A Basket of Chips: An Autobiography

Basket of Chips, page 133

Ruminations of Life and Art did. It was-but a short time until he was stricken with a form of rheumatism or paralysis - for weeks his lower extremities were useless. The grief and reproach to myself I felt when I saw him drag himself around and pull himself into his little chair. But with our own selection of food for him he soon regained his usual health but was slightly crippled in one foot. The girls could take milk freely, but we withheld it from the boys. They had plenty of cream and butter and other foods that provided all the vitamins, etc., nature calls for. If milk was used as a food it was all right. But in most cases it is poured down the throat as a beverage. That was my own experience until I was twenty-five years old. I took double the food supply that I needed and it was the surplus milk. I found that my most serious ail- ments ceased when I took coffee in place of milk. The troubles were skin eruptions, and what was then called billiousness. My children have had excellent complexions as long as they were under our supervision, and never had any of those spells of sick headaches. A BIT ABOUT FRIENDS Normally, if one takes an inventory of friends one will find that when the real need comes the tered. I wish to speak of one who list will be somewhat shat- was not in our tabulation, and yet she heads the list of all that we ever had. She lived a few doors west of us. There was a terrible morning that found us without our baby boy." Of course the news soon spread through the neighborhood, and it was not long before our friend was at the door offering her services. There was so much to do, and Mrs. J. H. Witbeck's" kindness was a god-send to my 5 This refers to the death of Lawrence James Harwood in February of 1902. G John H. Witbeck and his wife, Emily E. Witbeck, resided at 576 East 1 lth South Street. Witbeck's occupation is listed as "mining," but changed to "dairy," "grocer," etc., in later city directories. Snlt Lnke City' Dhectory (Salt Lake City: R. L. Polk & Company, 1903 and later years). 133