Claude Arthur Erskine ~ A Biography

Claude Arthur Erskine was born February 7, 1883 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His mother (Eliza Roberts) came from England, and his father (Archibald MacFarland Erskine) from Scotland. He was the third of 10 children (only seven siblings survived childhood, the first baby boy died, then there were triplets, of which only one of the three survived).  They were a close knit family. Claude loved fishing and used to bike to the canyons with his friends. They would camp out for a week at a time.  He broke his arm when he was young, and it was set crooked. Claude would always say that was why he never had any money ... he couldn't hold his hand out straight.

When Olive and Claude were courting, he would walk down to her home from 1st Avenue, and she would walk up to meet him. They were married June 12, 1907 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City.  They had planned an outdoor wedding but it started to rain, and it rained for two weeks! They set up house and lived in the same home all their lives (The House on Harrison Avenue). Claude enjoyed working in the yard and fixing the place up. They had a fireplace in the living room which they enjoyed and used often. 

Six children were born to this union. Five girls and one boy. The first child, Mildred only lived two days. Then came Ruth, Lucille, Maxine, Harold and Shirley. Claude enjoyed going down to the Municipal Ball Park close to the home to watch the baseball games. He enjoyed taking Harold down there to fly his kite. They would make the kite out of newspaper and sticks. Some flew, and others crashed ... and they would be back to make another one. He taught Harold to fish and they went to football, basketball and baseball games together. He didn't neglect his girls though. They had good times hiking, sleigh riding and skating.

The Erskines used to have fun home evenings. They would play Crokinole, Pit, Room, and Rummy. Claude liked to make stuffed dates and the children enjoyed them. Every Saturday he would bring a big bag of taffy for the kids. Claude would play the mouth organ while Olive played piano. They also had a mandolin which he liked to play. Every summer they would attend an "Erskine Reunion" at Liberty Park with all the extended family. This was to honor Claude's grandmother, who was 99 years old when she died. She had her picture in the paper numerous times as the oldest lady on Old Folks Day.

At an early age (12) Claude had quit school to help out the family. He first started working at the Arrow Press as a clean-up boy. Later, he apprenticed as a bookbinder, and was still working there when he and Olive got married. At one point, when Claude was unable to find work he had to leave his family for work in Butte, Montana. He then worked at Western Hotel Register Co., a printer of hotel registers, menus and other types of printing (the manager was Spencer Monson, see Memories From Thomas S. Monson). Claude bought stock in the company and enjoyed being a shareholder.

Claude rode a bicycle to work for years. They bought their first car in 1925. It was a Chevrolet touring car. He loved to drive and always parked his car out in front of the house so he could "put it to bed" at night (by driving around and up the alley). He always said that if he got so he couldn't drive anymore, he didn't want to live. After he got his car, his fishing trips were more frequent. They would drive out to the flats on the Weber every 4th of July with the car so packed with supplies and kids that it wouldbarely make it to the summit.

 

As the children grew up and got married, Claude and Olive took trips to California, the Northwest, Yellowstone, Fish Lake, Bear Lake, Glacier National Park, and all the canyons around Salt Lake, Provo, Logan and Ogden. They loved going to the Wilkes Theater to see plays and going to Saltair on picnics. They belonged to a dance club, which they enjoyed. There was a group of friends that would meet each Saturday night to play the game of "500" ... they called this the "500 club" and met for over 40 years!

In November 1947, Claude was diagnosed with leukemia. He was in and out of the hospital, but recovered enough to go back to work for a time. The leukemia, with added complications from chicken pox became too much. He passed away February 14, 1953.  It was Valentine's Day, and he called the florist and ordered a bouquet for Olive before he died.

This history was compiled from documents on FamilySearch.org. There is a history written by Claude's daughter Lucille "Life of Claude Arthur Erskine" with additional details from "Life of Olive Laura Cushing" and "I Remember Dad". Original documents are on Family Search and will also be included here on the blog in the near future. 

Memories from Thomas S. Monson

Most everyone in the LDS church is aware of who Thomas S. Monson is. Serving in the First Presidency since 1985, then as the President of the church starting in 2008. The Westra family had a loose connection, as his son's family lived in the ward. Wendy and Jen would babysit his two grandkids. But there is another connection further back, along the Erskine line. Apparently, when Thomas Monson was a teen, his father (and young Thomas himself) worked with Claude Erskine (great-grandfather to the Westra siblings). One of Dad/Lamar's cousins (Dale Erskine, his father was Harold, the only brother to Grandma Lucille and her sisters) reached out for some reminiscing and received this nice letter back ...

Glancing through Family Search, I saw a second "Letter from Thomas S Monson" in the memories, and thought it was a duplicate, but upon closer inspection, it was a different letter from some years later. Similar sentiments expressed in this additional document.

As mentioned above, the younger Monson family was located in the ward Mom/Dad lived in, where the Westra Siblings grew up. When President Monson passed away, Derek shared this memory ...

I’m sad to lose President Monson. He has been an amazing example of serving and caring for the poor and needy throughout his life – but I’m genuinely so happy that he is now reunited with his loving Frances and so many friends. I met President Monson a few times growing up, but one time will always stand out in my memory. Here’s my President Monson / Rollerblade story:

In the LDS Church, Church members fast for two meals one Sunday each month and then donate money (what we would have spent on our meals) to the poor and needy. 12-14 year olds are assigned to go door-to-door to collect the money and provide it to the Bishop (local unpaid leader) to distribute to the poor in the congregation. As a young 12-year old, I recall rollerblades were all the rage, and we used to use them to speed up our fast-offering routes.

I was zipping through my route when I stopped at one house and rang the doorbell. A very tall man who I recognized answered the door. It was Thomas S. Monson – and only then did I remember that it was his son’s house (he was our Deacon’s Quorum advisor and we all loved him). I sheepishly asked President Monson "Hi…do...you want to donate a fast offering?" He replied "Of course I do! Come on in!" I was wearing rollerblades and this was the era of carpeted entryways, and I wasn’t sure if I should take them off, but I didn’t. I just went inside and stood there on the carpet like an idiot with my rollerblades on their carpet floor.

President Monson returned with the envelope and said, “would you like to see my pigeons?” Of course I said yes, and he said, “follow-me” and he headed to the back of the house through the kitchen (I think). Again, the dilemma of do I take of the ridiculous rollerblades, or not…but I decided not to and I waddled on the carpet through the house leaving in-line wheel prints behind me in the carpet. The family was around back and he showed me his pigeons and let them go. He explained that they would fly back to his home and he’d retrieve them there. I thought that was about the coolest thing I’d ever seen as a 12-year-old kid.

I’ve worked for the Church for the past decade and I’ve met with many apostles and members of the First Presidency, but never President Monson. I’ve always been relieved not to have met with him, because I was (unrealistically) afraid that his photographic memory would somehow recall the ridiculous little boy standing there in his rollerblades.

It’s a funny little memory, but it really speaks to the man that President Monson was throughout his life. He was constantly serving others and making their days brighter and better. Even for an awkward kid who interrupted his time with his family.

Thank you for your life of service and your example President Monson.

Thanks to Wendy, who preserved the story on her family blog! Additionally, as the Monson family went through things after President Monson passed away, they found a Book of Mormon in Dutch. Back in 2002, President Hinckley had dedicated the new temple there. The President of the Temple there gave the book to the First Presidency, and the younger Tom Monson knew Dad/Lamar had served his mission in the Netherlands, and gave it to him thinking he'd treasure it. 

Drunk Chickens and Family Funnies

 

Florence Louise Erskine Regensheit is a 1st cousin three times removed to the Westra Siblings. Her father is Peter (one of the Biblical Brothers). In April of 1994 in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 85, she wrote up memories of her grandmother, Ann MacFarlane Erskine (great-great-great-grandmother to the Westra siblings). One recollection was of the "Drunk Chickens" ...

Grandma told me the story of her chickens. One day when she went outside, she saw all the chickens lying on the ground in the backyard. They didn’t move, so she thought they were all dead. She decided she needed to save the feathers to make pillows, so she plucked the soft down feathers from all of them. Later, she looked out and saw the chickens running around in the yard. In the warm afternoon sun, they had revived. Grandma felt sorry for them having no soft feathers, so she knitted or crocheted little jackets for them to wear until their feathers grew back in. She later found out that the neighbor boy had hidden a bottle of home-made wine in her feed box. The cork had come off and soaked into the grain. That was the reason why her chickens had been unresponsive - they were drunk.

Chris decided to use this funny story as inspiration for the Weekly Westra Family History challenge on May 2, 2021. He wrote:

Congrats to Jenna last week for barely beating out her siblings by one minute for the speed award. Life is funny, and we all have funny situations in our lives. I’m glad that your great great great grandma Ann MacFarlane Erskine was not embarrassed to share the "drunk chicken" story with her granddaughter.  The family history challenge this week is to send me a funny story from your own life, or from the life of your mom or dad. I know you have lots! Then we can add that to your 2020 time capsule that you did last week. My funny story is down below. When you write yours, keep it safe somewhere and maybe next week we can have you add it into family history. But for now, just send the story to me. Chris

• Chris Westra: When I was in high school, my friend Glen and I were goofing around at lunchtime in the auditorium. We snuck in and played around with all of the lights, and raised the floor of the orchestra pit up and down. When the bell rang to go to class, all of the lights were out, and the orchestra pit floor was all the way down. But I did not know that, and so as I ran toward the lighted exit door, I fell into the orchestra pit and broke my leg. I yelled for Glen and he helped raise the pit and get me out, and walked me to class. My friends carried me to my other classes. So that wasn’t a lot of fun having to explain that for the next six weeks!
• Josh Jensen: My Chinese teacher loves to hand out candy, and she has a lot of chocolate kisses, so once when I answered a question correctly, I asked her for a kiss, but then everyone started laughing and it was very embarrassing.
• Keaton Blackham: When I was 4 or so, I was sitting in a booster seat attached to the kitchen table. One day, I was jumping around in it and pushing and shoving until eventually the seat broke off and I smacked the hardwood floor. I was crying because my arm was hurting so Mom took me to the hospital. I calmed down pretty quick on the car ride there and when we walked inside, Mom went to talk to the front desk and sign some papers. Curious little me, wanted to see the pretty lady behind the counter so I attempted to lift myself up there. Mom looked down at me kind of like, “why are we here? You look fine.” And then the pretty lady behind the counter leaned over to look at my arm and said, “oh yeah that’s definitely broken,” just as I’m trying to pull myself up using my arms. (Jen "corrections" ... Keaton was only two when this happened. We went to the Instacare, and we didn't get the "that's definitely broken" statement until after the x-ray. Everyone was pretty surprised because he wasn't crying anymore and hadn't complained at all as they moved it for the x-ray, which he was all alone for, as I was pregnant with Cooper and couldn't stay with him. They said he should have been screaming, instead of being the cutest and most cooperative little kid.)

• Rella Westra: When we were little, a guy was coming around trying to sell books to the kids in our neighborhood. We said we didn’t need the books, so he quizzed us about the information in the books. We got every question right, and he left quite humbled.
• Jenna Jensen: (Wendy had included this memory on her blog) Jenna was helping me do some work around the house and I said, "You are such a great little helper! (She beamed). Then I said, "You are my little buddy!" To this she exclaimed, "I am NOT your little buddy! Buddies are boys, I am a girl!"
• Jaiden Jensen: One time I was hanging out with my friend Emily Williams and Lizzie Bryner, and we were at Lizzie's House. we decided to drink some orange juice, and the brand of orange juice was more yellow than orange, and it wasn't orange at all compared to Lizzie's orange cup, so she decided to put some food coloring in it so it would be actually orange and match her cup. I then thought it would be fun to make my orange juice match my cup as well. my cup was pink! so I put tons of pink food coloring in my orange juice and then I drank it, and people say food coloring doesn't have a taste, but my orange juice was DISGUSTING!!
• Jared Jensen: When I was in middle school my friend and I decided that all we wanted to do was create as much chaos as we could. So what we would do every day is go out of our art class and go to the bathroom and scheme troublemaker things. One day we found a bottle of old rotten cologne on the ground and we took this and thought, “what should we do with this it’s so old it’s so gross, and it smells terrible”. So we decided to dispose of it properly by dumping it down the toilet. However when we dumped it down the toilet the smell amplified throughout the room and it smelled horrible to the point where our eyes were watering in the bathroom. The whole bathroom smelled like old cologne! It was terrible and so we decided to try to dispose of the spell the best we could by flushing the toilet. However flushing the toilet made the smell go through all the pipes in the whole hallway and so the whole hallway smelled like all the cologne. When everybody came out of their classrooms that day they were all whispering about what that horrible smell was and me and my friend’s eyes were watering because it was so bad. The theme of this story is to pay attention in your art class.
• Janelle Jensen: I few years ago for Easter I felt a little too old to participating in an Easter egg hunt, so I asked Jared and Janika (who were setting it up) if I could help set it up. They said no, so I just participated. I don't know why I didn't suspect anything.... After we got all of the eggs, they had us sit outside on garbage bags and open them one by one into the bag. And they filmed this. Yet it all went right over my head! One of the eggs I opened nothing fell out of, and so I looked in, and proceeded to throw it because there were indeed snails in it that my brother had hidden it was a really good prank, apparently they had hidden and kept an eye on who got the egg and it was me. It was really funny and a great Easter prank!

• Jase Jensen. Written by Ellen: When Jase and I first started spending time together he called me and asked me out on a date for the following Friday. The week leading up to the date, we ended up spending almost every night together watching movies at his friend Ky’s house. Obviously, we got closer and closer throughout the week and really enjoyed spending so much time together. We ended up sharing our first kiss the night before our first date, and Jase burped in my mouth while we were kissing! Luckily for me it wasn’t a gross burp (and I got him back further down the road). The next day Jase picked me up for our first date with a rose; and because we were in front of my roommates he waited to tell me until we’d left the apartment that the rose was actually an apology rose, to make up for burping in my mouth the night before.
• Janika Jenson: When getting to know Brandon, for our third date we went geocaching. I had never been before and was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect. (For anyone who doesn't know, geocaching is where people hide/bury little trinkets or guest books or something for others to find and sign and document it on an app so others can find it.) We found a little guest book and Brandon handed it over to me to sign our names. My brain got a little panicked thinking "okay, do I sign his name first or my name first?" So naturally I accidentally combined them by writing my first name with his last name, then realizing what I had done, quickly changed the "on" to an "en" hoping he hadn't noticed. Don't worry, he did and took it home to his roommates somewhat freaking out over what it was supposed to mean.  Literally nothing, I really and truly just had a little brain mix up hahaha.
• Kadan Westra: When I was going to Snow College, I took trip back East to visit some historical locations with my honors history class. One day, we had been visiting some museums in Washington DC, and we were walking down the sidewalk headed somewhere. We were approaching an intersection, and I could see that the little signal to walk had changed, and was counting down. I wanted to make it across before it changed to the "stop" hand, so I started sprinting towards the intersection. I reached the intersection, and still had a few seconds left, so I continued to sprint across.. On the other side, there were a couple of traffic cones and a strip of caution tape blocking the sidewalk.. I didn't really think much of it, but knew I needed to get out of the street fast, so instead of finding an alternate route, I just kept sprinting and jumped right over the caution tape and landed on the other side... right in wet cement. I still had a lot of momentum, so I took several steps in the cement. That's when I looked up and realized the cement workers were still there, finishing up the edges of the new concrete they had just poured.. They were not happy at all. I apologized over and over as I retreated and slinked away, with cement falling off my now-ruined shoes. Of course my entire group had watched the whole thing, and I didn't hear the end of it. Now I always say I "left my mark" in Washington DC. (Although I'm sure they fixed it)

Mom/Grandma was inspired to share as well ...

Marge Westra: When we lived in Richland Washington (where Scott, Chris, Wendy, and Jeni were born), Grandpa LaMar was teaching Early Morning Seminary. One of the other Seminary teachers was hosting a pot-luck Christmas party for all the Seminary teachers and their wives. We got a baby-sitter and were in the car on the way to the party when I realized I had forgotten the invitation with the address. LaMar said "That's okay, I've been to his house before for a meeting and remember where he lives." We arrived at the party, were invited in, and handed our food to someone. As a little time passed, we realized we didn't know even one person there. We came to find out that the Seminary teacher had moved and these people who bought his house just happened to be having a Christmas party that same night. They told us where the Seminary teacher had moved to, gave us back our food and we arrived at the right party! Embarrassing situation, but funny after all these years!

Funny things happen, or are said ... and they are so easily forgotten. But not if you get them down in black and white. Mom/Grandma had been keeping a collection, of things overheard, or shared. They have been compiled here on the blog, and it's been added to. Check out "CUTE QUOTES" ... you won't regret it. There are a ton from little cousins to the Westra Siblings, from now to far in the past (they are in attempted chronological order). Wendy has many recorded on her blog, and Jen devoted a page on the  Blackham Boys blog showcasing the funny things they say and do. 

Wendy had a few more to share, she wrote:  Writing up the Funny/Embarrassing stories yesterday sparked a few more. You don't have to include them if you already have too many, but it is always good to have a few funny stories when the need arises! Just last week I was doing a spotlight on Janelle and they asked for a funny story and I had the hardest time thinking of one -- even though I am sure there are many!! (I will add these to Dropbox) Anyway, here they are...

• Jenna: Jenna told her friend Anna "It took five-ever!!" (An expression that she gets from Janelle). Anna replied, "It isn't five-ever, it is FOR-EVER." Jenna retorted with, "Well, why does four always get to be the lucky number!"
• Janelle: Janelle and her friends were playing Jackbox at our house after her Senior Ball. One of the games is called "Fakin it," where everyone is secretly given the same instructions to do something -- except for one person (the faker) who has no instructions, but tries to blend in and copy the others so that they are not caught. The instructions said: "Make the face you would make when you are cuddled by a fire." The other teenagers in the group made a happy face of contentment as they imagined themselves cuddling with someone they like near a fireplace. Janelle also received the instructions, but took it literally as "a fire is cuddling you," which she thought was odd, but she proceeded to make the face of a panicked person in horror as if ready to be consumed by fire. Everyone assumed that she must be the "the faker." Either that, or she just didn't enjoy cuddling!
• Jared: I scheduled all of my kids for flu shots today this morning. Then I ended up with an interpreting appointment and so I asked Rick if he would take them. My appointment ended early and I was right by the hospital and so I called Rick and told him that I would meet them there. It was a good thing I came because Rick was getting frustrated because they were out of the shots and only had the mist. He was ranting about how the shots were out and the mist was a live virus and now everyone was going to get sick -- and what about Janelle and Jared who were already coughing -- sick kids couldn't get the shot anyway, could they? Then as if to emphasize Rick's point, Jared (age 10) gave a couple of fake coughs. I told him that I would take over and he could leave with the two youngest (who had their shots last week). My pediatrician assured me that they were fine to get the mist in spite of having a little cold and that it wouldn't make them sick. Janika volunteered first and then they each volunteered in order of age. They did just fine -- except for Jared. He faked a little coughing and then pretended to pass out on the floor! (Thankfully our pediatrician knew him well enough to know that he was totally faking!)

And a couple embarrassing/funny stories featuring Wendy:

• Back in high school, Glen (also featured in Chris's story up above) called and asked me to the Skyline Girls' Pref (preference dance). Matt Watrous and John were going with blind dates. I agreed to go, then I started to feel a little sick. I threw up, but then felt better. Well, it was fun, but I threw up at the dance! In the garbage can, how embarrassing!!! Later, at 7/11 I did again in their garbage can!
• I worked at Kmart in the domestics department (bedding and so forth) in the back corner. They had an intercom in the store to announce blue-light specials or to call more checkers to come up front. They would use the intercom to tell everyone it was time to go clock-out after a night shift. Well, I had to work on Christmas Eve and was in the back straightening up my area when I noticed that it seemed really quiet. I decided to walk to the front of the store and noticed the manager was starting to lock up the doors before leaving. He noticed me and remarked, "What are you doing here? Everyone has left -- you were almost locked in!" Apparently he had decided to let everyone go earlier than usual since it was Christmas Eve, but hadn't announced it over the intercom. This was way before cell phones and I wouldn't have had anyone's personal phone numbers -- only their work numbers. I was embarrassed, but very relieved that I didn't actually get locked into Kmart on Christmas Eve.
• When I was on my mission we were teaching a Deaf man about the law of chastity. The ASL sign for "sex" is very similar to the sign for "shave" (as in shaving a beard). We came back a week or so later and this man had started to grow out a beard. We commented on it and he said (in sign language), "Well, you told me that I wasn't supposed to "shave" until after marriage!" Woops! We then explained to him that he wasn't supposed to have sex before marriage -- shaving was perfectly fine!

With Wendy's first funny/embarrassing ... that brought up MANY barfing Blackham memories that are also only funny in retrospect. When Coop was in third grade, he was SO excited to go to the Jazz game. We had the tickets from his Junior Jazz, so his team would be there, and Gray was also bringing Landon and Colton (as Colton has his two team tickets too). Unfortunately, Coop came down with the flu, and threw up all over his desk at school. So he had to stay home, and Keaton took Coop's ticket. As they were at the arena,  Grayson was buying some concessions when he got a tap on his shoulder and someone asked "is that your kid?" and it was Keaton, throwing up into a garbage can right by him. So Gray brought Keaton home, leaving Landon and Colton to catch a ride home with a neighbor. Gray had just arrived home with Keaton when he got a call. Now Landon was sick. So Gray had to head back downtown to get Landon, and poor Colton had to come too, because Gray didn't dare leave him (I don't think Colton ever got sick ... that time. Easter of 2013 was another story, when all five boys got sick at the same time. We didn't have enough buckets!)

Graduation 2021

Covid canceled almost all the graduation ceremonies in 2020 ... people still graduated, they just didn't get all the pomp and circumstance that usually accompanies this accomplishment. In 2021, things were getting under control, and the graduation ceremonies, while altered from previous years (being held outside, limited attendance) were happening. And there were several graduates in the extended family!

Starting with Spencer (McKenna's hubby). Two years in BYU's MBA program.

That was the "blue" ... there were also two from the "U"

Courtney graduated from the University of Utah with a double major in religion and world history, double minor in Arabic and Mediterranean studies.  At first only two people would be allowed to attend, so she picked her mom (Kim) and her husband. But then they allowed a couple more so Anita (Seth’s Mom) and Integrity were able to go also. It was held outside in the stadium and it was quite a hot day.

Kate also graduated from the U ...

Kate graduated Summa Cum Laude in Psychology and Positive Psychology from the University of Utah. She spent her senior year studying Post-Traumatic Growth while being a TA for her favorite professor and proposed a Sustainable Campus Grant proposal that addressed plastic waste and period poverty on campus. (see Kate Graduates on the Blackham Blog). 

Alyssa has been pursuing her education at Western Governer's University and she graduated as well! She got her degree in education and plans on being an elementary school teacher. 

Now onto high school graduations ... there were three Westra grandkids getting their diploma.

Alicia came down to St. George and did a graduation photo shoot, and Wendy is always great about blogging all the Jensen Family activities, so you can see/read more about the graduation on the blog (Janelle Graduation, Seminary Graduation). 

... in a slightly different shade of green, Camden graduated from Hillcrest High.

Camden’s graduation was in the morning on Wednesday, May 26. Chris and Kim and and Cassandra and Wayne all went to support him. He graduated with honors, also graduated from Seminary, and got a paid internship with the Canyons School District doing IT work with the Canyons District field tech during the summer.

Scott and Amy's youngest Taylee also finished up her high school experience ...

The Corner Canyon graduation was held outside, but in the evening, so it was a little cool! 

There were fireworks afterward. 

McKenna posted these cute pictures on her Instagram ...

The oldest daughter and the youngest daughter.

Little Taylee wearing McKenna's cap after her graduation ...

and then McKenna recreating the idea, donning Taylee's!

See more about Mckenna's Cap&Gown in 2011. 

ConGRADulations to all the graduates!

Olive's Obituary

 

Olive Erskine is Dad/Lamar's grandmother. Her history will be be posted on the blog soon. For now, just a quick look at a few of the death documents preserved in Family Search. The obituary, the program from the funeral, and the death certificate. Buried in the "City Cemetery" which is the Salt Lake City Cemetery up by the avenues. With it being Memorial Day, perhaps one of the Westra descendants should see if her gravestone could be located; it was not included as a memory in Family Search. Take a picture and upload it to family search. Many of the Cushing/Erskine family are buried there. Olive's husband Claude, her mother Laura, and her brother Herbert and likely more ... as we continue our family history search!

Herbert Cushing & Mercur Utah

Going through photos from Dad/Lamar's side of the family, this picture was uncovered and scanned in. Written in Grandma Lucille's script are the words Herbert J. Cushing, Mercur, Utah.

So WHO is Herbert and WHERE is Mercur?

Herbert J Cushing was the half-brother of Olive Laura Hunt, who was Grandma Lucille's mother. That would make him Dad/Lamar's GrandUncle, the WestraSixSibling's Great-GrandUncle, and the Great-Great-GrandUncle of the next generation, Westra Grandchildren.

The arrow drawn on the photograph points out which gentleman is Herbert. He was born in 1876, served in the Spanish-American War (1898) and passed away in 1912.

Olive Laura Hunt is in the picture too, next to her brother ... the woman sitting on the left side of the group. She is Dad/Lamar's Grandmother, which makes her the WestraSix's Great-Grandmother. Olive was born in 1882, so she is six years younger than her brother. She passed away in 1959, before Dad/LaMar and Mom/Margie got married.

We don't know who the other people in the picture are ... 

Now on to Mercur ...  Ironically enough, in March 2021, shortly after Chris uncovered this photograph, Conner and Amber (Chris's oldest) were going camping with friends. Where? Mercur, Utah! 

Mercur was located in what is now Tooele County and it had many ups and downs throughout its history. Today, no trace of any town/building remains in the area. An abandoned cemetery is all that remains of a once booming mining town.

In the beginning, it was a typical mining town with saloons and gambling, and later, a school and a church. Most of the buildings were of simple wood construction. Gold mining reached its peak in 1873. Population estimates were that 2000 people were living there then. In 1880, the ore dried up and it became a ghost town. A Bavarian prospector came in hoping to find different metals, and he did. Cinnabar, an ore of mercury ... and that's where the name Mercur came from. In 1890, a new process using cyanide was developed,  accessing gold that hadn't been able to be extracted before. The boom was back on!

On January 4, 1896, Utah was being admitted into the Union as a state. The residents of Mercur were planning to incorporate their town to coincide with that event. But a few days before, most of the town was destroyed by fire. The town was rebuilt. Then in 1902, there was another fire. In just over two hours, every business building in the city had been destroyed. They rebuilt again. By 1910, estimates place the population at 8,000-12,000. But in 1913, the gold mining operation became unprofitable, and by 1917, the town was deserted, again. Once again, new methods of extraction and refining got things going again in the 1930s, although this revival stayed small, just shacks and barracks, no real town. Later on all remaining buildings were torn down, and Mecur was no more.

Herbert passed away when he was just 36 years old. Mecur is mentioned as a place of employment in his obituary. The obituary on FamilySearch can be enlarged to be more readable, but I'll also include it below. Printed Sunday, October 27, 1912

Herbert John Cushing, son of Henry Charles and Laura Cushing, died Friday of diabetes. The deceased was born in Salt Lake August 29, 1876. During his young manhood he worked several years as a printer and later as a plumber. For nine months he was a member of the Utah National Guard, being a corporal in Company D. He enlisted in Battery C, Utah Volunteer Light artillery June 27, 1898. While in the service of the battery at Angel Island, California, he attained the rank of sergeant and was mustered out of service December 21, 1898, at which time he received an honorable discharge which certifies to an excellent character. Both before and after his service as a volunteer, he was employed in the mills at Mercur, Manning, Sunshine and Kimberly. At the last named place he worked his way up to mill foreman. At this time, as his efforts were being crowned with success, he was seized with diabetes. He was forced to give up his work October 20, 1905 and return to the home of his mother. He was unmarried. A mother, one brother Harry W Cushing and one sister Mrs. Claude Erskine, remain to mourn his loss. The remains may be viewed at his mother's home, 837 Sherman Ave, today between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Funeral services will be held this afternoon at 2 o'clock in the Emerson Ward chapel, to which all friends are invited. Interment in City cemetery. 

Talkin' Bout My Generation

In Grandma Lucille's autobiography, she notes "In my lifetime many things have taken place. Phonograph, radio, stereo, TV, airplanes, electric and gas stoves, electric irons, inside plumbing, push button phones, gas and electric heating, coal furnaces, electric and gas water heaters, blenders, fry pans, mixmasters, and polyester materials." I loved that she included this!

For every generation there will be iconic items, innovations and events. Many inventions and memorable moments will be experienced by more than one generation, but many newsworthy matters will only be learned of after the fact once time has passed.

Have you heard the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel? It is a great recap of many of the top events from 1949-1989, so likely many things that Grandma/Mom (Margie) and Grandpa/Dad (LaMar) would remember ... and things that the grandkids will learn about in U.S. History class ;)

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray

South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television

North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom

Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen

Marciano, Liberace, Santayana, goodbye

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev

Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron

Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team

Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev

Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac

Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"

Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California baseball

Starkweather homicide, children of thalidomide

Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, space monkey, mafia

Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U2, Syngman Rhee, Payola and Kennedy

Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo

Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"

Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania

Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex

JFK – blown away, what else do I have to say?

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again

Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock

Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline

Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide

Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz

Hypodermics on the shore, China's under martial law

Rock and roller, cola wars, I can't take it anymore

Cooper had an assignment for school to showcase 10 things that he felt has impacted him and his generation. One of the options was to follow the rhythm of the song above, changing the words and to sing/record it for submission ...  he elected to go with the more simple slideshow option. 

For ME (Jen) ... I remember the Tylenol Murders happening (1982) and it scared me so much. It changed packaging, everything now is sealed and safe. I remember the flooding in Utah in 1983, and even "helped" with sandbags (I'm sure I wasn't much help at 13 years old). The Challenger explosion impacted many in my age group, although I must admit I only have a vague recollection. I also feel like I should have more of a memory of the fall of the Berlin Wall ... although in my college dorm we didn't have a TV and it was my birthday (the day after) so I'm sure I had other things on my mind. I remember telling Grayson when the verdict in the OJ Simpson trial came in. I have a record of my very first email ... sent to Wendy on July 27, 1997. I had to dial up, using Juno. I recall tying up the phone line for hours downloading music from Napster. Music Evolution ... Records/Tapes/8-Track/Stereo Systems/CDs then digital. Also in 1997,  we were on vacation in Vegas when we heard Princess Diana had been killed. 2000/Y2K ... it was all anticipation. 9-11 of course. When Elizabeth Smart was found after being kidnapped. Columbia. Facebook. Google. Hurricane Katrina. Recession. Obama. Bin Laden. Sandy Hook. Boston Marathon. Proposition8. BLM. Trump. Covid. 

Our first Apple Computer ... transitioning from Microsoft 8 (using shift keys) to Windows. Laptops. From film to digital cameras. Physical books to e-books and audio. VCR, to DVD, to TIVO to streaming. Our old yellow rotary phone ... to push button, then cordless, then brick cell phones and pre-digital cell phones. Ah iphones! Texting, Blogging, easy Amazon shopping.

Mom(Margie) added ... The world is changing soooo fast! It is just amazing. When LaMar graduated from the U. of U., there were NO degrees in computer. When he worked in computers later on, they were big mainframe computers that took up whole rooms. He'll have to write about it.  I remember roller skates that expanded in length to fit different size kids, and you adjusted them with a "skate key" that you hung around your neck on a ribbon so it wouldn't get lost.  A couple days ago (May 2021), I watched an interesting documentary on PBS on the development of medicine. It started with the accidental discovery of penicillin about the time LaMar was born. Then nothing happened with it for about 10 years, when another doctor researcher came across Fleming's research notes in a medical book/library. The life expectancy was only about age 42 back then. People died from infections that we easily cure now. Penicillin raised the life expectancy by a lot.  He started experimenting with it on mice and found it really worked and was amazing! It took his lab 7 months to produce enough to try it on a human. Again, amazing results! Then how they had to learn to make large amounts of it about the time I was born and how it helped the enlisted men in World War 2.  Then tells how they developed other antibiotics and how medicine has multiplied and developed since then. I remember growing up---no air-conditioning in the church buildings. They would have the stiff cardboard fans along with the song books in the holders for people to fan themselves to keep cool.

Think about it. What would make YOUR list? 

If you had to come up with a TOP 10 ...