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Show four sisters, she attended school in the old Hooper School House. Upon completion of the eighth grade Bertha went to the LDS High Sch¬ool in Salt Lake City from which she graduated. To earn money Bertha worked in the tomato factory and also thinned beets. She and Louis were hard workers. The young couple's first child was a Christmas baby, born 26 December 1927. She was named Laverne, after her mother. When Laverne was about 18 months old her parents bought a farm in Cottonwood Canyon, Mountain Green. It was a diff¬icult time for the young couple. The bottom dropped out of the economy and there was a severe depression. Somehow Louis hung onto the farm and 'made a go of it'. In 1934 a second daughter, JoAnn was born, then eight years later a third daughter, Marybeth, was added to the family. By this time the country was again at war. At the beginning of World War II the government began building a runway for planes at Hill Air Force Base. Louis hauled a lot of hay to cover the fresh cement in order to keep it from freezing. He worked at HAFB as a machinist. Back on the Mountain Green farm the Bates family went into the pig raising business. He was so successful that the government gave him a citation for his war efforts in pork production. Laverne spent her first school year in Kanesville, then attended the Peterson School the following year. After the schools of Morgan County were consolidated, the children attended classes in Morgan. Laverne graduated from Morgan High. In 1947 the Mountain Green farm was sold to Chet Fronk and the Bates family moved to Morgan City where Louis and Bertha bought a home. They later bought a farm near Como Springs. Louis was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 10 February 1969 and the couple was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. In about 1974 the Bates family moved to Ogden. Louis died 12 May 1980 at Ogden. Louis and Ber¬tha had 53 happy years together. —Mrs Louis Bates, Ogden COTTONWOOD CANYON HOME 342 |