Mom (Margie's) Memories

We have a life history that Mom/Margie wrote, covering her childhood and bit of the married years (History of Marjorie Norman Westra) but the recent memories from older family history (Grandma Olive's Childhood Memories, I Remember Mama/Dad, the latter delves into many of Grandma Lucille's childhood memories) inspired Mom to write up some more memories from her childhood, growing up in Murray, Utah  ... 

... and a few Disney-fied photos via Voila as our accompanying image.

Margie's Memories ...

• When we were little and playing at the house where my mom grew up "Up the Creek" as they referred to it... there was a little ditch in front of the house. My cousins and I would float little boats made of leaves and twigs. We would find dandelions with long stems and pick them at the bottom of the long stem. Then we would take a bobby pin/hairpin and take off the little rubber end so it was sharp----then we would use the sharp metal end to make slices down the long stem from the floor to the base of the stem. Then we would dip it into the cold ditch and all the little strips of stem would curl up tightly, up to the flower. 
• We had a field behind our lawn. We kids would have a bonfire and roast foil-wrapped potatoes in the coals and eat them with salt. Good we didn't set the field on fire---it sure wouldn't be allowed today!
• In this same field, with long grass/weeds with the soft tops (kids would chew on the sweet stems, like you see farmers doing in movies), we would stomp down some of the weeds flat and create rooms and doorways, like a playhouse. 
• We had a little ditch just beyond this field where we played. I remember when a little neighbor boy drowned in the ditch and how I felt so sick when I heard. Our parents in the neighborhood used to warn us little kids about the "greeny-teeth monster" to keep us away from the ditch.
• One time I was roasting a marshmallow on a stick and it caught on fire. I brought it up quickly to blow it out and hit my nose and the hot marshmallow stuck on my nose and burned it. For several years, in the summer, when I would go swimming, my nose would turn red and the kids would call me "Rudolph."
• Nelva used to hate having me tag along with her and her friends on bike rides, etc. So on streets away from our street, she would call them "kidnapper's lane" to scare me so I wouldn't follow them there.
• We had a small bike shed behind our garage (our 4568 Boxelder Street home in Murray) that my dad made. It had a slanted roof and room for about 3 bicycles. I can't remember if it even had a door. I remember one night, playing night games and hiding in the bike shed with a boy a couple years older than me and he kissed me.
• Behind the bike shed, we had a dug-out shelter where we stored our bottled fruit and such. Just dirt walls and a large lift-up trap door that you would lift up and hook it to hold it up while you went down the stairs. I hated to go down there with spiders, etc.!! The trap door was part of a building which had our playhouse above the cellar. We had a little play stove there, etc. I remember one time, as a mean prank, Nelva locked me in the playhouse. I was scared and afraid she would leave me there for hours or all night.
• We had a sand pile in front of the bike shed. When I was a little girl playing in the sand pile, a bee landed on me. I was very afraid of bees and spiders, etc.---hate them to this day! For months I would not go play in the sand pile wearing the same clothes I had been wearing that day---because I was afraid the bee would recognize me and sting me!
• A lot of fun without spending money. Very different from some of the kid's lives today.

Lucille's "Life of Claude Arthur Erskine"

For some ancestors, there are no recorded histories. For others, there may be multiple. When we spotlighted Claude (Dad/Lamar's grandfather, great-grandfather to the Westra siblings) here on the blog, (Claude Arthur Erskine - A Biography) it was a compilation of details from three different documents. From the "Life of Claude Arthur Erskine" featured below, from the similar history written for Olive, and Lucille's "I Remember Dad" document. 

The original history had been saved to FamilySearch in PDF format. It is 20-pages long ... but only the first three pages are actually Claude's history. There is also a letter to a descendant from the President of the LDS church, Thomas S. Monson, recounting his memories of Claude.  

As we've been looking at the histories, if we can, we'll retype them up for easier reading and so that portions could be cut and pasted if needed. Chris retyped Claude's history, as written by Lucille. 

Life of Claude Arthur Erskine

He was born February 7, 1883 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and died February 14, 1953  at the age of 70. His mother was Eliza Roberts and his father Archibald MacFarland Erskine. His mother came from England and his father from Scotland. He was #3 of 10 children. Archibald Frank born March 28, 1880, Kate May, August 3, 1881, Claude February 7, 1883, Stanley John December 16, 1884. Ruby November 10, 1889, Bessie March 30, 1891, Ralph Samuel January 6, 1894. His parents raised seven children. Archibald Frank, William Rob and Infant Son all died right after birth.

He lived at 726 1st Avenue while growing up. He has a wonderful mother and father, brothers and sisters. They were a close knit family and his memories of boyhood days and growing up were very precious to him. They had a large family and everyone had to do his share.

He broke his arm when a child, and the doctor set it crooked. He always said that is why he never had any money - couldn't  hold his hand out straight.

He loved fishing, and used to bicycle to the canyons with his friends. They would camp for a week at a time. His friends were Bob Batley, Tom Squires, Will Sears, Rue McKnight, and Will Loveridge.

Olive Laura Cushing and Claude were married in the Endowment House on June 12. 1907. They had 6 children. Mildred lived only 2 days. She was born on Nov. 9, 1908. Ruth January 2nd, 1910, Lucille October 25, 1911, Maxine September 18, 1913, Harold Claude February 28, 1917, and Shirley Laura July 11, 1924.

Claude took Olive as a bride to their home at 836 Spruce Avenue, later named 831 Harrison Avenue. They lived there all their lives. It was fun having their own home, and Claude enjoyed working in the yard and fixing the place up to suit them. They had a fireplace in the living room which they thoroughly enjoyed and used often. They had a wonderful life together.

He learned the bookbinding trade as an apprentice, and worked at Arrow Press for years as a bookbinder. He belonged to a Union. He was unable to get work at one time and had to go to Butte, Montana in order to find work. It was very lonely being away from his family. He worked at Western Hotel Register as a bookbinder for many years and had a wonderful association with Spence Monson and Mrs. Zelley. She took over as head of the company when her husband died. Claude bought stock in the Company and enjoyed being a shareholder.  (Spence Monson was the father of President Thomas S. Monson and we have a letter from President Monson recalling his relationship with Claude).

He lived in the 21st Ward, Ensign Stake while growing up, and when he was married they lived in Emerson Ward and Hawthorne Ward. He was baptized August 30,1892 by Charles W. Hardy, confirmed September 1,1892 by Wm. Bayles, ordained a Deacon March 26, 1897 by James Maxwell, ordained a Teacher January 13, 1902 by James Maxwell, ordained a Priest June 2, 1907 by Bishop M. S. Woolley, ordained an Elder June 6, 1907 by Bishop M.S. Woolley, ordained a Seventy February 13, 1931 by Rulon S. Wells, ordained a High Priest July 19, 1946, by Doreal Jensen.

He loved to drive his car once he got the Chevrolet in 1926.  He always parked his car 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 any more he didn’t want to live.

Claude was pretty healthy all his life. He had a broken arm as a child and a broken ankle while skating at Liberty Park. In November 1947 they discovered he had leukemia. He was in and out of the hospital for blood transfusions. He did get pretty strong for a while and went back to work, but died of leukemia on Feb 14, 1953 complicated by chickenpox, which he caught from his grandson Jim Dunlop. When his children were young and had chickenpox he was not susceptible to the disease

He used to play the mouth organ. He would accompany Olive on the piano. They also had a mandolin which he liked to play.

He loved fishing, and after he got his car the fishing trips were more frequent. He loved to go to Fish Lake and up on the Weber and Provo. He was a good fisherman and always got his limit.

The Erskines used to have fun home evenings. They would play Crokinole, Pit, Room, and Rummy. Olive would always have yummy refreshments. She was a wonderful cook. Claude liked to make stuffed dates and the children enjoyed them. Every Saturday he would bring a big bag of taffy from Keeleys home for the kids.

Claude and Olive used to love to go to the Wilkes theater on State Street, and see the plays. The Clollinger Company played there for years. When the Salt Lake Theater was on First South and State, they went there often to see plays and concerts. They used to pass a silver goblet down the aisle for those who were thirsty, They almost always brought chocolates to eat.

Their friends liked to play the game of 500, and mostly every Saturday night they would get together with one couple or another. They had their club for over 40 years. There were Helen and Bob Batley, Ethel and Will Sears, Tom and Virtue Squires, Teen and Will Loveridge, and Olive and Claude.

They enjoyed going to Saltair on picnics. When Saltair was first opened they had roller skating to music on the big dance floor. They enjoyed going to Lagoon, Liberty Park, Bear Lake, Hermitage in Ogden Canyon, Vivian Park in Provo Canyon, and to all of the beautiful canyons close to Salt Lake City.

Every summer they would have an Erskine Reunion at Liberty Park, honoring Claude’s grandmother. She was 99 years old when she died, and had her picture in the paper numerous times as the oldest lady on Old Folks Day. This was a big family and they enjoyed seeing Aunts, Cousins, Uncles and 2nd Cousins. They would pull a red wagon down to the park, loaded with a big picnic lunch. On the way home the youngest would get to ride back. They loved to go through the Zoo. It was located at the west end of the Park.

Claude enjoyed going down to the Municipal Ball Park close to his 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 were back to make another one. It was fun to have a son to do man and boy things with. He taught Harold to fish and he loved the sport.

When Harold grew older they went to football, basketball and baseball games together. He didn’t neglect his lovely girls though. They had good times hiking, sleigh riding, and skating

Maxine was the first to get married. She married Clarence W. McEwan on Oct 1, 1931, and they had two children, Janice and Ronnie. This marriage ended in divorce after 10 years of marriage, and Maxine married John Blair who had a son Keith, on Dec. 27, 1949. They had a son by this marriage, Mike. This marriage also ended in Divorce.

Lucille was our next to marry. She married Joseph A. Westra in the Salt Lake Temple, Sept 5 1935. They have two sons and two Daughters. Joseph LaMar, Sharon Lucille, Diane, and Steven Arthur.

Ruth Married Oscar F. Benson on July 17, 1936. They had no children.

Harold married Frances Wilcke of Dayton, Ohio on July 12, 1946. They have four children. Dale, Mark, Dean, and Nancy.

Shirley married Phillip Dunlop on Feb 6, 1945 in the Salt Lake Temple. They had one son, James Phillip, and he was 18 months old when his father was burned to death in an explosion. Shirley later married H. LeGrande Lewis on Nov 24, 1950. He had two little girls, Barbara and Kathy. They have three children by this marriage. Connie, Kristie and Stephen.

They had 18 grandchildren, and loved every one of them. They have 18 great grandchildren to this date, Sept 1, 1973.

Olive and Claude had a very special marriage. They were happy that they could be together from 1907 to 1953. When their  family was all grown and married, they had time to do things they weren’t able to do before. They went on many lovely trips around the United States, and had some good trips with their friends, Ethel and Will Sears. They enjoyed each other’s company.

Line of Authority

• Claude Arthur Erskine ordained a Seventy Feb. 13, 1931 by Rulon S. Wells
• Rulon S. Wells ordained Seventy Oct 22, 1875 by
• Brigham Young ordained Apostle Feb 14, 1835 by
• Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, who were called by revelation to choose the Twelve Apostles, and were “blessed” Feb 14, 1835 to ordain the Twelve Apostles, by
• Joseph Smith and his counselors in the First Presidency.
• Joseph Smith was conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood in 1829 by
• Peter, James and John, who were ordained by Jesus Christ the Savior.

Lucille's "Life of Olive Laura Cushing" History

You can read the most recent write-up for "Olive Laura Cushing Erskine" here on the blog. For that presentation, I took parts and pieces from several different documents. Lucille had typed up histories for herself, her husband Joe, for both her parents, for her grandmother, and did "I Remember" spotlights on her parents.

Below, you will find a copy of the original "Life of Olive Laura Cushing" just as Grandma Lucille wrote it up. You'll find many of the same/similar passages in the most recent write-up, but also other things that I left out in my version of Olive's history. It's always interesting to see  what people choose to include. Grandma Lucille added in a lot of facts about family members (Olive's mother, brothers, children, the doctor/nurse) that didn't seem to be "Olive's History" but definitely information that I might spotlight elsewhere. 

The original scan of Olive's history WAS on FamilySearch, but it was a bit hidden, in a 20-page PDF that started with Claude's history, and was only included in Claude's memories. Now, the original "Life of Olive Laura Cushing" as written by her daughter Lucille has been uploaded as a PDF to Family Search, and it is also in the Westra Dropbox (A Photos and Histories by Family -- Lamar's Relatives) ... and now it's also included here on the blog.

 

I Remember Mama, I Remember Dad ... by Lucille

Grandma Lucille was good at writing up memories. Her own auto-biography, and histories for her husband, parents and grandmother. In addition to the biographies, she wrote some basic memories of both her parents. We don't know if these were written before the more formal biographies, or afterward. There is a lot of the same information, but some different memories/phrasing between the documents. Both the "I Remember Mama" and "I Remember Dad" documents are featured in the MEMORIES section on Family Search for Olive and Claude. As scans of old typewritten pages, perhaps copies of a copy, they are a little hard to read. The "I Remember Dad" moves into many childhood/family memories from Lucille. Both documents have been retyped for easier viewing.

I Remember Mama 

Life of Olive Laura Cushing Erskine

Born - October 18, 1882 

Died - August 5, 1959 (age 76) 

Mother - Laura Cushing Father 

Samuel Hunt Father - sealed to Henry Cushing 

Worked in the primary. Sung in the choir. Was on the Primary Stake Board. Mother was the backbone of our home. Everyone loved her. 

She lived in the 11th ward as a child, and after she was married, belonged to the 11th Ward Club for years, even until she died in 1959. 

Her friends were Helen Eatley, Virtue Squires, Ethel Sears, Teen Loverage, Alice Wickens. 

She played the part of Queen Ester in her school play. We still have the lovely picture of her in her costume. 

She sang in the Tabernacle Choir and had a lovely trip to California with the choir. 

Mother was an accomplished piano player. She took lessons from her mother Laura Cushing, who had one of the first grand pianos in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

When Mother graduated from high school, she started working at RexMeyers, a wholesale hat shop. She enjoyed making lovely hats. 

Mother was married in a lovely white lawn dress with lace inserts. I still have it in my possession.

Mother had three half-brothers; Harry W, Herbert and Robert. Robert died at the age of 4. Herbert was a soldier in the Spanish American Wa. He never married and died of Sugar Diabetes. Harry was a wonderful brother, but was crippled in his early marriage with rheumatism. 

Because Grandma had a lovely piano, all the boys and girls gathered at Mother’s home to enjoy their evenings. 

They had a hammock in the side garden, and Mother and Dad courted there. They used to go roller skating at Saltair ballroom, and also dancing. They enjoyed hay rides, bob sleighing, ice skating, the Sale Lake Theater, taffy pulls. 

Mother and Dad belonged to a dance club, which was a big enjoyment to them.

I Remember Dad

Life of Claude Arthur Erskine

Born - February 7, 1883

Died - February 14, 1953

Mother - Eliza Roberts Erskine

Father - Archibald Erskine

High Priest in Hawthorne Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Dad was always a wonderful father. I remember Dad riding to work each day on his bicycle. He didn’t get his first car until 1926, A Chevrolet touring car. He loved to drive the car so much, he would park it out in front so he would have to take it down the street, up the alley and into the garage.

Dad worked at Western Hotel Register as a bookbinder. He bought shares in the company and thoroughly enjoyed his work.

As a boy of 12, he had to quit school and help out in his family. He first started working at the Arrow Press as a clean-up boy. He was still working at Arrow Press when he got married.

Dad lived up on 726 1st Avenue, and Mother lived on 8th East, 124 South 8th East.

Dad had 2 brothers, John and Ralph, and 4 sisters, Kate, Ruby, Bessie, and Ivy. Aunt Ivy was a triplet, and the other two babies died. Aunt Kate was the oldest and Dad was the 2nd child.

Dad and Mother came to live at 833 Spruce Avenue when they were married and later it was changed to 831 Harrison Avenue. They lived there all their married life.

Dad loved to go fishing, and we have pictures of his fishing trips.

His friends were Tom Squires, Bob Batley, Will Sears, Will Loveridge, and Rue Mcknight.

Mother and Dad were married on June 12, 1907 in the Salt Lake City Temple. They had a lovely reception at Mother’s home, and stood in the bay window to receive their guests. They had planned an outdoor wedding, but it started to rain, and rained for 2 weeks. Mother thought Spruce Avenue was a long, long way from home.

After having 4 daughters, Mildred, who lived only 2 days, Ruth, Lucille and Maxine, Dad was on cloud 9 when he received a son, Harold. Later, another daughter, Shirley came to bless their home.

I remember our fishing trips to the flats on the Weber every 4th of July. The touring car packed with supplies and kids to the extent that it would hardly make the summit.

Every holiday was important to the family, and we always celebrated by going on trips as a family. Trips to Como Springs, The Hermitage in Ogden Canyon, Vivian Park in Provo Canyon, Liberty Park, Geneva, Black Rock, Saltair, Lagoon.

In the fall , I remember our hikes up City Creek Canyon through the autumn leaves. We didn’t have a car then, and all went on the street car. We would always stop at town to pick up a large bag of peanut butter chews. Mother would pack a nice lunch and we would hike up to the natural bridge.

At thanksgiving time we would celebrate with Grandma Cushing, Aunt Eva, Uncle Harry, Robert, Kenneth and Carol.

At Christmas time, Dad would enjoy picking out our lovely Christmas Tree. They would always leave it up a couple of weeks after New Years, they enjoyed it so much. I remember summer evenings when we, as children, would entertain our parents and neighbors, by singing and dancing for them, as they sat out on their porches.

I also remember when it was so hot, Dad would sprinkle our feet while he was watering the lawns.

Every summer we would make root beer as a family project. Tie the corks on with string, and some would explode.

I remember moving out on the sleeping porch for the summer. The whole family. Then we would use the front bedroom for our playroom. Also moving our kitchen table out on the back porch for the summer. 

I remember our big swing in the back yard, and how fun it was to swing on a summer evening, after we were ready for bed. 

I remember taking supper over to Grandma Cushing, who lived just through the block on Sherman Avenue, and how fun it was to visit her.

I remember cold winter nights, when Mother would slip an iron wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of our bed to keep our feet warm.

I remember cold winter mornings, when we would hurry from bed and gather around the hetrola in the dining room, where Dad had built a nice fire.

I remember our family nights, when Mother would play the piano and we would all sing.

I remember going ice skating with Mother and Dad at Liberty Park.

***************************************

The Westra Siblings created a list of "I Remember" moments regarding Mom(Margie) and Dad(Lamar) for Mother's Day/Father's Day in 2020, so check those out for more "I Remember" Mom/Dad memories!

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!)