21 Jan 1891 – 24 Dec 1961
Great-Grandson of Philip Cardon and Martha Marie Tourn
Grandson of Louis Philip Cardon and Susette Stalé
Son of Joseph Samuel Cardon and Selenia Mesenile Walker
This story is autobiographical and biographical. It was part of a Cardon Family Book compiled by LaMarr & Leona Cardon for the Cardon Reunion in 1986.
LIFE STORY OF JUNIUS WELBORN CARDON
(Most of the story was dictated by Junius W. Cardon to his wife, Mae)
I Junius Welborn Cardon was born on 21 January 1891 in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. I am the 9th child of Joseph Samuel Cardon and Selenia Mesenile Walker. My brothers and sisters are: Minnie Selenia„ who was born at Oxford, Idaho; Sarah Elizabeth, born at Moencopi, Arizona; LeRoy Philip and Edith, at Taylor, Arizona; Leonard Jesse, Eugene William, myself, Cornelia, Hansel Lorenzo born at Colonia Juarez, Mexico. Sarah Elizabeth died in infancy, and Josephine Susette also died young.
My ancestors were French Huguenots called Vaudois. They had suffered terrible persecution because they could not accept Roman Catholicism, so they fled to the high mountains of Italy. It was there that the Mormon Elders, Lorenzo Snow, T.B.H. Stenhouse and Elder Toronto found a remnant of their descendants. My Great-grandfather Phillipe Cardon and his wife Marthe Marie Tourn were converted to Mormonism in the year of 1850 along with most of their children. (For a more detailed account of the story of their conversion see the life story of Marie Madeline Cardon). My grandfather’s name was Phillip. He was one of three brothers who came to America. His two brothers were named Jean Paul and Thomas., his sisters names were Marie Madeline and Catherine.
My grandmother, Susette Stale also fled with her family to the Italian Alps and were converted to the Mormon faith by Elders Franklin D. Richards, T.B.H. Stenhouse and Joseph Toronto under the direction of President Lorenzo Snow, in 1855. Once when these Elders came to the home of my great grandfather, Jean Pierre Stale, to hide from the mob, they asked for something to eat. Susette, my grandmother, the oldest child, milked enough goats for them to have milk to drink. Margaret, the youngest child, set bread, butter and cheese on the table. Pres. Franklin D. Richards promised them that they would go to Zion. They thanked him for his good will but they had no hopes of it because they could see no way to dispose of their property. But the way was opened up for their departure and within three weeks, on 12 December 1855, Jean Pierre Stale, his wife and children with some of their friends sailed for America. My grandmother at the time was 18 years old, her brother Daniel was 16, Maria was 11 and Margaret was 5. After arriving in America, they crossed the plains and came to Utah with Edmund Ellsworth Co. The Stales walked all the way across the plains pushing handcarts. Little Margaret, who was only five years old walked all the way except when Maria who was eleven helped her across streams by caring her on her back. They were greatly handicapped not being able to speak English; and father Jean Pierre Stale, died on the way and was buried near the Platte River. When they came near Salt Lake, Phillip and Paul Cardon went out to meet them. Even after reaching the Valley they endured many hardships being so poor and not being able to speak the English language.
Louis Phillip Cardon had married Sarah Welborn first, but to that couple there had been no children. The first child of Louis Phillip Cardon and Suzette Stale was Joseph Samuel, the father of Junius. Joseph Samuel Cardon married Selenia Walker, the youngest child of John B. Walker and Elizabeth Ann Brown, on the 23 of July 1874, and were endowed on the 13th of October 1874. My father had 2 other wives, Cornelia Woods, who had only one child then they both died, and Rhoda McClellan who had a family of nine children and is still living. (1958)
The oldest child, Minnie was born while they were living in Oxford, Oneida Co., Idaho, on the 24th of July 1875. Then they were called by Brigham Young to pioneer Arizona and establish the United Order at Brigham City near where Winslow, Arizona now stands.
After the order broke up they moved to Taylor, Arizona where five more children were born to them. In 1885, they (the Cardons) and Charles and Verona Whiting, who also had five children, and Grandma Sarah Carrion, a sister Hawkins and three young men, one of them was Joseph Cardons youngest brother, Louis, started on their journey to settle in Old Mexico.
At that time Geronimo, the renegade Indian Chief, who was the terror of the Western country had just broken away from Fort Apache, Arizona. With a band of Indian braves and a few squaws he was swearing to kill every white man he could find. One evening when the Cardons were kneeling around the campfire engaged in prayer, Geronimo and his band saw them and were afraid to attack them because of the wrath of the Great Spirit.
These two families went on to Mexico, the Whitings settled at Colonia Diaz and the Cardons went up the river and colonized on the Piedras Verdes River at Colonia Juarez. It was in this little colony on 21 of January 1891 that Junius Welborn was born. Junius, who was later nick-named June grew up on a farm. He was a very small boy about 3 years old when the family moved to Colonia Dublan, a colony just 16 miles below Juarez. He was only about 6 or 7 when his Mother became very ill. She was so sick that her life hung by a thread. There had been prayers that were offered for her recovery and she had been administered to by the Elders of the Church, but it seemed that she might go any time. She opened her eyes and looked toward heaven, then cried out “Oh, Father if I can only live until my children are grown, I will be willing to go.” A change came over her, she was instantly healed and the next morning she got up and dressed herself and took up the duties as a Mother to her children. She was a loving noble mother who very devotedly taught her children the Gospel. She taught them to pray, instilled faith in their hearts, taught them to be polite, courteous, unselfish and thoughtful of others. Traits of character that has always stayed with them. (Junius says his first prayers were learned at his Mother’s knee and he cannot remember of ever doubting that he knows that his Heavenly Father is there just as such as if he could see Him or reach out and touch Him. He has always had a lot of faith and the gift of healing in his own family, and when going out to administer to others.)
I lived a normal life as a boy on a farm. I had responsibilities of tending chickens, cove, hogs and horses as soon as I was old enough to sit on a harrow. I followed my older brothers and my father as they plowed the ground. As I grew older, because of the open range where they turned the cows, I had to herd the cows and be sure that they were in the corrals at night. If the cows strayed into the Mexican’s fields they were put in the “stray pens’ consequently there would be damage bills to pay to reclaim them again. One night late in October the cows had wandered around and after hunting for some time, I could not find them. It got dark and cloudy and started to rain. I rode and rode and I was cold and wet. I wanted to get down and kneel and pray for help for I knew I must find them but I was frightened so I sat on my horse, took my hat off, bowed my head, and pleaded with the Lord to help me find my cows. When I finished praying my horse turned in the opposite direction to which he was headed and I let him go wherever he seemed inclined to go and after he had gone about 1 or 2 miles something very unusual happened. A shaft of light came straight down and stood on the ground. It lighted the country for hundreds of feet around me. I turned my head and saw the cows lying a few feet from the right. I had passed them on my right about 200 feet and about the same distance beyond them.
This shaft of light was not like lightning, there was no sound of thunder, or anything that excited the cows, they were lying still, serenely chewing their cuds and the light was so bright that I recognized each one, about 12 to 15 in the herd. I was so grateful and thankful to my Heavenly Father for this direct answer to my prayer that I bowed my head and thanked Him for I knew how important it was to have the cows in the corral at night, for I did not want to disappoint my father. This was a simple answer to prayer but it impressed me so such that I have never forgotten it and it has been a faith-promoting incident that I have told over and over again to my children and grandchildren.
(The remainder of the story is written by Mae Cardon.)
Junius attended the public schools, but he never could start when school began in the fall because of the farm work and having to herd the cows, so his schoolwork was badly interrupted. He was always behind the other students when he began his school each fall, consequently he became discouraged, and his education was limited. He had many friends in the colonies as he grew into manhood. His two very close pals were Lorin Jones and Moroni Abegg. His greatest love for sports was baseball and when he attended the Juarez Stake Academy, he was the main pitcher on the Academy team.
He loved nature and the great outdoors, of the beauty in forests, trees, and flowers and even the rocks and streams. He said it seemed that they even talked to him. In the winter when the trees were heavily laden with snow, they groaned under the weight of it. There was sighing and sadness, but in the spring after the snow had melted, there was a different feeling of joy and gladness. The wind in the branches sang of a new life and happiness. The trickling mountain streams rippled and sang, the birds and animals were teeming with joy for a new life just beginning. All these things of nature he loved. He was a born naturalist.
He had many girl friends and he fell hard for one or two a little older than himself and one girl, Ivie Huish, had a good influence on his life. She had high ideals and was a pure clean girl who helped him to be a better young man than he might have been. He had always been taught to be careful about selecting his companions. At one time he was engaged to be married to a girl from Sonora. He and his close friend, Evan Winn were going to visit this young lady. Junius decided to make it a matter of prayer. He then turned and said, “Evan lets us go home..” They went back to Dublan and he decided to go to school in Juarez.
He had seen Mae Whiting in Colonia Diaz during the past summer. They had met on the street and stopped to exchange greetings. When he went back to school, the first girl he met on the Academy steps was Mae and then he started making dates with her. This friendship grew into love and by Christmas of 1911 they were engaged to be married. He had to quit school and started to work at Pearson, a big saw all plant above Juarez, to earn money for the coming wedding. In July 1912, the Mexican Rebels demanded the arms of the colonists and so the President of the Stake advised the people to leave Mexico. The Revolution had been going on for about two years and in the past the Rebel leaders had promised the Mormons protection so they felt safe in staying, even though the country was having a Civil War. Most of the fighting was down in the interior of Mexico but as the Federals began gaining victory over the Rebels they drove them farther north up near the Mormon Colonies in northern Chihuahua. Salazar demanded the arms and ammunition of the colonists so there was nothing to do but leave and go into the United States.
Junius and Mae had planned to be married in the Salt Lake temple in October, 1912 but having to leave so suddenly, Junius did not have time to collect his wages that he had coming from Gaskell Romney, (who was the father of George Romney of Michigan), the man he was working for that summer. He had been letting his wages accumulate so that he would not spend the money he planned to use for a wedding stake in October. After we were driven out of Mexico everyone considered their debts cancelled so he has never collected a penny that was coming to him. He was a refugee from Mexico with no money so he went with the Whiting’s to live at St. Johns, Arizona. Junius and Mae were married 7 October 1912 by Bishop L.R. Gibbons. Their first two children Junius Welborn Jr. and Robert were born at St. Johns. They then moved to Show Low, Arizona for a time and June worked for Charles Reidhead. He then got work at Whiteriver as a carpenter for the Government, then in the fall of 1915, they moved back to Show Low where Charles Whiting, Mae’s father, came to move them back to St. Johns where there was a job waiting for June at Concho. In the meantime, Charlie Reidhead talked June into staying with him and wanted him to go in with him on a farm at Linden, Arizona, where they lived in a tent through May and June. There was some trouble between Charlie and Junius over Charlie’s son Roy who was to help with the farm work at Linden, so they decided to dissolve the partnership. Another baby was almost due, so Junius and Mae moved to Show Low and Mae wrote her mother of the coming event. Late in June, Mae’s mother and father and sister Alice came by team. Her father intended to return to Vernon where they were homesteading, and her mother and sister intended to stay at Show Low until after the baby arrived but when they found that Junius was not working they talked him into going back to Vernon with them. Junius went to work at Concho for a Mr. Acosta, a contractor; Fred and Frank Whiting also worked for him. Mae stayed at Vernon with her mother and father and on the 6th of July 1917 their 3rd child, a little girl was born. They named her Irene, and when she was about a month old, Junius moved his family to Concho where he worked until spring. He then took up a homestead at Vernon and the family lived there for 10 years. Three more children were born to them, Carmen, Ethelyn and Elwood. Carmen was born in St. Johns in her Grandma Whitings’ house. When Elwood was born in Feb. 1926, his mother was so near death’s door that she lay like a corpse, cold to her knees and elbows with beads of perspiration standing all over her face and no sign of life. She was having a serious hemorrhage and there was no doctor closer than about 40 miles, no phones and only a midwife, but she was brought back to life through the power of the Priesthood that her husband held and through prayer. Her two sons: Welborn and Bob who were 12 and 10 years old, came in and they all knelt around her bed and prayed. When they finished praying Mae opened her eyes and asked what was the matter and she said “I am all right. I’m just tired, let me go to sleep,” but Sister Riggs said, “No, don’t you dare close your eyes again. You must not go and leave your family.” Her life was spared and she bore 3 more children; LaMarr, LaVerne and Charles Dee. Another time when Bob was a baby, he was instantly healed. He had been sick with diarrhea for weeks and the doctor at Whiteriver could not seem to help him. One day when Junius came home for lunch, Bob started vomiting and was worse, so we all knelt in prayer and when Junius finished praying Bob looked at him and smiled. Junius carried him out and sat on the porch where he held him for a while. Welborn was playing in the yard when all of a sudden, he came up on the porch and put his arm around his father saying “Daddy, Baby is going to get well.” Welburn was just 3 1/2 years old. The Baby did get well instantly. His bowels were healed and he did not vomit anymore.
After they had lived at Vernon for 10 years, first on the homestead when the first 5 children were small, June built a nice frame house near the school on a lot he purchased from Lee Wilhelm. It was in this house Elwood was born.
Junius was a counselor to two Bishops while he lived there. The children had some enjoyable experiences but Junius had to go away to make a living and when Welburn graduated from the 8th grade and was ready for High School, the parents found it necessary to leave Vernon and move to Kirtland, New Mexico. Junius helped finish the new L.D.S. church house but he undertook to buy a home with 22 acres, mostly fruit, depending on the sale of apples and peaches to make the payments. The fruit was frozen the first year, the next year there was a very light crop and then the Depression came, so when the fruit did produce there was no sale for it. We lost the place. Junius borrowed the down payment from the Bank and they demanded their money. He lost everything and did not even have a way to move his family until a very good friend Dan Christensen sent his truck to help him. He rented a house at Kirtland that belonged to Elmer Decker and they lived there for about four years. LaVerne was born in that house February 1, 1934.
About 1935, Irene came down with rheumatic fever. She was a Junior in High School and was working too hard. She got better from the rheumatic fever but got up and over did and it developed into a heart condition. She was so very ill that the doctor said that she should be in a hospital, but it would be impossible to move her. She was so bad one Sunday morning that the doctor said we just as well prepare for the worst. He said “I went you to understand that I am not giving up but every valve in her heart is wide open and nine people out of ten cannot live when they get that bad.” He turned to Junius and asked, “Have you had your Elders in?” Junius said not this morning.” The doctor said, “Well, you had better get in as soon as possible.” They had prayed for Irene in Sunday School that morning and the High Priest’s Quorum held a special prayer circle for her right after Sunday School. When the doctor told her father to get the Elders, the doctor left and Junius went out to the gate where there were some of their friends and relatives who had come to see how Irene was. June’s brother Elmer was there, also the Bishop, Will Christensen, who later became Irene’s father-in-law. Junius asked them to come in and help him administer to Irene. That morning when the doctor was there her pulse was at 138 and her temperature was 105, but in the evening her pulse had gone down to 120 and her temperature was almost normal. Everyday she improved a little more so by Thursday she was well enough to be moved to the hospital where they kept her for 10 days. For a year her parents had her rest until she was built up enough to have her tonsils removed and now she is the mother of 9 lovely children and has wonderful health. When Irene was so ill, her father said, “I felt like my heart would break if she had to go but I said in my heart, ‘Father, Thy will be done, if you want the tithing of my family of ten you would not have picked a better one.” A feeling of peace came over me and I just did not feel like she would go.” Her father’s faith and her faith brought her through.
After Irene’s illness in January, 1936, they moved to Fruitland and while there their youngest child Charles Dee was born 10th of December 1936. He is a Mongoloid (mentally retarded child) but has always been so good and sweet and proved to be a blessing in the late years of his fathers life, when Junius became so helpless and ill.
It was while they lived at Fruitland that Irene was married to Vaughn Christensen in 1936 and to this union there have been nine children born.
Welburn had an acute attack of appendicitis when he was a young and working at Paradise, Utah. He was miles out in the country and had to ride a mule into town. He was taken from Paradise to Logan where he was operated on. He was very bad, had adhesions and his appendix was ready to burst. His life was spared, and he returned home in a few months. Welburn was married to Rose Foutz on the 19th of June 1937. In March 1951 after they had 4 sons, they went to the Mesa Temple and had their endowments and their children sealed to them.
In August 1938, the family moved to Farmington and lived in a rented house on Auburn Avenue, until September 1939 when they moved into their home that June built on West Apache. However, it was not a street at that time, it was on the Palmer estate. June leased 5 acres and did some truck gardening for a few years until this part of Farmington was added on to the town and it was divided into lots, so the Cardons bought four lots. Robert, the second child of Junius and Mae Cardon, was called on a Mission to California in October 1939. He was released in October 1941 but stayed in California and went to school for a short time then was employed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. The war was on with Germany and Japan, so he was drafted and sent first to Louisiana, then to Canada, and on up into Alaska, Fort Lewis, Washington. From there he was sent to France, then to Okinawa and he returned home in 1945. On the 13th of April 1945, he was married to Leah Tanner in the Idaho Falls Temple. They have been blessed with 8 lovely children among them are our biggest surprise, the twins, Douglas and Diane.
Carmen was the 4th child and second daughter. She was a tom boy and had the admiration or her older brothers and boy cousins because she could climb the highest trees and run on the top of the corral fence when they did not dare to. As she grew to womanhood she gained the admiration of many such as President Willard Stolworthy who said, “Carmen is a typical model Mormon girl.” Probably one of the turning points of her life came when she decided to follow the advice of her parents and break her engagement to a non-member of the church who was a fine young man but could not take her to the temple. Halworth Tanner, a childhood sweet-heart, wrote saying that he could not see her marry anyone else without asking if there was a chance for him. It was a very difficult decision for her to make but Carmen has been so thankful that she realized it was Halworth she really loved. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple and have a fine family of five children, three boys and 2 girls.
Ethelyn was the fifth child, four older and four younger. She was the most outstanding in looks when she was a baby. She had long dark hair that hung down to her shoulders. She came on Christmas day in 1921 and I told the kids that Santa Clause must have crossed the Apache Reservation and robbed a squaw. Ethelyn started school in Kirtland although she was not six years old. She enjoyed school very much and excelled in her class. She and Helen Tanner and Bobby Taylor were always vying for top honors. At eighth grade graduation Bobby was valedictorian and Ethelyn was salutatorian. She is also very talented in music and dramatics. She married Stanley Tanner on November 13th, 1942. To this union were born two children, Karma Lynn and Michael Stanley. Ethelyn was also stepmother to her husband’s oldest son, Ronnie. She divorced Stanley in 1960 and had her own endowment work done in the Los Angeles Temple on the 6th of July 1961. She is now living in Los Angeles near the Temple and is the grandmother of a lovely baby boy, Steven Ford, Karma Lynn’s son.
Elwood, the sixth child was run over by a loaded truck when he was eight years old. His leg was crushed and broken above the knee. He lay in the hospital for 7 weeks, but through the faith and prayers of his parents and family he was restored to health and grew to manhood, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in February 1944. He was sent overseas as a gunner on a B 17, and his plane was shot down by the Germans once and he had some narrow escapes but came home without a scratch when the war was over. After he had been in the service for about a year, he came home on furlough and was married to Cheryl Ann Schofield on the 25th of July 1944. They were married in Cheryl’s home by Roy Burnham. The next year on Cheryl’s birthday, August 8, 1945, they were endowed in the Logan Temple. When the war ended, Elwood attended G.I. School at Kansas City and became an Architectural Draftsman. He worked for Big Jo Lumber Co. in Farmington, New Mexico until the summer of 1962. He is now Vice President of the construction company in Roswell, New Mexico, and is Adult Aaronic Priesthood advisor in the L.D.S. Branch. Cheryl is President of the Young Ladies MIA. They have 5 lovely children, 3 girls and 2 boys.
LaMarr, the seventh child was just a little past 10 years old when the family moved to Farmington. He attended High School in Farmington and graduated in the spring of 1946. During his sophomore year he became very ill. The doctors said it was osteomyelitis of the bone and he would have to undergo a series of operations on his leg. Another time the faith of his father was manifested and with only two operations, one on his leg and a rib removed, he has been restored to excellent health. He had missed more than a semester of school but was able to graduate with his class and receive Certificate of Distinction in Mathematics along with four other students. On July 19th, 1947, he married Leona Webb and was endowed and sealed to each other on the 22nd of July 1947. To this union was born five lovely children, three girls and two boys. LaMarr went to New Mexico Western College and worked his way through school. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree on the 22nd of May 1958. He was named “Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges” and belonged to the Blue Key National Honor Fraternity. He is now teaching in Las Vegas, Nevada.
LaVerne, the eighth child was just four years old when the family moved to Farmington. She grew up a happy sweet child, very talented in singing and art. Boys were her main concern through her school years, but she always managed to pass her grades each year. She graduated from High School in the spring of 1952 and was married to Clarence Eugene Bott on August 31, 1952. They could not be married in the Temple then because Gene was a convert in the Church and had just been baptized in August. Their first child Carol Suzanne was born 3 June 1953, and in September 1953 they went through the Salt Lake Temple having their own endowments, then they had Suzanne sealed to them. Three more children have blessed their home, two girls and one big husky boy. They live here in Farmington.
The ninth and youngest child, Charles Dee, was born to Junius and Mae the 10th of December 1936. At birth he seemed all right, but his mother felt there was something wrong. As time went on, this child did not develop and respond naturally like the others had. However, his family all gave him consideration and lavished love and attention on him because of his handicap (being a Mongoloid). He grew and developed so much more than the doctors anticipated that they were amazed at the progress he made. One Specialist said that he did not think he would live to be three years old but through the faith and prayers of his father and family, he is still living and is now 26 years old. He went to a special school for retarded children and there he learned to read and write. He took piano lessons and learned to read notes. He still remembers the simple pieces he learned while taking lessons.
He adored his father who was always kind to him and when Junius’ health broke in his late years, Dee was such a help. He seemed to be strong and could help lift his Daddy when he became so helpless that he could not move. Dee was baptized when he was 8 years of age, ordained a Deacon at 12, and was advanced to a Teacher, then a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. He always pays his tithing. He is honest and had never committed any sin that we know of. Joseph Fielding Smith said of these retarded souls that he will be exalted in the Celestial Kingdom of God.
Junius passed from this life on December 24th, 1961, after suffering for years with arthritis and other illnesses. Early in 1961 he had a light stroke and could hardly walk even with the use of crutches. Before he had used a cane because of the Arthritis in his left knee and then when both knees became crippled, he used crutches. Bob and Leah took him to Salt Lake City in February 1961 for a prostate operation hoping it would improve his health, but he could never walk again. He was in a wheelchair and in bed from that time on. His wife was with him in Salt Lake until about the middle of March. Elwood and Cheryl came to take them back home to Farmington. It seemed that he just did not improve but went steadily down. The 24th of December 1961 at 7:30 pm he passed away after a severe stroke that came on December 23rd, when he went into a coma. He was taken to the Hospital and died in his sleep. I think there never was a man that had more faith than he did and right up until the last he was so humble. Never once did he feel to complain of the Lord for his afflictions. He always felt like it might have been his own fault or that it was to test his faith in the Lord. He was a faithful Latter-day Saint. He was ordained to every calling in the Priesthood both the Aaronic and Melchizedek except a Seventy. He served as a Bishop‘s counselor for ten years, as Assistant Superintendent in the Kirtland Sunday School and when the family moved to Farmington, he was made Superintendent of the Sunday School. He worked in the MIA at Kirtland as Dance Manager and directed and coached Dramas and Pageants for years. He was a perfectionist in this field. Although he had his faults as we all do, there was no one more forgiving and kinder than he was, truly a great, good man and his family all revere his memory. (Completed in 1963)
“THE PLAY IS THE THING” JUNE CARDON PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR, By Emogene Foutz Bushman
When I was in the 2nd grade Brother June Cardon directed “East Lynn”. I watched the makeup session of that show. I loved the smell of grease paint. I was hooked on drama. Over the years that I watched rehearsals and makeup in progress, Brother Cardon at the helm, I learned a lot. I didn’t realize how much until I studied drama at B.Y.U.
The people of Kirtland were fortunate to have had a man of June Cardon’s capabilities in their midst. That very talented man built and painted the sets, supervised the costumes, set up the lights, created the sound effects, created and executed the makeup. He was good at all of it. He was a master director, too. He understood character delineation, blocking, timing, the effects of light on color. I spent 30 years directing for church and community. I never did a single show that I didn’t use knowledge gained from that very dear man.
Very early in makeup class at B.Y.U. Brother Ralph Ungerman asked us to do two makeup jobs, one male and one female. When I had finished he said he could show me a faster way but not a better way and asked where I had received my training in makeup. I told him from a man who had probably never seen the inside of a drama class. He was astounded!
June Cardon had the ability to choose plays suited to the abilities of our limited population. He never miscast a part. The colors in his lighting always fit the mood of the play. (That’s advanced drama!) I was always amazed at his sound effects. I never saw anything at college any better than his wind machine, or his thunder and lightning or the clop, clop of horses.
Brother Cardon had some basic characteristics necessary to be a small town director and producer, for he was both at once. ( 1 ) He had a great understanding of people. (2) He had wonderful patience. (3) Unbelievable talent. He could do it on a shoestring.
In his kind, gentle way he made suggestions for movements and inflections of the voice to mold characters, then masked them to look the part and put them in the appropriate setting with lights to enhance the mood. He gave me the basic knowledge for my craft. I went to college to verify and gain confidence.
Memory Gardens of Farmington, Farmington, San Juan, New Mexico
