Loretta Rigby (March 6, 1982)

              Voices From the Past
The Assessor of Madison County
By Loretta Merrill Rigby
March 6, 1982
Tape # 117
Oral Interview conducted by Harold Forbush
Transcribed by Jessica Manning October 2006
Edited by Jamie Whitehurst May 2008
Brigham Young University- Idaho
Harold Forbush: Historical Society of the Upper Snake River Valley. It’s a pleasure for me to be in the home of Sister Rigby this 17th day of March and incidentally its St. Patrick’s Day today 1984. Sister Rigby would you state your full name and tell me where and when you were born?
Loretta Rigby: My full name is Loretta Merrill Rigby and I was born in Franklin, Idaho on the 13th day [ Recording cuts out] 36th South 2nd East Rexburg.
HF: Have you lived at this address for a number of years?
LR: Yes, I’ve lived here for about [ inaudible] to [ inaudible].
[ Recording cuts out]
LR: … 1934.
[ Recording cuts out]
HF: Maybe through inducements…
[ Recording cuts out]
LR: This was no more and so he was out of employment and we were living in Newton, Utah. And then he was one of the heaviest stock holders in the Idamont Hotel in Rexburg. And at that time they were having a difficult time to get managers, honest managers for the hotel. And so the board decided that the best solution would be for one of the board members to come and take over the hotel and its management in order to see that thing went right in their interests were looked after properly. Well my husband at this time then was out of work in Newton and he seemed to be the one who was freer to leave and take up this responsibility than any of the other board members. And so it was decided that we would move up here and he would manage the hotel and try to take care of their interests that way because he was a very heavy stock holder.
HF: And I think you commented that for the ensuing five or five and a half years, you people were involved in the care and management…
LR: That’s right.
HF: … of the hotel. Tell me something about your husband. You know Rigby is a very noted name associated with the early pioneering of this area. Share a little about your husband.
LR: Well…
HF: His relationship for example to William F. Rigby etc.
LR: Well, William F. Rigby was his father and my mother- in- law had died and he was being raised in the Rigby home with other wives of William F. Rigby. And he was frequently brought up here to this area where William F. Rigby was one of the pioneers and was busy in many things. One thing they were doing they were taking lumber out of Beaver Canyon and then sending it down into Utah for various reasons. And he was assigned to come up with his father very frequently to do whatever he could do. And at one time when he was just twelve years old, he was sent down to Utah with a load of lumber. Now this lumber had been put into a wagon and sealed up completely so that his bed and all would just be put on top of the lumber. And at that time there were no highways. There were no regular roads. It was just light trails to get from here to Utah. And he was not familiar with that road.
It was an adventure that his father wanted him to take. And his step- mother, she objected. She said, “ Oh William, he’s just too young to go. He’s only 12 years old. He’s too young to go on a long trip alone like that.” But Brother Rigby felt that he was old enough and so it was arranged and his older brother told him just where he should stop at night to rest his horses and himself. And his stepmothers provided enough food so that he could make the trip without getting hungry. Well he went and each time he’d stop, he’d stop where his brother had said. Now that’s a good place to camp because there will be water there and you can water your animals and get water for yourself. And so he said he thought that the thing to do was to just follow instructions implicitly because he was not familiar with the road. And one night as he stopped to rest his animals and to do whatever he wanted, the evening was long because of the many daylight hours left, but he was afraid to move on because this was the watering place and he must do just what his brother had told him.
Well as he sat there by his little campfire that night, he looked over across the plains and there came an Indian riding along on his pony. And he was startled. He was afraid. But he said that he just felt that there’s nothing to do. He’d just have to wait until the Indian came up and see what he wanted. And the Indian said, “ Me want water.” And my husband said, “ I have no water.” And the Indian said again, “ Me want water.” And he said he knew then that he would have to stick to his story because it would never do to lie to an Indian. And so he stuck to his story: “ no water.” Then the Indian rode away and he was really frightened. But he went to bed on top of the wagon as the only bedding place that he had. And in the night the wagon gave a big jerk and he thought, “ The Indian has come back. I’m doomed.” And so boyish like he grabbed his quilts and put them over his head and lay there very quietly to see what the next move would be. And there was no more move. And so he finally peeped out from under the quilts and there was no one around and he saw then that one of the horses that was tied to the wagon wheel had reached beyond the length of the rope and had given the wagon the big jerk. And so he was very relieved to think that his life was spared and there was no Indian there to take his life.
HF: [ Recording cuts out] And who were some of his brothers and sisters?
LR: Well he came from family of [ recording cuts out].
HF: And what were the full names of his brothers? [ Recording cuts out]
HF: And his sisters? [ Recording cuts out]
LR: I should have thought this through.
HF: That’s alright if you don’t know their names. [ Recording cuts out]
LR: Well, Levinia and Margaret and his brothers were George and William. I guess that’s it because there were five children.
HF: Ok.
LR: And they were the children of the first wife.
HF: Do you recall her name?
LR: Mary. Her name was Mary Clark.
HF: The first wife?
LR: The first wife.
HF: Brother William F. had I don’t know how many wives.
LR: Six wives.
HF: Six wives.
LR: He did have seven wives, but the one wife couldn’t take polygamy, and so she left him. But he did have six wives. And he had about 39 children.
HF: One of the purposes for this interview this afternoon is to have you share with me on the tape just rather briefly some inquires concerning your illustrious father, Mariner Wood Merrill. And I would like to have you focus a little attention on maybe some personal remembrances of your father? I have no way of knowing how old you were at the time of his passing but, perhaps you can share some personal recollections of your father and your mother?
LR: Well I was born in 1891 and my father died in 1906. So I wasn’t very old but I was old enough that I do remember him well. And he was a man who was a good man for polygamy. No favoritism and just as fair as he could be with all of these wives. And the things that I remember most about him was that during his later years, when I did know him, he was in very poor health. He had sugar diabetes. And at that time they didn’t know much about controlling it. They didn’t know much how to take care of it. And he suffered very much with legs that pained him and it was hard for him to get around. But he never gave up. I think he was only housebound for about two or three days before he died. He would not give up, but very often in his diary he would put down, “ I was unwell today, so I stayed in.” But he didn’t stay in all day. He would maybe stay in half a day.
HF: Now was the family home in which you were reared at Logan?
LR: No, not at Logan. I never did live in Logan.
HF: Oh.
LR: I was in Franklin until I was nine years old and then Father built us a lovely home in Richmond out on the farm.
HF: And you were reared then in that home?
LR: That’s were I lived from there until …
HF: Was that kind of his headquarters?
LR: Richmond was yes. Richmond and Logan. He was president of the Logan Temple and he was there a great deal too.
HF: And what were the things that concerned him, you know, in the last years of his life? What responsibilities in the Church did he have to be concerned about in those final years of his life?
LR: Well he was one of these men that never gave up and he was active until his death. At the time of his death, he was president of the Logan Temple and he was also and an Apostle. And he still supervised all of his farming work and he had his own crew, because he had so many boys, and he had his own crew and he supervised their work. And his still took care of his work in the temple and he made his regular trips to Salt Lake for quorum meetings and for conferences and never he let up on anything, even though he was miserable.
HF: In going to Salt Lake, I presume, in 1900 and 1905 and along in there was there a train that he could take?
LR: Yes. Yes. I don’t know how many years that train existed, but he did go on a train when he went to Salt Lake.
HF: So he didn’t have to drive there with a team?
LR: Oh no. I don’t think he ever drove to Salt Lake with the team.
HF: Now, I note and you’ve indicated here that your own husband was the offspring of a man who practiced polygamy. Did your did your husband ever… Well, well let me put it this way; was he embarrassed of that situation?
LR: Who embarrassed?
HF: Your husband?
LR: Not at all. No indeed.
HF: He was proud of the fact?
LR: Very proud.
HF: And I know that you’re not embarrassed…
LR: Not in the least. No indeed.
HF: … of being the offspring of a man who practiced polygamy.
LR: I’m proud of that. I’m very proud of that.
HF: Yes. Right. And you know this is rather interesting isn’t it? Here a lady is the offspring of a polygamist and her husband likewise and they’ve had a very positive approach in this matter. Just briefly tell me why you are proud to be the offspring of a polygamist father.
LR: Well I just don’t really know how to answer that why. It’s just always been a part of my life. To live in polygamy was our way of living. And we accepted it. We were happy in it. We were taught to work. We were taught the gospel. And we lived in a spiritual atmosphere. Really my mother was a very, very devout Latter- day Saint. And really upon her revolved the rearing of her children as with most of the polygamous wives at that time. And so she was a wonderful, wonderful lady.
HF: How many brothers and sisters did you have? Full brothers and sisters?
LR: Full brothers and sisters?
LR: Mother had five children. And then she raised a German boy.
HF: I see. Sister Rigby I have come to know that it’s just remarkable the way in which your parents and his other wives instilled within the children, and there were what 42 of them?
LR: 46.
HF: 46 of them. Instilled the desire and yearning for education. Just share a little of that. Oh there were so many who were teachers and doctors and lawyers and administrators. Share some of that with me.
LR: As far as father was concerned himself, he didn’t have very much chance for education, but he was very education minded. And his children could go to colleges as far as they desired to go, but they were not allowed to have a lot of money jingling in their pockets. Their expenses were paid and they were taken care of, but they were not allowed to spend foolishly. But as far as going to school was concerned, they could go as far as they wanted to go and he would pay the bills. And he was very anxious that they should all have the chance. And I want to insert this into this: my full brother, Wilford, was Father’s youngest son. And he was the only one that did not have the opportunity of having a father to foot his bills. He was born in [ 18]’ 98, so you see he was just about eight years old when Father died. And so when he came along, he was a boy that was very anxious for an education and a very bright boy. And he was the only one of father’s boys that put himself through school and he did it on a very tight budget. But he had to do that in order to get his education. The others had had their opportunity, they were the older boys and father was there. And had father been alive he would have had the same opportunity but he was long gone and it was up to the boy. You know in settling father’s estate, my mother and the other seven wives were not recognized by law and they were not left with money to live on. The first wife got a third, the court got a third, and the third was divided amongst the living children. And so there wasn’t much money available, but this brother of mine he was a very brilliant boy and he put himself through school. He went back to Harvard and graduated and had a very fine money- wise job at the time of his death.
HF: Sister Rigby, what educational pursuits did you follow and achieve?
LR: At that time it wasn’t in the general thinking of people that a girl needed to go to college too much. If she wanted to, fine, but now a days they stress it very much. So as far as I was concerned I went to the grade schools, of course, and we had a ninth grade there in Richmond, and then I went to school in Logan to what was then the BY College in Logan. I went there for one year only. And then my mother was having such a hard time financially that I quit school and went to work to help her maintain the home.
HF: I know that in 1948 you took employment…
LR: As a city clerk.
HF: … at the city of Rexburg as the city clerk. Had that been an aspiration? Did that kind of fall into your hand or had you been really seeking for that position for some while?
LR: No. No. I had never even thought of it. And it was nothing but the hand of the Lord that put me into that position because, I hate to say this but, I didn’t feel qualified. But it so happened that Brother Lowell Biddulph was one of the councilmen at that time and they were in the position where they needed a city clerk because the clerk was leaving to go away to Chicago to school and they had to find somebody to go in there.
HF: Do you recall who that was?
LR: The Clerk?
HF: Yes.
LR: Gilbert McKinley. Gilbert McKinley was in there then. And so, Brother Biddulph knowing I needed employment; my husband was not lucky to save his investments and he lost practically everything through the Depression. And it was absolutely necessary for me to work, to do something to maintain my home. And I had a young son who I was anxious should go to school and go as far as he could and I had to find work, some kind.
My husband died in [ 19]’ 43 and during the mean time I tried ever so many different kind of jobs, not very remunerative any of them. But Brother Biddulph knew my situation and so he came to me one day and said, “ We need a city clerk. Would you be interested?” And I said, “ Oh, I don’t think so Brother Biddulph. I don’t think I’m qualified.” And he said, “ Oh we feel you are if you’re willing to take it.”
Joe DeMott was then the mayor in our town and he contacted me and asked me if I would be willing to do it. And I said, “ Well I’d have to give that thought. I don’t know.” So after I thought about it for quite so time I decided that that was too much for me, that I was not qualified for such a position. And so I went to town one day to tell the mayor about it. He was a barber at the time. And I met him on the street and I started to talk to him to tell him that I couldn’t accept the position and he said before I got a chance to tell him, “ Oh I’ve got a man sitting in the barber chair and I’ve got to go right now and finish my job. I’ll talk to you later.” And I thought about that. I thought now I had gone down to tell him no and he didn’t even listen me out. And so I thought maybe the Lord’s got a hand in this. Maybe I’m to try it our problems in life are not easy, they’re tough. And so decided that maybe the Lord was telling me something. So I decided to accept it and I was in the office with Gilbert just about one week and that was all.
HF: At that time where was the city hall located?
LR: Well, just on the other side of the ally the we have now there. In practically the same spot that it has been on that street for some time.
??: About where the fire department is now.
LR: Yes. Yes.
HF: So it was just a little bit to the north.
??: Just across the ally.
LR: Just a little ways off the ally to the north.
HF: And you have mentioned that Mayor DeMott was serving at that time. Do you recall others, other than Will Biddulph, that were on the board?
LR: Oh there were so many. No I can’t remember all of them.
HF: Ok.
LR: I remember the later ones.
HF: Do you recall any particular duty or responsibility that was quite a challenge as you know, you started into the work?
LR: Well the greatest problem and difficulty to me was that at that time the city clerk had to be the police judge and that was terrible for me. I just couldn’t imagine my doing it. And I was too chicken to suit some of the police officers and I had a few problems on that score. But I used the best judgment I had and that was all I could do. But that lasted for just a little while and then finally Brother Clark came in as police judge and oh was I ever grateful for that.
HF: And you worked with him then…
LR: Yes.
HF: Cooperated with him?
LR: Well I…
HF: He was wonderful to work with wasn’t he?
LR: He was wonderful to work with but I had nothing more to do with that police judge job.
HF: You didn’t have to keep any minutes or any thing like that for him then?
LR: Not on that, but oh my, one of the difficult things was to take care of the minutes for the council meetings because the council meetings would sometimes go on for several hours. And it was the responsibility of the clerk to just put down the things that were most necessary.
HF: Did you learn to figure out for yourself a style of shorthand?
LR: Oh no. No I surely didn’t. It was all longhand and memory. I’d write them in except the very next day if not that night so as to remember everything I should. But one thing that came in one of the mayor’s office, I don’t remember which one it was, came in one day to check on some back minutes, and I got minute book out and he looking it over, and as he looked it over he slammed the book shut and he said, “ Those minutes aren’t worth a damn.” And that nearly scared me to death because I knew that I didn’t want him to say that about my minutes. That was a real challenge to me was those minutes.
HF: To keep the minutes. And I suppose you had, even at that time, one or two clerks assisting you.
LR: Oh my goodness no.
HF: Didn’t you?
LR: I was alone. And I mean alone. And when I’d have to go over to the bank to bank money, I’d to get one of firemen to come in and tend the office while I walked over to the bank to make the deposit. No.
HF: Where did the city bank their money?
LR: In the First Security at that time.
HF: I see. And so persons coming in to pay their water bill, their garbage collection, or did you have a garbage collection?
LR: Oh you bet. We sure did. We had ditch water too that we had to take care of.
HF: And sewer of course.
LR: The sewer, all of that.
HF: And you had to give receipts for each one of those?
LR: Yes, each one. Well usually they would bring the card in and I could just stamp it paid.
HF: Oh.
LR: I would just stamped it paid.
HF: But you had to send out the notice.
LR: Oh and it was all done by hand.
HF: And calculate the bill.
LR: And calculate the bills. And I’ve sat up many nights till 12 and one o’clock at home here because I couldn’t get it done in the office time. I never took a holiday. And I never did watch the clock for five o’clock to shut the door.
HF: Now you had known how to typewrite at that time.
LR: No I hadn’t. No I didn’t.
HF: But you learned how?
LR: Hunt and peck. Yes I did hunt and peck. I got so I was pretty good at that.
HF: At the typewriter?
LR: That’s right.
HF: I see. Let’s see. At that time, did they have add machines?
LR: Oh yes, yes. We had an adding machine. Yes.
HF: But it couldn’t calculate things like they do now, of course?
LR: Well I’ll tell you I liked the adding machines because you could refer back, and now these calculators, I’ve got one here, and it doesn’t tell me a thing. If I’ve made a mistake I can’t look back. But with the adding machines you can go back and check and check.
HR: Now Sister Rigby I know that you served for some sixteen years, you must have become well adjusted to the job to the point where you enjoyed it and felt proud.
LR: Yes, at last, at last. But I want to say here too that my dear son who was with me when he went into school he was very good at figures. And he would come in and help me figure out my water bill. We had about five books that the meter readers would use. And he’d go in and help me with my cards and he helped me get them out. And he’d sit up nights with me. But without him I don’t know what I would’ve done. I really don’t. He helped me a lot, all gratis – that was not paid – just all gratis work that he did.
HF: To continue the interview with Sister Loretta M. Rigby please turn to side two of the tape.
HF: Side two which will conclude the interview with Sister Loretta Rigby. Sister Rigby, we’ve mentioned that Mr. DeMott was the mayor in1948. Do you recall who replaced him?
LR: Oh there were so many mayors came along, I just don’t remember
HF: Possibly Jay Fred Smith? LR: No I think that there were some before him. I don’t remember. I just don’t remember.
HF: Joe Parkinson could have been the next one?
LR: No, he was one of the later ones.
HF: Now in the ensuing years in the early fifties, do you recall any particular problems that the city of Rexburg faced and became quite a challenge for the council and for the clerk to resolve in those early years?
LR: No I can’t think of anything specific. It seemed to me that Mary Smith was the city attorney and any legal matter that came up she always took care of those and I didn’t pay much attention to those.
HF: She was always with you I guess when you had your council.
LR: All of our council meetings. Yes she was there.
HF: She’s been a grand servant, hasn’t she?
LR: Oh yes indeed. Yes.
HF: What in your opinion are some of the fine qualities that she has contributed as an attorney and as a servant in behalf of the city?
LR: Well she was always on the job to give advice and to get all of the, I was going to say ordinances, I guess they were called ordinances, you know I forgotten what it was?
HF: Right ordinances.
LR: Yes and she would always have those prepared and taken care of and she was very, very helpful to me in giving me advice and helping me out on problems that would come along. She was a very, very helpful person to me.
HF: Did you have a good experience with Mayor DeMott as far as you recall?
LR: There was no friction of any kind. I don’t remember even how long he was in as mayor after I went in. When I went in I was just appointed to fill that unexpired term. But at that time it was appointive and then it went on to be voted on, whether who was to go in as city clerk later on.
HF: Now Joe Parkinson was a mayor and I believe that he also earned his livelihood through selling farm equipment, didn’t he?
LR: I think so. Yes.
HF: Joe Parkinson. And I don’t know how long he was mayor. Another mayor along in those years of course was Wayne Smart.
LR: It seems to me he just went in to fill an unexpired term for somebody. He wasn’t in so very long but I’d like to say about Joe Parkinson, he was one of the best organized mayors we had. The responsibility was distributed if there was a man on ditches, on streets, on parks, on waterworks, whatever councilman was in charge of that department, he turned it over to them. He didn’t try to solve it himself. He was very, very well organized and our meetings were not as lengthy and they covered just as much or more. He was an exceptional organizer and an exceptional mayor.
HF: E. A. Archibald was another of Rexburg’s mayors. Do you have any comment about him?
LR: No, I don’t. I just don’t remember. He was so congenial and easy to work with that I just don’t remember much. But it seems to me like Wayne Smart filled his unexpired term. I’m not too sure, but it runs in my mind that’s the way it was.
HF: Now Mr. Archibald, I think, was with one of the banks.
LR: Yes he was.
HF: First Security?
LR: No
HF: Oh.
LR: No.
HF: Oh another one.
LR: The other bank that we had at that time. We just had two.
??: First National.
LR: No it wasn’t First National.
HF: Oh it was with the Idaho Bank of Commerce.
LR: That’s right.
HF: Yeah I remember he was with them. Now, I’m not sure what years Jay Fred Smith served as mayor, but Jay Fred, I believe was a good mayor. LR: Oh he was fine. Jay Fred Smith had time and he spent a lot of time just driving around the city and checking up on that and keeping in touch with all the departments.
HF: There was a real challenge for Rexburg because … [ recording cuts out]
LR: But he was a man that was on the job. He was a good mayor.
HF: Well now I think the facts do indicate that you continued to serve as the clerk of the City of Rexburg until October 1964.
LR: That was December, till the end of December ’ 64.
HF: Ok, to the end of that year.
LR: That’s right.
HF: And would you care to indicate at that time why you determined to close out this experience?
LR: Well I want to say in fair, that during the latter years of my term down there when the work [ recording cuts out]. It required just a little to get onto the procedure to the daily routine and there were certain things that we had to balance out every night. We had to check out. And if we didn’t, we stayed there till we found where our problem was. And I think that he must have been there for a little while, but not for very long while I was there.
HF: I see. Then he replaced you and he probably didn’t serve too many years.
LR: No he didn’t serve long.
HF: Because Buela came on didn’t she. She came back…
LR: Yes.
HF: She had worked with you. Did she continue the work while maybe Albert Smith was the clerk also?
LR: Yes I think so. As I recall she did. Now you asked why I quit. You know for a number of years I had been very careful to keep my age from being known because I thought that I was past the age where I should be in there and that I should probably would be replaced. And in fact, Gib Larson almost replaced me at one time, not because of age, but for other reasons. And I was very careful that they didn’t find out how old I was because I needed the work and I wanted to stay as long as I could. And so when I came to the point that I felt like I’d better quit, I quit.
HR: Well…
?? : Without them telling you.
LR: Huh?
??: Without them telling you.
HF: Let’s see…
LR: Yes, without them telling me I retired. Now I don’t think that Gib Larson was too much in favor of me, but we got along. He was friendly and all. And when I quit in December he still asked me if I wouldn’t stay until he election when there would be a change at that time. But Buela had been in the office with me and I knew she could carry on efficiently. And I was ready to quit at the last of the year. My family in Boise was going to move east and I wanted to go with them when they moved and so I quit the last of the year.
HF: Tell me a little about your family, your sons and daughters I should say.
LR: Well I wish I knew what to tell you because I’m so proud of all of them.
??: Well what they did. What they have accomplished.
LR: Oh, my daughter married Elmer Crowley and he of course was very active in education and the reason they moved to Washington D. C. was because the educational department was determined to have him back there as one of their assistants, one of their clerks because he was very efficient. And so they moved back on that account and he carried on until his death with the National Educational System. And my next two boys were both drafted into the service and those were hard years while they were in the service. They couldn’t tell me where they were, what they were doing or anything about the service that they were performing. And it was a difficult time but they were both drafted into the service. And Merrill, the oldest boy, married a girl from Heman, Maurine Cruizer. And they were married during the time that he was in the service. On one of his furloughs they were married. And they moved to California and that’s where Merrill still is in California. And he isn’t interested in Idaho at all because when he comes here to Idaho he has a hard problem with breathing. The altitude isn’t right for him and he’s happy there in California.
HF: What’s his work?
LR: He’s medically retired right now.
HF: I see.
LR: He had a heart condition. He lost his wife and for some reason, I don’t know if that triggered it or not, but he had a very severe heart attack. And he’s gone along with it in the hospital and out of the hospital, and finally the doctor suggested he take medical retirement, which he has done. He still lives there and likes California. The next one, Elroy married a girl from out here at Egin, Ruby Robertson, and they now live in Idaho Falls. And he has been with Coca Cola people for about 34 years. And he seems to be a very valuable employee for that company because he has been most conscienous in his work and he seems to be able to understand most any phase of it. And they can turn to him for help. So he’s still there, but he’s been with them now for about 34 years. And my next one, Ronald is the one who did fill a mission. The other boys had no chance for it money wise or otherwise because of the war. So they didn’t fill missions but Ronald did. And Ronald has gone on to school and has got a doctor’s degree and he’s living right close to Washington, right in Washington D. C., really in Alexandria. And he’s still working for the Navy Department in the Budget Analyst Department.
HF: Now was he who assisted you…
LR: Yes.
HF: … with your mathematics at the…
LR: That’s right.
HF: … clerks office?
LR: That’s right. He’s very, very good at figures. You know he’d have to be or he couldn’t be in the budget department with the navy. But he’s climbed the government ladder to the high point where he is now. He can’t climb higher in his one department. And he has others working under him now.
HF: So he and your oldest daughter, his sister, have communication back there?
LR: Oh yes.
HF: Nicely.
LR: Yes.
HF: They get to see each other…
LR: Occasionally.
HF: Occasionally.
LR: Now Annie lives in Maryland, two miles from the temple and Ronald lives over in Alexandria, Virginia, but it’s not so far. But what they do get together for holidays and special occasions. And Annie has her three sons back there in the same area with her. They can talk on the phone every day. They can visit and her family is there excepting her one daughter who lives in Texas. And she couldn’t follow here around because her husband works for Philips Petroleum and they move him about as they find it necessary. So the daughter is living in Texas and the three boys are back there where she’s living.
HF: And so you had the one daughter…
LR: Just one daughter.
HF: … and three sons.
LR: And three sons. That’s right.
HF: And how many grandchildren do you have?
LR: Well, we’re not very prolific. I only have eight grandchildren. Thirteen great- grandchildren.
HF: Thirteen great- great. Sister Rigby as we close this lovely experience this afternoon, why don’t you share with us some of the hobbies and activities with which you’ve been involved in all of your retired years here in Rexburg?
LR: Well I don’t know that there’s much to tell. I don’t know that I have any regular hobby. I love to do handwork and I have done quite a bit. I used to love to do quilting and I quilted a great deal helping friends later on, but that’s out of the question any more. But I still do hand work. I can still read and I love reading. I enjoy reading very much. And I am very interesting in the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. I am very interested in that organization and I have been an active member there for quite a number of years, not now, but I had been. And right now I’m at the point were I’m up on a retirement shelf. I have no definite responsibilities of any kind.
HF: I know that this good lady, when she could, was a very avid and faithful temple worker.
LR: I did quite a bit of temple work and I taught. I have served in practically all of the auxiliaries of the Church excepting, well I was going to say excepting the Primary but that was where I started was in the Primary. And I have taught and been active in nearly all of the auxiliaries. While I was in Newton, I was president of the PTA there. And I have been active in my life, but right now I’m enjoying inactivity. Believe me, I’m enjoying it. But I want to say one thing. You know I read here that where we say sometime we lose interest in prayers and it says here, “ We pray for prosperity and God gives us brain and brawn to work.” He doesn’t hand it out to us. And I have often thought that I am indebted to the Lord absolutely for my financial independence at this time because if it hadn’t been for His help, I never could have gone through that city clerk job the way I did. But believe me it too brain and brawn and tears and hard work to accomplish that. But through that the Lord gave me the strength, the determination, the brain and the brawn to carry on so that now I am not dependant on any of my children financially. The Lord has blessed me with such good health that I’m not a burden to them health wise, and things have been taken care of beautifully and the Lord has all the credit for it.
HF: Isn’t that lovely? But you know that going back to those 16 years as a clerk, it probably opened up new vistas that enabled you to develop interests and capabilities that are blessing you now.
LR: Well I tell you I am truly blessed now. There’s no two ways about it. I just look back and I wonder why I chomped at the bits at different times. The times we were in the hotel were very hard on me and my family. And my work at the city hall was not easy. It was very difficult at first. But I got to the point where it was not so difficult. I became so accustomed to it that I could go along and quite enjoy it. But I worked hard and I really put in time and the Lord was right there to help or I would have never made it.
HF: Well thank you so much Sister Rigby. May the Lord continue to bless you. And we here who are members of the Fourth Ward and members with Sister Rigby almost bow and scrape and want her to know how much we appreciate her as a fellow member of the Fourth Ward.
LR: And I thank you for that. And I wish I had had time on your tape to tell you a little bit about my mother. Oh that my life had been so interesting. My mother had such a wonderful life. And there just isn’t time to tell it. But my mother was born in Sweden, my father in Nova Scotia and they got together and were married and I wish there had been time for me to tell you about that. But there isn’t so I’ll just leave it for another time.