Someone has to watch the sheep

While serving their mission at Haskell Indian Junior College, Mom and Dad spent a lot of time with the students and learned a lot about their home life on the reservation.  The students faced obstacles to their education that most of us would never even imagine.

Haskell Junior College Centennial Convocation
September 1984

to the family

from Dad

3 October 1984

Last evening about 6 p.m. one of the students came in and asked me if I could take him to the bus depot right away.  He got a call from his father saying that he needed him to come home and help get in the wood and coal for winter, because someone had to watch the sheep and the father couldn't do it all by himself.  So Martin had dropped out of school and was going to make two trips walking to the bus depot - about 3 miles each way.  Fortunately the LDS Student Association President saw him and told him to come see me about a ride.  When I talked to Manuel about going home, he didn't seem to resent it nearly as much as I did!  He just said that someone had to do it, and he would come back in January and start again.  Martin was looking forward to our volleyball tournament, and he loves basketball.  He hopes to be back and if so, he will play basketball in January.

Martin turned 20 last May, and he really is a good young man, and we will miss him around the Institute.  The parents of these kids really don't understand what it means for the students to have to drop out and go home like this.  I really felt bad to see him leave.

Can you imagine interrupting your semester

to go home and tend sheep?

Was that in the job description?

15 March 1985 - We usually get here to the Institute building by 8:00 a.m. and then at 11:30 we go get some lunch and take care of errands and are back by 1:00 p.m.  Then we usually have just a sandwich or a bowl of soup or something light for supper here at the Institute, and then we go home around 10:30 - 11:30 p.m.  In between times, we manage to keep busy being very poor janitors, bookkeepers, and host/hostess.  We have most of the time to ourselves in the morning, and only a few kids now and then in the afternoon on school days.

15 March 1985 - Mary L. got a letter Thursday that if she had her application in by today, Friday at 4:00 p.m. she could have a job with General Motors in Oklahoma City this summer.  So she asked if we would we pick her up at 5 a.m. and take her to the Kansas City Airport so she could get home in time to get this job which pays $10/hour.  Leona said we would.

We closed the institute at 10:30 last night and got up at 4:00 this morning and went over to pick up Mary.  But she had gone back to sleep after being called.  We left just before 5:30 and the plane was to leave at 6:40.  We thought we knew where it was, but we didn't.  Needless to say, we missed the plane!  After several calls to her uncle in Oklahoma City, we found out that she didn't have to go down there anyway; she could just mail the stuff in.  So we got back about 10 a.m., went to the trailer and had a nap and lunch.  Then we went back to the Institute in the afternoon.

Leona working her magic with the Bernina

31 January 1986 - A boy that I had never seen before brought a pair of brown pants in.  He was going to start a new job that evening, and he wanted me to take an inch off each side and hem them.  It was already 3:00, and I had to teach a class at 6:00.  I told him that I didn't have any brown thread, so he told me to use black.  My black thread was gone too, so he said for me to use blue.  I used my blind hemmer, so they did get hemmed, but the stitch was terrible.  The thread could be pulled out like a basting stitch, so I told him not to catch his toe in the hem!  There's another pair of pants here that I've go to take some out of the waist.  I don't know why these kids don't buy things to fit.  They don't seem to understand or care that I don't know how to do these things.  [That attitude] is catching too.  When Lou broke the zipper in his jacket he just gave it to me to put a new zipper in it.  I can remember the day when I would have taken it some place and had it done . . .

8 February 1986 -We have been trying not to get the flu and sore throat that almost everybody in Lawrence has had.  It has really made a lot of the Indian kids sick, but they keep coming in.  It's a wonder the authorities don't get me for dispensing medicine without a license.  The students go to the med center down the street, and then they are afraid to take the medicine they are given.  So they ask me for salt to gargle with, throat spray, aspirin, and cough drops.  They only use the throat spray once, because they don't like the taste, but I had to start buying cheaper cough drops so I could afford to share them.  Amelia has been asking for them for three weeks, and she's still sick.  I must not be much of a doctor!

Helping Madonna learn to sew

14 February 1986 - This day has not gone as I had planned it.  I had it all figured out on paper by 8:00 this morning.  I was going to make Valentine cookies to serve tonight,m take the hood off of Molly's coat and get a hair cut.  By the time we bought pop (8 cases) at the Food Barn, bought candy bars (20 packages) at Wal-Mart, mailed some things at the Post Office, ran some things off at Kinko's, and bought my dancer pads at the shoe cobbler's, I was out of steam.

". . . when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, 

ye are only in the service of your God." 

Mosiah 2: 17

Nursing duty

 15 March 1985 - Tuesday morning we took Ethelyn to the KU Medical Center Hospital in Kansas City and got her admitted for the purpose of patching her right ear drum which had been 1/3 eaten away.  She was really scared.

When we were getting her admitted to the hospital, we had to help her a lot with the many questions they asked her, but when we got her up to her room and the nurse started asking her another series of questions, it got rather difficult.  When she said she didn't know what the nurse meant by "When did you have your last bowel movement?" Leona just sat there, and the nurse and I had a heck of a time explaining that one to her!  When we left her at 12:30 as we had to get back to the Institute, she started to cry - 21 years old and never been in a hospital before.  She had a TV and a private room, Leona bought her some magazines, and she was in no pain, but was just scared of this strange new world she was in.  It sure looked good to us, all that quiet and an opportunity to relax and sleep!

We hurried back over to the institute - about 40 miles away.  About 6:30 she called to say that she just felt like crying and wanted to talk to us, so I talked to her (collect call) for a while and reassured her that all would be well.  Surgery was to be the next morning at 10:00.

Ethelyn in May, 1986 -- she survived the surgery!

At 8:15 a.m. the next day, I got another collect call from the hospital - 1 hour and 30 minutes until operating time and, "I'm scared."  So we talked for about 15 minutes.  The surgery went well.  In the evening, Leona took her sister over to the hospital and visited her.  Ethelyn said that whenever she got scared and wanted to cry, she just said a prayer and everything got better.  She came home about 9:00 on Thursday.

image

We're in the right place

Lou teaching Institute Class

 4 November 1985 - I'm always studying for our institute classes now.  We each teach one at Haskell and one at the KU (University of Kansas) Institute.  We really only prepare two lessons a week, but it keeps us busy.  I only prepare Relief Society in addition to that.  Lou always does the Family Home Evening lesson.  Of course I do games and songs, and I have to be ready for that.

Leona sitting in on Lou's class

8 February 1986 - Our institute classes went well this week.  We picked up one more student, and we have a chance to pick up four more this week.  We never really know [who will come] until they show up, and then from week to week we wonder if they will keep coming.  Right now we have ten who seldom miss.  For Haskell, that is really good. In fact, according to people around here, it may never have happened before.

Haskell Institute Class

 21 February 1986 - We have fifteen in our Haskell class now.  It's really great to have that many kids coming.  I had such a good feeling  - a sense of accomplishment I guess - when the class was over.  One of our problems is that the students don't understand a lot of terminology.  One of the more vocal girls asked what I meant by "iniquity."  If all the kids would ask, I wouldn't worry.  I'm sure Dad does a better job of explaining than I do.  We just about have to start out with the idea that they know nothing [about the Gospel] and take it from there.  However, when  new student comes into the class, then we realize how much the others have learned.  After an experience like last night, we know we're in the right place and doing the thing we ought to be doing.

10 September 1986 - We thought the new Catholic Center would take some of our kids, but they're concerned because they are not having many kids.  Lisa said that Father John is wondering what they are doing wrong.  I guess our popcorn is better!  We have twenty-four kids enrolled in our New Testament class, and we're still growing.

Leona studying

20 February 1987 - I spent most of yesterday getting ready for my institute lesson.  My lesson was on Galatians.  I read it through the first time, and it didn't seem like much.  Then I started reading the institute manual and Paul's Life and Letters, a symposium book on the New Testament, and found out it was a very interesting lesson!  I'm really enjoying reading the writings of Paul.  I'm just beginning to appreciate what a great man he was.  I can understand why we are told to read our scriptural reference three times before we give the lesson.

". . . teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness . . ., 

to love one another and serve one another." 

Mosiah 4: 15

We have a lot of kids in here

 A glimpse into the daily routine at the Institute Building.  It sounds exhausting to me!

3 October 1984 - We spent the last two Saturdays over at the Topeka Stake Center with Haskell's two volleyball teams.  We give them breakfast here at the institute building and then buy their lunch at Burger King after the games.  We took 1st and 2nd place in the Stake Tournament and will play in another tournament on October 20.  The kids really have enjoyed it, and they are looking forward to basketball season, both a girls' team and a boys' team.

It could be a late night - they've just started!

Group activity on the keyboard

 4 November 1985 - It's after 10:00 right now, and we should be closed, but they're watching football on TV.  There are also kids working a puzzle, playing the keyboard, playing Asteroids, and playing pool.  Two boys just came in and asked me to get them some pop.  We sell 25 cent pop and candy bars.  Since pop is 50 cents in the dorm, we have a big business.  It brings a lot of kids in, and I guess that's what we're supposed to do.

Asteroids expert

31 January 1986 - It is 4:30 in the afternoon, and we have a lot of kids in here.  There's always somebody playing asteroids and somebody waiting to play Asteroids.  There are also some kids playing pool, and somebody playing the keyboard.  Several come over and watch TV every afternoon -- "Benson," "The Jeffersons," "Three's Company."  Some of the girls come over earlier and watch their soap operas.  I have to get out so I won't get hooked on them.  They do look interesting!

 The kids are watching Johnny Lingo.  I can just about recite it because I've seen it so often.  I still enjoy it.  Of course, I had hoped that someone would turn to the "Wheel of Fortune."  I still like game shows.  I don't watch them anymore than I did when I taught school.

I wonder how many pounds of popcorn she popped in three years . . .

 16 February 1986 - Church is over, and I'm a little bit ahead on popping corn, so I'll write awhile.  I'm over in a corner, so maybe everybody will go to Lou when they need something.  There's a video on that I really enjoy - "Man From Snowy River."  I've seen different parts of it at least two dozen times, and I still enjoy it.  Well, I've already had to pop more corn and sell pop and candy.  Lou must have found a better corner.  He's probably in playing pool or Asteroids.  I'm afraid the way we keep the Sabbath Day holy leaves something  to be desired!  These kids have come a long way, but we still need to work on our Sunday evenings.  They're just better off in here than in other things they find to do.

Skating like a pro

I get by with a little help from my friends!

2 March 1987 - Friday evening we took eleven of our kids over to Manhattan to the Stake Young Adult party.  They played games at the institute and then went ice skating.  Some had never skated before.  They really had fun.  Jeff said he rode two hours just to get his "butt" wet.  It kind of bothered those kids who are really good at several sports to be such novices at ice skating.

". . . and they did fellowship one with another . . . and did have great joy."  

Helaman 6:4

Getting to know you

December 1984

 30 August 1984 - We are beginning to get to know the students who come over to the institute pretty well, at least on a first name basis.  We usually have 15 or 20 of them in during the evening, and they visit, read, listen to the stereo, and play ping-pong and pool.  They are very friendly.  They are dressed in casual clothes, running shorts, and tee shirts.  They are not real fancy clothes, but always clean.  So far, even in some rather exciting games, we have yet to hear a cuss word among them.  As is so typical of us, we seem to have a lot more boys than girls, though there are some girls. 

at Institute Graduation - April, 1995

Some of the girls asked Leona if we would teach them to slow dance and wanted to know what it was like to be married so long!

3 October 1984 - We now have 43 members coming in fairly regularly and about 30 non-members, but a few of our members we have yet to meet.  Mother is going in to pop popcorn for the evening since she and some of the girls are going over to the Lawrence Ward for a Relief Society meeting.  The girls are really taking to Mom now and are coming to see her a lot about everything.

Leona and girls after a pie baking activity - February 1987

30 October 1984 - I'm certainly having trouble getting the words on paper.  There's a stereo blaring behind me and the ball bouncing in front of me.  I'm amazed at our tolerance level where music is concerned.  I even go around singing, "Purple Rain -- Purple Rain."  I can almost tell who is in the lounge by the music on the stereo.  If I hear country-western, I know that Cora or Lana are around.  I really enjoy country western, but some of the lyrics embarrass me if there are a lot of students around!  

14 February 1986 - Dad's barber really cuts his hair short.  The other night we were talking to Darlene and Lorraine.  I said I needed to get a haircut.  Darlene said, "You don't need a haircut."  I assured her I did, because my hair was too long.  Lorraine said, "Well, I guess we'll hae two bald heads around here instead of one.

16 February 1986 - I just went over to the house and got a wire hanger for a boy who locked his keys in his car.  I sure do hope he has a car!

Institute girls - October 1984

Molly Yazzie and Kaye Begay went with us to a fireside.  They always wear dresses to church now.  I never thought dresses would look so good!  Most of my girls still wear blue jeans.

 ". . . wilt thou make thyself known unto me . . ." 

Alma 22:18

Family Home Evening . . . continued

Reminder - Monday nights are reserved for Family Home Evening

 4 November 1985 - Our FHE was fun tonight.  Lou read the short story "The High Place" by the Yorgasons.  Then he talked about "asking" when they need something and read a few appropriate scriptures.  We sang quite a few fun songs and played a great game.  They love games!  Our refreshments were nachos and Kool-aid.  They love to eat, too!  They put away a gallon of nacho cheese and six pounds of tortilla chips.

Concentration

Construction zone

 25 December 1985 - Our last family home evening before Christmas vacation was fun.  We made gingerbread houses with graham crackers.  We had icing all over the place.  Even the "macho" boys loved it.  Some of them didn't take the houses home.  I tried to hang them on the tree, but they were so heavy with icing that I could only hang them on the inner heavier branches.

The makings of a village

16 February 1986 - We played a fun game at Family Home Evening last week.  It was called Gangster.  It's dodge ball with a different twist.  You try to hit the gangster.  He has a body guard in the circle with him, and the body guard is supposed to protect him by keeping the ball away from  him.  The gangster can keep away from the ball, but he can't touch it.

". . . how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you."

3 Nephi 10: 4

Family Home Evening

Institute bulletin board - January 1986

 30 August 1984 - We had our first Family home evening last Monday night.  We had four girls and seven boys to start out with.  We were really apprehensive as to what they would like to do.  We started out with one of the boys giving the opening prayer, and then Leona started to lead them in some songs out of an Institute book  She felt that was too formal and decided to revert to her Cub Scout and first grade days and taught them to sing "Ravioli."  They really loosened up, and the boys seemed to enjoy it even more than the girls did.  Then she taught them "B-I-N-G-O", and they really enjoyed that.  Then we sang "Down in the Valley" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and then I gave the lesson - a very short one.  I told them the old Scoutmaster's Minute story of the farmhand who could sleep on a windy night, and related that to being constantly prepared for their tests here at Haskell.  Then I referred back to the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25: 1-13) and their need for preparation.  Then we played "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John."  They really seemed to have a good time, and a friend of one of our members asked when we were going to do it again.  So, I guess we got by okay.  The cinnamon rolls Leona made and the punch and the dip and chips were well accepted also!

Refreshment time!

30 October 1984 - We weren't too happy about our Family Home Evening last night.  We had a very small group for the opening and lesson.  They then all start coming in for the games, and by refreshment time the whole gang's there.  I'm afraid I know what they have a testimony of.  I wish I knew how to combat it.  Lou and I plot and plan, but we still reach most of them with food only.

Playing "Old Plug"

Game time

 19 November 1984 - I've been planning our Family Home Evening.  It is so hard to choose games.  Some students want "wild" games, and some want quiet games.  It's not unusual to start a game with 5 and end up with 20.  The ranks swell to 40 when the refreshments come out.

Dad does an excellent job on the lesson.  He makes them up 'from scratch' and presents them so well.  I told him he should publish them when we're through.  He has a neat one planned this evening using the analogy of football plays and the gospel.

In these posts about Haskell, Lou's comments are in blue, and Leona's in maroon

By way of explanation. . .

New arrivals - September, 1984

 Louis and Leona served as Church Service Personnel at Haskell Indian Junior College from August 1984 - May 1987.  They were at Haskell during the school year and then returned home during the summer for some much needed breaks.  Those three years were very rewarding, but very busy, as they were the spiritual leaders, activity directors, counselors, chauffeurs, cooks, and tailors to the LDS students at the junior college. They stayed up late, got up early, popped more popcorn than we can imagine, and even hosted at least one wedding!

During their time, Dad kept an extensive journal and took countless pictures (think 4 notebooks full!) to document the details - the highs and lows of their service.  Needless to say, I won't be posting all of that here.  Most of the material for these blog posts will be excerpts from letters they wrote home, with enough pictures mixed in to give an overview of their experience at Haskell.  Remember, this was the 80's and the pictures will prove it.  You're going to love them!

In addition to the Haskell experience,  I'll continue telling the Davis family history.  I plan to alternate these two stories on a weekly basis, so if you get tired of one, just wait a week and the other will show up.

There's no place like home

 As we've learned from previous posts, Lou and Leona lived in a variety of dwellings while serving missions in Switzerland and Germany.  The opportunity to serve in Lawrence, Kansas provided another new housing experience.  

1900 W. 31st Street #I-8

28 August 1984 - We are now settled into life in the Gaslight Trailer Park in Lawrence, Kansas.  We rented a spot for a month for $105.  We put a skirt around the trailer and also had to anchor it down with big screws and metal strapping which goes over the top of the trailer, being anchored on each side.  We used only two straps, but they are necessary as there was a tornado here just a few years back which did a lot of damage.

The yard with the carport (behind the tree)

26 November 1984 (Leona)- The Thanksgiving dinner took place in the house next door to the Institute Building which the Church owns and is getting ready to renovate.  There was a nice dining table, but Lou couldn't get the heat to go on, so it was cold.  Once it sounded like somebody waling on a wooden floor, and Bryan said, "Oh, that's the ghost.  There's a ghost in this house."  I had heard someone say there were spirits in the house that had bothered the other missionaries, but I don't always believe what he says.  However -- I heard somebody walking on the wooden floor, and I made a mental note to never go in that house alone.  I'm sure glad we're living in our trailer.

 126 E. Indian Avenue, Lawrence, Kansas

28 January 1985 - The house at the Institute now has a new furnace and central air conditioning.  We are getting a contractor to make some repairs and then it will be repainted inside.  We have been told to order new carpet.  When it is done, we have the choice of moving in if we desire.  It has three bedrooms, two complete baths, living/dining room, kitchen, and fairly large basement with washer and dryer.  We can live in it for $150/month plus utilities, and they will not charge us for the summer when we are gone.

However, we like our trailer very much, and we like the privacy it gives us.  Living next to the Institute, we would be subject to much less privacy, and it would be a little more expensive.  We think that we could be of better service, however, and could make better connections with the ward and stake if we were in the house.  We have a little time yet to make that decision, so time will tell.

The following entry indicates that convenience won out over privacy and fear of ghosts!

Leona at the front door

 15 March 1985 - We are supposed to move in [to the house by the Institute] by the end of the month.  There will be several advantages to living next door, but some disadvantages, too.  I am sure that we can serve better, and maybe we can get a little more rest by being able to cover the Institute with just one of us part of the time.  We can also have more of our meals at home.

And this letter written a year after moving into the house just makes me laugh!

6 March 1986 (Leona)- Lou fixed the lights in our bathroom.  There was only one bulb, and since there was a place for four bulbs, I asked him to put some more bulbs in.  He put the bulbs in, and the lights went out.  Later I flushed the toilet, and the lights went on.  Yesterday I was trying to put on some make-up, and the lights kept flashing on and off, like a neon sign  I don't think I can get Lou a job as an electrician unless it's a place that specializes in novelty lighting.

"And my father dwelt in a tent . . ."

1 Nephi 3:27

"I will go and do . . ."

Institute Building in Lawrence, Kansas - Haskell Indian Junior Collete

 July 19, 1984 - Pueblo, Colorado -- On Monday afternoon I received a call from the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City which will alter the life style we have enjoyed so much during the past year and a half.  Don't get me wrong; it is the kind of call we knew would come sooner or later, and we are grateful for it with all our hearts.

Dad's notes from the telephone call

The voice on the telephone said, "This is Brother John Clifford calling from Salt Lake City, Church Office Building.  Is this Brother Louis Butler?"  When I told him that it was, he said that he was calling to ask my wife and I to consider accepting a call to serve the Lord in the Church Education System in Lawrence, Kansas, at the Haskell Indian Junior College Institute of Religion.

Our call is administrative.  They have an Institute Director, who teaches the religion classes -- he is a Navajo.  Our main responsibility is to assist him with the socials, Family Home Evenings, counseling, and general guidance activities in their Indian Branch.  We are not proselyting missionaries; we are Church Service Personnel.

 He explained that it was at a junior college for Indian students from all over the United States.  There are about 1,000 students in the school, and 92 of them have been identified as LDS.  Last year about another 100 non-LDS participated in the Institute program.

I told Brother Clifford that I would call him back the next day to give him our answer, though I could have told him we would accept.  When I told Leona about the call, she just said, "Of course we will go."

Leona beginning a new assignment

Lou is ready for a new adventure

"I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, . . . for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

1 Nephi 3:7