Agnes, by Marty

Agnes Matilda Lavin was born December 1, 1890, in Salt Lake City.  Her mother, Tilda Lovisa Borjesson Lavin and her father, Anders Peter Lavin lived on Regent Street, one of the busy streets in the city.  The little family lived in an apartment above a tailor shop.  When she was six weeks old, her parents moved to Quince Street, and later to Grape Street, in what was called the Marmalade District of Salt Lake City.  Agnes had two younger brothers born there, both of whom died as tiny children.  That left just Agnes and her older brother, George.

The next move took them to Social Hall Avenue, where Tilda organized a boarding house.  Anders Peter Lavin was a carpenter, furniture maker, and violin craftsman. When the LDS church called for skilled tradesmen for work on the SL Temple, Anders responded and helped do finishing work in the temple. 

Anders left his wife and family when Agnes was eight years of age.  Though they couldn't seem to live together as husband and wife, they remained friends for the rest of their lives.  When Agnes and her brother George were grown with their own families, it was routine for Grandma Tilda to attend family parties with her new husband Gus, and her ex-husband Anders.  They even arrived together as a three-some.  When Tilda lay dying at a party on Christmas Eve, Uncle Gus played host, while Anders tended to Tilda's needs and sat by her side, holding her hand.  

Agnes was involved in the social scene of the time.  She carried flags and wore sashes in a parade when the Brigham Young Monument at South Temple and Main Street was unveiled.  She remembered when soldiers marched off to the Spanish American War. When they returned they marched through a great arch built from the four corners of 2nd South and Main Street. Agnes was there.

Agnes loved theater, and was part of the wonderful "Nineties" which involved Social Hall Avenue, the great Salt Lake Theater, wooden sidewalks on Main Street, genteel ladies dressed in log sweeping gowns, with furry boas, and big plumed hats.  She loved hats and loved to tell her children of one which was known in that day as a white leghorn.  Very expensive, it had lilly-of-the-valley flowers all around it with little black velvet bows tied here and there.  She had a hat decorated with colored ostrich tips, and another of a fine blue and white felt, with a costly plaid ribbon which was wide and nearly a half yard long, fixed gracefully around the crown and floating down her back.

Agnes was able to travel by steamer across the ocean in 1910 to visit England and Sweden at the time her brother George was released from his mission.  She was a childhood actor and thrilled to tell the stories of playing in Ben Hur on the old SL Theater Stage.  She wrote pageants and Christmas programs for her own seven children, which were admittedly, stellar productions.