My mother's oldest sister, Mamie (Mary) Swapp and her husband Joe Swapp, who at one time was the mayor of Provo, owned two homes, one was in Vivian Park, in Provo Canyon. This was a place where the whole family loved to be. Up the canyon, where you were in the Mountains. And the smell of the pine trees, and feeling of the cool breeze in the evening. It was very dark at night for there was no street lights there. They had a little creek that ran down the mountain side, just behind their back fence. This was a very comfortable home, it had two bedrooms, but it also had a bed on the large front screened porch, and one in the inclosed back porch. The home was mostly heated by a fireplace in the front room. which they burned cole and wood. In the Kitchen was a cole stove for cooking and heating of the home. This cole stove was an interesting experience to try to cook on. Uncle Joe loved to make sourdoe pancakes, he would tell us stories of making the pancakes while sheep herding early in his life. He would fry pancakes for you, until you could hold no more.
This place holds many bright memories.
The neighbor who lived next door had a gentle heart, and had compassion for animals. He had a love for humming birds. All around his yard was placed small bottles on sticks, filled with sugar water. (about 60 or more). There seemed to be hundreds of humming birds in his yard. They would follow him, sit on his hat, or shoulder, and sit on his hose as he was watering the flowers in his yard by hand. He even had a sparrow for a pet. Hurt and abandon, and unable to fly, this baby bird was raised and cared for by this man and his wife. Years later when a mother deer was killed, this man took care of her fawn until he could be on his own. As a youth I learned the sweetness of kindness.
Someone in the Hartley family had created a marble and dice game called Wahoo.
(I have seen similar games by other family's, since). It was not unusual for mom's family to meet once a week and play Wahoo. Each family had their own game board.
I remember one time when some of the family, was playing at Aunt Mamie's home in Vivian Park. As the game was being played, it was interrupted by a mouse that had run into the house. Folks armed with brooms, or sticks, or anything they could get their hands on, were chasing this poor mouse all around the room. To me these "older folks" were laughing so hard they couldn't stand on their feet, and the mouse was frantically trying to find a way out, or a place to hide. After a good half hour the mouse ran for his life out the door. I don't think anyone had the strength to swing at him, for their sides were hurting too much from laughing. I don't think there were any intention of hurting the mouse, they were just enjoying each other. That was what mom's family did. After a few breathers, the Wahoo game continued.
This was the same home that Lynn and I were to stay at, on our wedding night. After our reception, the church had to be cleaned because of another wedding planed for the next day. In the early hours of the morning, around 2:00 am, while still dressed in my wedding dress, and Lynn in his suit. We arrived at the home. getting everything out of the car that we would need, Lynn put the key into the doorknob, and it broke off.
Checking all around, there was no other way into the house. Putting everything back into the car, driving back to Orem, and feeling hungry, we stopped at a sandwich shop. Lynn went in, I was still in my wedding dress and stayed in the car. Then we drove to the little home in Lehi that we had rented. We were announced to the neighbors of our arrival, by the rocks in the hubcaps.. We had to use camping lanterns, because the electricity, and gas were not turned on yet.
Latter we found out that the home in Vivian Park had flooded that night, by a broken water pipe.
Vivian Park had a large pond. In the summer you could go boating and fishing. In the winter we would go Ice skating on it.
