Lynn Humphreys was born on December 22, 1946 to Joyce Edwin Humphreys and Fern Taylor Humphreys at the old Dee hospital on 24th Street. He grew up next to his grandparents, George Edward Humphreys and Lillian Moore Humphreys, who had a farm at 1214 West Pleasant View Drive. He had a brother and sister, David and Julie.

Lynn attended school at the old North Ogden Elementary, Wahlquist Jr. High, and Weber High when it was on 12th Street. Lynn’s favorite subject in 9th grade was wood shop, and his favorite teacher was Mr. Percy Williams, the shop teacher. He also really enjoyed Mr. Orem’s class in elementary school, where he learned a love of orchestra music. Lynn was handed down a B flat clarinet from his grandfather George, who had played in the Union Pacific Railroad Band. George was very talented, playing two instruments, the clarinet and the violin. Lynn’s dad also played the clarinet, so it seemed like the instrument to play. In elementary school, students could begin orchestra as early as 3rd grade, then continue through high school. Lynn did just that and was president of the Weber High band in 1965, when they were judged the best band in the state of Utah and were invited to perform at the Western Music Educators Conference in Long Beach, California. They performed under Darrel Lund and had a great experience.

Lynn’s mom, Fern, was a hard worker. When her husband, Joyce, went off to England in World War II, she went to work in the defense industry making shells for big guns while working at 2nd street (BBO now). Everybody helped with the war effort. Later she transferred to the Forest Service, and lastly, the IRS, finishing her career of over 35 years.

Lynn’s Dad, Joyce, worked on the railroad in addition to farming, just as his father George had done. He was a car inspector and made sure the brakes were good and that there were no flat spots on the wheels or air leaks in the cars. He had employment with the railroad before he went into the army at Fort Douglas. After his time in England with the 8th Air Force, he went back with the Railroad and worked until 1985. He always had extra jobs using his big Ford farm truck. He hauled tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and sugar beets for his brother in law, Junior Taylor, in Plain City. After the sugar beet season was over, the Humphreys would head to Nevada for Christmas trees to bring back to Ogden to sell. The truck was always busy. Before winter set in, Joyce, David, and Lynn would go to Price, Utah, and pick up a load of coal to help keep some of the residences in this area warm throughout the winter.

Lynn’s grandpa, George Humphreys, was a farmer at heart, even though he worked for the Railroad as his full-time job. He kept cows, chickens, and sheep. From time to time, the motherly instincts of some of the ewes wouldn’t kick in, and Lynn would play mom to a baby lamb. He was given a sack of old, hardened powdered milk, which had to be crushed to mix with warm water for his lamb. Using an old beer bottle, he would pour in the mix and pull a rubber nipple on it. He fed those baby lambs every two hours through the night to keep them alive.

He always felt heartbroken over any lambs that died. He and Dave would have funerals and bury them. One time, his feeding routine on a newborn ram worked. The more he fed him, the more the newborn wanted, and he kept gaining weight. It was a pleasure to feed him. He became Lynn’s pet. This little ram followed him all over the place. If he was working on a hot rod, that little lamb would lay on the grass under a tree and rest. Lynn named him Cody. He got big enough that Grandpa Humphreys bought him back and added him to the herd. It was a great experience to see animals grow, gain strength, and make it. His grandpa George always did a great job of taking care of the animals. He made sure the animals were fed before he would eat.

Grandma Humphreys, (they called her Meme), would make breakfast while he was outside taking care of the animals. Then he would come in to eat. Pleasant View was a place where everyone knew each other. Lots of the folks were related. Between the Craguns, Rheeses, Mowers, Humphreys, Joneses, Jensens, Budges, Ferrins, etc., there were many family ties. Lynn grew up hearing stories of these families. When Lynn’s great grandfather, Edwin Humphreys, came as an 18-year-old young man with the Willie hand cart pioneers, he settled and made his home and family in Pleasant View.

For years, Pleasant View was almost totally an agricultural community. Everybody had a little farm or orchard. Most farms raised peaches, cherries, apricots, beef and dairy cattle, and had a vegetable garden. Young people found jobs picking fruit for the local farmers. The dairy farmers would milk cows and leave out a can or two of milk for the milk truck that would come by every morning. Lynn’s brother Dave worked for Earl Rhees at 25 cents an hour! He milked Earl’s cows for many years. Many of these farmers had day jobs as well, some in the education field, driving busses, teaching, or helping with school lunches.

For fun, Lynn, his brother Dave, and their buddies Lynn Maycock, Richard Isaacson, and Denny Cragun liked to build hot rods. They would drag their hot rods to the top of 1100 W, 900 W, or 500 W, and ride down those long steep hills. Back then, there wasn’t much traffic. Lynn was always looking for wheels. A matching set was the greatest thing. The boys didn’t have any money, so they searched in the junk yards. With spare parts, they added steering to their wheeled carts. Lynn even developed brakes on one. He had a lot of fun building hot rods. One day, he and Denny Cragun were on 900 W, dragging their newest hot rod up the hill. Denny Walton, a PV boy, drove up in his Plymouth. He asked if they wanted a pull up the hill. They thought that was a great plan and tied their twine (that came off hay bales) to the bumper. They expected him to pull them at a civilized speed of 10 miles an hour to the top, but this was not the case. He went ripping up the road like he was being shot at. Dennis Cragun was on the hot rod with Lynn, which was a converted baby buggy. They had taken the top part of the buggy off leaving the chassis and wheels. The exhaust from the Plymouth was right in their faces as they were flying up the hill. Denny Cragun said, “I’m getting off, it’s too fast for me.” So, he baled. He was wearing brand-new Levi’s with a nice cuff that his mom had fixed. When Denny jumped off, the buggy caught his cuff and dragged him long enough to shred those new Levi’s. His mom, Janice, was pretty upset. Lynn stayed in the buggy and was delivered safe and sound at the top of the hill. What a ride! Such was the life for some of the boys in the good old days in Pleasant View.