Born in the Mountains (Jessie)

The night before my birth, my mother had to prepare supper for a family with several children enroute from Salmon to Leadore by wagon. Our ranch was about halfway between Salmon and Leadore and so many travelers, especially those in wagons, or horseback, which was most of them, would stop at our place to rest and (have) a drink of cool spring water. If it was mealtime, they would be asked to eat with us as that was a Western and rural custom. So many of the travelers were acquaintances, neighbors, and friends. Dad was born and raised in the Lemhi Valley, so he knew many, and was a friend to all. The Dr had to drive in a horse and buggy out from Salmon to the ranch about seventeen miles, to attend my birth.

Aunt Lora Cockrell and Grandmother Moore helped my mother until she was able to be up and around.

I was named for the woman who owned the ranch my father ran, Jessie Matlock, and the middle name, for my Grandma Bradley.

When I was a baby, we didn’t have babysitters. Our parents just took us along!