Life Story of Cleo Earl Cook-Part 1

                                           LIFE HISTORY OF CLEO EARL COOK

Cleo Earl Cook

18 January 1911 a son was born to James Edward and Christina Magadalena Buchmiller Cook in LaBelle, Idaho in Jefferson County.  He was the fourth child and second son in a family of four boys and nine girls.  He weighed seven pounds.  Cleo, was blessed 26 February 1911 by his father.  Cleo was baptized 2 August 1919 by Samuel H. Hunt and confirmed 3 August 1919 by Evan Huntsman.  I didn't have any records of when Cleo was ordained a Deacon, Teacher, or Priest, but he was ordained an Elder, 15 October 1939 by Lawrence Carr.

James Edward and Christina Magdalena Buchmiller Cook

Cleo, lived in Taylorsville, Shelley, Woodville, Coltman, Ucon, Grant, and Roberts, Idaho.  He went to school in Ucon, Woodville, Coltman and Shelley.  Cleo walked to school every day with his brother and sisters and in the winter he often got very cold.  One time he froze his hands so badly that he had great big blisters on his hands.  The first winter his sister Vendetta went to school, Cleo and Carl took turns pulling her on her little sleigh.  Cleo enjoyed school and was a very good student.  He was always active in sports and enjoyed pulling little stunts and tricks on his teachers and was punished when he was caught.

Home of the Cook Family in Coltman about 1925.  Of course this is how it looks today.

Cleo was adventurous and liked to go wandering through the sage brush hunting anything or just exploring.  He would tell his mother he was going rattle snake hunting.  It was after the family had moved from LaBelle to Taylorville that his exploring caused quite a lot of excitement.  They had gone to pick raspberries and while the others picked, Cleo wandered away.  They searched the rest of the day and into the night.  Men rode horses and used flashlights searching through a grain field.  Finally Cleo came wandering out of the field.  He had grown tired of exploring and had curled up and gone to sleep in the tall grain.

Cleo was always happy and he liked to tease.  It was hard for anyone to get the best of him.  One day he was teasing and chasing his sister, Edna Cook Ririe with a stove poker in his hand and he accidently hit her on the nose and broke it.  He felt so bad that he had hurt her and made her cry.  Things were never dull when Cleo was around.

Edna Jane Cook Ririe

The children in the Cook family weren't allowed to swear and if they did and they were caught they would get their mouths scrubbed out with A.B. Naphtha soap on a tooth brush.  This is a very strong soap.  One day Cleo was told to go out and get some wood from the big wood pile.  Cleo had other things he wanted to do but his father told him to go out and get that wood.  While Cleo was loading his arms up with the wood, he started swearing.  His father came around the wood pile and heard him.  He asked Cleo just what he thought he was doing.  Cleo replied he was mocking the old red rooster.  Cleo got a spanking and his mouth scrubbed out with soap that day.

Cooks had to heat their bath water in a large boiler on their cook stove.  The water had just been poured into a large tin tub, when Cleo came running in from outside.  He tripped and fell into this very hot water.  There was an old Indian lady who was at the home when this happened.  She went out in the sand hills and got some black powder and spread it all over Cleo.  His hot water bath that day never left any burns on his body.  The Indian lady wouldn't tell them where she got the powder.  She said she had helped Cleo because his mother had helped her and given her food.

While Cooks were living on the dry farm, one Tuesday night the kids were left home while their parents went to Mutual.  Those at home at the time were: Agnes, Edna, Carl, and Cleo.  Cleo went outside and then he came back in and told Agnes and Edna that someone was lighting matched upstairs.  They went out to look and they could see a fire just starting to come through the roof.  They tried to carry water to put it out and just about had it out when they run out of water.  Then they carried everything they could out.  His folks saw the fire and started back.  By the time they arrived there, it was too late.  They lost everything and their home.  They had to live in a granary the rest of the year.  This happened in the fall of the year.  While living in this granary, the kids came down with the measles.  They had to build bunk beds along the wall for all of them to have a place to sleep.

Dad's family

Front Theola and Melba

Grandpa and Grandma Cook (James Edward and Christina Magdalena)

Carl, Cleo, Reva, and Leora