Josephine Johnson Howard

The story of one of my favorite people!
Life Story of Josephine Johnson Howard told by Faye Howard Carroll - Daughter or Josephine.

One a beautiful summer day, June 23rd, 1904, a tiny blue-eyed baby girl was born to John and Matilda Johnson. One brother and three sisters welcomed her: John, age nine, Ethyl, age seven, Mayme, three, and Zelma, eighteen months. The baby was named Josephine, after her Father's sister. The mid-wife that delivered her was Sarah Ann Howard, their neighbor.

Going back a few years in time, John's parents had grown up in Sweden and accepted the Gospel of Denmark. They immigrated to Utah with two daughters, Olivia and Josephine. President Brigham Young called them to go to Brigham City, and it was there that John was born. When John was six weeks old they moved to South Bountiful. John received his education in the Salk Lake schools, and he began teaching school when he was 21 years of age. It was in a two room school in South Bountiful where he met Matilda Ann Howard. He courted her for sometime, and then they were married in the Logan Utah Temple on March 9th, 1893. Before he had met "Tillie", he had filed on a homestead in Idaho. He cleared the ground, cut the logs, and built a one-room home on this property. he then brought his wide to Idaho to live in the newly built home.

In the fall of 1897 he was called to Sweden on a mission, and was set apart by President Wilford Woodruff. He took Matilda and their children John and Ethyl, back to Bountiful to stay with her parents while he was gone.

John and Matilda raised their family in a prayerful home, where the Gospel was taught and practiced. Mother, being the middle child in the family of 12 children was fortunate to have older brothers and sister, but also younger ones to love and enjoy. She had a very happy and enjoyable childhood. Because she was in the middle of this large family, she was called upon to help with a lot of the household chores and playing with the younger children. There was an area on the side of their home where there were large, layered rocks. Mother remembers spending many hours there singing songs, playing games, reading stories, and having a wonderful time with Glen, Maude and Marie, the twins, Florence, Jim, Wayne and Geneve. They didn't often play with neighbors or friends because they had each other. The Johnson family was very musical-her Mother played the piano and organ well and her father dang, and all the children had music lessons.

The Johnson's lived across the street from the Shelton Ward Church. Mother had many wonderful memories of the many years that she spent in the Shelton Ward - the wonderful teachers she had and the friends that she made there. Their social life was centered around church activities. Holidays were especially memorable, as they got to have homemade ice cream, candy and fruit and nuts and many things that they were not used to having only on special occasions. Christmas eve was always a very special time. The whole family would go to the Church for a Christmas program, in which the children all participated, and then Santa would come and give them a treat. This tradition carried on for many years to come with her own children going to Shelton Ward for Christmas Eve.

Mother remembers her baptism day well. She went with Bishop John Shelton Howard, his wife Sarah and Carrie, their daughter. She had turned eight the past June and Carrie had just had her eighth birthday. They rode in a high top buggy to Iona. She remembers that they spent the cold November day there and that they were baptized by Brother John C. Rushton. This was the 2nd of November 1912.

She was about fourteen years old when her Dad came home from his second mission to Sweden. She remembers that time very well and the experiences he would relate about his time in Sweden. She really loved her had and always wanted to perform her very best to please him. She always loved school and was a very good students. She really loved to read and would read any book she could get her hands on. Many a book she read by the light of a coal-oil lamp. She was sewing well by the time shew as 15 an d made a majority of her clothes as well as many for her sisters. The Johnson children had a very good penmanship. Their father was an excellent penman and was called upon often to do the writing on church and school certificates with his beautiful penmanship. At age 90, Mom still had good penmanship and can recite a lot of the poetry she learned in grade school.

In 1919 she stated high school. Mother, Jimmy and Ray Howard, and Agnes Carlisle went to Rigby to school. When the weather got bad and made travel difficult, they batched in an apartment. During her last year at Rigby High School, her brother, Glen, stayed with them and slept in a corner on a cot. After completing her junior year in Rigby, she attended Ricks Normal School in Rexburg, Idaho, rooming most of the time with Naomi and Ruth Newman. She remembers on one occasion being very tired and discouraged with school and wanting to quit. She came home one weekend and told her parents that she was not going to return. Her Dad and Mother never argued with her or told her that she had to go back. When Sunday came around, however, her Mother Mother made her own graduation dress. She remembers being on the graduation program and went alone, all the time feeling bad that her family would not be their for the big occasion. After the program had started, she looked into the crowd and saw her brother John and his wide, Carrie, and her Mother and Dad come in. What a thrill for her!! They have her a foundation pen. She still remembers how bad she felt when it was stolen. She was the first one in her family to graduate from High School.

She attended summer school that year and took education classes, then took the State Exam and got her teaching certificate. Her first two years of teaching was at Poplar, in a two-room school, with Carrie Johnson. For several summers Annie Zucher, Agnes Carlisle, Carrie Johnson, and Mother would go to summer school and take additional classes to better prepare themselves for their teaching career. The Poplar school was ran by Bonneville County, and sometimes their checks were unable to be cashed because the people couldn't pa their taxes. The grocery store would let them charge their food until the checks would clear the bank. Their monthly salary was about $125.

On March 21st, 1925, she married Franklin Downs Howard. They had grown up next door to one another, but Frank was seven years older so it wasn't until she was teaching school that he paid attention to her. After they were married they lived in Idaho Falls. She continued teaching and again went to summer school. Frank worked for Billy Reed at the Mountain States Implement Company. In 1926, they moved to the Upper Shelton school and lived in the basement and she taught there. This was the first time they had electric lights and they still and to haul their own water. The following spring when school was out, they moved to the Buck Ranch. They stayed there for the next few years.

On March 22nd, 1928, a baby girl, Marion Gene, was born. Everyone on the ranch adored Marion and she was the center of attention. Jim Buck especially enjoyed her and would buy her anything that she wanted. Mother helped Aunt Ella, Frank's oldest sister, and Mrs. buck, cook for their hired men. There was always plenty of hard work to keep them busy, with meals and any other chores that needed to be down. They didn't have any of the modern conveniences that we take for granted today. Uncle Gene Johnson, Uncle Ted Howard, and Rub Brown, lived on the ranch and worked for a time. Overall, it was great experience and everyone enjoyed playing cards in the winder when the worked slowed down.