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Show SPANISH FORK WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2009 Covering what matters most Enjoy carefree summer Happiness is Homemade Marilyn M. Atwood that represented your children. That game never prepared me for real life where my van would befilledwith 8 kids and days would become busy and hectic. Yes, times have changed and life gets more complex as the years go by. This week, the last of eight children will be getting married along with the arrival of another grandbaby, number eighteen. Now at family gatherings we will have as many as 3^ people, but life is good. The rewards for years of hard work and facing the challenges of raising a family are many. My family is the greatest, source of joy to me. There is a song about happiness I learned a long time ago. I searched out "Charlie Brown happiness song" on the Internet and watched the cartoon of some things that bring happiness to children. It mentions food like ice cream and pizza, but my favorite phrase is "having a sister, sharing a sandwich, getting along". It made me decide to take time out of my busy schedule to enjoy the simple things in life and share them with those I love. The past few weeks I've been remembering the carefree summer days of my youth. No worries or stress, just fun filled days doing whatever I wanted. I could walk less than three blocks to the public library and find a book on any subject to read without the pressure of school and trying to get good grades. Our back yard was a perfect place with a covered patio to relax in the shade and read. There was time for drawing paper dolls and designing their clothes to wear. I liked to crochet and cross stitch and kept busy by making hand made treasures for my "hope chest". As a teenager, I loved sitting down to the piano to play and sing my favorite songs. I spent hours sitting on my front porch playing the guitar and watching for a certain boy to drive by in his blue Volkswagen. On special occasions like the 24th of July, we would celebrate by eating out. I was so lucky to live less than a block away Homemade Ice Cream from Glade's, the best place in town for hamburgers, fries and milk4 cups fruit (peaches, shakes. Back then, a milk- raspberries or strawberries) shake was only 25 cents 1/4 cup lemon juice and they had so many fla3 cups sugar vors to choose from. My 4 cups cream favorite was raspberry, so 1 can evaporated milk, thick and delicious that I chilled savored every spoonful. 6 cups milk (or more) There was always time for playing games. Our Chop or mash the fruit back yard was the gather- and combine with lemon ing place for croquet or juice and sugar. Let it sit basketball. If it was too for 15 or 20 minutes or unhot, my friends and I would til sugar is dissolved. Complay board games to pass bine all ingredients in a 6 the time. My favorite was quart ice cream maker and "Life" where you would get add milk to the fill line. Put an occupation and fill your the lid on tightly, add ice car with pink and blue pegs and rock salt and freeze. Pondering our heritage 'Round and About Benjamin Kathleen Olsen Oh! There is nothing that tastes better than the first juicy, red tomato fresh from the garden,' We've had ours this week and it was wonderful and we have more to look forward to as long as the warm weather lasts - a blessing of summer. ••• As you enjoy the parade and rodeo in connection with Fiesta Days, be sure to acknowledge Lacey Godfrey, first attendant to the rodeo queen, Lacey is the daughter of Sid and Chris Godfrey of Benjamin. ••• Congratulations to Paul and Phyllis King on the safe arrival of a new granddaughter. The little girl was born in Canton, Georgia and is named Kathryn Edith Cannigietir and is the daughter of Laura and Jeff Cannigietir. She was greeted by two older brothers and one sister. Grandma Phyllis was able to go to Canton to help for several days. ••• Making a delightful trip to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for the Calgary Stampede were several Benjamin couples who made a regular caravan between here and Calgary. They included Ron and Karen Oveson and their daughter, Vickie Harris and two children, Casey and Brandy, Blaine and LuAnn Wride, Greg and Kathy Nielson, Bert and Lucille Argyle, and Cy and Carol Nielson. Stops en route included Lava Hot Springs, West Yellowstone, Glacier Na- Fiesta Days spirit Way to be, Spanish Fork City! What a refreshing delight it was to drive past the fairgrounds this week and witness the absolutely impressive, brand new patriotic flags that grace the fence line! It's so exciting to sense the spirit of Fiesta Days and what better way to instill that community spirit and enthusiasm for the celebration than with such a patriotic display as you've provided for all to enjoy! Let the celebrating begin! Brent and Reta Tischner Salem Madison's Avenue by "Big Al" and "Farnzy" ONE DAY TOLE ON THE WAY TO WATCH THE PARADE... Remember the 5k run and children's race for 'Mark, the Great', that will' take place at the Benjamin Park on Saturday, Aug, 1, 2009. Proceeds will go to help the family of Mark Richardson, who recently— passed away, The 5k will begin at 8 a.m. and the kids' race at 9 a.m. ••• It's difficult to believe that it's time for the 24th of July festivities already this summer is really flying by. I hope we take time to ponder the reason this day is a special day for Utah and surrounding areas and to think of those who came here to give us a great heritage. My own ancestors came directly to Utah from... Wales and England. Four of them are buried in Provo and the rest are buried in the Spanish Fork cemetery. Even though they came from approximately Shirlene R. Ottesen With the completion of the Pioneer Heritage Cemetery on the East Bench, my night reading has been that of several histories of those courageous people. I am so in awe of the women who played such a big part in the settlement of this area. Years ago I came across a poem that I think tells it "like it was" and it is. called "The Woman in the Sunbonnet." One historian wrote: "The chief figure of the American West, the figure of the age is not the long-haired, fringed-legginged man riding a rawboned pony, but the gaunt and sad-faced women sitting on the front seat of the wagon, following her man where he might lead her, her face hidden in the same ragged sunbonnet which had crossed the plains long before. There was the seed of America's wealth; The Woman in the Sunbonnet." (The Quilters of Illinois). of some of the very early settlers. I haven't had a chance to read all of them, but one that I enjoyed was about Serena Gahrsen Gardner. I'm sure that there are many relatives of this good woman living in our area today because she became the seventh wife of Archibald Gardner and lived in Leland. She was born in Norway and this history said she had "waist length Norwegian blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes." She married Henrik Evensen, also from Norway and lived in Reisor, Norway. They had four children, but the oldest, Torjus was only six years old when he died of an infection. Soon after, the parents joined the Mormon Church. Henrik was the third man to be baptized in Norway and Serena was the first woman . Immediately Henrik lost his job aboard a ship so he and a friend bought a boat and began their own fishing business in order to save money to join the Saints gathering in Utah. The day before they were to leave there was a terrible storm and Henrik and his friend drowned. I like that. In 1997, the Provo Daily Herald put out an interesting publication called, "Our Pioneers" Even after losing a and in it are many histories son and husband, Serena submitted by descendants was determined to' come o u c o o t the same area, they didn't know each other and had varied backgrounds. There is a great grandfather who was a sea captain for much of his life prior to his conversion to the LDS church. The last ship he sailed was the ship that brought his family to America. The first time he met up with a team of oxen, he didn't know which end of the animals the yoke went on - he was used to big ships - not oxen with their own minds. Another great grandpa owned part of a good coal mine in Wales called the Saints' Pit because he tended to hire members of the LDS church which helped them earn their passage to Utah. We even have a ship board romance in our history which resulted in a wedding at sea. A great grandmother had been raised in a lovely home and she left it all to join with the saints. Somehow, she managed to get a set of lovely china to Spanish Fork - she might be jjoing to a wilderness but her family was still going to learn manners and etiquette. Yet another great grandmother was expecting a baby in November and her husband was trying his best to get her to Spanish Fork before then. So, he sent her and the other children south from Salt Lake with a kind man going to Spanish Fork who had room in his wagon. All went well until something spooked the team of horses causing them to bolt and run away. That sent my grandmother into labor and the only accommodation was a one room cabin with a family of nine in it..The baby was safely delivered but after one day in that tiny crowded home, she decided the wagon ride would be better and the journey was resumed with everyone arriving safely in Spanish Fork. Another great grandfather sadly buried his wife and new born baby in an unmarked grave at Ft. Laramie, Wyo., gathered his four other children together, and continued the journey to Zion. I am fortunate to have in my home, the wooden box that carried their belongings. And then there were five ancestors with the Hunt Wagon train that accompanied the Martin Handcart Company across the plains and through the terrible conditions they were called on to endure. Thankfully, they all survived. These examples are just some of what my progenitors were called on to endure to make it to Zion. We have traveled most of the Mormon Trail from Nauvoo to Salt Lake and have experienced some very special feelings at many of the places. About a month ago, we again visited Martin's Cove in Wyo., this time to see a little granddaughter baptized in the Sweetwater River very close to where the ruts of the wagon trains are still visible. It was an unsettled day with bursts of wind and fitful spits of rain, giving us just a taste of what our ancestors had gone through day after day. It was a sobering but exhilarating day and brought even more appreciation for those who had sacrificed and hung on through some pretty rough experiences for which we are the beneficiaries. I hope we never forget just how what we have now all came about. Happy Pioneer Day! Remembering the pioneers There and Back Again Letter to the Editor tional Park (including the-Going to the Sun Highway), the LDS temple at Cardston, Alberta, and their ultimate destination, Calgary. There they enjoyed many of the activities that make up the Stampede including the rodeo, the program extravaganza, the chuck wagon races plus many displays and other things. After several days there, they traveled west into Banff National Park and Lake Louise; then north to the Columbia Ice Fields where they traveled right onto the icefieldsin special buses designed for such trips. They traveled on into British Columbia where their route required crossing two lakes on ferries. They all made it home safe and sound and had a wonderful time. ••• to America. Her brother tried to dissuade her, but she turned down his offer to take care of her and the children. So with three small children, she set sail for America. During the voyage, tiny Marie died in her mother's arms and was buried at sea. Weeks later she arrived in New Orleans with little money and spoke no English. She joined a wagon train and headed for Utah. During the trek, while Serena's wagon was being lowered down a steep cliff, the ropes holding the wagon broke and tumbled down a cliff-landing upside down at the bottom. Two yearold Erastus had been asleep in the wagon and was face down in thick, gooey mud and was not breathing. He was quickly cleaned off, blessed and prayed over and started breathing again. Serena was overjoyed that the long journey had not claimed another of her family. woodpile replenished. One day she discovered that her benefactor was a Scotch miller named Archibald Gardner. They were married in 185(T. Brigham Young sent him to Spanish Fork to build a grist mill. Serena spent her last years on a family farm in Leland, spinning and weaving and raising chickens and making butter. Often she would walk to town with her basket of eggs for sale. Her health allowed her to do this until she was 75 years old. The closing paragraph of the history reads, "She was meek and kindly in spirit, but endowed with indomitable courage and faith in God that sustained her to the end of her long and colorful life. She died January 11 at age 78." So as we celebrate our Utah Pioneer Day this weekend, I hope that we all take a few minutes to reflect on the lives of those who worked so hard so that When she arrived in we can enjoy what we have Utah she was twenty dol- today. Men, women and lars in debt. More than children alike truly paved once when there was only the way for us but as I close a tiny bit of flour left she this column I pay special would pray for help and tribute to the women who find a sack of flour on her showed unwavering deterdoorstep. When her supply mination to participate in of wood was dangerously the gathering to Salt Lake low, she would see the such as Serena Gardner. Dream: o •o n JO From DREAM • A2 "Maricela, If you fall off your bicycle...you need to COWGIRL UP and get right back on it!" of the pioneers, coming to a land where they could build homes, raise fami- lies and worship as they pleased, without threat of persecution. All of these dreams and more,fromso many over so many years, add up to the Dream — the constant hope of humanity for a better life, a better world, and better selves. And so, as I think back on it, we really are "Living the Dream," enjoying the culmination of the goals and aspirations of those who have gone before us, adding to it our own dreams and passing on that legacy to those yet to come. |