The History of Me: Remembering Our Life in Rexburg

We took a 25-mile detour off the I-15 freeway while driving home from our visit with Kaytee and her family in Montana, to visit Rexburg, Idaho and for a walk down memory lane.  Of course, Rexburg has changed dramatically in the 50+ years since we lived there.  Our apartment is no longer there.  The center court of our apartment complex has long since been filled in and replaced by a street between Porter’s Bookstore (it was there when we were there) and a hairstyling school.  We enjoyed seeing the temple – much larger at four stories - than I had anticipated and how big the city had become (a little more than 27,000 people today compared to about 5000 when we were there in 1963-64).

I was on the switchboard ("google" it) at Ricks College (now known as BYU-Idaho) on November 22, 1963 and took the first call to the campus regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (the 3-story building in the collage above is a rebuild of the original main building).  

We also tracked down the offices of ArtCo, a wedding invitation company, for which I worked for two years when Ed was going to school at then-Ricks College.  At 19-years-old and newly married, I worked as the assistant to Art Porter, the company’s owner.  Art told me I was hired because of the 20+ applicants he had interviewed, I was the only one who knew how to spell – an important skill to have in a printing company. 

Three stories I remember about working at ArtCo:

·               I have been plagued all my life with hiccups.  While working for Art, I developed a particularly persistent case and my desk was very near his.  After a couple of days, he told me if I couldn’t stop hiccupping he would have to fire me.  I don’t know if it was his threat which scared me enough to make them stop, but they did stop.  He later told me he probably wouldn’t have followed through on his threat because he would have had a hard time replacing me, but still …

·               As mentioned, I was newly married.  One day, he told me he would have to let me go if I got pregnant because he didn’t want a pregnant woman running around his office (times have certainly changed)

·               Art and his wife had three sons:  Art, Gary and Randy.  I didn’t know Artie well and Randy was a few years younger than me, but Gary was about my same age.  When I left Art’s employ, the very quiet, reserved businessman told me he loved me like a daughter … so when I heard he had passed away, I called Gary and Randy asking if I had been remembered in the will.  I don't think Artie thought my question was very funny, but Randy and Gary got a big kick out of it ... and were happy to hear from their "sister."  

Those were good days and happy memories.