LUELLA ELIZABETH ANDERSON


1894 - 1986

LUELLA ANDERSON HICKMAN

     I was born at Logan, Utah December 17, 1894. I was the 5th child in a family
of 9 children.  This was the time before electricity, before the telephone, and before
the convenience of water in the house.

     We had a pump outside, with a long handle which we worked up and down in order
to get water.  Saturday was our regular family bath night.  The water had to be
pumped, heated on our kitchen stove, then each in turn had a bath. At night we had
only lamp light.  Coal oil was used in the lamps with glass chimneys, which had to
be cleaned every day.  Our floors were covered with loom woven carpets, made from
carpet rags, sewed together then rolled into balls and sent to the weavers.  The
carpets were laid on top of straw.

     Finally the great miracle happened.  What a thrill to have water in the house and
be able to take a bath in a real bath tub with cold and hot running water ! And what
a luxury to have the electric lights,  to be able to read and study by.  The telephone
was a wonderful addition. I remember our first telephone numbers: 645 = the store;
861 = our home.

     We lived in a very good neighborhood with friends we loved and neighbors we
could trust.  Our school (Benson School) was on the corner from our home, and
our Meeting House just a block and a half away.

     Our early years were rather uneventful, however we had pleasure in attending
our Church, and studies at home. Primary, Sunday School, and later Mutual.  Our
large family gave us the opportunity of entertaining ourselves.  Here higher
principles of faith, honor, loyalty and trust were developed.

Two Examples of Loyalty--

1.       My mother very seldom left us alone,  but on one rare occasion one evening
she went with Father.  She left me in charge of the children.  I had sent the boys
to bed.  I went in the kitchen to lock the door.  At this moment, a blood curdling
scream came from Marie, who was in the dining room. She rushed to me with a
look of horror on her face and grabbed me around the waist.  My only thought was
to get to the hall and call my brothers.  When I reached the hall, I tried to call,
but my voice was absolutely gone.  I stood there with Marie still trembling and
clinging to my waist.

     Finally my voice returned a little, and I called "Woodruff"! In an instant my
three brothers came rushing down the steps 3 at a time -- with Woodruff in the lead,
holding a revolver,  followed by Melvin and Merrill.

     The cause of that scream ? -- our large dog was on the porch looking through
the window.  With the light reflecting on his eyes, it caused them to look like two
huge burning fires.

     Where did Woodruff get the revolver ?  That is a good question, but I'm thankful
he didn't have to use it. My brothers came when I needed them.

2.      During my first year at the U.A.C.,  I was asked to join a Sorority:  Beta Delta
Phi.  During the rushing, one of my assignments was to go to the Sorority House at
4 o'clock in the morning and make a fire in the kitchen stove, and then make the
sandwiches for all the girls' lunches.

     The Sorority House was about 7 or 8 blocks from my home. I felt worried about
going alone all that way in the dead of night, and the snow was deep.  Without a
minute's hesitation, my brother Woodruff said,  "You won't have to go alone; 1'11
go with you."

     During my 4 years at the BYC and my two years at the U.A.C.,  I took part
in all the plays, under the direction of W.O. Robinson at the B.Y.C. and Miss
Huntsman at the U.A.C. While at the B.Y.C. I met George; we took part in a play
together.  After finishing High School, I attended the U.A.C.  George taught school
in some of the surrounding towns until he was drafted into the service (1st World War).

     During my second year at the U.A.C., I received a call for a Mission to
California.  This was the most wonderful and glorious experience of my young life.
I spent the first year in Los Angeles, 6 months in Sacramento, and 6 months in the
Oakland-Berkeley Mission Field. I was so thankful for my early training in the
Church, and for my study of music.

A GREAT INSPIRATION

     Agnes was a very close and dear friend. We both attended Mutual, and we took
pleasure in singing duets in Mutual and various entertainments. Agnes had a lovely
soprano voice, and I took the alto part.  Our voices blended well together.
When Agnes reached the age of about 16, she had a serious throat condition which
caused her death.  Several years passed by, and Agnes came to me in a dream...... 
I found myself in our Church Meeting House, waiting for Agnes to arrive; we
were to sing a duet. As I stood there on the stand, I kept watching the door at the
side of the stage, through which Agnes was to come.  Finally the door opened, and
Agnes came through. She said to me, "I can't go on; my clothes are worm and torn. "
As she said this, she held out the folds of her dress -- I could see how thin and torn
they were.  They were old and worn, with a strange musty odor.  With great sadness,
she said again,  "I can't go on!"

     I was so deeply impressed with what I had seen and heard, I told my mother
about it the next day.  Mother said, "Agnes needs her Endowment clothes in order
to go on with her work in the Spirit World.  She has been able to make the break-
through to you. "

     That very afternoon. Mother and I went over to Sister Nelson's and told her
about it. Mother explaining to Sister Nelson the need for her endowment work to
be done.  In a few days, her sister Elida went to the Temple and did the Temple
work for Agnes.

Comments by Joan Bybee, 1979

     Mother lived for her family, and everything was subordinated to her home,
husband and children. I remember how very loving my father and mother were
to each other -- I would never have known what their first names were if friends
and relatives hadn't used them -- because "Darling" and "Sweetheart" were the
only things they called each other.  Mother was, and is, the most even tempered
and cheerful person I have ever known -- very much the peacemaker. As she
would come for visits with us, it was always marvelous to see her interact with
the children, fending off quarrels among them by keeping them occupied with games
and stories.  The children always knew that they could count on her undivided
attention and sincere total interest.

     As we were growing up she was always there to make costumes, hold Spanish
vocabulary words and prompt the memorizing, to cook special things for friends
invited in -- interested in everyone's activities.

Comments by Marie Curtis, 1979

     When I was a young girl, Luella was the personification of all the princesses in
my fairy tales. I thought she was so beautiful, and she was. I loved her long dark
hair which she sometimes braided and wore on top of her head like a coronet.
Everyone commented on her deep dimples and she had a happy smiling personality.

     When Lue was in college, she was popular with the girls and the boys. I think
I was as interested in her "dates" as she was. She would take me upstairs with her
to get ready for a date.  I thought it a privilege to heat the curling iron (by hot coals
and testing with paper) and find a flower to wear on her dress -- usually the best of
the yellow rose buds -- a favorite of hers.

     Lue always seemed (and still does) so calm to me, taking things in her stride
and never rushing at things.

     About 1928  I spent most of the year staying with Lue and her family in Berkeley
while attending school.  Lue was very good to me and we enjoyed going to plays and
lunches etc. , in San Francisco.  When I was married and living on the ranch in
Cokeville, Lue spent parts of several summers with me.  One summer we went to
Canada and it was always so much fun to be together. Lue's happy laugh and whistling
tune makes everyone happy around her.

from her son. Richard, 1993:

     Luella and George W. Hickman were married in the Logan Temple on May 11,1921.
They thereafter lived in Berkeley, California, until the latter part of 1923, during which
time George was completing undergraduate work at the University of California
preparatory to entering law school at that institution. She often told of the great Berkeley
fire of 1923 which destroyed many houses in that city, and of feeling the heat from the
fire while in her apartment. George and other students from the university went from
house to house in the endangered area to notify residents of their peril, and to assist in
evacuations. 
     Luella attended some classes at the university until the birth of her first child, George
W., Jr., on May 26, 1923. Her second child, Richard A., was born on October 16, 1924,
and her third, Joan, on November 9, 1928. Luella's activities thereafter were devoted
principally to family and the raising of her children. She saw her sons through military
service during World War ll„ and saw all three of her children graduate from the
University of California. Luella enjoyed playing bridge and belonged to a bridge club
composed of members of the church. In addition she was active in a literary club also
involving her church friends. In later years she was active in a music appreciation club
which provided assistance to music students.
     Her husband, George, died on November 29, 1954. Luella died on March 13, 1986