Personal History of Sarah Frances Bailey as told to her daughter Dianne Wood
I was born Sept. 10, 1917 at Davis Creek California. My parents were Girtha Patrick and Edgar Arthur Blanchard. This event took place in my grandparents home.
When I was three months old we traveled to Portland Oregon to live. The trip was partially by stage coach from California to Reno Nev, then by train to Portland. I lived in Portland until I was approximately 62 years old.
One of my earliest memories was of sitting by the big wood stove and putting on my tan cotton ribbed stockings over my long underwear. I hated those stockings because I couldn’t get them on straight over my underwear. I got my first pair of lace shoes when I was about three years old. They were black patten leather with tan up the front.
A sad memory I had was when my younger sister Ruth died. She had been taken to Good Samaritan hospital and had surgery. Complications set in and she died on April 1, 1921. At her funeral she had been placed in a light gray coffin with a light blue silk lining that reminded me of a bassinet. I was dressed in stockings, a pleated skirt, a sailor blouse, and a sailor hat all in navy blue.
When I was about six or seven years old my Aunt Aura Uncle Manfred and their children came to visit. They had three boys and one girl, Lucy. Lucy was the same age as my sister Marcia and the boys were older so I was the youngest. All the children slept on the front porch. It was the fourth of July, the boys had some firecrackers and found some tin cans. They placed the lit firecrackers under the cans and did they ever blow!
Another fourth of July incident I remember was a few years later. My sister and I were lying in bed, our parents wanted us to and we were just lying there. So my dad had this fantastic idea. He took a tin can and placed some lady finger firecrackers inside it, and lit them and pushed it under our bed. When they started going off they popped out of the can and made a mess on the floor. Mother got upset and made Dad clean up the mess on the floor.
I have very few outstanding memories of the Great Depression. In our neighborhood there was a general feeling of frustration and unhappiness. Men drank more, deserted their families because of an inability to support them. We were lucky, my dad was a police officer for the city of Portland.
I was introduced to the church (Mormons) by some neighbors the Lemons. My folks always liked to sleep in on Sunday morning. I would get up early and go to church with the neighbors. I felt comfortable and at home with the Latter-Day Saint people. I was baptized Nov 6, 1932 when I was 15 years old.
I was married to Jack A Montgomery in San Francisco in 1939. We had four children, three girls and one boy. Sandra Jeanne was the oldest. She was born May 23, 1940. Two years later she was joined by a sister Dianne May born May 24, 1942. Fifteen months later they were joined by our third daughter Tamara Anne born October 6, 1943 then on September 3, 1945 we finally had a son, Edgar Jack.
Jack and Fran Montgomery with Sandra, Dianne and Tamara
On Dec. 7, 1941 we were over at Fort Vancouver. When word was received that Pearl Harbor had been bombed by the Japanese all the civilians were told to leave the base and the base personnel; were told to go out into the woods. They apparently anticipated an attack and felt they were a likely target. I went to work at the Oregon Shipyard along with many others, including my husband and parents. I was a welder. My Dad was the lead man of the world championship riveter team. Many items were rationed, this war greatly effected our lives.
On Jan 6, 1945 I received a phone call that there had been a terrible accident over at my parents new home. They were remodeling and I should come right away because my Dad was hurt badly. I had the neighbors watch over the girls. When I got there they were putting my Dad in the ambulance. He had been killed instantly when a house beam had fallen on him and crushed him to death.
I was divorced on Nov. 20, 1947. Then I was alone with my children for several years. Then I met Herluin H. Bailey, commonly called Jack. He worked for the city of Portland. He courted me and we were married Sept. 10, 1954. The ceremony was performed by Bishop Leo B. Nelson in my parent’s home. Jenny Albright was one of my attendants and the three girls wore white dresses with polka dots. After the wedding, life continued on a normal course with the usual events of everyday life.
On August. 1, 1962 Jack was baptized into the church which although it didn’t have any immediate impact, it did have some long term effects.
In Oct 1968 my sister Marcia was discovered to have cancer. The doctor only gave her six weeks to live. The majority of her care was given to me. She died Nov. 18, 1968 it was a terrible ordeal to watch her suffer.
Approximately eighteen months to two years after Marcia’s death my little daughter-in-law rekindled my interest in the church. She would call me for a ride to Relief Society. The first few times I waited for her in the car then I started going in. A few months later Jack and I started attending genealogy class and the the Bishop has us attend Project Temple. All during this time Jack’s heart condition was deteriorating and he wanted to go to the temple very badly. We received our recommend and were sealed in the Oakland Temple on June 27, 1973. Jack died Aug. 1, 1973. He was a fighter to the end. The doctors were amazed at how long he was able to stay alive until he was ready to go.
The first few years after Jack’s death were very hard. I had no way of earning a living and yet I couldn’t get Social Security. It was a hand to mouth existence of odd jobs. I helped my parents with their businesses and earned enough to get by.
My mother contracted leukemia, and since she was alone I moved in with her in order to take care of her. This was the most difficult time of my life. We became very close. She died Oct. 25, 1979.
With all my family away except Ed, we decided that we wanted to move from the city. In March we took a trip through Idaho and Northern Utah and we found a place to live in Idaho. We settled in Parker Idaho.
Handwritten drafts of Personal History of Sarah Frances BLANCHARD Montgomery Bailey
