Elsie Jewell Nielsen Foster's Story

Elsie Jewel Nielsen Foster (written in her own words, July 2000, assisted by her daughter, Karen)

I was born in my parent's home in College Ward Logan Utah on October 19 1924. I was the fifth of a nine children. Mother passed away when I was seven years old. Her Mother, my Grandmother, passed away a couple of weeks before that. My father's sister, my Aunt Violet wanted to take me to live with her. Her daughter, my cousin Ivaloo, was my age and Aunt Violet thought she could raise us together. My Dad said "No" because he wanted to keep the family together. Just a few years later, Aunt Violet passed away. The highlights of my life as a young girl were visits to my mom's sister's houses, Aunt Becky, Aunt Bertha, and Aunt Elsie, especially Aunt Becky. Aunt Becky came to stay with us after Mother passed away and lived with us for 18 months until Father remarried. She became a mother to me.

I was a little accident-prone when I was a child. Amongst my mishaps: I fell while visiting Grandma Jensen and hit my head on the corner of an open oven door. Another time I stood on a spike in a board and ran the spike clear through my foot. When I was around eleven years old, several cousins and I were jumping off a derrick pole, which was used to load and unload hay from the attic of the barn. One evening, I went first and there wasn't any hay. I couldn't go back, so I just jumped. This resulted in my face smashing into my knees and left me with scars and pain I still have today. As an adult, I seemed to have this continuing problem. When my youngest son, Jay, was around four or five years old, he talked me into taking him for a sled ride. I swerved to miss a tree and flew over an embankment and ended up with a fractured tailbone.
When I was 16 years old, I left home and moved to Ogden, Utah. I lived with my sister, Mildred for a few months. I then got a job cleaning and cooking in a boarding house, where I lived for the next six months. Then I found a job as a nurse's aide at the Dee Hospital in Ogden and moved into a one-room apartment. I made $15 a week at Dee Hospital. I saw an ad in the paper for help at Walgreen's Drug Store. I applied and got a job there.

One night while skating at the Berthana Roller Rink, I needed a partner for the multiple couples skate. When they blew the whistle to change partners, my friend pointed out his friend. He said, "Go ask my friend Jack. He's a little shy." I said, "I like shy guys." So I went over and asked Jack to skate. He told me he didn't skate. I asked why he had skates on then, so he had to get up and skate. After that whenever the whistle blew, he said I had gotten him up, so I had to keep skating with him. Before my 18th birthday, August 20, 1942, we were married. In December 1942, Jack was off to war. May 1943, our first daughter, Karen, was born. May 1944, Karen and I moved to Omaha, NE. We moved because I needed someone to watch Karen so I could get a job. We couldn't live on our allotment check of $80 a month. My mother-in-law offered to care for Karen.

December 1945, Jack returned home from the war. He joined us in the house we shared with a friend and her four children. Her husband and my two brothers, Aaron and Jay, who returned from the war, also shared this house for a short time.

A few months later, Jack and I rented a small house in South Omaha. December 1946, our second daughter, Kathleen was born. When Kathy was six months old, I went to work nights at Armour Packing Plant, so we could save money for a house. About six months later, we had an opportunity to move into a house with a friend. We shared the rent and all had our own bedrooms. It was a large and comfortable home, which we eventually purchased. We lived in this house for the next six years. I took in roomers and boarders to help with expenses. Jack's parents moved into our basement because they had a very low income.

Our third daughter, Kristie, was born December 22, 1952. Our son Jack was born June 26, 1954. In 1954 we sold the big house and moved to an acreage just outside the Omaha city limits. There we had 50 fruit trees, 25 of them apricot. We also had lots of garden space. The 20 years we lived there were very busy ones. I picked the fruit and sold what we didn't need. I raised a big garden and canned and froze the fruit and vegetables. Jack's father had passed away. His mother, having only around $45 a month social security to live on, became part of our family. Our youngest son, Jay, was born January 18, 1957. Karen, our oldest daughter, married in May 1963. Jack's mother passed away in 1964 from com;ications from diabetes. Our daughters Kathy and Kristie, and our son, Jack married in the next ten years.

I wish I'd written down all the funny things my kids said and did. If I had I could write a book. And what fun it would be for me to read it. Like most mothers, I thought mine were the cutest, smartest ever born. Of course, I think the same about the grandkids and great grandkids. We have 15 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. We count ourselves very fortunate for having them.

In 1974, we moved again to Lavista, NE, where my occupation as a homemaker, gardener and private canning factory continued. During the twelve years we lived there I also taught primary, Sunday school, was homemaking leader in the Stake, and then in the ward. I was back in the ward as homemaking counselor, and then I held that position in the Stake. Then back to ward as Relief Society President. Then back to primary and class leader in the Relief Society simultaneously. Our ward was divided and I was called to be homemaking counselor to Relief Society President for the second time.

In 1988, Jack retired and we moved to the town where he'd been born, Ulysses, NE. We attended church in Columbus, NE, 45 miles northwest of our home. It was a small branch. We just loved it. There I was called to be education counselor in Relief Society. The President was released and a new one sustained. She asked for me to stay on, which I did, but she only lasted a year. Then the third one asked for me for visiting teaching coordinator. I was also called to teach eleven-year-old girls in primary at one time.

After only four years in Ulysses we moved to Cedar Bluffs, across the alley from our daughter Kathy. We moved in March 1992, and received a mission call the week after. We left for the Chicago Illinois Temple the end of August and served there for the next year. A few months after our release, we were called to serve there as rotation workers, which we did for the next four years. Serving in the Temple was the most rewarding thing I ever did, as well as the most spiritually uplifting. It's like being lifted out of the chaos of the world and I would even say as close to heaven as we can get on this earth.

May 30, 1999 the last day we served in the Chicago temple, I had a bad fall (there I go again). I still suffer from that. I injured my legs, right hip and shoulder. After that I had problems with my heart again. I was experiencing immature beats which led to a 2nd heart attack. I had angioplasty and six weeks later, I was back in the hospital again. The stint was plugged with scar tissue. The next 3 years I had 9 heart caths, 2 corroded artery surgeries, bypass and another angioplasty. At this point, I say enough.

We've had to give up temple service; I can't sit to ride long enough. Now I have fibromyalgia added to the other problems. Some days I'm convinced I'm a senior citizen.
I started swimming for exercise after a surgery I had 17 years ago, and I'm still trying. I go to the Y almost every day. Since my 2nd heart attack I have only been able to do half as many laps. But I am thankful I can do that much.

Currently my church calling is supervisor of the visiting teaching in Fremont NE ward. I've been doing this nearly three years. I enjoy it very much. The church and my family are my life. I don't know what I'd do without them both.