An Autobiography: Mernice Bailey Bates
              Compiled by Cathy Doucet

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I enjoyed going to dances and movies which they showed once in a while. They used to show silent pictures at Young’s Theater. The silent pictures showed the action while the words were printed on the screen for you to read. All the while this was going on, Eliza Young, the owner’s daughter (an old maid) would be peddling on the player piano and the soft music would be going on all the time. I used to dream about doing that for a vocation, playing the player piano for silent movies! What a dream job! But that never materialized. The talkies came in and they would have a movie occasionally. Some of them were shown in the church recreation hall because there was no movie theater for a while. There were always dances a couple of nights a week at least. Everybody in town would go. It was the main activity of the town. It was great. I loved it. I loved to dance. I remember walking home with my shoes off because my feet hurt so bad from dancing all night.

I especially enjoyed them when I got a little bit older in high school and all the visiting cute basketball boys would come to town. Oh boy, you could dance with all these cute boys. One of my favorite songs was "Good Night Sweetheart", but I hated to hear it played because every time that would be played you knew that was the last dance of the evening and that would be it. So we’d all have to say goodnight. It was a lot of fun. My other favorite songs were "The Isle of Capri", "Blue Moon", "June in January", "I’m in the Mood for Love", "Winter Wonderland", "Moonlight on the River Colorado", "Springtime in the Rockies" and "Moon over Miami". When Bing Crosby came out, I loved all of his hit songs.

My favorite actors in Jr. High and High School were James Cagney, Fred McMurray, Don Ameche, Alice Faye, Ginger Rogers , Fred Astaire and Mickey Rooney. We played basketball for entertainment. I was on the high school basketball team. Laverda was too. She was the center. In those days we had a jumping center, a running center, two forwards and two guards. I was the forward; Laverda was the running center. We played the different towns all around. It was a lot of fun.

One time in English class, Pearl Frost was reading and she said, "It was a picture-sque scene." Gwen Bailey and I got the giggles and we couldn’t stop and we giggled and laughed, which wasn’t very nice. The teacher kicked us out and on top of that she said we couldn’t go to the ball game. We were supposed to play Moab that night. She said we were off the team, we couldn’t go to the ball game, we were out of English. It was a big deal. We left the English class and that afternoon all the team got loaded up to go to Moab and we, of course, weren’t included. Later on, we met a friend of Maxine’s, Faun Jensen, and her boyfriend who were going to the game. They offered us a ride so we jumped in and went. We got to the gym just before the girls’ game started. I’ll never forget, we walked in and the whole Monticello crowd stood up and cheered. Mr. Stewart, our high school principal and also our girls’ coach, said , "Go get your suits on." So we went and got our suits on and played and we won! I don’t know what our teacher thought of it. I think her name was Miss Scott. She wasn’t there, though. . .  Read more in the book. . .

A FEEBLE ATTEMPT TO PAY TRIBUTE!

By Micki

We call her our mother and are lucky and blessed

To be the ones born into her "nest".

Six of us kids, all gifted, it’s true,

But none hold a candle, not Mom, to you.

Your talent, your goodness and even your grit

Your humor, your insight and a pretty sharp wit

Are just some of the qualities that leave us in awe

And make us most grateful that you are our "ma".

No task was too daunting, no challenge too new.

We lived in a log house - built by our dad and  you.

As was the garage - it came straight from the  land.

For it was built out of rocks and there were plenty on hand.

Growing up feeling stylish and very well-dressed,

No thought occurring that our clothes weren’t the best.

And the fact that most were made by your hand

Seemed natural and common - excessively grand

With no thought given about late sewing at night

So we might go to school looking "just right".

Going down to the cellar for that bottle of fruit -

The cellar was creepy, but the bottles were cute.

And I doubt that any of us bothered to say,

"Thanks, Mom, for all your work to make them that way."

How many school kids got to head out the door

While kittens were being born on their kitchen floor?

A program at church, it was Christmas time

And you recited "The Littlest Angel", line by line.

Fudge and penuche and divinity

And new Christmas dresses under the tree.

And when Easter came around we all looked real spiffy

In new Easter clothes you whipped out in a jiffy.

We’ve all heard the expression "cooking with gas".

But cooking for you wasn’t as simple as that

For the stove used for baking up things real good

Could only be regulated by adding more wood.

And in order to keep cold winter winds at bay

Adding logs to the fireplace was the only way.

(Curtis & Joe didn’t always see eye to eye

On the right way to saw and make the woodpile grow high!)

The times we went camping, Seymour or Rainbow Lake,

Not even sleeping bags - tents with bedrolls to make.

And as if all the kids weren’t enough of a task

We even brought Sneezer, the old family cat!

You say there’s a problem, the couch looks some  bare,

No problem not really, you just placed new upholstery there.

Coming home from school, now here’s a great treat,

Fresh baked bread from the oven with butter and honey to eat.

And the thing most amazing looking back on it now

The bread wasn’t sliced - just pull off a piece and enjoy - and how!

The hard work you did to make flowers grow

So kids could pick buds & make "dolls" to show.

You even pretended to like the flowers from the hill.

They were filled with bugs but you never would tell.

Your lifetime has spanned a great many things,

From pioneer grandparents to spaceships with wings

But all the challenges throughout the years

You’ve met with courage and even some tears

But never complaining of admitting defeat

You’ve faced things head-on to land on your feet.

Your example is now passing down through your line.

You have numerous grandchildren who think you’re just fine

And are grateful and thankful that they, like us, too,

Can say that they knew a great lady like you.

The years may say 80, but that’s only a date

You’re still amazing and you’re still just great.

And you still can teach us a thing or two.

We’ll learn all our lives if we hang around you!

We want you to know that you’re loved very much

Whether we are close at hand or out of touch.

So on this birthday, as the New Year bells ring,

Thanks, Mom, for you and for everything!

Mernice says, "Where did the time go? So many memories. So many trials. So much fun. Sometimes wondering if I would ever survive But I did and yes, I’d do it all over again."

 Read more in the book. . .

          

           

Click the photo for a larger image. . .

 

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