In her long life Adeline Wakefield Starr has traveled all over the world, but always finds herself returning home to Huntington.
She married Perry Wakefield and they had seven children. Starr said, “We have six sons and four of them have been bishops, we have one daughter. My sons are Greg of Price, Garth of Salt Lake, Shelton of Waller, Texas, Wendall of Roswell, N. M., Lond of Huntington and Preston of Salt Lake. My daughter Jerilyn teaches school at Stansbury. I’m very proud of my family. My children are all college graduates.”
“My husband Perry passed away and I was alone for four years, then I married Bill Starr, who had two children who were married and gone. We were together for 19 years and now I have been alone for 12 years.
“I am 93-years-old and have enjoyed my travels all over the world. I have been on a church tour of Jerusalem and saw the places where Jesus lived. I have salt from the Dead Sea and have visited the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found at Qumran. I went to Brazil and saw the Christ of the Andes. We were on a BYU tour. My son Garth works for the church and opened up the mission in Spain.
“One time on an airplane I asked the stewardess if I could see the cockpit of the plane where the pilot was but she said not while we were flying. Then when we were getting ready to get off the plane she told me to come up front with her and the pilot put a helmet on my head and messed up my new hairdo and I grabbed the steering wheel and asked him where the windshield was. He wanted to know where we were going and I told him I was going to Jamaica with my family and I was the only Starr with a bunch of Wakefields. He was still trying to figure that out when we left.
“I traveled to Australia to pick up a missionary from their mission there and I went alone. I told a couple as we got off the plane that I was going to be following them but not to think I was the FBI. I was just going to follow them to keep from getting lost because I had no idea where I was. We went to Tasmania while I was in Australia. I also flew to pick up a missionary from England one time.
“We even visited the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. I heard they are placing a large bell at the new temple in Nauvoo. The larger and heavier the bell is then the deeper and richer its sound when it is rung.
“I have enjoyed living in Huntington with all the peace and quiet. I can go visit up to Salt Lake for a couple of days with my family but then I love coming home to the peace. I think my boys would come home in a minute if they had jobs down here. I don’t know if their wives would come with them though.
“When my kids were growing up for their birthday I would let them invite whoever they wanted over for dinner. They had to answer the door, bless the food and take care of their guest. All I had to do was cook the meal. I didn’t believe in big parties which I called ‘gimme parties’ because the birthday child always became greedy. I think the television has replaced talking and sharing meals these days and I think it is sad.
“For the past few Christmas’ instead of sitting here alone I have invited people over for a meal prior to Christmas. I called it my Joseph Smith party because his birthday was on Dec. 23. We would sit and eat and talk and everyone enjoyed themselves. I’ve had the people thank me for this because it’s something that just isn’t done any more. I love dinners, it just gives people a chance to socialize. It’s being forgotten these days.
“I well remember my early years in Huntington. One year, about 1929 for the July 4 celebration I was “Columbia, The Gem of the Ocean” and I rode on a float decorated with flags. My family owned the ranch up Huntington Canyon below the power plant and I remember loading up the wagons each spring to spend the summer on the ranch. Of course, many times I wished I could be left behind in Huntington to play with friends and I remember one year my mother bribed me with new doll clothes if I would just be happier about going to the ranch. I still have those doll clothes today,” said Starr.
A World Of Travel Leads Home to Huntington
