GRANDPA LARS & GRANDMA MARY JOHANNA BECKSTROM NIELSEN

By Arthur Nielsen McKell

(Son of Rebecca Elizabeth Nielsen McKell)

One of the first memories of Grandpa and Grandma Nielsen was the Christmas Eve party and the sleepovers at their home.

Every Christmas Eve all the Nielsen families met at Grandpa and Grandma's to see Santa Claus.  That was a bunch of kids.  We slept over at their home that night.  That meant that all the beds were full -- some had their heads at the top of the bed while some had their heads at the bottom of the beds.  We all had a kicking good time.

I remember that Uncle Jim and Aunt Beck took their family home.  They lived just two blocks away.

Christmas Day the kids were just as busy (busier) than ever.  Our parents and Grandpa and Grandma had a chance to catch their breath when they sent the bigger kids off to the show house.

It was luck that someone wasn’t hurt sliding down the banister in the hall that went to the upstairs and it was luck that we didn’t get our little bottoms spatted for playing with his roll up desk.  That was a no-no with Grandpa.

Grandma was a quiet person and she had her hair tied in a bob on top of her head.  When I would take something to Grandma she would always give me a couple of eggs so that I could buy candy at a little store across the street south of the Central School that was run by Mr. and Mrs. Has Tuttle.

When I was out for recess one day I heard the fire truck going to a fire.  I ran down to the corner and could see that it was on the east gable of Grandpa’s house.  I ran home to tell mother.  The fire was put out before too much damage was done.

Grandpa had a new car in his garage that I never did see him drive.  All us kids would look through the window and admire it through the window.

When Grandma died, Aunt Ardell lived with Grandpa and took very great care of him.

Every Saturday afternoon all Grandpa’s daughters, Aunt Mayme, Beck, El, and Ardell would meet at Grandpa’s for a cinnamon rolls and donuts and a cup of coffee.  Each one trying to get their word in.

I am sure that was the reason his daughters made for a close knit family.

I remember the year that Grandpa ran for mayor of Spanish Fork.  He was running against Ed Money who was Dad’s [Arthur Thomas McKell] boss at Jex Lumber Co.  Grandpa was a republican and Ed Money was a democrat.  My Dad was also a democrat and Mother was a republican.  I heard people ask Dad who he was going to vote for.  He would tell them that the voting was secret, but I know that Dad voted for Grandpa.  Grandpa won big and he made a good mayor.

When I was in 7th grade my Dad had a chance to buy 20 acres of farming land west of Spanish Fork.  Before he would buy it he and Mother wanted Grandpa to go see it and give them his opinion on whether they should buy it or not.  The farm was terribly run down.  All we could see on the land was white top and morning glory.  Grandpa said to Dad that any ground that could grow that crop of white top will grow anything.  Sure enough Dad bought the land and it has grown good crops.

Grandpa was one of the bigger cattle men in Spanish Fork.  You would think that he would talk like a lot of the other cowboys, but I never did hear Grandpa swear, but he would often say damn and hell but I don’t call that swearing because now I say them all the time.

The times I also remember well were helping Grandpa drive the cattle to the canyon.  The cattle were taken to the drive corral the night before we took them to the canyon.  When Grandpa opened the gate early the next morning, the cattle would come out and go up the road on the run.  They seemed to know where they wanted to go.  I would chase the slow cows and Grandpa would drive the horse and buggy.  Some of the little calves would get tired and Grandpa would put them in the rumble seat in the back of the buggy.

In the Fall of the year when the cattle started to come out of the canyon I would stop working for my Grandfather McKell at noon and would go to the drive corral with Grandpa Nielsen.  He would come past our home to pick me up and while he waited for me to get on the horse he would get a willow off the old poplar tree and I would climb on the fence then onto the horse sitting behind Grandpa.

On the way to the drive corral Grandpa would seldom talk, but he would whistle thru his teeth all the way.

The reason that I went to the drive corral with Grandpa was to tend the gate to the pen where Grandpa would put his cattle.  (He always got the corner pen in the North East corner of the drive corral.)  Uncle Cless, Uncle Harv, and also Uncle Lars were also there to help corral the cattle.

Our pen holding Grandpa’s cattle would get pretty full and when I opened the gate to let them put more in we would have a feisty cow that would get out.  Grandpa would never get after me.  He would just hunt down the feisty one and we would put her in the pen again.

Grandpa would never get excited nor swear -- even around the cattle.

When I was taking FFA in 9th grade I asked Grandpa if he would sell me a calf to feed for the stock show.  He said he wasn’t in the habit of selling his small calves, but he would make an exception.  The calf turned out to be just like a pet to me.

The calf won reserve champion at the Spanish Fork Livestock Show and I was paid 13 1/4 cents a pound.  The Spanish Fork Co-op bought it and Grandpa was President of the Co-op.  Those were depression days.  We were selling our beef for 3 cents per pound.

I think that Grandpa was proud to see the LN (his brand) on one of the calves.