The Story of My Life

By Dennis Moroni Rees When and where was I born? I was born in Provo, Utah on May 6, 1942. I was actually born in a hospital located in Orem, Utah. That hospital has since burned down and all records of my birth were lost. I do have statements signed by my parents and the doctor that suffice for a birth certificate. I was the first child of my mother that was born in a hospital. All my older brothers and sister were born at home out in the country in north eastern Utah. Before I was born my parents moved to the city and my father took up work other than farming, which had been his livelihood. He may have been a crane operator at Geneva Steel Plant. From here on for the rest of his life he worked in this profession. My birth was a normal delivery I assume, because I never heard otherwise. I have been told that giving birth was easy for my mother. When my younger brother was born my parents went to the hospital and returned home within a matter of just a few hours. I assume that my birth was probably as easy. I dont know of anything difficult or out of the ordinary regarding my mothers pregnancy or my birth. My full name is Dennis Moroni Rees. I dont know how my first name was chosen. My middle name Moroni is the same as my fathers middle name and my great grandfathers first name. The name Moroni is the name of an angel written about as the personage that revealed to Joseph Smith the location of the book of plates that contained the book of Mormon, the foundation of the Mormon Church. My mother believed in the Mormon faith. My father was not a deeply religious man but may have believed in the Mormon faith at that time. By the time I was able to talk to my parents about religion, my father had serious doubts about Mormonism. He had read books about the early days of Mormons in Utah and was affected by the story of the Meadow Mountain massacre. He had become disenchanted with the Mormon Church, but he did not disagree with my orientation or baptism as a Mormon. I know of no religious ceremonies following my birth. Growing up I was called Den. Since my brother Dick and I were so close we were most often referred together as Dick and Den. The phrase was spoken without a break. I felt that we were a single entity known as Dick and Den. My eyes have always been blue and never changed color. For several years I did believe that my hair was blonde at birth and changed to brown when I got too close to the fire. I believed this because Dicks hair was blonde and has stayed that color. There has never been a doubt in my mind that my parents were my birth parents. I was not adopted.

Since I was born with three older brothers and a sister, I was raised in a community environment. I also had a brother and sister twins who died before I was born and I never knew them. I feel that I was raised by the whole family. I was told that Dick would follow me around when I was a toddler and when I fell, he was always there to help me back up. My sister LaRita used show me off to her friends, and she would irritate me when she told me that she and her girl friends would dress me up in dresses. My brother, Jim, taught me to ride a bicycle he had bought for Dick and me. My brother, Ronald, was a prolific mentor and big brother who gave me lots of his love and his time. My oldest memories include ones from the time we lived in a two story house in Provo, 358 West at 4th South. I remember my grandfather and grandmother living in that house. I also remember taking my sisters bus fare money and buying candy at Kirkwoods drug store around the corner from our house. My Family My father was Dee Moroni Rees. He was born in Malad, Idaho, on September 12, 1912. My mother was Virgie (or Virgia) Pectol. She was born in Loa, Utah, on June 27, 1914. My father was not a deeply religious man. He did attend the Mormon Church up until I was about 5 or 6 years old. He read about church history and I remember his having discussions with the Mormon Church home teachers about his doubts concerning the church. He never had any other religious affiliations. I think he believed in God, but he drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes which were discouraged by the Mormon Church. My mother never talked much about religion. She attended the Mormon Church with my father until I was about 5 or 6 years old. After that she attended church when someone else would give her a ride. She never drove a car after I was born, so she needed someone else to give her a ride to church. I did not feel that she was very religious. In a few instances I witnessed her drinking alcohol and smoking a cigarette, so she was not adamant about the Mormon teachings. My father was definitely stricter than my mother. My father was loving and affectionate, but he was firm about my restrictions. My mother may have discussed the restrictions with my father, but never in my presence. My mother would lightly swat my rear with her hand, but my father never hit me. He would pull my hair to discipline me. One event that forever remained in my mind about my father was the time our familys cow, Onions, broke through the fence and got into a neighbors property. My father with me (4 years old) right behind him went after the cow. When we found her, he walked up to the cow and with his closed fist hit her right between the eyes. Onions fell to the ground; I thought she was out cold. My fathers hand was broken. He put me on her back when she managed to get to her feet just to show her he was in charge. We walked back to the shed where I was lowered to the ground and the cow got 2 or 3 kicks for good

measure. That incident influenced my obedience to my father for many years. I seldom disobeyed an order from him. A story I heard often from my father said everything about my mother. Before I was born the family owned a farm, which they had homesteaded. During the day my mother worked in the hay fields with the men. She did a full mens day of work. At the end of the day while the men rested, my mother did the housework into the night. When I was eight years old, my mother went to work, because my fathers union went out on strike and we had no money coming in, aside from unemployment checks from the state. Mom took the bus to work and back. After work she did all the housework and fed the family. She made most of our clothes on the sewing machine for many years. An early family event occurred when my parents decided to move from Provo, Utah to Eureka, California. All the familys belongings were piled into an 8 by 8 trailer hitched to an old car into which piled 5 kids and my 2 adult parents. I was about 3-4 years old. We got as far as somewhere into the Great Salt Lake Desert when I felt a sudden jerk and saw a wheel from the trailer rolling off into the desert. The air was hot and dry and the ground covered with white alkali. What could we do now? It was decided that my sister, LaRita, with my two brothers, would stay and watch the trailer filled with our belongings. My parents would take my brother, Dick, and I back into Salt Lake City to get a tire and parts for the trailer. When we returned, hours later, LaRita had walked to a house or some kind of building to get water, but all had survived the ordeal and were as well as could be. We were later than planned but able to get the final 1000 miles none the worse. Probably the most important thing I learned from my father was to never give up and be optimistic. He believed that he could do whatever he needed to do. Several times in his life he lost nearly all the assets he owned. The first I know about was occurred after he homesteaded a farm in northeastern Utah. My father told me that a neighbor caused him to lose the farm when he put some of his cows on my fathers farm, and then told the U.S. government that my father had more cows than he had told the government about. This allowed the government to take away his farm and sell part of it to the neighbor. My father and the family were forced to give up all they owned and leave the farm. Two other times that the family lost everything resulted from union strikes that ended up using everything that had been saved up and forcing a totally new start. We all learned that we could give up all our assets and successfully make a new life. From my mother I learned that work can be fun and that having work to do will never stop, but we can keep going and going and still enjoy and appreciate life. My mothers workday almost always outlasted everyone elses, and when she sat down at night, she picked up her crocheting and kept going until she fell asleep. She never complained and she never refused to help anyone who needed it. Still she was happy. My parents family was large; my mother bore 2 girls and 5 boys. My sister LaRita was the eldest child, born November 25, 1933. My brother Jim was born December 6, 1934. Ronald was born February 24, 1936. Next in line were my brother and sister twins, Patrick and Patricia, born April 6 1940. My brother Richard was born April 5, 1941, one

month one year and one day before me. The youngest was my delightful brother, Joseph, born December 4, 1952. LaRita was home until I was about 8 years old. I remember her mostly for being the one who was special, being the only daughter, and was the one who could get her way with Jim. She was older, smarter than Jim and she had longer arms. Jim was always a child who insisted on having fun. He got more joy out of playing than anyone, and he did a lot of that with his younger brothers. Most people thought that Jim was a bully, getting his way because our father taught him to be a boxer when he was growing up. Ron was younger than Jim so he learned how to get his way by being good. He was the ideal older brother. He was the one who spent the time to be a good friend, mentor, and supporter whenever there was a need. Dick and I were about as close as brothers could be as we grew up. He was always my best friend. We seldom argued or fought like most brothers do. That was because of him, not me. He could usually do things better than I, but he never let me know that. He always built my ego. He was humble. When I would get in a fight with other boys at school or in the neighborhood, Dick would say: Den, dont bother with them, it is not worth it. They cant hurt you. Joseph was born when I was 10 years old. I was thrilled to have someone in the family younger than I. I was no longer the BABY of the family. I spent a lot of time with Joe. I taught him to crawl, to catch a ball, to walk, to talk. He was smart and always had a great personality. Everyone loved him and had lots of fun with him. He was never a burden to anyone. He was the biggest joy my parents ever had. They had the time to enjoy him. Money was never a problem to our family, because we never had any. I never felt poor. We had financial pressures in that we never had the luxuries that many other families had. My fathers philosophy was that he would work to provide a living, but he did not like to work in the cold, so he stopped working when the snow came each year. He took the winter off and we lived on money he saved during the summer. My mother helped out by sewing most of our clothes until we started school and then she only made our shirts. She also canned fruits and vegetables including peas, green beans, corn, peaches, pears, cherries, apples, pears, apricots, ketchup, jams, jellies, and relishes. We lived on less than $5,000 income each year. For spending money I would always seem to find something to earn money from selling newspapers on the street, shining shoes, picking fruit, mowing lawns, working on a farm, or something else. I enjoyed all of these things. I never felt bad about doing any of these tasks. My parents loved each other and I never felt that our family was threatened. There were disagreements and for most of these I sided with my mother. I never thought that divorce was ever even thought about. I was secure. My grandparents were not a major influence in my life as I grew up. My fathers parents lived with us for a time when I was about 2 or three. My grandmother, Dinah (Thatcher) Rees, was a diabetic and she died from the disease when I was about 3 years old. She was as English as anyone in our family ever seemed. I think that an old doctor mistakenly told her that she did not need insulin so she stopped taking it and died. I remember her funeral. My grandfather, David Rees, remarried but did not live near us.

They lived in Upalco, Utah near my fathers brother, uncle Earl. I think my grandfather may have been born in Cherry Creek, Idaho. In Ogden, Utah he married his cousin Dinah. I think he spent the majority of his life as a farmer. I think my father looked like him when he got older. David and Dinah had 4 children: Ramola, Phyllis, Oran, Dee (my father), and Earl. My mothers parents grew up in central Utah in a town named Caineville. When the town was washed out with a flood about the year 1909, they moved to Torrey, Utah. Jesse Leroy Pectol built a store in Torrey and there Minnie Carroll worked. Jesse and Minnie married but during her pregnancy Minnie had to be taken to hospital in Loa, Utah where my mother was born. Some time later they moved to Upalco, Utah. Among other things my grandfather ran a movie projector at a hall in the Upalco area. Making a living in Duchesne county Utah was very difficult and I was told that my mother and her 11 brothers and sisters often did not have shoes for their feet. My grandparents moved to northern California where they had a farm on Fickle hill near Arcata, California. Jesse and Minnie were religious people and they became missionaries for the Mormon Church in their later years. My father had two sisters and two brothers. He was closest to his younger brother, my uncle Earl. Ramola was the oldest; she lived in Upalco, Utah most of her life. She married Milan Rogers and had 5 children. They were all older than I, but I did know them well, and I liked them all. Phyllis married Dallas Mitchell and they lived in southern California with their son Carl. I hardly knew them. Orens first wife died before I knew her. Of their children I knew three of four who were all older than I. Uncle Earl lived on a ranch in Upalco as I was growing up. He was a successful horse and cattle trader. I knew him and his 3 children well and liked them all very much. My mother was the oldest of 12 children. My cousins were too many to count, but must have numbered more than 50. My aunts and uncles lived in Utah, California 1 in Oregon, and 1 for a time in Washington State. I was probably closest with Aunt Ina and uncle Fon, but aunt Zella and Uncle Philip were also close. I felt close to all my aunts and uncles and liked every one of my cousins. My aunts and uncles provided good times and get-togethers and special holidays. My cousin Leroy is the most special of my cousins. I did not know any of my great grand parents. As I grew up our family were friendly with other families. My parents played cards with them, watched boxing and wrestling, and discussed old times with them. The closest were probably Lilas and Doyle Iorg. They were like family. While growing up, life always included chores. My earliest chores involved cleaning up in the kitchen and my bedroom. My sister LaRita paid me to dry the dishes or to clear off the table. That was a prelude to those becoming my chores. Later on my chores became working outdoors chopping wood, clearing land, maintaining a garden or helping a neighbor on a farm. I think my mother taught me that work was necessary and to be enjoyed. I never hated any chore in general. I did not always enjoy them all every day.

But, I never hated any of them every day either. My biggest regret is that my mother did too much. She picked up after me and always did my laundry and fixed all my meals. I had to learn those things after I left home and my mother never got the rest she so badly needed. She wore herself out and died at too young an age. My mother never complained about too much work, but she wore out nearly every system in her body, taking care of me and my brothers and sisters as well as my father. I never got a money allowance. My allowance was in the time I didnt have to spend doing chores. My allowance was in love and family time. I never felt a need for an allowance. I had money whenever I really needed it by doing jobs for people and earning money in other ways. I mowed lawns, cleaned up yards, picked fruits and vegetables, and helped on a farm. Very seldom, if ever, did it come from my parents. I owed everything I gave to them. I never felt that they owed me any money. Church was never a major part of our family life as I was growing up. I do remember going to the Mormon Church with my parents when I was about 5 years old. After that I went with my mother a few times, but never regularly. I was baptized into the Mormon Church when I was eight years old. When I was about 10 years old I was baptized in the Mormon Salt Lake City temple as a proxy for people who were not baptized in their lifetime. I did progress to the level of deacon in the church as a teenager. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were always celebrated by our family. The Halloween costumes and trick or treat candy were always anticipated anxiously. Thanksgiving dinner was appreciated very much since my mother was a very good cook. We all loved the carrot pudding that melted in our mouths and it was also a Christmas dinner treat. Christmas presents were never extravagant but were always anticipated. Usually we received only 2 or 3 toys and an article of clothing. I never felt shorted or envious that other children may have gotten more than I. When I was in about third grade at school Dick and I received a letter from Santa Claus which was sent directly from the North Pole. We were sure it was no hoax. Birthdays were always acknowledged and celebrated, but never lavishly. We usually had a birthday cake and a toy, but never a party. I never wanted more. Family reunions were a seldom occurrence but were always welcomed and enjoyed very much. It was a fun time to listen to the adults reminisce and for all the cousins to play games. They were all happy events and left fond memories. The most exciting births that occurred during my childhood were those of my brother and my nieces and nephews. My brother, Joseph, brought a big change in my life and was perhaps the biggest event in my childhood. I was no longer the baby of the family, and I had someone who occupied much of my time. The marriage of my sister and the birth of her children were also major events in my life and brought me tremendous pleasure. The marriages of my brothers, Jim and Ron, and the births of their children were milestones that I enjoyed very much.

During my childhood the only deaths that I remember were those of my paternal grandparents. I was so young that these events did not affect me very much. They were not so close that they left a void that was upsetting to me. A notable time for me in our family life was the time we lived at 442 South 4 th West in Provo, Utah. There I met my first girl friend, Ann Jackson. My sister met her future husband, Keith Hancock who worked for the Herald newspaper at that time. My brother Jim became a boxer, and with Ron developed a friendship with Rex Sabee who lived nearby with his family. Mr. Sabee worked with my father on construction. Connie and Colleen Sabee were twins who gave me my first special kiss. Dick and I walked to school in the winter of 1949 with the snow several feet deep in the streets. Our telephone was a party line phone and we gave numbers to the operators. I had my first puff on a cigarette and I gagged on it. I sold cool aid punch to workers laying railroad tracks nearby. I sold Herald newspapers by taking them to businesses in town and selling to people on the street. SCHOOL AND ACDEMIC ACTIVITIES Early Schooling My first school was in Eureka, California. My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Beauticelli was special because she had been my brothers teacher the year before. I went to 1st grade in Provo, Utah, but I cannot remember it. My 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. West taught at that school, too. I went to 3rd and 4th grades in Ogden, Utah. My main memory of that year was eating in the cafeteria 1 time when the teacher bought my lunch. I had always carried my lunch to school in a paper bag. I became aware that I was a good student by the 4th grade. My girl friend, Janiel Brown, lived across the street from us and we walked to and from school together. I also did her chores of feeding her rabbits every day. I engaged in fights with bullies at school and I thought of myself as the hero of the weaklings and girls in my class. Dick thought I was lacking tolerance, patience and wisdom. He was correct. I wore blue jeans (Levis), a button down homemade shirt, and high top shoes. Clothes were not a big deal to me. I liked school and no subject was special to me. I did not like to draw or color; I was no good at it and would prefer to do anything else. In 5th grade I learned that my memory was exceptional. I memorized long poems, and recited them to my class. I still remember the words to some of them, Casey at the Bat and Casey Twenty Years Later. My 6th grade in Huntsville, Utah was special for me. My main teacher had been an army man, Mr. Aldous. Thirty years later my brother Jim met Mr. Aldous who still remembered me. I was sure he was full of BS and he was sure that he could convince me otherwise. I proved myself in his class by dissolving a Quinine tablet in my mouth without vomiting it out. Mr. Bubolis was my English teacher who convinced me to try a musical instrument in his band class. I learned that I certainly had no musical talent that year. Dan Stallings and Marlon Jensen were my most memorable friends at that school. My 7th and 8th grades were spent at a 2 room school in Fieldbrook, California. In 7th grade I sat in a desk that was right next to my brother, Dick. There were 5 7th graders that year in that school. Mrs. McCurdy was the dedicated teacher who was the archetypical old style school teacher. The toilet was an outhouse 3 holer. Significant times at that school included the teacher reading stories

to us, I learned everything taught to both 7th and 8th grade while I was in 7th grade, so I spent the 8th grade reading an old encyclopedia, American Educator, given to me by the teacher to have for my very own. During play time the whole upper 4 grades played baseball at every opportunity. My best friends, after my brother, Dick, were Bob Goodrich and Sandi Garoutte. Sandi started corresponding with me this year about 50 years after we attended the same school. No awards or special recognition was part my schooling up to the time I graduated from 8th grade. The biggest school time event was surviving an earthquake while practicing for graduation from the 8th grade. I learned not to fear earthquakes. The most fun times in my growing up years were family events. The most exciting was a fishing trip in the Uintah Mountains. My uncles Earl and Milan brought horses and we packed up into the wilderness area. Other fishing trips were also exciting but we packed in by horseback only once. The stream fishing, tenting, cooking over the campfire, storytelling and singing were the sources of many fond memories. My closest friend in my pre-teen years was my brother, Dick. I had many friends and never felt lacking in social contact. Dick and I did almost everything together. We were as close as any twins. We were together even when we were apart. One of my favorite places growing up was in the middle of Himilaya Berry vines that grew near our home in Fieldbrook, California. The vines covered an area about 50 feet in diameter and 10 feet high. It was possible to create a path into the center of the berry patch where a 6 foot clearing was. I could lie down in the clearing and watch the bees buzzing from flower to flower. No one could see me and this was a perfect world. I could nap, eat berries to my stomachs content, and feel part of nature. This was my Garden of Eden. My favorite game as a child was baseball. I played at school, at home after school with friends, or at family get-togethers with cousins and uncles, brothers and my father. I listened to professional baseball games narrated by Al Helfer and Dizzy Dean with my mother. I knew all the teams and batting averages of most of the pros. My favorite toys were baseballs, bats and gloves. Aside from the baseball equipment my favorites were my bicycles. They were often homemade from junk parts, never fancy, always with patched up tires and tubes. They represented speed, power, adventure, and freedom. Family pets included dogs, cats, pigs, cows, chickens, civets cats (like skunks) and a turtle. Of all these I was closest with my cat, Penny, when I was 8 years old. I also loved our dogs and took care of them much of the time. I liked our pigs, named Crackers and Cheese, and our civet cats, but never felt very close to them. Music was never one of my talents nor one of my pastimes. I attributed that to the fact that I have been deaf in one ear since I was 8 years old. My favorite songs were ones I

learned when I was 8 to 10 years old. Popular songs went downhill after that time. Dancing, singing and playing music was never of much interest to me. I never believed myself to be artistic. I could not draw, paint, sing or play music. The closest I ever came to the arts was the time I spent doing leatherwork. I made my mother a leather purse, I sold some, and I made wallets, belts and coin purses. The designs were never mine, just the hand working. After relatives and family there was no more market for my leather products so I quit. Aside from the fishing and camping trips my first real vacation was a trip that Dick and I took to Utah from California when I was about 12 years old. We spent the time with my sister LaRita and her family and with my brother Ron and his family. This was a fabulous time and I had very happy experiences with my nieces, nephews and fun times. It was probably the longest vacation I took as a child. The camping and fishing trip vacations were my summer camp experiences. I did not attend anything called summer camps sponsored by any organizations. I did not feel a desire for them or miss them. From birth until 12 years old I remember living (1) on 4th West in Provo, Utah; (2) on Pine Hill in Eureka, California; (3) on Little California Street in Eureka, California; (4) on 4th South in Provo, Utah; (5) on Canyon Road in Ogden, Utah; (6) Ogden Canyon, Utah; and (7) Fieldbrook, California. Since my father worked on construction, we moved often in order to be close to places where work was available. The only new house that we had was the one we built ourselves in Fieldbrook. Building that house convinced me that tasks that difficult were within our capabilities. I took on difficult tasks throughout life because of that experience. The worst weather that I experienced growing up was the winter of 1949 in Provo, Utah. We had deep snow and very cold temperatures to endure while walking to 2nd grade in school. My hands got so cold that I had to first immerse them in cold water, then warmer water to avoid frostbite. The snow was so deep I could not see the road from our living room window. We dug tunnels in the snow in the front yard. My brothers had to shovel snow off the roof of our house to keep it from caving in. I lived through and fully enjoyed playing marbles and using hula hoops. I enjoyed country music because my father played the guitar and sang those songs. I enjoyed pop music including: How much for that doggie in the window? And Your Cheatin Heart because my older brothers and sister liked them. I never had any musical talent myself. I liked the evenings when the family sat around the radio and enjoyed Ernie Tubbs, Jimmy Dickens and Minnie Pearl on the Grand Ole Opry. Elvis Presley made his debut on the Ed Sullivan show and I thought that the hip gyration and girls squealing was silliness. I remember being awed by Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, listening to them on the radio. I dont remember any major historical events in the late 40s or early 50s. World War II ended before I became aware of it, but I do remember my cousin Max going into

the army in about 1947 after WWII. The atomic bomb, though not in my memory, did have a major effect on my generation. The whole world was in jeopardy of annihilation in nearly an instant. As a song advised, live fast, love hard, and die young was at least in most peoples minds. For many years we trained to hide under our desks at school in case of bombs. It wasnt understood how futile that would be in case of an atomic bomb. As a small child I was told that I was cute, and I thought everyone liked me. As I got older I felt self confident but not cocky. As I got closer to my teens I felt like I was more and more confident in my abilities, but socially I was not allowed very often to associate with friends outside school so I wasnt as confident about that. I had plenty of friends at school and never felt there was a popularity problem. My saddest time occurred when my mother was crying because my father would not let her go from Ogden to Salt Lake City to visit her mother and father. He finally drove her to Salt Lake City when Mom set out to walk the 50 miles. My happiest moments were the times we visited amusement parks, went camping, went to the swimming pool, or played family games with my parents, brothers and sister. My childhood was generally a very happy time in my life. When I had problems I got help from my mother, brother, Ron, or my sister, LaRita. Since I seldom had problems I did not often seek help. My childhood here was the Lone Ranger. I heard him on the radio and later saw him on TV. I also belonged to the Hopalong Cassidy club. In real life my hero was my brother, Ron. The most important lesson I learned from my childhood was that I could probably do almost anything that I applied myself to. I wanted to be like my brother-in-law when I grew up. I thought that an electronics engineer would be a good aspiration. I wanted to be a leader in whatever I did.

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