The Russians are coming!

I moved from West Jordan to Midvale in the summer of 1962. This meant starting fourth grade in a new school, Midvale Elementary. I was terrified at moving and leaving behind all my friends, and thought that life as I knew it had come to an end. I was so shy and afraid that when a classmate asked me my name the first day of school I would not answer. It was a very challenging year because of a teacher's strike as the year began. In the first few days of school I had eleven different teachers. But once the strike was over, an exciting opportunity became available.

Howard Johnson, a sixth grade teacher, assembled a class of fourth grade students an hour before school each day to teach Russian language, singing and dance. For three years we met together to study. Eventually we began putting on performances around the Salt Lake valley and even attended language forums at BYU.

These photos show Mr. Johnson and his students in our home-made (thanks, Mom!) costumes we wore when performing. The photos are of very poor quality. But they are the only ones I have of this experience and provide at least a sense of what we looked like then.

Mr. Johnson and me in his sixth-grade classroom

Russian dancing (I am left of center)

Singing Russian folk songs

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

Fishing

I regret that when you children were young I talked much more about going fishing than I actually took you fishing. My father took me fishing often and I really enjoyed this. Some time you will have to ask Grandma O about the night she came home from working at the sugar factory covered with sugar dust and looking forward to a bath before going to bed only to find the tub filled with catfish we brought home to show her.

Here is evidence of one fishing trip we did take. While the catch is not trophy size, I hope the memories linger.

Hairy Potter?

In 1993 we went on vacation and I decided not to shave while we were gone. When I got back, this is what I looked like.

Mom won't let me do this again, so this is probably the only photo you will see of me with a beard. She says she doesn't want to feel like she is kissing her father. I'm glad I did this fourteen years ago; if I grew a beard now, it would be mostly gray!

I hope they call me on a mission ...

I'm still going through old photos and came across some from my missionary days in Saigon. Mom's favorite is the photo of the food vendor. On the back of the original I wrote the following: "Here is the sidewalk vendor assuring me that her deep-fried sweet potatoes won't make me sick." We tried to be selective as to what we purchased on the street. We figured that anything deep fried probably killed most of the germs. Even so, we didn't do this often. Once I bought some fresh squeezed sugar cane juice thinking this would be safe, but I got extremely sick for a week. It was so bad that while recovering I passed out on the way to the bathroom and cut my chin when I fell.

The other photo is me trying to be funny. Written on the back of this photo is this: "A xich lo (pronounced sit low) which was our main form of transportation before bikes. Sometimes this is what you feel like after riding in one. The record for one of these is about 11 or 12 people." These vehicles were available both in a pedal version and in a motorized version, like this one. Two elders made a snug fit in the narrow seat. The 11 or 12 people I once saw riding a similar vehicle were mostly children, obviously.

Young and Goofy

Twenty years ago I was working for Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation in Salt Lake City when Mom and I had the opportunity to go to Mexico on a business trip where spouses were invited to attend. Here is one photo from that trip showing how young (and goofy) we once were.

What is with the hat and the short shorts?

Time passes quickly! A few years ago I ran across a statement that I have tried to adopt: "Life is the process of exchanging time for memories." While I wish I had fully understood this earlier in life, I hope my children have some good memories of childhood, growing up, and some of the fun activities we experienced and traditions we established.

Who can forget the night we were camping and the tent collapsed on us? Or the July camping vacation where we got snowed on and it rained so much we had to dig a trench around the tent to channel the water away from us? Remember building the tree house? What about putting a roof on the shed in the back yard? Does anyone remember sledding at Sugarhouse Park? Or going on my company outings to Lagoon (an amusement park)? Did everyone enjoy Saturday morning waffles prepared by chef Dad? Or a fresh lime squeeze on a hot summer day? And how about decorating the war monuments each Memorial Day with fresh cut flowers from our yard? What about ice cream cones following the Priesthood session of General Conference or Daddy-daughter dates?

I hope some of these memories are as meaningful to you as they are to me.

Even Cuter

I have no idea where this photo was taken. It appears to be in a covered wagon, but I don't remember traveling across the plains this way. We usually took the station wagon with Ben in the back seat facing to the rear (sometimes sharing the seat with Abby) or the big blue van with our television and video player watching movie after movie. In the van we used to have a chart showing how to rotate positions so that everyone had a turn in the captain's chairs in the middle. In this photo, I'm not sure if there is a favorite seat.

Looking back, I think we were insane to take some of the trips we took. For example, I remember driving from Salt Lake City down to New Mexico, then to Arkansas, returning by the same route. Our trip lasted nine days, of which we spent three days driving out, three days visiting, and three days driving back ... with five small children!

I also remember one trip where the children tooks turns getting throwing-up sick on successive days. Just as we were leaving for home after an arduous journey, Lindsey (who was sitting between Brenda and me in the front in a car seat) vomited all over herself, in her car seat, and in the crack between the front seats. Though we cleaned up as best as we could, it smelled to high heaven all the way home. Once we were back, I had to remove the front seats from the car to clean properly and get the smell out of the car. Ah, the good old days!

Oh, for cute

Mom is going through thousands of photos she has taken and scanned, trying to decide what to keep (almost everything) and what to toss (almost nothing). So I thought I might share some of the little treasures she has collected along the way. For instance, here is one I had not seen for a long, long time.I believe this was taken when we were living in Tooele, before we moved to West Jordan. I have no recollection of the house in Tooele and don't know if it remains standing. My earliest memory is of living in the little "Sugar Factory" house in West Jordan. This house was owned by my Aunt and Uncle, Vea and Leo Sabey. We lived there until their son, Richard, was ready for his first place. Then we moved to Midvale. This was in the summer of 1963, I believe, between my third-grade and fourth-grade school years.

West Jordan address: 8235 South 1750 West, West Jordan, Utah (this was before zip codes). We did not have a telephone while living here.

Midvale address: 7934 South State Street, Midvale, Utah 84047. Our phone number here was 801-255-8735.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Even though Lindsey isn't home to continue the tradition, I am preparing for this month's double release of the fifth Harry Potter movie and the last book in the series. Last weekend I rented and watched all four videos, which everyone knows I don't like to do. And I also read books five and six again. I thought that I would not go to the bookstore at midnight, as I used to do with Lindsey. But she threw down a challenge I cannot ignore.



The other night while talking our tradition, Lindsey started rubbing it in that she would get the new book an hour before I did because of the time zone difference. She was sure that this year she would finish reading the book before I did. I had to remind Lindsey that being in the Mountain time zone means that it will turn midnight here in Iowa an hour before, not after, it turns midnight in Idaho. "Oh, suck!" she said ... and then immediately started trying to get me to promise that I wouldn't begin reading the book until 1:00am when she would also have a copy.



I think Lindsey deserves a bit of a lesson. So while I originally had planned to go pick up a copy during normal store hours, now I think I need to do the whole stand in line at midnight thing just to humble her! So unless Lindsey has learned one of the spells she can use to stop me, or unless she can use Hermione's time turner in some creative way, or unless she can apparate to the east coast and get a copy of the book an hour before I do ... she is history!

Catching Up

Long time, no blog. You would think that with no children left at home I would have more free time than ever. That is partly true; there is less chaos now. But I can't get at the computer because Mom is busy sorting and cataloging her many, many photos. Right now there are over 7,700 photos on our computer, so this may take some time. I may have to set up a schedule to make sure I get some time online once in awhile.

Last weekend was our annual youth temple trip and service project in Nauvoo. This year we had marvelous weather and only one-semi serious injury during a football game. Most of the young men and young women slept out under the stars. I didn't want to take the chance of being eaten alive by mosquitos, so slept in our tent and was joined by Bishop Helton. I took the seats out of the back of the van and made a bed for Mom with two air mattresses. She still was in a great deal of pain when she awoke the next morning and had trouble getting up and around until her medication took effect.

While we spread wood chips along a trail and pulled weeds (our service project), Mom went shopping in Nauvoo. She wouldn't tell me what she bought, so either she spent too much money or she got a surprise for me. We looked into mailing some fudge to our kids, but the price was prohibitive. So we did eat some fudge (maple nut and chocolate walnut) in their behalf!

Since we are down to one van now, I am biking to work in good weather. Sometimes biking means pedaling my Goodwill bicycle ($15.99) and sometimes -- when I am feeling lazy -- biking means riding Mom's scooter. It is a good thing that Iowa drivers are so courteous. I don't know if I could survive riding a slow (around 30 mph) moped in most places. But I sure am saving money on gasoline.

I have gone to several movies with Mom recently. Unfortunately, most of them were duds, including Pirates 3, Spiderman 3, and Next. Oceans 13 was tolerable. The only real good movie we've seen recently was one from the library, Love Comes Gently, which I highly recommend. So I am about ready to swear off movies again. About the only reason to go to a movie now is 50-cent popcorn on Tuesday night.

We have also gone to see the I-Cubs play twice. As you might expect, we have to wear our matching hats and t-shirts (oh, for cute!). We ran into our previous bishop last time we were there and he commented on our garb. Now that the weather is turning really hot games will probably be too uncomfortable for Mom. We will have to wait for some cooler temperatures before returning to see the I-Cubs play again.

We have also been visiting Gray's Lake and the Blank Park Zoo. We purchased a membership at the zoo, so can go back for no entrance fee. A new exhibit, two bald eagles, just opened at the zoo so we went back today for a short visit. And a walk around Gray's Lake is always a favorite for us when the weather permits.

In a future posting I will see if I can include a few photos of some of these activities from Mom's growing collection.