The House Had an Unusual Odor
In the summer of 1954, having accepted a position at the Institute of Religion adjacent to Southern Utah State College in Cedar City, Mom and Dad arranged to leave the children with Grandpa and Grandma Harris in Provo so that they could drive down to find a house for the family. They had been invited to use the Institute building for lodgings while they looked.
After searching the whole town over, they were very discouraged by the prospects. Not a single attractive house or apartment was available. Finally, somewhat frustrated, they settled on a two-bedroom basement apartment that would serve the family’s immediate needs while they looked for something more permanent. At least they would be ready for the school year to begin.
After living in the tight quarters of the apartment for five months they located a spacious bungalow-style house that the family moved into with an option to buy. It was like moving back in time as the old house was absent most all of the amenities of layout and design that were being employed in newer construction. The walls were poorly insulated and the rooms were drafty so that during the first winter it was very difficult and expensive to keep it heated.
The upstairs area contained an apartment that was let out to a young couple who, owing to the route of access to their quarters that took them straight through the house, become well acquainted with the family.
These upstairs lodgers provided a real surprise to the family one day when they caught a skunk on the outskirts of the city and brought it home, undertaking to de-scent it right in the kitchen! The house became a very unpleasant place to live for the next several days. Paul and John wished to set up camp in the backyard.
While the house was an improvement over the basement apartment where they had lived, it was clear that it would not do for the long term so Mom and Dad chose not to exercise the option to buy and continued hoping that a better opportunity would arise.
Speeding along at 70 mph