Emery Leonard Lewis

  Generelle notater:

MY LIFE HISTORY
By
EMERY L. LEWIS


My Father was born in London, England. He was a convert to the Church, and came to this country when he was fourteen years old. He came alone. He worked at many different jobs, and got enough money to send for his Father. His Mother died when he was six years old.

My Mother was also a convert, but she came over here with her family from Copenhagen, Denmark the same year that my Father came over.

After some time in the United States, they both wound up in Salt Lake City, became acquainted, fell in love and were married. While living in Salt Lake, eleven children were born to them.

In the year 1909 they moved to Moapa Valley on a ranch called Capalapa.

One year later I was born, Jan. 24 1910 – the year of the famous 1910 flood. The railroad was washed out from Caliente almost to where Moapa stands at this time. It also flooded all over the ranch where we were living. My Father had to move the family to higher ground until the water subsided, and the land dried.

When I was one year old, my mother had a stroke which paralyzed her entire right side. She was flat on her back for one year. She could neither move nor speak. My older sister, Elise, who was married, took care of me until I was three and one half years old.

Elder Talmadge, of the quorum of the twelve, administered to my mother and promised her that she would recover enough to raise her family, which she did. She never recovered the use of her right hand, but she lived an active life until she was eighty four years old.

I started school in the first grade when I was only five years old, but I guess I was not too bright because I was detained a year. So I was six years old when I started again.

The teacher had three grades in her class room, the first, second and third. This placed my brother, who was in the third grade in the same room with me. We were always very close, and every place we went, we went together. One day the teacher ask my brother to go on an errand for her. So when he got up to go, naturally I got up and started to go with him, but I did not get far. She took hold of me and said “wait little boy, you are not going”. Well I was determined that I was and put up quite a fuss. However the teacher got me subdued, and like she said, I did not go. That was the first good lesson that I got in school.

When I was nine years old, they decided that I was to baptized the following week. So my older brother decided that if I was going to be baptized, we had better practice. Every day for a week we went down to the canal and he dunked me under the water, unbeknown to our parents. Then after I was baptized, one our friends, who was not a member of the church, said to me “So they went and made a Mormon out of you, huh? That’s too bad.” That almost made me regret it.

One hot afternoon, when I was in the third grade, our teacher said we could all go out under the shade of some big trees, where a stream of water ran, sit on the bank and hold our feet in the water, but we were not to stand up and wade. The temptation was too great for me, I stood up. As punishment, I was sent back to the school room, where I had to sit by myself, where the rest of the class were enjoying themselves in the shade. I felt pretty bad but also learned another lesson.

My brothers, sisters and myself used to make stilts to walk on. We fastened them to our legs with cord so our hands were free. The cords would be wrapped from our feet to our knees. We would sometimes be elevated four or five feet off the ground. We sat on top of the grainary to fasten them on, then we would walk all over the country. We enjoyed this immensely.

One day my sister decided to go for the mail on her stilts. When she got to the post office she was too tall to walk in the door, so she leaned down and called to the postmistress to bring her the mail, which the good woman did.

After the older children of the family grew up and moved away from home, my brother Roger and myself were the only ones left, being the two youngest of the family. My father always took my brother out to help him in the field and told me to stay in the house and help my mother. She did a lot of sewing on the treadle sewing machine, and one of my jobs was to stand and spin the wheel to get the machine started. I also had to mix bread and scrub floors (not to my liking). I spend a lot of time at this.

When I was about fourteen years old, I had a friend who was the son of the Stake President. He was a good boy, but he decided one day that he would like to make and drink some coffee. He asked me if I wanted to have some with him, and as I was always interested in doing something risky, I told him yes, and asked where we could make it. He said that his folks were gone for a ride that day and we could make it in his house. Well, we got it brewed, and poured us a cup, and just sat down to drink it when his father and mother walked in. I don’t know about him, but I would liked to have crawled in a knot hole. His father didn’t say much, but his mother really gave us a going over. I have never forgotten this.

Some years later my friend, Lorin Bunker and myself did a lot of horseback riding together. His father owned cattle and I would help him rangle them, brand and ear mark them. They also raised mules and it was our job to brand the young mules. Believe me they were a double handfull to handle.

During the great depression no one had much money. We would work for different people and take produce for pay. We always had plenty to eat and clothes to wear, but not much to spend on luxury. Many of us also worked on the water ditches to pay our water assessments.

I spend the winter of 1929 with my friend Orville Perkins, his brother and father hunting and digging for Indian Artifacts. We found many interesting things, pottery, beads, arrow heads, etc.

We used to grow lots of melons here in the valley. I have helped harvest, pack and crate them for shipment. It was hot, hard work. Every summer after the melon crop was over, some of us would saddle our horses, pack a mule and head for Sheep Mountain where it was cool. It was about seventy miles from here. We would start late in the day and camp at the warm springs the first night, then ride on to the mountain the next day and spend a couple of weeks.

About the year 1933, Jesse Winn built a store in Overton, across from the school house. He also had one in Logandale. He had two daughters that ran the store in Overton. My friend Tom Cooper and myself used to sneak up and visit the girls when their father was not present. The old gentleman would come down in the evening and help the girls until closing time and then go back to Logandale. After he left, we would come across the street (we had been hiding over by the school house) and entertain the girls. One night we had been waiting for him to go and soon he came out and got in his car and took off down the road. We decided that the coast was clear so we started across the road. We got right in the middle of the street when a car came around the corner and we were caught in the headlights. It was Mr. Winn. We sauntered on down the road, as if we were going some where else, but the old man went in the store and asked the girls “Do those boys monkey around here much?” Both Udine and Jessie assured him that we did not, so he went on home and we came back and visited the girls.

We courted those two nice girls for some time and finally got on better terms with their father, and in June of 1935 Jessie and I were married. Tom and Udine were also married.

Jessie and I raised three children, two boys and one girl.

I have done a lot of work as a carpenter during my life. I worked for Bob Waymire building a three story mill out at Tiffany Minerals. I helped build the Clark Dairy building, which is now the Catholic Church. I have worked on several homes through out the Valley. I also helped put in the new power line from Sheep Mountain down to the Sub-station.

I was a dairyman for Clark Dairy for twelve years, and after that worked for my nephew irrigating 350 acres of alfalfa and corn. We also milked one hundred head of cows. Later I got a job for Clark Co. School, was custodian for several years, and then put on as a gardener. I worked on this job until I retired in July 1975.

I was inactive in the church from the time I was a teacher until the year 1962. I was then ordained a Priest in the Aronic Priesthood Jan. 30 1963 by Bishop Sarel (Si) Porter. Was ordained to the office of an Elder July 5 1963 by Pres. Warren M. Lyons.

I served as the General Sec. for Sr. Aronic Priesthood, as it was called then, under the direction of Bishop Putman and Bishop Lynn Bowler

My dear wife Jessie and myself were sealed for time and eternity in the St. George Temple Dec. 21 1963.

I was ordained to the office of a Seventy by Elder Le Grande Richards, of the council of the Twelve Nov. 23 1963 (They really pushed me along)

My wife and I were called to work in the Indian Branch about 1966. My wife as a Sunday School teacher and myself as Branch Financial and Statistical clerk. We served for two and one half years.

I was ordained to the office of a High Priest by President Grant M. Bowler.

After we were released from the branch, I was appointed to the position of Secretary for the High Priest quorum. The late Fay Anderson was then president. He was later released and Robert Waymire was put in as president. I was released while Bro. Waymire was still serving as president.

My dear wife suffered a stroke in 1970, which left here partially paralyzed. A year later she had a severe heart attack and passed away Nov. 14 1971.

I was a widower for two years, then I met and courted Marie Stevenson. We were married Dec. 22 1973.

I retired from my job July 1 1975. Later that same month we took a guided tour back East, visiting many places rich in Book of Mormon History.

We went to the spot where the Garden of Eden once stood in Jackson Co. Mo.; next to Liberty jail, in Liberty Mo. We visited the Temple site in Far West Mo., and the city of Nauvoo, on the banks of the mighty Mississippi river. From there to Carthage jail and the Kirtland Temple. We saw the battlefields of Gettesburg and spent the day in one of the Smithsonian Institutes in Washington D.C. We also visited Valley Forge and traveled on to upstate New York where we attended the Hill Cumorah Pagent. We climbed to the top of the hill and tried to guess where the Plates were hidden. We held a testimony meeting in the sacred grove, and it was one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had.

From there we went to Niagra Falls and on in to Canada.

We followed the old Mormon trail coming home. Spent one night in Omaha, Neb. and it was so hot and humid there that it was hard to visualize the saints freezing to death there in the early days when it was called Winter Quarters. We came through Casper Wyo., Salt Lake City and on home.

I have done a lot of hunting and fishing through out my life.

I could say that while my life has not been the most exciting in the world by some peoples standards, it has been very satisfying.

I am enjoying my retirement very much. My wife and I take many short trips to different places. We are doing some Temple work and enjoying it very much.

In summary, here I am again, Secretary to the High Priest quorum. I am sixty seven years old at the time of this writing (1977) and have been a resident of Moapa Valley all my life.



Emery Leonard Lewis, age 89, died June 9, 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born January 24, 1910 in Overton, Nevada to Arthur and Rosalie Theodora Nielsen Valentine Lewis. He married Jessie Winn in Overton, Nevada and they were later sealed in the St. George LDS Temple. She died in 1971. On December 22, 1973 he married Gena Marie Oviett Stevenson in Henderson, Nevada. She died in 1995.

Emery lived his life in Overton. He worked as a rancher, farmer, cabinet maker and at the Clark County Creamery. He retired from the Clark County School District as a custodian. As a member of the LDS Church he served as a Stake Missionary to the Moapa Indian Branch and as High Priest secretary. He loved gardening and raising pigeons and sheep. As a young man he enjoyed fishing and hunting and he was an excellent horseman.

Survivors include two sons and one daughter: Stewart (EmmaLu) of Overton; Ray E. of Henderson; Essie Linda Flynn of Las Vegas; one step son and two step-daughters; David (Barbara) Stevenson of Henderson; Flora (Bob) Miller of Alta Loma, California; Judy Ahlstrom of Las Vegas; 14 grandchildren; 22 great grandchildren. He was the last born and last to die of twelve children.

Funeral services will be Monday, June 14, 1999 at 10 a.m. at the Overton LDS 2nd Ward Chapel. Visitation will be Sunday evening from 6 – 8 p.m. at Metcalf Mortuary and again from 9 – 9:45 prior to services at the chapel. Interment will be in the Pioneer Hill Cemetery under the direction of Metcalf Mortuary.

  Begivenheder i hans liv:

• Bopæl, 1910, Overton, Clark, Nevada, United States.

• Bopæl, 1920, Overton, Clark, Nevada, United States.

• Bopæl, 1930, Clark, Nevada.

• Bopæl, 1940, Township 8 Overton, Overton, Clark, Nevada.

• Military Draft Registration, 16 Okt. 1940, Overton, Clark, Nevada, United States.

• Bopæl, 1 Sep. 1998, Overton, Nevada, United States.