Sarah Whitehead Eppich

 

Sarah Whitehead Eppich

Sarah Whitehead Eppich was born in Cherryville, Franklin, Idaho on 22 April 1895 to John Charles and Johanna Durney Whitehead. She was born in a two-room log house with a lean-to. This small home was fairly nice with sheep and lambing sheds in the back.

She spent her childhood among the hills with her five sisters and one brother. Friends were few because of the distance of neighboring homes.

Sarah Whitehead

Sarah loved to read--especially [Latter-day Saint] Church books. She shared a bedroom with her sisters Margaret and Della. Her sisters have told that Sarah never went to bed except she read a passage out of the Bible or a Church book. They remember her saying, "If you pray enough and have faith, you'll always get your prayers answered." 

Sarah started school in 1902 while living in Cherryville. The one-room school house used drawn curtains to partition off the various classes, but had only one teacher.

Sarah was quiet and reserved--considerate of everyone. Her children could not remember ever hearing her gossip about anyone. It was said of her, "If Sarah said it, it must be true!"

She was particular about her appearance--a neat and clean person. She took pride in keeping her hair in place. Her dresses were always nicely pressed and her shoes regularly polished.

In 1911, she went to Preston, Idaho for her eighth grade. Sarah attended the Oneida Stake Academy in Preston, Idaho for her high school years. She was once complimented by a fellow student at being a good student. She replied, "I wasn't so good, I sure worked hard to get what I did." Sarah did housework for some in the community to help pay for her room and board while living in Preston. It was here at the academy that she first met her future husband Leonard Eppich.

Instruction at the academy was not just secular but also religious. A friend from the academy noted, "Everyday we had chapel for an hour and our teacher taught us the things that were important."

Oneida Stake Academy

 

 After graduating from the academy, Sarah attended the Agriculture College in Logan, Utah. Besides her college classes, she worked as a milk condenser earning $30-$40 a month to help with her costs. 

 Sarah Whitehead

After finishing her college work, Sarah was firstly employed in a one-room school in Crystal, Idaho, a little, wheat ranching town in the hills west of Pocatello, Idaho. She either walked or rode a horse two miles to teach her students. Some in the community tried to persuade Sarah to homestead some land with the promise that she could sell it when she "proved up." But she decided that the land was not worthy proving.

Sarah left Crystal and was offered a job in Mapleton, Idaho. It seemed Sarah did not have as much education as she needed to teach but was hired anyway. She was a good teacher and very concerned about her students. When a student missed class, Sarah went to their home to tutor them so they would not get behind. A friend, Orin Myler said of Sarah, " I came home and remember a new school marm came into the ward. Everyone was interested in the new school marm and this was Sarah Whitehead."

Sarah lived with her sister Margaret while teaching in Mapleton. She had always worked hard, and while living with Margaret she milked cows, worked in the fields, pitched hay and hauled it to the stack. Her parents had a sheep ranch in Mapleton. Sarah prepared and transported the noon meal to the men who worked on the ranch in Mapleton. During this period, while riding a horse, it stumbled and fell on her foot. From that time on, she had trouble with her foot and often wore shoes which laced above her ankle.

She and Leonard Hodges Eppich started dating while both were living in Mapleton. A friend remembered, "One afternoon when school was out, I crossed the river on an old bridge and saw Lynn and Sarah sitting on the log by the bridge. I asked Lynn who he was with. Soon she became his wife." Sarah and Leonard were married in the Logan Temple on 29 September 1920.

 Sarah and Leonard Eppich

Sarah was very particular about cleanliness in her home. She was did a beautiful wash. She put water on the stove on Sunday night, and as soon as it was warm on Monday morning, she put it into the washer and the boiler was filled again. She added lye to the water for washing and then followed it by two rinses.

Often, the dishes had to be washed several times before she was satisfied. One of Sarah's mottos was, "If you don't do the dishes clean, do them over."

Sarah took care of neighbors who were ill and helped in their fields tromping hay and driving  derricks to pull the hay.

Sarah was known for her honesty. During the era of sugar rationing, she turned in every bit even measuring what was in the sugar bowl. Others were not so honest and had sugar stored in their homes.

Sarah and Leonard worked hard making a living for their family. Others noted that they were happy and enjoyed each other. One recalled their courting days and later said, "I hope their ambitions and dreams and desires they had then have been fulfilled."

Sarah and Leonard had five children:  Gladys Whitehead 1921, Glen Leonard 1923, 

Melba Whitehead 1925, Don C 1927, Wayne Whitehead 1928. She loved and taught her children and played right along with them.  

Sarah with Her Children

The children of Sarah and Leonard were taught gospel principles in their home and at church. Sarah was particularly concerned about her children paying an honest tithing. Their bishop,  Clarence Neeley said of Sarah and Leonard, "The mother and father taught these children to be honest with the Lord, and I could count just as regular as I could count on anything that their young people would be in with their tithing."

Sarah and Leonard's children matured into good people, married and had children of their own. Glen and Don served in the armed forces and Wayne served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  

 Sarah and Leonard Eppich

Leonard wrote of Sarah's death, "We spent Christmas of that year, 1950, with Gladys and Esbee at Hunt, Idaho. On the 27th, we left to go home and a few miles west of Paul, we hit an icy spot on the road. The car rolled over and Sarah was killed. That was a real tragedy. Life has not been the same since." 

Sarah is buried in Trenton City Cemetery in Trenton, Utah and her husband is beside her.