Meeting a U.S. President with the MoTab Choir

For those who are interested, I found this on FamilySearch. Who knew we had a grandparent in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and one who met a President while in the White House while touring with them? There is also a great story dealing with the death of a child.

P.S. The record just ends, so I am not sure what happened to the rest of it.

 

HISTORY OF VERNON LORENZO CHAPMAN
26 June 1902 - 28 March 1982

Personal record of VERNON L. CHAPMAN as written by Vernon L. Chapman
22 Jan.1958.

I was born in a good "T" shaped frame house on an 80 acre farm three miles northwest of Blackfoot Idaho. I was helped into the world by Mrs. Plant, a close friend of my mother. My mother also did this kind of work for other women. Whenever a baby was born in that part of the county it was either my mother or Mrs. Plant to help them. My mother never had a real doctor with any of the children. I had 6 brothers and three sisters and one sister I didn't know as she died before I was born, it was my sister Evelyn. She lived 9 months and died with Pneumonia. She would have been 4 years older than I if she had lived. I remember of my mother telling me how she grieved greatly over the loss of this baby, until one evening after going to bed she lay there grieving when her mother (my grandmother Holden) came and appeared at the foot of the bed. She called my mother by her first name; "Millicent, do not grieve further for Evelyn as I have her with me and she cannot progress while you grieve. She feels your grieving and grieves also. She is alright. Give her up and you shall see her later." My mother grieved no more. My mother said she was wide awake. It was no dream. I remember my sister Hazel while playing over a big water flume, fell in, our big dog Prince saw her fall and ran to her rescue and caught her by the dress and pulled her out of the big canal before my father could get to her.

I recall my father telling of the time my brother, Samuel, was a little boy about 4 years old, playing in a buggy behind a flighty team of horses, when the horses began to run away. My father grabbed for the reigns and was thrown under the buggy. The reigns pulled through his hands leaving him in the road. My father called , "Oh God, save my boy!" Soon the horses stopped. My father ran to them and discovered a double half hitch wrapped around the hub of the buggy stopping the horses. Not just a single half hitch but a double half hitch that could not be loosened very easy.

I attended grammar school, Rose Dist. #29 in Blackfoot Idaho and Lowell High School in Logan, Utah, then business college at BYC Logan, Utah featuring accounting, bookkeeping, and carpentry. When 15 to 18 years old I was baptized for 2555 souls in the Logan Temple. Patriarch Joseph R. Shepherd was president of the temple, he gave me my wonderful patriarchal blessing in his office there. My sister Mary Jane Bolander was scribe.

For the first 3 years of my married life I sold Woolen goods for The Cache Knitting Goods of Logan, Utah. My Territory was in Southern Oregon and Northern California. I did very well but had to settle down with my family. I then took a bookkeeping job with the Diamond Match Co. of Chico, California. I worked awhile and then took sick with Malaria Fever and almost died. We came to Salt Lake City, Utah and Dr. John Z. Brown helped me wonderfully and advised me to go to my mothers farm in Blackfoot, Idaho to recuperate. After this we went back to California, taking jobs in stores and bookkeeping for Pacific Fruit and Produce Co. and the California Packing Co. of Chico and Oakland, Calif. I worked for Cal Pack for 6 years as bookkeeper. My health kept failing me and we had a hard time getting along. But the Lord did bless us with many good friends who spurred us on. I sold Insurance for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. for about a year when I got Laryngitis and couldn't talk above a whisper for about 6 months. I was leading the Oakland Ward Choir at this time and the president of the Choir had to stand beside me to give the choir my Instructions. Then I took a part-time contract with the Beneficial Life Ins. Co. and also did carpenter work as I could get it.

Then during the Great Depression, I sang and led the big Federal Music Chorus of Oakland which lasted for 6 years. We had language classes where we learned to pronounce and sing in 4 different languages. When this closed in 1934, I did carpentry work and contracting.

We came to Salt lake City in April 1942. We rented for 1 year then bought the home at 725 South Second West from Widow Emma Johnson. The church loaned us $500.00 for the down payment. I did carpentry until the middle of Jan.1950, when I went to work for the Deseret News Press first as carpenter, then as Receiving Clerk and bookkeeper and assistant to the paper stock man, which I am still doing, and doing carpenter work as I can get on Saturdays and after work when my regular job doesn't need me.

As Church appointments, I have served as First Assistant in Sunday School in the Oroville Branch Calif. and First Asst.. and Music Director in the Killingworth Branch, Portland, Oregon. I worked in Sunday School and was also Ward Music Director, Oakland Ward, Oakland Cal. 1931 to 1934. Also Second Assistant for about 1 year of Oakland Sunday School. I taught Sunday School and priesthood classes along with my other duties. When we first came to Salt Lake City in 1942, I was called into the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I led the Fifth ward Sunday School singing and also the Fifth Ward Choir for several years.

I greatly enjoyed singing with the Tabernacle Choir for 12 years. I also served as Temple View Stake MIA music director for 3 years. I was set apart to serve as Second Assistant to the Fifth Ward Genealogical Chairman Oct. 1957 and to teach the SS Genealogical class in Jan 1958. I still sing in the Fifth ward choir. I have a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and sincerely hope and pray that never falters. I love my wonderful wife and family very much, and hope to make them love and respect me. I love the authorities of the Church both general and local stake and ward and hope I always shall. God bless them all.

I had the great privilege of going to Europe and the British Isles with the Famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. While on this trip, I met my missionary son, Robert Edward Chapman, in Cardiff Wales and spent 3 wonderful days touring with him in and around London, England. I also met him at Berne, Switzerland at the dedication of that temple of the Lord. The Tabernacle Choir also made an Eastern Tour of the United States and sang at the inauguration of the President of the United States. While on the Eastern Tour, the choir was visiting the "White House." I was standing reading a plaque when someone came up to me and commented on how profound the wording of the plaque was. I said, "Yes, it was," and turned around to see who was talking to me and it was our President Dwight Eisenhower, Pres. of United States of America.
Our daughter Mary Kathleen (Marilyn) served as a missionary in the Texas-Louisiana Mission and our son Vernon J. served as a missionary in the New England-Vermont mission and our son Robert E. in Britain. All of which we are very proud. We are very proud of all of our children. They add great happiness to our lives. And we love them very much. (We are just sorry we didn't send them all on missions.)

Out of our 7 children, 6 have been married in the Temple of the Lord. Don Howard is not married yet. We hope he will live up to his very wonderful Patriarchal Blessing.

VERNON LORENZO CHAPMAN - MY FATHER
By Sylvia Corine Chapman Althouse

Vernon L., or Vern as referred to by my mother, was the youngest of the 11 children and was born on the Chapman farm in Blackfoot, Idaho. He was the baby of the family and was "Vernie" to his brothers and sisters and parents. I suppose he was catered to by his older sisters, who loved their younger brother very dearly. He was tall and a very handsome child with dark brown hair and large blue eyes. He had a sturdy, healthy, body and was taught to work and to do his share on the farm. The work was hard, but profitable in the area of bodybuilding. To break up the monotony of the work, races and contests were organized by the local farmers to show off their strength and endurance. Vernon was proud that he had on several occasions won the title of "Champion Beet Topper" (or thinner). I understand the object of this contest was to arrive at the end of the seemingly endless row of Sugar Beets, thinning as they went, yet not touching nor destroying the beet tops that were left to grow.

Vern grew tall and thin with a taunt and sinewy body. I suppose that he was not much over 6'1", although to me, he seemed to be the tallest man I knew. He inherited from his father, the love for music. He developed a beautiful voice with a wide range but sang mostly baritone in his adult life. Music was to become his greatest love, and I am sure our Father In Heaven is pleased with Vern's obedience to the Lord's commandment to develop his talents. He had a natural ear for music and had the ability to play several instruments. Although he did not master any instrument, to me he was good on any he picked up. I especially remember his natural talent for chording any song or melody he chose at random, or by request, on the old upright piano. He played by ear mostly. He also did very well on the violin, viola, banjo and mandolin. He attended the "BYC" at Logan, Utah for several quarters, majoring in music and bookkeeping, but did not graduate due to lack of funds and his early marriage.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ was instilled in Vernon as a young lad and although he suffered a few set backs in his lifetime, he remained a member of the Church all his lifetime, contributing much in the fields of music and teaching. To my knowledge he never turned down a church calling and taught the importance of this principle to his children. I feel that through his diligence to his church callings he was an example to his children and to many others. He had many talents and several occupations including bookkeeper, musician, salesman, and carpenter; but the one he served the longest and the last was that of carpenter-contractor with a specialty of custom