Reflecting on Music Memories

 As old artifacts were uncovered, more memorabilia has been added to each Westra Sibling box. Jen had taken quite a bit of music when she moved out, but some of her original compositions from PTA Reflections contests over the years hadn't made it out of the Westra home.  It was fun to get the actual music (printed and cassette recordings) to look at and listen to some 35-40 years later. Would you believe Jen still remembers the songs she wrote way back when?

The first official music entry was in 1985 ... the theme was "What Sparks My Imagination?" Jen was in the 8th grade, 14 years old. Writing the lyrics and the melody for piano was no issue, it was getting the musical notation written down on paper that was the problem. Music theory, notes/timing had always been a bit of a struggle. The collage below shows some of the steps and progress, the handwriting and piano penmanship, along with the final result and entry info ... the song was recorded on submitted on cassette tape.

The lyrics ... (Verse 1) "I see a cloud, floating by. I see a rainbow way up high. When suddenly in the back of my mind, my imagination sparks, it's one of a kind. (Chorus) What sparks my imagination? What makes it burn? What sparks my imagination? What makes it flow? What makes it glow? What makes it grow? (Verse 2) My imagination sees some things, and then it flies upon it's wings. It turns some words into a song, and then I sing it all day long.  (Chorus) What sparks my imagination? What makes it burn? What sparks my imagination? What makes it flow? What makes it glow? What makes it grow?" The recorded submission was just the piano ... no singing? Was Jen not confident enough in her voice? Was it written out of range? 37 years after the fact, Jen went ahead and re-recorded the song, with singing this time (going with the lower harmonies, because yes, it's too high in some places), just for this blog post, adapted for youtube (as sharing just audio is trickier than sharing a video). See/listen HERE. 

With that first music entry done ... Jen came up with a song for Reflections for the next three years. In 9th grade, the theme was "From Liberty's View". Won at the school level and went on to region, and was asked to perform the song at 9th grade promotion/graduation at the end of the year. 

The lyrics ... "If you will listen, you'll hear her calling you. And you might think, that she is just a statue. But she's part of me, and she can be part of you. She can see us all, we're all in Liberty's view. And so are the oceans, and so are the skies, so are the mountains, and so am I. And so are you, and everything you do. Let's make her proud. Let's make her proud. Won't you  believe, she's a part of you, she's a part of me. Then you might too, realize, she's calling you." Audio from the original submission can be found HERE. 

Jen's sophomore year (1986-1987) the Reflections theme was "A Past to Remember, a Future to Mold" which must have been especially inspiring, because Jen wrote TWO songs that year! Definitely some oversinging on the original audio.  Not sure which song was written first, or which did better in the competition. The two songs were "What is Tomorrow" and "A Past to Remember, a Future to Mold" and both songs have been added to the family youtube after having the audio transferred from the original cassette tapes. 

The final song was for the 1987-1988 school year. Jen was a junior. The Reflections theme was "Wonders of the World".  Interesting to mark the change in handwriting and how the notes and other musical markings are written. This cassette tape wasn't with the others, but a later pile of "Jen's stuff" had an envelope with this entry, and the cassette tape with original audio. Listen HERE. Jen performed this song at a school assembly (picture in the yearbook of her at the piano). 

No entry senior year ... but there with all the "Jen's Stuff" were a bunch of papers and poems. There was one poem that Jen had a distinct memory of also being a song for Reflections. It would have been back in 1981-1982. Jen was in 5th grade and the Reflections theme was "What Makes Me Smile?" Too intimidated by the music entry process (writing the music down, recording it) ... Jen simply submitted the poem in the literature category instead of music. 40 years later, Jen could still recall the simple tune though. So, just for fun, and for the first time ... it's been recorded HERE. 

Will Jenna remember her song submission in 40 years? Wendy did a write up of her Reflections win on the Jenson Journal (school win, region win) and while the PTA had the song posted online for a bit, the school link is no longer working, so the song is saved in Dropbox, and on Youtube (here). 

Janika also wrote a song in 2009 ... WOW was the theme. You can hear it HERE. One might wonder if Janika has shared this song with her husband (yes, she has) ... as this cute melody recounts the wonder of a cute boy ;) Sounds like it's out of a Broadway musical. 

Here's a list of all the PTA Reflections themes from the past years ...

I THINK all the musical entries have  been addressed here. Derek has been very musical in his later years, but I don't believe there was ever a music composition entry for Reflections. He did get a ribbon for a picture he took (see HERE). Aniston entered in 2021, also in photography ...

The Reflections categories have changed some over the years, with new additions of Dance Choreograph and Film Production (Jaiden entered in dance in 2014).  Wendy wrote up all the Reflections experiences for her kids on her blog, check them out: 2014, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.

 

Merry Christmas from the Blackhams (2002)

In 2002, the Blackham Bunch consisted of Gray and Jen and three little boys. Like Shane & Alicia, Blackhams sent out some handmade cards with a write up of the family info and activities. Cute pictures of the boys in front of the Christmas tree, paired with an earlier photo of them in some classic costumes (made for the original Blackham Boys: Grayson, Kolby and Clayton back in the 1970s).

The cover of the card was a drawing by little Callahan ...

... and the back

The home address would stay the same for the next 20+ years, but the email address and phone number shifted as technology switched things up. 

... and one more look at those cute Blackham Boys!

Jen - LDSingers/Snow

Wendy had gone to Snow College and had such a good experience, especially enjoying the singing group LDSingers. That was a big part in the decision of where I went to school (that, and the full tuition + fees/books + housing scholarship swayed me toward Snow). I made it into the singing group and that helped a lot socially, having that group of friends (as I hadn't really known anyone at the college going in). There were four marriages from this year (just for my own memory, John/JanelleWilmore, Dale/JanelleThompson, Ruel/TresaHaymond, Mike/JenniferFrishknect). I dated a couple of the guys myself  (going from tenor to bass).  

1989 - Christmas (Part1)     1989- Christmas (Part 2)

• at minute 12:00 there's a quartet of Mr. Santa
• just past 22:00 there's a quartet of "I'm Getting Nothing For Christmas"

Just a little easier to find me than when it's everyone! LDSingers would put on a Christmas concert, then a Spring concert, and do a spring tour.

Spring 1990 - Part 1

• at 10:30 it's "Telephone Hour" from Bye Bye Birdie

Spring 1990 - Part 2

• 2:00 "Golden Age of Rock&Roll"

My second year at Snow, I was again in the LDSingers group. As some of the guys had been in the group, gone on a mission, and then come back to Snow, there was a bit of an overlap between Wendy and I. Some fellows she knew from her time there from before their missions, I knew after they had returned. The director Brother Wilmore was there all through the years of course!

Having made friends last year, and getting an opportunity to live in a rental house owned by my Psychology professor, I was able to have several of the girls in LDs as roommates. Cindy, Lilly and I had been in LDs together last year, and Jaynee and Chris were new this year. There were three weddings that came out of this year (my roommate Jaynee and the boy next door Kevin were one, Jeff/JoyceGuymon, James/JennyWillmore). 

Christmas - 1991 (Part1)   Christmas - 1991 (Part2)

• 26:00 "Fruitcake"

Brother Willmore had uploaded all the videoed concerts he had ... I don't see my second year Spring concert up there, but I may have a copy. I'm looking to getting an old VHS tape converted. Mom and Dad were always good at coming down to watch the performances. 

Jen - School Snapshot

 

Ah, school picture day. Sometimes they turned out, sometimes they didn't. Class pictures now feature just the faces of the other kids, their school pictures (you can check out the collages and elementary classes of  Callahan and Keaton) but it includes their names too, which is good for remembering in future years. In the olden days, it was actually a group photo, and sometimes they'd take it more than once to try and catch people who might have been absent. So the group photo wasn't always the same day as "picture day" ... here, the 2nd and 5th and 6th grades the individual photo and class photo happened on the same day, but the other years based on the different clothes/hair, the group shot was a different day. 

Preschool with Pauline Hogsen

Elementary Years at Woodstock

Jen had the same teacher as she entered and exited elementary ... Mrs. Diamond taught Kindergarten in 1976 and for several years after, but was moved to 6th grade in 1983. Jen has fond memories of all her elementary teachers, although she had been nervous about Mrs. Bullock (3rd grade). She would make you write "I have never ________" (whatever you did wrong) 100 times! So Jen just didn't do anything wrong *Ü*  Chris and Wendy had her as well ... I believe it was her class that introduced the family to the book "Sonny Elephant" which was a favorite, and which Mom/Margie picked up at a school sale many years later. 4th grade was a "split" class, and the teacher (Mrs. Bjarnson would end up being in Jen's ward years later after Jen was married). 5th grade was in the "Pod" ... a big open area with two classes in it. We saw the obituary for Principal DeGraw in July 2020, age 87. 

How many class pictures can we round up from the other Westra siblings?

There are a few in the school folder on Dropbox.

See the School Daze post for all the Westra siblings school pictures, glimpses of the schools; Woodstock, Bonneville Jr and Cottonwood High School and Remembering Woodstock ... as the elementary school was torn down and rebuilt in 2011.  Check out Dad/Lamar's elementary memories!

Graduation 1989 - Jen

You'd think in the 50+ years since my grandmother graduated from high school, and the 28 years since Mom/Margie did, that there would be more than ONE PHOTO to showcase for a high school graduation.  There is actually one additional one in Dropbox, but my eyes are closed. Ah, back in the days of film cameras, when pictures were limited and you didn't know what they looked like until you had them developed. 

I can actually envision another set of photos ... me and lots of different friends. I think it was graduation (it was afterward, no cap and gown), or possibly seminary graduation, but I haven't been able to locate the pictures. They are just a blurry memory in my mind.  Maybe they'll turn up at some point and I can update this post.

I don't know that we did the official graduation announcements. I recall not really even wanting to go to graduation. I dislike ceremony. But of course I went. I was in the program, singing with the Acapella and Madrigal choirs.

Because Cottonwood has one of the largest auditoriums in the state, our commencement was held at the high school, on the same stage I'd performed on many times. I didn't keep a copy of the program myself, but it was shared in a Facebook group in future years. 30+ years later, all the names are still familiar, and I remember both songs the choirs sang.

I had my high school diploma in storage ...

It is interesting to compare it to Grandma Zada's high school diploma. 50+ years, and the same font is used. Different schools, but the look is so similar! Here they are side-by-side ...

 

Zada's Graduation ~ 1936

Graduations 2021

... a couple years later, there would be a graduation with an associates degree from Snow College. No program saved, even though I was on it (said the opening prayer at the baccalaureate service). I remember Wendy came down. Couldn't find any pictures (1991 is VERY sparse in Dropbox). After Snow was BYU. I did graduate (off-season, after Summer semester) ... I didn't participate in any ceremony (no cap and gown) and I'm not sure if I ever picked up my actual physical diploma. 

I managed to graduate from college without any debt. 

Thanks scholarships!

Playing Piano

This will be backdated to 1982

The picture on the left was in 1982 I believe, the ones on the right were in the 1980 Dropbox folder. Both Wendy and I took piano lessons from Lorraine Peckham for years. We would ride our bikes up past the church to her home (having to go past a house that had Dobermans that would lunge at the fence and bark at us ... scared me to death!) I remember we'd be required to practice 30 minutes a day, and I think lessons were once a week. Recitals were held in the chapel at church.

As for the boys ... Scott didn't ever take lessons, but Chris did for about eight months. Some friends in the Delta Club Group had a son that played "The Entertainer" on a TV talent show. That inspired Chris, but then he lost interest and wanted to quit. Mrs. Peckham said it was too bad, because she felt he had a natural ability. I remember Chris thought that if he knew how to play two songs, he could still use that to show off to girls (I think his plan was "The Entertainer" for his first, and "Jessica's Theme from Man From Snowy River" for his second.

Derek seemed to have a natural talent as well, learning to play by ear, and taking lessons for a short time in high school. I really never remembered him playing and was pretty surprised when he ended up quite the musician (see Derek in Concert). He has quite a few piano spotlights on his Instagram account, as well as his cover albums.

Back to the 80s ... Recitals always stressed me out! I'd practice and practice, and get semi-memorized, enough that sometimes I'd zone out, and then not remember where I was in the piece. In my later years, I always said I was more of an accompanist than a pianist. I could follow a singer (or I was the singer) but was never very technical. I'd always ask my piano teacher to play through the music once before I attempted, as I really struggled with reading the timing.

There were some programs saved from recitals over the years ...

In the 1979 program, you can see the Westra girls at #12, #14 (duets), #23, #27 and #35. How long was this recital? I actually remember the name Palace Garden and Grandfather's Clock (while not really remembering the melodies). Wendy did some classical pieces and 5th Avenue Poodle. Glancing through the program, most of the names of the other students are familiar to the Westra siblings (friends, neighbors, other kids in the ward). Apologies for the quality (or lack thereof, this is actually the improved copy)...

... another program, this time from 1983. This recital doesn't look nearly as long as the one in 1982, AND it was broken up into two separate performances to trim it down even further (good move!) I don't remember "Solfeggio in C Minor" but "Moonlight Sonata" is a famous number.

It wasn't just recitals ... we would play in school, girl scouts, family reunion talent shows, in church, etc.

The program below was from Woodstock Elementary, 1979 (2nd grade for Jen).
I wonder what song I played?

This piece (Hungary) wasn't listed in these saved programs, 

but I remember this as a recital piece, and I still have the music.

 I've even attempted (unsuccessfully) to try and play it again. 

You can see it being played HERE (not by me, but you can imagine)

A few of the classic Westra music books ... interesting to note, you can see the price (middle/bottom half on the blue cover) ....$1.25. That was for the book, with six long pieces in it! The Burgmueller has a price of $2.50 printed on it. The theory book (ugg, theory!) was $3.95 - you can also see it was purchased at Day Murray Music down on State Street (it's still there, it's where we bought most of our music). Hungary (above - single sheet) had a price tag of $1.95 ... as of 2022, it's $5.99. Inflation, etc.

Here's a little sample of the Burgmueller music ...

This totally brought back music memories!

https://youtu.be/YmrAIf5WlaI

... and the Sonatinas (I went with #3, most memorable to me)

https://youtu.be/42qx4zVyjmw

Are any of the grandkids taking piano lessons now?  Wendy's were for a while (blog mention here). I did an email search (in the WriteOn blog) and found taking lessons mentioned ... Adria (2010), Adria&Rella (2014) and Ani (2021) ...

It would be interesting to compare the types of music (I assume classical is still a big part), prices, and how music is purchased (most sheet music can be found and downloaded online, printed off immediately at home). How much is technology used in teaching today? As all the YouTube links above indicate ... I would no longer need my piano teacher to play the piece for me so I could hear the timing. Progression of piano playing over the years. 

Anyone up for playing "Chopsticks" ... or perhaps a duet of "Heart and Soul"??

Carousel Kids

 

After Wendy and Jenny outgrew the baton lessons, Jenny still wanted to perform. Mom signed her up for a cute little song and dance group called Carousel Kids. It was Spring of 1980. Jen still has a cassette tape of some of the songs the group sang (she doesn't have a cassette player though ...) Here's a few of the songs/lyrics she remembers, even 40 years later!

Mom/Margie didn't remember any of these songs (below), 

but she remembered the group performed "Wells Fargo Wagon" ...

• Walking in the Sunshine: "Tell the blues that I've got news I'm putting on my walking shoes and I feel fine. Ummmmm. Come on in and watch me grin I'm letting all the sunshine in, I've got the time. Ummmm. To go walking in the sunshine. Taking it easy. Living my life now one day at a time. La la la la la la la la la la la, la la la la la la ..."
• Ain't Gonna Rain: "Raindrops and teardrops someday when the rain stops I'll find me a new place somewhere in the sun. I'll find me a new place I'll share with someone, and it ain't gonna rain anymore."
• Good Friend: "If you let me, I could be your good friend. If you let me, we could walk together. We're not so different you know. Though we may have different dreams. When they fall apart. We hurt the same it seems...
• The Inventor's Song: "When you're spelling the word, America, don't forget to dot the i, for the inventors, don't forget to dot the i." I still remember MANY inventors because of this song.
• There was a Man: " John Smith, there was a man! Hi Ho Diddle Aye Oh! From Kentucky he began, to make our country grow-ow-ow-ow, make our country grow. Brigham Young, there was a man, hi-ho-diddle-aye-o, down in Utah he began, to make our country grow-ow-ow-ow, make our country grow."  I don't know if this "There was a MAN" would be considered politically correct today!
• Are You For Independence: This went through the first 13 colonies ... "Connecticut, are you for independence? Are you for the pursuit of happiness? For life and liberty and freedom? Connecticut votes yes!"

The bottom three songs are all "America" themed songs, and some years ago, Jen found an album with them on (America Pie, the Peter Pan Chorus) and was able to get MP3s she has in her Itunes library (along with Music Man! A favorite record from the Westra childhood). And in 2017, Colton's class sang one of the songs during a school program (and he said the other two sounded familiar as well). 

In the pictures above, the girl with Jenny was Natalie Lewis, a gal down the street (a year younger than Jen, Natalie's brother Jason was Jen's age) and they were in this singing group together. Jen found a couple mentions about the group in her journal (she didn't write much when she was not quite 10 years old) ...

April 12 Today I started a singing group. I go every Sat. at 10:00

May 17 Singing program and I was so good my grandma gave me $1

Jen would continue to sing - high school musicals and madrigals, community theater, and another song/dance group in college!

Twirly Girls

The Wonderful Westra Sisters! Wendy and Jenny were marching in parades in 1978 and 1979, dressed in these tiny, sparkly red costumes, and twirling a baton. Really, it was all in the wrist, we never even attempted a spin with fingers. It was more about the marching. A red bow on the back of the head, or a sparkly headband with a feather ... in the "winter" costume, note the white earmuffs and the red pom-pom on the shoes too.

The leader of this incredible group was our neighbor across the street from our Hermitage House. You can see the group really varied in age (and height).  We marched in several parades and participated in competitions and I'm sure Scott, Chris and Shane just loved coming to watch!

Here's some of Wendy's memories from her journal ...

• December 1978: My name is Wendy Westra. I am 10 years old. I take piano lessons and baton lessons... My sister, Jenny is 8 years old. Me and my sister made up a routine in baton lessons, We did it to "It's a Small World." Our teachers thought it was cute!
• February 1979: For baton I did a routine to "Music Machine." It was my favorite record but the record melted and I was really worried because we needed to listen to it to do the routine because it was my best one and there would be trophies and prizes! Now I will have to borrow our neighbors. 
• July 3, 1979: We went to swimming lessons and to primary and then we took a shower and ate lunch and started getting ready for the Children’s Parade in Provo. We ate there and saw Cannonball and Harvey and we won second place out of the teams like drill, baton, pom poms, etc. (Last year we won first). We goofed up but the judges thought we were cute both years, but everything turned out pretty good.
• July 4, 1979: It’s the 4th of July. We were in a parade at Murray in the morning. Mom and Dad, Chris, Scott, and Shane came and watched us. There were lots of horses and I’m glad we weren’t after them because they went to the bathroom all over! There were people dressed up like Spiderman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.
• July 18, 1979: We had a slumber party at Shauneen’s house for baton. We slept outside and everyone brought a treat. We played games and had a lot of fun. They have a trampoline that we played on. I didn’t fall asleep till 12:30.

There was even some video footage uncovered!

https://youtu.be/tIAgBv18dtU

**FLASH FORWARD TO THE FUTURE

In 2012, Mom/Margie uncovered the little red baton outfits in storage. 

She passed them on to Wendy, and the Jensen girls tried them on and had a little photoshoot. 

Janelle, Jaiden and Jenna

Wendy wrote "One thing I remember (probably a few days before the parade) is Shauneen Hadley telling all of us to wash our hair really well the night before the parade so that it would shine! Then she told us that after we washed it -- wash it again! I thought that was funny that we had to wash our hair not only once -- but twice -- to make it shine!"

That reminded Mom/Margie of a memory ... "Talking about washing your hair twice brought back memories of how my mother always shampooed us once, and rinsed, then shampooed a second time, then rinsed. Then she rinsed our hair either with lemon water or vinegar water. The way she would curl our hair when we were little is with little strips of rags. She would roll a strip of hair up with the small strip of rag, then tie the rag to hold the curl in place. She would do this overnight and take the rags out in the morning----and voila, curly hair." 

Maybe Wendy and Jen should resume a routine and perform it at a family function! *Ü*

Little White Dress

The little white dress ... it was old, passed down through generations. Of course the Westra girls don't remember trying on the dress, but they were familiar with the pictures and some of the story behind it. It was over a hundred years old... 116 years old when Wendy wore it, 118 when Jenny tried it on.

Both of the pictures above were taken at Grandma Lucille's home (Wendy in the back yard, Jenny on the driveway). The dress was originally Lucille's grandmother Laura's when she was a little girl. Born in 1853, Laura likely wore the dress in 1854 when she was a toddler. I checked out family search to see if there were any pictures of Laura,  Olive (Lucille's mother) or Lucille in the dress, but couldn't see any. 

But there is a picture of Dad/Lamar's sister Sharon in it when she was a year old.

... and a picture of Sharon's daughter Alyson when she was a year old.

Fun to see a little piece of history worn by different family members!