Brigham D. Madsen, Salt Lake City, Utah: an interview by Winston Erickson, January 21, 2003: Saving the Legacy tape nos. 546 & 547

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Brigham D. Mad en 21 Janua 20 think it hurt my soul at all. I learned to be a fast reader a a r ult f that. I had an interest in the West in this way. Now I've lost track of where you want m to g . WE: Oh, did you have any favorite teachers that influenced you? BDM: Yes, in my grammar school days, I flunked the third grade first, I need to tell you that, and when my mother went to see what was wrong-they intended to retain me for another year in the third grade-and my mother went to see what was wrong and the teacher said, "All he's done all year is just sit and look out the window with a kind of a vacant look on his face. I don't know whether he's learned anything or not. So we're going to retain him." My mother said, "Well," my mother had a sense of humor, I think. She said, "Well, we know that he can tie his own shoes." So the teacher finally said she didn't want to look at my vacant face another year, so she finally listened to my mother and advanced me to the fourth grade. I don't remember her name. But I remember the name of the teacher of the fourth grade, Miss Phillips, because she took an interest in me, found out maybe I had a brain. I led the class in learning the mathematical tables. She put my name of the board with a big star by it. I've been a student ever since. So I remember she was very kind and she understood me and she and I got along. In the fifth and sixth grade, I had a Miss Holbrook, who was also a good teacher. One of the projects she had was to prepare students to take part in a big competition to recognize and identify the great masterpieces of music. We spent a lot of time learning Beethoven and the rest of them. And then we went over to the Pocatello High School one Saturday morning and we were asked to, they would play the musical selection, and then we were to identify the composer and the name of the ... I've had an innate musical 3