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Earl & Della Crockett Website |
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FIFTY GLORIOUS YEARS (from 1955-1964)
1955 1955 was another glorious year-one of adventure and -new experiences. Earl was awarded a research grant for winter, spring and summer quarters. He wished to write a book on the subject of social and economic problems, and the family decided to spend the winter in Florida. Elva and Leo had a home, with a large citrus fruit orchard, on Merritt Island, near Cocoa, Florida. Word had come that they were returning to Bancroft in January. Consequently, Earl wrote, requesting an opportunity to rent the home. A reply came promptly, inviting them to come down at once and that the Reddish's would stay a few days for visiting before leaving. Thus Della, Earl and Margy drove to Florida and were welcomed by Elva and Leo in their home. Across the street was the Florida home of Jennie and Maurice, which was on a beautiful beach not far from Cape Kennedy. Elva and Leo stayed on for several weeks and there was great fun visiting back and forth. During evenings, the six adults often played canasta. Walks were taken along paths bordered with beautiful palm trees and many, many colorful, tropical flowers. Margy entered the public school and Earl began writing his book. The following is a letter written in April by Della-
Dear Folks, About May first, the weather in Florida began getting hot and muggy and, consequently, the Crocketts moved to Vermont for the remainder of their stay away from Boulder, which was until September. They rented a very comfortable home, owned by Professor Bingham from Boulder. It was located on South Hero Island in Lake Champlain. Driving north from Florida was a choice experience. Historic sites were visited, including St. Augustine, Jamestown, the beautifully restored Williamsburg and Mt. Vernon before reaching Washington. Beautiful dogwood trees were in full bloom and could be seen all along the highway. In Jamestown Margy found a wild turtle, named it James, begged to keep it, but it escaped from the car. The Crocketts had a good visit with Marian and family in Schenectady, and then journeyed on to Vermont, continuing to see beautiful green and flowering hills and valleys with an occasional apple orchard in full bloom. Upon arrival at the Bingham home, water pipes were connected, groceries were purchased, and soon living conditions were very ideal, with a sweeping view of Lake Champlain. The family climbed down a ladder to get to the beach and a row boat trip was frequently taken to buy groceries or call for the mail. Bob was still attending the University of Colorado, while Dave was at BYU. It was something special receiving their letters. Margaret enrolled in school for completing her year in fifth grade. On Memorial Day her school had a special program at the cemetery. Her parents attended and found the program to be very inspirational. The military dead were honored and some veterans buried there were Revolutionary War and even French and Indian War heroes. The family traveled to Burlington on Sunday for LDS Church services, where a small branch was located. The Breretons visited a few times in the summer. Marian and children stayed several week-ends, Lynn about six weeks. It was great fun going swimming and boating. Lynn learned to swim in the lake and as she grew up became a great swimming and diving star. It was also fun picking wild raspberries and in the evening, after dark, watching a mother skunk with her babies visit the garbage can, hunting food. Earl continued to write and do research but left time for other activities also. When fall came, the Crocketts stayed in Schenectady a few days. Then Earl and Margy drove back to Boulder, Della staying for about two weeks to help Marian. On September 5th, Marian and Don's fourth child was born. She was a beautiful daughter; they named her Carol Corena. Upon arrival in Boulder, it was learned that both of the Bushees were ill in the hospital and Mrs. Bushee shortly thereafter passed away. Dr. Bushee remained an invalid, living three years longer. The Crocketts and Bushees had been very close. The latter couple, having had no children, became the Godparents of Margaret and really liked her. The Bushees left the Crocketts a beautiful set of Chinese dishes which ultimately will go to Margaret. During 1955, the Davy Crockett movie and song became great hits and the Boulder David Crockett had fun being teased and praised by friends and associates. Bob graduated from the Law School receiving the LL. B degree and became active in the Airforce as a Second Lieutenant. He had been in the ROTC while attending the University. He had also been very busy doing other things-church work as well as employment at CU. His parents were indeed proud of his accomplishments. David enrolled at the University of Colorado for his sophomore year. He was bid by five fraternities and it was difficult making a choice as he had friends in each, but finally he joined S.A.E., the fraternity which Bob had chosen four years previously. In 1955, Earl became a member of the Governor's Commission on the Aged. This probably came as a result of the publication of his report, Old Age Pensions in Colorado. November 15th, Della's father passed away at the age of 82. He had lived a full and active life.
In January, Bob and Jan were stationed at an Airforce camp in Laredo, Texas. They were expecting another child and Della went down to help the family. The baby, a beautiful daughter, was born January 12th and named Karen Beth. The Crocketts now had six grandchildren. In the summer, David was called to perform a foreign mission for the church in Western Germany. During the subsequent two and one-half years, he became a very successful missionary in various areas of Germany. He helped to open the mission in Trier. The last several months, he was assigned to the Mission Home in Frankfurt as Mission Secretary and Head of the Mission school. In a sense his successful teaching, helped to prepare the way for the present (1975) Language Training Mission at BYU to which all new missionaries go, before leaving for foreign language countries. A vast building program is now under way, preparing for about 1500 new missionaries constantly. Also in the summer of 1956, Bob was transferred to Western Germany and the family moved to an airbase near Munich. His principal duty was to teach the German and Norwegian airmen to fly jet planes. He had many exciting and interesting experiences flying all over Western Europe. He kept a rather complete diary which should be very interesting reading for all Crockett relatives. On October 29th, Marian gave birth to her fifth child, a son whom they named Steven Stuart. He grew into a handsome boy with a fine personality.
The big event this year was the family moving from Boulder to Provo, Utah, because of Earl's change in employment from Professor of Economics and Chairman of the Division of Social Sciences at CU, to Academic Vice President at Brigham Young University. In March, President Wilkinson telephoned, requesting Earl to come to the campus as a consultant regarding some current educational problems. This visit led to a second request, by phone, for both Earl and Della to come so that they could both be interviewed relative to a possible administrative position for Earl. The couple were happy and satisfied with life in Boulder. They were both active in the church, the community and at the University. They had many close and loyal friends in Boulder. Moreover, they had recently moved into a fine new, comfortable home, in an ideal location. Consequently, they were not at all sure that they would accept a job offer from anywhere, including BYU, should one develop. Nevertheless, they decided to go to Provo and Salt Lake for interviews-at least they could also visit relatives there. They were welcomed to the BYU campus, shown around, and then taken to Salt Lake to the Church Office Building. There they were interviewed by three Apostles, two of whom later became presidents of the Church-Harold B. Lee, Spencer W. Kimball and Adam S. Bennion. President Wilkinson then took them back to Provo and on the way made a definite job offer of Academic Vice President at a good salary. Without discussing the pros and cons of acceptance or rejection, Della and Earl got on the train for Colorado. For a time they both quietly sat emersed in their own thoughts and feelings. Then, suddenly, and jointly, they turned facing each other and said, "We must accept the offer." Perhaps those wonderful men in the Church Office Building had influenced the decision. In any event, the couple were convinced that real service to the school and the church could be made by moving to Provo. They were inspired that our Heavenly Father wished them to accept the new and great responsibilities. They have never regretted the important decision unanimously made on the train that important day. Both Dale West and Douglas Parker had provided President Wilkinson with personnel data and had encouraged Earl and Della to make the change because of great professional advancement. Earl was to report for work August lst and came at that time. However, Della and Margy remained in the Columbine home until September to either sell or rent the house. In Provo, they rented the Ariel Ballif home for a year. A big advantage of residing in Provo was closeness to family relatives; Clyde and Edna lived in Provo, Reata, Geneve, brother David and Pearl and Edna lived in Salt Lake, while Preston and Franklin were short trips away. In June, not knowing that the decision had been already made, Bob, who was still stationed at a military base in Germany, sent the following thoughtful and encouraging letter: June 1957 Dear Mom and Dad, We are greatly excited by the BYU offer. My first impression was one of great enthusiasm, after careful thought my enthusiasm increases. The following reasons influence my thinking.
Before leaving Boulder, the Crocketts regretfully said goodbye to their many friends. The College and Division gave a farewell party at which the couple's past life was humorously depicted in a "This is your life" program. They were given presents in the form of a large framed picture of the campus and trout fishing gear. Also in the spring of 1957, Earl was honored at Colorado University by receiving the Robert L. Stearns award for "Extraordinary Service." When the family moved to Provo, Margy was 12 years of age and her adjustment must have been difficult-leaving old friends behind and having to make new ones. Moreover, her parents became very busy people and found it necessary to leave her alone often in the evenings, but she never had a word of complaint. Upon arrival in Provo, Clyde and Edna immediately had Della and Earl in their beautiful home for a delicious dinner and soon found ways of introducing them to their many friends.
A building site was purchased in the foothills overlooking Provo at the address, 1781 Pine Lane. Fred Markham, a good friend and noted architect, made house plans and construction began in April. On Thanksgiving Day, the family moved into the new home. It was a thrill to do so, after living mostly out of boxes and in two rented homes for a year and three months time. The view overlooking the valley, from the new home, which included Utah Lake as well as the city and BYU campus, was found to always be inspirational, day or night and any season of the year. During the first academic year at BYU, Earl found the new administrative duties, time consuming and often very difficult. Faculty salaries were low, and for various reasons, the faculty felt insecure. There was also danger that BYU might lose its accreditation. Before the year was ended, however, there appeared to be a much better attitude and atmosphere on the campus. Although administrative work is not easy, there are great satisfactions when programs and plans succeed. Both Della and Earl have had great challenges. The couple have frequently said it has been like living two completely different lives (Boulder vs. Provo), both of which have been very good. On August first in Munich, Germany, Bob and Janet's third child arrived-a son whom they named David Romney. He is a bright child and in many ways resembles his father. Also in August, on the eighth, Marian gave birth to another child, their sixth, a fine son whom they named James Crockett. Della was there assisting for much of August. In Provo, Della was appointed ward YWMIA counselor and Earl became the High Priest class teacher.
Early in the year, Bob and his family returned to Utah. He had been released from the military service and they established their home in Salt Lake City, where he took a job with the State Highway Department. Later, after passing the Utah bar examination, with flying colors, second highest in a group of sixty, he became Assistant State Attorney General. In April, David returned from his mission in Germany, bringing back a new MG Sport car, which he drove across the country in one of the heaviest snow storms of the winter. He entered BYU, majoring in the heaviest snow storrns electrical engineering and taught the German language as a part-time instructor. Mission President,Theodore Burton, sent a letter to his parents, praising David's ability and accomplishments. During the month of June, Marian, Don and children visited their parents for three weeks. it was great fun. Several times the four adults visited the Manti Temple, doing work for Don's relatives. In the autumn of the year 1959, now that the family was comfortably settled in their new home, with beautiful furnishings, the couple began entertaining the faculty-college by college. This entertaining in the home, in the form of receptions and dinners, helped ]Earl a great deal in his administrative work. A sympathetic and understanding bond developed between the Crocketts and the 500 faculty members and their spouses. They even entertained the many Crockett students attending BYU. At one party there were 40 of the second or third generation cousins, some with spouses, in the home-all descendents of grandfather Alvin Crockett. Four of the boys had been named David! -this in honor of their great, great grandfather, the first mayor of Payson. Earl was appointed a member of the Higher Commission of the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher School. This is a most important accreditation association and the position became a real challenge. He traveled widely throughout the district which was composed of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada and Northern California. Often Delia and her sister Geneve accompanied him on trips. He remained a member of the Commission for eleven years.
This was a relatively calm year for the Crocketts. Delia was appointed Relief Society President in Oakhills First Ward and after the ward was divided, she continued as President in Oakhills Fourth Ward -Clyde Crockett being the new Bishop. Dave enjoyed his study and work at BYU, being now a senior in Electrical Engineering. Margy was an excellent student in BY High and taking some lessons on the piano. During the summer, Earl, Della and Margaret had a relaxing sight-seeing tour to some of the beautiful places in America. They drove north through Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, then into Canada, where they visited the cities of Cardston and Calgary and on to Lake Louise, where they stayed a few days. They found Lake Louise and its surrounding mountains one of the most beautiful spots in the entire world. There is nothing more scenic, beautiful or inspiring among the American Rockies, Norway's fiords, or the Swiss Alps than Lake Louise mirroring the close rimmed green, shaggy, snow-capped mountains. The three travelers then journeyed to Ellensburg, Washington where Earl attended the summer conference of The Higher Commission on Accreditation. On September tenth, the tenth grandchild arrived, Bob and Jan's beautiful baby girl whom they named Elizabeth Romney. Della took care of the older children for a week. It was fun getting better acquainted with them, while they stayed in Provo. In a family letter to his brothers and sisters, Earl wrote:
I'm sure we are all most happy and appreciative because of the fine work Edwin is doing in genealogy and family record keeping. He has become quite an expert, having assembled many pedigree charts and family names going back centuries. Also both he and his wife Della should be congratulated because of their years of devoted temple work.
This was a sad year for the family. April 16th, Robert passed away. He had been about one week in the LDS Hospital in a coma. His difficulty came suddenly, although it had been preceded by severe headaches for several months. The postmortem autopsy indicated severe brain damage due to hemorrhage. While ill in the hospital he was administered to by President Harold B. Lee. He came in the middle of the night to give the blessing and when asked later if he slept well the remainder of the night after going home, President Lee said, "Oh no ..I was on my knees most of the time praying for that dear boy, asking God to make him well, unless his time for crossing through the veil had really come." Marian and her younger children came from Schenectady. There was a beautiful funeral service, two of the speakers being General Authorities of the Church. He was buried in Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park in Salt Lake. The following is a quotation from a newspaper account at the time of Bob's death:
At the University of Colorado, where he obtained his B.A. and LL. B. degrees, he held an editorial position on the campus newspaper, was chief justice of the student court, managing editor of the campus yearbook and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Dozens of letters of sympathy were received from faculty members and other friends and relatives. A paragraph from a typical letter is the following:
Earl, you and Della should be very proud of Bob's unusual accomplishments in the short space of 29 years. He crowded in that period of time many more important achievements than most people crowd in at the age of 90. The writer cannot resist including the following over-complemen tary statement written by Bob just a few months before his death:
My parents have been an ideal inspiration and example for us children. Mother was never too busy to be a loving companion, but the one thing that stands out among her many good teachings to me as a boy is that of broad and universal appreciation for everything fine and worthwhile in life. She taught us appreciation for art, music, religion, higher learning, and friendship. I think of her when I hear the 13th Article of Faith, that seems to be the basis of her philosophy. And to me dad is perfection of character. I never heard him utter a profanity; never knew him to do a mean or dishonest thing; never saw him lose his temper. I never knew of a person that did not hold dad in a sort of special awe. It was a real blessing and privilege to grow up in a happy home guided by these two wonderful people. Janet had a big responsibility, being suddenly left alone, with their four children, but her courage and energy arose to the occasion and she did very well in raising the little family. While continuing to live in Salt Lake, they frequently came to Provo and the visits there with grandparents were most welcome. In the autumn, on September 18th, David and Barbara Allen were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Barbara is a talented girl in both vocal and piano music. They established a home in Provo while Dave completed his work for the degree in engineering. During the year he was honored by being elected to two honor societies: Tau Beta Pi and Blue Key. 1962 In February, Dave graduated from BYU with a B. E. S. degree and obtained a fine job with the IBM Corporation as Development Engineer in Los Gatos, California. He also began study toward an M.S. degree at Stanford University. Earl was appointed the Gospel Doctrine Class teacher which was a real challenge for him, because of the experienced backgrounds and intellectual levels of class members. Early in the summer, Margy joined a group of high school students on a trip to Mexico. They traveled in a large bus and camped out each night, going to Mexico City and other places of interest. Later, when her parents planned a trip to some of the same places, she had good suggestions for them. During the summer, Earl, Della and Margy visited the Seattle World's Fair in connection with a business trip for accreditation. They were somewhat disappointed, perhaps because of having seen both the Chicago and New York World Fairs which were more exciting and educational. There was an Alvin David Crockett reunion at:Saratoga Springs, near Provo, which was attended by only a few of the Ozro Crockett descendants- David and Pearl, Edwin and Della,. Earl and Della, Clyde and Edna. Beulah Ream Allen was the Chairman of the day. In August, Della and Earl made a two-weeks trip to Mexico. It was partly for business reasons. He was inspecting archaeological diggings sponsored by BYU and the church. For several years, he had been serving on the Church Archaeological Committee whose Chairman was Howard Hunter with Mark E. Peterson and Marion Romney as other members. The couple flew to Mexico City and there visited with Karl and Elma Young, and Mark and Phyllis Allen, who were also spending part of the summer in Mexico. A most enjoyable time was had sight-seeing, not only in beautiful Mexico City, but. also Acapulco, Puebla, and Oaxaca. The men flew to the southern tip of Mexico, next to Guatemala, to inspect the church archaeological diggings. A great number of artifacts have been found, helping to prove the validity of the Book of Mormon. The Crocketts felt that many parts of Mexico are as scenic and interesting as old-world areas in Europe. There certainly are deeply significant historic places. Upon the return to Provo, Della left immediately for Schenectady to be with the Breretons. On August 24th, Marian gave birth to their seventh child-a beautiful daughter whom they named Donna Joy. While Della was away, Earl enjoyed the cooking of Margy. She began her senior year at BYU High School in September. 1963 Della was appointed Stake Relief Society President in the BYU First Stake, where she served for five years, until leaving for a year in Europe. The girls really loved her and gained much from her leadership. While still in high school, Margy (now called Peggy by her friends) became very interested in literature, especially poetry, and began writing beautiful and meaningful poems. Her literature teacher sent this letter:
Dear Peggy: During the year Margy assembled some of her poems and had them published in a booklet entitled Gifts which was used for Christmas gifts. One of the poems is the following one which gave the booklet its name:
Scarlet, gold and purple streamers race across the sky, Glorious bursting, blooming flow'r brightly beams on high. After graduation from high school in 1963, Peggy enrolled in the summer school as a freshman at BYU, arid was admitted in the Honors Program because of high scholarship. During the summer, Earl and Della took the BYU student tour throughout Western Europe. It lasted from the middle of June to the middle of August and was a great experience, even though the couple had traveled in Europe twice previously. Earl was requested to go, to assist in establishing future semester programs abroad, especially, at Grenoble, France and Salzburg, Austria. The two-month tour was particularly fascinating in those areas new to the couple, such as beautiful Stockholm, Oslo and Bergen-with scenic fjords. It was surprising to see the vast rebuilding which had taken place in West Berlin and various other places in Germany. The Amalfi Drive along the blue Mediterranean will never be forgotten. One of the highlights of the entire tour was the boat trip up the Rhine River to the foothills of the Alps. The operas and plays in Rome, Paris, Vienna, Salzburg, London and Stratford-on-Avon were most entertain- ing and very special indeed. It is interesting that although the couple has enjoyed grand opera in most of the leading opera houses in the capitals and larger cities throughout Europe, they have never attended a performance at the Metropolitan in New York City. During the summer, the Brereton family came to Provo for a good visit and there was fun getting acquainted more fully with the children. Don took the seven children for a trip to Yellowstone Park. Enroute home they had a car accident, and the repair bill used up all their food money. The hungry group arrived at Clair's and Burdett's homes in time for supper. Not a word was said, that they hadn't eaten all day. Clair reported he hadn't realized fresh farm eggs were so good-as to how many were eaten, no count was made! 1964 This was a big year for Earl and Della. Officially, for the entire year, he was Acting-President of BYU and she was First Lady. Actually, but unofficially, they had held these positions since June, 1963, at which time President Wilkinson began his campaign for election as U.S. Senator. After his unsuccessful campaign, he returned January, 1965, as president of the school. It was a great responsibility being the top administrative officer of the largest private, religious university in the nation, with 15, 000 students, 600 faculty members and a large building program under way. It was thrilling but somewhat fearsome representing the university in monthly Board meetings-the Board being composed of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. Also, frequent meetings were held with the First Presidency-David 0. McKay, Hugh B. Brown and Nathan E. Tanner. The following is the first paragraph of a letter written by Dave after hearing about the new appointment:
Dear Folks, Marian sent a birthday letter to her Dad which stated-
My dear Daddy, One morning after arriving at his office about 7-00 A.M., the phone rang. Earl answered, as his secretary had not yet arrived, and the voice on the other end of the line warmly stated, "Hello, Earl, I was told you go to your office early, as I do, and sure enough you are there. I'm David 0. McKay and merely wish to suggest that you use your influence and caution your faculty that no good purpose can be accomplished by their speculating with students or the public regarding the future of Blacks and the priesthood, or the activities of the John Birch Society. I have confidence in your leadership. Best wishes." In an article appearing in the Provo Herald after an interview with Della, in the Crockett home, the news writer stated:
Mrs. Earl C. Crockett is a gracious First Lady of the "Y" . . . Standing tall and straight, she is a softly contoured matron who obviously delights in her home and family and has the gift of making the visitor feel relaxed and welcome. While serving as Acting President, Earl was President of the Western Athletic Conference and frequently attended meetings in Denver. ln the fall the couple were honored on a special air flight to Tucson, Arizona to attend a football game and special meetings. The year was pleasurable, although busy, the faculty were very cooperative as well as the Board of Trustees. There was excitement, too. For example, during spring com mencement exercises, with the fieldhouse packed and Lowell Thomas the speaker, there was a bomb scare. President Brown, the General Authority in charge, recommended that we proceed; that he was impressed the scare was only a threat, which turned out to be the case. Also there was sadness in the family. February 17, Earl's sister Mabel died, She had been bedfast in a rest home for several years because of arthritis. From Earl's family letter dated July 12th is the following:
Della and I just returned from a visit at Grand Canyon Park where we visited Margaret. She is working there this summer-a fine experience for her. During the first week in July we were in New York and had a good visit with Marian and her fine family. We were at the New York World's Fair together for two days and heard the 300 Mormon Mother's Choir-it was wonderful. The Mormon Pavilion is excellent. On Father's Day, 1964, Earl received this precious letter from Margy:
Dear Daddy: In October, Dave completed his graduate study at Stanford, receiving a Master's degree in electrical engineering. He took a leave of absence from IBM Corporation-he and Barbara moving to Urbana, Illinois where both began working on doctorate degrees at the University of Illinois.
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