Women's Services

Maud

Fond of her athletic older brothers, Maud McArthur ignored her mother's pleas to be ladylike. She rode to school on horseback, wearing red flannel pantaloons which she rolled beneath her skirts for class. Still, Maud learned housekeeping from her Danish mother and dancing from her Scottish father. In her teens she attended Brigham Young Academy, but ended her studies when her mother passed away.

At BYA Maud's athleticism earned recognition. Captain of the Academy's first basketball team, she led BYA to victory over the University of Utah, winning the regional championship in 1900. Maud also met her future husband, Archie Price Spilsbury, at BYA. Walking in Provo with a friend, Maud saw Archie for the first time and whispered, "That's the man I'm going to marry." Eventually the couple met, and when Maud returned home, Archie drove to Mt. Pleasant to court her.

After three months of marriage, Archie received a mission call to St. Louis, Missouri. In his absence, Maud gave birth to a baby boy, who was almost two years old when Archie returned. Cattle ranchers by trade, the Spilsburys moved from Toquerville to Cedar City so their four children could attend school. Maud herself took courses in literature. She set up a tennis court on the family's new lawn, passing on the tradition of sportsmanship.
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Maud