I Found Priddy Meeks Autobiography Through Google

        My first week at the Myrtle Creek Ward was on Father’s Day.  Several members introduced themselves to me and Roland.  During Relief Society I was sitting with a sister who thrives on family history. 

        A sign up list had been passed around for an activity that would take place in a three weeks time.  The sister asked if I had pioneer ancestry and would I be willing to share something from my history.  Sure, I guess.  I do have pioneer ancestors. 

        When a received a reminder call, I realized that I didn’t have any stories.  As mentioned on previous posts, family history is not my forte – and I don’t do all that well at Church history either.  There is definitely need for improvement.

        I do remember my mom telling us about an ancestor named Priddy Meaks – though I didn’t really have any details.  I have since added his name to my ancestral files and do have more information on him than probably mom did – but still not a story. I didn’t see any stories come up on ancestry and so decided to put his name into Google to see if anything would come up that way.  I didn’t expect an excerpt from a volume (or volumes) found here. 

Sarah Meaks was his wife at the time they crossed the plains

 

So this is certainly interesting.    But it presented a new problem. I was given three to five minutes in which to tell my story.  So what story should I tell.  I’d have to read it all first.  As I have also mentioned: No matter how interesting the material,   I am a rather slow reader.  I tried skimming through words and pages until I realized it just wasn’t connecting for me. 

Priddy had written this all down when he was 85 years old.  I wonder how long he was writing.  I decided I would have to pray about finding the appropriate selection that would help benefit the results of said activity. I was blessed to be called upon first and shared a brief piece of his history.  My night blindness caused me to leave before the last sisters were through sharing their stories (I think I was actually the only one who didn’t go over) – perhaps the one behind me as well.

I would have liked to stay and offer my assistance with clean up.  I guess next time I’ll just have Roland drive me so that I can take that opportunity.

It was a really nice activity, and very well attended.  I'm grateful to the pioneers and to those who took the time to translate Priddy's words into print that it could be shared on the Internet - otherwise I wouldn't have had it to share.  I'm so happy to be here in Myrtle Creek and for the ward that I currently attend.

Memorial Day Letter to Two Cousins

Dear Lucy and Heather,

         I am sending two gifts that were made by your Grandma Kim.  I am sorry that you were unable to know her in the flesh.  She would have been thrilled about having granddaughters.  You appear to be the first in a long line of men – with your Grandpa Lynn being the baby of five boys and Grandma Kim having had four boys and no girls of her own.

         Long before we celebrated Christmas in July, we used to go to Aunt Gertrude’s house each Christmas Eve to eat dinner and exchange gifts.  Aunt Gertrude told me that Aunt Lucy (who you may be named for?  - I know your middle name is after Aunt Gertrude) started the tradition several years before – though I do not remember having met Aunt Gertrude’s father or any of his sisters (Aunt Lucy being one of them)

         After your Grandpa Lynn had had joined the family, he encouraged your grandma to give out homemade gifts.  And really, those are the best kind. For me personally, they are the most memorable. I am certain that your dads will be able to provide memories of their own.

         I remember one gift, a mauve/pink tote bag with red trim and butterfly.  Unfortunately I wore that out and do not even have a picture to send.  But I do have a picture of Corey holding the lion that she made for him.  He would probably still have it except that Kayla and I threw it away when his room flooded.  But by then the lion had lost much of its fluff and stitching and was also in need of a bath (I would imagine) but the flooded with mildew just made it so much worse.  So this picture is the best I can do.

         I am sending the doll that Kayla had received.  It was played with by Ellen and Jenna as well.  And though Kayla has her own little girl who might also enjoy the doll, I thought it would be more meaningful to you to have something made by your grandma Kim.

This is not the actual doll.  I cannot believe I forgot to take a picture!

         I am also sending a tree that she had given me a different year. The colors matched the colors in my room (at that time) I call it “The Tree of Life”  as I am reminded of the story of Lehi’s dream whenever I look at it.

         Your Grandma Kim was very talented and always trying her hand at different crafts and art projects such as tole painting and scherenchinitte (which is cutting out silhouettes of paper - which I think is a lost art as there are now machines that will do it quicker) I think it’s great that your Grandpa Lynn had encouraged her to use her talents.  And I wanted to share at least two of those talents with you. 

tole painted lid from box

this example of scherenchinitte
was taken from the internet.

         I am also enclosing some pictures – one of your grandma with my dad and their parents at a cabin (which I'm assuming was taken by Uncle Ross), one of your grandma with her mother (my grandma; your great-grandma) at their house on Edgecomb Dr. in Salt Lake City.  

I learned long after the posting that the picture
had been taken by my mom and not Uncle Ross

         I know that you are both too young for these right now, but may you one day appreciate what it is I’m trying to do.  Lucy, may you take pride in your tree and Heather (who is still waiting to be born) may you find joy in your doll.

         I hope these things are helpful to both of you and that you will treasure these things.  And perhaps one day you can pass them on to your granddaughters and they can then be considered heirlooms.

         Love, LaTiesha

                           (your first cousin, once removed)

          

Time Traveling Through Family History

My mom was a teenager in the 50’s at a time when the cinemas offered either beach pictures or lame science fiction.  Some of those science fiction movies indicated the possibility of man one day traveling to the moon.  Of course that was never going to happen.  Mom didn’t believe that traveling to the moon would be possible.  Yet almost two decades later (1969) Neil Armstrong was the first man to step foot on the moon on the moon.  

The moon travel is just one of many realities that started out as science fiction.  The cast of Star Trek used cell phones long before they were introduced to planet earth.

Before mom got dementia, she believed that it was possible for time travel to be invented.  I did not agree with her reasoning, but now I wonder.

As mentioned before, I have been taking a family history class – more for Roland’s sake than my own.  We have been challenged to find a particular ancestor to find ancestors for.  We no longer have the four and five generation family tree pedigree chart, but rather a 7 - 9 generation fan chart.

I found several holes in my fan.  The most bare spots above my 2^nd great grandmother, Augusta Emilie Larsen – provided that is even her correct name.

I now believe that time travel will exist.  A girl who could be named Courtney Wells or Stella Featherstone for example (we have idea what the name is on her birth certificate) will be born and travel back in time.  She will end up somewhere in Norway and will have a case of amnesia.  

 Others may show compassion toward her and give her a name.  They will call her Augustine and she may be living in a home of a family called Larsen and she will be raised there before she meets my great-great grandfather.  He will bring her to the United States and we will lose track of her again.  Perhaps she found her time machine and went forward to the future on September 19, 1920 in Cook, Illinois. 

The reason that I cannot find any parents for Augustine Emilie Larsen is because they haven’t been born yet.  That is my story and I am sticking with it.

Grandma’s Wrinkles Tell Stories – and I Love Each One

On Christmas Eve, I opened a gift presented by my granddaughter.  The name of the book is “Grandmothers Are Like Snowflakes . . . No Two Are Alike” by Janet Lanese (who I believe refers to herself as “Grandma Jan”) and had started reading it before I went to bed and continued after I got up and after we opened presents.   It’s got a bunch of great thoughts and little proverbs and I started reminiscing with many quotes that I read – starting with myself.

Some quotes come with full names.  Some are quotes taken from children in which first name and age of child are given.  One of my favorite quotes came from an eight year old named Tammy.  It says, “I love my grandma’s wrinkles.  Every one tells a story” – which is where I got the title of this post.    

I don’t feel much like a grandma.  I haven’t been with Ester much to make a connection in which we are both comfortable in our roles.  She’ll be three in March.  Ester is cute and smart and has an amazing vocabulary – pretty much like Jenna did at her age – though I think Ester is a lot more articulate.  Maybe not.  It’s hard to say as we do not see Ester daily or even weekly.  

  

Tony and Rochelle have been back from Texas for twelve months now, and I doubt that I have seen Ester more than ten times since they’ve been back.  I know Tony would like to spend more time with us than they do.  They spend more time with her family.

Randy and Carrie also announced that they’re expecting.  Even though I do see Randy more than the other two boys put together, I don’t see Carrie even half as often.  Right now they live about the same distance from us as Tony and Rochelle.  That could change before the baby comes.

I have a friend who had given me a book called “Grandma Time” which contains finger stories and activities. I’ve gone through the book and have used some of the verses – with my niece and nephew and even Jenna, but not with Ester.  As a grandmother, I feel distant about it still.

What children expect from grandparent is not to be understood but to be loved. - Grandma Jan

I remember my mom spending time with my brother’s three oldest.  She spent time with all of her grandchildren – but those three (particularly Ellen and Kimball) are the ones I remember her spending time with the most.  Probably because I, myself, was included – at least in the beginning.  I had lost track with Candy.  She was three when Roland and I got married.  I didn’t actually spend time with Patrick’s children after that.  But I always had updates on how they were doing.  They spent time with mom at least once a week.  She was quite the proud grandmother.  She was always looking out for their interests and spending time with them.  I can’t say for certain that she had a favorite, but as she got older, she would always express her love toward Brian.

                                                     Ellen with both of her grandmothers

I remember her playing with Jenna.  Simple games like finger plays and peek-a-boo to outings to wheeler farm and Disney on Ice.  She would take all of us to see Corey’s plays and spring for pizza and ice cream.  She had a very giving heart – not just as a grandma, but as a mother.  I don’t know that the “skipping children” part would apply.

                  The secret of a happy live is to skip having children and go directly to the grandchildren – (this is quoted “Momma” from a cartoon character created by Mel Lazarus)

            My mom had taken Ellen to the hospital the day that Candy was born so that they could both watch the miracle of her sister’s birth.  Mom and Kayla were with me at the hospital when I had Jenna.  And even in her dementia state of mind, mom made it a priority to visit Kayla and Anna in the hospital and then Gary when it was time – though she was really slipping before he was born – telling me she could walk to the hospital to see him if she wanted to.  She no longer had the sanity to drive and we had taken away her keys.  But she knew that Garrett was her grandchild and she wanted that physical connection.

  

            I remember her playing on the floor with Anna – just like she used to do with Patrick’s children. I was happy that I got to see that before her mind got really bad.  Before we had to check her in to assisted living.

            Different minds.  Different grandmas.  Jenna doesn’t know her paternal grandmother as well as she started to know my mom.  She knows my mom well enough to miss her.  Well enough to miss who she was before her mind went.

Roland’s mom has scared her in the past – not intentionally. As mentioned in this post  Roland and I are from two very diverse backgrounds.  Being with Roland’s family is a cultural shock after being with mine.  Something Jenna was not used to.  My mom and Roland’s mom are definitely two different grandmas – which is not a bad thing.  Just goes to show we are two different snowflakes on two different environments.

            There’s an episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond” when Debra has her parents sharing the same table as the Barones.  Marie and Lois of course represent two entirely different backgrounds.  Lois is a lot more cultured and well traveled and seems so caught up in fine art and material things that she seems to overlook needs and wants of human kind – including her own children and grandchildren – not quite fitting the “grandmother” image.

            Though many find her meddlesome and don’t always agree with her ways, Marie definitely seems to fit the grandmotherly image.  She tells Debra that it is not her fault and labels Lois as “not Mother-ish)

Both of Jenna’s grandmothers give and love her.  Neither one of them are like either Lois or Marie.

            Then there’s my own grandmothers.  I have more childhood memories of my dad’s mom than I do of my mom’s mom.  Grandma Helen lived in Salt Lake and later moved to Murray (a sub-area of Salt Lake) and Grandma Mary lived in San Francisco.  Both grandmas enjoyed traveling – though Grandma Helen seemed to do a lot more when Grandpa Earl was alive and Grandma Mary seemed to do more after Grandpa Ralph passed away.

            I was too young to remember all the trips that Grandpa Earl and Grandma Helen took – many before I was even born.  I do remember seeing pictures taken when Grandpa had taken the entire family to Sun Valley.  I remember when Grandpa was sick before he died.  My mom noticed a huge change in Grandma’s personality after Grandpa passed.  Mom had said she’d become withdrawn and insecure and given up on life.  I was too young to remember what she was like before Grandpa died.

            I remember her smile and buying toys and spoiling us, it seemed.  I remember her laugh more than any sternness or insecurity.  I remember her giving.  I remember playing in her big house.  It is my understanding that she designed it.  She had treasures in her house and rooms to explore.  Every time we visited with grandma, there was adventure.  Grandma encouraged us to play and enjoy life.  At least that is the message I received.

            After Aunt Alice moved out, her children encouraged my grandma to move someplace smaller – and someplace closer to her boys – not that we lived that great of a distance from her to begin with.  But after she moved into the condo in Murray, I could ride my bike to her house.  I could come by myself if I wanted. 

            My cousin Michelle and I would often stay the night.  We would pretend that we were in a hotel.  I enjoyed my time with grandma.  I enjoyed being spoiled.  I enjoyed our friendship.  She had taken my cousins and brother and I on a trip to California to explore Disneyland and other adventures. 

            After high school Grandma Helen and I took a vacation to Hawaii.  We went with a tour.  She had been to Hawaii several times before and kept on comparing how wonderful it used to be compared to how it was at the time we went together.  I wish she hadn’t been so negative, but still made the best of it.  

            Since Grandma Mary lived in San Francisco, I didn’t see her near as often – though more often than Jenna sees her out-of-state grandmother.  We would visit once or twice a year.  Sometimes she and grandpa would come visit us or else we would go to San Francisco to visit them.

            I would write letters to Grandma and Grandpa.  Unfortunately I don’t remember grandma as much as grandpa until after grandpa passed away.  After that, I gained a more intimate relationship with Grandma Mary.  And I remember going to San Francisco at least once without my family. We took grandma Helen with us on a vacation once. After visiting attractions in Southern California, we went up north to see Grandma Mary.

            After Grandpa Ralph died, Grandma Mary would save her money and take trips each year.  I remember her sending home material from Scotland.  With the fabric, my mom made matching outfits for Kayla and me.  Grandma had also gone to Russia, China, and Alaska.  I don’t know how many cruises she had been on. 

            Both of my grandmas had gone to Yellowstone with my family just before my mission. And mom and I have taken trips with Grandma Mary to Alaska, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.  

                                                Grandma Mary & Grandma Helen

                                       

                                             Kayla, my mom and her mom

            Grandma Helen passed away shortly after I returned home from my mission.  Grandma Mary passed away while visiting my mom.  Roland and I had been married only a short time and I introduced them while she was in the hospital.  When we returned for a second visit, her mind was elsewhere and she didn’t recognize me anymore. 

                                            me, my Grandma Mary, mom  - Alaskan Cruise

                                                me, Grandma Mary, mom - Juneau, Alaska
                                                            shooting the Mendenhall

                                                     Grandma Mary and I at Yellowstone park

            We have grandmothers who are not biologically related.  Jenna calls our former next door neighbor “grandma”  and I remember when Ellen and Kimball were little they befriended their next door neighbor as they would a “grandma” and thus she was invited to birthday parties and such along with the biologically related family members.

                                                        Jenna with neighbor grandma

            I love my book from Ester.  I enjoy the memories that it has triggered.  Those are just some.

Creative Journaling – photos are less than a thousand words

     I’ve always been an advocate of journal writing – but especially now that mom has passed. 

     After we put my mom into assisted living and were cleaning out her house in order to sell it, my brother, Corey, took mom’s journals with him to Las Vegas and has been transcribing them ever since.  He also took a couple of boxes of photographs. There have been several parts of her journal which have corresponded with unlabeled photos or have provided memories that have had us thinking, “Oh, yea.”

     Other passages have given us more insight to our overly quiet dad.  And lately – mom’s emotions about caring for dad mirroring our own with caring for her.  It’s been a rather interesting journey. 

     Some journal entries often seem boring and it feels pointless to even write about.  Journal entries written by teens can often sound funny or disheartening.

     Recently I discovered a journal while cleaning out Biff’s old room and converting it to Jenna’s. 

     Biff had received a journal upon his baptism when he was eight years old.  It had been signed by his bishopric.  It took him thirteen years to fill less than forty pages.  It amazes me that he has moved at least six times since receiving his journal and has it still – though he's never once written in it since we moved to West Valley.

     His entries from 1995 to 2000 are quite simple.  He didn’t start dating his entries until after then.  Thus it’s hard to tell what lines were written during what point in his life.  Here are some examples:

Today I was mad.  We played horse in the gym. 

Today I went outside to play.  It was fun

Today I went to the zoo

I had a good day today. 

I am 12 years old now.  6^th grade is hard for me.  I have two girl friends (lie) named Charlene and Nollie

His first dated entry is Jan 24, 2000

1/24/2000

That got on my last nerve

1/25/2000

School

1/26/2000

School

2/15/2000

Party

9/11/2001

I am now 14.  There was an attack on America.  How it happened

Plane crash in building

9/17/2001

All night this is my life.  I go to school, smile at people. 

I go home, smile at people, then go to bed. 

That’s my life right now. 

Hopefully it’ll get better.  I know it will

12/28/2001

I am now 14

I’m bored . . . there is nothing to do at age 14

I had a girl friend.  I forget her name, but I wish she never lost my number because I lost hers. 

For some reason I keep thinking about her.  I have another girl that I think is cheating on me, but what do I know.  I’m still little and there is plenty of fish is the sea.  What I mean is there are plenty of girls out there.

1/11/2002

Today I wasn’t so bored like always. 

I’m wresting.  I started wresting in Nov. 28, 2001. 

And it’s now 1/14/02. 

The big thing about this is I pinned some guy

in 2 seconds.  It never felt better. 

I hope I can do it again.

1/8/2003

I keep falling in love with people who probably are not interested in me.  Oh, well.  I wish that I was, will and be bigger than anyone in the world muscle wise.

That is I also wish I had a girlfriend that’s love and cares for me.  I hope I won’t be so alone with no one at age 16.  I’m bored.  “Sigh” good-night

10/07/2003

I like school and school likes me.  There are people to talk to don’t feel so alone today as you can tell.  Sometimes I feel alone but today I just don’t care.  I hope it’s the same tomorrow.  It would be popular.  We’ll see.

6/26/2006

Graduation! From high school.  I’m sad.  I’ll miss all that were so nice to me. 

4/13/2008

Wow!  Looking at what I’ve said in my journal makes me want to burn it or start over.  I’ve skipped so many things and also I’ve skipped the good things that happen to me.  Now my journal doesn’t even make sense to me.  Oh well, in October last year I’ve met my girlfriend, [Sharon].  I love her and now I can’t go so crazy.  Any more. LOL  Like when I put in my journal that I’m “ing lonely”

This journal makes me sound like a little boy, a sad, dad, little boy

Last entry:

What is wrong with me?  How come girls won’t talk to me.  And when they do, they don’t want to?  I do the best I can to be good.  I’ve heard so many times good things come to those who wait LOL not happing.  I really really really want a girlfriend.  My heart hurts because no girl is giving me a chance to love.

I had mentioned writing from journal jars in this post and as I was answering a question, I thought of a new way to journal and clean up my photos at the same time.

I have gone through different photos and provided more detail than just the title of the photo.  Most of my descriptions have been really short.

“I can’t say for certain why this photo was taken, but I can give a brief description about the outfits that Kayla and I are wearing. 

“Grandma Mary saved up money and would travel each year to different countries.  With this particular year she had gone to Scotland.  She purchased the red plaid in Scotland and had sent the fabric to mom.  Mom made these matching outfits for me and Kayla”

I suppose I could elaborate more about mom’s willingness to sew and her diligence to finish projects.  She said her favorite part about sewing is that she would get so caught up in whatever project that she would forget to eat.  She believed that by forgetting to eat that she would be able to lose weight.

“This was taken on Christmas morning.  Patrick and I are wearing our new pajamas.  I also received this robe.  That was the same year I received my first (and I suppose my only) Chrissy doll and a paint spinner”

Other descriptions were more elaborate and had nothing to do with the photo really.  For example, I had come across one of my cousin Jackie and me and my mom holding Corey when he was just a few months old.  Didn’t remember the picture.  But I wrote about Jackie and how we’re related and houses I had remembered visiting in Magna, Utah.

I wrote down the names of all of Jackie’s siblings and her husband and four children.  I also mentioned that Jackie and mom and I had worked together at the ice cream store several years after the picture was taken.

Mom once wrote:  “My journal writing has been so erratic.  I wonder if anyone will ever read these or be in the least bit interested in what I have written.”

Perhaps we don’t feel like what we write is worthwhile or carries any value.  Actually our words are quite valuable – especially to our posterity who is experiencing the same feelings that we felt. 

Mom and I have often used our own journals as a reference.  We’ll need to provide a specific date for work or health and when we know the details of the surrounding events, we can usually find whatever it is we’re looking for.

Corey says mom always detailed the amount of tips that were taken in or that we each received each night she worked at the ice cream store.

I don’t expect that my journal will ever be made well known as the diary of Anne Frank (for example) but that isn’t why I keep a journal.  I do it for myself.  I continue for Jenna. 

My writing gets hard to read at times.  Especially when my mind is going faster than my pen (which it often does) and there have been times when I have tried to transcribe my own journal.  That is actually quite difficult for me as I often want to change it.  I would elaborate with some entries and choose to discard others.  I don’t even know how much original I have.  Now that I think about it, I know there is some that got thrown out when mom’s house was cleaned.  Nate had told me that there was a box of stuff that belonged to me.  I told him to throw it out without even looking at it.  I figured if I hadn’t bothered with it for over ten years, I could certainly part with it.  Too late now.

My advice to all my readers would be to take the time to write your own history.  It will mean the world to those you leave behind.