MARGOT ARVILLA LUND
By Constance Lund Neel
Margot Arvilla Lund was born September 23, 1910 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Aagot Marie Randby and Djalmar Emanuel Hansen Lund. She was the third of seven children. Her childhood years were spent in the family home on West Capitol Street. She wore dutch-cut hair and "hand-me-downs." She was a shy child and always honest and ladylike. Her sister Temmie said of her: "Mother always called Margot her 'little star.' When chores had to be done, Margot in her quiet way would do them, without a word of complaint. Margot is a very kind, thoughtful person, especially to her mother and dad. Margot couldn't tell a lie, if her life depended on it." Margot relates, "We had a nice home on West Capitol Street with no bathroom so we had to bathe in a large tub and heat the water on a coal stove and use an outhouse. Dad couldn't afford an inside bathroom at that time. Later, Dad had a bathroom built in."
"When Abe (Aubrey) was born, I had to help take care of him like taking him for a buggy ride when Mother would have company. At that time, she belonged to a club, so one day when she went to her club meeting, I asked her if she was going to get clubbed. I didn't know any better at the time. When Abe got older and started school, he would make us late because he would fuss over his long-legged underwear."
Margot in reminiscing about her childhood remembered Vonnie taking piano lessons after the family purchased a piano. She tried to teach Margot how play without any success.
One special Christmas, Vange, Vonnie, and Margot all received dolls and Temmie got a sled. One day Temmie was practicing medicine on Margot's doll and smashed its face with a hammer. That was the last of the baby doll.
She had a surprise birthday given by friends. They brought presents to her but she was out with another friend.
Margot attended Primary and Sunday School at the Twenty-Fourth Ward. The children were expected to go to church on Sunday. It was at church that she met many good Mormon boys to date. As a young lady she was in the M.I.A. and when a Gleanor, participated in a Roadshow. She played the part of a boy. She also attended the Ward dances.
Margot attended Washington Elementary School, West Junior High and West High School. She had a favorite music teacher and sang in the Junior High School chorus. Some of her school friends were Edith Vanatta, Marjorie Springer, Birdie Thomas, Hazel MacDiel and Edrie Boyd. When she was older, she went out and tended babies to earn a few dimes and a dollar which she thought was a lot of money at the time.
While riding in a boyfriend's car, they had an accident and Margot's face hit the windshield, cutting her nose in two places and her left eyebrow, narrowly missing her eye. Her folks called the doctor and he stitched her face back together.
She relates, "One date I had took me for an airplane ride, which was a thrill but a bit scary. Another date I walked home from Emigration Canyon. I didn't like the fellow I was with. I hailed a ride home with some married couples older than myself. When Saltair opened up, I went there dancing with a fellow and had a ride on their Giant Racer. That was fun."
A friend of Margot's introduced her to James White Jr., a very dashing sailor who the whole family thought was very good looking and very much a gentleman. He was on a navy furlough. They corresponded for two years before they were married. They married in Ogden, Utah on 11 June 1930 with the Gene Youngdales in a double wedding. They received some lovely gifts (silverware, towels, sheets and a pan) to help them set up housekeeping in Vallejo, California. Their two children, Eleanor Jean and Clyde Lund, were both born in San Diego, California. They also lived in San Pedro, Miami, Kansas City and New Orleans where James was stationed. When James was stationed overseas, Margot moved back to Salt Lake for 2 ½ years and lived in her mother's apartment.
They met some fine people through the navy (James, a retired lieutenant commander) and have kept in touch with former navy friends. To mention a few: Phil Spicer, Joe Dale, Wilbur Cox, Wilbur Skelton, Malcom Armour.
After James retired, they moved to a home in Kaysville. Margot sang in the ward choir and entered some of her jams in the county fair, winning a blue and two red ribbons in 1951-52. Margot likes to knit, crochet and sew. She has made afghans and houseslippers for her children and grandchildren. She also enjoys the talk shows on T.V. and bowling. She and James are world travelers, having visited some forty different areas of the world.
Margot believes in the power of prayer, through personal experiences. She once had a severe sore throat and her father, together with her brother Abe, blessed her had her throat was healed. At this time (1983), Margot has eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She resides with James in a condominium in Centerville, Utah. In 1980 James and Margot celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at a quiet family dinner in the Hotel Utah.