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Laura Clark Cook

soon as they heard of anything big coming to the Salt Lake Theater the white topped buggy was hitched up in Farmington, and we all piled in that, and came down to Salt Lake and went up into "Nigger Heaven". At that time there were some steps on the outside of the building on the east side.

Keith Did you go to the Great Salt Lake as a family?

Laura Going to the Great Salt Lake was another enjoyment that we had in our family. My brothers would come running in at nighttime, around six o'clock. They'd say, "Well we can go to the lake now we've got the hayrack ready", and so my sisters would hurry and get some lunch ready. There'd be some cold meat, or some beans, or different things they'd hurry and get together in the lunch basket, and we'd all get up on top of this hay and go down to the lake with a bathing suit. We always had them handy. And we'd go to the lake and then when we'd get out we'd eat our lunch. One time when we. were going to go to the canyon up to Farmington Canyon. Alice and I had been making cake and cookies to get ready for this trip. We were going to stay all night, in fact for two nights. Mamie Clark and several other young people.were going. My sister Alice said I could go but just when they were getting into this covered wagon to go up there, my father walked along and he said ( they were just about to boost me up into this buggy), "Oh no she can't go, she's too young to go up there to stay up the canyon".

Keith How old were you at this time?

Laura I was about, 13, but maybe father didn't think I was that old. Anyway it was his wish that I didn't go, so of course I felt a little bad about that; then I went down in the orchard and had a cry, but I never let father see me cry.

Keith What was Christmas like around your house?

Laura We used to have a very lovely and joyous Christmas. We'd always hang up our stockings, and my mother would always have them all filled. One. Christmas I remember so well when I was.about 5 years old, my sister Annie had come home from teaching school. We went over to Aunt Mary's house after opening our things in our mothers home. At Aunt Mary's there was a tall Christmas tree that went clear to the ceiling, it was trimmed beautiful, and Annie gave me a beautiful big doll. It was the biggest