OCR Text |
Show December 11, 2013 TIMPANOGOS TIMES 3 . . ' aagngfe 11 adventure, but it's the hardest, best job we've had. We joking-ly say it would be perfect if it weren't for the people. Tongue in cheek perhaps, but on the other hand there's more truth to it than we like to admit. On the whole those who come to the Dell have been wonderful and have followed the rules, but every week we en-counter the "entitled" who were sent to earth to test the rest of us. They ignore the signs like, Closed on Sunday, no skating, no dogs, and Please Check in at the Office (two really big signs). Occasionally I would ask peo-ple why they didn't check in and was amazed at their ex-cuses: "I thought that was only for campers," "I thought that was only for scouts," "we've never had to check in before," (NOT) "we're only coming for a picnic," and the unforgettable: "My Stake owns the Dell." I thought I was a patient person, but found out it was a lesson I needed to learn this past summer. I realize my expecta-tions were maybe too high, like thinking people could or would read the BIG signs and check in at the office,-o- not bring their dogs, or not park in front of the No Parking sign. I don't know, maybe the mountain air messed with their brain oxygen which definitely affects eyesight. My tongue got quite sore from bit-ing it! A classic happened this Fall when Rodger asked a parent to keep her kids off the mountain near the zipline. She sarcasti-cally said, "Why, because of the bears?" Nonplussed, Rodger answered, "No, because of the ticks." "Johnny, get down here right this minute!" We laugh every time we tell that story. I won't miss the mice that mocked us by running across the living room floor and into Rodger's chair, then back to the piano. They apparently have no fear of reprisal since our mouse bait disappears like it was can-dy. That isn't as disconcerting as finding the bait gone out of an untripped trap! We've all but welded cheese on the bait trigger and still it's gone in the morning. And yes, we barely touch it to make sure it's work-ing and it does! I guess the mountain air just makes them stronger. I will miss the animals that stay outside where they be-long. We've watched two does this summer, one with a single and the other with twins. It's hard to articulate the excite-ment I felt when I saw one of the newborn fawns just off the trail this Spring, laying as still as it's mother must have taught it. Moments before I had seen the mother and had a fleeting thought of a doe protecting her young by attacking anything that threatens it. That mental picture propelled me down the path sooner than I wanted be-cause I knew momma was close by. We watched them grow over the summer, lose their spots and cavort on the lawn when all the campers were gone. When we arrived last Oc-tober, the Fall colors were reaching their peak and each day I traveled the canyon I ex-perienced anew the grandeur of God's handiwork. Autumn in New England has always been touted as the must-se- e desti-nation, but having seen both, I would take American Fork Canyon any day (except maybe this year when many of the trees were drought-induce- d brown). Farther up the mountain the col-ors were more varied and dis-tinct. Winter was slow in com-ing and never really had the punch as in years past, but we "Granny" continued on Page 8 by Geri Taylor The end of an era (however short) gives cause for reflection, and as our time in the canyon comes to a close, I will share some thoughts of this grand ad-venture. Rodger and I have been the paid caretakers at Mutual Dell for the last 1 5 months and with the closing of the year, so ends our job at the Dell, as well as a form of stewardship that has been in place for many years. The reins will be handed over to full-tim- e missionaries and-unde-the able direction of the agent Stake, this favored rec-reation spot will take on a new mindset of service. First, I want to give my profound thanks to Mike and Karen Johnson who lived here for 14 years and survived to tell the tale. They experienced many changes, helped build new structures, and supervised thousands of young women, scouts, campers and Ward func-tions with style and patience. So what if Karen left on Friday nights -- 1 totally understand! I've laughed at people's comments about our "perfect job" they wish they had, be-cause if they knew what was required, they would say, "No thank you!" Don't get me wrong, for us this has been a perfect job and has been a grand rtmftifp.iff - lIlliTl m mimutm mil ill Vera Adams Davis February 25, 1 920 November 30, 20 1 3 i;' - T u , - - r ' : - Jordan; sisters-in-la- w Nadean (Lynn) Bellows, Orem and Delora Pugh, Pleasant Grove; brothers-in-la- Neil (Jeanne) Davis, Sacramento, California and Eldon (Colleen) Davis Pleasant Grove. She was pie-ced-in death by her husband Joseph Burdell (Bud) Davis, her two brothers, Earl and Harvey and three sisters, Ha-zel, Elzina, and Verda; daughter-in- -law, LuDean Davis, son-in-la- Edwin Rhodes and two grandsons, Kim Da-vis and Tony Mabey. Funeral services were held on Friday, December 6, 2013 at 12:00 noon in the Cherry Hill Third Ward Cha-pel, 1650 South 200 East, Orem. Family and friends at-tended a viewing Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Olpin Family Mortuary, 494 South 300 East, Pleas-ant Grove and at the church on Friday one hour prior to services. Interment was in the Pleasant Grove City Cemetery. Vera remembered when they got electricity, a car and indoor plumbing. She went to B.Y.U., lettered in badminton and never lost a match. She worked in Salt Lake dur-ing the war making bullets. She loved to garden, sew and make quilts. She liked to play games, ski, ice skate, sleigh ride in the winter and play softball in the summer. She loved to be outdoors and enjoyed family and parties. She is survived by five children.: Shirlene (Tom) Crowther, Richfield; Ranee Rhodes, Kearns; Boyd Da-vis, Lehi; Janet (Karl) Mabey, Grand Junction, Colorado; Kevin (Janet) Davis Orem and adopted daughter Yvonne Da-vis of Califorina; 20 grandchil-dren, 40 and a great great grandson. Additional survivors include her sister Fern Cable, West Vera Adams Den' is Vera Adams Davis, 93, passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 30, 2013 at home. She was born Febru-ary 25, 1920 to Stephen and Sarah Adams in Cedar View, Utah near Roosevelt. She married Joseph Burdell (Bud) Davis November 2, 1942 in the Salt Lake Temple. They lived most of their married life in Pleasant Grove, Utah. She was raised in Montwell, Utah. rfflifetrfflffi'. Blended History and Blended Traditions in n ii . i.. .i . r . j fidence in him when it came to adopting. There are some parents who are not sure they can par-ent a child of a different eth-nicity, and they pursue what is known in the adoption world as a genetic match. Basically, a child that looks like them. I have the utmost respect for these parents. It's a remark-able thing to adopt a child, to open your home and your heart to someone who comes to you via a phone call, rather than a delivery room. Our first adoption was a baby, born in Washington to a mother of Asian descent. And he was perfect. Well, as perfect as kids can be. When it came time to adopt again, we found that this time we DID care about the ethnicity. We knew that we were going to continue adding to our family through adoption. It was important to us that our child not grow up as the only Asian in a white fami-ly. So, for our second adoption we looked to China. After that followed, India, Haiti and finally Colombia. Each time we adopted a child or children, we tried to find some things that were unique about that country. We made sure that we bought items that were unique to the country and the culture. Some, like my son's stuffed panda, we gave the children right away. Other items, like dresses for my girls from Colombia, we saved until they were older. We also looked at the holidays that were unique to the coun-tries and tried to incorporate those into our family holiday schedule. So,' while we get ex-cited about New Years Day on January 1, we also enjoy Chi-nese New Years on January 3 1 this year. (Welcome the year of the horse!) While we proudly fly the flag, eat potato salad and enjoy the fireworks shows on Independence Day, July 4, we also acknowledge Haiti's Independence Day, January 1 . We don't think that adding additional holidays takes any-thing away from the distinctly American holidays. At this point, some might be thinking, "Why would you raise your children to honor the holidays of another country? Especially holidays like Gandhi Jayanti or Haiti's Independence Day? America has always been a nation of immigrants. Even the first Americans were not really the first. They displaced peo-ples who came before them. When immigrants came to this country, they brought not only their people, but pieces of their language and culture. Ask yourself why do we cel-ebrate Cinco de Mayo? It's not Mexico's Independence Day. "Bliss" continued on Page 6 by Rodney Bliss With thirteen kids, we have lots of birthdays. But, we love the other holidays as well; the big ones, of course, Easter, Thanksgiving, Hallow-een and Christmas especially is a major event for us. But, we also enjoy Independence days, July 4 and January 1, New Years, January 1 and January 3 1 . We even have been known to show some love to Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, Ghandi's birthday. When we first considered adopting we were asked if we had a preference on the race or ethnicity of the child. The question wasn't one that we'd ever considered. It took us a little while to figure out our answer. We decided, that just as we had accepted whatever birth children God had sent us, we would place the same con- - rrnmm : A1C Walker Completes Tech School " " ' Airman First Class H Henson Walker has re-cently returned from Texas where he completed Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. After graduation he contin-ued his Tech Crew training at Sheppard Air Force in Wichita Falls. He is cur-rently working full time in Salt Lake City. Henson is a graduate of Pleasant Grove High School and joined the Air National Guard at age 17. Airman Walker has al-ways wanted to be a pilot and. intends to serve a mis-sion for the L.D.S Church and then return to pursue a career as a Air National Guard pilot. Airman First- - Class Henson Walker recently returnedfrom Sheppard Air Force in Wichita Falls, Texas. Clegg Achieves Eagle Rank r..n.,......l.i mi., i., , ' ""' I J "Ml:- - - k if " " K i - V". i?N , t 'ins;. ' . ..... - :C ami, ! v -- ,. Troop 1 55 held a court of honor on Wednesday, December 4. In conjunc-tion with the court of honor, an Eagle court of honor was held for Chris-top- er Clegg. For his Eagle project, Chris made fleece blan-kets for the Alpine Valley Care Center. Along with his Eagle, Chris was also present-ed his Venture Ranger Award. The awards presented to the unit were 6 merit badges, 2 Scout Badges, 22 Varsity pins, 1 Varsity letter, 4 Venture Bronze-Outdoo- r, and 1 Venture Bronze-Sport- s. The court of honor was well attended by Scouts, friends and fami-lies. Christopher Clegg delivers fleece blankets to the Alpine Valley Care Center. Senior News Pleasant Grove Jacobs Senior Center, 242 W. 200 S., Pleasant Grove Activities Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Bingo Friday at 1 p.m. Movie Monday at 10:30 a.m. Exercise Class Friday at 10:30 a.m. Exercise Class 1 st & 4th Wednesday at 1 0:30 a.m. Health Clinics MENU Thursday, December 12 Chili Friday, December 13 Ham & Turkey Stuffing Monday, December 16 Meatloaf Tuesday, December 17 Beef Stroganoff Wednesday, December 18 Chicken Pot Pie Lunch served promptly at noon. Call between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to make appointments (801) 785-281-8 Suggested $2 donation. Meals funded by State of Utah Dept. of Human Services, Mountainland Assc. of Gov., and Pleasant Grove City. Call the day before for reservations. |