The Story: Chapter 2 - The Church (1899-1917)
Almeda, Gene’s mother, came from a family of staunch
Baptists. Although there was a lady
living in their community that belonged to the Reorganized Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), she was not very popular and was avoided by
many of the “good” Baptist church members.
In 1899, when Gene was around five years old, his older
sister, Margie, sixteen years old at the time, went to work in Boston for a
family that were members of the RLDS Church.
This was the family of Brother A. B. Phillips, who later became the
Church Historian. After being there
for a few months, she wrote home explaining that she was becoming interested in
the church and that she would probably be baptized. Almeda was “very indignant about this and wrote back
and told her under no circumstances [was she] to join the Mormon Church, and for
her to come home immediately.”
When Margie arrived back home, in a one-horse buggy,
Almeda ran out and embraced her, saying “You’re welcome, but not that
religion, and please do not talk about it.”
Franklin, however, being a little more open minded said “We’re going
to listen to what Margie has to say, and we’re going to pass judgment
ourselves, and not just take the word of the neighbors around here regarding
this church.”
In the coming weeks, each evening consisted of
discussions about the church. Margie
had brought home a Book of Mormon, which they would read out loud to the
whole family. Margie had also brought a church hymnbook home, so they began
learning some of the hymns. Soon
they had a little church service almost every evening around the kitchen table.
“I’ll always remember the lessons that we learned from the Book of
Mormon” Gene once said.
After awhile, Almeda became more and more interested in
the church. Three or four months
later, Almeda, Franklin, and two of Gene’s older sisters were baptized.
Since there was no local church branch, they did not attend any formal
meetings for the next several years. Gene
was baptized three years later, in 1902, at the age of eight.
He was baptized by Apostle Francis M. Sheehy and confirmed by Brother
Sheehy, Brother Richard Bullard and Brother A. N. Ames.
During the next several years, the Clossons moved many
times, finally ending up in Bangor, Maine, in 1907. Gene’s father, Franklin, passed away in 1904.
This left Almeda with nine children, since only one of the children had
married at this point. Almeda worked very hard to support her family, with the help
of Gene’s older brother and sisters.
In 1909, when Gene was fifteen, the family had begun to
long for church association, and planned to move to Kirtland, Ohio, or a place
like it where they could live near the church and associate with the church
people. They prayed on the
matter, but being so poor, they did not have the money to investigate their
ideas.
Then they had a chance encounter with Brother Bullard,
who had baptized Gene. When they
discussed their plans to move to Kirtland, Brother Bullard said to the Closson
family, “I think I have the answer to your questions, Sister Closson.
You are not to go to Kirtland, but you are to go to Independence, and the
way will be provided for the whole family to go.
And then in Independence your children can find work, and you can find
work, and there will be many Saints opening their doors to you”.
The Clossons packed up and
moved to Independence, Missouri.
After moving to Independence, they were helped by many
Saints there. They began going to
church many times a week. Gene
became very active with the Church. He
served as secretary for the Religio program, branch librarian and Sunday School
secretary for several years.
Gene’s sisters got work at the Independence Overall
Factory and made enough money to help the family along.
Gene, who was fifteen, and had not attended high school, and due their
economic condition, was not able to go to school in Independence.
Instead, he got a job as an apprentice in the machine shop at the Kansas
City Nut & Bolt, later named the Kansas City Steel Mill.
He worked there for ten years. The first four years he worked for a very
low salary of between nine and fourteen cents an hour. After his four-year apprenticeship was completed, he made
regular machinist wages of ninety-seven cents an hour.
This helped the family financially and they began to look forward to an
easier life economically.
Copyright © 2003 - Revised:
04 September 2006
