The Hadwen Family of Lancashire

I was born of goodly parents at Provo Bench, Utah. When it was time to give me a name and blessing, my folks planned to call me Mary Matilda after my Grandmothers--Mary Johannah Terry and Matilda Mann Farley; but my Mary Grandmother said, "Oh, don't burden her with that name -- just call her Melda,” So I was blessed and named Melda Severine Farley after my little Great Grandmother Severine. I must have been a trial to my mother as well because from the time I was a small baby whenever I heard music, I would sob and cry. Grandma Terry said, "Mark my word, when she grows up she will like music." Truer words were never spoken. I do love music and the beautiful melodic strains, vocal or instrumental, still touch me deeply and bring tears to my eyes. Conversely, loud discordant, rock 'n roll and the modern stuff they call music today is just noise. We lived in a nice two-room white brick house. We had a kitchen with a big black cook stove and a reservoir at the right side and a round black chimney that went up through the ceiling. When I was about two or three, I fell against our pot-bellied front room heating stove and burned the inside of my hand badly. Luckily the hand healed and the accident did not interfere with my ability to play the organ. We had a little pump organ and I learned to play at an early age. We lived out in the country, on Provo Bench. The city of Provo was about five miles to the South. When I was eight I took my first piano lesson on our little pump organ. One of our friends, Jim Cordner, had a piano. John Bown came out from Provo to teach piano in our neighborhood. I remember his nasal counting 1, 2, 3, 4; 1, 2, 3, 4. I had only enough lessons to learn "The Sack Waltz," but this early training enabled me to go with my music by myself. I soon learned to play many hymns on our little pump organ. In 1918, when I was eleven, our Timpanogos Ward Sunday School organist, Rhoda Poulson, went on a mission and I was asked to take her place as the Sunday School organist. I loved that assignment, especially playing the "Practice Hymns" and the devotional music during the passing of the Sacrament. It was a sad day for me when word came from Salt Lake that the playing of music during the Sacrament was to be discontinued. Music has always been a very important part of my life. I reached my full height when I was in the fifth grade. I stood head and shoulders above my girl friends and most of the boys. I was always conscious of my big feet and hands. But I could reach an octave and an additional three keys, which was a great help in playing the piano and organ. I was chosen to play the lead in the school play during my Sophomore year. I played Honor in “Honor Bright.” I was tall and slender and it was exciting to play opposite Alton Kartchner who was a full-grown, well developed athlete. He had dark hair and brown eyes. There was one balcony scene like the one in Romeo and Juliet where I wore beautiful clothes. Melda served as Student Body Vice-President during her junior year at Lincoln High School in 1924-25. She won a medal for her Lincoln Essay, and in the days before scholarships were awarded, she also received a special pin. Her health was fragile. She had a lot of stomach aches and after many doses of "sweet oil" administered carefully by Papa, Melda finally had her appendix out at age seventeen. After graduating from Lincoln High School, Melda attended Brigham Young University for two years, where she was active in music. She returned to Lincoln High to play the lead in the school operetta "Pickles." Melda was named one of the ten most beautiful coeds at BYU in 1927. Melda had a patriarchal blessing on February 10th, 1923, when she was fourteen. One passage seemed to indicate she would serve a mission. So it was not particularly surprising when she decided to leave BYU to serve a mission. Melda spent twenty-seven months in the Mexican Mission in El Paso, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico and Los Angeles, California. President Pratt asked her to extend so she could continue as the mission stenographer, since she could take dictation in Spanish. . It was in the mission field that Melda met her future husband, George Reed Hacking from Magrath, Alberta, Canada. President Pratt was asked to revise the Spanish Book of Mormon so it would compare favorably with the English version. He asked Elder Hacking to study grammar and be responsible for that. He would be responsible for the meaning. Melda and Reed were released about the same time. I took Melda up to visit my sister in Kaysville. Coming home I broached the subject of marriage. She tried to put me off but when we got in the house I blurted it out. I was all for getting married right away but she wanted a long engagement--to meet my parents etc.. We made plans to go to Canada in the summer to see my parents and take a wedding trip to Hawaii if I made enough money during the year. “I think Melda made up her mind to marry me when we were going through the Cardston Temple,” Reed wrote. She confirmed at her eighty-fifth birthday party it was in the Cardston Temple that day she first envisioned four children--a blond, a redhead, a brunette and a child with brown hair. The Hackings began to consider a second mission. Melda recalled, “From the time we were first asked if we would consider going on another mission, Reed and I prayed that we would be sent where we could do the most good within our capabilities. We were a little surprised when we received a call to the Florida Ft. Lauderdale Mission, but it stipulated Spanish speakers. We had expected to be sent to Puerto Rico, but the mission president had left and President Von R. Nielsen, said he didn¿t want to lose his only Spanish speaking couple to the hazards of native traffic in Puerto Rico. We were in a car accident two months after we arrived in Homestead. My clavicle was broken and it was quite discouraging. But we were able to get over that setback. Then Reed began having health problems. He lost his appetite--very unusual for him. He lost about thirty pounds in two or three months and had a large growth in his stomach and bad swelling in his feet and ankles. The President advised him to see a doctor and after extensive tests and X-rays, it was determined that he had chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Reed gave me orders not to tell anyone what he had. Thus began a series of periodic blood tests and examinations and pills of all kinds. We were able to continue with our missionary work, although the doctor warned us that he would have to exercise caution against infection. Somewhere along the way, Reed developed a cough that he could not get rid of. Finally, on November 30th the doctor said he knew we would not be happy with his decision but he advised hospitalization. He thought Reed might have pneumonia. Our release was dated January 10, 1977. Reed died January 8th. At eighty-five Melda was still active and serving in her ward as a visiting teacher, as well as a special visiting teacher to the sisters in the rest home where she went to play the piano and entertain. She sang in the ward choir and regularly attended meetings. After Reed’s death she served in the Provo Temple three days a week as an ordinance worker