Roland was born November 2, 1915 at Duchesne, Utah, the ninth child of Jesse Alvin and Valera Luella Wakefield Washburn. When Roland was age 4, the family moved to Huntington where father Jesse had accepted employment as Superintendent of the Emery County Schools. Living in Huntington provided the opportunity to live near aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives. The family lived in a large apartment over the Geary Mercantile Store across the street from the high school. Roland remembers the high school burning down before the school year was completed.
The family did not stay long in Huntington. In 1922, Jesse was hired as principal of the LDS Seminary in Provo, Utah, and the family moved to a home one-half mile west of the railroad crossing on West Center Street in Provo. The property included a flowing well for irrigation and room for a large garden, raspberry patch, pasture, and some livestock. Roland remembers spending considerable time at the end of a hoe helping care for the garden.
In Provo, Roland started second grade at Franklin Elementary located at about Third South and Second West. It was a long walk to the school. The younger boys spent most school vacations working for neighboring farmers in the beet and onion fields. This provided money for store-purchased clothing to supplement the home-made clothes. Some of the farm fields on which Roland worked bordered Utah Lake, and he remembers digging on the lake shore to find Indian arrow heads and other relics.
During Roland’s junior high school years, the family purchased a brick home located at 748 West Center Street. There were only two bedrooms, and the home was crowded. The ceiling in one closet was removed, and a ladder built on the wall so that some children could sleep in the attic. The family members at home attended church at the LDS Provo Pioneer Ward. Roland began delivering papers for the Provo Herald at $10 per month, a job he kept through most of high school. The president of Brigham Young University was one of his customers.
When Roland was in high school, the family traded the farm property for a building lot across the street from them and constructed a duplex apartment with a full basement. With the exception of the bricklaying, the family did most of the construction. Roland enjoyed carpentry work and cement finishing. When completed, the two upstairs apartments were rented to pay the mortgage, and the family moved into the basement.
Music was to play an important role in Roland’s life. As a junior in high school, he joined the school band through the encouragement of a close friend, and began playing the tuba “because that was the only instrument left for loan.” Later he bought his own sousaphone, “a King instrument with a 32 inch bell and four valves – one of the finest of that time.” He also played in a dance orchestra.
While in high school, Roland decided that he wanted to play the bass violin, but they could not afford to buy one. Jesse decided to make one. Jesse had always loved to make violins and had made many, starting with cigar boxes when a child.[1] After months of preparation and study, Jesse and Roland worked together on the bass violin project. When they finished, Roland reports, “we were very proud and happy to find that we had made something valuable and useful.” It is our understanding that they made five additional bass violins.
Roland graduated from high school in the spring of 1933 and enrolled that fall at Brigham Young University. After winter quarter, he quit school and worked full-time on the bass violin project, returning to school at BYU the fall of 1934. Two of the family-made bass violins were sold to BYU for use by their symphony orchestra and one was sold to the University of Utah, and the money from the sales was used to pay college tuition.
While at BYU Roland became acquainted with a family named Arnoldus who had moved from Wyoming to Utah so the children would have better schooling opportunities. They had a family dance orchestra and Roland was invited to join them. He played bass violin. They played for dances in the Prove area. The Arnoldus family eventually returned to Wyoming, and Roland decided to go with them. His decision to go to Wyoming was a shock to his family. His parents hoped that he would be gone only a few weeks and then return to continue his education.
Roland played for dances in Casper, Thermopolis, and Cody, Wyoming and Lewiston, Idaho. Along with playing for the Arnoldus family he played with an orchestra led by Carroll Whalen, and later with Barney Malerich. It was the time of the Great Depression, yet there seemed to be families with the money to attend the very successful public dances. The “jitney” or “dime a dance” dances were often on Wednesdays and Saturdays, lasting from 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. playing continually without intermission. Roland learned to chord and began playing the piano occasionally to relieve the piano player. The dances in Cody were attended by the affluent on their way to Yellowstone Park as well as by local people including cowboys wearing their guns. Roland reports that on more than one occasion, shots were fired through the ceiling.
Soon after arriving in Cody, Roland met LaVon Martin[2] who was then working at a place called Green Gables. LaVon attended all the dances, and they began to spend time together. They were married September 19, 1935 at her parent’s ranch in Cowley, Wyoming, and honeymooned in Greybull, Wyoming. Following the marriage, LaVon and Roland moved to Lewiston where Roland played in the orchestra for $5.00 to $6.00 a night in the Metronome. Their first residence there was in the Raymond Hotel. They had little money and no automobile, riding with others or walking places as needed. On one occasion they had to borrow money to pay the hotel bill. Later they rented an upstairs apartment in a private home in Lewiston at $15.00 per month. Along with playing dances. Roland obtained employment at J.C. Penney’s department store checking the incoming freight and as a salesman. Eventually he and LaVon purchased their first automobile for $200 – a 1931 Ford roadster with a folding top and rumble seat.
Then a near tragedy occurred. Roland was invited to travel to Cottonwood, Idaho for a dance job. This dance, the evening of April 15, 1937, was no different than many others held on weekends in small communities in the area. During the dance it started to rain. Following the dance, Roland and other band members loaded the Ford roadster with the bass violin and other instruments in the rumble seat and on the rack on the back bumper for the return trip. The road from Cottonwood to Kueterville was graveled and unfamiliar to them. Visibility was difficult, and the road muddy and not well marked. Missing a turn, the car went over an embankment, rolled over and back onto its wheels 15 feet below the road bed. Roland’s left hand was forced through the windshield, cutting three tendons and an artery, and tearing the flesh from the wrist, It was between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. Luckily a car stopped, and Roland, with a tourniquet on his arm to stop the bleeding, was transported to the local hospital for eight hours of surgery.
Luella traveled by bus to Idaho to be with Roland and LaVon. In a letter from Jesse to Luella, Jessie writes, “I am indeed sorry that Roland makes such little improvement…Don’t leave there until Roland is safely around. The terrible expense is bad, but the boy is worth all.” Before the ordeal was concluded, Roland developed blood poisoning and hovered near death. Amputation of the hand was considered. He was later to learn that the doctor had indicated that Roland “was too far gone” for the amputation. To the surprise of all but the family, healing began following a priesthood blessing by Elders of the LDS Church. Jesse drove to Idaho to get Roland, LaVon, and Luella, taking them back to the family home in Provo. After several months, Roland recovered use of his fingers and hand although the wrist remained stiff.
Roland enrolled at LDS Business College in Salt Lake City where he took courses in shorthand and typing. He found that he could still type 60 words per minute even with the injured wrist. The adversity and the successful priesthood blessing caused Roland to think more seriously of spiritual things, and he and LaVon were married a second time, this time in the Manti LDS Temple on July 14, 1938. Following graduation from business college, they returned to Cowley to live with LaVon’s parents. Roland found employment with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) digging sewer lines, building a settling pond for the Cowley water system, varnishing the interior of the community center, and other projects. It was at this time that their first child, Roland Martin was born.[3]
Early in the summer of 1941. Roland was offered a job in the finance office of the WPA in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They towed a borrowed trailer filled with their belongs behind a newly purchased 1941 Chevrolet coupe, and rented a “filthy dirty” small house in Cheyenne. Shortly following the move, their second child and first daughter, Kay, was born in the Cheyenne hospital.[4] On Sunday. December 7. 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and all WPA employees received notice that the WPA work would be phased out.
During the few months in Cheyenne. with two young children and limited finances, most free time was spent working at home and listening to the radio or records. They enjoyed listening to the records of the big bands, and Bill, age 3, amazed all by learning the names of the orchestras, orchestra leaders, and the instruments they played. Bill could recognize any type of instrument immediately. Local musicians would sometimes come to the house to listen to Bill name the musicians and instruments.
Within weeks after the invasion of Pearl Harbor, war industries were established, and work opportunities were plentiful. Roland, LaVon, and the children moved back to Lovell for employment with Ohio Oil Company in their refinery. Roland was secretary to the regional sales manager. In addition to work at the refinery, Roland played for dances. Orchestra members changed often as musicians were drafted into the military. Roland spent more time playing piano than bass violin to keep the orchestra intact.
A large, secret, government project was being built between Powell and Cody, Wyoming. Thousands of plumbers, carpenters, electricians, and other construction workers were hired at high wages. In September, 1942. eleven thousand Japanese were moved by train from Southern California to this new city which became known for the next few years as the Heart Mountain Relocation Center. In January 1943, Roland was hired as the Property and Warehousing Officer. Forty to fifty train car loads of equipment, materials, and supplies arrived weekly. Roland supervised three to four hundred office and warehouse workers in keeping property records. To be closer to work, the family moved to Powell, where Jerry Martin was born December 31, 1943.[5]
Roland wondered why he had not been drafted into the military, and upon inquiry, learned that he had been given a deferment because of his employment. Roland asked that he be considered for military duty, and within a few weeks was inducted into the Army and told to report to Fort Logan, Colorado. it was decided that LaVon and the children would stay in Provo, Utah with Jesse and Luella while Roland filled his military obligation, and the move was completed. Just before reporting to duty, Roland received a letter telling him that because he was age 27, his military duty had been deferred indefinitely. Attempts to enlist were rejected because of his age and number of dependents.
The family returned to Heart Mountain and Roland resumed his former employment and playing in dance bands. In addition, Roland and a friend leased 100 acres of farm land, and raised barley and yellow clover seed. On May 2, 1945, their second daughter, Susan, was born in the Cody Hospital.[6]
At the end of the war in the summer of 1945, the relocation center was phased out. Roland worked in both Wyoming and California helping to dispose of War Relocation property, and then found employment in Portland, Oregon with the War Assets Administration disposing of federal government real estate that was no longer needed. This was a newly established and somewhat disorganized agency, and Roland found himself with employment, but not much to do. LaVon and the children were uncomfortably housed in a small motel room. The family made the decision to terminate government employment.
Securing employment in construction in Powell, the family purchased a building lot and began building a new home. Roland provided the carpentry work. The finished home was sold and a two-bedroom home with full basement purchased at 245 Carmen Avenue in Lovell. Roland returned to work for Ohio Oil. Young Bill was playing the clarinet in the elementary school band, but developed serious health problems with his eyes and a glandular weight problem. It was to be several years before these health problems were satisfactorily resolved.
In 1948, Roland was invited to join a friend as a partner in a music store in Provo, Utah. The family accepted the offer with some financial help from Jesse and Luella. Much of the income came from repairing musical instruments. Roland repaired the string instruments including rehairing violin bows. The income from this business was less than expected, so Roland sold his interest in the Provo store. He moved the family back to Powell, Wyoming, opened another music store, and together with a partner operated guitar studios throughout Northern Wyoming and Southern Montana through a franchise with Oahu Publishing Company in Ohio. The store in Powell was called Ericksen-Washburn Music Mart. Much of their time was spent teaching guitar lessons and for a time they operated a school known as the Big Horn Conservatory of Music. On January 1951, their third daughter, Patty Anne, was born in the Powell Hospital.[7]
In the fall of 1952 Roland accepted employment with G&B, a furniture and appliance store in Ontario, Oregon that had a franchise for Baldwin pianos and organs. The store furnished Roland a truck, and he traveled hundreds of miles selling pianos and organs. In 1955, Roland was awarded the Baldwin franchise in the Tri-Cities area of Oregon and Washington, resulting in a move to Pasco, Washington. They located an old home in downtown Pasco which they rented and later purchased. The business was called Washburn Piano and Organ Sales.
The Washburns were active in the LDS Church during these years. For a time, Roland coordinated the early morning seminary program in eastern Washington and Oregon. Several of the children completed LDS missions: Bill to Austria-Switzerland, Kay to England, and Jerry and Susan to Toronto, Canada. Upon returning from his mission, Bill helped with a small music outlet in Walla Walla, Washington, living in a back room of the store.
In 1972, the Baldwin dealership in Phoenix, Arizona became available, and Roland and LaVon relocated to Phoenix. Over the next several years, all of the children moved to the Phoenix area, where the family was to eventually open three music stores. The early years in the 80s were good years financially, and family members enjoyed working together. The last half of the 80s proved difficult financially. The electronic organ business dropped off dramatically year by year, and piano sales declined. Most of the children found it necessary to leave the family business to earn income elsewhere. LaVon began to experience serious health problems. The business was finally sold in August 1993.
Since selling the music business and retiring, Roland has kept busy doing family history, writing, editing family video tapes, participating in church activities, and caring for LaVon who needs continuous, 24-hour care and supervision.
[1] Many of the violins and other stringed instruments made by Jesse were given to family members. We are interested in knowing where some of these instruments might be if they are still in the possession of the family. Let us know if you have one.
[2] LaVon Marlin was born May 22, 1914 in Cowley, Wyoming to Benjamin Franklin Martin and Mary Ann Butler Martin. She grew up on a ranch and developed a love for horses. As a young woman she was described as “cute, bubbly, fun loving, socially outgoing, and concerned about others.” She loved ballroom dancing. She enjoyed studying the scriptures, and for many years taught early-morning seminary for the LDS Church. She currently has serious health problems and has difficulty remembering people and events.
[3] Roland “Bill’ Martin lives in Mesa, Arizona with his wife, Juanita, and two of their eight children – Mary who is age 12 and James who just turned 15. Bill is a business consultant and does financial and estate planning. Their other children include Cynthia who lives with her husband Jeff and their son Quentin in Urbana, Missouri; Becky who lives in Mesa, Arizona with her husband; Bryan, and their two children, Ian and Sierah; Bill who lives in Mesa with his wife Tina; Dan who lives in Mesa and attends Arizona State University; Sarah who lives in Mesa with her husband, Ed; and Tim who is serving a mission for the LDS Church in Argentina.
[4] Kay lives in St. George, Utah and works for the State of Utah Division of Family Services in the Office of Family Support as a case manager. She enjoys playing the piano, reading, traveling, hiking, camping and visiting family and friends. She is active in the LDS Church working in both the adult women’s and the children’s organization. She has three married children: David and Cristi Foster and their two children in Mesa, Arizona; Chris and Brian Szugye who just recently moved to Salt Lake City where both are working and attending college; and Rob and Anna Foster who have just moved Cedar City, Utah where both are attending college.
[5] Jerry Marlin lives in Scottsdale, Arizona where he is the chief executive officer for Micor Technologies, Inc. a Phoenix based company. His two sons, Garth and Gavin, also live in Scottsdale. Garth is a gourmet chef at Marriott’s Camelback Inn Resort having previously worked as a chef in Massachusetts and Chicago. Gavin works as a foreman in the construction business and is reported to be a gifted poet. Their daughter, Tina, recently graduated from high school in Beaverton, Oregon and is attending college in St. George, Utah where she will be living with her Aunt Kay. She plans to study photojournalism and photographic arts.
[6] Susan and her husband, Steve Bennion, live in Phoenix, Arizona. Steve works in both development and sales for a computer software company, and Susan just completed training and is currently working as a certified Montessori teacher. They are active in the LDS Church. Susan is artistic and loves working with children. Steve enjoys hiking. Both love music. Their oldest son Scott and his wife Becky live in Phoenix. Their son Phil just graduated from BYU in human biology and plans to attend medical school. Paul is just finishing an LDS mission to the Canary Islands; Reagan, their only daughter, is age 16 and will be a junior in high school this fall.
[7] Patty Anne and her husband Loren Keith Williams have just moved to Naperville, Illinois where Keith is employed by The Beautiful Sound selling Steinway pianos. Keith enjoys all sports and regularly plays golf and tennis. Patty is artistic and creative and enjoys interior decoration, collecting “affordable” art pieces, and painting. She also enjoys sports. They have three children. Heather Leigh is working and attending college, and will soon leave on an LDS mission. Andrea, who prefers to be called “Andee” is married to Chandler Crismon, and they reside in Salt Lake City. Lisa and her husband, Steve Godwin, live in Naperville.
Home at 748 West Center, Provo
Duplex at 721 West Center, Provo
