Our Goal Is In Sight!

    The school year 1968-69 brought the goal within our reach. Dale started his student teaching. Student teaching is a non-paid full time job, considered part of the trainee's finals, so the student pays to have the experience. The regular teacher is their mentor. Since Dale would be working less hours at Standard Station and I would need to take the financial responsibility, Dale Ray and I returned to LaPoint. I was assigned to teach 3rd/4th grade at Naples Elementary in a team teaching situation. I was to work closely with Shirley Paulsen and Orvin Nelsen. Shirley was the third grade teacher. Orvin was fourth grade. I was in the middle of the pod between their areas and had a combination third and fourth. Again, I loved my assignment of teaching art, language arts and reading for both grades. The new school had been designed with pod-like classrooms where there were no walls between classrooms. This aided the teachers to work closely together. Dale's mother also taught at Naples as a Resource Teacher. She had a small room of her own and worked with students with special needs.
     Orvin was a great man! He always had a smile, was calm, never spoke a negative word, and handled every problem with a soft kind voice. One of the 4th grade boys, Chris G., was a daydreamer. Day after day Orvin would keep Chris after school because he would fail to hand in his math assignments. After school Shirley and I could hear Orvin trying every tactic he could think of to get Chris finished and on his way home. One-on-one instruction would take place and then Chris was asked to get busy and get the assignment finished. Orvin would work on preparing lessons and checking papers, occasionally reminding Chris to get busy. Most often it would only be a few problems he could have finished in a short amount of time. Most days as Orvin, Shirley and I were working on lessons, having team meetings, checking papers, etc. We could count on Chris asking to go to the restroom which was understandable because of the length of time since his last break. But he'd use the opportunity to just waste away more time. Finally one day, after he'd been in there quite some time. Orvin was feeling pretty hopeless with Chris's inability to work unless Orivin was right by him. He had an idea. The custodian was close by cleaning the pods. Orvin asked the custodian to quietly lock the restroom door. Orvin, Shirley, the custodian, and myself waited in anticipation of the boy's discovery that he was locked inside. Finally, the door was tried, then it jiggled and we held our breath. Then some banging! Silence! Then he begin to yell at the top of his voice for help. Silence! Then again quite frantic accompanied with muffled sobs. We waited a good few minutes more. Finally, Mr. Nelsen allowed the custodian to unlocked the door. He calmly informed Chris, who was noticeably quite pale, that he was lucky because most everyone had gone home, and we were also finished for the day and was headed out ourselves, but just happened to hear some noise. Which was true as it was well passed going home time! Mr. Nelsen said, "You were close to having to spend the entire night in the restroom." It stopped the unnecessary excuse to visit the restroom for the purpose to just take up time rather than finish a few math problems. The sad side of a story like this is that there are many children that would rather be at school than go home. Not all homes are safe havens (physically or emotionally) and the presence of a Orvin Nelson personality that brought peace, caring, joy, and calm is a feast for a love deprived child. This is only one experience I can relate from thirty-five years in the classroom. I don't know of a more calm quiet and peaceful place than a school classroom after the last bell of the day, unless it is the temple. I'm sure Chris had discovered it as well.
     Dale got his assignment to do his first block of student teaching at Beryl Junction, Iron County, Utah about 37 miles west of Cedar City, at Escalante 
Valley Elementary.

    Beryl Junction was established as a Union Pacific Railroad siding. The train tracks ran to the side of the small community. Named because two roads met at a junction. Beryl is unincorporated and has a population of 197 as of 2010. So it has not grown
much over the years.
     Dale began to experience the interesting journey of working with children. He remembers a fourth grade boy coming to school with a day-old jackrabbit in his backpack. The boy begin rolling it back and forth between his hands on top of his desk. The poor rabbit didn't appear it would live too long in the boy's care, besides toys were not allowed.  Dale asked him where he had found it. He said he had shot its mother and cut her open to find two baby rabbits inside. One was dead. He'd kept the live one. Dale asked him if he could have it. The boy said sure. Dale took it home and fed and took care of it, feeding it carefully from the fold in his partially bent palm. Each day after he would get home and the rabbit could hear the key in the door he could hear it excitedly start to jump high enough to hit the top of the box. He'd let the rabbit out of the box it would follow him everywhere. He'd shuffle his feet to keep from stepping on the little fellow. After it was older he took it with him to Beryl Junction and turned it loose in the desert. It was a little hard to do as he'd gotten so attached. Thinking back, Dale wishes he had kept the rabbit. 

Parowan Elementary built in 1961

     A teacher in Parowan, Iron County, Utah was having major health problems and needed surgery. Instead of Dale doing his second block of mentored student teaching, they asked him if he'd go to Parowan and teach the rest of the year. The teacher planned to return to her classroom in the Fall. He was paid and and got credit for his second block.
     When he took over the classroom the regular teacher was finishing up a science unit on volcanoes. The teacher and students had constructed a miniature volcano and then planned to take it to the gym for its eruption. Dale knew all science projects did not go as planned, so he decided to take the project to the grassy area by the playground. It happened as he feared. It caught on fire! If it had been in the gym the end of this story may not have had a good ending. That science lesson wasn't soon forgotten! 

      The Parowan Newspaper printed a article about Dale teaching at the elementary. It was titled, "CEDAR CITY RESIDENT IS PRACTICE TEACHING HERE". It goes on to say: "Mr. Van Leuven, presently doing his teacher training in the Parowan Elementary, is from Vernal. He is married to the former Shirleen Perry of of LaPoint, Utah and they have one son, Dale Ray, three years old. Mrs. Van Leuven is presently teaching school in the Vernal area.
      On May 28, Mr. Van Leuven will graduate with a B.S. degree in elementary education from College of Southern Utah. He plans to continue his education this summer at Brigham Young University.
     He has served for four and one-half years in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Texas, Florida and France."
     About that time, Las Vegas was having a 'biggest buck contest'. There was quite a lot of money offered for anyone or any group that could get the biggest buck. A friend from Vernal, Larry Cooper, and two other guys also attending C.S.U. decided to pool their entrance fee and enter the contest. They reasoned that Cedar Breaks would be a good place to go, as there was a fence near the monument to keep people from getting to close to the monument area, it was a long walk to get into the area, and likely the deer would have been pushed there by hunters. Larry saw it first! A small airplane wreckage was hidden in the trees near the fenced off area.  As they looked around they discovered two couples (4 people). The women had wedding rings. There was a hand gun and few other personal items. They looked around but left everything untouched. It was clear that the area had not been undisturbed since the plane had disappeared. The small craft appeared to have nose dived among the trees causing very little damage to the trees. This probably had kept them from being found. They reported it to the Cedar City law officers. Larry rode back with them to the area. It was assumed by officials that it had been three years since the plane had disappeared. They had likely flown out of their flight plan to observe Cedar Breaks when their plane came down killing all four occupants.

Vera Van Leuven and Dale

     Dale's mother rode to Cedar City with me for graduation. I was given a little surprise also. The College gave some special diplomas to the spouses that had helped put their graduate through school. I was awarded a small leather bound diploma for "Putting Hubby Through". Dale got his B. A. and I got my P.H.T.

Shirleen, Dale, and Dale Ray

     We took the Jeep to Vernal and returned to pack to leave Cedar City.  We loaded our truck and car to the max. We didn't even have room for a hundred pound bag of sugar that we had been given for Christmas. We tried but it wouldn't fit anywhere. We returned it unopened to the empty house.  I remember taking one last long look of our rented home before we drove away.

Dale and Dale Ray

We were headed to a new apartment in Provo for summer school! Just three more quarters and Dale would have his Masters, but before the summer was over we discovered we had another child on the way. Dale finished summer school and came home one day and said, "It is time to go home! I've had enough!" I felt the Holy Ghost's confirmation.
     We arrived in the Basin just about three weeks before school started. My father had just finished building Keith and Carma Hartle a new home. We purchased their old home and moved in, and begin to remodel. 
     Now to secure a job! It would probably have to be Standard Station again, until the next school year. Dale decided to stop by Uintah School District office, just to see if there was a slim chance at the late date. He was surprised that they had two openings left and had not found anyone to hire. The openings were Home Bound and Second Grade. His choice was Home Bound. He was given a car to travel from home to home teaching those that were unable to attend school due to an illness. The Superintendent asked him if he thought I'd consider teaching second grade at Naples Elementary. Dale's reply was that we were expecting a new baby in February. The Superintendent told him that would not be a problem! When the time came they'd get a sub for the rest of the year. How could we not have a testimony of tithing! Jobs were always in our path. God is good! He knows us and knows our needs. Dale Ray was old enough for Head Start. Mother was the Head Start bus driver.  
     The following year (1970-71), Dale got a teaching position in sixth grade at his old elementary, Central Elementary. He taught at Central in sixth grade three years under Principal Gerald Mitchell. Gerald got the opportunity to go to Todd Elementary as principal. He lived in the area. He talked Dale into going with him. It was closer for Dale also. Dale stayed at Todd for the rest of his teaching career until he retired in 1999.
     With Dad's skills, leadership and help, Dale learned to remodel a house. Mother and I peeled old wallpaper and took up a hammer where we could. It was small like our Cedar City home, except it had a small bedroom large enough for a bunk bed and a wonderful well insulated storage for our canning of fruits and vegetables. An area off from the kitchen was big enough for a new washer and dryer. New kitchen cabinets with a dishwasher and all matching appliances dressed up our kitchen. We extended the front roofed porch to lengthen the living room and added a fireplace and coat closet. New carpet and aluminum siding on the outside finished the remodeling. It was on an acre lot with irrigation water rights, and a water well allowed us to plant a garden, have a small pasture, and Dale built a chicken coop. We loved our home! It served us comfortably for a few years. 
     Dale was welcomed into the LaPoint Ward by receiving a calling as ward clerk. It was a difficult calling because he didn't know anyone in the ward. He would have to ask me who was who and who they belonged to. The Lord always directs callings that stretch us and to help us learn to rely on Him. Dale served in the bishopric from then on in one position or another as executive secretary,  First and Second Counselor with several bishops. He served as a Seventies assigned to a ward before Seventies were put under the direction of the First Presidency, as they are today. Dale was then called to the High Council. When Dale's father passed away, he held the office of High Priest. Dale always had the desire to advance in the Priesthood like his father had. He then served in the Vernal Temple for seven years. We are now nearing a seven year L.D.S mission as managers of the Home Storage Center in Roosevelt, Utah. A mission that has been extended twice. We have enjoyed the calling together. We are grateful to be able to serve, as the Lord as served us. 
     I was also called to serve as the Literature instructor in Relief Society. Other callings I've served in have been as a youth Sunday School teacher, first counselor in the Young Women presidency, Relief Society instructor several times, Gospel Doctrine teacher, teacher development, ward librarian for 13 years, seven years in the Vernal Utah Temple, and now Home Storage mission with Dale. 

 Remodeling of our home in LaPoint.
Raymond and Trent on the porch in front of the entry.
 Entry to the left of Raymond.
Raymond was home and giving us some help.
Trent was born February 18, 1970.