The Piano

Cree Probst in her flowers in Midway, Utah.
She authored and published many poems and short stories.

The Piano

by Cree Probst ©1985

The poem refers to Beatrice and Madelyn and Marilyn (the twins).

Today they took the piano

It was out of tune and old.

The ivory keys were brown with age

'Twas worthless I'd been told.

So many years I had varnished

And polished and dusted its wood.

Now it was old and useless

I needed the space where it stood.

Today they came and took it

And as I watched it go

Fond memories came racing back

Of the lovely long ago.

A cunning little six-year-old

Had begged us every day

To "please buy a piano,"

So she could learn to play.

And long before her daddy

Could find the cash to spare,

She thumped out tunes of make-believe

on a table or a chair.

I saw the stars shine in her eyes

The day her dream came true.

I saw a talent come to life--

Her love for music grew.

I saw her grow from year to year

And, oh, how she could play!

How time goes by--my little girl

Grew up and went away.

I dusted the old piano,

And even it seemed sad

Until two little brown-eyed twins

Began to make it glad.

They played and played--the music seemed

to brighten every day;

But as before these little girls

Grew up and went away.

For years it stood forlorn and still

Grown old and out of date.

On top were pictures of the girls

Who'd brought it to this state.

Today they came and took it

And as it went I knew

The piano didn't go alone

For a piece of my heart went, too.

History of Karl Lorenzo Probst - Part I

History written by Karl L. Probst in 1968:

"I was born on June 7, 1895, in an old log cabin that Ulrich Probst built, when he came to this country, in Huber's Grove up Snake Creek, constructed of red pine logs. It had one door and one window and was lined inside with white factory cloth. There was a lean-to on the east where most of the cooking was done in the summer. On the west end was another lean-to that housed the old surrey (buggy used in that day) and where leaves and kindling wood were piled for winter use."

Ulrich Probst Cabin where Karl was Born.

"My mother was Mary Magdalena Huber Probst and my father was Jacob Probst."

Jacob Probst, Karl's father.

"In August of 1895, there was a terrible cloudburst in the heart of Snake Creek, (this is the story that was handed down about the flood), and as a result, a great flood of water, sticks, timber, and big boulders came down the canyon. Captain Springer, a neighbor who lived above, came down on a buckskin horse as hard as he could come, warning the people to get out of the canyon. At this time, a mason by the name of Fred Sonderegger, was laying the foundation for a house just east of the old log cabin to take the old cabin's place. my father had purchased the old farm and the old cabin prior to my birth. Sonderegger failed to heed the warning of Captain Springer and kept on working. Captain Springer went down to Grandma Huber's to give the warning there. My mother had me in her arms then as about a three months' old baby, and Aunt Maggie Huber had Frank in her arms, (he was born on June 1, and I on the 7th). They took us babies and ran out of the Huber house over on to the side hill. Grandma was slow in getting away and was caught between the flood waters, part coming down the road and part going down the main creek. She got on top of the old cellar and stayed there until the flood subsided. Mud and water were in the house to a depth of about four feet. You can see the old water mark on the house of Grandpa and Grandma Huber to this present day. It is now about ninety years old and hasn't had a coat of paint."

"Sonderegger had the foundation up about three feet, and was standing on the foundation when the flood came - water up to his waist - boulders and debris going by on all sides."

"My father abandoned this location and built across the canyon up on the hill on his farmland, about one-fourth block across the bench ditch. This was a frame building built by John Bushi of Provo, Utah. We lived in this new house for several years until my father was put in as bishop of the Midway Second Ward. We lived then over in the old Ephriam Molhmen home, the first home east of Uncle Al's and Aunt Maggie's home. Then later, we moved over into the house that was owned by Edward Probst adjacent to the little store that Uncle Goulieb had and now at present is the home of Alma Huber."

Midway 2nd Ward 1895-1955 where Jacob Probst was Bishop for 33 years.

"I went to grade school in Midway, Utah, from the first to the seventh grade. We had sheep at that time, and they were run on the West Desert during the winter. In the spring - latter part of April - when it was time to bring the sheep home, my father took me out of school in the sixth grade to go out and help drive the sheep in. This happened also in the seventh grade and by staying out those two springs, missing school, I didn't get promoted from the seventh to the eighth grade, and as my brother, Vernon, was eighteen months younger than I and was in the grade just behind me, he caught up with me in the seventh grade. I told my parents that I wouldn't go back to school, that I would rather herd sheep, and I presented a problem for them. The embarrassment was too great to be in the same grade with my brother."

At this time, there was a man by the name of Arnold Burgener who was teaching music in the high school down in Salina, Utah. He was a very good friend of my father's, and when he came up in the summer time to visit his folks here, my father told him of the problem that he had with me in not wanting to go back to school. My father had befriended him before by telling him that he would either have to go on a mission or go to school, and he decided to go to the B.Y. (Brigham Young Academy) and finish in music. He was a very wonderful trumpet player. He said to my father, "why won't you let Karl come and go down to Salina and live with us and go to school there, and I probably can get him into first year of high school." My father was pleased with the idea and mentioned it to me. I was also happy about it. I had already been playing a trombone - old brass beaten up) that I had purchased for $10.00. This I carried along while herding sheep, and at night I would blow this old trombone and would be answered up on the hill by the coyotes. Mr. Burgener said, "why can't we start him in music?" But he said, "before he moved down to Salina, I will have to talk to the principal and see if he can miss the eighth grade and go from the seventh into the first year of high school." On contacting the principal, Mr. Burgener told us later that he would give me a chance and a trial period for one month. If I could keep up with the work, I could stay, and if not, I would have to go back home. So, I packed my trunk and took my belongings. My dad and I boarded the train in Heber and arrived in Salina some time later. Mr. Burgerner and my father and I met with Mr Henry Rose, the principal, and he decided to give me a chance in school there."

"After the first month, I got my report card, and I had all A's except one B+, which was very gratifying to him, Mr. Burgener, and my parents. He called me in and said, "you have made good and so you can finish the year." I studied music and finally made Mr. Burgener's dance orchestra, and we played for dances in such towns as Redmond, Aurora, Richfield, Elsinore, Gunnison, and Manti. At that time, we made $1.50 a night. By this experience, I became rather proficient on the trombone and finished my school successfully. I went home on the train in the spring."

"It so happened that the next year, there was an opening for a music teacher in Wasatch High School in Heber, and Mr Burgener made application to teach music at Wasatch High School and was given the job. That year, he brought with him a trumpet player who had played in the dance orchestra by the name of Clarence Brown and a drum player by the name of Seymour Prowse who were very good friends of his and mine. They came to Heber, Utah, and lived and went to school, and I and my brother rode from Midway to Heber in a dump cart to go to school. We had a good band orchestra in the high school and the dance orchestra, including us and made up of several other local boys: Clarence Probst, my cousin, being one––a clarinet player. That was a very successful year at Wasatch High School musically. The next year, Mr. Burgener decided to go back to the B.Y.U. and finish up his musical education, and the two boys from Salina, myself, and Clarence Probst decided to go to B.Y.U. and take up music. We also stayed together and had an orchestra and played for dances in all the towns in Utah County. The next year, Arnold Burgener decided to teach music in Price High School and wanted us to go with him, but we were training and had the idea of going out in education to become school teachers, and we stayed at the B.Y.U. one more year to finish up."

"The second year at the B.Y.U. three of us rented a very small room, (we called it the 2 x4). The last year, myself, along with Taylor Bend from Heber and Otto Anderson from Daniels rented a very small room which cost us $6.00 a month rent, $2.00 each. These two boys wanted to learn to play the trombone, so I gave them lessons at the cost of $.25 (cents) a lesson per week. That made $1.00 from each, and that paid my $2.00 share of the rent on the room each month, so by giving trombone lessons and playing for dances, and what I received from home, I made my way through the B.Y.U. Finishing up a normal course, we were now ready to teach school. So, when school started in September, Clarence was teaching the fourth grade, and I was teaching the fifth grade in Midway."

The Old Barn, Team, and Hayrack

Memories of the Old Barn and Hayrack as told by GWP:

Dad (Karl) built the barn. He started it around 1944. I helped with some of it. I was about eight years old when he started building it. It didn't get finished for a number of years––sometime around the early fifties. Gene and Bernard, as well as Karl Farr (hired) and others helped build it. The part on the left is the dairy barn or milk barn where we milked the cows––anywhere from a dozen to twenty.

The barn was torn down maybe 30-40 years ago. Gene built a new one in its place. It always had some hay in it. We loaded it with hay every fall to feed the livestock during the winter. Generally, by spring the hay was mostly used up.

I remember riding one of the work plugs (horses) on this front side to pull the hay fork full of hay up from the wagon load on the far side (north). This was boring work, but one had to stay alert while on the horse, listening for the shout to pull. Mom or the Twins would always come out and give us a drink of homemade root beer or lemonade. Once unloaded, we'd hitch the team back up to the wagon and head to the field for another load. I really didn't like hauling hay. Since I was the youngest, I had to tromp the hay on the wagon so we could load the wagon completely, making room for more hay. Joyce also helped in tromping the hay. The Twins also did this work before Joyce and I came along.

"Milk Barn and Hay Barn"
"Our Barn on the Dairy Farm"

(Click on picture to make it larger.)

"Our Team of Horses and Hayrack"

Madelyn, Blanche McAfee was Bernard's mother-in-law (Doris), Dad (Karl), Marilyn, Glen, Joyce, Mom (Cree) holding Lynn, my oldest nephew (Bernard and Doris' oldest).
Lynn was born about 1943, so this picture was probably taken in 1945 or so.

This is before the barn was built. We simply had a haystack with hay poles––a tripod of long poles to use for the hayfork. We used one of the work plugs to pull the hay from the wagon to the stack. The heavy rope we used for this ran through a pulley attached at the apex where the three poles come together and then anchored at the bottom of one of the hay poles--pretty crude, but workable. Notice the ladder leaning against the haystack. This was used for whoever had the job of stacking the hay by spreading it evenly each time it was dumped from the hay fork. Here we have just unloaded a load of hay, and everyone piled in for the picture.

The horses' names were Nig and Bally. Very docile and dependable, they were used for hauling hay, plowing ground, hay cutting, hauling pea silage, planting crops and spraying them. We used a team up until about 1946 when Dad bought his first Ferguson Tractor. Eventually, the team became obsolete and no longer used. We didn't bail hay until the early 1950's, if my memory serves me correctly. The hay seen here was cut, raked into windrows with a hay rake, put into shocks of hay, and then hauled by hand using pitch forks to throw it on the wagon. Typically, it took three to effectively haul hay--one to pitch it on either side of the wagon (Gene & Bernard or Dad) and one (me or Joyce) to tromp the stuff down to make room for more hay. Tromping was hard, sweaty, and dusty. The loose hay leaves always got down my neck, chest, back, and stuck to the sweat. Also, there was always the random snake that was inadvertently (most of the time) thrown up with a shock of hay, and this made life more interesting! Grasshoppers were also in great abundance in the hay. The team of horses pulled the wagon along between two rows of shocked hay in the field. They knew when to move ahead and stop on command––Giddy-up and Whoa.

Karl & Cree's Courtship

Karl & Cree Probst
Picture most likely taken during their courtship in Midway, Utah somewhere between 1919-1920.

They were married in the Salt lake Temple on
June 23, 1920

From Cree's history: (They met at the old Midway School House.) "At that time, a high school graduate could teach school following twelve weeks of summer school. I had a money problem, so my father went with me to the bank where we borrowed fifty dollars, which seemed like a huge sum to me then, and I left for summer school with my best girl friend, Lois Blake. While I was at the Brigham Young University, D. A. Broadbent, Superintendent of schools, came to the school hunting teachers. I signed with him to teach in Wasatch County for $50.00 per month. Having never been on a salary before, this seemed like a lot of money to me. Teachers' wages were very low at that time, most of them being under $100.00 for experienced teachers. When I signed up, Superintendent Broadbent said, 'You know, the best part of it is that we always keep our teachers. They marry and stay here.' I didn't say anything, but thought to myself, 'Well, here's one you won't keep.' I had a steady fellow at the time."

"I loved teaching and had a very good group of students. They were constantly telling me about the teacher they had had the year before. His name was Karl L. Probst. From what they told me, I decided he was a queer (Note: In those days this word meant "weird.") He was in the Army in Texas."

"The Armistice had been signed in November, and after Christmas, the boys began coming home."

"About this time, Karl Probst came home also. Naturally, one of the first places he visited was the school where he had taught before I did. Mr. Sorenson, the principal, introduced us. We began going together, and just before school was out in the Spring, we became engaged. He gave me my diamond up snake Creek under one of the apple trees. It was a beautiful night with blossoms everywhere. We decided to wait until a year from that June to get married. I had signed up to teach in Midway again, and Karl had signed up to teach in Oakley, Summit County, Utah.

"I came back in the fall to teach again. This year, I got $60.00. Karl came down from Oakley to see me as often as he could. In the winter, he often had to come on horseback. Flu broke out again that winter, but not as bad as before. For awhile the place was quarantined, and no one could go out or come in except in an emergency. I worked on my trousseau, and the school year passed. I went home and made my own wedding dress and some quilts. I washed the wool and carded it into batts. Mother and Mabel (sister) helped me with the quilting. We were married in the Salt lake Temple on June 23, 1920. My father and mother came up from Hinckley, also Lois Blake, my best friend, came for the reception, which was held at Karl's home. His father was Bishop of the ward. Karl had signed up to be principal of the school in Oakley again, so we lived there (Midway) with his folks for the rest of the summer. In September, we left for Oakley where we had a home by ourselves. The people there were very good to me, and I appreciated it. I had two wonderful neighbors. The house we lived in was so cold that I called it 'Valley Forge.'"

From Karl's history: "The war (WWI) ended November 11, 1918. I was discharged at Ft. Logan, Colorado, the latter part of February, 1919. They gave me $50.00 and a pair of shoes. On my arrival home, the first thing I did was to go over to the Midway School in my soldier's uniform. While I was talking with the principal, Mr. Sorensen, in the eighth grade room, a young lady by the name of Miss Wright came in the room, and he introduced her to me, and that was the first time I met the girl who later became my wife. During the remainder of the winter, we had sleigh riding parties and programs, and I started to date Miss Wright. In early spring of 1919, we became engaged."

"That fall, I went to Oakley and taught school and was principal. I organized a band of about twenty Oakley boys. They progressed very rapidly, and it wasn't very long until we were playing on programs. Occasionally, during the winter on weekends, I would go to Midway to court Miss Wright and see my folks. Sometimes, I would go down riding horseback and sometimes I would go down with a very fancy trotter outfit that was loaned to me by Mr. Jensen."

"One time I came to Midway, and didn't know it but the town was quarantined for the Flu. The roads leading to Midway from Charleston and Heber were blockaded, but I came by way of the River Road and stopped at my girl's place before going home, and she told me the town was quarantined for the Flu, so I made my visits short that time, and sneaked out Sunday afternoon unknown to anyone and returned to Oakley."

More Info provided by Glen W. Probst:

Karl was about 25 years old when he married. He had just returned home from the Army in 1919 (WWI ended in 1918).

Cree was bout 22, she was three years younger than Karl.

They courted (dated) for over a year and were Married in the Salt Lake Temple. They lived in Midway, Utah.

Cree's family was from Hinckley, Utah, having moved there from Duncan's Retreat down by St. George.

Karl would ride his horse from Oakley, near Kamas, to Midway in order to date Mom. That's a distance of about 20-25 miles. During the quarantine times Karl entered quietly from the old river road to see Cree.

Probst/Huber Pictures

Four Generations

Karl Probst, his mother Mary Magdalena Huber Probst, his oldest son Bernard Probst, and his grandmother Mary Magdalena Munz Huber.

Children of Jacob and Mary Probst
Left to Right: Leah, Karl, Vern, Stella.

Both Leah and Stella died in childhood. The two pictures to the left are Leah and Stella. The names Vern and Karl refer to the picture at the right. Another child, Stanley, died in infancy.

(Click the picture to make it larger.)

Descendant of Kings

Carrie "Cree" Sophia WRIGHT Probst is a direct descendant of the following:

(Click the "i" next to each name to see the lineage chart)

Travellers on the Mayflower

Brewster, William 9th Great Grandparent

European Royalty

	Countess Of HOLLAND, Bertha 27th Great Grandparent
	EMPEROR Of CONSTANTINOPLE, Pierre II De COURTENAY 26th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The BYZANTINE , Ioannis II 28th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The BYZANTINE , Isaac II 27th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The BYZANTINE , Konstantinos IX 32nd Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The BYZANTINE , Manolis I 27th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The BYZANTINE , Romanos II 34th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The BYZANTINE , Theodoros I 26th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN, Charlemagne 39th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN, Charles II The Bald 36th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN, Friedrich I 27th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN, Heinrich III 29th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN, Heinrich IV 28th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN, Konrad II 30th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN, Lothaire I 36th Great Grandparent
	Emperor Of The HOLY ROMAN, Louis I The Pious 36th Great Grandparent
	Grand Duke Of KIEV, Mstislav I 29th Great Grandparent
	King Of BOHEMIA, Vratislav II 32nd Great Grandparent
	King Of DENMARK NORWAY AN, Svend I 32nd Great Grandparent
	KING Of DENMARK, Harald GORMSSON 34th Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Alfred The Great 37th Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Edgar The Peacable 34th Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Edmund I 35th Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Edmund II Ironside 30th Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Edward I Longshanks 23rd Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Edward I The Elder 36th Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Edward II 21st Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Edward III 20th Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Ethelred II The Unready 31st Great Grandparent
	KING Of ENGLAND, Harold II 31st Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Henry I 29th Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Henry II 26th Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, Henry III 23rd Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, John Lackland 23rd Great Grandparent
	King Of ENGLAND, William the Conquerer 30th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Charles III The Simple 34th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Henri I 28th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Louis II The Stammerer 35th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Louis IV 33rd Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Louis IX 24th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Louis VI The Fat 27th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Louis VII 26th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Louis VIII the Lion 25th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Philippe Auguste II 26th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Philippe I 27th Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Philippe III 23rd Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Philippe IV 22nd Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Robert I 33rd Great Grandparent
	King Of FRANCE, Robert II The Pious 31st Great Grandparent
	King Of GERMANY, Phillipp II 26th Great Grandparent
	King Of HUNGARY, Andras II 25th Great Grandparent
	King Of HUNGARY, Bela II The Blind 29th Great Grandparent
	King Of HUNGARY, Bela III 27th Great Grandparent
	King Of HUNGARY, Bela IV 25th Great Grandparent
	King Of HUNGARY, Geza II 28th Great Grandparent
	King Of HUNGARY, Istvan V 24th Great Grandparent
	King Of HUNGARY, Laszlo I 29th Great Grandparent
	King Of IRELAND, Brian Boroimhe 32nd Great Grandparent
	King Of ITALY, Berenger II 32nd Great Grandparent
	King Of Jerusalem, Charles 24th Great Grandparent
	King Of NAPLES, Charles II 23rd Great Grandparent
	KING Of NORWAY, Harald I Fairhair HALFDANSSON 38th Great Grandparent
	KING Of NORWAY, Magnus I The Good 33rd Great Grandparent
	KING Of NORWAY, Olaf II The Saint HARALDSSON 34th Great Grandparent
	King Of SCOTLAND, Constantine I 35th Great Grandparent
	King Of SCOTLAND, David I The Saint 27th Great Grandparent
	King Of SCOTLAND, Duncan I 27th Great Grandparent
	King Of SCOTLAND, Kenneth II 32nd Great Grandparent
	King Of SCOTLAND, Malcolm I 33rd Great Grandparent
	King Of SCOTLAND, Malcolm III 29th Great Grandparent
	King Of SCOTLAND, William I The Lion 28th Great Grandparent
	King Of SERBIA, Bejela I Uros 30th Great Grandparent
	KING Of SWEDEN, Bjorn the Old ERIKSSON 36th Great Grandparent
	KING Of SWEDEN, Erik EDMUNDSSON 34th Great Grandparent
	KING Of SWEDEN, Erik VIII 32nd Great Grandparent
	KING Of SWEDEN, Olaf III 33rd Great Grandparent
	KING Of SWEDEN, Olof BJORNSSON 34th Great Grandparent
	King Of The GERMANS, Heinrich I 35th Great Grandparent
	King Of the Germans, Otto I The Great 35th Great Grandparent
	King Of The GERMANS, Rudolf 30th Great Grandparent
	Princess Of HUNGARY, Piroska 28th Great Grandparent
	Princess Of KIEV, Evfrosiniya 28th Great Grandparent