A Peek Into the Mind of Shane Westra ~ Age 9

Yesterday we caught a glimpse of some of Wendy's journal entries.

Just in case you were wondering ...

both Wendy and Shane gave the okay for their journal pages to be shared on the blog.

Next up, showcasing Shane!

This is Shane ... 9 years old, funny face.

It is his artwork anyway.

Recently uncovered in the Westra Archives, was the handwritten journal of a young Shane Westra. Just nine years old. As the journal begins, we get a history of Shane's life - covering those first nine years. One has to assume that he does not actually remember all of the details from those earliest of days, but had been told stories of his birth and younger years, which he then recorded for posterity. In cursive ...

Ah, the smudges, tape stains, additions written in. Makes it authentic!

Pictures ages 2-5,  early years and Kindergarten

Shane moved on to 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade.

Spotlighting teachers, friends and memorable experiences.

1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade photos

Jen notes "I really LIKED Mrs. Bullock/3rd grade!"

Check out School Daze for school memories and annual photos.

Now that the "history" has been recorded, day to day journaling begins ...

Much of what young Shane wrote is in the present tense.

"I am going to bed now" ... you will see that closes many an entry.

What can you gather from basic journal entries over the years? Shane mentions movies a lot ... it's interesting to see what was out in theaters, and what was popular on TV (MacGyver, Different Strokes, Family Ties, Cosby Show, Who's the Boss, Growing Pains, GI Joe). He mentions books (Here's a Penny, Trumpet of the Swan), games (Boggle), that Dad was in a car pool.  On the next page, he starts with "I just got up, and got my feet warm" ... hmmm, how did he get his feet warm. I seem to recall Westra children sometimes gathering over a heating vent to catch the warm air coming out. He warms them up again on Thursday, and on page 8 (Mar26) he does specifically say "I warmed my feet on the heater". 

"Frosted Graham Crackers" ... THAT needs to be a blog post!

(and now it is ... see it here Frosted Graham Crackers)

A classic Westra treat!

A little later on, "leather" in mentioned too.

 ... reading that last line, Shane mentions "Halley's Comet" which you may have heard of. Definitely journal worthy as is the only short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth ... if you can say every 75-76 years is "regular".  So even if Shane's journal entry hadn't been clearly marked with the year, from this one entry, we could have determined that it was 1986. The next time Halley's Comet can be seen will be July 28, 2061.

Page 5 above is not the end of Shane's writings. There are 36 pages scanned and safely stored in Dropbox (right under all the listings of the years, there is a PHOTOS and HISTORIES by FAMILY folder, which has folders for the six siblings, Marge/Lamar and some extended family, and this is where you would find pictures or documents specific to an individual). I figured 36 pages might be a little long for this blog post, so I'll summarize a few of the other treasured tidbits in Shane's recorded memories from 1986, and if you want, you can go to Dropbox to read the rest!

Shane mentions ...

• I was playing in the sand pile making Tunnel Town
• I picked up coupons (this was one of his jobs, picking up the coupon packets that came in the newspaper from other families who didn't use them ... Mom/Margie wanted them! There were boxes where we would "file" them). 
• Today I milked an elephant (April Fools!)
• We went to a Rode Show, It was neat. 
• I almost got the Presidential Award, missed it by two pullups
• I played with tadpoles that I got on Memorial Day
• Went to the orchard on a bike ride
• Transformers, watching TV and playing soccer
• Recorded "Cosby" (so we had a VCR)

... and apparently Shane would write in his journal right before going to bed, or at least that's how he ended almost every single entry. "Then I went to bed."   Goodnight Shane! Thanks for the memories!

Great-Grandpa Herbert was an OddFellow ...

 

What is the IOOF (Independent Order of Odd Fellows)? 

From their webpage, the Odd Fellows are an organization that promotes personal and social development. For members, the fellowship emphasizes a "leaving of the old life and the start of a better one and of helping those in need."  As indicated in the image above, the Odd Fellows were established in the United States in 1819, but they were documented as far back as 1730 in England. The IOOF is still around today! The command of the IOOF is to "vist the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educated the orphan." Members are dedicated to the following purposes:

• To improve and elevate the character of mankind by promoting the principles of friendship, love, truth, faith, hope, charity and universal justice.
• To help make the world a better place to live in, by aiding each other, the community, the less fortunate, the youth, the elderly, and the environment in every way possible.
• To promote goodwill and harmony amongst peoples and nations through the principle of universal fraternity, holding the belief that all men and women regardless of race, nationality, religion, social status, gender, rank and station are brothers and sisters.

Mom/Margie's grandfather (Grandpa Norman's dad), Herbert Lavar Norman, was an Odd Fellow. In his history, he makes several mentions of his involvement and the impact they had on his life. Here are a couple excerpts: 

On April 18, 1918, I joined the Odd Fellow's Lodge in Brigham City. That fall, along in November (1918) I took the flu. There was a terrible amount of flu then. There were many, many people dying with it. They took me home from work. The doctor got there and told the fellow who took me home to get me to bed and take care of me. They fixed me up and asked me if we had any liquor in the house. Mother (Louella) said she didn't know what it was, but I had just purchased a case of something for Fred Rassmussen. He got me part of that, and he rubbed me with it. He then made a "hot toddy" for me. The Odd Fellow's Grand Noble got a nurse who stayed for three hours. Then he got another one, and she stayed for a couple of hours. That is the way it was for two or three days. At least they had someone there to take care of me night and day. When I got so I could go out, I went to pay the nurses because I felt they were the first ones who should be paid. I asked each nurse how much we owed them, and each one replied , "Nothing". The Odd Fellow's Lodge had taken care of all the expenses including the coal we had to buy from the lumber yard. I always maintained if it hadn't been for the Lodge, I wouldn't be here today. I paid them back. I couldn't do it all at once, but I did it as fast as I could. I figured if they could do that much good for me, they could do that much good for someone else. (See Quarantine for the full flu story). 

One day the Eagles Lodge had their Convention in Lovelock, and they went in the hole with their finances. They didn't make enough money to clear themselves out of it so they had to put on a home dramatic play. "Too Many Parents" was the name of it. One of the fellows they had in the play couldn't do his part so they came and asked me if I would take the part of the aristocratic old southern gentleman.  I did just to help them out. We practiced and practiced on it and finally we put it on. No one could tell it was me. But Mirriam was just a little girl, and she was pretty smart. When I came on the stage for my part she said "There's my Daddy." 

Herbert served as Grand Master of the Odd Fellows Lodge. On October 31, 1931 Herb had a meeting with the Odd Fellows in Salt Lake City ... he arrived home late the next day to baby Bonnie Lou just having been born. When he finished up his term as Grand Master, he was elected to be the representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge in Springfield, Illinois in 1933. The next year he was elected to the Sovereign Grand Lodge in Toronto, Canada. Herb and Louelle went to Arizona for a job at the end of 1952... 

When I came home one night from work, I told Mother there was a party down to the Oddfellows' and Rebekahs' Lodge Hall. We decided we would go to it. When we got there it was open, and we went up to the door. I told the people in there who we were and showed them our card and reciepts. They invited us in. A little while later the superintendent for the government on the canal project came in. He looked at me and asked why I hadn't told him I was a member of the Lodge. When the Lodge opened, he had Mother and I go to the middle of the floor and he introduced us as a Past Grand Master and Past President of Utah. We were certainly honored. From that day on, anything I wanted to do on the job, all I had to do was suggest it.

In the history given at his funeral in 1986 his daughter Mirriam wrote " Dad joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows while they were living in Brigham City, Utah. He remained very active in the organization until it became difficult to drive because of the deterioration of his eyes. He served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Utah. He was Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge for 2 years and served as Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Utah for 6 or more years. He was given the Meritorious Service Award for his years of service.

A Odd Fellow Meritorious Service Jewel may be awarded to an Odd Fellow for meritorious service performed on behalf of Odd Fellowship beyond the usual and customary duties of membership.

mer·i·to·ri·ous  /ˌmerəˈtôrēəs/   

adjective

deserving reward or praise.

"a medal for meritorious conduct"

Looking through old documents (Dec 2020) 

Chris found the letter from the lodge requesting the medal ...

The Odd Fellows were "fellows" ... it was for the men, but there was a women's branch, the Rebekahs. Louella was part of this group. In the fall of 1952, Louella was elected to go to Dallas, Texas as a representative for the Rebekah Lodge IOOF and she was quite active in the group over the years as well.

Cousin Nikki found and added this little newspaper tidbit to Family Search. 

Herbert Lavar Norman - A Brief History

HERBERT LAVAR NORMAN – Brief History 

By Miriam Norman Madsen

Given at the funeral of her father: Herbert LaVar Norman

His full autobiography PDF is available in Dropbox, and has been re-typed and uploaded to FamilySearch and can also be easily read HERE. 

Died -- Mar. 31, 1986 – buried in Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete

Dad was born of immigrant parents from Sweden almost 92 years ago on April 13, 1894 here in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. He was the 9th child of a family of 12. He has one younger sister surviving him. 

He remembered going to work at an early age in the fields weeding potatoes and beets. When 13 and 14 years of age, he worked with his two brothers in a coal mine which his father leased and operated. In 1911 he went to work for Fred Rasmussen at the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad in Mt. Pleasant. He worked as a warehouseman and said the pay was not much, but that he was learning a trade. He had many experiences here as well as in Helper, Utah where he worked for a time. 

In the spring of 1913 at the age of 19, he accepted the position to work for the agent of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in Richfield, Utah. It was while he was working here that he met Mother. They were married September 2, 1914 at her parent’s home. When the agent of the Railroad Co., Mr. Stoors, purchased the Rex Theatre from Mother’s parents, he went to work there as a machine operator of the films at night and continued at the depot during the day. Their first child, Rex, was born in Richfield. Mother spoke of how thrilled and proud Dad was to have a son and to become a father.

In the spring of 1916 Dad accepted a job as station agent for the Bamburger Railroad Lines. They moved to Layton, Ut. -- then to Wellsville, Ut. He then accepted the position as the agent at Brigham City, Ut. It was here where their second son, Gordon, was born. In June of 1918 Dad accepted the position as cashier clerk for the Southern Pacific Railroad at Elko, Nevada. From there he went to Lovelock, Nevada, where I was born. He has often spoken as to what a trying job it was working in the office 7 days a week, 365 days a year. He had to be there for every train that arrived and departed, both passenger and freight. I can remember how the three of us would run across the school grounds to meet him as he came home from work and how he would try to carry all three of us home. I recall how we would have our Christmas’s on Christmas Eve so he could be home with us to enjoy the festivities. 

In April 1924 Dad decided to leave the railroad and return here to Mt. Pleasant and farm. He had always wanted to work on the farms. It was here that Rowland and Bonnie were born. During the depression years, Dad went to work in Draper, Ut. operating the mill for the Draper Feed and Poultry Co. He stayed there for 5 years, coming home on weekends to help take care of family needs. Dad then bought a truck. He and the two boys trucked coal for several years. In 1939 he was offered a job as a carpenter for the Young and Smith Construction Co. After working there a short time he decided to stay with them. In about four years he was promoted to Superintendent of Bridge Construction. He worked for them for 25 years. He enjoyed construction work and worked in Utah, Nevada and Arizona building many of the overpasses on the freeway system. Mother and Dad bought a trailer and this was their home away from home for many years. 

Dad retired in December 1963 at the age of 69. Dad joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows  (see "Great Grandpa Herbert was an Odd Fellow")while they were living in Brigham City, Ut. And he remained very active in the organization until it became difficult to drive because of the deterioration of his eyes. He served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Utah. He was Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge for 2 years and served as Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Utah for 6 or more years. He was given the Meritorious Service Award for his years of service. 

The most rewarding and exciting time in our lives was on July 15, 1972 when we as a family were privileged to witness our brother-in-law, Wally, take Dad into the waters of baptism and then my husband, Blain, confirmed him a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with his sons and grandsons who held the priesthood participating in the circle. The great climax came on August 9, 1973 when we as a family were privileged to participate and witness their sealing in the Salt Lake Temple. A dream of a lifetime came true. Dad has always been a proud man – proud of his family and their accomplishments, proud of his health and strength through the years and the things he was able to accomplish and fulfill. It is a rule of life that each of us, along with joy, success and accomplishments, must meet our share of trials, troubles and disappointments. 

Dad has had six lonely years since Mother’s death. It was hard for him to be without her constant care and then to gradually have to give up his interests and activities through the aging process. We know that as Dad left us, he was welcomed by others of the family who have preceded him in death. May we as a family always be aware of the truths they taught us and the heritage they left us, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen , 

Louella McGee Norman (wife)..Died -- Jan. 20, 1980 – buried in Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah

Send in the Clowns

 Classic Clown Costumes!

Growing up Westra ... Halloween was known for The Great Pumpkin (Scott's creation), and some spooky tricks (setting up a coffin and hiding in it, putting a walkie-talkie in the Great Pumpkin). We'd tease Mom/Margie for giving out pencils instead of candy. Watching "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown".  Another Halloween classic though,  were the cute clown costumes. These were handmade by Aunt Sharon (Dad/Lamar's sister) for her two boys Ricky and Randy. She passed them onto the Westra boys, and they were worn for years to come!

 

In the photo block above, if you look at the top left, and the top right (b&w), it's obvious due to the change in little Wendy, that there is a year between those two photos.  The two photos on the left are from 1969,  and the two  photos on the right are from 1970.  The boys faces haven't changed much, but Scott has grown taller (the leg ruff hits just under the knee rather than fully to his feet) and the blue clown is just a little less baggy on Chris.

Is this one (left, based on how little Chris is) 1968?

Too small for the blue outfit, and because the picture is black & white, we aren't even positive which clown costume young Scott is wearing. Red ... or blue?

The clown costumes would continue to pop up in pictures for years to come ...

In the top picture here (1972), Chris is now filling out the red clown costume, and Wendy is wearing the blue. Scott is a pirate, and little Jen just doesn't even want to be there. This picture combo (one color, one b&w) is another example of the Old Fashioned Film, two separate cameras ... Dad would often snap almost identical photos, one with each camera.  

Jump forward a few years, to 1978. Now, Wendy is the pirate, and Jen donned the blue, and Shane the red (those sizings seem to be reversed from previous years, Jen simply rocking the knickers at knee length). With neighbors Missy and Drew Yates, and the GREAT PUMPKIN makes an appearance.

Next year ... 1979, Wendy stayed the same (almost identical!) Jen turned tropical, and Shane is in the red clown costume again. Looks like it was a little chilly that October, as he needed hoodie to cover his head.

... a year later Shane appeared in the blue clown suit 

(and looks like neighbor Drew also shifted up his clown costume). 

No more found photos for five years ...

In 1985 (left photo below) Derek took his turn as the red clown with Shane as some sort of Darth skeleton (with another classic, the brown argyle sweater peeking out at the arms). The red clown costume was the choice again in 1986. Shane shifted costumes ... but still kept the same "thumbs up" pose for the picture!

Little Derek looks so cute!

Looking through the Westra Home Movies, 

there is some found footage featuring the classic clowns.

https://youtu.be/bwlh3CghtwI

Cute little clowns clambering for candy!

Who wore it best?

To my knowledge, we never got any of the grandkids to model the old clown costumes. One of them disappeared a few years ago, and the other was sent to DI amidst the cleaning for the move. Hopefully somewhere out there, someone's kid has on the clown costume this Halloween!

Just a Journal - Peek at 1985

Dad/Lamar has been keeping a journal for many, many years. Before a typed up version, he had lots of little books with details and information. Just taking a peek at some of the pages gives a snapshot of that time frame. Below, are three pages from Aug/Sept 1985 (these were scanned in after an email discussion about Chris's hiking accident - blog post about that still to come). This would have been right before Chris's 19th birthday. Scott (22), Wendy (17), Jen (15) Shane (9) and Derek (3). 

There is quite a bit of talk about Chris's injury and follow-up care (which was the reason these pages were looked up and scanned in, we need the few days before though, the accident was August 21), but also fishing, camping (ward campout), tennis, soccer, work, church. It's always fun to see what people include in their notes/journals (remember Shane's childhood journal, where he concluded his entries with "and now I'm going to bed.") A journal, things that may or may not be written for others to see, but for a personal record. One sentence that made me laugh (9/2 Labor Day) "The females of the family spent a good deal of money at stores -- using up the VISA". Dad did not record the amount spent ... although he did record the price of a dozen worms for fishing in an earlier entry and the cost of a new Whirlpool freezer in a later note.

Take a peek into Lamar's Life for a few days in 1985.

The original scans are saved in Dropbox, in the 1985/Histories folder, as a PDF.

(skipped a page)

Do you keep a journal? 

Scott - Mission Complete

Scott left on his mission May 26, 1983 (Farewell to Florida). In 1982, the missionary term was changed from two years, to 18 months. Scott served during this time, and it was probably helpful to Mom/Margie to have her first-born back a little sooner than the full 24 months. Scott said that the mission rule was returned to the 24 month length on the day he arrived home ... but that his Mission President (President Talbot) wouldn't let him return. 

In the 80s, it was writing snail mail letters, with a phone call at Christmas and Mother's day.  

Just a few photos taken with a film camera. 

Scott got back just after Thanksgiving (November 30) in 1984. 

Pictures (1) A little pre-Christmas celebration in Florida (2) Hitchhiking home (just kidding!). (3) Airport arrival - Elder Frank T. Reilley was there, one of Scott's companions (he actually served with him twice, once in Titusville, and then again in Port Charlotte. (4) Home for Christmas.

Scott thinks he gave his Homecoming talk the Sunday after he returned home. The folks were great at keeping all papers with the Westra name in them, and while that program hasn't surfaced, this one from January 1985 in the 11th ward was saved (scanned in 37 years later!). The returned missionaries would travel to other wards in the stake and speak on High Council Sunday. Scott mentioned that the missionary circuit was discontinued, but that he thought it was a good experience for missionaries and members.  

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?