Samuel and Viola Gubler: Sam and Viola married in June 1920 they were the third family to move to Ivins in May 1922 with their son Eldon. They first lived in a boarded up tent until their home was built. In November1922 Viola and Eldon (son) returned to Santa Clara for a short time when one of their daughters was born. With Ivins being so isolated and with no indoor plumbing or electricity it is no wonder why she would take her son and recover in Santa Clara near her family. Sam and Viola would eventually have one son and two daughters to raise. Eldon their son wrote "My mother cooked meals in the tent for all of the men who were working on the house. I can remember my family's excitement when they moved into the kitchen/living room portion of our new home. The two bedrooms were finished at a later date. Like many other couples, the house was made out of adobe. The furnishings consisted of a table and chairs and wood cook stove in the kitchen, along with a built-in dish cupboard. There was an addition to these furnishings, on Saturday when the #3 tub was brought in from storage for the weekly baths. Since water was hauled in and was limited, more than one family member used the same bath water. It was many years before spring water was piped into the house from Snow Canyon. There was one small closet in one of the bedrooms, which accommodated all the family's clothing.” At this time all of the families in Ivins would make their money going on “Peddling trips" where they would sell the produce they grew. At first the peddling trips were by wagon and a team of horses; then in 1927, Sam purchased a green Model T Ford. Sam built up sideboards on the running boards, so he could haul melons there, as well as filling the back seat. Eldon tells how this Model T always got stuck in sandy spots, so Sam learned to stop the car and turn around before he got to the sandy spots and back it through the sand. This automobile had to be cranked in front on the outside to start it. He later purchased a Ford pickup truck, which was much better for farming and peddling. Summers brought many people from Washington, St. George, and Santa Clara to Ivins to buy the delicious melons raised by Sam and Viola, the young families around Ivins always looked forward to the cantaloupe and homemade ice cream party at Sam and Vi’s house in the summertime.
Friends and family remembered Sam as a quiet, shy, sincere, honorable, upright man, and a hard worker. Viola loved to sing and sang solos and duets at church, and she loved to dance. She once said that she would rather dance than eat. Sam was a good dancer and loved to dance with Viola.
Sam died prematurely, January 8,1936, not quite thirty-eight years of age, as a result of blood clots moving to his heart from his knee, which had been kicked by a horse. This was a very tragic event in Viola's life.
Eldon remembers the circumstances of his father's death as follows: "About the middle of December, Sam was riding the roan horse, rounding up the baldy-faced mare. The mare kicked at the roan horse, hitting Sam's knee with its hoof. He had to lie around for a few days because the knee was swollen and painful. In a few days, Sam got back to helping with the chores by using crutches. The knee appeared to be healing all right and the New Year's Eve dance at Santa Clara was coming up, so he told Viola he would go and watch and Viola could dance. He climbed the three flights of stairs up to the dance hall on crutches and spent the evening watching the dance. Just a week later he felt a pain coming in his right side. They at first thought it might be appendicitis, and then the pain moved position and they wondered about kidneys or gallstones. After several hours of pain, they decided he needed to go to the hospital. He drove himself to the hospital and Viola went with him. The doctor ruled out appendicitis and said they would x-ray him for gallstones the next morning. He was put in a room with a roommate for the night. Eldon remembers that his mother came to the high school as school was letting out and told him what had happened. She went home with Eldon on the school bus, as she didn't drive and Eldon was only fourteen. Viola helped Eldon with the evening chores, got supper and prepared to go to the hospital the next morning. They went to bed about ten o'clock and soon after Clem Gubler, who had the only phone in Ivins, came over with the message that the hospital had called for mother to come right over, as Sam had suddenly become worse. Clem drove Mamma to the hospital but Sam had already passed away before they got there." With Viola now having to provide for a family of five with Eldon's help, she ran the farm until 1940, when she sold the property and home in Ivins. She moved the family to St. George, at this time she got a job at the Arrowhead Hotel cleaning rooms. Her and her family would move around until she moved to Salt Lake City in 1946 to be near her daughter Beth and family. Viola died of a heart attack in October 1948 at the age of fifty.
Written by Cherise Ence Spencer November 2022, Vol. 22 Issue 11 Ivins Newletter