Betty Jean Hudson 1920 - 1993

Betty Hudson

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Betty Jean Hudson History

Betty Jean Hudson was born 31 August 1920 in Blackfoot, Idaho. She was the 5th of 7 children born to Harry Clyde Hudson (McLaughlin) and Lennie Mae Downing.

In the 1930 census, Betty is listed as a daughter, age 9, in the household of her father H Clyde Hudson and living with her siblings Everette(19), Dorothy(19), Margaret(15), Julia(11) and Don(5) in Blackfoot, Idaho. We learn further from the census that the rent on their house was $8/month and they did not live on a farm. Her father and oldest brother were employed as cooks in a cafe.

Betty 1930 Census ( Entire page )

From the 1940 census(line 30, column 17) we learn that Betty was living in Firth, Idaho in 1935

It was at a dance in Blackfoot that Betty met her husband James Elmer Baird. Their first dance was to the song: Red Sails in the Sunset". It became their song. Here is a rendition by Nat King Cole on Youtube. They were married on November 19, 1936. Below is an image of the listing of their marriage in the Western States Marriage index

Jim & Betty Wedding record

Soon after they were married Jim and Betty moved to California where Jim worked at Construction. They returned and lived in Firth and then Blackfoot. They lived in Blackfoot most of their lives.

Jim and Betty

In the 1940 census, Betty is listed as the wife, married and living with Jim and Dick in Blackfoot, Idaho. Also living with them were Betty's father Harry Clyde Hudson and her younger brother Don Hubert Hudson. Betty is listed as working in the home with annual wages of $0.

Betty 1940 Census ( Entire page )

1941 Jim (age ~26), Betty, Dick & Lana

In 1942 Jim and Betty were living at 756 E Judicial in Blackfoot, Idaho. The WWII gas rationing card below is for their 1936 Ford Tudor, license plate 6A-4146.

WWII gas ration card

1944 Jim, Betty(age ~24), Dick & Lana

1946 Jim, Betty (age ~26), Dick & Lana

Lana Baird Grinnell:

    "My first thought when I think of when I was young was on Saturday night Dad, Mom, Dick and I went out to eat at the Wagon Wheel I really looked forward to those nights out and I thought I was really neat. With my good looking big brother, handsome father and friendly and very popular mother, I felt very grand going out with all of them to eat."

Lana Baird Grinnell:

    I remember as a girl mom would spend much of her time working in her flower and vegetable gardens. She did this until her health prevented her from doing this.

Lana Baird Grinnell:

    "I remember the family picnics. There were the yearly picnics with Mom’s family down on the river bottoms where there were fun spots to explore and fun games including stickball (which was fun to watch even if you didn‘t play) and lots of food and kids. The Baird picnics were also fun and it was fun to go see Grandma and Grandpa because they lived on a farm."

1952 Jim, Betty (age ~32) & Lana

Lana Baird Grinnell:

    "Mom and dad belonged to a square dance group for a few years. They always liked to dance and when we went to the Elk's club for dinner they would always join other couples on the dance floor."

Lana Baird Grinnell:

    "Mom enjoyed playing cards, any game, and with anyone who wanted to play. She would play with my friends and me when we were younger. When I was in high school several times a week when I got home from school she would be playing Cribbage with our neighbor, Donna. They would play for hours as often as they could. She would spend several afternoons playing cards with Ann and me when we were around."

Darlene Allen Baird (daughter-in-law):

    "That summer before we were married (1956) we went looking, Jim, Betty, Lana, Dick, and I for a cabin site. We went to Palisades and started driving up a mountain road, just got started on the road when Betty said “okay, Stop here.“ Jim stopped driving and Lana and Betty got out and walked up the road. We drove up. Betty does not like mountain roads."

1959 Jim, Betty (age ~39)
Jim's mother Winnifred Kirkman Baird, daughter-in-law Darlene Allen Baird, grandson Mike Baird

Betty was a member of the B.P.O.E (Elks lodge) Does. Betty also worked for a number of years at the Elk's club. Lana Baird Grinnell:

    "Mom went to work at the Elk's Club during the lunch period which was about 3 hours a day. She enjoyed this very much as she was very outgoing and enjoyed visiting with all the customers. While working there she saved her dimes she got in her tips so she could buy a dining room table. She was very proud of being able to buy this with her own money. We always referred to the table as her "10 cent" table."

Lana Baird Grinnell:

    Mom bowled on a league for many years, sometimes two or three times a week. She and dad bowled on a league together for a few years. She was a very good bowler and won many awards for her high scores. She also enjoyed participating in city and state bowling tournaments.
    The bowling trips I went on with my mother were lots of fun and we had many nights spent talking all night which girls really need and enjoy.

Michael Baird (grandson):

    "I don't ever remember grandma driving the car. She must have of course but I don't remember it. I do remember she didn't like riding in the mountains. Up at the cabin in Island Park on the road leading to the cabin was a tree at one of the 90 degree turns in the road that had a sideways "U" shaped curve in it about 5' off the ground. I remember as a little boy asking grandpa Baird (Jim) what caused that tree to be like that. He told me that one time my grandma (Betty) was driving the car on that road. The tree thought she was going to hit it so it curved its body to get out of the way."

Betty was known to her family as great cook.

Lana Baird Grinnell:

    "Mom was a fantastic cook and didn't need recipes and would measure by feel. Like a pinch of salt and sugar to taste. She learned how to cook from Grandpa Hudson because he cooked in cafes and she was so little when her mom died she spent a lot of time in the kitchen with grandpa Hudson. I have made some dishes using her methods and it makes my daughter Ann crazy because she likes things to be precise. All of mom's dishes were good, except I never acquired a taste for liver and onions. I always liked the cream gravy best and Dick liked the roast gravy best. She had a cast iron pan that she cooked most of her meats in and her pork chops were always cooked perfectly with a beautiful light brown coating of corn flake crumbs. She also made a marvelous chocolate cake that was a recipe from grandpa Hudson and she would make a layer cake and put bananas in the middle. She always made a great dinner in the evening and when you got home from work or school you would be able to smell dinner. Fried potatoes and onions was another favorite. For a few years I remember her baking bread from scratch which was always yummy. Later she would buy frozen loafs to cook and although they smelled and taste good they didn't compare to hers."

    Darlene Allen Baird:

      "Nobody does pork chops like Betty and absolutely no one does a roast like Betty. Betty keeps telling me it‘s the pan but now I’m older and wiser and I know it is really the cook."

    Michael Baird:

      "What I remember when eating dinner at grandma's house and what I looked forward the most toward was her roast beef with potatoes and gravy. She made great brown beef gravy."

    Barbara Baird Lewis (Granddaughter):

      "I always remember Grandma looking so pretty and dainty plus she was such a good cook. I love her salad best of all."

    1982 Jim & Betty Baird (age 62)

    Lana Baird Grinnell:

      "After I moved to Boise often when we made the trip back to Blackfoot we would go to the cabin. That was a long drive so it got to the point dad would take Greg and Alan, and sometimes their friends, to the cabin and mom, Ann and I would have a girls weekend. We would go to lunch, shopping and then return home to play cards."

    James D Baird (grandson):

      "There were many many times I sat around with grandma eating cookies and playing Yatzee."

    Lana Baird Grinnell:

      "Mom was an avid reader and always had a book by her chair that she was reading. I believe her favorites were historical novels. She was also very good at crossword puzzles and often had books filled with the puzzles she could complete."

    In her later years Betty suffered from emphysema. This disease effects the lungs and causes shortness of breath and chronic bronchitis. In her last years she had an oxygen tank with her everywhere to supplement her breathing.

    Lana Baird Grinnell:

      "Once her health started to deteriorate and she had to use oxygen she didn't like to leave the house and spent her time reading and watching TV."

    Betty died Thursday, June 10, 1993 (age 72) at the Bingham memorial Hospital from complications of a stroke. Funeral services were held Monday June 14, 1993. She was buried in the Grove City Cemetery, Blackfoot, Idaho. Her obituary is at this link.

    Betty and Jim's grave stone

    Galleries of photos (Password Required - Contact Michael Baird for password)