Primary

Mom has been bugging me all week to get this story down so here goes even though I feel like I am the only one using this web sight.

I remember living in Mesa and going to primary during the week with my good friend Andy Shumway. We used to sit by each other and I remember talking when we should have been singing. Mom was the primary choroister or in the primary presidency and filled in leading the singing I'm not sure which. Needless to say when I got home I was instructed how I should act in primary. I didn't learn the lesson I guess because when we lived in St George I was in the same situation with Kenneth Blazard but this time Mom stopped what she was doing and brought it to the attention of the whole primary that Kenneth and I were not singing. I was so embarrassed I made up my mind that would never happen to me again and it didn't.

Mom was always involved in primary when she had young kids. She served as the Primary President in the second ward in St. George But she was always involved in music too. She volunteered to teach my class when I was a Blazer. I guess my class was a handful and they were having a hard time finding a teacher. Mom always said she would rather teach boys than girls in primary something about them being noisy but easier for her to handle. While mom was the primary president in St. George we got a new bishop and I remember having a ward party to thank the outgoing bishopric. Mom wrote a song for the occasion it was sung to the tune of
( Lul a bye baby) I can only remember the second verse. How about it Beth and Ray?

Now our contribution to 2nd ward fame,
two boys and a girl can you do the same.
We wish you good luck and need it you must,
So build a new chapel and make the seems bust.

chours
Zion, zion, zion is growing.
Zion, zion, zion is growing.

We did build a new chapel but it was funny because the old bishopric was young and the new bishopric had already raised their families.

Mom always had us singing for something and it always seemed like we had to learn a new song for the occasion. I remember her writing down the words to a song from a record we had so we could learn them for a Jones family party. Beth and I tried to remember the words to Will a pus Wal a pus but we weren't very successful.

Now Will a pus Wal a pus was the name of the boy I'll tell about.
He gets in lots of trouble of that there is no dought.
His mother often told him now Will a pus don't you see,
if you mind what mother and daddy say from trouble you'll be free.

Of course you and I know she was right! All mothers and daddy's
know more about things than we do.

Will a pus had been told many times not to play in the car.

He climbed in the seat turned the big steering wheel,
played he was driving an automobile.
Pushed buttons and switches to see how they feel,
alason he loosened the brake.
Now the car started rolling right down the steep grade.
Will a pus knew some mistake he had made.
He cried and he yelled cause he was so afraid ( I'd be afraid too wouldn't you!)
It kept rolling down the hill faster and faster,
The brakes and the steering wheel he could not master,
bound to wind up in some sort of disaster,
and he did yes sir graces me right away.

It went something like:

The car went over the curb bump bang and right through a white picket fence.
Crash, and slammed into Mr. McGregor's chicken coop. Chickens were flying all over the place.
And Mr. McGregor came out of his house and he was as mad as a wet Hen!

The Wallapus heard the excitement and came running when they recognized the car.
They opened the door and there was Will a pus curled up on the seat he wasn't hurt
but boy was he scared.

His mother often told him now Will a pus don't you see if you mind what mother and daddy's
say from trouble you'll be free.

Anyway maybe you can get the just of it. I remember mom dressing Ray up and putting cocoa powder on his face so he could sing my grandpa Jones's favorite song at a family reunion.

O see that water mellon a smiling on the vine.
O that water mellon how I wish was mine.
the white folks they am foolish they need a lick of sense
or they'ed never leave it there up on the vine.

O the ham bone am sweet the bacon am good and the oposom fat am very very fine.
But give to me yes give me o how I wish you would that water mellon smiling on the vine.

Thanks Mom for all the time you spent with us teaching us about life both from example and through fun songs.