My Father, George Thompson Helmandollar
By his son, Herman
Joseph Helmandollar
(Edited my his
grandson, KC Colaianni)
George
Thompson Helmandollar was born July 7, 1875 in Burkes Garden, Tazewell,
Virginia to Mary Virginia Clark and John Floyd Helmandollar. George had three sisters and two brothers. George was the first child in the family of
six children. He was 12 years of age
when his mother died. This was when his
youngest sister, Mary Almeda, was born. Complications set in after her birth and this
young mother lost her life. The baby was
eleven days old.
Feeling perhaps he could get help with his
family, George's father decided to go to Missouri where one of his sisters
lived. Knowing he couldn't care for the
new baby, he left Mary with David and Tillie Cuppy. They had no children. It was my understanding the child was never
heard from again. John went on to Ogden,
Utah with the rest of his children.
Upon reaching Ogden, George's father found
out his sister, who he planned on for help to raise the remaining children, had
passed away. In that day and age, it
took a long time to receive letters or news of one's loved ones. George's father tried to keep the family
together. He worked for Union Pacific
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| Mary Virginia Clark (mother) |
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| John Floyd Helmandollar (father, notice his union blues) |
Railroad
and was often away from home. A great
deal of the responsibility fell upon the two older children, George and Cora. They had to do the cooking and take care of
the little ones. George's sister, Cora,
tells of George saving Lena's life with swimming in the Columbia River, when
they were in Washington. Finally, John
allowed the girls to live with relatives. The father kept the boys with him, but after a
short time George went to live with the Litz family.
We don't know too much about George’s early life. He had some education; perhaps 4th grade. He was always reading and trying to self-educate himself. We know he worked hard as a young man; herding sheep and doing other farm chores. He would take books to read while he was herding sheep. George always had a pocket knife to make wood carvings. I have one of his father's little carvings. It has four posts and is carved out in the middle, and has hearts and flowers carved in it. His initials are also inscribed on it.
On October 12, 1900 George married Nellie
Alnora Boyce. He was 25 years old at
this time. Nine children were born to the
couple; two dying in infancy, Howard A. Helmandollar and Cora Boyce Helmandollar.
Their first home was close to Grandpa
and Grandma Boyce. The home was between Oxford and Clifton, Idaho; out on the
Oxford string or lane, as it was called.
Three children were born at home; George Floyd, Nellie Viola, and Mary
Inez. Their next place was a homestead. The farm was located west of Oxford town
site, with 220 acres, which were actually two homestead purchases. In order to homestead, they had to live on it
for five years and make improvements each year such as building a house,
putting up fences, tilling the ground, planting trees, etc.1 Arnold, Herman and Ralph were born here.
We don't know too much about George’s early life. He had some education; perhaps 4th grade. He was always reading and trying to self-educate himself. We know he worked hard as a young man; herding sheep and doing other farm chores. He would take books to read while he was herding sheep. George always had a pocket knife to make wood carvings. I have one of his father's little carvings. It has four posts and is carved out in the middle, and has hearts and flowers carved in it. His initials are also inscribed on it.
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| George and a friend. |
After George and Nellie were
settled, they started raising wheat. Later,
they planted an orchard of apples, apricots, peaches and plums. They also planted about an acre and half of
strawberries. All fruits not used by the
family were sold to support the family. Many times they would trade with a neighbor for something they needed such as clothing or some other commodity. The family
worked hard raising sheep, pigs, beef and cows. When they needed to travel, they rode a horse,
went by wagon, or horse and buggy. George had a white top buggy with two seats
and a one-horse buggy with one seat. They
also had a wagon for farming purposes.
In the fall when grain was cut, George
would take a wagon full of grain to the mill in Franklin and come back the next
day with a year's supply of flour and cereal. It took one day to get there and one day to
return home. In those days, people didn't
go far from home. Most entertainment was
at home; making homemade candy, playing games and going to church programs and
dances. It was in May 1915 when George
and Nellie took their children to the LDS Logan Temple and were married
and sealed.
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| Nellie and George |
About 1917 or 1918, George and his wife bought the old Smith place in downtown
Oxford. Mom liked to live here much
better than up on the homestead, so far away from other people. This house was at one time the Oxford Post Office.
They would live here in the winter and
moved to the homestead in the summer. Roy
was born in town at this house.
Oxford, at one time, was the county seat for
Franklin County. It was a beautiful and
busy little town. After George
and Nellie had lived here a few years they decided to change their home into a
hotel. Money was hard to come by. The main highway went right in front of their
house and Nellie was a great cook. For
many years, during the school season the Oxford school teachers lived here. We charged $28 a month rent including washing and
ironing, as well as three meals a day. My mother always had a big long table set and
could prepare a wonderful meal in nothing flat. Travelers came at all times of the day. Every morning hot biscuits, cereal, bacon and
eggs were served. Each meal was equally
delicious. Her reputation for homemade
pies, cakes, rolls, and bread was well known to all those who boarded there. George was good to help; doing dishes,
carving meat and preparing vegetables. Irita (Rit), their daughter-in-law, said she
never knew a couple that got along so well together. Times were hard and every penny helped to
raise this large family.
While they were still running the Oxford boarding house, they bought the Pete Olson place. This was south of Oxford about 1 1/4 miles,
between Oxford and Clifton. Here, they
raised sugar beets, hay, and milked a herd of cows. They raised about 300 head of sheep, grazing
them in the summer at the foot of Oxford Peak. Nellie and George were very industrious and taught
their children to be good workers, by example.
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| (Right to left, back row: George, Nellie, Viola, and Mary Left to right, front row: Floyd, Arnold, Herman, and Roy) |
On February 1, 1937, my mother, Nellie, died of
pneumonia. None of the children knew she
was ill and it was a shock. Roy
was the only child not married. It was a
terrible winter with lots of snow. They
had to take her body in a sleight to the graveyard. The snow was so high it was just like going
through a tunnel. After that, my dad was
very lonesome. Our home had always been
busy with family. Now days would pass and he would not leave the house. But then, on March 24, 1938 he married Martie
Emeline Whitt Gibbs of Swan Lake, Idaho. He had known her most of his life and they
were both lonely. The family called her
Aunt Martie. On December 23, 1943, may
Dad died from a ruptured appendix.
__________________________________
1 The original Homestead paperwork is on file with the Bingham County Recorders office in Blackfoot, Idaho. I also have copies of the homestead paperwork on my blog.
1 The original Homestead paperwork is on file with the Bingham County Recorders office in Blackfoot, Idaho. I also have copies of the homestead paperwork on my blog.
