Home Sweet Norman Home

Grandma Zada Norman and baby Nelva 1939

Rex and Zada got married in April 1938. They lived in Fairview for the first year. Their first apartment was one large room. A small bedroom and a little pantry. Grandma writes in her history that she used to hide behind the kitchen stove to bathe in a round tub.  Nelva was born there March 20, 1939.

Grandpa Rex wrote in his history ~  On July 13, 1938, I went to work for the State Road Commission and a highway survey crew. We were now able to rent us a house of our own in Fairview, for the amount of $5.00 a month. We did have to buy a kitchen range (coal) with a hot water reservoir attached. We lived there until the spring of 1939, at which time our first daughter, Nelva Loy was born. This was on March 20th, and eleven days later we moved to Mt. Pleasant, Utah. We now had to pay $15.00 for our apartment. 

Then Rex got a job with Young & Smith Construction Company and they moved out to Thompson, Utah (near Green River). There wasn't adequate housing, so Rex and his father built a little trailer (pictured above) which became home and it was nice to have it on wheels ... as it traveled!

Rex wrote ~ The job was out in the middle of the desert at a railroad junction. There was no housing available there so Dad decided to build me a trailer house. As I had no money to buy material, I made arrangements with a lumber company for the materials and in return gave the trailer house as security for the loan. I went out to the job alone for the first week and lived, ate, slept and did my book work in the car. I came home after about 10 days and Dad had built the trailer except for some painting and the clearance lights. We worked late into the nights getting it ready and able to leave on Monday morning with all our possessions inside. 

After Thompson, they went to Emery. From Emery, they went to Rockville, which is at the entrance to Zions Park. They had lots of company and sometimes would have to eat in shifts in the little trailer.

From Rockville, they moved to Ogden and parked the trailer at Aunt Leolas. Then they moved into a (Zada's history says motel, Rex's says cabin) for a bit while the trailer house was used out at a job by Rex's Dad. The construction company didn't have any work after that, so Rex and Zada went back to Mt. Pleasant and parked the trailer at Rex's parent's house. 

When spring came, Rex had a job with Morrison & Merrill, paid $100 a month. They rented an apartment at 140 Girard Ave in Salt Lake City. Melvin and Berthell got a job nearby, and slept out back in the trailer house and Zada cooked for them. 

The war was on, and Rex was drafted. Zada had two little girls now (Margie born November 7, 1942) and was pregnant again. Zada moved in with Rex's parents in Mount Pleasant.  She ended up renting a house north of the Theater in Mt. Pleasant and Rex was able to come there a few times. That house was sold to become a car dealership, so they rented another house where Zada had a big garden. 

The war ended, and Rex was coming home. The owners of the home they were renting needed it back, so there was a scramble for somewhere new. They looked to Salt Lake and found an immaculate white frame house with red shutters at 4568 Boxelder Street in Murray. They bought it. 

They quickly replaced the old coal stove with natural gas. The school and church was about a mile away (a new church building was built later, which was much closer). There was a root cellar out back with a dirt floor and cement walls, it kept vegetables fresh all winter. There was a wooden play house above the cellar, where the kids would play. 

After Nelva graduated, they bought a lot and Zada's brother Bert built their home at 2665 Spring Hollow Drive. They moved in October 1959. Zada had a decorator from Sears come help get things set up just right.  This was the house that the Westra kids knew as "Grandma and Grandpa Norman's house". 

Memories from Jen: I remember the steep side slope on the West. We'd run down it going so fast! There was a covered cement patio with cushy chairs where we'd spend many evenings with family. Grandpa had a barbeque grill tied-in directly to the gas line, I hadn't seen that before, all other BBQs needed a propane tank. There was a peach tree and raspberry bushes. There was an elementary school nearby that we'd go play at when we visited. I remember the laundry chute ... dropping things down it to someone waiting below. There were poles down the stairs, and we kids would run down the stairs and grab the bottom pole and swing around. All except one of the cousins (Emily?) whose arm would pop out of socket if she did it. Sometimes some kids would stand on one side, and some on the stairs on the other side, and we'd pretend we were in jail. The old sewing machine with the foot pedal was there in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs. The family room downstairs had some of Grandpa's deer heads/antlers hung on the wall. I remember Grandma's glass table in the living room ... I was always a little afraid someone was going to fall on it and break it! She had a lot of little breakable knick-knacks around too. I remember a little glass swan I loved to look at. Grandpa had collected rocks and polished them, and he had a nice arrowhead collection too.

Memories from Wendy: As a child, going to Grandma’s house always meant wonderful, delicious meals. I will never forget her wonderful home-made rolls! She filled a little blue bowl with home-made strawberry jam to spread on the piping hot rolls. Grandma had the most wonderful garden and we loved to pick raspberries at her house and fruit from her fruit trees. I’ll always remember how immaculate Grandma’s house was with everything in its place. I remember Christmas parties and family gatherings and playing with our cousins in Grandma's back yard. I remember rolling down the hill on the side of Grandma's house, blowing bubbles through spools, and bowling with milk jugs on her back porch.

... more memories? Send them to blackhambunch@gmail.com and I'll add them!