Funny kids

I have always considered my children to be fairly normal. However, I realize I may have a father's inherent bias and it is possible that I am stretching the definition of "fairly normal." Here you can see two ... interesting ... photos. One apparently shows my daughters morphing into pillows. Or perhaps they had a little too much to eat for Thanksgiving, I'm not really sure.

The other photo is a February 1988 birthday party for Laura and Lisa. Apparently the Marx brothers showed up to entertain the birthday girls.

Stuffed Animals

Apparently I have always had a thing for stuffed animals. As you can see, this started at a very early age. Here I am, only a few months old, surrounded by a collection of stuffed bears. I vaguely remember a large stuffed bear with plastic eyes, but have no idea if the large animal at my right in this photo is the one I remember.

I do remember the large red dog in the second photo. At age 10 or 11 I participated in an Easter Egg hunt on the grounds of Midvale Elementary School. Inside some of the plastic eggs were slips of paper with numbers designating a stuffed animal prize. One of the eggs I collected had such a slip and I took it back to the booth to see what I had won. But there was no prize matching my number. I waited very patiently as all the other kids collected their prizes to see what was left. I couldn't help but notice the largest prize of all, a big red dog. I tried not to get my hopes up, but grew more and more excited as the prizes were distributed. Finally, I was the last one left with a number -- and the red dog was the only prize left! How thrilled I was to take home what I felt was the grand prize.

Right to bear arms?

Apparently I had something of a gun fetish when I was younger. Here are some photos that appear to be taken in two locations. I believe the photos with my britches being held up by suspenders were taken at the place we lived in Tooele. My parents were renting this place when I was born, but I have no memory of this house. We lived here until I was a couple of years old, then moved to West Jordan where my parents both worked for a time at the sugar factory. Both of these photos are dated November 1955, so I could have been no older than 16 months when they were taken.



I think the other photos are of our house in West Jordan (8235 South 1750 West). I have a vague memory of the wallpaper and the pattern on the floor. My first memories are of living in this house. I will have to ask Grandma O if I am right about these places.

Junior and Senior High School Photos

Following sixth grade, in the summer of 1966 my family moved to South Jordan to the house where Grandma O lived from then until the summer of 2007 when she moved to West Jordan. My "growing up years" were spent in South Jordan. I attended West Jordan Junior High School (the "Shamrocks") for grades 7-9 and attended Bingham High School (the "Miners") in Copperton for grades 10-12. I graduated from BHS in May or June of 1972 at age seventeen.

Seventh grade, 1966-67, twelve years old

Eighth or Ninth grade, 1967-68 or 1968-69, thirteen or fourteen years old

Sophomore, 1969-70, fifteen years old

Junior, 1970-71, sixteen years old

Senior, 1971-72, seventeen years old

Elementary School Photos

Here is a rogue's gallery of school photos from my elementary school years ... not a photo from every grade, but a good sampling showing changes over time. I attended West Jordan Elementary for grades one to three. My teachers were Mrs. Carter, Miss Solumn, and Mrs. Graham.

After third grade, we moved to Midvale and I attended Midvale Elementary for grades four to six. My teachers were Mrs. Huber, Mrs. Haun, and Mr. Johnson

First grade, 1960-61, six years old

Second grade, 1961-62, seven years old

Third grade, 1962-63, eight years old

Fourth or Fifth grade, 1963-64 or 1964-65, nine or ten years old

Sixth grade, 1965-66, eleven years old

Grandma O made the leopard-skin vest. It was my favorite!

Car Talk

My first car didn't even run. My Dad bought a 1951 Chevrolet from one of his friends for $10 and a six-pack of beer. It was supposed to be a "project car" for us to fix up together, but it didn't turn out that way. I don't remember that he ever got it running and think he eventually sold it or gave it to one of his drinking buddies.

When I started working at the gas station, I saved my money and bought a 1961 Thunderbird. I immediately had it painted black.

Try to imagine this car as pure, shiny black with shiny chrome trim and whitewall tires!

The T-bird was a gas hog, but definitely a cool car. I added some extras: mohair on the dash (to cover a crack), shag carpet, an 8-track stereo system, and surfer foot dimmer switch and accelerator pedals.

A small left foot for the dimmer switch and a
large right foot for the accelerator pedal.

When I left for my mission, I sold this car for $225 (ouch!).

Upon returning from my mission, I attempted to buy a red 1971 (I think) Plymouth Duster like this one.

My car did have a black vinyl top, but not chrome wheels.

But I couldn't get a loan because I had no credit history! So my Mom had to co-sign with me for a loan so I could get a car to go to school. I really liked this car. It had a front bench seat (important for dating) and a manual three-speed transmission. I added a stereo to this car also, but think that by this time I had graduated to a cassette tape system (newer technology). Once the shift linkage went out in this car and I drove home all the way from Provo without stopping (if I stopped, the engine would die because I couldn't take the car out of gear). I don't remember this, but Wane ways I sold this car to him when I was ready to buy my next vehicle.

Young Family

On the reverse of this photo is written, "Wane 4 months, Dee 3." Wane was born in October of 1956. Four months later would have been February of 1957. However, I didn't turn three until July of 1957. So the dates are a little off and I can't be sure exactly when this photo was taken or even how old we are here.

I don't think it is apparent in this photo because Wane is so young, but he looks more like my Dad than either Gary or I do. If this was early in 1957, my Dad would have been 24 or 25 years old (his birthday is March 21) and my Mom would have been 23 (her birthday is July 1).

Long, long ago ...

Three photos to share with you today. The first is of my Mom sitting up in a bed holding me when I am six days old. Grandma O had turned 20 years old on July 1; I was born nearly four weeks later. It appears that I had some hair and a fat face!

The second photo shows me propped up on a pillow in a rocking chair. In this photo I am six months old and am wearing the suit and sweater in which I was blessed. Don't I look like a girl? By the way, while in college I took an upholstery class and recovered this rocking chair in green fabric. It sits in my basement today.

The third photo has a processing date of April 1955. If that is the same month the photo was taken, I would be nine months old. I am taking a bath in a white enamel pan and appear somewhat surprised at the flash from the camera.

Tree House

Does anyone remember the tree house we built at our first house in Salt Lake City? When we moved into this house the yard was quite overgrown. We trimmed the bushes along the street and took many loads to the dump. Once we cleaned up the yard, I turned my attention to building a tree house on the trunks of a couple of dead trees in the back yard.

This picture shows the tree house under construction. You can see the frame and a piece of siding cut to shape leaning up against the base of the tree. If you look closely, you can also see a dog house next to the piece of siding with the word "Abby" stenciled above and to the left of the opening. I will search to see if we have a picture of the tree house once it was finished.

When we moved from Utah to Olathe, Kansas one of the members of the ward (with our permission) immediately removed the tree house and took it to his own place. Kids, what memories do you have of this tree house? I was always afraid it was going to fall down because the trees were not all that sturdy. You can see an additional leg on the left side for extra support. There is also another leg that cannot be seen in this photo behind one of the trunks.

Five Children, Four Corners

Here is a photo from 1993 of our five children at Four Corners, standing at the intersection of the states of Utah (upper left), Colorado (upper right), New Mexico (lower right), and Arizona (lower left). This was taken during one of our visits to Brenda's grandparents in Waterflow, New Mexico.

During a family vacation when I was a child, my family also went to Four Corners. Not only did we stand on this same spot, but I also prevailed upon my Dad to buy me some cheap souvenir -- a toy hatchet, as I remember it. I will be interested to hear memories of my own children about this visit and any trinkets we may have purchased for them!

Three Amigos

Gary, Wane, Dee in 1980 or 1981

In 1980 I turned 26, Wane turned 24, and Gary turned 21. So we could be plus or minus one year from these ages, depending on the month and year the photo was taken. We don't look all that different than we do now, do we? This was taken in Huntington, Utah, where Wane and Gary lived while working in the coal mines (I'm not sure if this was the time they lived and worked there, however.) Uncle Gary starting working in the mine not too many years after high school and stayed in Huntington for a number of years until he decided to move back to the big city. Wane worked in the mine for a much shorter time before joining the Provo fire department.

One interesting thing about Wane was that, while he grew a beard, I never remember him having a mustache. Gary had long hair that many girls envied. And it took him just as much time as any girl to wash, dry, and brush it out.

Here is another photo, I don't know when or where this photo was taken. Do you think it is earlier or later than the previous one?

Dee, Wane, Gary in an undated photo