Cheri Greenwood was born on Dec. 10, 1929, to Bernell and Edna Watkins in Royal, Utah, population 100. Cheri has very fond memories of her childhood; climbing mountains and picking wild flowers. She loved watching the animals, squirrels, ground hogs, and chipmunks. She remembers having a little goat that they played with and had a lot of fun with.
She also had a little black and brown dog that used to run off and chase porcupines, then came back with his mouth and face full of quills. They would put mustard on the quills to numb them, then pull them out.
They used to make mud pies. She remembers selling them to the Japanese people for a penny or two each. The Japanese people were very good to Cheri and her family. They would give them tea sets and gifts. The Japanese men worked in the coal mines, and they and their families lived in the mining camps with the many other families who came to the Carbon County mining area.
Horses and donkeys were used in the coal mines to pull the cars filled with coal. Cheri remembers seeing the dinosaur food prints that they would bring out of the mines. People used to decorate their yard with them back then.
She remembers the weather always being cool because Royal was up the canyon. She remembers seeing a lion and her cub and how cute they were to watch.
Cheri worked at Cornets, a dime store. It had a fountain called Kelly’s. That’s where she met her husband, Joseph LaVoy Greenwood. They called him “Buss”; he had just gotten out of the Navy.
She and Buss were married and had four sons: Douglas, Jerry, Kyle and Lance. Cheri has seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Cheri’s favorite hobbies are crafts and shopping. She also likes fishing. She is now a resident at the Emery County Care and Rehabilitation Center in Ferron where she had made many new friends. She always looks nice and brings others joy.
Cheri is a vibrant and loving person. She loves people and she is always willing to help others.
Senior Of the Week: Cheri Greenwood
