Byron Charles Taylor

Tom Brokaw said, "If you were born in the second half of this century, you owe your freedom, your prosperity, and perhaps your life to the selfless teens and twenty something who fought in World War II. Their courage, followed by their sense of vision in the postwar years, changed the world. They are and were the greatest generation that ever lived.

After the war, this generation built our highway system, developed a polio vaccine, stared down communism and sent men tot the moon. Through modest and pain, most chose not to talk about the struggles of their youth. Now they’re senior citizens dying at the rate of 100 a day and to understand America, we have to hear from them.

Many are still uncomfortable telling their stories to their kids he say so get a tape recover and get the grandchildren involved. Younger people will be astonished. They stepped up and saved the world. They’ll look at their grandparents in a different way.”

You, your grandchildren and their grandchildren cannot talk to Byron C. Taylor, so I will attempt to tell you the story of his life and how he did his part in ‘Saving the World’…

Byron Charles Taylor was born the 5th day of November1923. He was born in Sunnydell, Madison County, Idaho. Byron was the 4th child of John Henry Taylor and Florence Hazel Mattson.

The Taylor family lived on a farm in the southeast part of Madison County, in an area known as Sunnydell. The family farm stretched from the foothills on the East of the South Fork of the Snake River on the South. The farm was a choice piece of property. His grandparents, John Taylor and Annie Zooley Foster, had homesteaded here many years before and it was here that Henry and Hazel Taylor had built their home. He farmed and she did what she loved the most; raided her little family. Hazel built her life around her children. She was a very caring and loving mother.

Hazel and Henry’s first child, Donnell was born when they lived in Poplar on his father’s farm. Donnell had pneumonia and died when he was 14 months old. That sprint they moved to Sunnydell and it was there that Oneta Hazel was born on March 24th, 1915. Raymond Franklin was born May 3rd, 1919. Byron joined the family November 5th, 1923. His mother told me that Byron was a beautiful baby. He weighted 10 pounds when he was born. Dr. Nelson told Hazel and Henry he was a ‘Perfect boy’.

His mother’s favorite story about his temperament was when he would get behind the old heart or dinning room table if he had been scolded and he would not talk. She asked him what he was doing once and he answered, “I am potting”, his baby words for pouting. He was known to use that method to get his way through his life. Byron was playing in the yard with older children when he was about 2 years old. He caught his middle finder on his right hand in the grain binder. The wheel on the cutting lade was turned by one of the older children when his had was on the blade and he lost the middle finger on his right hand t the second knuckle. He did not ever let it bother him and enjoyed telling the story of his accident to anyone who noticed his ‘short finger’ as he called it. He loved to draw, whittle wood into little funs, knives and made other toy item. He loved his father’s horses which they called “Old Buck” and often drew pictures of the horse.

On April 7th, 1927, Lorin Johnson joined the family and November 17th, 1928, Lois Ann was born. They were all loved and enjoyed by their parents.

As the children grew and started school, they rode horses and when the weather was colder, Henry would take them to school in the wagon and later when snow was on the ground they often were driven to school in the sleigh. Henry always had a beautiful team of horses and took great pride in keeping them up. In the winter, he had sleigh bells on his horses harnessed and the children loved to hear the bells as they went through the snow. Oneta tells of the fun the three boys, Byron, Lorin, and Raymond had together. She said that Byron had made a little wagon and got the mouse to pull the wagon.

Byron went tot school in the old Sunnydell School which had been built in 1902. He attended school there until it caught fire and burned in 1930. The school term that year was completed in the lumber yard building at Byrne Siding up on the hill above his family home.

Byron was a very near child. He took care of his toys and clothes and was very pleased when he was about six years old and got a new suit. He wore it to the Christmas program and when he had to take his part on the program, he had to kneel down on the stage to say his lines and before he kneeled down, he carefully removed his handkerchief from his pocket and spread it on the floor. Then he kneeled on it so that his suit would not be soiled. Needless to say, it was one of the best parts of the show and was a story told many times by his mother.

In 1931, he and his brother and sister attended the new school in Sunnydell. Byron enjoyed school and often told us about the things he did and games they played. He loved playing marbles and enjoyed skating on the canal in the winder when it was frozen over and the ice was a safe place to skate. Byron formed many friendships in the Sunnydell School that endured his entire life. He often told of his favorite teacher, Frank Ricks.

When the Sunnydell Branch of the Archer Ward was organized, the children went to Sunday school and Primary there. The meetings were held in the Sunnydell School. Oneta, Raymond and Byron were baptized as members of eth Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 4th, 1932. They were baptized in the old Rexburg Tabernacle in Rexburg, Idaho. Clarence Byrne baptized them.