Why the Anderson Moved to Glendive and History of LDS Church in Glendive

 This is the talk given by Ethel Anderson in the 1980s

     When the fine Ogden, Utah department store called The Golden Rule was sold to J C Penney, my husband Ferrell was transferred to a J C  Penney store in Evanston Wyoming.  We lived there for about five years.  Ferrell was being trained for managership and our life style seemed pretty well set.

     Then the big depression began to haunt us.  Salaries were cut, employees were laid off.  Our fifth child was on the way and I began to long for my family in Ogden.  For fear Ferrell might be the next to be laid off, we moved back to Ogden and Ferrell worked for my brother-in-law in a grocery and meat store.

     In the meantime, Ferrell’s brother Lorin had been transferred to a Penney’s Store in Billings, Montana and then had the opportunity of going to Miles City to manage a store for Karl Johnson.  Lorin became a partner and they decided to open a Karl Johnson Store in Glendive where a family-owned store was going out of business.  Ferrell was urged to come to manage this store and use the experience he was trained for.  The store had belonged to the Hollecker family.

     Ferrell left for Glendive in February 1934.  Our five children and I came in May.  Dick was 10 years old (the oldest) and Janet (the youngest) was 15 months old.  In between were David, Jeanne, and Marilyn.  Carole was born a few years later.

     We felt blessed to be given this opportunity but when I and the five children arrived on the train, it seemed to be the end of nowhere.

     There were no Mormons! A woman who worked at the store advised us not to mention we were Mormons.  But we never hid that fact and began to make friends and take part in the community life. We chose to go to the Congregational Church because of friends next door who had children the same ages as ours.  We made many fine friends.

     From some of Ferrell’s records, he says 1934 still was a depression year and Glendive was suffering from a drought.  Government was purchasing a majority of Dawson County cattle for about $5 to $20 a head.  Nearly all labor except a skeleton railroad force was WPA (Government).  Business was at a low ebb.

     Dick was 15 years old before we acquired a car but we lived nearer town then, and did a lot of walking.

     In the summer of 1937 two missionaries arrived much to our joy.  We had two children (David and Jeanne) ready for baptism.  David had just turned 10 and Jeanne was 8.  They were baptized by Elder Ray Smith and confirmed by Elder Clarence Stanger.  The baptism took place in the Yellowstone River.

     Our lives began to change at the start of the Buffalo Rapids Irrigation Project in 1937.  Work was done mostly by WPA labor in conjunction with the Reclamation Bureau.  Business began to pick up.  Best of all it brought in our first Mormons.

     One summer day in 1937 the Elders arrived at our home with great news.  They had just passed a home not too far away with a Utah car parked in front and people were moving in.  We were all so happy.  I called on the new family a day or so later.  I prayed it would be a family, an active family, and someone we could be very friendly with.  When a young woman with a smile came to the door I felt disappointed, I don’t know why.  She said, “Oh, I’m just helping them get settled.  I’ll call Mrs. Neely.”  Jo (Josephine) Neely came to the door.  We were around the same age and we were friends at that very moment and are still friends today.  They live in Spanish Fork.  Her husband Parley passed away May 24, 1986. Parley was an engineer working for the Buffalo Rapids Project.

     We began having church meetings in our homes.  We even included Primary and sometimes invited the neighbor children.  Our first missionaries to reside in Glendive were Elder Tingey and Elder Smith.  The missionaries presided over the meetings for some time.  It was a wonderful experience for them and I marveled that such young men could speak so well.  It was our first experience with missionaries.

     Those missionaries made a fine impression on the Glendive people.  Many would comment to me what fine young men they were.  One family especially was impressed enough to open their home for meetings and parties.  That family, the Hoffs, eventually moved to Salt Lake City where they all joined the Church.  Several other LDS families arrived but when the Project was finished, one by one they were transferred to Williston, N. D. or other places.

     So it went on for some time.  Ferrell was made a Presiding Elder which lessened the work of the missionaries but they still played a big part in teaching and giving us fine spiritual talks which we needed.

     If you did not live around this area before the Buffalo Rapids Irrigation Project, you would not know the improvement and change for the good it did for the farmers and ranchers and in many ways for all of us.

     The World War II made some changes, too.  Some Elders who were working in Germany came to Glendive to finish their missions and showed us beautiful pictures of Germany.  It was sad to hear what was taking place.  They were the last Elders we would have for some time.

     Dick graduated in 1942 and instead of getting ready for a mission, he went to Butte School of Mines and was selected to go on for training as an Ensign in the Navy.  The World War II was raging and missionaries were not being called.  At that time our membership in the Branch was low.  After the war, Dick went to BYU and met Mary Templeton and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple.  Mary has been a true daughter me and a great support to her husband and family.  David, because of serious burns on his legs received in an accident while working in a forest in northern Idaho, was not accepted in any part of the war services although he tried.  He was told the scar tissue would cause him serious trouble so he did not get into the war nor go on a mission.

     We began meeting in the Odd Fellows Hall for Church and by this time the Derby Whitmers and Audry Wilkinsen and her two little boys Karl and Fen had come back to Glendive to live.  We had some lady missionaries by then and had an active Relief Society.  Audrey was a big help with her talents and willingness to serve. l remember we served a turkey dinner at the Odd Fellows Hall and sold tickets to just enough people we could accommodate.  It was a big success under the supervision of Audrey.  Later, she married Chris Christianson and they both were very supportive.  We were sorry when they moved to Livingston but were happy when Fen moved back as a young man with his wife Margie.

     Through the years many fine active families moved in.  Some stayed longer than others but sooner or later they would be transferred.  We hated   to see anyone leave but each left their mark and used their talents and energy to keep the Branch going while they were here.

     We very seldom had a piano player to accompany us in our singing but we sang anyway.  Also, families were building the branches in Billings, Miles City, Baker and in North Dakota.  The Mission President’s home was in Minneapolis and we were in the North Dakota District.  We attended conferences as far away as Minot and Bismark and Billings.  A morning and afternoon meeting would be held with lunch served between meetings.  It was prepared by the members of wherever conference was held.  Most always there was one of the General Authorities who traveled with the Mission President and we were thrilled by their presence and the spiritual food they offered us.

     In Glendive not all who came left, but some stayed and are still here and were for many years the backbone of the branch.  Harold and Olive Mercer lived here for a short time and then went to live in Sidney.  For many years Sister Haas, Olive’s mother, was the main stay of that Branch.  Kim and Beatrice Mitchell, Joe Keller, and Debbie Chouinard’s grandparents played a big part in our activities.  The Orcutts with their fine growing family were a great help.  We just couldn’t have gone on without them.  When the Getz came we always had music and Edythe Brown and son took over the piano.  By this time we had acquired the old Lutheran Church and we had fun hanging curtains, furnishing the kitchen with dishes we brought from our own homes along with other donated articles.  We held bake sales to earn money for the things we needed to buy.  We had many suppers and get togethers.

     In 1950 at a conference in Glendive, Ferrell was asked to become Branch President.  He served until 1960.  During that time the Gene Jensen’s were baptized in the Church, Santa Hrubes, (Derby Whitmer’s sister) joined the Church and later John became a member.  Elaine Whitmer was Relief Society President and Audrey Christiansen and I were her counselors.  We all taught either Sunday School or Primary or both.

     All those youngsters we taught so many years ago are now teaching my grandchildren and have other responsible Church duties in the Branch.

     Best of all, the big dream finally came true and we have a beautiful chapel to meet in.

     Ferrell and I moved to Idaho Falls to let Dick take over the managing of the store and Howard Henabrey became a fine Branch President.

     I feel very blessed to have had these experiences and the different callings in the Church.     

Glendive Chapel, Church at Home, and Main Street

Sunday I sat by our Stake Relief Society President in Sunday School and found out she has a daughter who lives outside Glendive.  This was fascinating to me so I sent her Mom's talk which she gave on Why the Andersons Settled in Glendive and some pictures of our early Church group.  I mean, who knows anything about Glendive, no one I have ever met!!!

I thought Mom had given the talk in the 60s but it was probably after the new Chapel was built in the late 70s.   They celebrated her 80th Birthday in the new Chapel and that would have been in 1981. Mom had sold her house in Idaho Falls and moved back to Glendive after Dad died.

Curious as I am I called my sisters and sister in law to get more information on the building of the chapel and I heard one interesting story of the roadblocks they were having getting enough members and it appeared to be caused by a member of the ward.  I remember him well from my high school days.  It was her opinion that he had bad feelings toward my brother who was the President at that time and spread rumors about him and caused a lot of contention.  He had this strange death in which his truck or car fell down on him when he was repairing it.  The funeral in the old Lutheran Church where the Glendive Ward was meeting was packed.  He was a colorful and well-known person in the County.  This helped a lot of people to learn about the Church and may have stimulated the missionary work.  The thing that alerted her to the fact it was a strange death is that a friend commented on how strange it was that he would be working on his truck without setting up a second jack as protection.  It was evidently something he was continually preaching about so why in this instance did he not do it.  Anyway, membership grew rapidly after this.  Just an observation but an interesting one.

So as I thought about the fact there were no Mormons in Glendive until 1934 when my family arrived in town and the fact they had enough members to build a Building in 1976 (or so, not sure of exact date) is a pretty amazing feat to me.  42 years!!!  Impressive.

Then when I looked up the building on the internet I find it is located on N. Anderson Ave!!!  Mary and Marilyn did not even realize that but Carole said she thinks the street was named that because of the construction company at that time building in the area was Anderson.  Makes more sense than having been named after my Dad anyway but an interesting coincidence.  Mary says she only knows one person in the ward anymore it has changed so much.  I was amazed it was a Stake Building with so many branches!!!

I was also amazed as I studied the map of Glendive that they have two Dairy Queens when it is hard to find even one out here.  It looked like a second one had been put up on the way out to Makoshika Park.  Probably a great place for business in the summer months.

Anyway, lots of nostalgia when I think about Glendive.  It was a great place to grow up.

The First Snowfall and I Am Happy

I don't know how old I was when The First Snowfall was first introduced to me.  My Mom had some poem and reading books which I loved to look through and read aloud.  Particular favorites of mine were this one, Babes in the Wood and Burglar Bill.  Whenever it first snows I always think of that small grave under the snow  ( in this poem) and now that my computer is facing my bedroom window and I am watching the snow fall it came to mind today.

The falling snow also reminds me of the poem that my Mom wrote about sitting and watching us play in the snow and she entitled it.  I Am Happy.  I think we were probably living in our home on the Heights when she wrote that poem because we lived on a hill and very few cars drove up the hill on Kendrick in the winter because it was full of sledders all day long.  She could look out our living room window and watch us sledding down the hill and pulling our sleds back up, laughing and having fun with our friends and brothers and sisters.  It was a magical time in our life.

The First Snowfall   By James Russell Lowell

THE snow had begun in the gloaming,

And busily all the night

Had been heaping field and highway

With a silence deep and white.

Every pine and fir and hemlock

Wore ermine too dear for an earl,

And the poorest twig on the elm-tree

Was ridged inch deep with pearl.

From sheds new-roofed with Carrara

Came Chanticleer's muffled crow,

The stiff rails were softened to swan's-down,

And still fluttered down the snow.

I stood and watched by the window

The noiseless work of the sky,

And the sudden flurries of snow-birds,

Like brown leaves whirling by.

I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn

Where a little headstone stood;

How the flakes were folding it gently,

As did robins the babes in the wood.

Up spoke our own little Mabel,

Saying, 'Father, who makes it snow?'

And I told of the good All-father

Who cares for us here below.

Again I looked at the snowfall,

And thought of the leaden sky

That arched o'er our first great sorrow,

When that mound was heaped so high.

I remembered the gradual patience

That fell from that cloud like snow,

Flake by flake, healing and hiding

The scar of our deep-plunged woe.

And again to the child I whispered,

'The snow that husheth all,

Darling, the merciful Father

Alone can make it fall! '

Then, with eyes that saw not, I kissed her;

And she, kissing back, could not know

That my kiss was given to her sister,

Folded close under deepening snow.

 

 

 

I Am Happy by Ethel Anderson

 

The snow is falling soft and slow,

Covering all the ground.

Hiding houses, trees and bush,

Falling lazily without sound.

I am snug and warm inside,

Content to do my chores.

Glancing now and then outside

Glad I can stay indoors.

Men must work to make the living

Busy all the day.

But I can stay at home,

And watch the children play.

To be a wife and mother, too,

Is all that I shall ask,

For God is good and God is wise

In giving me this task.

Swimming Pool in Glendive in 1924

One of my childhood friends, George, sent me some pictures of my hometown.  This was taken in 1924 and I did not move there until I was 15 months old in 1934. 

This is a picture of what was called the Heights and was the North Side of town.  The swimming pool, which later had walks and diving boards and a lovely grass park built all around it with a lovely building with rooms to change your clothes and etc., was just down from our house.

In fact, I can see the Northern Pacific Hospital in the top right and right in front of it was the big house we bought in 1940.  I had heard it was about 50 years old when we bought it.  We had it remodeled when I was in high school.  On the left side of the chimney was a small garage only wide enough for a horse and buggy.

The swimming pool was all cement and had lots of cracks that would be tarred over every year.  It was deep enough that we later had a 10 foot diving board, a 5 foot diving board and a big slide.

Below is a picture of my friend Carla and I with some of the boys from our class.  We were sitting at the edge of the pool.  This was probably about 1947 or 8 or so.

Aunt Ellen's Scones

When I was a child and we visited Mom's sisters in Ogden, Utah, her sister Ellen always made scones for us.  They always tasted so yummy.

Also in a Larson Newsletter from 1982 I came across her recipe entitled:

GRANDMA ELLEN'S SCONE RECIPE

Dissolve 1 yeast cube in 1/4 cup warm water.

Mix 1 C milk, 2 T sugar, 1 t salt, 2 T shortening or oil and 1 beaten egg.  (I would imagine she scalded the milk and added the yeast when all was lukewarm)

Add 2 C flour.  Beat by hand with a wooden spoon to form firm dough.  Let rise.  Punch down and rise again.  Roll thin on floured board.  Cut into squares or strips.  Let rise 1/2 inch.  Cut dashes in the squares.  Deep fry in oil or shortening.  Brown on both sides.  Remove to dish covered with paper towel.  Serve with butter, jam or honey.
(We used sugar and butter as well.)

I have never used this method where we let the strips rise again.  Now I know her secret as to why they were so light and airy!

A Sad Christmas for my sister Carole!

While looking for Family Histories to add to Linda's new Blog I found an article in a Larson Family newsletter from 1982. My sister Carole, who is six years younger than I, had written about "A Christmas I Remember". If I had known about this, I had certainly forgotten, and it could be that since I was a teenager at the time whose life revolved around my friends and current new boyfriend I may not have even been aware of it.

This is the story. I was a junior in high school. Carole would have been in 5th or 6th grade. While she was doing her early Christmas snooping she found a beautiful doll hidden underneath Mom's bed. She said, "It had real hair, eyes that open and shut and a very "fussy" white dress and bonnet. I was so excited as I knew it had to be for me, even though I was getting a little old myself.  Indeed it made for a memorable Christmas when the doll went to Janet (as "her last doll to sit upon her bed").

I always liked dolls and I remember this one well. I named her Becky Ann (after my boyfriend whose last name was Becker and my last name Anderson). On Christmas Eve I remember taking her with me to show my friends as my boyfriend and I went to meet them for Midnight Mass. She was a beautiful "last doll".

I called my sister Carole yesterday to ask her about this. I remember very well asking my mother for a doll that year as my "last doll" but Carole must have been unaware of this. She said when she saw it and just "knew" it was hers she began to ask for a doll from Mom just so Mom would know she really wanted it. Alas, we lived in a small town and when Mother realized she needed to get another doll, there was just "left overs" on the shelves and she could not replicate the beautiful doll she had purchased for me.

So here Carole was remembering that disappointing Christmas 30 years later!!! Not unlike my not getting the Shirley Temple doll I wanted for Christmas. I wonder if Mom knew about our Christmas disappointments???? It is hard to forget those kind of moments. So sorry, Carole, I never knew!

My Sister Marilyn

I am sorry to say I missed my sister's birthday this week.  Marilyn is the one in yellow on the right.  Her birthday is April 5th but because that date now has another significance (John's  death) I tend to forget about it.

Marilyn is two years older than me and we are quite different.  For one thing she was always the classy dresser.  No matter what, whatever her circumstance, she always has stylish clothes to wear.  I tried to borrow her clothes when we were in high school and college but because we are built so differently I always looked silly in her clothes.  She is athletically built with long slim legs and I, well, you know how I am built.

Marilyn and Dave are the talkers in the family.  In most any group family situation they are the ones that will be doing most of the talking along with Mary, Dick's wife.

Marilyn is the golfer amongst us girls.  I took it in college and tried a little before marriage but it just never 'got' me like it did my Mom, Dad, Dave and Marilyn.

Marilyn has also been a director in church music and choirs most of her life.  We both took the class in college--it clicked with her, not me.

Marilyn also is the friendly one--on any trips or gatherings, she is the one making all the friends and talking to all the people.  She has always had lots of friends.

Marilyn was also the terrific sales lady at the store.  I would always work in the office, as the cashier and bill payer and avoid the floor where I had to talk to people and try to sell them dresses.  One time when I visited her in Golden and she was clerking at a ladies store I came home with a marvelous wardrobe.  She has a knack for finding what looks good on you.

Marilyn is the only one besides me in my family who has lost a child.  And now she has had two daughters pass away.  She has handled it as she handles everything, very classy, humbled and accepting.  Marilyn is the only one of us girls working regularly in a Temple right now.  She is a born leader and good at directing others.

I have been very fortunate to have three sisters and best friends in my life.  Each of us is very unique and different from each other with very different talents and attributes but we always enjoy talking, sharing and spending time together.  As a family growing up we had a very peaceful home with no jealousy or animosity as far as I could tell.  Family is good and sisters are wonderful.

A Great Father

Today I would like to pay tribute to my Dad. He was without a doubt the best Dad a daughter could have. Some things you need to know about him.

In 1934 he brought his family of five (before Carole) from Utah to Glendive, Montana where he was to manage a department store. He and Mom saw that we all attended church and bible school and he quickly became not only a part of the community, but a leader in the community. We rode the Anderson's Float in the 4th of July parade, attended all the band concerts which he supported, went to the Elks picnics and Christmas party which he helped to organize and he taught us to mow lawns and garden. He took us on picnics, took us fishing, took my brothers hunting, saw that we always had a pet dog, took us to Yellowstone Park and Utah to visit our cousins and when I was in high school always drove my friends and me to out of town basketball and football games. My friends were always treated as part of the family.

He taught us the value of work. We worked at the store with him doing whatever he felt we could handle. (I remember making price labels, unpacking boxes, fringing scarfs and later taking inventory long before I was old enough to clerk.) Later I worked as cashier and organized and paid invoices.

His great teaching which always stuck with me was "to always be worth more than you were paid". Once when I was cleaning a house to earn a little cash he told me there were better ways for me to earn money and he helped me get a job caddying and sweeping greens at the golf club, much better.

Dad was a very kind and gentle man, he never raised a hand in discipline or said unkind things. Once when he was tired of a record I played over and over and over he just walked over and softly turned it off. I got the message. In junior high when I wanted to understand the Virgin Mary bit he found something I could read and understand before he discussed it with me.

When I had my first car accident (car slid into another at the stop sign) he was called and came right down. He did not criticize or yell or make me feel badly. He did, however, insist I drive the car home, instead of him. I think he wanted me to know he trusted me and I needed to regain my confidence.

We used to eat dinner at home every noon instead of at night. And always I remember Dad dancing around the kitchen with my Mom and giving her a kiss before he went back to work. Dad loved us and he love our Mom and we knew it. My aunt Erica once gathered us together and told us to be careful what we asked our Dad for. He would want to get it for us. I have long since forgiven him for selling the Shirley Temple doll that was to be my present. He just did not understand the significance of a Shirley Temple doll over just a doll.

Dad had about three children in college at a time for quite a long time. He always wanted us to have a job but this usually just took care of spending money. Lucky for us, he owned a store with great brand name clothes and we never felt deprived. But he worked long and hard to see that his family was provided for and educated.

Being the leader in our little branch of the Church for so many years could not have been easy. He had to prepare so many talks and guide so many people while he ran a store, was a leader in the Elks, on the school board, chamber of commerce, etc. He was a leader who served well but never for his own glory, always modestly, doing whatever was needed.

A kinder, gentler, more caring father could not be had. A better example for his family and community does not exist. I only wish my children could have known my Dad as their grandfather. He died when my youngest was only 2 and my oldest was only 8 but not before he had instilled in John a great love for fishing and Montana.

Happy Father's Day, Dad, I love you.

High School Days

So here I am at age 15 with my friend Carla standing behind me. Earlier this year I had a picture of Chuck (second from the left) and Bill (center) and myself as we looked when we met at Denny's near Roseville where I was working last fall. Bill later sent this picture. Glendive,Montana had this huge round swimming pool with a walk and benches all around the edge. It was our socializing place. This would have been the summer before my sophmore year of high school. It is only interesting to me as it is a picture I had not seen before.

Montanans

Here we are, Class of 51 Dawson County High, Class of 47 Washington Grade School, Now Northern Californians--Bill H, Janet A, Chuck E

High School Memories

Last night two of my high school friends in the Sacramento area played a little joke on me. Actually Bill has a long beard and mustache, today--though it is white--he is a Santa Claus now. I had seen Bill once since leaving high school, at the 2000 high school reunion.

Anyway Bill and I decided to meet and eat since I was working in Sacramento. I thought somewhere in the middle but he insisted on picking me up at my hotel "because he wanted to take me somewhere special". It surprised me when he wanted to go east on 80 (away from Sacramento) (he lives about an hour south of Sacramento, but he insisted he had a favorite "Dennys" that was really special. (I am thinking, how special could a Dennys be?) but I am listening to his nostalgia of this Dennys. We finally get there and though there is an "old cars" meet out in front Bill is anxious to hurry in.

As soon as we get inside some older guy is motioning to us to come and sit with him and I am wondering, "What the heck, does Bill know this guy?" He says to come and sit by him and I am thinking there is something familiar about those eyes but I just can't figure it out. Then he says his name...Chuck E... He had played for Washington at Pullman after leaving high school and I hadn't seen him since he went one way to college and I went another. Chuck had been the boyfriend of one of my friends, Kay, in high school and Bill had been the one who double dated with me in Jr High. He dated my friend Berta and I dated George.

Needless to say we had fun catching up on nostalgia and what has happened to us since. It is always a shock to face the reality of the transition from high school stud to senior citizen but "there we are" and pretty fortunate considering the alternative. Both Chuck and Bill are living the good "retired" life while I continue to work, but so far, I have been enjoying it...

Romantic? Not Me...

I am in the middle of the picture and Ivan is peering around me...

I didn't take the "Romantic" test Maria referred to. I already know I am not a romantic. I was told that in my junior year in college and have never forgotten it and I guess I have sort of lived up to that. You know how it is if someone tells you something that is a negative, you tend to never forget it and think it is gospel truth.

It was Ivan. I remember we met because I was at college early since I had been at summer shool and he was a transfer football player from Arizona. I don't remember too much about him but I looked him up in my letters to my Mom and I had written home that he was in drama, played the violin, sang, had been Stu Body President in Arizona, was bashful and nice. And with such a versatile personality he was different than any football player I had ever known.

I do remember we walked to lower campus sometimes together and he liked to interpret my dreams. He was studying Freud. It was a very busy quarter for me, I do remember that, and after I started dating him I neglected writing to my high school sweetheart and a missionary I was writing and they were both mad at me and I broke up with both of them.

But the only thing I remember about Ivan is that when we stopped dating we were talking on the phone and he said I was not romantic enough, whatever that means. It is the kind of thing you never forget.

When the missionary returned to the Y, we dated awhile but I decided I still like my high school sweetheart better and I went to Billings to teach school after graduating and tried once again to try and convert him. I failed, I came to California to teach and as far as I know, have never been known as a romantic...

The 'darn' truth...

Today I found a hole in one of my favorite red sweaters so I decided to mend it the way my mother used to darn our socks. I had watched her many times as a child. She always had a darning basket full of socks, darning thread, needle, thimble and a wooden darning mallet (have no idea what it was called) with a round ball on the end. She would put the heel of the sock on the mallet and proceed to sew threads across the hole and then go back and actually weave the thread over and under very closely so when she finished you had a sock stronger in that area than it was before. With six children there were always lots of socks to darn.

Since my Dad actually managed and then owned a department store, you would have thought they could afford new socks but not so. My children and grandchildren have no idea how frugal our parents lived. Richard used to hate the patched jeans he had to wear, but that was life in our childhood era. The following is a quote from a letter my Mom had written me about my birth in 1933.

"Ellen (Aunt) took care of the children while I was in the hospital and we furnished the food to feed both families. She could really cook good food with very little. Nothing was wasted. We used to save all the peelings from vegetables, cook them till tender, put them through a sieve and season and it was very good."

P. S. My sweater actually looks quite good so glad I learned that little task from watching my Mom.

Northern Lights

When I lived in Glendive, Montana we could see what we called the Northern Lights and they moved back and forth like a light show. This picture was taken in Alaska but what we saw was similar, though perhaps fainter. I just read that scientists think they have discovered the energy source. New data from NASA's Themis mission (satellites lauched this winter) found the energy comes from a stream of charged particles from the sun flowing like a current through twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting eath's upper atmosphere to the sun.

They said there was a two hour light show in March over Alaska and Canada and the geomagnetic storm raced 400 miles in a minute across the sky (equal to a 5.5 earthquake).

I was surprised to read they had expected the existence of these wound-up bundles of magnetic fields but this is the first time it was ever mapped--and get this--mapped some 40,000 miles above the Earth.

It is an amazing world we live in and so much we still don't know about it.

Montana Friends

Posting Santa Claus on my blog reminded me I have a picture of my first boyfriend, George, his wife Susie and son and family so will post that. George and I were best buddies from second grade on and always had fun together. Bill and I were remembering when Bill and Carla and George and I were in sixth grade and we had our first double date. Suddenly, best buddies who could always talk, didn't know what to say to each other. It was funny and fun. Walking home from that date there was a beautiful spring snow still on the trees and I have never forgotten how beautiful Glendive could be with all those overhanging trees.

I lived with Susie in Billings when I was teaching school for one year. She was known as "Beauty and Brains" and still is. Great memories.

Santa Claus

Whoever thought one of your school friends would grow up to be a Santa Claus? Not me, but here he is, Bill, the class flirt, an authentic Santa Claus with a real beard and mustache!! He says he has been doing this for over 15 years so look for this face in those Christmas commercials!!

Carla

My friend Carla whom I had written about from my childhood sent this picture today. She is sitting with her son Ken on her last birthday. She still looks like a young gal and he is very handsome. Thank you, Carla, it is so fun to see friends in our old age who we knew as children.

Unfulfilled Wishes

I think, as adults, we try to fulfill those wishes we had as children that never came true. Which is why Baby John ended up with a red ranch wagon at the age of 3 (Richard's unfulfilled wish) and why I ended up with 7 Shirley Temple dolls in my 50's. It was 1939 and I wanted a Shirley Temple doll with all my heart. My mother knew that and had purchased one (though they were hard to come by). She had hidden it, along with all the other special Christmas presents for the six of us, at the store my dad managed downtown. Just before Christmas, a customer had pleaded with my Dad to sell him a doll and Dad, thinking the doll could be easily replaced, sold it to the man. Mother was furious, so I am told, because not one could be found at that late date. Thus my doll for Christmas was a substitute, building three things into my young mind. 1--You do not get what you wish for 2--Christmas can be very disappointing, so don't get your hopes up 3--If you really want something, you have to get it for yourself. Those three impressions stayed with me the rest of my life.

Mother had a friend named Bertha and she and her husband Bud had never been able to have children. We loved Bertha but her husband was a little gruff and frankly, he scared me. Bertha knew my desire and told me if I would just come to live with her for awhile she would see that I got my Shirley Temple doll. I don't remember discussing this with my mother but I am sure I did. I do remember packing a little suitcase and my brother Dick carrying it for me as we walked about a block to Bertha's house. It was getting dark so it must have been after supper. As we stopped in front of the house and looked up the stairs, there, lighted in the window, was Bud! I can still see him as if it were yesterday. He was sitting in his chair reading his paper. I was frozen. I could not go up those steps. Dick tried to encourage me but I would not move. Finally, with sadness in my heart, but no tears (no one would ever see me cry)I turned and slowly walked back home and I never got my Shirley Temple doll.

Many, many years later after the children were raised, and I was earning money, I told no one, but I starting buying my Shirley Temple doll(s) one by one.

"I'm Going To Buy A Paper Doll"

Was a favorite song in the 50's but I have taken it literally and have collected over 50 books of paper dolls. My favorite is "Gone With the Wind" reprinted for the 50th Anniversary of the movie. Meagan's mother Jennifer bought them for me. The reason I like them so well is they are an exact replica of the kind we played with in my early grade school years.

My first set of dolls was when I was about 5. I remember because we were in the white house on the South Side of Glendive and all my brothers and sisters were in school. It was a large Snow White and all the Seven Dwarfs. I would play school with them all over the living room. You can't find a set like that anymore. Nor can you find the Bride and Groom set we had with all the attendants, flower girls, ring bearer, plus mother and father of the bride.

I probably did not have many of my own, but my friend Donna had many sets and they were all kept neatly in boxes in her closet. She and her sister Pat had a huge double bedroom with beds to the side of the room so we had a lot of room to spread them out. Donna and I would play for hours, she was a year younger, but we had lived next door to each other on the South Side and we followed them to the Heights. Our parents fished together among other things so we were together quite a bit.

Her mother always had homemade vanilla ice cream and Hershey's topping and often home made cookies. It was a nice place to be. Sometimes I would stay till after dark and because I was afraid to walk on the sidewalk by all the bushes and hedges, I would walk for a block in the middle of the street and sing "He Walks With Me", a hymn I had learned at the Methodist Church, and then I would run up the dark hill to our house as fast as I could go.

Myrna never signed!

Myrna called me to tell me that she never signed the LTL pledge to not smoke or drink! I didn't remember this. Mrs. Lowe, a church biddy, called and reported to Myrna's mother that Myrna had refused to sign the pledge. Her mother asked if Myrna had said why. "She said she didn't know what she was going to do when she grew up." "There's your answer!" her Mom said and that was that. And Mrs. Lowe never spoke to Myrna's mother again.