It's the Principle of the Thing: ThePersonalHistoryofFrederickRaymondHomer

By FrederickRaymond Homer

Known to his friends and family as Fred, Frederick Raymond Homer could have a stern exterior, but all who knew him loved him for his big heart and generous spirit. This is the story of his life as he wrote it. He was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho in May of 1926. He spent his childhood and adolescence on the East Coast before enlisting in the US Navy and serving in the Pacific during WWII as a hospital corpsman. He earned a degree in pharmacy and worked for the rest of his life as a pharmaceutical representative, an independent pharmacist, and as a consultant to nursing homes. The capstone of his career was owning and running Bonneville Drug, where he served his community for twenty years through his professionalism, honesty, wisdom, and generosity. He served two missions for the LDS Church to Los Angeles, California and Nauvoo, Illinois. In a voice that is both eloquent and personal, this book recounts the ordinary and extraordinary episodes of a life shaped by the principles that Fred Homer loved.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Apr 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781483477626

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IT’S THE PRINCIPLE

OF THE THING

The Personal History of

FREDERICK RAYMOND HOMER

FREDERICK RAYMOND HOMER

Copyright © 2018 Frederick Raymond Homer.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-7761-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-7760-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-7762-6 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 3/30/2018

FOREWORD

I t has been a privilege bringing this personal history of Grandpa Fred to the printed page. I have not treated it the same way I would usually treat an editing job. Except for correcting small mistakes and formatting problems, I have tried to leave all of Grandpa’s words unchanged. I have tried to preserve Grandpa’s voice, because that is the gift he has given us: his voice on a page. To those who remember him well, his voice, inflection, manner of speaking, and diction will feel familiar and intimate in these pages. For those who came after him, this personal history tells his story and preserves an important part of our family history.

Having grown up reading recipes handwritten by my mother and grandmother in which salt was rendered NaCl, I chose to honor Grandpa Fred’s language and background by leaving in place abbreviations and scientific and mathematical notations that I otherwise would have edited out of a narrative piece of writing like this one. Thus, the University of Utah is often (but not always) the U of U or just the U; small numbers are left as numerals rather than written out; and is often &; doctors are often called MDs; and words like per, at, foot, and half have been left as /, @, ' , and ½. These things might seem insignificant, but they are preservations of Grandpa’s minor idiosyncrasies as a writer and evidence of his life as a businessman and scientist. Their presence means that his story is coming to us as he authored it.

And that is exactly what this book is: Grandpa’s personal story. I did not check Grandpa’s facts. He got a few things wrong (like the exact names of associations, people, or places), but—after conferring with the family—I decided to let him tell his own story. No one should read this book as history. This is personal history told through the eyes of a man who lived through the Great Depression, labored on a farm raising foxes, survived the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa on a battleship in World War II, earned a degree in pharmacy with the first class to enter and graduate from the University of Utah’s College of Pharmacy, married a woman who was ahead of her time and his equal in all ways, raised four children, served his community as an independent businessman, pharmacist, civic leader, and church member, and taught all of us that it’s the principle of the thing that matters most. The principles he cherished—hard work, honesty, integrity, faith, patriotism, commitment to duty, and fulfillment of personal, family, civic, and eternal responsibility—fill these pages as they filled his life. To all who read this, enjoy hearing his voice again.

—Sunny Stimmler, 2017

(Daughter of Cynthia Homer Grames,

eldest daughter of Frederick R. Homer)

CHRONOLOGY

• Born May 31 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, 1926

• Moved to Norristown, PA where his father worked for Milligan and Morrison Fox & Fur Farms as district manager, 1928

• Moved to Philadelphia, 1929–33

• Moved to Brooklyn, NY where his father worked for Birds Eye Coal Company, 1934

• Moved to Flushing, NY, 1935

• Moved farther out on Long Island to 163rd Street, 1936

• Moved to Sellersville, PA to live and work on fox farm; attended and graduated (at the age of 16) from Sellersville-Perkasie High School, 1938

• Attended one year of college at Brigham Young University, 1942

• Joined the US Navy and was assigned to USS New York as a hospital corpsman; fought from the battleship in the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa; took leave to return to Sellersville while father underwent surgery; assigned to navy shipyard dispensary at Pearl Harbor, 1944–5

• Attended the University of Utah, 1946

• Married LeNila Young, 1948

• Graduated from the University of Utah College of Pharmacy with LeNila, 1950

• Accepted job as medical representative for Parke Davis in Denver, CO; later promoted to hospital representative, 1950

• First child, Cynthia Lynn, born, 1954

• Moved to Logan, UT; worked at Low Cost Drugstore

• Second child, Julia Ann, born, 1955

• Moved to Ogden, UT; worked as manager at Driver Drug

• Third child, John Raymond, born, 1958

• Moved to Salt Lake City; accepted job as pharmaceutical representative for Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp for 6 years

• Moved to 1348 Laird Ave

• Fourth child, David Paul, born, 1961

• Purchased Beckstead Pharmacy, which became

Bonneville Drug, 1964

• Elected to Utah Pharmacy Association Board

of Directors, around 1967

• Elected president of the Utah Pharmacy Association

• Called by governor of Utah to serve on the State Board

of Pharmacy, 1977–1982

• Received the Bowl of Hygeia Award, 1979

• Served as president of the Utah State Board of Pharmacy, 1981–1982

• Served for three years on the board of jurisprudence for the American Pharmacists Association

• Purchased and managed drugstore at Medical Towers

• Suffered heart attack and recovered; sold Bonneville Drug, 1984

• Worked with Medi-Save as a pharmaceutical consultant

in nursing homes

• Served mission to Los Angeles, CA, 1992

• Served mission to Nauvoo, Illinois, 2003

• Passed away in his sleep at the age of 79, 2005

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The Homers in Norristown, Pennsylvania

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ONE

Our Heritage: The Homers

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A t the risk of rattling a few skeletons and perhaps finding a few worthy ancestors, I feel that it might be well to trace my heritage for those of you who may or may not be interested. Consequently this preface will be primarily the genealogy of the Homer family as far as it can be traced with references as to authenticity, etc.

As is the case with all surnames, there are several theories concerning the origin of the name Homer. It came to America from England, but we are certain that it originated in a different form on the continent of Europe. One theory is that it was the Norse for helmet maker, indicating one who worked or had something to do with the fabricating of helmets. Under this theory, it is supposed that someone bearing the name came to northern France in one of the forays of the Vikings and settled there at least as early as 800 AD. Several authorities indicate that the name in its ancient form seems to have meant a low island or a low place near the water by a mountain.

The first that is definitely known of the use of the name or names from which it originated is in France or Germany. In old German, the name or its forerunner was Helm or helmet; in old French it was Healme. Another form of the name De Holmer was in use in Normandy before the Norman conquest. An Anglo-French form of the same name was Heaumere; an English variation of the name is Holmer.

In the year 1066 when William of Normandy sailed to invade and conquer England, one De Holmer went with him and fought at the battle of Hastings. He thus was in favor with William when he established himself as king of England and De Holmer was retained at court. After that time people of that name, with slight variations in spelling, appeared in different shires in the country. They are found in the records of the shires of Worchester, Somerset, Suffolk, Manchester, and Stafford. It is also noticeable that this family had about the same given names wherever they are found. Common names among the men were Richard, William, George, Anthony and Robert. Among the old court records of the county of Suffolk for the year 1276, the following is recorded: Robert Holmere and his wife Lettuce brought court action to evict a tenant from their property because of non-payment of rent.

In the year 1338, the reigning monarch, Henry III named one Thomas De Homere a baron and gave him a grant of land in Stafford shire near the town of Rolled Regis, Parish of Sedgley. This endowment was for long and continued service at court of said Thomas De Homere and his forbears. He built a manor house there called Ettings Hall, and established himself and his family among the landed gentry. He was a member of the church at Sedgley where he built a family pew surmounted by a crest and coat of arms, which stood in tact for 600 years. Being the owner of a fine estate, he led the life of a country gentleman, bred fine horses and hounds, and followed the chase. He was called Thomas De Homere, Esquire. The prefix De was a hold over from the French origin but meant nothing in English. It was later dropped and the name for many generations past has been spelled Homer. The family of Thomas De Homere and his descendants lived at Ettings Hall for many generations as it was passed on from father to son. The records concerning this family are not entirely complete, but through records of births, christenings, marriages, and deaths it is clear that the family continued there for many generations.

Captain John Homer was the first to come to America (in 1692), and the manor house and the old church were still standing. It is known that they stood for 200 years after that but have since fallen into decay. It is in this lineage that we are able to trace our most remote direct ancestor. This was Richard Homer, who was no doubt a direct descendant of Thomas DeHomere above referred to, but we are unable to definitely trace the lineage beyond him.

Richard Homer, our direct ancestor, was born at Ettings Hall in March 1154 and he married Margaret Wright of Sedgley, in the church at Sedgley in March of 1565. They lived at Ettings Hall and reared a family of six sons and three daughters. Upon the death of Richard Homer, his fourth child, Richard Homer Jr., inherited the estate from his father. He married and had a family of five sons. His third son, Edward, was born at the manor about the year 1600 and inherited the estate from Richard Jr.

Edward in turn married Elizabeth Wilkes of Sedgley. They also lived at Ettings Hall and had a family of seven sons. No mention is made of any daughters in either of these families. The eldest son of Edward and Elizabeth Wilkes, Edward Homer Jr., succeeded to the estate. He married Anne Gibbons. They had a family of five sons and three daughters. He later also married a Mrs. Jane Homer, who gave birth to three sons.

John, the fourth child of Edward Jr. and Anne Gibbons, was born March 20, 1665, at Ettings Hall. He is of special interest to us, because he was the first Homer to come to America. He went to sea at a very early age, and then at the age of 27 he became master of his own ship. Early in the year 1692, he sailed from Bristol, England, bound for Boston with his own ship and his own cargo. He was known as Captain Homer. After he disposed of his cargo, he shopped around for a cargo to take back to Bristol, England. However the New World got into his blood, and he decided to make his home in Boston thereafter.

He had brought with him from England the crest and coat of arms that had been used by the family ever since the time of Thomas De Homere, the first baron of Ettings Hall. On July 13, 1693, he was married to Marjorie Stevens of Boston. They built a mansion on Beacon Heights and called it the Homer House. It was still standing and still called by that name in the year 1890, though it had passed out of the Homer Family.

John & Marjorie Homer were the parents of a large family among whom were Robert, who took part in making pottery while another son, Captain Michael Homer, commanded the first ship that carried goods from Boston to Honduras in Central America. The second son, Benjamin Homer, became a merchant tailor in Boston, specializing in seafaring clothing for sailors. Benjamin Homer was the father of Winslow Homer, the artist, and Anne Homer Warner, the writer. Another son, Captain Thomas Homer, was born in Boston, March 31, 1736 and was the next in line of our direct ancestry.

At this point it might be well to note something concerning the family characteristics as revealed by meager records. As has been the rule in the past, very little is known about the women. The men in general have borne a strong resemblance to each other in character and appearance. They have been tall, well built men with fair hair, blue eyes, and a rather prominent nose. A strong trait of character has been a love of the sea and adventure. They have been noted for their hospitality, charity, and have taken an honest pride in fair dealing and looking out for those less fortunate than themselves. They have taken pride in maintaining respectable families in the areas in which they have lived and have been active as leaders in social and civic affairs.

The above information has been excerpted from the Homer Family History by Rachel Marietta Crockett as published in 1942. In addition I have found some 23 pages of Homer or DeHomere information taken from the Library of Congress Archives.¹ I am including them as a reference in this preface as additional information together with the source material.

Capt. John Homer was also one of the original Sons of Liberty, an association of 15 gentlemen formed in 1768. During the year 1768, the Massachusetts Assembly voted to raise a committee of correspondence with her sister colonies, upon their mutual grievances, which alarmed the British Ministry who gave instructions to Governor Bernard to express to the House their disapprobation of the Act and to demand its repeal. It led to a worm debate, which resulted in a vote Not to Rescind. The Sons of Liberty, in order to commemorate this event, had a massive silver punch bowl made, on which was engraved, together with several emblematical devices, the following inscription:

To the memory of the glorious 92 members of the House of Representatives of the Massachusetts Bay, who, undaunted by the insolent menaces of the villains in power—from strict regard to conscience & the liberties of their constituents—on the 30th of June 1768 voted ‘Not to Rescind.’

On the reverse side are Wilkes and Liberty and along the edge are the names of the Sons of Liberty:

All of the above were from Boston. Benjamin Cobb was a brother-in-law to John Homer as he had married John’s sister Bethia.

Our Heritage: The Haycocks

I write here a little bit about my grandfather on my mother’s side. I know very little about him but do know that he was a stalwart in the Church. He filled a mission as a young man in the southern states sometime in the last quarter of the 1800s. It is my understanding that the people in the South, who were very intolerant, persecuted the saints for a long time, and the missionaries’ lives were on the line many times. Grandpa Frederick Haycock was tarred and feathered three times while on his mission. He survived all three experiences and returned home to marry Ida Weaver. They homesteaded up in Canada for a time at the request of the prophet and finally moved to Victoria, Canada because of Grandma’s health. When I knew them they were residing in Van Nuys, near Los Angeles, California. They were stalwart members of the Church who had endured many hardships and who had remained active in the Church wherever they had resided. When I knew him he was an older man, gentle of disposition, portly in bearing with a full head of white wavy hair. His countenance was cheerful, and he had a sense of humor that was loved by all. Grandma Ida was quite thin and wiry in her physical makeup. She was always pleasant of countenance and happy in her demeanor at all times. They were happy together and complemented one another very well.

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Alfred Raymond Homer

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TWO

My Father: Alfred Raymond Homer

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I  am including the following description—found in History of Idaho, Biological Review —of the activities of my father to give you a thumbnail sketch of his early accomplishments in life.

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A.R. Homer, Cashier of the Idaho Falls National Bank, was born in Clarkston, Cache County, Utah, March 18th, 1883, a son of Russell King and Eleanor (Atkinson) Homer, the former a native of Salt Lake City, and the latter of Wellsville, Cache County, Utah. The father was a farmer, who in 1889 came to Idaho where he has since resided. He was operating a farm pleasantly and conveniently situated a mile and a half from Idaho Falls. In their family there were nine children namely: Russell King, who follows farming in Idaho; Alfred Raymond of this review; George A. and Brigham E., who are also farmers; Norah, the wife of John G. Grover, living in Archer, Idaho; W.H., a banker of Ririe, Idaho; Edmund E., living in Idaho Falls where he is a clerk in the Browning Garage; John M., a farmer; and Lyda at home.

A.R. Homer was reared and educated at Rigby, Idaho. He supplemented his public school training by study at Ricks Academy at Rexburg, Idaho and also in Brigham Young College at Logan, Utah. He then entered the First National Bank of Logan, where he was employed for two years, after which he secured a position in the National Bank of the Republic in Salt Lake City, where he remained for 5 years. He was then sent to Switzerland on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, laboring in the Swiss-German mission for 3 years. After his return he entered the National City Bank of Salt Lake City, where he was employed for three years, and afterward became cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank at Logan, Utah, acting in that capacity for two years. He left the National Bank on the 20th of December. The bank was organized with Frank Pingree as the president and A.R. Homer as the cashier. Mr. Pingree was also cashier of the National City Bank of Salt Lake City. The other officers of the institution were Jabez Ritchie, first vice president and A.E. Stranger, second vice president. The bank was capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars and deposits amounting to six hundred thousand dollars. The company purchased the building which they occupy, which was a modern bank building, with the latest equipment. Among the directors and stockholders of the institution were many men of recognized ability and prominence in business circles. The bank was established on a safe, conservative basis, with a policy that commends itself to the public, and its business steadily grew from the time the doors were first opened.

Mr. Homer was married to Delva Haycock on the 18th of December 1918. Politically he was a Republican, and he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was recognized as an earnest, capable, and cultured young man, possessed of practical business ideas and actuated at all points in his career by laudable ambition. He was gladly welcomed to the ranks of businessmen and citizens of Idaho Falls, where he came not as a stranger but as one well known because of his well-earned reputation. In various ways he has also won wide recognition as a successful businessman through his extensive operations in farming and stock raising in connection with his three brothers, William H., Brigham E., and John Homer who are operating 2000 acres of land nineteen miles east of Idaho Falls, Idaho on which they are now running cattle and sheep as well as raising hay and grain, having four hundred acres planted to wheat and barley. His interests thus extensive aside from banking, and his forcefulness and resourcefulness in business made him indeed a valued factor in the district which he had chosen as his place of residence.²

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It was while he resided in Idaho Falls, Idaho that he embarked on a new business venture, that of developing a real estate & insurance business. He was instrumental in opening the Homer-Koster Real Estate & Insurance Co. His ambitious attitude and endeavors soon brought him fame and when he was lauded as the real estate salesman of the year for the state of Idaho, he was contacted by two men: a Mr. Milligan & Mr. Morrison. These two men were some of the first to be able to raise silver foxes and other fur-bearing animals successfully in captivity. They were in the process of establishing a string of fox and fur farms across the entire United States. When they attended the convention wherein Dad was honored, they approached him and asked him to be the eastern regional manager of the company. After due consideration Dad accepted their offer, and so he and Mother headed east in about 1928.

While in the East, Dad was made the branch president of the Philadelphia Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those days were full of deprivation and hardship as it was during the most difficult times of the Great Depression. Dad was lucky to have a job that paid him $200.00 per month as many men were out of work and standing in bread lines. Our family settled at first in Norristown, PA where I started to grow up. I can remember one incident that happened as a youngster that will give you an idea as to what kind of man Dad was. I must have been five or six at the time, and I remember that we lived near a small zoo and that there was a small stream that ran in back of our house, several hundred feet away. It was a Sunday and we had returned from Sunday School (in those days we had priesthood, Relief Society and Sunday School in the morning and sacrament meeting in the late afternoon or early evening—about 5 p.m.). Mom and Dad had both told me that if I went out to play with my friends that I was not to go into the stream, for we still had to go to church that night. It was a hot summer day, and my playmates enticed me to the river where I proceeded to take off my socks and shoes and go wading out to a small sandbar in the middle of the stream. I no sooner got there than who should come walking down the path but my father. It was then that I remembered their admonition not to go into the stream. I waded back to the shore and put on my shoes and socks as fast as I could, and Dad just waited there saying nothing. Needless to say, I was scared to death. He took hold of my hand and marched me back home not saying a word, while I did all I could to chatter and change the subject. It was all to no avail. I didn’t get the licking I expected, but I certainly was worried for a while. Incidentally I was a very good boy during sacrament meeting that day. Dad was very soft hearted, and although he could look very stern, he was kind to us all.

Norristown was about 20 miles from Sellersville, which was located in the foothills of the Poconos (small mountains) where the first M & M Fox & Fur Farm was located in the East. A Miss Zerby owned the fox farm, and Dad worked very closely with her to establish it on a firm basis so that it would be profitable. His expertise in business and his prior experience in banking was to help develop a sound financial base for this part of the company.

While living in Norristown, Dad became very ill. He loved to eat meats, especially pork, and because the Pure Food and Drug Act was not yet in existence, he evidently ate some bad pork. As a result he contracted a severe staph infection, which manifest itself in the form of boils and carbuncles. They would break out all over his body. I remember that Mother would hot pack them with hot Epsom salts packs and also dress the boils and carbuncles with ichthammol ointment, which was a black ointment that would draw out and localize the boils and carbuncles to a head. Then Mother would lance the boils and squeeze the pus out to drain the infection from the area. They would get one boil healed only to have another break out somewhere else. It was a never-ending battle for over three years, with Dad going into and out of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital from time to time.

We actually owe his life to a Dr. Lerlene Hatch, who was a Mormon from Logan, Utah and an excellent physician who was in charge of all of the interns and residents at the hospital. It was through his influence that so many of the U of U med students were able to finish their medical education at the University of Pennsylvania, as the U of U at that time was only a 2-year institution where the students received their didactic training. When Dad was in the hospital, Dr. Hatch took excellent care of him, and it was he who persevered, because as all of the other MDs gave up, he still battled the infection. There were of course no antibiotics, and we had no sulfa drugs or other modern-day agents to turn to—just hot packs, aspirin, ichthammol, and blessings. So with diligence and loving care together with many prayers and blessings, Dad was pulled through when most physicians gave him up as a lost cause. Our family will ever be grateful to Dr. Hatch for his perseverance and continued friendship throughout the years. He and his family became lifelong friends of Mother and Dad, and we were the only contact they had with the Church while we lived in Philadelphia.

Just as Dad was recovering from his illness, we had another setback: Mr. Milligan and Mr. Morrison were killed in a train wreck near Chicago. As a result the company was dissolved, and Dad was left without work in the height of the Depression. We had moved to Philadelphia from Norristown to be closer to the Univ. of Penn. hospital. Dad had been released from the branch presidency when he had an opportunity to go to New York for a company called Birds Eye Coal Co. They had been making sales but no money, and they hired Dad to find out what the trouble was. I am sure that his banking experience was invaluable at this time, as he was able to audit the books, and after about 9 months, he was able to prove that the man who was the manager of the company had embezzled thousands of dollars thus causing the shortages.

We had moved to New York in the interim and lived for a short time in Brooklyn in a crowded row house. Then we moved out onto Long Island, in Queens at first, then later closer to Bayside. Father was able to start in real estate and insurance, and we attended the Queens Ward, which turned out to have lots of outstanding people in it. Carl Christensen was the Bishop. Harvey Fletcher, who was the innovator of stereophonic sound, taught the Gospel Doctrine class and was later to become the stake president. Howard R. Driggs, a professor of English at NYU, taught in the Sunday School, and Henry Eyring, an eminent scientist in chemistry lived there but moved shortly to teach at Princeton University. We lived about two blocks from the Fletchers, and their youngest son Paul became a very close friend. We both went to PS³ 32 where we were the only Mormons in a student body of 3,000 in an elementary school. I can remember times when we stood back to back fighting other kids because they didn’t like Mormons. Pat, as I called him then, and I remained friends through the years, in fact we still hear from him and his family at Christmas time, so although some 55 years have gone by, we still keep in touch.

As Dad’s business continued to grow and develop we became more and more settled. Josephine was able to go to Bayside High school with about 18 other LDS young