Sunday, March 25, 2012

24th of July - Inglewood Style - My Recollections

The last three weeks I have written about and included other people's recollections of our pioneer ancestor, Sarah Pippin Jolley.  It was for people like her that the State of Utah declared the 24th of July,  the day Brigham Young entered the Salt Lake Valley, a state holiday.  At the mouth of Emigration Canyon he declared, "This is the right place.  Drive on."  And from that time on, tens of thousands of pioneers did exactly that,  they drove on.  They drove their wagons across the Great Plains and over the Rocky Mountains to the valley of the Great Salt Lake.  Some stayed in the Salt Lake Valley.  Others were called to settle other areas of the Mountain West.  Henry Rampton went to Sessions Settlement, which later became Bountiful.  Henry Jolley was called to settle Pleasant Grove (I will write more about him next week).  Sarah Pippin Jolley was called to help settle southern Utah.  It is for these people and the tens of thousands more like this that we honor their memory on the 24th of July. 

 There is another person whose memory we honor on that day, Grandma, Mom (Lois Fae Linnebach Rampton).  She, too, was born on the 24th of July, again, a state holiday in Utah where she was born.  And it was the custom of her family to go fishing on that holiday.  Hence, she never had a birthday party with her friends with cake and ice cream and presents.  She never mentioned celebrating her birthday on the family trips, although I'm sure they must have done something.  I'll have to ask Uncle Glen.  I think, for that reason, birthdays were a big deal to her.  But, the 24th of July was also a big deal to her, particularly in her middle age years for reasons I will mention below.

When our family moved from Salt Lake City to California in 1957 we settled in the city of Inglewood and became members of the Inglewood Ward which was part of the Inglewood Stake.  On the week end before the 24th of July the Inglewood Stake would hold a massive Pioneer Day Celebration at the stake center in Westchester.  People of today who did not experience it do not realize how huge it was.  There were games, food, a Country Store and Road Shows.  Oh yes, Road Shows, when they were taken seriously and some did actually go on the road.  As much as I disliked them in my teenage years, in my twenties I starred in two that actually were regional winners and went on tour to other stakes.  I was the bumbling tour guide in a George of the Jungle type production called "The Son of John Lemay."   In the other I set the pattern for Ryan Seacrest as the Master of Ceremonies for the "Great American Talent Contest."  I can still remember original songs from both of them. 

Come gather round us if you dare
And listen to a tale of terror
Of savage natives, please beware.
They stole the son of John Lemay..... away.

It was some twenty years ago
A man, his wife and son did go
Into to jungle full of foe.
They stole the son of John Lemay..... away.

It was a pleasure trip that ended in a scare
Mr. Lemay and his poor wife searched everywhere
But jungle natives never leave a single clue.
They took away... the little boy.  They might get you.

Now twenty years have passed away
And the Lemays returned today
To find those natives, they must pay.
They stole the son of John Lemay..... away.

So come with us to jungle land.
If you're afraid then hold my hand.
We'll catch those natives like we planned.
We'll find the son of John Lemay..... today.

And then the curtain opened there I was, the mighty jungle guide, with Mr. and Mrs. Lemay, in a large pot ready to be eaten.  But I digress.  I take that back, I don't digress because for this production Grandma was the producer.  Steven Purdy may have been the writer, composer and director, but Grandma was in charge.  In fact, she was in charge of many before that and many after that.  She made sure scenery got built and that it could fit in and out of the stage door of the stake center.  She made sure that each participant had a costume.  She didn't do all the sewing, but enlisted the help of everyone in the ward who could.  She chauffeured kids to and from practice and the closer to the 24th the more frequent the practices.  And she was the "Enforcer."  When kids acted up at the practices, they incurred the verbal wrath of Sister Rampton.  It didn't affect Roger and Jim as much as everybody else.  They were use to it.  But no one else wanted to be yelled at.  First, she would give them "the look" and if they continued, they got the verbal tirade, which of course, stopped everything because people wanted to see who she was yelling at.  And, if it ever was Roger or Jim, they got a double dose of it when they got home from Grandpa, although he never yelled.  He, however, had a way of talking to you that really made you feel remorseful.  I know from experience.  And then, she put on cast party the night of the last show.

A few years before Grandma passed away, I bought Grandma and Grandpa tickets to see "Wicked" up at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood.  I got them preferred parking and told them to make sure they got there early, which they did.   As they were sitting in their seats they began to converse with people around them.  One man said he was a producer of TV programs.  Grandpa added that Grandma produced Road Shows.  The man wanted to know what a Road Show was.  I believe Grandpa simply stated that it was a musical stage production.  Then everyone around wanted to talk to Grandma, thinking she was a famous musical producer. 

Back to the Inglewood Stake Pioneer Day Celebration.  Part of the festivities included the judging of vegetables, fruits, jams, pies, cakes, etc. like you would see at a regular county fair.  Many years they gave out blue, red and white ribbons.  Other years they gave out gold, silver and bronze medals with the persons name and category engraved on the back.  This was such a big deal that the medals were handed out in sacrament meeting.  Grandpa was always a first or second place winner for zucchini size.  There was something about the soil in the back part of his yard that zucchinis liked.  He also did well in tomatoes and squash, but never very good in carrots.  Baby carrots were not in fashion back then.  Grandma was also a winner for zucchini size because Grandpa could only enter one and he had many big ones.  But every year that I can remember, Grandma would be the gold medal winner for bottled/canned peaches.  I loved those peaches.  Every year we would take some friends and neighbors and drive out to Pearblossom to the pick your own peaches orchard.  It was a family responsibility to go.  We would pick baskets and boxes full of them, enough to fill up the back of our van or Vista Cruiser.  When we got home, Grandma would take out a few that we could eat raw.  The others got put in the giant pot of boiling water.  I don't remember how long they stayed in there, just long enough to make it easy to peel the skin off.  Then she would cut each peach in half and fill up a Mason Jar bottle with them.  She would also add some sugar and other stuff that I never knew the name of.  Then she would put the lid on and heat up the bottles in boiling water to seal the lid and cook the peaches.  I'm not sure of the exact process, but that is how I remember it.  The bottles were then cooled off  and put out in the garage with the food storage.  And from then, every night for dinner, among other things, we would have bottled peaches.  And they were gooooood!!  I especially liked them over cottage cheese.  Grandpa liked his with vanilla ice cream.  And the judges at the Pioneer Day Celebration always agreed.  Hers were the best.  But, you can't have all those peaches without making peach jam.  She always won first place for that also.  I can still taste the peach jam on the toast she would make us for breakfast.  She knew just how to mix the butter and jam on the bread.

Part of the Country Store was a bakery.  Each ward was assigned to bring so many cakes, pies and cookies each day.  Then those who attended would buy them.  This was a great fund raiser.  Grandma always made apple pies and chocolate chip cookies to donate.  (This was in addition to her work on the Road Shows.)  Grandpa and I would always hang out around the bakery booth at the times the foods from the Inglewood Ward Relief Society were going to be put out.  I bought all the chocolate chip cookies and he bought all the apple pies that Grandma had made.  We should have just donated the money and saved her the trouble of transporting all those delicious baked goods to the stake center.

Her participation in the Pioneer Day Celebration did not end here.  Every year our ward was in charge of the hamburger booth.  I'm not sure what year this began, probably the fifties when two brothers, Kay and Cal Rohner, built a huge grill and put a restaurant quality process of putting out hamburgers in place.  When Kay Rohner became bishop of our ward, people began to call the hamburgers "Rohner-burgers."  Grandpa became bishop after Kay Rohner, but they still remained "Rohner-burgers."  When I became bishop they remained "Rohner-burgers."  The secret to burgers was the thick-sliced tomatoes, crisp lettuce leafs and hamburger meat full of fat.  Every year that I can remember Grandma would go to the produce market in downtown Los Angeles early, early in the morning and compete with the restaurant chefs for the best tomatoes and lettuce.  And she always got what she wanted.  She would then bring them back to the hamburger booth ready to be washed, sliced and served.  Lines would form down the length of the parking lot with people waiting for their "Rohner-burger" which the Ramptons really perfected, but that's another story.  Not only did she do this, but she managed to spend time in the hamburger booth slicing the tomatoes. 

One other thing:  during my time as bishop we did not have her do the Road Shows.  Instead, I called her to be the Primary President in our ward.  Even this calling had a Pioneer Day responsibility.  On the Saturday morning of the celebration was the Primary Pioneer Parade.  The kids from each ward dressed up in pioneer or native American attire and pushed or pulled their wagons and hand carts through the streets of Westchester, many times with a police escort.  Grandma was in charge of making sure each child had a costume and transportation to get there on Saturday morning by 8 a.m.

So, the 24th of July Pioneer Day Celebration in the Inglewood Stake was a big, big deal for the Ramptons, especially Grandma: Road Show producer, food contest winner,  baked goods provider, parade master and quality food purchaser.  That was her 24th of July for most her adult life.

But, we, her sons and husband, made sure she always had a family birthday party, either directly on her birthday if it did not conflict with the Pioneer Day Celebration or if it did, then on the Sunday after the celebration.  Nothing fancy, a nice dinner, cake, ice cream and presents.  Oh yes, and that Happy Birthday sign that she always hung up in the kitchen for all our birthdays was appropriately displayed, even then.

The actual prop I used for the guidebook.  Found it in the bottom of my file cabinet.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Sarah Pippin Jolley - Conclusion

Never did the words from the hymn Come, Come Ye Saints describe anyone as they did Sister Sarah Pippin Jolley:  "...gird up your loins, fresh courage take, our God will never us forsake.  And soon we'll have this tale to tell.  All is well.  All is well."  What a tale Sarah Pippin Jolley had to tell.  I wonder how many times she bore her testimony over the year of the blessings she received for showing courage in the face of trials, losing her husband on the plains, crossing the plains with 8 children, accepting calls to settle numerous parts of Utah.

To David, Travis and Kevin:  In the future there will probably come a time when you are asked to speak in Church around the 24th of July, Pioneer Day.  When you do, I want you to remember two things:  (1) that Grandma (Lois Fae Linnebach Rampton) was born on Pioneer Day and never got a birthday party since her family always went fishing on that holiday and (2) Sarah Pippin Jolley.

 This is a history written by Sarah's granddaughter.

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History of Reuben Manning Jolley and Sarah Pippin Jolley by the their Granddaughter

 Reuben Manning Jolley, son of Henry and Frances Manning Jolley, was born in North Carolina.  His parents were well-to-do farmers and owned land and slaves.  In 1825 Henry Jolley and family moved to the western part of Tennessee, near Dresden.  Reuben Manning was a young man about seventeen years old, and being the oldest son, was his father's assistant at the time.

Sarah Pippin, daughter of Loftis and Mary Hall Pippin, was born in Franklin County, North Carolina, twenty-five miles east of Raleigh. When Sarah was fourteen years old the Pippins moved to the Western part of Tennessee in Weakley County where she met her future husband.  On January 13, 1829 Reuben Manning Jolley and Sarah Pippin were married.  Both of them were very young.  He was not yet twenty-one and she was several months under seventeen.

Reuben Manning and  Sarah Pippin Jolley settled near Dresden where they, lived for thirteen years and seven of their children were born there.

When Mary Ann was about three years old she put her mouth over the spout of a boiling tea kettle which caused her death February10, 1839. She was buried in Dresden.

It was at their home near Dresden that the Gospel was brought to Reuben Manning and Sarah Pippin Jolley by two Mormon missionaries, who gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon and said they would visit them again.  Believing the marvelous things they had heard to be true, they set about reading the Book of Mormon and were soon converted to the righteousness.  Reuben Manning Jolley and wife Sarah Pippin Jolley were baptized  February 18, 1842.

On April 21, 1842, the family started for Nauvoo to be with the body of the Church. When the command came to build a temple the Jolley family was ready to serve.  Reuben Manning and his older sons worked until the temple was completed.

The family had very litt1e of this world's goods. They had sacrificed and struggled to bring their large family from Tennessee, but they worked hard and were thankful for what they had.

Reuben Manning Jolley was ordained au Elder January 12, 1844. Grandma wrote, in the sketch she left, that she and her husband received their endowments in the Nauvoo Temple, January 5, 1846. She also wrote that after the martyrdom of the Prophet and Patriarch, they were in the crowd which followed the bodies to the Mansion. They were again on the morrow to gaze upon their faces.

When Joseph Loftis was six weeks o1d the family crossed the Mississippi River, May 6, 1846. They stopped at Kaeusuaga, Iowa, where they lived two years.

Henry Gideon, their tenth child, was born in Kaeusuaga, November 28, 1848.

The parents and children worked hard to get means to continue their journey. After twenty days of illness, Reuben Manning Jolley died of pneumonia. April 29, 1849. He was buried in the cemetery at Kaeusuaga, Iowa.

Grandma wrote in her sketch: "I was left with nine children; no house nor home; my babe in my arms and among stranger.  I was broken up.  He told me on his death bed that he was going to leave me for a while but he wanted me, as soon as I could, to go to the valley of the mountains, to the bosom of the Church, and take all of the children with me.  I strove to do so and have ever borne it in mind."

June 2, 1849 grandma and her children started for Council Bluffs, where they spent theWinterof1849.  Grandma wrote that she had a hard time getting food and clothing for her children.  The cholera was very bad; two of the children came near unto death, but the Hand of the Lord was over them and He saw fit to spare them, grandma said.

June 6, 1850, the brave little mother and children started for the Salt Lake Valley, where they arrived in September 1850. They were met on Emigration Street by their grandfather, Henry Jolley, who had arrived in the valley two years before.  He took them to his home.  Grandma wrote that times in the valley were very hard and not much food.

The crickets had devoured most of the crops, but the grandfather had traded a corner of his lot for a cow so the children could have milk.

Later in the year of 1850 grandma and family were called to go to what is now Pleasant Grove, Utah, accompanied by their grandfather. The boys built a smal1 house to help make a fort.

Henry Jolley did not live long but died of pneumonia, December 20, 1850, at Pleasant Grove.

Washington Lafayette was sent to Texas to preach the Gospel in 1852.

Grandma moved in 1852 with her children to Springville, then on to Spanish Fork and then to Payson, where on of her boys was shot by Indians as he stood guard for the to town.  Her son, William, as ambushed east of Springville and shot in the arm.

William recovered but Pelic Berry who was shot in the eye, never got over it and died from its effects November 12, 1862.

In 1862 the Jolley family was called to help settle Utah's Dixie.  Grandma answered the call with her children and suffered the hardships incident to that barren part of the state.  She helped in the planting and cultivation of cotton.  She carded and spun it and, with the loom she had brought with her from Nauvoo, made clothes for her family.

After the completion of their mission, grandma and the younger members of the family came north to Moroni, Sanpete County, where she spent the remaining years of her life.  She studied and became a midwife, which profession she practiced  until she was in her seventies. 

Grandma's little home still stands on the main street of Moroni, where she lived so many years and was honored as a noble mother and held in respect as a superior woman.

Sarah Pippin Jolley remained true and faithful to the Gospel and taught the Book of Mormon in Sunday School many years.  She was loved, honored and revered by her children, among them were missionaries, bishops and patriarchs.  She passed away December 11, 1889, at Moroni and was buried on a knoll overlooking the cemetery.  A tall, beautiful white monument marks the sacred spot.

                                  by Lydia Jolley Sheffield (grand-daughter)


Sunday, March 11, 2012

Obituary of Sarah Pippin Jolley

We all go through trials and tribulations.  And if we haven't, we will.  That is just part of life.  In fact, it is part of why we are here on this earth.  For me, this lymphoma thing is a trial.  For Grandma (Lois Fae Linnebach Rampton) most of her adult life was a trial with one health issue or another.  We have these trials to see how well we endure them.  In the Liberty Jail, the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph Smith; "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine  adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;  And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."  The key is enduring well.  I believe that Sarah Pippin Jolley was one who endured well.  I include one more section on her next week.  But here is an obituary written by Jane Bailey who was the Relief Society President in Moroni, Utah when Sarah died at the age of  77, the last 50 years spent as a widow.

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Died at Moroni, Sanpete County, Utah.  November 9. Sarah Pippin Jolley, wife of Reuben Manning Jolley

Deceased was born May 9, 1812 in North Carolina.  Moved with her parents to Tennessee, Weakley County, in 1842.  The Gospel was carried to them by Elder Clapp and others.  They received the  Gospel message and with a family of five children emigrated to Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois.  They were living there at the time of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith.  Were driven with the Saints from their homes and started for the Rocky Mountains but were advised to remain on the other side of the Missouri River on account of the delicate health of the family.  It was at this place, April 29, 1849 that Reuben Jolley became a victim to death through the hardships and exposure with which they passed.  Now Sister Jolley was a widow with ten children.  Brother Jolley told his wife to continue the journey and follow the Church.  After laying her husband away and marking the place with a beautiful headstone, she started with her children once more for the West and came to Council Bluffs and the next year 1850 came to the Salt Lake with all her children but one son who married and remained behind.

After arriving in Utah she struggled hard to make her family comfortable and passed through many trials.

There are eight children and over two hundred grandchildren and great grandchildren to mourn her loss.

Sister Jolley was one of the first members of the Relief Society, labored as a teacher and for many years as a Counselor to President Jane Bailey.  She was also a Sunday School teacher for years.  She was an excellent nurse among the sick.  Sister Jolley spent her life in usefulness and has worked considerably in the Temple for the dead.  May she rest in peace.

written by Jane Bailey

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Sarah Pippin Jolley

The last few months much of my Sunday activities involve watching BYU TV.  Because of my immunity issues I am not able to go to church.  So this has been my Sunday worship activity:  Music and the Spoken Word, History of the Saints, The Joseph Smith Papers, Discussions of the Book of Mormon, and Discussions of the Pearl of Great Price.  All are very uplifting and informative.  Recently, on History of the Saints, they were talking about the Saints being driven out of Nauvoo.  It was interesting to note that not all the Saints left at the same time.  Not all of them camped at the same place.  There were Saints camped all over Iowa and Nebraska.  Many of them stayed in those little communities for 2 to 3 years.  They built cabins and planted crops.  They readied themselves to move to the Rocky Mountains.  These programs become all the more meaningful when you realize you have ancestors who experienced these times.  One such woman was Sarah Pippin Jolley,  born Sarah Pippin on 28 May 1812 in Louisburg, North Carolina.  In 1829 she married Reuben Manning Jolley.  They had 10 children.

Almost every July that I can remember, Grandpa (Charles Cash Rampton, Jr.)  would be asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting and tell pioneer stories.  And every time he did, he would tell the story of Sarah Pippin Jolley, great-grandmother of Grandma Ethel (Ethel Frances Jolley.) 

At some time in her life she wrote a short autobiography.  It was not very long, but it gives us some insight into her life and the life she had to endure as a pioneer mother in Utah.  Here is her writings:

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 Autobiography of Sarah Pippin Jolley


I was born in North Carolina, Franklin County, twenty-five miles east of Raleigh, on the 28th of May 1812, My parents lived there until I was about fourteen years old. Then they came to Tennessee; the western part to
Weekly County. There I married to Reuben M. Jolley, on the 13th of January1829.

William G. Jolley was born the 8th of November 1829 in Tennessee. Then Washington L. Jolley was born May 16, 1831 in Tennessee, Weekly Co. R.B. Jolley was born March 16,1834 in Tennessee, Weekly Co. Sarah Ann was born December 18, 1838 in Tennessee, Weekly Co. Marion Jolley was born April 9, 1841 in Weekly Co. Tennessee. Reuben M. Jolley was born in Illinois, Hancock Co. Nauvoo, June 4th, 1843. Joseph was born in Illinois, Hancock Co. Nauvoo, March 24th, 1846. Henry Jolley was born November 28th, 1848, Iowa, Anuran Co. Sarah G. was born in Utah Co. the l7th of September 1862 at Payson City.

We lived in Tennessee, Weekly Co. until 1848. My husband and myself, we embraced the gospel and were baptized on the 18th of February in 1842. The 21st of April the same year, we started for Nauvoo. We lived through the troubles while Joseph and Hyrum were murdered at Carthage jail. My husband and myself were there to behold that bloody scene. I was one that was one in the company that followed the corps to the Mansion, when we all went home and came on the morrow to see them, which was a sight to behold. Then the word came to build a temple. My husband and the boys worked on the temple until it was done. Many days they worked and had nothing to eat but bread and water, but it was good. I did not complain. I had the privilege of going through the temple with my husband, so I was paid in full for all my troubles.

In 1846, we left Nauvoo, crossed the river, on the 5th of May. In Iowa, Anuran Co. there we lived a little over two years. We all were working to get something to come up to the Church. We had traveled around until we had not much to travel with but a large family. We were getting ready to start to Salt Lake when my husband was taken sick. He was sick twenty days and died on the 29th of April 1849. There I was left with ten children, no house nor home; among strangers, a babe in my arms three months old, I was broke up. When he was on his death bed he would talk and tell me what he wanted me to do a little at a time until he told me he wanted, he said he was going to leave me for a while, but he wanted me, as soon as I could, to come to the valleys of the mountains, to the basin of the church and bring the children all with me, so I strive to do so. I have ever born it in mind. I buried him the first day of May, at Keasackway grave yard, Anuran, Co., Iowa. In 1849, 2nd. day of July, my children and me started for Council Bluffs. There we wintered. Next spring, the 6th day of June we started for Salt Lake. In 1850 I had a hard time with my little children, but the hand of Lord was over me and children and all we had with us, Cholera was very bad that year. Two of my children came near unto death, but the Lord seen fit to spare them.

I arrived in the valleys on the 27th of September in 1850. I had not much to live upon, times were very hard for the grasshoppers and crickets had eaten everything up.

Grandfather Jolley came on before we did. When he heard we were coming he met me and the children on Immigration St. He took us to his home. We stopped there a few days. He said he was going to move to Utah County, to a place called Pleasant Grove. He moved there about the 15th of October. Then my boys moved a little house to help to make a fort. On the 20th of December, grandfather Jolley died and was buried at the same place. I then felt as if I was I was lost again, but had to so the best I could.

In 1852, Washington L. Jolley was called to go on a mission to the states to preach the gospel. The Indians proved to be very bad. In 1853 I had. two of my boys shot. One never got over it, the other is living but is a cripple in his right arm.

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Below I will insert the only known picture of her.  I assume it was taken near the end of her life.  The lines and wrinkles are indicative of the trials she went through.  I do not believe that she ever remarried.  She was faithful in whatever she was called to do in the Church including settling Pleasant Grove, Springville, Payson, Spanish Fork and St. George.  Following the last assignment in Saint George she moved to Moroni, Utah where she spent to rest of her days.  Next week I will include her obituary and some other notes about her.