Life History of
James Clyde Simkins
Written by:
James Clyde Simkins
I was born August 5, 1925 to James Willard Simkins and Mannetta Church Simkins, in St. George, Utah, Washington County, at the home of Aunt Roma Esplin. She was my Mothers sister.
My father James Willard Simkins was a rancher at Barclay, Nevada. During that time a horse fell on him and pinned him underneath by the leg and about one year later arthritis set into his leg and gradually went through his whole body.
After I was born we lived in Barclay, Nevada in the summer, and Panaca, Nevada was our winter home. When I was 3 years old I had a cleft palate operation in Logan, Utah. I had many afflictions while in my early youth one of which was pneumonia, because of this illness I was held back in school for a year. My teacher Bessie Snow thought a lot of me she enjoyed hearing me sing, on any holiday my class members bring me valentine and get well cards. While I was recovering I had to learn to walk all over again. The Long Family had a get well party for me, it was so difficult for me to walk I had to hang on to the fence because I was so weak. When I finally arrived they had a nice soft chair waiting for me. My dear teacher, Bessie Snow hugged me so tight I thought she would squeeze me too death.
My brother Jack and two sisters Bernice Phillips and Clara Baker often had water fights, they always got me wet because I couldn't walk bare foot on the ground. I enjoyed playing paper dolls with my sisters. I liked to play alone a lot along the ditch bank near our home with my bone horses and rock cows. My mother always knew where to find me.
I had responsibilities to do as well as play, such as feeding the pigs, drive the cows to pasture, and while I was in the pasture we had an old bull there and he wouldn't let me take a cow to the house without him and when my dad saw the bull he yelled at me and I started to cry.
When I was seven years old we moved to our winter home in Panaca, Nevada. My mother got sick with cancer and died. It was very hard for my dad because this was his second wife who had passed away. All of us kids had to pitch in and do our part to carry the load around the house.
In the eighth grade I remember a Christmas party when I dressed up as a reindeer, we put on a program for the school. I graduated from Barclay grade school at the end of the eighth grade, there were 13 in my class and only 3 of us graduated, the ages varied in our class. We had every grade except the seventh.
I especially remember this one teacher Miss Peterson an old maid who we coaxed into going up on a sled hill, she was on the bottom of the sled and 2 girls were on top of her when they got to the bottom of the hill there was a dip and the sled threw her and the 2 girls flying through the air. She was so upset that she kept us in for 1 recess. We were always thinking of what we could do for mischief to her and once we put thumb tacks in her chair. We spent many a recess in the old school room. We all stuck together as a group and never told who did what.
When I was born they discovered I had a double hernia, at the age of 15 years I had an operation to have it removed. The operation took place in St. George, Utah. I was hospitalized for 16 days and wasn't aloud to turn over.
At the age of 16 I started riding after cattle and a lot of accidents occurred during this time. An example was when a 1500 lb. work mare rolled over the top of me and buried me in the mud.
At the age of 17 my father had to sign a minors release for me to work. My first job was for the Union Pacific Railroad, and my boss was Henry Lemons. I worked in Islen, Nevada about 3 miles below Barclay.At that time I was receiving $.50 an hour and we worked 8 hours a day. I worked only during the Summer months until we put the hay up.
My very first date was with "3" women who were also employed for the railroad as train operators. I took 4 horses from my home in Barclay to Islen where I met the girls. My father said, "Wow they must be some dames to drag 3 horses clear to Islen." I took the girls riding out in the hills by Islen when it got dark and I told the girls we were lost, they were all scared and threatened to never go out on a date with me again. We came upon a house that was all lit up and I told the girls we had better stay here for the night, several of the girls had to be at work at midnight. When we got there they said, "this is where we live." I had to ride all the way back to Barclay that night in the dark canyon and had only the who's of owls to keep me company.
After my mother passed away Bernice took over her place and mothered me, I can remember when LaVon Phillips came over to Barclay from Panaca to date her. And before long they were married in St. George. After Bernice left my other sister Clara took over the place of mom.
I was anxious as any kid to learn to drive we had an old orange pickup parked at the wood pile, I went out and got in it I thought it was in low gear but much to my amazement it was in reverse. And it took off backwards and landed in a ditch. And then my dad came out and fire started to fly and he made me dig it out after he said, "Young man for not listening to me you will have to dig that truck out alone." I did a lot of sweating but finally got it out and I stopped me messing with the truck for a while.
A big tall handsome man came up the railroad in a motor car and ask if there were any young women in this town. I told him about my sister Clara and a neighbor girl Mary Woods. He wanted to be introduced at the next dance. It wasn't too long after that he took my sister Clara for his wife and left us men all alone. My father was really sad when Clara left, but we managed to survive.
Because we were left to batch it all alone without any ladies, dad being crippled with arthritis he had a 4 legged stool that he hopped around to do the cooking.
My brother Jack had gone riding on the range and my father and I were alone, one night I remember dad and I were listening to the radio and the house started to shake, I asked my dad what was happening and he said it was an earthquake.
In 1946 my dad went to Boulder City, Nevada to spend the Christmas holidays, with my sister Margaruite Ence while there he got sick and passed away on January 31, 1947.
My sister Bernice Phillips was getting worried about me because I was enjoying life a little more freely than she wanted me too. So when Uncle Vernon Church came to visit Bernice asked him if I could come down to LaVerkin, Utah and work in his dairy. So I did. And that's where I learned to be a good clean Mormon boy.
