The ties that Bind.

THE TIES THAT BIND


This is the story of my life. What I've been told and what I remember.
The story cannot be told without relating to whom you are born, hence
the family ties.

My life string started many years ago. My immediate family tree,
starts with my Grandparents on my Mothers side. My Grandfather, Jesse
Esrum Sharp, who was born in Joseph City, Arizona and My Grandmother,
Russeletta Heward who was born in Pine, Arizona. On my Fathers side
we could only guess, as I found out just a few years ago that all
these years he had lied about his Parents. I remembered he said his
Mother was Viola Boggs, and he said he had a best friend called Fred
Boyce. One day while surfing the internet, I decided to look up the
names on a genealogy web site. and found out his Mother was Married
to George Boyce. In the census, I found out Dad was named Fred Boyce.
Born in West Virginia.. My Mother is Leah ( Sharp) .She was born in
Woodruff, Arizona. And since my Father said he was William Melvon
Prescott., This is the name he used on my birth certificate. Really
makes no difference now anyway. I was born on October 31st, 1933 and
my Dad wanted me called Virginia since it was close to where he came
from. So there I was. A baby girl named Virginia Prescott.

My Father said he was born to a coal miner, but his Dad really was a
farmer. Dad left home as a teen and joined the marines. After he got
out he hopped a freight train and headed out west to go gold mining in
California He had a partner at a claim on the feather River in
California, and while there he met another miner called A.D.
Burroughs. State built a dam on the river that flooded all the mining
activity. Dad hopped a freight and eventually ended up in Ogden,
Utah.

I don't know how many of you know how my Parents met. Well I was told
it was like this.

My Grandfather was working in an ice-plant when my Father started
working there. Well you all know how Daddy could talk. He could
almost charm the feathers off a duck. Grandpa took a liking to him and
invited him home for a home-cooked meal. At that time Dad said he was
living in a hobo jungle, so a good meal sounded great to him.

Dad liked my Grandparents. He liked the food and he really liked my
Mom so he hung around Ogden, even though he had been thinking about
going to Alaska.

Now to quote a bible phrase," it came to pass," on the 3rd day of the
3rd month of the 33rd year my folks got hitched, and moved into the
attic at Grandma's and Grandpa's place. Then you guessed it, On
October 31st , 1933 I spooked the whole family and popped out into
this world.

Now here I am, thrust out into the cold cruel world. Since I can
remember none of this I have to rely on what my parents related to me.
I was told I was a sickly brat and caught the scarlet fever when only
3 months old. Too bad because it screwed up some of my hearing. More
was screwed up later when I had the measles. Dad kept in contact wit
A.D., and when I was 6 month old, A.D. asked Dad to go with him to
Gibbonsville, Idaho where he said he had found gold a few years
before. A.D. had spent some of his younger days in Idaho. Lived foe a
time in Wallace Idaho.

Mom said I was walking at 9 months and started talking by the time I
was a year old.
Must be so because Mom said Dad's mining partner A.D. Burroughs used
to set me on his lap and talk to me like I was an adult. A.D. had a
Scottish terrier with a very original name of Scottie. A.D. had made
me a high chair out of saplings and on my first birthday I was said to
have leaned down from my nice new highchair and said here Scottie and
gave him my birthday cake. Mom had put it on the high chair tray for
me to admire. Damn I was a clever kid. Mom said A.D. beat the dog to
the cake and picked it up off the floor and declared it still fit for
all to eat. This being the depression, cake ingredients were not to be
taken lightly. Besides A.D. favored prune cake very highly. Almost as
much as the apricot cakes Mom used to make with the dried apricots
from the government handout of foodstuffs. Mom said the got dried
milk, apples, and beans as well.

Up to now I have kept this in chronological order, but from now on I
might jump around a bit. After all, 86 years is a lot of memories.