 years; Relief Society president; literary leader and visiting teacher of Relief Society. She and Fearl are presently Improvement Era directors for the M.I.A.

      William Fearl & Maxine (Cameron) Lynn had 4 children:

1.       DeAnn Lynn, b. 1930s, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1940s].

2.       Carol Jean Lynn, b. 1940s, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1950s].

3.       Richard Fearl Lynn, b 1950s, Flagstaff, Ariz.

4.       Debra Lynn, b. 1950s, Cottonwood, Yavapi Co., Ariz. [p. 313]


Next