Issue 18.14
Part 1
Eloise Matkin was the middle child in a family of thirteen children and was born January 12, 1925 to the George and Julia Matkin family in Swan Lake, Idaho.
Eloise was like a second mother to her younger sister, Lazelle, and they were together much of the time. Eloise learned the value of work at an early age. The neighbors valued her services as a baby sitter. By the time of her high school graduation in 1943she had saved up more than $100 from her baby sitting.
During the year 1943 America was at war. The military urgently needed all of the professional Registered Nurses they could get. The Army Nurse Corp had a program that paid for the education of student nurses all across America. After Eloise paid the enrollment fee of $100, she went into nurse straining at the William Budge Hospital in Logan, Utah and was issued a snappy uniform and given a monthly stipend for her personal needs. While in intensive training, the local doctors often desired her baby sitting services for their own children and Eloise would accommodate them. Each summer, Eloise had a two week vacation which was spent taking care of a sickly sister~ at their harvest time.
After her graduation from her nursing training, she then had to pass the Utah state board exam so she would then become a Registered Nurse. After graduation Eloise went to work for two months for the Cooley Hospital at Brigham City, Utah. Then on August 22 1946 Eloise and Sam were married at her home in Swan Lake, Idaho. Sam had borrowed a Model A Ford and after a honeymoon they settled at Butte, Montana. Eloise started her nursing in Butte with patients that needed special care. Some cases she got paid for and some she never did collect for. While a member of the Butte LDS Branch, Eloise was often called u on by the branch resident to give nursing assistance to members many times. Sometimes it was to give someone intravenous shots or perhaps other duties.
Eloise’s second pregnancy was twins which was a complete surprise. They were born prematurely and each of the twins weighed three and one half pounds. Because Eloise was an RN the doctors allowed the twins home at four pounds weight. While living at Butte, Eloise’s mother called her many times to say she was needed for a nursing stay with one of the family members. When we had small children we would farm them out to our friends. The Andersons and the Sessions and away Eloise would go to take another turn at being an Angel of Mercy. While living in Butte her mother called and said she had to pick up a one year old nephew Randy Matkin and nurse him back to health or he would die. We drove down to Pocatello from Butte and picked up the baby. Yes he would have died because both his father and mother had neglected him. Eloise cleaned him up and lovingly taught him how to eat. She took baby Rand to our pediatrician Dr. Clapp and together they accomplished their goal. Randy was with our family for about one year and was one of us. We would have ke t him but his mother straightened up and we had to give Randy back.
A couple of years later our next door neighbors Buck and Gladys Ford brought us a new born girl to care for. Eloise took little Kathy right in and made her a part of our family. Her parents had marital problems and didn’t want the baby. Eloise took care of her for about a year and we had to move from Butte to Idaho Falls. Idaho.
Part 2 will appear next week.
Sam Wyrouck can be contacted at 801-707-2666.