Tennis

Dad playing John in tennis

Ruth McOmber with her grandparents Calvin and Achsah McOmber who lived in front of us at 2715 Pole Line Rd. Pocatello, Idaho. Here we are going to church. I remember well my brown sturdy lace up shoes. I did not want to wear them. They were not fashionable. The were over the ankles and I thought they looked like a shoe a boy would wear. The jumper was sewn by my mother. I remember the fabric was purple/gray checked. Mom always had my hair in tight ringlets every Sunday. They looked so pretty by Friday because they had relaxed into a long curl. I loved how my friend Dorothy Richardson's hair looked. It was beautiful with perfect long ringlets. Not the McOmber Dairy on the side and the old car behind us. Across the street was an old beer joint

I had wonderful grandparents. They were an inspiration to me all my life. They were great teachers and examples to us. I used to go to grandmother's home often and comb her long hair which she loved. I would clean her stairs and play with children she would tend. She always had a story from her "pioneer days" or a bible story. How she loved the gospel and left her testimony with us on a regular basis. I have a great deal of gratitude for my grandparents, especially grandma.

Ruth McOmber was born July 17,1945 in the Bannock hospital, Pocatello, Idaho. Mother said daddy had gotten her the best room that was comfortable and cool. Mother was very sensitive to the heat and could not handle the hot days of summer. Mothers were required to stay two weeks in the hospital at that time. The "Twilight, no pain" method of birthing was the practice then and was later found out that it risked brain damage and lung weakness. The mother was totally drugged and the baby was removed with forcepts. It has since been discontinuted. It proved to have caused brain damage as was the case with my brother Charles.

This picture is of me when I was one year old. It is a newspaper clipping. Regretfully, I have few pictures of myself as a child.

My family consisted of three older brother: George Brodil, Calvin brodil, and Charles Brodil. I was the last and fifth child. My only sister Frances Marie died of pnamonia when she was eight months old. She was unable to get penicillan since it had not yet been discovered. She was the second child of our family.

Being the last and only girl, I was smothered with love and affection. I was adored and felt very cherished. However, I was not indulged. I learned work ethics that have lasted all my life. It was one of my best memories working along my father in the beat fields on the stake farm. I painted many apartments with him. He was a great carpenter and loved to remodel homes and rent them. We had many work projects as a family.

My first year in Pocatello, Idaho

I was born on a very hot July day, the 17th in the old Bannock Hospital. My father had picked a comfortable room for my mother. She was very sensitive to heat. They were very happy to have a little girl, since my older sister had died of pnamonia. Penicillin had not yet been discovered.

My mother was 42 years old when I was born. She said she cried every night when she found out she was pregnant. My older brother Charlie, one year older, had had brain damage at birth so she had extra worries with another baby. However, I proved to be a great comfort and joy to her. I took care of her of ten years while she sturggled with Alzheimers until she was 90 years old. Mother was a wonderful home maker. She made many dresses for me while I was growing up. She made wonderful breads and Czech chicken. She was very loving and good to me. I loved her very much.

My father was a very wonderful and generous man who was a great leader in the West Pocatello Stake. I was really a daddy's girl. I remember singing a song: "I'm so glad when Daddy Comes home". I loved to have his strong arms toss me into the air and I would giggle, again please! He was very gifted in teaching and singing. He was a wonderful carpenter and worker. He had been the oldest of eight children. He worked hard on the McOmber dairy farm.

My three older brothers were: George, Calvin, and Charles. George was my math tuttor and was very good to me all my life. I am blessed to have dear brothers. Calvin was my tease. He enjoyed a joke, especially on me. They called me pipe stems because I was very thin as a girl. The McOmber ten acres where I lived had a wonderful garden, cows, a potatoe cellar where we went sleigh riding and enjoyed it in our summer days as a cool retreat.

My grandparents lived at 2715 Pole Line Road and we lived behind them at 2715 1/2 Pole line Rd. We had a great lawn to run and play on with irrigation water every week to wade in. My grandparents were wonderful to me and great examples. They were true to their faith and were great teachers of the gospel, as were my parents.

Ruth McOmber Pratt Family History

Today I enjoyed the visit with Jared, my son, who has helped me get this on the web. How wonderful to have great children who are so helpful.