Mary Alta Wilkins (1909-1994)

B. 15 March 1909     Washington, Utah

D.  18 August 1994   Auburn, California

Mother: Mary Ann Elizabeth Waters

Father: Judson Heber Wilkins

Siblings: Walter Bagshaw (half-brother)

              Zella Bagshaw (half-sister)

              (3 more babies died at birth)

              Heber Bensen Wilkins

              Adelia Wilkins (died at age 11)

Mar.    24 June 1929     Los Angeles, California      Laurel Ernest Sterndahl

           15 Dec 1942.     Los Angeles, California      Merrill Frithiof Sterndahl

Children: Kenneth Laurel Sterndahl

               Dennis Merrill Sterndahl

           

I don't know the year, but she was pretty young

Merrill and Alta wedding reception, 1942

Merrill and Alta

late 1980s or early 1990s

[Alta wrote this memory journal about 1990 after a request by her great-niece Pam Rogers Stinson.]

I dedicate this to my wonderful mother, Mary Ann Elizabeth Waters Bagshaw Wilkins. She was born January 27th, 1868, in Beaver, Utah. Mother was some less than five feet tall. She probably was five feet when she was young. Brownish hair. Grey eyes. Her hair would probably be on the thin side.

Mother was happy and a wonderful caring person. She was widowed for the second time when I was six years old. She was first married to Walter S. Bagshaw. They had five children. They lost three babies. They raised two, Walter and Zella Bagshaw. Their first son was Walter S. Bagshaw, born 23 December 1890. Their daughter Zella was born 7 October 1896.

Mother's second husband was Heber Judson Wilkins. Their first child was Heber Benson Wilkins born 29 November 1901. Their daughters Adelia, born 4 November 1904 and Mary Alta, 15 March 1909.

Mother had a wonderful memory. Wish I had one half as good. She did not have time for much of anything except to work as her parents had a large family. She only had two years of schooling. Remember, this was back in 1868. She used to work for a lady who paid her with material. This lady had her mop the floors with milk or cream as they didn't have such things as wax. She was a small little lady and it hurts me to think of the hard time she had raising her family. Eight children in all. She lost three at birth. She was completely honest in everything she ever did. She didn't have much but she always paid her tithing. This was very important to her. She had her home in Delta, Utah. My sister's husband built it for her with the help from my brother Heber. 

Heber worked to buy material as well as working on the house. When Zella and I had her come to California to live, she gave the home to him. He had a large family and I am getting ahead of my story. 

When Zella was young she went to Salt Lake to live with my brother Walter and his wife Della. She got her first job with Sweets Candy Co. She worked dipping chocolates. She met Robert Graham and they fell in love and married. Walter and Della eventually moved back to Delta. Mother had a large piece of property that she divided into four pieces. She gave Walter his and he built his home on it. Bob and Zella in time moved back to Delta and they, in turn, built a home on theirs. Heber was to have the piece where the home stood, and of course there was a piece for me. Things changed during the years. I came to California and I gave mine to Heber. 

Our brother Walter died at 34 years old and his wife sold their home and she took her family to Idaho to live. Zella and Bob came to California. In due time they sent for me to come to them as Zella was ill. Bob asked mother to let me come to be with her. This is why I arrived in California at age 16. I am now 81 years old as of March 15, 1990. I have two sons, 5 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren.

I will try to give a little history of our homes through the years.

Washington, Utah, I have no memory of as our family moved to Hinkley, Utah. My dad had a brother Fred who lived there and he wanted Dad to come there to live. It was a pretty town, old but lots of beautiful trees. Uncle Fred had a large family. He had several redheads in it. My brother Heber had red hair and no freckles. I didn't have red hair but I got the freckles.

Our home is not too clear in my mind, but I think it was a tent house. I remember Mother saying your home is your home even if you live In a tent.

When my dad died I was almost six years old. Another brother of his Uncle Jim, with Aunt Martha, wanted Mother to come to Delta to be near them. That home was a small house. I remember it had tar paper on it. It also had a cellar. 

I was still young when Bob built Mother's home. I am 14 years younger than Zella. We felt like we had a mansion and it was a beautiful house. We had only one bedroom, livingroom, and large kitchen. Heber slept in the livingroom, Mother and I in the bedroom. Years later when Mother came to California and she had given Heber the home, he built another bedroom and a bathroom. They also had running water which we didn't have. They still had the wood and coal stove. Both Mother and Eva were good cooks. Mother made wonderful pies. Zella and I took after her for pie baking but we had an easier way of baking them.

I remember when we first got electricity. Also a big thrill when Heber bought a silver tone phonograph. This came from Sears in Salt Lake City. 

(Pam, I am jumping all around with this. I am surprised at myself that I told you I would try to do this for you. Please be patient with me. At 81 this has been a big job.)

More about my mother. She was given so many names Mary Ann Elizabeth Waters plus two married names, so you can understand why she gave your Nana one [Zella]. I had two - Mary Alta. She wanted to give me only one but these circumstances came up. My mother and her sister Martha married two brothers. My dad was Jud and his brother Jim. The two sisters had babies 2 hours and 45 minutes apart. Since we were so close in time of birth, as well as blood relationship, Aunt Martha wanted us to have twin names. Mother wanted me to be Mary but Aunt Martha would not settle for Marion. So they settled on Mary Alta and James Alton. Needless to say, Alton and I grew up together and we're always very close.

My mother and father lived in Washington, Utah, when I was born. When I was two years old they moved to Hinkley, Utah. Dad had a brother Fred who lived there. Uncle Fred had a large family. I remember he had several red-headed children. My brother Heber had red hair and no freckles. I didn't have red hair but I got the pesky freckles. Oh, how I hated them!

I do not remember too much about my dad, but I do remember how I loved him. One day when I was playing in ashes left from a fire out in the yard, I lost my ring. It was only out of a Cracker Jacks or something like that, but I was broken-hearted. My dad got down on his knees and really searched for it, but needless to say we did not find it. Another time when I was in kindergarten, I came home crying and so scared and my dad took care of it. I was going home from school and some big boys told me they were going to cut my ears off. I didn't want to go back to school. My dad took me by the hand and we went back to the school. I don't know what he did about it but they never bothered me again. 

My dad died just before I turned six years old. His bother Jim persuaded Mother to bring her family to be near him and Aunt Martha. They lived in Delta, Utah. This was the couple who the two brothers married the two sisters. Uncle Jim, within a few years, passed away. This left the two sisters widowed. They were very close, like my sister Zella and I. Mother had a hard time making a living. The only thing she could do was take in washing and ironing. We had to haul our water from Aunt Martha's. There was no well on the property Mother bought. For a few years we had a large sugar factory built in Delta. Mother and Aunt Martha were lucky to get jobs. I know they sewed on large machines. I also know one of the jobs was making sugar sacks. In time the sugar beet growers and the factory owners were not able to come to an agreement and they moved the factory out of Delta.

When Heber married, he and his wife Eva lived with Mother and I. Eva was wonderful about helping Mother with the washing and ironing that Mother was forced to go back to doing. This was where Eva had most of her family. They had nine children. I speak of this again later in my writing.

Mother was a healthy little person but giving birth to her children was a very difficult time for her. I, her eighth child, was the only one she had a doctor for. Aunt Martha used to tell her how easily she gave birth but Mother was not so fortunate. I took after my mother as I nearly lost both of my babies and my own life. My Kenny and my Denny are my pride and joy. I have never stopped thanking my Heavenly Father for blessing me that I was spared to raise them. 

Laurel and I were married eleven years and at that time polio took him from us. Over two years later I married Laurel's brother Merrill. We have been married 47 years as of December 15. 

Mother was born in Beaver, Utah, and to my knowledge a team of horses and a wagon were their mode of traveling. After my dad died and we moved to Delta, walking was our way of traveling. We lived in town so we did not have far to go to church, school, markets, and post office. The train went through Delta. 

Heber taught me to dance when I was quite young and I taught my friends. I had a cousin who, through the years, thanked me over and over. He was a beautiful dancer - Robert Wilkins. He has been gone for a number of years. We had a large dance hall in town. It was also used as a skating rink. This brings to mind that I did more skating than walking. 

We lived for years with coal oil lamps and an outhouse. One Halloween it was dumped over. This was something that the boys did just for fun. 

I left Delta at age 16 and came to California to live with Zella and Bob in Los Angeles. I was not there very long when I was offered a job in a small grocery store that had a soda fountain, sundries, canned and fresh fruit and vegetables. It was quite a little market. Zella traded there and one day the owner asked her if she thought I would like to work for him and that is where I started my working years. 

I soon became home sick for Mother, Heber and my friends and wanted to return to Utah. Zella talked me into giving her enough money to come back to California if I decided I wanted to. I gave here the money but I knew in my mind I would not be back. Within two weeks, I had her send the money and I was glad to be back in L.A. I went back to work in the grocery store.

At this time Zella and I decided to have Mother come to California to live. It was two years before she made the move. I had decided to spread my wings and took the street car and went into Los Angeles. I got a job in a drugstore. I loved those big street cars and hated it when they were replaced by buses. That was years later.

Getting back to my job. One of our delivery men and I became acquainted. He wanted me to meet his friend, Lou. I was only five feet tall and did not care for tall men. Anyway, I asked him if this person he wanted me to meet was tall and he said yes. That fixed it. I refused to meet him. He kept after me for a long time. Then one day he had his wife come in and she introduced herself and we had a nice visit. She wanted very much for me to come to dinner and meet their friend. They both thought the world of him. I finally said yes. This Laurel was supposed to pick me up after work. He had a roadster. The fellow who came for me was friendly and nice and we got on our way. We only went about a mile or so and he got out and Laurel got in. These were brothers. Laurel had been getting a haircut and would have been late so he had Merrill pick me up and bring me to him. He told me it was love at first sight for him but it took me a little longer. Anyway, we met in September and were married the following June. We were deeply in love and eleven years was such a short time to be together. Laurel and I had two little sons, Kenneth Laurel and Dennis Merrill. We had so much to live for but it wasn't to be. 

Before Lou and I were married his dad wanted Merrill to come back to Denver to drive him and the family to Brockton, Massachesetts, so he was not able to stay for our wedding. During the time of our courtship, Merrill joined Lou and I on a lot of our dates as we went so many places: beaches, mountains, visiting friends of theirs in Long Beach and different places. Zella always included Mel when she had special dinners. 

Some months after Lou died, Merrill came back to California and we fell in love and married. My boys love him like a father and Mel says he couldn't love them more if they were his own. It has all worked out so beautifully. Mel was forty and I 33 when we were married and we are now 87 and 81. We have been married 47 years. Mel will be 88 on June 9, 1990.

The home Bob built for me after Lou died was a livingroom, two bedrooms, dining room. Extra large kitchen, lots of cupboards, large pantry and back porch. We had a double garage that Mel took over for a workshop. He was a machinist by trade and he had a lot of machines and tools in the garage. I don't think he had any idea of the help he was giving the boys as they grew up. They have each used a lot of what Mel taught them in their work. 

Kenneth at age 59 is retiring and buying a motor home so he and Sharon can travel and yet have their lovely home to come back to before starting all over again. Our Dennis is building a new home. The one they sold was beautiful. This one is even larger. We are so very proud of our sons and we love them and their families so much. Our two sons and their wives have given us five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Merrill and I moved to Redding, California, in 1969 after selling our home in Glendale. We bought a Fleetwood mobile home. We first lived in Park Villa mobile home park for 15 months, then we bought a lot in Summit City and had it moved to our new location. It is a 12' X 60' and has 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, livingroom, kitchen, and dining room combined. We love our home and the area. We have a market, barber shop, post office, and only 2 1/2 miles to Shasta Lake with 365 miles of shoreline. This is a beautiful lake. Mel loves to fish. He also does some fishing on the Sacramento River and Whiskytown Lake. He had no trouble retiring. He has a small workshop and always finds something to do. We never get bored. We go to Redding often. Have so many large malls and stores. Redding's population now tops 60,000 - 1990 estimate 63,412. When we came here 21 years ago, it was 18,500.

I just received a phone call from my niece Mae. She is the daughter of my brother Walter. She is the last one alive of Walter's family and I am the last one of Mother's family. Mae lives in Pocatello, Idaho. 

Walter's wife Della had Mae three months after I was born, which made me a very young aunt. When we were children, if Mae ever wanted to tease me, she would call me Aunt Alta. This is the same situation, Pam, that you and your mom had when she had Jeanne just before you had Jeff. I love hearing from Mae. 

Walter died when I was quite young and I have no pictures of him. Mae has promised she would send me one. I do not remember if Zella had any of him. He was a natural blonde and very handsome man. Your nana and he were both very good looking. I love my sister Zella so much. Mel and I speak of her often. We used to drive down and bring her up here. We did this twice a year. This was after she couldn't ride the bus anymore and she would not fly. Mel loved her like she was his sister, and when Lou was alive, he felt the same way. We have always been very close. After your Gramp died I was with her every day for one solid year. Then we rented our home and moved to downtown Glendale. We had an apartment about four blocks from her's. We spent lots of time together. I know how lonely she was as I had gone through the same experience when I lost Lou. 

In April of 1989 we drove to Southern California to be with Ken and Sharon. We were with them ten days. First we went to Palm Springs to see Tami and Kurt. Tamie had just had a new little baby girl, Ashlie, and her little brother Teter was two years old. Kurt has since married and we were with him on his wedding day. Dennis and Judy drove us to Reno for the wedding. We also went to Oceanside to see Louise and Ross. Sharon had Carl, June, and Jeanne over one evening. Then we went to Port Hueneme to see Bob, Phyllis, and their large family. Bob and Phyllis had June, Carl, and Jeanne come to be with all of us. It was wonderful seeing all of them.

When Walter died, he and Della had four children - Walter, Mar [?], Zella, and Douglas.

Bob and Zella had three - Louise, Bob, and June.

Heber had nine - Terry, Jean, Debera [?], twins Ronald Lee and Donald Lou, Arlene, Jerry, Tim, and Karen.

Lou and I had two - Kenneth Laurel and Dennis Merrill.

Lou died September 25, 1940. He was only 35 years old. I was 31. We were living in Highland Park, a suburb of Los Angeles. Mother, Kenny, Denny, and I continued to live there while Bob built out home in Glendale. Bob took time off from his carpenter job to build it. Our home was about five blocks from Zella and Bob. I don't know what I would have done if it hadn't been for my wonderful sister and her Bob. Mother helped me through those trying times. I loved and clung to her. She was my refuge. Kenny was nine and Denny had just turned four, and they were too young to lose their father. 

Not only Zella and Bob, but others who loved us felt that a home for us was the best thing I could do for my family with the life insurance Lou had left me. They were so right. At the time, I was not able to cope on my own.