JAMES ARTHUR HENRIE, 10th child of Samuel & Hannah Isabella (Ellis) Henrie, was b. 28 Mar. 1883, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 28 June 1891, end. 1910s]; m. 10 Sept. 1906, Panguitch, to Agatha Manetta Prince, dau. of William & Louisa Evaline (Lee) Prince. She was b. 29 Dec. 1884, Panguitch [bapt. 5 July 1893, end. & S.to H. 1910s, Manti L.D.S. Temple].
James Arthur came into the family as the tenth of twelve children. His father was a farmer, livestock man, dairy man, and rancher, and had plenty of work for each of his children to do. They were given small chores as their responsibility as soon as they were old enough to master the simple things of the home, and were expected to do those particular things religiously and faithfully. As they grew older, the tasks were increased in proportion to age and ability. No one shirked and there was no confusion, as each member of the household knew his particular tasks and did them. Nevertheless, they had hours of leisure, with all the responsibilities, and enjoyed their home and childhood.
Most of his summers were spent at the Blue Spring Valley Ranch, where they milked about 60 head of dairy cows, night and morning, by hand. He enjoyed riding the range in search of their horses and cattle, and especially loved to ride wild, unbroken horses. Each fall he attended the race meets at the surrounding towns and made considerable money riding races. His brother Sam owned race horses and James received a good deal of training by helping him.
After completing grade schools in Panguitch, he desired to continue his schooling, and in order to raise money for this purpose he left Panguitch with two boy friends, Hyrum Ipson and James Delong. They went to Sugar City, Idaho, where they obtained employment in the sugar factory. When that job was finished, they moved on into Montana, where they took a contract to harvest a large hay crop of about 500 tons. When the harvesting was completed, he returned to Panguitch to prepare for the winter and schooling at Provo at the Brigham Young University. That winter he completed two years’ work in one.
The following winter he entered the branch of Brigham Young University at Beaver, Utah. The next three years he attended the Branch Normal School at Cedar City, Utah, where he graduated from the Normal department. The next winter he was enrolled as a student at the University of Utah and graduated from the Normal department there, with a Life Certificate for teaching in the grades and high B schools.
He was still desirous of advanced study, as he wanted to become a doctor of medicine, and resorted to teaching in hopes some time his ambitions and desires would be rewarded. His first school was in Panguitch at $50 per month for a period of approximately seven months: not much of a start toward his goal. He had several years more in the classrooms at Panguitch; his highest wage was $70 per month. Then he was offered the principalship of the schools of Escalante, Utah, and held this position for several years at $90. [p. 377]
Escalante had not had a graduating class for several years, and some of the older boys of the town attended school for the sole purpose of harassing the teacher. James anticipated trouble on his first day and had a little of it, but he soon made the pupils know they could not run him out as had been done with several principals previously. Those were happy years, and the first graduation class he had was of some of those very students who should have graduated before and been in college.
School teaching, then as now, was not a paying business, and he found with a growing family he could not make ends meet, and the medical studies had receded far into the past. Life insurance seemed to be a more lucrative field. He resigned from teaching and joined the force of underwriters for the Inter- mountain Life Insurance Co., which has merged with other companies and is now the Western States Life Insurance Co. with headquarters at Sacramento, Calif.
Shortly after he quit teaching, Bishop Heywood of the Panguitch Ward asked him to fill a mission for the L.D.S. Church. He accepted the call and spent three years in the Samoan Islands. His first few weeks in this country were trying, and he felt he could not bring himself to stay and labor among those black people; but ere long he learned how little the color of the skin counts in comparison with the feelings of the heart. He found the people loyal to the Church and desirable in many ways.
Much of his time was spent in manual labor. There had been a great need for a carpenter in that mission field for a long time. His first assignment was to complete an unfinished school building at Pongo Pongo. His next assignment, aside from the regular activities of mission life, was to build a church at Sauneatu.
This building was constructed under the most adverse and trying conditions. The walls and floors were of concrete. The lumber and concrete were shipped from the United States, the latter in barrels weighing 400 pounds each. It was quite some job to haul the cement from the coast, up the mountain to the village site, a distance of about five miles. The German people who were in charge of the island at that time owned a coconut plantation adjoining the Church plantation. They had built a miniature railroad track, which was used to haul the fruit to the coast for shipping. The track was 2 feet wide, and the cars were 4 feet in width, drawn by horses. James was fortunate in hiring the use of the cars and track to haul the needed materials for the building. Four barrels of cement were all one car would hold and as much as his team could pull.
After the lumber, cement, and other supplies were assembled on the ground. he commenced the tremendous task of building the church, with only natives as helpers and they untrained in the use of the simplest of tools. They had never done any manual labor and had to be taught how to do even the most simple task They had never seen a shovel and had no idea of how to use one.
After some time the natives were sufficiently acquainted with a shovel to commence digging the trench for the foundation. This finished, the next step was to get the sand and gravel. It was impossible to use a team and wagon for that purpose in that locality, so they resorted to human beings to carry the material on their backs a distance of about a quarter of a mile. [p. 378]
James called a meeting of the people of the village and asked them if they were willing to assist him in the work. They were happy with the anticipation of having a church and every member volunteered to do all possible to help. Every able-bodied man, woman, and child came with sacks and carried sand and gravel for days. The men mixed the cement with shovels and poured it into the forms; and thus the work went on day after day, week after week, until the floor and walls were completed.
The walls were ten inches thick and sixteen feet high, and the completed building would hold about 1,000 people. Two native Saints from another village had had some experience in carpenter work, and with their help the roof and ceiling were put in place. They had many discouraging days and the work was long and hard, but after two years the building was completed and ready for the finishing touches.
Many times during this period James wrote discouraging letters to his wife and complained that he was not doing real missionary work but only manual labor. That was not his idea of a mission. He wanted time to study the language, teach the people the Gospel, and have some of the experiences of baptizing and converting the people to the religion. In one letter her answer to his complaint was: “Do you not realize that you are building a monument to your memory in that church, something that will stand for you so long as the church stands?” That was a consolation to him and eased the burdens of manual labor.
He was assigned to supervise the Church-owned coconut plantation with native help and became the presiding Elder of the branch before he was released,
During his labors on the church building he was confined to the village of Sauneatu most of the time. Thus he had little opportunity for visiting other villages and becoming acquainted with the natives other than his helpers, and less opportunity for learning the language. He studied as much as time would permit and learned a good many of the Samoan words from the natives, enough that he could make his wants known to them. But to put the words into sentences was beyond his ability.
It was customary to hold an Elders’ conference once a month, at which time all of the Elders met together. Most of the meetings were held at Pasenga, the mission headquarters, and sometimes at Sauneatu where he was stationed. It was about 25 miles from Sauneatu to Pasenga and most always he traveled on foot from one place to the other. After a short distance the Elders’ clothes would be wringing wet. Therefore when they came to a river, and there were several of them between the two villages, they just waded across, holding their belongings above their heads to keep them dry when the water was up to their armpits.
James had one unforgettable experience returning from one of these Elders’ meetings. Elder Paul, the Conference President, asked him to walk back with him and suggested they hold a few meetings on the way. That night they stayed with some friendly natives who permitted them to hold a meeting at their place. After the opening exercises, Elder Paul spoke for a few minutes, explaining that he had a new missionary with him who knew very little of their language, but in spite of this he felt they would like to hear from him. [p. 379]
Elder Paul asked Jim to speak and sat down. For a few moments he refused as he felt that it was foolish for him to even try, and he feared they would laugh at his feeble attempt. Brother Paul assured him that they would feel better if he made the attempt. He was so earnest and sincere in his desire for Jim to speak that he finally arose. He stood there for a minute or longer unable to speak a word. Then his tongue was loosened and he commenced talking, not lacking for words to express his thoughts. He continued to speak for about 15 minutes; the sentences literally rolled from his tongue. From that day on he had no trouble with the language. His enjoyment in visiting with the natives increased and his mission took on greater meaning to him. This gift was in direct fulfillment of a prediction that had been made that before he left the islands he would be able to speak the language as fluently as the natives themselves, and after many years, he is able to converse with others who speak it.
At last his release arrived and he prepared to return home to his wife and three children. As he reached the shore preparatory to embarking, an elderly native who had come to bid him goodbye, with many others, said to him, calling him by his Samoan name, “Mist Pusili, many Elders come to the islands and in time go away to their homes and are soon forgotten, but so long as the church stands on the hill in Sauneatu, we will never forget the man who built it.” That church is indeed his monument to the natives of Samoa.
He returned to Panguitch the 15 day of February, 1917, and almost died of the cold. When one has labored for three years just under the equator, such a drastic change in temperature is hard to take. It was some time before he became acclimated to the higher altitude and cold of Panguitch.
After a time he resumed his work as a life underwriter and is still in the business after 43 years of service. He has qualified for many conventions and with his wife has visited many places which he otherwise would not have had the privilege of doing–Alaska, Victoria, British Columbia, being the most notable, and the World’s Fair at Chicago. He now is and has been for many years a member of the Million Dollar Producers Club.
He still loves the carpenter trade and in the last few years has used it as a hobby, making many useful things for his daughters and for his home. The most prized piece is a desk made for his wife; it is her pride and she loves to show it to everyone who comes to the home.
Agatha Manetta (Prince) Henrie, wife of James, was born and reared in Panguitch, Utah, a typical farm and ranch girl. She received her early grade education there and then began a financial straggle for higher education.
She borrowed money for board, tuition, and books and entered the Brigham Young Academy at Beaver, Utah, which was housed at Old Fort Cameron a short distance from the city of Beaver, and a branch of the Brigham Young Academy (later known as the Brigham Young University). She graduated from there and then enrolled at the University of Utah for a six weeks teachers training course. She received a certificate and taught school for eight years, first at Antimony, Utah, and then Panguitch. She said she had no tangible means of measuring her ability and success as a teacher, other than her love for the profession. [p. 380]
Manetta was an active and ardent member of the L.D.S. Church from her early childhood, serving in every auxiliary of the Church, as teacher in the wards and as a member of stake boards While serving as Panguitch Stake Secretary she was cited, in the General Relief Society Conference at Salt Lake City, as an example to other secretaries of promptness and efficiency.
While living in Eugene, Oregon, for six years, she was helpful to her husband in organizing a Sunday School there, later a Primary organization, of which she was president, the classes being held at her home. Relief Society followed, and eventually a branch was organized. In all these labors she played an active part. Her home was an open house for the Northwestern States missionaries, whom she assisted in every possible way.
A new chapter of her life began when the family left Oregon and established residence in Provo, Utah, August, 1930. That fall she affiliated with a genealogical training class, which gave her a start in the field of research which she had always longed for but had not had the time nor opportunity in which to indulge. She began gathering data on her own and her husband’s families. Many hundreds of letters were sent to relatives far and near, personal contacts made when possible, Church and vital statistics searched, and many hours were spent at the library. The segregation and compilation of data received, occupied much of her spare time, working into the wee small hours of the morning.
Eventually she succeeded in interesting others in her project and a “William Henrie Family Organization” was affected, resulting in much additional data and sketches of family members, and a desire to have the records preserved in a printed volume, that all who desired to do so might purchase copies for their family libraries. The compilation of data and family histories of the descendants of William and Myra (Mayall) Henrie was the result of 25 years of painstaking checking, re-checking, letter writing, and cross referencing of materials gleaned and submitted.
James Arthur and Agatha Manetta (Prince) Henrie had 6 children, all b. in Panguitch, Utah:
1. James Arthur Henrie Jr., b. 19 May 1907; m Maxine Thompson.
2. Norma Henrie, b. 15 July 1909; m. (1) Carl Jethro Furr; m. (2) John Thurman Russell.
3. Dantan Henrie, b. 1910s; m. Bernice Mathews.
4. Hilma Henrie, b. 1910s; m. Roger B. Honeyman.
5. Valda Henrie, b. 1920s; m. Alan McClure Johnson.
6. Cecil Henrie, b. 1920s; m. Wayne Casto Pomeroy. [p. 381]
JAMES ARTHUR HENRIE Jr., eldest child of James Arthur & Agatha Manetta (Prince) Henrie, was b. 19 May 1907, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1910s]; m. 1920s, in Eugene, Oregon, to Maxine Thompson, a member of the First Christian Scientist Church. She was b. 23 June l909, Athena, Umatilla Co., Oregon, the dau. of George McMillan & Mary (Greenfield) Thompson.
Arthur attended grade and high school in Panguitch and had a perfect attendance record until the 8th grade, never having been absent or tardy during those years. Then he and some friends played “hookey” and he broke his record.
In 1925 he moved from Panguitch with his parents and brothers and sisters, to Eugene, Oregon. They arrived at their destination May 30, which was Decoration Day.
He completed his high schooling in Eugene, then went to work as a clerk in a shoe store. Later he went to Portland, Oregon, as an employee of Safeway Stores, for Lester Henrie, a cousin of his father’s. He worked for some time at that place, then married and found employment at various places.
As a very small child he loved flowers. Every weed with a blossom was a thing of beauty to him, and he plucked all the early and late ones to carry to his mother for her admiration and thanks. When the opportunity was presented for him to go into the nursery and landscaping business, he eagerly accepted the offer. The many lovely landscaping and garden jobs he has done in and around Portland, where he has made his home, have satisfied his childhood love for nature and beauty. He has made the surroundings of many new homes a thing of beauty, vivid with life and color, the red hat he always wears being part of the scheme.
Besides gardening, he worked in the shipyard at Portland during World War II, when the ships were brought in for repairs. On one occasion while working on or near a huge ventilator, he fell almost into the shaft, and it was a miracle he ever escaped. His leg was badly crushed from the knee to his foot and for many long months he lay in the hospital, undergoing many operations to splice bones and remove splintered pieces. After about 2½ years he was well and he now limps but a very little. How a leg could be mended after being crushed as his was is almost beyond belief.
During the time of his confinement, he worked in his garden and cleared a city lot of wild blackberry bushes, trees, and all the undergrowth that Oregon’s wet climate can produce. The lot was a veritable jungle. He built a stool which he strapped to his hips, fashioned a long sock, made from an old inner tube, pulled it up over his hip length cast, and with the usual rain equipment of rubber coat, hat, gloves, and foot wear, he managed to clear that entire lot, except for a few boulders and large stumps that required a caterpillar to handle. He said when he was thus busy he partly forgot the pain and suffering.
He married Maxine Thompson, and they made themselves a modest home in the northeast suburbs of Portland. They both enjoy gardening, vegetables and flowers. Maxine cans the produce from the garden and has a full larder all the time. Arthur loves to hunt and fish, and the large salmon he catches [p. 382] almost every year and the venison go a long way toward a plentiful living.
For many years Maxine was a clothing remodeler for J. C. Penney Co. and was expert at her work. She is an ideal homemaker and mother to their two little children. They were married for twelve years before a child came to bless their home, and then a boy to keep the girl company constitute the family. Dianne is the duplicate of her mother in complexion and features, dark hair and eyes. The boy, James Arthur III, called Jamie and J.A., is like his father, light complexioned, with blue eyes. Arthur’s parents long to have the family closer by where they could watch the growth and development of the children:
1. Dianne Henrie, b. 1940s, Portland, Multnomah Co., Ore. [not bapt.].
2. James Arthur Henrie III, b. 1940s, Portland [not bapt.].
NORMA HENRIE, 2nd child of James Arthur & Agatha Manetta (Prince) Henrie, was b. 15 July 1909, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1910s, end. & S.to H. 1930s in Mesa, Ariz. L.D.S. Temple]. She m. (1) 15 June 1930, in Eugene, Ore., to Carl Jethro Furr, s. of Green Paul & Mary C. (Hatchcock) Furr. He was b. 2 Sept. 1903, Bloomington, No. Car. [bapt. 1910s, end. 1920s]. [Norma was S.to P. 1910s.]
She m. (2) 17 June 1946, in Albuquerque, N. Mex., John Thurman Russell, s. of Samuel Glen & Audrey Beatrice (Brown) Russell. He was b. 1910s, in Hunter, Wayne Twp., Belmont Co., Ohio.
The earliest thing that Norma remembers in life happened when she was about 3 or 4 years of age. She was ill and her father carried her back and forth across the floor, crooning a soft lullaby in an effort to comfort her. There have been many times in her life when she was ill and was comforted by both her father and mother.
She remembers being lost for hours in the Escalante Desert. She found large animal tracks, which proved to be those of a coyote. She recalls her playmates; also the store on the corner near the school, where she was locked in one morning, being under the counter out of sight and in the candy bucket when Mr. Wilcox locked up for noon and went home for his lunch.
She remembers the schoolhouse in Escalante, where her father was principal and her Aunt Anna Prince Redd taught with him. Norma eat on a large Webster dictionary because she was too small to sit in the first grade seats and see what was going on around her. At the age of 6 years she weighed 19 pounds and was 32 inches high. Everyone pitied her, thinking she was doomed to be a midget. But after she was 9, she began to grow more rapidly and finally reached a fair height and weight, although never very large.
Her size and the fact that she was 3 years behind her age group made her self-conscious and more than a little unhappy. That, with a reputation for sleep walking, gave her such a complex that at the age of 16 she was happy when [p. 383] her parents moved to Oregon and she knew that she would not have to go back to old associations and environments.
She attended school at Eugene, Ore., but finished high school at Monticello, Utah, where she had gone to spend a winter with her Aunt Anna. After graduating from high school, she returned to Eugene and studied vocal under Prudence Clark at the University of Oregon, and piano under Prof. Adams of the University, two of the most outstanding music teachers in the state. She was presented in a recital in the spring of 1928. It was a thrilling experience and another memory dear to her heart. Her teachers had high hopes for her, but her musical career was short-lived due to the development of hayfever and asthma.
In Eugene she married Carl Jethro Furr, of Mesa, Ariz., who was at that time attending the University on a teaching fellowship. They were married quietly on a Sunday, at her parents’ home, with just a few friends and family members present. A wonderful wedding breakfast had preceded the ceremony, and the following evening a wedding shower was tendered by friends and members of the branch. After honeymooning in Mesa, they returned in the fall for another school year at Eugene, Carl graduating in the spring of 1931 with a Master’s degree They then went to Provo, Utah, where her parents had moved. Now there were three of them and they were eager to present her folks with their first grandchild.
That fall Carl accepted a teaching job at Richmond, which position he held for 2 years. By that time he felt that teaching in a high school was not a paying proposition. Having a keen desire for higher education, he entered the University of Chicago, with a scholarship under the supervision of the L.D.S. Church. He registered in the School of Divinity and graduated 4 years later with a Ph.D. He majored in History of Cultures and Oriental Languages.
During part of the time he was in Chicago, Norma lived in Mesa, Ariz., where she operated a beauty parlor to help out with the finances. Difficulties and misunderstandings arose and they were divorced. She moved back to Provo and again operated a beauty parlor in her parents’ home for several years.
Carl and Norma remarried in 1938 and bought a home in Mesa. However, due to the fact that he had served in the R.O.T.C. while attending the University at Logan, Utah, for four years and was commissioned a lieutenant, he was one of the first to be called in for active duty in the army and was stationed at Fort Crockett, Galveston, Tex., just a year before Pearl Harbor.
Norma and Carl lived in Galveston 2½ years, when he was sent to Brazil in the line of service. Norma and her children, her sister Cecil and a girl friend, left Galveston for Provo. It was during the time of tire rationing and they were held up during the trip while in the process of securing new tires to replace the worn out ones. But they made the most of the lay-over and took in the sights.
Carl came home from Brazil for Christmas, but the following summer they were divorced again. There had been too many interruptions, separations in their married life for compatibility and understanding.
Later Carl was sent to Japan, where he was in charge of the officers [p. 384] training school for the Japanese. He had previously been stationed at Monterey Calif., in charge of the language department in the officers training school. Later he was sent to Africa as an attache of the government, second in command of a scientific expedition. He is a very brilliant man and has had a brilliant career in the U.S. army, although it :s not what he prepared himself for and it has not been quite to his liking, for he is a natural born teacher and his life’s aim was to become a college professor or college president. He is presently located at Rawleigh, No. Car., but is scheduled for 3 years service in Portugal, having achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel. He has been thoughtful and helpful in aiding the children, who love and respect him.
Norma m. (2) John Thurman (Strum) Russell and they have a lovely girl, Tamaree, six years of age. They have moved a great deal since their marriage, Albuquerque, N. Mex., Imperial Valley and Salinas, Calif., Mesa and Phoenix, Ariz., Old Mexico (about a thousand miles below the California border), Cincinnati, Ohio, and back to Utah. While living in Old Mexico they had some unusual experiences with the Mexican people. A bad storm which lasted 15 days, with a wind velocity of 105 to 150 miles per hour, ruined their crops. Water stood three to four inches deep on the kitchen floor and they placed bricks around to hold planks so they could move around. Nothing would dry and they slept in wet beds. Shum walked armpit deep in water to get to the drug and grocery stores for supplies. Airplanes from the States dropped food and medical supplies.
Old Mexican friends came to help Norma pack and get ready for the trip back to the States. When the time came to say farewell, the women put their arms around Norma and asked God to be kind and bring the family back again sometime. They passed Tamaree around and sobs shook their bodies as they cuddled her close for the last time.
Norms and Shum returned to Imperial Valley, and lived there four years when they suffered another failure, trying to raise a lettuce crop. This time a railroad strike left the crop standing to rot in the fields. They moved to Phoenix, and Cincinnati, Ohio. They have now returned to Provo and hope to be permanently established.
Carl Jethro & Norma (Henrie) Furr had 3 children:
1. Carl Jethro Furr Jr., b. 1930s, Eugene, Ore. [S.to P. 1930s]; m. 1950s, Provo, Utah, to Diane Gayle Hilgendorff, dau. Of John Gotthilf & Leora (Destrup) Hilgendorff. She was b. 1930s, Richfield, Utah.
In the 7th grade he started to play the French horn, and he played in the orchestra and band through junior and senior high schools. He was granted a music scholarship to the Utah State Agricultural College, where he played 1st horn in the orchestra and band. He joined the Air Force R.O.T.C. and continued through one year at Logan. He then came back to Provo and received a music scholarship at Brigham Young University. He was interested in chemistry and decided to major in chemistry and minor in music. In December, 1951, he married Diane Hilgendorff and he finished one more year at the University. The next year he obtained a job at Geneva Steel as a sample carrier. He worked as a carrier for 10 months and was then offered an apprenticeship as a machines” for 4 years. [p. 385]
Diane plays the violin and has played in many musical organizations. She and Carl played in the high school and college orchestras together For 2 years they also played in an orchestra called the “Little Symphony.” Diane has worked as an operator at the telephone office for 2 years. They had 1 child:
(1) Douglass Kay Furr, b. 1950s, Provo, Utah.
2. Paul Arthur Furr, 2nd child of Carl Jethro & Norma (Henrie) Furr, was b. 1930s, Logan, Cache Co., Utah He started high school in El Centro, Calif., in 1947. He was very interested in athletics and participated in football, basketball, and track, lettering in track and taking all valley honors in the 660 yard run for Class C. It was at this time he began taking courses which would best prepare him for study in the major field of medicine.
The following year he returned to Utah, entered Provo High School as a sophomore. He again participated in athletics, primarily football, wrestling, and track. During the 3 years that followed he fettered twice in wrestling and 3 times in track, taking the state championship in the one-mile run during his sophomore and junior years.
At the end of his junior year he graduated from Seminary and also received an athletic scholarship to the University of Utah. He then graduated from Provo High School in 1951.
Immediately upon graduation he entered the University of Utah, where he joined the Air Force R.O.T.C. Since then he has won 3 varsity letters in track and has been majoring in Vertebrate Zoology for the purpose of obtaining a degree before entering a medical school. He is now a senior and has completed the majority of his pre-medical requirements. He has taken Medical Admissions Test and will apply to several medical schools for entrance beginning the fall of 1955.
3. James Bruce Furr, b. 1940s, Provo, Utah [bapt. 1940s]. He traveled around the United States and attended many schools. In the 4th grade he went to school in Old Mexico and learned to speak Spanish. He is now attending Farrer Jr. High School in Provo. He is a member of the Boy Scouts and is very interested in athletics. He is also studious and does good work in school.
John Thurman & Norma (Henrie) Russell had 1 child:
4. Tamaree Beatrice Russell, b. 1940s, El Centro, Imperial Co., Calif.
DANTAN (DAN) HENRIE, 3 Dan came to Provo with his parents from Eugene, Oregon. He entered Provo High School and graduated. He was in the high school band as a trumpet player. [p. 386]
Dan joined the C.C.C., and being the only fellow in camp who could play a horn, he was assigned the duty of bugler of the company. He was a slightly built youngster, but strong and not afraid of anything.
An amusing incident happened while Dan was with this company. They were stationed out in a desert and water had to be obtained from a well by means of an electric pump The pump was in need of repairs and only an insufficient amount of water was to be had. Along with being bugler, Dan was made supervisor over the showers and the water works. His job was to make the water go as far as possible and not let the fellows waste or otherwise use more than their share. Two burly, tall fellows took advantage of Dan’s size and overstepped the rules. He warned them to lay off but they disregarded his warning. One day the largest of the two bounded into the shack where the showers were located, and hit his head a resounding whack on the plank above, which knocked him completely out. The other fellow was not far in the rear, and when he came up and found his companion sprawled out on the floor, he backed out and said to some of the fellows: “Gosh, I didn’t know that Henrie kid packed such a wallop.” Needless to say there was no further trouble and Dan did not explain.
From the time Dan was old enough to play with tools of any sort, he loved to work with them. Always mechanically inclined, he loved machinery, motors, and the like, and trucks had a fascination for him. After he married, he entered the employ of the American Trucking Assn. He is about as expert in handling trucks as anyone on the road. He loves the rhythm and roar of the motor and takes the best of care of the trucks he drives. He is ever cautious as to the readiness of the one he is to take on his daily run, is thorough, and never leaves anything to chance or to others to do that he should do for himself.
After many years on the road, he was the first man to be honored by the Las Vegas Trucking Commission for careful, intelligent driving, and courtesy on the road. The following newspaper excerpt was published in Las Vegas papers:
TRUCKER’S HEROISM TO BE RECOGNIZED. Utah man who works mostly in Nevada named driver of the month.
Three years ago Danton (Dan) Henrie, a truck driver, stopped on the highway and did his best to save the lives of four little boys who had been in a motor accident.
At the time Mr. Henrie figured he was only doing his duty and had no notion of receiving any reward; but what he did was near heroism.
That heroism will be recognized late next month when he will be named DRIVER of the MONTH by the AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION, the first such award ever to be made in Nevada by the organization. L. M. (Shorty) Loer, acting manager of the Nevada Motor Transport Association, made the announcement yesterday.
Mr. Henrie will be cited for his actions in an accident which occurred between Cedar City and St. George, Utah, the morning of Aug. 7, 1946, in which two brothers, aged 3 and 4, were killed instantly.
The truck driver who operates his vehicle in Nevada more than 60 per cent of the time he is on the road, drives for the Pacific Intermountain Express. He was the first person on the scene of the accident and risked his life to save the children, according to the information obtained.
TRAILER WRECKED. Mr. and Mrs. P. Stratford Brossard of Cedar City were on their way to San Diego to establish their residence when the [p. 387] house trailer, in which the four Brossard boys were asleep, jackknifed and carried both itself and the car over a 15 foot embankment.
Mr. Henrie, seeing what was happening when the trailer began to twist crazily, immediately halted his truck and trailer and was at the scene of the crash within seconds after the Brossard family went over the embankment.
He began digging immediately into the debris of the demolished house trailer for the children, ripping plywood, blankets and bedding away in an effort to locate them. “Without apparent regard for the dangerous position he was in, Mr. Henrie lifted up the trailer as much as he could with his own body and freed Evan’s arm. Evan, one of the boys, had his arm pinned down by a board. By the time jacks could be placed under the wreckage to free the two small boys, it was too late, as they were already dead,” the award information sheet stated.
The two small boys who were killed instantly, were Richard Irving Brossard, 4, and David Arthur Brossard, 3. Evan, 8, and John, 19, are the other two boys in the family. They, as well as their parents, escaped with minor injuries.
In writing of Mr. Henrie’s quick work and complete disregard of his own safety, the father of the boys wrote officials of the company for which he worked and officials of the trucking association:
“It is with pleasure I relate Dan Henrie’s help in our accident, for he was so willing. The way he worked was not the way men work for money, but the way one works for love or a cause in which they firmly believe.”
LIVES IN UTAH. Mr. Henrie, 35, is the father of 5 children and lives in Cedar City, Utah. He has driven more than one million miles, and during the 14 years he has been employed by the P.I.E., he has had only 3 non-chargeable accidents, according to a memorandum sent to Wes Johnson, Reno branch manager of the trucking firm, A. M. Bowman, district driver supervisor from Los Angeles office of the firm.
In further extolling the truck driver, Mr. Brossard stated in another letter that “Dan” did everything that a human could do. In fact, he did more than all the rest of the people put together in trying to save the boys and help in other ways. Each time I have been helped by a truck driver, and he said these times were numerous, “help was given as a matter of courtesy and love of a neighbor on the highway. Always truck drivers help in small ways. My hat goes off to your drivers.”
Mr. Loer added yesterday that the constant goal of the trucking association and its members is being realized in such drivers as Mr. Henrie. He said that a never ending campaign to make highway safety in all its facets the watchword of every truck driver has been paying off in fewer accidents, fewer lives lost, and a loss of fear among many motorists for the looming, lumbering trucks on the road.
All of the drivers, Mr. Loer said, are always on the lookout for the safety of the others on the road by paying strict, alert attention to everything connected with his vehicle, while always observing the activities of those near him on the highway.
Mr. Brossard who was responsible for Dan’s citation sued the makers of the trailer hitch which connected the trailer to his car. Dan was flown to San Diego as a material witness. The case was settled out of court without his having to testify and the company paid Mr. Brossard $100,000, but he did not give Dan one cent other than pay his way to and from San Diego on the plane. [p. 388]
Dan and his wife, Bernice, have built them a modest home in Cedar City, largely by their own efforts, and are happy with their 6 children:
HILMA HENRIE, 4th child of James Arthur & Agatha Manetta (Prince) Henrie, was b. 1910s, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1920s]; m. 1940s, Wickenburg, Maricopa Co., Ariz., to Roger Bruce Stephen Donovan Honeyman. He was b. 1920s, Tippicanoe, Miami Co., Ohio, s. of Charles Robert & Amy Mable (Turner) Honeyman.
Hilma was only 5 years of age when the family moved to Eugene, Ore. She began her school there, also her study of piano under a Mrs. Richmons, and from the beginning she showed promise of unusual ability. She learned to read notes almost before she mastered her first grade lesson.
Then the family made another move, this time to Provo, Utah, where they established permanent residence. Her next teacher was Ione Huish Heaton, who was a capable instructor, and Hilma advanced rapidly under her direction for a few years.
Next she enrolled with Professor Elmer Nelson, of the Brigham Young University. He hoped to make a concert pianist of her, and they worked hard together. Her advancement was rapid and soon she was playing really lovely music. About this time her voice began to develop and she wanted to also study in that field. She was soloist in her graduation exercises at Provo High and sang Caro Nome, by Verdi, which thrilled the audience.
Mrs. Allie Webb Clark, wife of Dr. Garn Clark who was a prominent physician, gave her work in return for lessons and she progressed rapidly. She had inherited a great deal of musical ability from her father, who had never studied but [p. 389] had much native talent and could sing and play almost any instrument. He was very desirous to give Hilma all the advantages and training that had been denied him; and he was very proud of her accomplishments. Mrs. Clark arranged for her to have an audition with Lotte Lehman, of Metropolitan Opera Co., while the latter was visiting in Provo on one of her singing tours. Lotte Lehman was impressed with Hilma’s voice and suggested that she go to New York for advanced study. However, financial conditions were prohibitive and she was denied the privilege.
The Brigham Young University gave Hilma a scholarship for one quarter of study. She later accepted a scholarship to the Arizona State Teachers College at Tempe, Ariz. There she studied 2 years under Prof. Harry B. Harelson. She was soloist in a concert with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra in 1941. She said this was one of the greatest thrills of her life, to have that great orchestra follow her lead and respond to her every mood. She also sang in the Orpheus Men’s Glee Club of Phoenix. She was a member of the mixed chorus and of the Girls Glee Club, and gave several recitals. The lead in the Gilbert & Sullivan Operetta, “Pirates of Penzance,” was given to her; and during the year she did “Trial by Jury” for the British War Relief benefit in Phoenix. To help finance her college expenses, she was soloist at the First Congregational Church during her 2 years at Tempe College.
After her marriage to Roger B. Honeyman, she continued her voice study and piano, which has enabled her to play her own accompaniments when necessary, as well as help finance her lessons by accompanying other students of Mrs. Clark’s.
Roger received his grammar school education in West Milton, Ohio. His high school training he received in Mesa, Ariz., and it was there that he and Hilma became acquainted, and were married.
While Roger was in the service, they lived in Santa Monica, Calif. He was in the Coast Artillery for 4 years, being discharged in 1943 as 2nd Lt. Later they came to Provo and Roger entered Brigham Young University, graduating with a B.A. degree in English and Speech. He taught school in Fillmore, Utah, for 3 years, during which time he served as director of adult education and public relations for Millard Co.
He returned to the Brigham Young University and received his Master’s degree in Educational Administration in 1951. He then acted as principal and superintendent of Fielding High School, of Paris, Idaho He is presently employed at Geneva Steel Co., Provo, Utah, as training instructor in the Industrial Relations Department, training management for better relationship with personnel.
Roger and Hilma had 4 children:
VALDA HENRIE, 5th child of James Arthur & Agatha Manetta (Prince) Henrie, was b. 1920s, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1930s, end. & S.to H. June, 1942, Salt Lake City L.D.S. Temple]; m. 1940s, Galveston, Galveston Co., Texas, to Allan McClure Johnson, s. of Allan Dale & Emily Adelle (Hatch) Johnson. He was b. 1920s, Nephi, Juab Co., Utah [bapt. 1920s, end. June 1942].
Valda was a child of 9 when her parents moved from Eugene, Ore., to Provo, Utah.
She and Mick (her future husband) were graduates of Brigham Young High School and both attended Brigham Young University for 2 years. During the 2 years she attended the University, Valda worked part-time at Tri-State Lumber Co., as secretary and bookkeeper.
In the fall of 1941 she went to Galveston, Texas, to stay with her sister Norma, that she might be near enough to see,on rare occasions, the boy whom she was to marry. She obtained employment with the Butch Tin Mfg. Co. as a file clerk, then transferred to the Quarter Masters Corns at Ft. Crockett, Galveston, again as file clerk. Both positions were important assignments, as the files were in a confused and disorderly condition, so much so that they were practically useless to the management and personnel. Valda devised a new filing system in both offices, which made the records more accessible for the companies. At Ft. Crockett she was the only woman employee. Her desk was in the center of a large room with an enclosure, and the men were at desks all around her.
In December 1941 war was declared, and restrictions on officers marrying were removed. Valda and Mick were married the following May (1942) at Galveston, the same day he graduated from Corpus Christie, a 2nd Lt. in the Marine Corps, as a fighter pilot. They were able to spend leave in Utah before reporting for duty in San Diego, Calif. While they were in Utah they had their marriage solemnized in the Salt Lake L.D.S. Temple.
They were in San Diego about 6 weeks when Mick received his overseas duty and was shipped to Guadalcanal, in the Solomon Islands. Later on in the war, pilots were not sent into combat until they had received considerable training, after their graduation from officers training school.
Mick was at Guadalcanal during the turning point of the war. Until the Marines landed, the Japs were in control of the war. At no time were they more than a few hundred yards from the so-called air field (a field of grass filled with bomb craters), firing on the planes as they tried to take off. Some were shot down at the end of the runway before they had barely left the ground. Guns were issued to the pilots for hand-to-hand fighting the night the Japs were decisively turned back, and from then on they were on the defensive.
Mick was overseas about 5 months with little food other than Japanese hardtack, a thin, dry, supposedly nutritional wafer, and coffee, most of the time. The Japs were strafing and bombing through the day and the ships shelling throughout the night. There were few parallels to the jungle and terrors of Guadalcanal. [p. 391]
While Mick was overseas, Valda lived with her parents in Provo and worked at the Tri-State Lumber Co. as secretary and bookkeeper. After a month’s leave, Mick was stationed in San Diego and then at the Marine Base at El Toro. They had a lovely apartment overlooking the Pacific, at the resort town of Laguna Beach, until Mick was again sent overseas to the Pacific Islands, considerably north of Guadalcanal.
He was gone only a few months when a doctor had him returned to the States because of migrane headaches, the severity of which seemed to have increased after he had cracked up in an airplane accident on Guadalcanal (suffering lapses of memory for about 2 weeks) and another airplane accident which happened in Hawaii. He was not grounded, however, and was stationed again at El Toro after hospital routines in Hawaii and San Diego.
Their first child was 5 months old before he became acquainted with his father. Valda was in Mesa, Ariz., with her sister Norma, when Mick called from San Diego, on his return from the Pacific area. She and the baby joined him and remained there until he was sent to Atlanta, Georgia, for further training in instrument flying. Months were spent in that field before they returned again to the Marine Base at El Toro. They were unable to find suitable living quarters off the base and were obliged to buy a home in Costa Mesa, located half-way between Balboa Beach and Santa Ana, Calif. While at this base Mick received his promotion to Major.
At the close of the war, they sold the home at Costa Mesa. They now had 2 sons, and moved back to Provo, where they bought another home and Mick again entered the Brigham Young University to obtain his degree. After his graduation, he worked a short time at Geneva Steel Co. at Orem before going into the lumber business with his father, the “Utah Valley Builders Supply Co.” located at Orem. They have Built a home in a semi-rural subdivision just out of Provo, in the Edgmont Ward.
Both Valda and Mick have been faithful Church members. Mick has served as president and teacher of the Elders Quorum, and in the Stake M.I.A. as Junior M Men’s leader. Valda has been affiliated with the Primary organization for many years. She has taken her children along with her and they have learned the rudiments of religion at an early age. They had 5 children:
CECIL HENRIE, 6th child of James Arthur & Agatha Manetta (Prince) Henrie, was b. 1920s, Panguitch, Utah [bapt. 1930s]; m. 1940s, Williams Field, near Mesa, Ariz., to Wayne Casto Pomeroy, s. of Francis Kimball & Eunice Gaylord (Shurtliff) Pomeroy. He was b. 1920s, Mesa, Ariz. [bapt.. 4 Apr. 1931].
Her early schooling was in the Provo grades, Brigham Young High School, and as a special student of Brigham Young University in shorthand and typing. During a vacation trip to Panguitch, Utah, she had the misfortune of breaking her leg and foot, which had to be put in a cast. It was at times difficult to go from the lower to the upper campus a few blocks distant, on crutches, and be on time for her classes, but the college students were very kind to her, giving her rides and helping her up the steps, so she was able to continue her work without too much interruption.
After the period of this broken leg, she had a serious illness that weakened her heart. Upon advice of the family physician, she was sent to live with her older sister Norma, in Mesa, Ariz. The lower altitude and rest soon made her well and she entered Mesa High School and graduated in 1941. That same year she went with Norma and family to Galveston, Texas, and found employment with the American Natl. Life Ins. Co. The next year she worked for Central Arizona Light & Power Co. in Phoenix.
World War II was in full swing and Cecil and her girl friend, Barbara Brimhall, also from Provo, enlisted in the Navy Waves. She was first sent to New York for her boot training and had the opportunity of visiting some historic points of interest while there. The training camp was located in the Bronx. Boot training consisted of 6 weeks indoctrination into the life of the Navy Wave. Her next assignment was in the enlisted Personnel Office of the 12th Naval District in San Francisco, where she was stationed the remainder of her service career. She received an honorable discharge in May, 1946, with the rating of Yoeman 2nd Class.
She first met her future-husband in Mesa while in high school, and they were married while in the service, at Williams field, Chandler, near Mesa, Ariz. He was home on convalescent leave from being wounded while on a mission over Vienna, Austria, as a tail gunner, serving with the 15th Bomber group of the Army Air Force. She was the first Wave to be married at this army air base. The army chaplin performed the rites in the presence of a few family members and friends. Both wore their uniforms; she in navy blue, and he in army brown. A simple reception was tendered them at Norma’s home, and the next morning they left for Provo.
They both entered Brigham Young University, and Wayne graduated with a B.A. degree. In Sept. 1949 they went to New York City where he enrolled in New York University, to work on his Master’s degree in retailing. After graduation he and Cecil returned to Mesa, where he owns and operates one of the largest and most attractive men’s clothing stores in connection with a shoe store operated by his brother. They have a good home in Mesa and are happy in their work and with their 2 lovely girls:
1. Dona LaDean Henrie, b. 1930s, Beaver, Utah [bapt.. 3 July 1943]; m. 1950s, Cedar City, Utah, to Anthony Lewelyn Batty, s. of Anthony Albert & Hazel Luella (Pate) Batty. He was b. 1930s, Touquerville, Washington Ca., Utah [bapt. 1940s]. They had 1 child:
(1) Anthony Bert Batty, b. 1950s, Cedar City, Utah.
2. Marie Henrie, b. 1930s, Provo, Utah [bapt. 1940s]; m. 1950s, St. George, Utah, to Jerry Lee Eyman, s. of Floyd Otto & Helen (Vandmore) Eyman. He was b. 1930s, Wichita, Sedgwick Co., Kans., adopted. They had 1 child:
(1) Larry Lee Eyman, b. 1950s, Cedar City, Utah.
3. Melvin Dan Henrie, b. 1940s, Beaver, Utah [bapt. 1940s].
4. John Arthur Henrie, b 1940s, Beaver [bapt. 1950s].
5. Jeannine Henrie, b. 1940s, Cedar City, Utah.
6. Sherri Kay Henrie, b. 1950s, Cedar City.
1. Lynda Dell Honeyman, b. 1940s, Santa Monica, Los Angeles Co., Calif. [bapt. 1950s].
2. Steven Donovan Honeyman, b. 1940s, Provo, Utah [bapt. 1950s].
3. Kelly Dean Honeyman, b. 1940s, Provo.
4. Lee Ann Honeyman, b. 1950s, Provo. [p. 390]
1. Allan McClure Johnson Jr., b. 1940s, Provo.
2. James Arthur Johnson, b 1940s, Santa Marguerita Ranch, near Oceanside, Calif
3. Jerald Henrie Johnson, b. 1940s, Provo.
4. Val Henrie Johnson, b. 1940s, Provo.
5. Elizabeth Ann Johnson, b. 1950s, Provo. [p. 392]
1. Cassandra Pomeroy, b. 1940s, Provo, Utah.
2. Wendy Kay Pomeroy, b. in Mesa, Ariz.
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