About the turn of the century, at the prodding of some of the authorities, Father entered into the practice of polygamy. He married Mary Robinson of Farmington. Over the years they had a family of five children. Aunt Mary was maintained in Paris, Idaho and in Logan, where it was convenient for some of the older children to stay while attending school. About 1908, after much suffering from the cold winters and high altitude, my mother was moved to Farmington, into a new home which had been built for her. After this time, Aunt Mary was in the home on the ranch, and Father spent his time between the two places. Every summer, Father and some of us would drive to Star Valley to help with the haying and come back in the fall.

On December 5, 1911, my oldest brother, Hyrum T., died as a result of a gunshot wound, suffered while hunting. This was a great loss and shock to all of the family-- Father loved Hyrum T. like Abraham loved Isaac. One night in January, 1912, only a month after the death of Hyrum T., the folks were awakened by the house burning. The children had evidently built a fire on the wooden floor in the old log house, which was right behind the new big house. Both were completely destroyed.

Hyrum T. and Heber D. Clark

One day, about four and a half years after the house was destroyed, we were in the field about a half mile east when we looked up and saw the big barn belching smoke out of the hay mow. Father was a little way from us. We had a hard time attracting his attention above the noise of the mower; when he saw it the barn was all in flames. There was a new, expensive grain binder stored in the barn. He said to Ralph Knowlton, who was then standing by him, “Ha jucks, and there’s that new binder all burned up, and burned up but the irons and they’re left.” It was a sad day for Father. The whole farmstead was now obliterated, except for a few minor out-buildings and corrals.

As Father increased his attentions in Farmington, he decreased his ranch activities. He sold a 160 acre meadow and let out some of the other hay land; so his cattle herd was about half of what the peak had been but it was still a sizable operation. Things went along about normal until 1919. There had been a very light winter, hence very little water as spring and summer arrived so Star Valley was in a very bad drought,

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