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Show 2 lv November 24, 2010 4 . ) .'' ); ...... j and was rather up to date on what was going on. You've got to be kidding me! There is no way I would run for public office after I have seen and heard all the problems they have to deal with day after day. In fact, I am surprised that anyone runs for office in their communities for those very same reasons. I think about what if you had to deal with all of the whole nation's problems like our U.S. presidents do. What it all comes down to is that some people like to serve their communities because they like living, in a nice place and "they enjoy being involved. They deserve our thanks and appreciation for all that they do. After going to city coun-cil meetings since 1973, 1 have learned a thing or two and one is that the council members live here, too, and they pay the same bills that we do, and sec-ond, they love this community by Marcella Walker Over the past many years that I have been attending city council meetings, I have gained an appreciation for the city council members because of their love for the city, their willingness to serve when many of us would rather not have the hassle, and their devotion to duty in the face of hostile city folk. When you work for a town's weekly newspaper, you go to a lot of meetings, you meet a lot of nice people, and you learn to appreciate those valiant souls who run for election , work for little pay, work their regular jobs, take all kinds of abuse and not too many thanks for what they do, and take the time to lis-ten to the concerns of their fel-low citizens. These residentscouncil members ran for office to give service to their community. They often choose to run for office again because they enjoy the interaction with the citizens and city employees. Pleasant Grove used to be a relatively small town with a population of about 5,500 in the mid-70'- s. Now this lovely little town of ours has mushroomed to about 34,000 or more. I can hardly believe how fast time has gone and how the city has grown. When our family was still at home, my husband and I worked hard to make ends meet and we had to "rob Peter to pay Paul" as my mother used to say when hard times hit. Sometimes a city is the same as a family. There are more demands than there is budget and a growing community has to have new roads, new utility lines, more li-brary services, more police ser-vices, more fire protection and the list goes on and on. People have often asked me why I don't run for public office since I go to a lot of meetings and give of their valuable time to try to keep the community running in good shape. In fact, they do keep it running in ex-cellent shape. I just would like to say to the council members and may-or that they are deeply appre-ciated and to keep up the good work! (Noting that "work" is what it really is!) And I am sure most of the citizens agree with that. u , f! 'i . ' ; ' I That includes my fiance, espe-cially my fiance. But there is something so special about the aroma of a home. It is so peaceful, so restful. That is exactly what I am looking forward to. There is joy, laughter, comraderie, peace, love, and the spirit that enwraps you. I am so grate-ful for the home my parents brought me up in. It has made me realize how I want my home and how much a home means to me. So, as this holiday comes, go home. Go see your loved ones or even just call them. There is love. There is Thanks-giving. It is a refuge and a safe-ty. It is a place in your hearts where you find happiness. I look forward to Thanksgiving by Marissa Walker What is home? Is it a place, a feeling? Is it a thought or memory? Is it where you re-side or where loved ones are? For me home is where my fam-ily is. This Thanksgiving I get the opportunity to go home, to be with my family. How excit-ing it all is to be able to cel-ebrate the holidays with them. Love is all around. I have thought a lot about home. I use the word without really thinking of the mean-ing, but it means a lot to me. As I thought about all the pos-sibilities, I sorted out what I , thought. Home is not a place, although it is there. Home is not just a thought or memory, although those are there. It is not where I always currently reside. It is where loved ones are, where family is, and where the feeling of love resides. As I get married and start my own family, that will be my home. Although, going to my parents will always still be a home. I think that there are multiple homes you can have. Just because I am soon to be starting my own does not mean that I forget about my past. I do not forget about my family that has always been there for me. This Thanksgiving I am so grateful for family. They are the most precious things to me. If I could have one thing to take with me if I was deserted on an island, it would be my family. and can't wait to spend it with my family and fiance. It will be perfect! Find out where your home is, so you can go there to find what you are looking for. It is the best feeling in the world! Thoughts From The Garden... by Tonya LeMone It is easy to despise what you cannot get. . . This time of year always seems to bring forth the increased emphasis of thankfulness. The most obvious reason of course is that we celebrate the harvest and our traditional Thanksgiving. I am often quoted as saying "1 love my life, I love my life." But it is usually when I hear of a real trial in someone's life that I realize the wonderful life I do have. I do not want to minimize trials in people's lives because trials are usually a blessing in the end and help those around them grow or change in some way. 1 was recently reminded of Aesop's Fable about sour grapes: "One hot summer's day a Fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of Grapes just ripening on a vine which had been trained over a lofty branch. "Just the thing to quench my thirst," quoth he. Drawing back a few paces, he took a run and a jump, and just missed the bunch. Turning round again with a One, Two, Three, he jumped up, but with no greater success. Again and again he tried after the tempting morsel, but at last had to give it up, and walked away with his nose in the air, saying: "I am sure they are sour." More often than not, if there is something we want in life and we are unable to obtain it, we will walk away much like the fox with our nose in the air and with an attitude of "sour grapes". How does that benefit anyone in anyway? Well maybe the grapes are better off. But, as individuals we have shown anything but gratitude toward others and life itself. Let me tell you about a young man that spent a lifetime waiting for people to help him reach the "grapes" in his life. The outstanding thing about this young man is that he never once turned and walked away with his nose in the air and cal'ed his "grapes" sour. This young man waited patiently upon everyone in his life to help him do the smallest of tasks. He waited to eat, he waited to get out of bed in the morning, he waited to get dressed , to go to school , to shower, and at the end of the day he waited to be placed into bed. Even though this trial would have been "sour grapes" to many parents, his parents never once complained but felt the strength of his companionship and the lessons of patience taught daily. I did not know him well but knew of him and although his short 23 years of life on earth were seemingly hard to all of us, he approached life with patience beyond measure and endured waiting. As you sit at the dinner table tomorrow after waiting an entire day to consume your Thanksgiving meal, stop and WAIT for just one minute and think in your heart about the gratitude you have for the life you live, the 'beautiful city you live in, the fact you will be warm this evening and that you can partake of a simple grape anytime, but if that grape seems beyond your grasp, please do not walk away and call it sour. Think of it as a gift you have left for the next person passing by. Thank you for the lessons of patience, Mark, we love you. See you in the garden "Band of Brothers Part II" John let his little brother, Glade, have the job since Glade was married. The Band of Brothers truly cared for one another. John met, courted and would marry Josephine Madsen on December 16, 1948. He had an instant family with a new wife and two beautiful little girls. Three boys would join the family as time went on. John rented a trailer and lived in it until the basement house was built on the property he purchased. The family lived in the basement house for 10 years. A garage was added and when it was paid off, they decided to build up. The family then moved above ground in 1959, John took the second opening at the Post Office in 1954 working seven days a week filling in for others and sorting mail. When a steady route opening came up, John took the job. John loved his work at the post office. He enjoyed meeting the families he would deliver mail to. He even gave out jawbreakers to the kids in the neighborhoods where he delivered mail. S. Christiansen. His twin brother, Joe, had been drafted. Basic training for John was at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and then he was transferred to Camp Forest, Tennessee. John felt alone and scared in the big cities. It was then that John reached out to God in prayer. He felt unworthy but still he sought the God who had preserved his life as an infant weighing less than two pounds. During that prayer, John learned that no matter who you are , or how you are , God will answer your prayers. John felt the true feeling of the Holy Ghost that day. John never forgot that day when God reached out to the lonely frightened small town boy in a big city. After serving on nine islands, in the Pacific Front, John finally came back home to Pleasant Grove in January of 1946. The war had ended the previous summer. The Japanese were brought to their knees after two nuclear bombs wreaked devastation on their homeland. The war had taken its toll on John. He weighed just 112 pounds and his skin had turned yellow from taking medication for Malaria. Upon returning home, John's dad couldn't find anyone to learn his rural mail route so he could take a day off when he was ill. John learned the route to help out his father and purchased a half acre of the Oscar Rich ins property. His twin brother, Joe, purchased the old home where the two brothers had been born and the rest of the property. The Band of Brothers would live in and around the old family home in "Monkey Town". Many came to call the area "Hiltonville". John then worked for Utah Power and Light shoveling rocks off the flume and shoveling coal from railroad cars. He then worked for six years as a millwright at Geneva Steel. During this time, John's dad decided to retire from the post office. John's name was at the top of the list to be hired, but Over decades John and his band of brothers lived side by side and their families grew to maturity. Children built homes nearby and "Hiltonville" grew larger and stronger. The twin boys, who weighed less than two pound swhen born, grew to be giants in'the community. For decades John Hilton served the God who answered the prayer of a lonely, scared soldier some years earlier. On November 6, 2010, John joined his brother, Barney. His mortal journey was over. His twin brother, Joe, and little brother, Glade, will carry on. It was said of the man who weighed less than two pounds when he was born that he had a heart that weighed 100 pounds when he died. His sweetheart and companion for 51 years, Josephine, wrote the following, "John is the most thoughtful person in the world. He always thinks of others before himself." The hundreds who attended his funeral knew this to be true. The Band of Brothers were rock solid and as dependable as the sun coming up each morning over Mount Timpanogos. Tomorrow America will pause to give thanks. Here in this community we, too, can give thanks for a Band of Brothers-Barne- y, Joe, John and Glade Hilton. by Mark Bezzant The world war that would claim the lives of some seventy million people worldwide and over 400,000 American soldiers also called upon the Hilton Brothers, Joe and John. John enlisted the year after he graduated from high school and was given the Melchizedek priesthood and made an Elder that same month by Martin :w y If CfirLS&fias Gct6? ' :"v ;.;- - I " ' Jl , 7 Give a Timpanogos Times subscription to someone you love children, grandchildren, parents, friends. Its the gift thatgives 52 times ayear! Call Today 801 -- 785-3 111 A k |