8 Aug 1926 – 18 Apr 2012
Wife of Herman Elwood Cardon
Cheryl Ann Schofield
CHERYL ANN SCHOFIELD CARDON— the fifth of five children born to Eliza May Bingham and
Charles Samuel Schofield.
I was born like Nephi of old, at a very early age. At least I have been told this; my memories of my birth are few. In fact my memories of my life, including yesterday are few. Having said this, I will proceed to write a few volumes.
Manassa, Colorado was the place of my birth and early childhood. Elwood likes to say that two great fighters came from Manassa, Jack Dempsey and I. I had a happy, carefree childhood, the kind that kids in rural areas used to have. We always had pets and farm animals, we played in the irrigation ditches and climbed trees. We were also required to do chores, feed the animals, bring in wood, the older kids milked cows, and the girls helped in the house. Boys did not even have to clean their own rooms, because they worked outside. I grew up during the depression years, so we probably did not have much money, but we were never poor, my mother would not allow it. My parents always lived the doctrine of staying out of debt, so we suffered less than many people did. I’m sure my older brothers and sisters were more aware of the financial hardships than I was, and I know it was a hard time for the folks, but my childhood was not marred by it. Our Christmases were exciting times, with beautiful hand made doll furniture and hand sewn clothing. I treasured them then, but now I realize the skills that went into them far surpassed workmanship we see in toys now. Dad was an excellent carpenter and mom was also very talented with her hands. Many of these pieces of furniture are still being used by children in the family.
Nona and Beth, my two sisters, both married while we lived in Manassa. Nona married Troy Hutchins and Beth Married Cluff Christensen. I became an aunt at age ten when Joana May Christensen was born. She was, and is, a very important person in my life. I won’t try and list of all my nieces and nephews as this narrative goes along. My parents had 32 grandchildren in all and not a one we could get along without. Many of them have been real influences in my life and my children’s lives. Cousins are such special people We took two trips to California, the first when I was five, for a funeral. The second was when I was twelve and it had long lasting results in my life. My mother inherited a house in Alhambra when “auntie” died. “Auntie’”, was the aunt who raised my mother after she was orphaned. We went to California this trip for a real vacation and to see the house. The money from this sale was used to buy “the ranch” in Farmington. This was a very important and difficult decision for the folks to make. I’m so glad they did it.
We moved to Farmington when I was twelve. The ranch was 13 acres of orchard and irrigated land. Growing up in the San Luis Valley of Colorado really made you appreciate a place like Farmington where fruit trees grew and you could get four or five cuttings of alfalfa. Just as a comparison, Troy used to say of the Valley that “the wind blew both days last summer”.
I loved Farmington, after the initial impact of moving. I loved the Russian olive trees in bloom with their spicy fragrance, and walking through the apple orchards in bloom. There were huge poplar trees around the house, the shade was really welcome on hot summer days we thought we had moved to a big city; there were about 1900 people there in 1929. One of the best things was having Nona or Beth and their children come to visit. Only the poor long tailed carts were happy to see them leave. I know this was a hard time for the folks. Dad was still working in the Valley and later in Cortez. It was not easy for them to be apart, and a lot of the burden of running “the ranch” was put on mom and the boys.
Charlie B. went on a mission to Indiana during this time. World War II started while he was out. When he returned home he went into the Air Force. Aldred (we did not call him Al-mom hated that name), followed after graduating from high school. I learned much later, during the Vietnam War, what it means to have a son in combat. It’s different with a husband, he’s a man, but a son is always your baby.
I graduated from Farmington High School, the new one on Apache that Grandad Cardon supervised the building of, and was married a few weeks later. I didn’t even consider using the scholarships that I had, and going to college. Married women stayed home and learned to cook and keep house. I should have gone to college, I wasn’t a very fast learner at home. Marriage didn’t change my life much, I stayed home with my parents, wrote letters, and got a $50.00 a month check from Uncle Sam (part of it he took from Elwood). My parents wouldn’t let me spend it, so I had a small nest egg when Elwood got home. These were not happy years for families of service men. Looking at pictures of my parents makes me realize how much they aged in those few years. Charlie B. was shot down in the South Pacific and missing in action for 18 months. He was finally reported as a prisoner of war in Japan, a mixed blessing, they treated their prisoners very badly. Aldred was also in the Pacific and India, Elwood was in Italy, Cluff, the father of two children was drafted.
The end of the war was a great time. There was even dancing in the streets of Farmington. Mom kept homemade bread all the time because that and tomato soup was what Aldred wanted most to eat when he got home.
Charlie B and Mary Alice Horvath had been married the year before Elwood and I were. Aldred came home and shopped for a while, finally choosing Marguerite Knudsen for his bride. We all settled down to living a regular life, building homes, having children, working in the church and making big decisions.
We had Cheralynn for a first big decision, or lack of decision. Our next big step was a move to Kansas City, Missouri for school. It was one of our really good moves. The death of my parents while we were there was a very difficult thing for me to accept. It was great to be able to go back to Farmington after school. I wasn’t quite ready to cut the family ties yet.
I was four months pregnant when Elwood was sent to El Paso by his National Guard unit, for schooling. While he was there the Korean War stared and his unit was activated. Randy was born in April (Beth got to be the daddy), and we moved to Fort Bliss in June. We had a good year there, living in Van Horn park, base housing. But all good things come to an end, and so did this short year. In April the 717th Gun Battalion shipped to Germany, a nice place to go for the Korean War. I planned to follow as soon as housing was available but an unplanned Roger changed that plan. By the time there was a place to live I was too pregnant to fly (short wing span). Roger was born in December (Beth was daddy, again). And Elwood came home in February. My chance at overseas living was gone and I’ve never been sorry. We were not meant for a military career.
We tired the settling down routine again. We had sold our little house on Schofield Lane with the apple and cherry trees, and wild plums, and bought two Mossman houses, one to rent, the other to
live in. We were in a neighborhood full of young families with lots of kids, and our kids loved it. They went to elementary, junior high and high school while we lived on Gladded. We added Connie Jo and Colleen to the family tree. Elwood had to stay home for the entire nine months with both of them. This was a first for him. I’m not sure he didn’t try to reenlist. Pregnancy turned my otherwise nasty disposition, absolutely impossible.
Elwood got a chance for a good job, with regular wages and even a few benefits in 1962. Being self-employed, with a family, was a bit scary. I had matured enough to finally leave home and so we moved to Roswell. It was a good move for Elwood to advance his career. We enjoyed Roswell. It was our first experience living in a Branch. We worked hard in the church and grew a lot. Probably the best thing that happened to us in Roswell, though, was Barry Wilson, our number one son-in-law. He’s a good father (to five beautiful daughters), and a kind, understanding husband. Besides, he knows how to prune trees, grapes, and berry bushes, and he can really sing “Speedy Gonzales”.
The next and I hope last stop for us was Los Alamos/White Rock. We’ve lived here longer than anyplace else. Living here has given us the opportunity to know Gay Garringer, Aldred’s second wife. Marguerite had died at age 29. Charlee, who went to college the year we moved here, consider it home. Four of the kids graduated from high school here. We acquired two local daughters-in-law; Debra Taylor and Bonnie Parkinson. Randy was already in the Marine Corps when Debbie moved here so I thought there was no chance for them to get together, but they did. I knew Randy would lover her if he got to meet her, and he did. They have two boys, two girls, and an unknown on the way. They are really good parents and like to work with the youth. Connie brought Bonnie home, they were best friends during high school. Connie would never give up her bed when Bonnie came to spend the night, she made her sleep on the floor, the theory being, “you won’t sleep good out of your own bed anyway, so you’d just as well be on the floor”. Bonnie decided the only way to get a bed at our house was to marry one, and Roger was the only choice. She must have gotten a bed, they have three sons and someone on the way. They are a very considerate, willing to help couple, anxious to live good lives.
You know the “beans in the ears” power of suggestion theory. It really works. In the fall of 1976 we took Roger and Connie to Provo for school. The last thing we told them both was not to get any romantic ideas that year because we were going to build a house. About the time the plans were on the board, semester ended and Connie came home with a young man. This same young man made the trip from Springville to White Rock every other weekend, all summer. By late summer it was obvious we would have two weddings on our hands in late fall, about the time the house was ready to move into. Connie married Kenneth Erdmann in October. He is an avid reader, conversant on almost any subject, and our resident electrician. He travels that same courtship route to help us out. They have two sweet, talented little girls. Roger and Bonnie were married in November.
Another really nice thing happened that year. Charlee and Barry decided it was time to leave California and become New Mexicans. Barry had a month for schooling in Atlanta before he started in Albuquerque. Charlee and her five girls and seven cats joined our household, along with two cats I was keeping for a friend who had moved. We already had two dogs and two cats. One night when Bonnie was spending the night and Ken was down from Springville, and Charlee and her girls were there, Beth, Sam and Nellie and their two kids dropped by. We pitched a tent in the back yard and then sat down in it and proceeded to count heads. I don’t’ remember the total, but it brought on hysterical laughter, with tears running down the cheeks. I think maybe you had to be there for this to be funny. I just include it as an example of the way our household operated.
My love of Hawaiian music is partly responsible for us getting our last son-in-law. I encouraged Colleen to go to BYU Hawaii for a semester. She was discouraged with the class consciousness at BYU- Provo. One semester led to another and a degree in travel management. It also led to a handsome young Tongan named Kateni Leakehe. He had traveled a long way to get into our family. They have a beautiful little daughter, two-thirds of a law degree and a job managing a travel agency in Spanish Fork.
We have ten wonderful children, five we gave birth to, and five someone else raised for us. They are all equally important to us and loved by us. Life would not be worth much without them.
Elwood has been High Councilor assigned to the single adult program for several years. It really makes us appreciate not being part of that group. We argue about which of us has to be eligible for it. I thought I loved him as a child of 15, but I didn’t really know the meaning of the word then. He is the kindest, most compassionate person I know, besides that, he’s a lot of fun and he cooks great Dutch oven chicken. He has always provided for our financial needs, I’m just now realizing how hard that has been. He’s a workaholic, but he always has time for people. I plan to keep him for a long time.
And now as Lavinski would say with a tear in his voice (at least in Grandma Cardon’s voice) “there’s nothing left but to die.”