Journal of Mary Phyllis Fisher - Thomas Davies

seen such a dark sky overhead. It surely looked like hail. As we stood there looking into the
sky we saw a large white cloud roll up quickly from the northwest and travel across the sky
through the dark cloud. The wind had changed from the east to the west. Then it began to blow
and large drops of rain began to fall. It came down with such furry, just like a cloud burst.
There was some hail in but it turned to water as it hit the ground. We felt that a miracle had been
performed right before our eyes and that God had heard our prayers. The hail had turned to rain.
To the south and west and east of us the hail completely wiped out some of the farms. Jay
Atwoods and Allyns got the worst of it. But Jess and Dan Atwood and Wayne Anderson were
also damaged.
Lloyd wants to go on a mission this fall and unless we can have a good crop we will be unable
to send him. We have sold all our cows except a few head to keep Frank in the mission and are
depending on a crop to send Lloyd. So far our crops have been protected and are growing fast.
We are hoping and praying that we will have a good harvest.
We had a good crop of hay and fair crop of beets, about 600 tons at 20 dollars a ton so far. We
haven’t as yet received all our payment for the beets. I received $600 from Father’s inheritance.
We have used part of it to send Lloyd on his mission and will keep the rest in case of an
emergency in order to keep him in the field.
Dan, Sara, and Ellen have helped in keeping Frank there. Also Lynn has sent him money for
which we are grateful. Tom has helped since he got his job a year ago when he went to
Edmonton to work.
1963. I am sitting at the table looking out of the west window. There is a herd of about 50
antelope just beyond the trees. They drifted in with the first big snowstorm. We have had so
much snow. It has drifted up against the fences leaving parts of the land quite bare. The
antelopes are feeding on the beet tops. They scratch them up with their feet out of the snow.
When something frightens them they run swiftly and gracefully over the snow and up the drifts
and over the fences into another field. Never in my life have I seen so many wild things,
peasants by the hundreds, beautiful little white rabbits and snow birds. As we went to
Lethbridge they were all along the side of the road. They didn’t even move. Many are dying
from want of feed.
Lloyd sent us a tape recording at Christmas wishing us a Happy Christmas. Also it had on it the
testimony of a young girl who they had been teaching. She said that her parents had not yet
given their consent to her being baptized but they, the missionaries, and she were praying that
they would do so.
1964. January 5 th
Years have gone by since I last wrote in this book. Oh why have I been so neglectful? Things
go so quickly from my mind that now it is hard to recall past happenings. On January 1962
Frank entered the mission home in Salt Lake City and was set apart by............................. ,
to go to the Northern California mission. We are looking forward to his release at the end of this
month. On the 2 of December our youngest son, Lloyd, entered the mission home in Salt Lake
City. There he was set apart by Anton R Ivan to fill a mission in Australia. In San Francisco, he
was met by Frank. Lloyd said in his letter he, “saw Frank, which I was very happy for. He and
his companion took three of us to see the Oakland temple. I was very proud of him and for the
wonderful example he has always set for me.”
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