Sheltered

Luena began her life on July 3, 1931 in the shelter of her family’s farmhouse. There was no maternity ward at a big, fancy hospital—just the help of the local doctor. The neighbors didn’t hear her newborn cries. The closest ones lived at least a block away. Her mother was very excited to have a little girl. Four older brothers came before her and one younger came after. Because of her “only girl” status, little Luena was not expected to use the outhouse like the boys. Her pan was emptied for her each day.

As an older child, Luena noticed the huge mountains that surrounded her beloved Cache Valley, Utah. This valley was her world and she often thought, “Surely nothing exists beyond those mountains!” She really believed that the whole world was right there in her valley. Luena wouldn’t know any different until her teens.

When Luena was a teenager she went to Ogden, Utah on a trip with her family. This was the first time she had ever seen a black person. Cache Valley was fairly isolated and had a small, Caucasian population. It was interesting for Luena to see someone who looked so different. The people in her town had many similarities including the color of their skin, the way they spoke, and how they practiced religion.

Luena was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of her neighbors as a child were the descendants of Mormon pioneers who had come to Utah to escape religious persecution in the 19^th century. This conservative religion heavily influenced how Luena was raised. For example, she was always protected from sexual topics. Her father would never let her be exposed to mating animals around the farm or animals giving birth. She didn’t know anything about sex until she trained as a nurse later in her life.

To this day, Luena will not deny that she was sheltered. She acknowledges that it was “just the way it was.”