Chapter 1 -- The Story Begins

THE LIFE SKETCH OF MILLIE BIRCH BEAN

As the afternoon sun filters through the curtains of a certain west bedroom window, it's rays fall upon a picture frame enclosed in a bookcase. Inside this frame are the beloved words to a poem entitled "Hymn to the Daughters of Zion" written by J. Rueben Clark Jr.

"How fair is the daughter of Zion
Whose body is unsullied,
How serene is her brow
That houses the pure mind,

How clear is her eye shining
With the light of the truth.
How beautiful are her cheeks
Unblushed with shame,

How sweet are her lips
Untasting of forbidden fruits,
How lovely are her arms
Shaped for the nurturing of Motherhood,

How sacred are her breasts
Like fountains for the babes
Born of her flesh,
How holy is her body

For the fashioning of her offspring
Begot under the covenant,
How angel-like is her mind
The dwelling place of righteousness,

How priceless is her soul
Daughter of God,
Glorified for the Eternities!"

Such a daughter of Zion was Millie Birch Bean. The words of a holy patriarch pronounced upon her head in 1923 states she "was an elect daughter of Zion, a noble spirit, chosen before she was born, and sent to be tried and tested and to prove herself worthy of celestial exaltation."

{Picture 1 Millie Young}
Millie Birch was born 16 April 1904 at Wilford, Fremont, Idaho Her parents were David Birch and Nancy Eldredge Garn. She was the sixth of nine children born to this marriage.

Her mother was always a kind lady and was never angry with the children. She had long black hair which she twisted and put on top of her head. She was religious, taking an active part in Relief Society and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers. She was a clean lady about her home and about herself. She taught her daughters to cook and sew.

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{PICTURE: 2 Birch Family -- First Row: left to right, David Birch, Nancy, Reed; Second Row: left to right, Fern, Ernest, Lois, Ruby, Eva, Jesse, Millie}

She read to the children in the evenings as well as to her husband. They loved to listen. She was well educated for her time and all her life loved to read.

Life on the farm was hard. All work was done with horses or hand labor. Washing the clothes was done by hand. Wood had to be cut, chopped and hauled to use in the cook stove and for heat every day in the winter months.

Her father was considered a good farmer.

When in later years Ernest took over the Wilford farm, David put more time and interest in mining and did a lot of prospecting in
the Hog Holler and Teton River areas. In his last years he lost his memory and would take tin cans out in a shed behind his St.
Anthony home and try to smelter them down into "silver" he thought. It at least proved a good safe pastime for him.

He lost $6000.00 in the banks during the depression so that was a real set back.

The family milked cows, about 15 of them. This along with other chores had to be done daily by the children before and after school every day.