EARL THOMAS SMITH -- Fourth child of John Thomas Smith

Earl was born in Beaver. Utah January 6, 1912.

He went to the Beaver schools and was a good student and a good worker and always had a lot of chores and work to do.

He had a bad accident in 1921 when he was 9 years old while driving the milk cows to the pasture with a one-eyed horse. He had a compound fracture of his leg and the bone became infected requiring hospitalization and several operations, and this affected his life somewhat. He could not pass the physical for the army, but he never let it stop him from work or playing on the high school football team. He learned to keep his leg heavily padded for certain types of activity.

In 1929 when he was 17 he and his brother Alden took care of Uncle Jorem Bradshaw's farm during the summer while Uncle Jorem and Aunt Ella went to Idaho for a vacation. When they returned home everything was in good shape and Uncle Jorem decided the farm was too much work for him and a deal was made for the Thomas Smith family to purchase the farm. Accordingly, Earl lived on the farm the winter that he was a senior in high school as he graduated with high honors in the spring of 1930.

Earl decided to go to college and enrolled in the Brigham Young University in 1930.

He helped with the farm during the summers and also worked at other jobs and at various jobs at school and made his way through college and graduated in June 1934 with a major in Mathematics and Physics and a minor in Education.

After graduating, Earl went back to Beaver and taught school in the Beaver High School from 1934 to 1946. He also worked on the farm and with other farming activities of his own.

After one year of teaching he married Mabel Petersen on June 5, 1935, whom he had met at the B. Y. U. They, of course, bought a home and lived in Beaver where Earl was a combination school teacher and farmer. Earl took a special refrigeration course and then set up and operated a locker plant in Beaver for a number of years. He quit school teaching when his farming and other activities became a full-time job. During this time Earl and Mabel helped to butcher many of the deer that were killed in the mountains and got acquainted with many people from various places.

Earl and Mabel have been active in Church and Civic affairs and done much to help the people and the community. Some of Earl's assignments were: Scoutmaster, Elders Quorum Presidency, Stake Missionary, Bishop's Counselor, High Councilman, and High Priests Quorum Presidency, in addition to various teaching assignments. Some of his Civic activities were: He is past President of Beaver Lions Club, County Republican Chairman, President and Secretary of various water boards, President of a farm group that brought a creamery and Grade A milk to the valley.

Earl and Mabel have no children, but they have done much to help others rear and teach their children. One of Mabel's nieces lived with them for a number of years.

Earl T Smith