Orson Clark-12/14/81 - Pg 32

Farmington, but he and I were together. We got out and he stopped Amasa, then he told me, "I want you to meet your Uncle Amasa." I remember Amasa had three little balls. He got off his bicycle and immediately began to work his balls in his hands. I remember that very vividly. He said the doctor had told him he had to do that to keep circulation going.

Orson Clark: Well, when they took him into the hospital they went into his bedroom and he wasn't there one time. They looked around and he had raised the window onto the fire escape and he was going up and down the fire escape "for his exercise" he said.

Interviewer: They had a hard time keeping him in bed, huh?

Orson Clark: Oh, yes. He was a great one for exercise. One thing about him, he was a great one on wheat. He said, "Wheat has saved my life." He said that in public many times, "Wheat has saved my life, use whole wheat bread." That was his old standby, whole wheat.

Interviewer: That's interesting. Why do you say that Uncle Hyrum was the most pathetic?

Orson Clark: Uncle Hyrum was a rich at one time but when he died he was a pauper.

Interviewer: What caused the loss of his money?

Orson Clark: I say mismanagement. Not on his part, but on his children. He gave one of his sons the checkbook and it broke him. See he moved down from Star Valley and built this house. It was the second house. Not this little one that Ruth's in, the next one, he built that. I remember when he did that. He had made the money.

Interviewer: He married in polygamy and I know that.

Orson Clark: He married in polygamy and he had one woman who raised her family in Star Valley and one here. But that's the thing that is always pathetic to me. Uncle Hyrum worked for me there in his older ages, just before he died. He used to come and hitch my horses up and do a little cultivating or plowing or something, and help me. He had borrowed a pair of double trees and was bringing them home one night and a kid on a bicycle came bang and hit him. He never came out of it. But he was one of the stalwart Clarks, physically strong. But like I say, there was this one when he lost that money. It was a sad affair because I saw that man one winter and about all that he had to eat was onions and carrots.

Interviewer: Is that right? During the depression?