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Show HILL TOP TIMES Wednesday, November 26, 1986 tadiMoGi) TteimksQWDGHQi By Ralph C. Jensen Ogden ALC Public Affairs Office Thanksgiving and tradition are one and the same. A strong tradition of service at Hill AFB starts at the top, filtering its way to the ranks of enlisted personel. Each Thanksgiving the "top brass" at Hill take charge of the serving lines at Hillcrest Dining Hall, treating the troops to a Thanksgiving feast...the military way. According to Marvel Seay, food services officer, the military way has become a tradition of top officials serving enlisted men. "The first time we tried it since I have been involved, you couldn't believe the look on the men's faces," said Ms. Seay. "Many wanted to go get cameras. Many didn't believe it was happening." Norm Gilstrap, manager of the Hillcrest Dining Hall, has been informed several high ranking officials will be at Hillcrest working on the serving line Thanksgiving day. "We're planning the traditional Thanksgiving holiday dinner," said Mr. Gilstrap. "It will be as close to that as we can provide. Along with that, I've been informed several top people will be here serving." Mr. Gilstrap was so encouraged by the news, plans are under way for the meal, second only to six-ye- " ar y' OWmiuMHW - ing hall consumers can expect other favorites such as baked ham and roast beef. A fruit table will also be set up to complement the meal, as well as dressings. Airmen will have an opportunity to bring guests and also enjoy a break from surcharge expenses for those guests. Mr. Gilstrap and his crew will treat the day as business as usual, because feeding airmen is the business they know best. deal for us," he said. "It's a great "It's an I assume they have done here for one and tradition, quite some time. I've seen it on other bases and am glad they do it here. The Air Force is service-mindeand this shows how serious they are about of their people." care taking Mr. Gilstrap has made his order for the Thanksgiving feast. He has ordered 260 pounds of turkey, 60 pounds of round of beef and 20 pounds of ham. all-da- y d, " ... u u i.uui miui u mi mumi ai inn m . mom's home cooking. He was also informed there wouldn't be a shortage of support serving turkey with all the trimmings. Those who will be carving and serving the birds include Col. Lawrence E. Boese, commander, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing; Col. Lloyd H. McCoin, commander, Hill AFB; Col. David T. Howe, vice commander, Hill AFB; Col. Thayne H. Judd, commander, 2849th Civil Engineering Squadron; Col. Rhon Carlton, installation chaplain; CMSgt. Joseph S. Jones, senior enlisted advisor, Ogden ALC; and CMSgt. Dale N. Hansen, 419th Tactical Fighter Wing. Mr. Gilstrap, project coordinator of the Hillcrest Dining Hall, has been with the organization 10 months, and according to him this will be a morale top-lev- series eonlDsted booster..."one everyone will enjoy." This type of operation is not new to Mr. Gilstrap, who has served in naval operations a number of years this just has a different twist to it...the commanders taking charge of serving duties. Mr. Gilstrap expects an increase of airmen to attend the Thanksgiving feast. "We normally see 600-70- 0 people at the lunch meal," he said. "Even though many of the single people are invited to other places for that lunch, we expect an increase over last year." Last year's total at the Hillcrest Hall reached only 300, but Mr. Gilstrap has seen a steady increase of the dining facilities in recent months. "We see about 275 in the mornings, and the same number in the evening. It's the lunch meal we see the biggest business," he said. "We expect the same on Thanksgiving day." In addition to the traditional turkey delight, din (ii..nuim.iU!Pmi 0 O el (U.S. Air Force Photo) Preparation for the Thanksgiving dinner is under way at the Hillcrest Dining Hall. Pictured are those Sam Purdue, Norm Gilstrap, Marvel Seay, Steve responsible for the turkey and trimmings, (l-- r) Clayton, Nelda Carus. Utah artist gives thanks with paintings By Chris Baierschmidt ALC Public Affairs Ogden Office creasingly crowded Liberty Valley for the more pristine Morgan Valley. Once that goes, he'll probably drive his Ford even farther north to find the ' LeConte Stewart didn't care that he was painting history onto canvas when he used to drive his car into Liberty Valley many years ago with his watercolors, easel and boards. But he does care, many years later, that most of what he captured then has gone the way of new buildings and blacktopped roads. Mr. Stewart is a nationally known landscape artist. His work is displayed in galleries across the country. He is a native of Utah who has been traveling between its north and south and east and west borders for more than seven decades with little more than his art supplies and a good eye for composition. At age 95, he has abandoned the in j3 "W-S . " v ' Kaysville. The home, which he built with his now deceased wife, Zipporah, in the 1920s, has a living room with walls decorated like his own private art gallery. All of the pictures carry his full signature or the initials "LS," and most are winter or autumn scenes painted anywhere from the '30s to '80s. ' , 4$V W .vi . r landscapes typifying his work. "I drive until I see something that may make a good composition. Old barns, old houses. Anything that when on canvas the eye will return for special pleasure," he said recently home in from his cottage-styl- e V- t"f"S -- .4 - : w' f; I 11..,: J w LeConte Stewart and one of his students. 1 ---- J j J if J y J A i ? (Courtesy Photo) Among his favorites in the home is an autumn oil painting of a barn he found several decades ago while traversing the back roads of Liberty Valley. Not long ago he went back there to find his favorite scene changed by the addition of a home. But many of his memories are like that, he concedes. So, at least, he is happy to have discovered them before time caught up. The barn was brought to canvas during his favorite time of year, autumn, when the colors are subtle in the landscape and solitary buildings. Summer does little for him. He doesn't care for green leaves for his senses are more stimulated by the rustic hues of November and their transitional tones into winter. Weather has never kept him from pursuing these scenes. When the air was only crisp enough to tinge red the skin of his nose and cheekbones, he would carry his supplies out of the car and to the spot where he could design the best picture. If the weather was too cold, or the snow too deep, he would stay inside of his car, setting his canvas up on the passenger side of the front seat. Paintings half the size of an office desktop could be completed by late morning, especially during his prolific period in the '30s. Then, he would finish two each day, except on Sunday, his day of rest. As years went on, time became less his own. High school art teaching and, later, his appointment as chairman of the Art Department at the University of Utah confined his painting to Saturdays. He and Zipporah had four children. Both were active in the Mormon Church and she, who is credited with directing his creative days, operated a gallery where many of his paintings were sold. His daughter lives in Salt Lake. Two of his sons are lawyers. Only one son, named for artist and friend May-nar- d Dixon, got "the bug" and developed into an artist of his own right. r Zipporah died in 1984 after a cancer her which with fight during husband cared for her. After her death, he renewed his driver's license for the sole purpose of painting the landscapes. Grandchildren of those who watched him decades ago now find him perched by an easel alongside the mountains of Morgan Valley. Sometimes he travels down to Sevier County, where he was born and where he loves the colors as much as the northern autumns. His paintings are smaller now. The scenes and colors, however, are the same as those fascinating him since the beginning. Subtle colors, he calls them. The browns and the golds and the rust tones providing a rich relationship between the manmade and elements. He still teaches the basic skills to stustudents. They, like long-tim- e dents Gwendolyn McCausland and Janet Clark, find him invaluable to their own artistic progress. They even admit a certain fondness for sitting outdoors to paint while it snows. Mr. Stewart admits he is still learning. Despite the art schools, awards, renown, years of experience, and a still steady hand, he finds he is still a student of nature and his emotions. "The whole thing is a matter of emotional expression. That's what makes it art," he said. "I paint what I see and what I feel and that, as I age, always changes." two-yea- God-give- n The Hill Top Times thanks Vera Lay-to- n Merrell and Robert Davis, curator of art, Museum of Church History and Art, Salt Lake City, for letting us use "Road to Liberty, March." |