Silhouettes

A silhouette is defined as "the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible against a lighter background".  I have a memory of all the kids getting a silhouette profile at one time or another. It was often a craft done in school. A bright light, tracing the outline of the head and cutting it out. Just from the silhouette profiles above, can you guess which Westra siblings these are?

There was a "shadows" song/dance with silhouettes in the musical Jen's senior year (1989) "Shadows on the Wall" ... Jen was Dorothy Brock, an older (like 50? Gasp, SO old. So many lines drawn on the face) washed up star, appalled she is supposed to audition for a part. The director makes a comment about Dorothy Brock "but she can't dance" ... and Jen knew the part was made for her (as singing and acting were no problem, but dancing was an issue!) Jen's Madrigals group (the guys) sang Silhouettes on the Shade (listen to that HERE).

Well ... have you made your guesses?

Chris on the left ... in first grade (1972-1973). On the right, little Derek ... younger, just three years old, done as a Joyschool project in 1986. You can see in the school photo, the side/profile, while not a silhouette, was the trend!

Here's an article about silhouettes. 

Chris Gives a Talk in Sacrament Meeting ...

 

Going through the family "boxes" and looking at Dad's journals and kept keepsakes, there have been quite a few Sacrament programs saved over the years. When family was featured for farewells, talks, musical numbers or prayers. It's interesting to see how the programs change, and stay the same, over the years. When I asked Chris if he had a copy of the program he was able to immediately forward a digital copy that had been sent out to all the ward members. Who would have predicted all the digital shifts brought on by Covid, and just changing with the times. Technology!

Chris featured Family History in his talk, focusing on the Green River Incident, in which two of the Grandma Zada's great-grandfathers played a part. As Chris shared his talk, he had uncovered some additional journals/retelling of the tale. Phillip Hurst's own history only had a couple sentences, but in the biography of George Arthur Hearst (son from another wife, Elizabeth Wilcox) there was quite a bit more!

Here is Chris's talk ...

The Blessings of Family History

Good morning. I’m Christopher Westra. And my wife is Kim.. we have nine children between us, and the last two still live with us, Cayson Westra and Aaron Taylor. The Bishop asked me to speak about the blessings of family history, since he knows I really enjoy working on it.

I really like old things. I like studying geology, and I like collecting rocks and building with them. I really enjoy learning about my ancestors. I like old things. I really enjoy treasured antiques that are in superb condition. Like my wife. I hope she’ll forgive me for that. She knows that I’m the one who looks older, with all my smile wrinkles.

I’m going to tell you a story today about my own family history and a sad event at the Green River in 1868. But first I want to connect family history to the core of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Kind of an overview so you see why it’s important.

Family history is discovering and learning more about our family members and gathering and preserving information about them. It is also performing saving ordinances for them in temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Families are central to Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. He has prepared a way for family relationships to continue throughout eternity. By participating in temple and family history service, we discover more about ourselves and our ancestors. We can connect with our ancestors by performing essential ordinances for them in temples.

As we help our deceased family members progress on the covenant path, we can increase the influence of the Spirit in our lives and deepen our testimonies of the plan of salvation.

Family history can also strengthen our relationships with our living family members. As we share discoveries, stories, photographs, and other memories, we establish family bonds and strengthen the love between our family members. In this sense, family history is much more than just researching names, dates, and places.

Now for the story. This story is about The boys of Sanpete County. This is an excerpt from the biography of my great great grandpa James Anderson.

“Probably the outstanding event of James Anderson’s life was his trip to Laramie City for immigrants. This trip was under the leadership of Captain William Seeley and included forty young men from Sanpete. The Company left their homes in June 1868. James was driving a six horse team.

When the Company reached Green river Ferry, the water was high and it was impossible to make the ox team take to the water. This necessitated the loading of the cattle into the ferry boat. A vital mistake was made in loading; the cattle were loaded with their heads down stream. As the water rushed under them, they became frightened and backed up. The water then rushed over the side of the boat and capsized it.

Those of the men who were good swimmers made the shore with difficulty, but six of the boys remained in the muddy sands of Green River. This was a tragic blow to the little company, but there was only one thing left for them to do and that was to complete the journey which they had been called upon to make. After everything was adjusted, and the company on their way again, a song was composed by members of the group. It was called, “We the boys of Sanpete County”, and it tells the story of this sad event better than it could otherwise be told.”

Second excerpt - from my other great great grandfather Philip Hurst. Written by his son.

William Seeley of Mt. Pleasant was captain of the company, father was his first aide, sergeant of guard I think he said was his official title. He told me the date, but I do not remember, only it was the spring of 1868. Everything went along well until they reached Green River. They found the water high and difficult to cross. (I will use his words in the first person in this narrative)”

“We had worked all day passing wagons over on the ferry boat and trying to drive the oxen, but on account of high cold water they would not swim. After we had worked nearly all day, I had swam the river five times, so we decided to put the cattle on the boat and ferry them over. We had a Swedish man that was very stubborn and arbitrary and would not obey orders.

Captain Seely was sick in bed with mountain fever that left me the blunt of work directing the work. This Swede wanted to tie the oxen with their heads all the same way, but we held him down and had our way.

When we had the boat loaded and ready to start across, Captain Seeley raised up over the wagon and said, Phil get off that boat. You have been in that river enough today. I was just simple enough to obey orders and got off. After I left the boat, they pushed it out a short distance. The Swede had his own way and moved the cattle that were tied with their heads down stream. When they got out where the water was swift, the animals seemed to have become hot and dizzy and moved forward, which sank the upper side of the boat that allowed the current of the stream to stride the flat surface of the boat and broke the cable that the boat was fastened to.

That turned them upside down in the river. The Swede got hold of a yoke of oxen and was hanging to them, and as soon as he could climbed up on top of the yoke. The men on the band shouted to him to get off the yoke and hold onto the tail of the oxen, but he would not heed the advice, and when the oxen could not hold him up any longer, they went down and the Swede went with them.

The most pathetic thing was that a young man by the name of Nielsen, a son of a widow, was on the boat when they were turned. A drift down the river caught a plank and held onto it. I grabbed a long rope and followed along talking to him and telling what to do. Finally the plank was carried close to the bank where I was. I told him to leave the plank and swim to a bunch of willows. He did as I told him. He reached the willows all right. I threw the rope to him, but before the rope reached him the bank caved off and broke half way under the half soled of my boots.

When the bank caved, it went under, willows and all, and we never saw him again. You may imagine how we felt when we reached home in the fall and were compelled to tell his widowed mother where I last saw her boy. Darkness came on. We did not know who drowned and who were saved. When we were all in camp, I called the roll to find out who was missing.”

“Then father sang a song to me that he composed at that time. After finishing the song he talked to me about how to handle the farm in his absence.”

Song below

1.

“We the boys of Sanpete County

In obedience to the call,

Started out with forty wagons

To bring emigrants that fall.

Without fear or thought of danger,

Lightly on our way we sped.

Every heart with joy abounding.

Captain Seeley at our head.

Chorus -

To accomplish our mission,

We were called to fill below.

We left our friends, and dear relations

O’er the dreary plains to go.

2.

Over hills, and by the fountains,

Through the mud and in the dust.

Slowly climbed the lofty mountains,

Far above the snow white crust.

With the sun to us declining,

Glad to welcome close of day.

By some stream or gushing fountain,

To refresh at night we’d stay.

3.

When we reached Green River Ferry,

On her banks all night we stayed.

Morning Ferried our wagons over,

Thinking soon to roll away.

Next to drive our cattle over,

But we found they would not swim;

Though the boys were in the water,

Many hours up to the chin.

4.

Thus we tried from morn till evening,

Weather most severe and cold.

For the water and the labor,

Brought us low, though we were bold.

And the mighty winds were blowing,

All the day and night before;

And the gurgling, rushing waters,

Drove our cattle back to shore.

5.

As the boat was passing over,

Water in the boat did pour.

Captain cried, “Boys we’re going under,

We shall die this very hour”.

Down she went and crushed the tackling,

Neath those waters, all went down,

And the mighty rushing current,

Swept them off with haughty frown.

2nd Chorus-

Farewell Comrades, you may never

Meet us on this earth again,

But there is yet a brighter morning

When we all shall meet again.

6.

Some to oxen horns were clinging,

“Till with them life was all o’er,

Boys and cattle all went under,

Ne’er again to step on shore.

Some planks and boards were clinging,

Down the swelling tide did float.

Some by heaven seemed protected,

Driven to shore upon the boat.

7.

One had landed on an island,

Clinging to the willows green.

But to him life was extinguished,

He fell backward in the stream.

These six boys from parents taken,

And from friends whom they did love,

But we soon again shall meet them,

In the better land above.

As a boy, I have heard Daddy sing this song many times. Always was he so effected that his voice would tremble and the tears swell in his eyes. No wonder it has become one of the gems which I prize.

You can learn more about this historical event by using YouTube or Google. Search for the boys of Sanpete County.

First: The Historian Glenn Rawson talking about this event.

Second: a recording of a man with a guitar singing the song.

Seth Lyman helped type. He is descended from James Anderson, Jr, the first child, who was born before the event. I am descended from Hannah Alzada Anderson, the second child, born the year after the Green River event

Also, the son of Philip Hurst (born before the event) and the daughter of James Anderson (born the year after the event), married, and their third child, Hannah Lucinda Hurst, was my great grandma whom I remember quite well.

It is rewarding to share these stories with living family members. And it’s also rewarding to post them onto family search and receive comments from distant cousins about how much they appreciate the new pictures or the new story added.

I encourage all of you to enjoy the blessings of family history. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Here's the rest of the Sacrament Meeting Program ...

Sterling Scholars

Spring of 2016 ... Jase Jensen was named Sterling Scholar in Mathematics for his high school. He was not the first in the Westra line to achieve Sterling Scholar, nor the last, not even just within the Jensen family ... Wendy has created blog posts showcasing her Sterling Scholars (see links below).

• Janika  (FACS) May 2014~ Sterling Scholar Banquet, Awards Night 
• Jase (Math) April 2016 ~ Sterling Scholar Competition, May2016 Senior Awards Night
• Jaiden  (Drama) March 2022 ~ Sterling Scholar Awards Night, Documents, Region!

The Westra Sibling Generation produced two Sterling Scholars ... in 1984 and 1994, Chris and Shane respectively.  Christopher nabbed the position to represent Cottonwood High School in Business. He had some trips, to USU and Atlanta, Georgia, dealing with his business exploits.  Shane was Sterling Scholar for Art, also for Cottonwood High (all the Westra siblings attended there). A couple of his pieces are still on display in the halls of the school (see below). 

We have an ART label here on the blog, as while Shane was the only Sterling Scholar in this area, others in the family also enjoyed drawing and painting (although Wendy says the artistic gene skipped her). 

Jen totally planned on being Sterling Scholar for Drama her graduation year (1989). With many productions and leading roles and a 3.9 GPA, it seemed like a lock. Then Emilie DeAzevado (you may have heard of the DeAzevado name, well known in the LDS music world) moved from California, with even more experience and stellar grades, and the nod went to her. Jen was quite crushed to miss out on this goal ... but the whole Sterling Scholar process IS a lot of work in the preparation of a portfolio, interviewing, etc., and even more competition beyond the school level. So ... she survived (and still made it through college on scholarships to graduate debt free). 

I did some searches in newspaper/yearbook archives, I DID find a Shane showcase ...

He's there in the top left corner ... his quote says "This art stuff is great, but what does it have to do with the Iconoclastic controversy?" Asking Shane what his quote meant, he replied "Haha, that iconoclastic controversy quote was an inside joke that only the best of Mr. Bill’s art students would understand!" 

Here's clippings from the newspaper featuring Chris and Shane and the other competitors.

A Plethora of Poetry

There have been quite a few poems featured here on the blog (check out the Poetry label for more) but no one has been as prolific with poems as Chris! He's written 100+ poems for his ProsperityPoems website. Check it out! Here's just a peek ...

Poem Images created using "Stencil"  

and you can also check out Unsplash for more royalty free pictures. 

"Used To You Already" ... Mission Return

Chris left on his mission in October of 1987. Derek would have five years old. So two years later, comparison pictures of Chris and  Derek. Mom remembers as they picked Chris up from the airport and were traveling home in the car, Derek commented  "You've only been home a few minutes and I'm used to you already!"

Related Posts ...

• If you ever find a picture or event and wonder when it happened (a birth, leaving for a mission, new house, etc), remember there is a great Westra Timeline that lists all these events in order! It's also in the family dropbox. Good information!
• For more funny sayings, check out the Cute Quotes page (Derek's cute quote above as been added there!)
• Check out the labels (Missionary, Chris, Derek) for similar topics!

 

Baby Books and a Chris Questionnaire

Here on the blog, I've tried to capture the birth stories of the Westra siblings (Shane and Derek ... I'm still working on it!)  I had Mom write up her memories from each birth. There are pictures in Dropbox. We have the little DMarie time-capsule. I had MY baby book, and it had some good details, so I wondered where the other baby books were. I had Wendy look for hers, but she couldn't find it. Turns out, Mom and Dad still had all the baby books for everyone besides me (even Dad/Lamar's baby book! They made baby books back then?) So now armed with more memorabilia and information, I'll have to update Scott and Wendy's birth blogposts, and/or make a new post to address the childhood years (I did add a little to "Chris Came"). You can see in the image below, that there were extras included and saved along the way. Cards, photos, birth certificate and immunization records.

In Chris's collection, I found pages of text, written by both Mom and Dad in September of 1984. It appears that Chris had a school assignment to write about his birth. While I didn't find a copy of the actual questionnaire included, both Dad and Mom followed the same format, so I can imagine what the original looked like. It was quite comprehensive, and Mom and Dad really came through with their answers (with a little help from the baby book).   

Rather than scanning stuff, I went ahead and retyped (Google Drive links below), and while it is all about Chris, I really enjoyed reading about it all.  It was interesting to see how differently Mom and Dad answered the same questions. Dad's crazy humor! How much more Mom remembered for this write-up, vs the little one she did recently for me (36 years later, and not glancing through the baby book for memory prompts).  Lesson ... write things down sooner than later! Now I need Chris's completed paper for closure here!

Chris Questionaire - Dad

Chris Questionaire - Mom

What would Mom and Dad's answers be about the other kids?
What would you (as the parent) write up about your own kids?
Did you keep a baby book for your kids?

Wind River, Wyoming - Scout Trip

As part of his journaling, Dad/Lamar kept old "Diary Books" (sometimes called Seven Star Diaries or Success Agendas). In each little book, there is a calendar page for each day. Dad had inserted separate pages when he had more to say about any particular event. In the box for 1978, inserted between 20 and 21 July, are six inserted pages, pages 1-12, on both sides of each page, very small, describing the Wind River Trip, 18-20 July 1978. Here's Dad's record of that trip, along with some corresponding photos from the Dropbox files ...

Wind River, Wyoming ~ 18-20 July 1978 

We packed our gear and got everything ready the night before – Monday. Scott had been in charge of food planning and purchases.  We woke up early, about 4:30 Tuesday morning, and loaded the food and gear into the station wagon, and drove to the church, 5:15. We packed Bill Monson’s red suburban with kids, and packed Lee Thacker’s trailer with packs.  Brian Crook drove the wagon to Morris’s to pick up a coat and then home to stash the wagon in the garage. 

We had a nice prayer before we left and headed up to Wyoming, 5:30. We listened to stereo tapes, The Doobie Brothers, Three Dog Night, etc, and a little good music also. We got to Rock Springs about 9:30, but it was closed. We tried to find a restaurant open, but 2 or 3 were closed. We got gas ($8.20) and hit the WC. Then we went to a restaurant and had breakfast – me and 10 kids $22.00. 

We continued on to Farson and tried to purchase fishing licenses. They sold the boys several licenses for $2.00 but then determined that they had made a mistake. The boys over 14 were considered adults and had to buy the $5.00 license. They had to turn their $2.00 license back in and then they ran out of $5.00 licenses. They sent us on, about 47 miles up the road and about 20 miles out of our way. They announced they had no out of state d day licenses. They sent us on to Pinedale, another 11 miles up the road. We purchased the remainder of fishing licenses in Pinedale, and then traveled back, where we took the side road toward the Wind River range. We had been able to see the rugged mountains to the right of us as we traveled from Rock Springs. 

We traveled on a paved road for about 20 miles and then it turned to dirt and got worse and worse as we got nearer the mountains. We saw many antelope in the sagebrush as we drove along. The weather had been hot and sunny the entire trip, but thunderclouds built up over the Wind River mountains as we got closer. We crossed the beautiful river leading from the Big Sandy opening of the Wind River. We stopped to look at the river (for fish) and to let off steam. Then we continued up the terrible dirt and rock road another 2 miles where the parking lot was located for hikers in the Big Sandy area. There were about 20 cars parked at the bottom. 

We got our packs together and were about to start up the trail, when Brian Morris discovered his boots missing. We guessed that they have bounced out during the last 2 miles of road. We were in the last parking spot, so we had the boys reserve the spot with packs, etc. while Brian, Chris and I traveled down the road. There were trucks working on the road, so the workmen held us up each passage and probably wondered why we were traveling back and forth so much. We traveled back down where we had stopped earlier, and there were the boots lying right beside the spot where we had stopped. We reasoned that Steve Pettegrew had taken them out in order to check out his pet nightcrawlers, tuck them in, etc, and had forgotten to put them (the boots) back. Of course, Steve wouldn’t admit it. 

We traveled back up to our reserved parking space, and during the trip up, the dark clouds suddenly gathered, and it started to hail, hailstones about an inch in diameter. We felt sorry for the scouts we had left behind, and especially for our packs. When we got back, it had stopped hailing momentarily, and most of the scouts had taken refuge under nearby trees. They had also placed the packs under vehicles close by. When we got packed, the hail began again, and all the scouts huddled in the suburban. The hail lasted for another 10 minutes and then subsided. We decided to try the trail and warily donned our packs and set out – with very threatening skies all around. 

We started hiking about 4:30 PM and the trail was mostly covered with ½ inch of hail, and a little muddy. We had to make a few stops under pine trees for the first mile or two to get out of some rain showers, but for the most part the weather cooperated very well. We hiked up about 6 ½ miles to Big Sandy Lake. Seven scouts were in the lead and were about ½ mile ahead of the other four. Regan Eardley, Mark Huyboom, Brian Morris and I were trailing. We slow hikers caught up with the others at Big Sandy. We rested a bit. A few tried to fish (with no success), and we decided to hike the rest of the way up to Black Joe Lake, another 1 ½ miles. 

The trail up to Big Sandy was beautiful, and most of the way, and most of the way we hiked parallel to a beautiful river coming out of Big Sandy. A few fishermen could be seen, catching some small fish. We hiked around the Big Sandy Lake, fighting mosquitoes all the way. The trail around Big Sandy was semi-muddy, and at first, we went to great pains to hop rocks and keep our feet dry while fording the many small streams. Finally, about ¾ of the way around Big Sandy, the rivers became larger and we gave up all thoughts of keeping our feet dry and just tromped thru the last 5 or 6 streams. There were a few tents pitched at Big Sandy. We talked to a few and then continued on the trail, straight up, to Black Joe. On fording the last stream, Regan tried to cross on a log and fell in, dripping wet all over. He was cold and wet and was about ready to give up right there. 

At this time, some of the scouts had gone on ahead and five of us were about ½ mile behind. I decided that 2 of us, Mark Huyboom and I would try to catch the others, and Jestin Hays and Regen would hike slower – and we would send others back to help Regen with his pack. I got ahead of Mark and the trail began to peter out. It began to be covered with small patches of snow, and as we continued – larger patches of snow. It was beginning to get dusk and we were all spread out. A few prayers and fast hiking, and I finally caught up with the remainder of the group, although the trail was almost non-existent, a few tracks could be seen here and there. 

Brian Crook and Ted Paulsen had gone ahead of the rest of the group, in search of the camping spot, since the advance group became concerned that they had lost the trail. After a few minutes, the two scouts came back and said the camping place was ahead, about 1/2 mile. We decided to hike there quickly, release our packs, and leave some scouts to set up camp while four or five of us returned, with flashlights, to help the remaining three.  And after a word of prayer, we did just that. It was getting dark very quickly, and we hurried back down the trail, over the snow. First we found Mark Huyboom, who wasn’t sure if he was lost or not, since the trail was so sparse. Then a little further we located Jestin and Regan. They had hiked further than we had thought they would – luckily. We helped them with their packs and we quickly returned to the camp spot. The tent had been set up, a fire built, and we thought that was a great sight. 

We had a quick meal, tried to dry our wet clothes, over the roaring fire. We had a group prayer, thanking the Lord for the safe hike, and settled in our tents. Chris and I were in Bob’s four-man tent, Scott and Steve were in Scott’s tent, Regan and Mark were in Regan’s family tent. Brian C, Ted, and Brian Morris were in a 2 man tent, and Steve Pettigrew and Jestin were in a 2 man tent.  The night was very cold, and I never really did get warm. I only got about an hour sleep. 

The next morning we took our time rolling out of bed. The camp was situated about 75 yards from a beautiful stream, about ¼ mile below Black Joe Lake. We had an unorganized breakfast and got into the business of fishing. The day warmed up considerably. Steve Pettegrew caught the first few fish, during our breakfast, in the stream. I hiked up to the lake, but caught nothing.  We caught some fish in the stream and later Chris and I hiked up to the lake again and caught 6 or 7. We cooked some fish that evening along with hash browns. 

I moved our tent to a more level location, since I had slept so poorly the previous night. The previous spot had a slope, up and down and sidewards, and was moist because it was near to a melting snowbank about 30 yards uphill. We had a night of better sleep, much warmer, more level. We had some breakfast and began to pack, Chris and I, for our hike down the mountain. We discovered our fish were gone. We had hidden them in a snowbank close by camp, on a stringer, about 5 or 6 fish. The stringer and all were gone. Some of the other scouts had put their fish in a side stream in a net. They were gone too. We assumed that a beaver, badger, skunk, bear, etc. had made a nice meal. 

Scott and Steve Thacker decided to hike down with us, so we reluctantly let them. We had met the ranger the day before and he had informed us that we were camped too close to the stream and the trail – that there was a new rule in our area that camping was only allowed outside of 200 yards from a stream or a trail, and we were right next to both, between the two.  So the rest of the scouts had to make preparations to move camp, up the hill about midway between the river and another lake. 

The four of us bid adieu to the remaining seven and began hiking down. We were to meet Bob Caldwell on the trail up, and give him further instructions on how to locate the camp. Bob drove our Honda up Wednesday eve and slept in the Suburban Wednesday night.  We had an uneventful hike down, making fairly good time. Whenever we stopped, we would get attacked by swarms of mosquitoes.  We met Bob on the trail, about 2 miles from the bottom. We met by the river where we saw many small fish.  We gave him instructions on how to find the camp and then continued on down, while he continued on up.  

We hiked down to our cars, put some of our gear in the Suburban and the rest in our Honda. We traveled on down the road in the Honda, taking the road to Farson.  Bob said that he ran over 3 rabbits on the way up the previous night, and we counted 4 or 5 fresh carcasses, along with dozens of older ones. We saw a few antelope also.  We drove to Farson, bought $2 worth of gas, and drove on to Rock Springs, another $4 of gas (fill). We had dinner at the Arctic Circle in Rock Springs, $7.60, the four of us. We continued on home. We stopped at a nice rest stop, arriving home at 8:00.

Priesthood Preview ~Scott and Chris

 This will  be backdated to 1977

Over the years, there were many presentations and awards. Often, the programs would be slipped somewhere (baby book, journals, filing cabinet) to preserve them to look back on in future years. The program above was found in Scott's baby book. For an enlarged copy, look in Dropbox in the 1977 year.

The Priesthood Preview, 1977. Chris Westra was noted as one of the "boys to be honored" along with several others from the Cottonwood 11th ward. Scott is listed as one of the "Deacon Quorum Presidencies and Advisors" (again, for the 11th ward). 

Harry Peckham was at the piano  (his wife taught piano lessons to Wendy and Jen). One of the speakers, Dee Hadley, lived across the street from the Westra home. It is hard to read (small print) but Mom is also mentioned with several others "Appreciation is extended to ..." (although the spelling here is Marj Westra) as part of the Stake Primary Board.

The three songs with lyrics listed ... not any I am familiar with from later years in the church (serving in primary, having boys of my own). Not much information online about them either, although two of them were included in LDS songbooks.

I Want to be a Deacon (B-88) in "Sing with Me" 1969 edition.

Don't Envy the Boy (L-80) 1979 edition (as this is AFTER this presentation, the song must have also been available in some earlier publication).

This picture in Dropbox doesn't indicate this was the night of the Priesthood Preview, but it does showcase the two Westra boys pointed out in the program, and they are dressed up in their Sunday best (although November 12 was actually a Saturday).

After the post went live, Mom had these memories ...

Out of all the Stake Priesthood Previews I went to as a mom and several I helped put on as a Counselor in the Stake Primary, two things that have stayed with me:

• The ones I helped put on:  A Leadership lesson I learned from the Stake Primary President (and previous ones):  The stake Primary President kept a loose-leaf binder with all the details from that year's Priesthood Preview------amounts of food, supplies needed, samples of programs, costs, invitation samples, etc.  Then the binder was passed on to future Presidents to continue to benefit planning for future Priesthood Previews.  I thought that was a great idea.

• One thing during one of the programs, by one of the stake presidency, and I have remembered ever since is this:  He called up one of the boys in the stake and told him, "I have heard that you are a very good and accomplished young man.  Therefore, I am going to make you King of England.  Then he put a fancy King's robe about the boy and crowned him "King of England."  Then he went on to teach that he had no authority to make that boy King of England----just as other religions have no authority to do things like that.  And told how our priesthood authority comes from God and we must have that authority in order to have prophets, etc.      It was a good way to teach that point.

Chris's Clark Start

 This will be backdated to 1972

Mom shared some memories of when the family first moved to Utah in 1972 ...

Chris was just turned 6 and in Mrs. Clark's 1st grade. Her husband had Meniere's Disease really bad and couldn't work, so she started teaching school.

I considered having Chris repeat Kindergarten, since he was small and young for his grade.  Also, they hadn't taught reading in kindergarten in Richland.  But still having 3 little ones at home most of the time would be hard, so I went ahead and sent him.  Having lunch at school was scary for him at first, so Mrs. Clark let him eat with her in the classroom.  He started out very behind in reading, but was so smart, he ended up being the best reader in his class and the principal awarded him a big yellow book about cars, trains, airplanes, etc.  Mrs. Clark would reward the kids with a small paperback book every time they read 20 books.  Chris is very competitive and that really motivated him in reading.  That is where I got the idea of the reading charts and reward after 20 kid books or 10 chapter books I have made for some of your kids.

Looking through the saved stuff, there were quite a few reading certificates and awards for Chris for the years to come. Looks like Mrs. Clark's jumpstart had lasting effects! Thanks Mrs. Clark!

Wish we had a written booklist like we do for Shane at age 11. 

Chris did comment that "A Wrinkle in Time" and its sequels were favorites.

Hello Dolly

Going through Scott's baby book, there was a newspaper article about a "Doll Contest" that apparently Scott and Chris had entered, and received ribbons (and a mention in the newspaper) for. Mom didn't have much of a memory in 2020 to explain or add when asked about it, and then this picture surfaced as Chris was scanning a box of old photos and documents.  Mom's note on the back of the photo ...

 It would be interesting to have a little more details about this doll contest and to get a better look at the dolls in the pictures. Chris's small doll is so small, I can't really even see it! Who knew Scott was so handy at making dolls?

Here's the clipping from the paper ...

It was August 1971, the Richland Recreation Department's Doll Show. Categories were Most Unique, Best Dressed, Best Homemade, Best Foreign, Prettiest, Largest Collection, Oldest, Smallest, and Largest. 

I wonder what happened to these award-winning dolls?

Chris Came ...

Three years after Scott came into the world, he was blessed with a little brother ~ Christopher Mark Westra. 6 pounds, 7½ ounces, 19¼ inches long. Born at 11:42 am. You might wonder why there is a picture of Dad with a fish combined in the collage of photos of baby Chris, but it's because while the grandparents were up to see the baby, Rex and LaMar went fishing on the Columbia River and caught a steelhead that weighed more than Chris did!

Here's some of Mom's memories from the big day ...

Since Scott's labor was only maybe around 4 hours, I expected Chris to be even quicker. So we went to the hospital and I was dilated only to 3 and they sent me home. I was in labor all night with the pains 5 minutes apart and scared I would wait too long, but didn't want to be sent home again.  When I was admitted, I remember being in the delivery room and the pain was so bad, they gave me gas and put me "under" for a bit. When I regained consciousness, I recall thinking "somebody is screaming," then  realizing "Oh, it is me screaming...."  Chris was born on a Monday and I never missed a week of church. September 5th was Labor Day in 1966. The Labor and Delivery dept. was very overcrowded that day and there was no room to put me in after he was born, so my bed was just out in the hallway. I was sitting up and a nurse came by and said, "You shouldn't be sitting up!" She thought I hadn't had the baby yet and was in labor. Chris's was my hardest and longest birth, which surprised me because he wasn't that big.

Some memories from the baby book ...

• Dr. Robert E Chase. Nurse Beulah Liechty. 
• Kadlec Methodist Hospital/Richland, Washington. Room 419C. Receipt for payment $208.20, another for $2.00.
• Hair was dark brown at birth, lighter later on, very sparse on top, one inch in back.
•  Blessed October 9, 1966 in Richland 1st ward. When Chris was held up after the blessing, he spit up at the congregation. Two other babies blessed that day.
• Very spitty baby (more than any of the other kids). Had to have a burp diaper on every chair around the house to grab quick when needed.
• Red birthmark on the forehead.
• Sleeping through the night at three months. Started sucking thumb, would not take pacifier.
• Swaying and dancing to music at 15 months. 
• First words: Mama, Dada, Ball, Dog-Dog, Marble, Night-night. His speech was very cute when he was a bit older (age 3) as there were several letters he couldn't pronounce (s, r). 
• First flight - to SLC Dec 1968 for Merrill's wedding. Chris got sick on the flight down. 
• Loved the water - summer of 1967 (8-12 months old) he spent more time in the wading pool than Scott. Learned to walk in the pool!
• Illnesses - Roseola at 6 months old (March1967), Mumps (June 1970). 
• Noted Events: The war in Vietnam. The popularity of the Beatles. Fashion trends - long hair on boys, miniskirts, granny dresses, the twist (dance).

Here's a little look at what else was going on in the world in September 1966 ...

 I just paid $1.09 for a dozen eggs in 2020 ... no inflation for eggs?

Check out the blog post "Baby Books and a Chris Questionnaire" for more memories of baby Chris!