I was living in Paris, Idaho at the time the United States entered the World War. My brother Clyde was just a young kid then, and like many other boys, he joined the army. He lived in Logan at the time and I didn't get to see him before he left. A party was held for a number of boys that were leaving for various camps, and it was very sad indeed. Everybody was trying to be brave, but they didn't succeed very well. My brother was sent to Texas then to France. He was in the Air Squadron. Those were very trying times.

We had to go on rations with sugar and flour — for every fifty pounds of wheat flour we had to buy its equivalent of substitute, such as corn meal, rye flour, oats, and it made a sack of flour cost about $7.00. The clothing was of very poor quality, made from shoddy yarn, and the color would fade. Most of the shoes were made of paper or a very poor grade of leather.

Wages were very high, but everything that had to be bought was high-priced. On December 26, 1917, I received word that my oldest brother Merrill had passed away. The children and I went down to Logan, Utah for the funeral. It was very sad, as he and Ethel Dayton were going to get married on the day he died. On the 7th of November, 1918, word came that the Armistice was signed and everybody celebrated. My children and I traveled to Pocatello in November 1917, where we bought a home on Wilson Avenue.

In the fall of 1918, and the first part of 1919, a terrible disease spread over the land. Nobody knew anything about it. Everyone was in a panic. Everybody had to wear a mask over their nose and mouth. But in spite of all precautions it spread like wild fire and many people died every day in every town and city all over the country. Our family contracted the disease in 1919 and were all sick at the same time except Ruth. Roland and Lola were much worse than Dad and I. It was terrible the number of people who died from the disease. The doctors called it influenza or flu for short.

On the 4th of February, 1929, our last child was born. The other children were so much older than she, that it was quite a novelty to have a baby in the house. We went to the Third Ward meetings prior to this time, and February 27, 1921, the Fifth Ward of the Pocatello Stake was organized. J. A. Quinn was bishop and my husband was first counselor and Brother Hulett was second counselor. The ward wasn't very large, and we held our meetings in the Third Ward until our meeting house was built. Our baby was the first child blessed in the Fifth Ward. She was given the name of Maya Marie Wilker.

I served as counselor to Mrs. Emily Olsen in the Mutual for two years and as President of the same for one year. I also taught in the Primary and Religion class. I have been a visiting teacher in the Relief Society for twenty-three years. I also taught a class in Social Service.

More than a year after the ward was organized, a strike was called in the shops of the Union Pacific Railroad and all the men were called "strikers" and those who came to work in their places were called "scabs." There was an awful feeling in the ward meetings. It was very hard to overcome. My husband went out on strike and never went back. He obtained work at the power plant at Grace and worked there a while and then came home and worked at the tie plant a while. The work at the tie plant was too heavy for him, so he obtained work at the cheese plant (Kraft Cheese Company) and has worked there ever since.

In 1924, we moved from the house on Wilson and moved to a house on Maple. We lived there three years and were dissatisfied with the place, so we moved to 108 McKinley. The house was larger, and we had a nice lawn and flowers outside. We lived there almost ten years and learned to love the place. It was sold in February 1937 and we had to find another home. The only place we could find was a small house on Taft Street, so we moved there on March 1, 1937. The house is quite small but we are trying to make a home. Our oldest daughter was married while we were living on McKinley, and the day we moved, our first grandchild was born — Karl Var Belnap, born February 28, 1937. It was quite an event. We now have two grandsons, the youngest was born September 2, 1938 — Keith Wilker Belnap.