It's almost Thanksgiving! Looking though old Westra memorabilia, a cute little poem about a Thanksgiving turkey was uncovered (see it below). It was in a box of "Family Artwork" that Jen took for scanning or photographing for the blog/Dropbox. There is a Blackham Box of kid's artwork too, and saved in it, were several samples of creative turkey creations through the years. And then in Jen's art folder, there was a turkey saved in it! Can you guess which one is hers? Do we have any additional craft turkeys from other grandkids (couldn't find any others from the original Westra Six). Who has now been inspired to make some creative turkey crafts this holiday? *Ü*
Not an original poem, the kids copied it to practice handwriting.
This was in Chris's folder. No date, but likely 2nd grade/1973 based on a similar sample.
Not a paper craft ... but Jen makes turkey cookies every year!
Growing up Westra, one of the fun activities would be to watch old home movies. Dad/Lamar got a "moving pictures" camera in 1969, and it would be brought out to record action shots for the next 10+ years, until a new VHS camcorder replaced it. The camera probably looked a little like the one pictured above (top left). It recorded onto 8mm film, little 3 inch reels. There were 43 little reels. You can see in the picture above, how Dad labeled them all, and stored them in old Planters snack cannisters. Movie film. To watch said film, it required a projector/player ... probably like the one pictured (bottom left). The reel would be added to the front wheel, and would feed past the light, and be projected onto a wall or screen, and then wind up onto the wheel in the rear. When the film was finished, the end would flap, flap, flap around until the machine was turned off and the rotation stopped. There was no sound recorded, just "moving pictures" ... but one of the things we Westra kids enjoyed was when Dad would play the film backwards. We'd laugh and laugh as our little bodies on the screen would run backwards and go UP the slide.
It was quite a bit of work to watch these film reels. Getting out the projector, getting it on the wheel, feeding it into the machine. At some point, as technology improved, Jen got the reels converted to VHS. In the box with the old film reels was the invoice. $3.50 per reel (I peeked at prices today, and it's $10-$20 per small reel). The company took all the little reels, and combined them into six larger reels, and sent those back with all the home movies now on VHS tapes (one full, one with just the little bit extra that hadn't fit onto the first tape). When VHS went out of fashion, Jen had the tape converted to digital.
The Chronicles of the Westra Family had been posted to the blog before, here it is again ...
I'm not sure how many minutes each 3" reel held, not many. Google says between 2-4 minutes. That does seem accurate, as the final compilation is almost two hours long. As certain subjects (Scott's 6th Bday, EastersCompilation, TimelessToys) have been featured in a blog post, smaller, more easily digestible, clips have been included. There will be more to come... found footage added to existing posts, and new posts featuring some of these events. Even though the video quality isn't great, it's still priceless!
Here's a TABLE OF CONTENTS as it were, based on Dad's labels (in bold) and Jen's additional notations. Glance through and see what's there, and you can use the time stamp to go directly to where you want to watch. Birthdays, Christmas and Easter seemed to be the main focus through the years
#1 December 1969
Scott's 6th Birthday (:34)
Christmas 1969 (2:18)
#2 Easter 1970
Easter (3:10)
Wendy's Birthday (3:35)
Chris's Birthday (3:39)
#3 November/Christmas 1970
Jen's Here (4:59)
Sledding in the driveway (video troubles - maybe redo?)
Scott's 7th Birthday (5:05)
Christmas (5:07)
#4 Dec 1970/Easter 1971
Jen New Year's Baby (5:14)
Misc Family/Hula Hoop
#5 Easter 1971
Easter (5:57)
Wendy's Bday (6:22)
Swimming (6:26)
Little Jen in a Recliner (7:22)
Swingset (7:36)
In the Yard (8:03)
Jen Crawl/Walk (8:09)
Bathtub (9:11)
Family
#6 November 1971 - Jenny
Jen Bday (9:55)
Sunday Dress (10:59)
Outside/Big Hole (11:10)
#7 December 1971
Scott's Bday (11:30)
Bathtime (13:00)
Christmas (13:15)
#8 January 1972 - Snow
Snow (14:11)
Sledding (14:29)
New Years (15:13)
More Sledding (15:48)
Snowman Pictures (16:06)
#9 March 1972
House/Yard (16:27)
Swing (16:59)
BigWheels (17:49)
#10 Easter 1972
Easter (18:36)
Bath (21:17)
Jen/Table (21:27)
#11 Wendy's 4th Birthday
Wendy's 4th Birthday (22:00)
Sunday Best (23:51)
#12 Aug/Oct 1972 Richland - SLC
Carving Pumpkins (25:00)
Richland Friends (25:15)
Richland House
Sandbox (26:00)
White Dress (26:35)
Hermitage House/Yard (27:00)
#13 Thanksgiving 1972
Snow (27:40)
Hermitage House/Inside(28:16)
Pictures for Christmas Card (28:45)
Grandma Norman's House (29:05)
Grandma Burgener's House (29:40)
Snow! (30:30)
#14 Scott's Birthday
Family Party (31:31)
Friend Party (32:54)
#15 #16 Christmas 1972
Christmas at Grandma Norman's House (33:47)
Christmas Morning/Dollhouses (35:55)
Grandma Burgener's House (39:25)
#17 Snow 1973 (40:05)
#18 Wendy's Bday (40:30)
Sandpile (41:38)
Family Reunion/Tortoise (42:00)
#19 Summer/Sept 1973
Chris's Bday (44:20)
Four Siblings (46:10)
#20 Nov/Dec 1973
Snow (46:40)
Jen's Bday (47:25)
#21 Xmas 1973/Easter 1974
Decorating the Tree/"Pool Table" (48:27)
Scott's Bday (49:15)
Christmas Morning (49:43)
Easter (51:27)
Christmas 1974 (52:47)
#22 Wendy's Bday (54:23)
Cleveland (55:35)
Hermitage Backyard/Swings/Swimming (1:00:09)
#23 Yellowstone. Mammoth.Jackson
#24 Yellowstone. Chris Bday 1974
Family Party (grandparents/cousins) Chris's Birthday? (1:01:07)
#25 Jenny Bday. Scott Bday 1974
Another Family Party, Jen's Bday? 1:01:40
Jen's Birthday Party (1:02:18)
Scott's Bday Party (1:03:35)
#26 Scott Bday/Wendy Bday/GhostTowns
Wendy Bday (1:04:45)
Truck and Camper (1:05:41)
Water/Camp (1:05:57)
Waterfalls (1:07:37)
#27Chris and Margie's Birthdays1975
Hermitage Backyard (1:07:45)
Chris's Birthday Party
Halloween (1:09:47)
Margie's Bday (1:10:17)
#28 Christmas 1975/Easter 1976
Christmas (1:10:42)
Lorrie's Birthday (1:12)
Golf Clubs (1:12:35)
Piano (1:12:58)
Easter (1:13:23)
#29 Wendy Bday
Wendy's Birthday/Family Party (1:13:41)
Baby Shane (1:14:34)
Skateboarding/Biking in the Circle (1:15:30)
Shane's Blessing Day (1:15:52)
Grandma Norman's House w/Burgeners (1:16:43)
#30 Chris and Margie's Birthdays
Kids Outside (1:17:41)
Baby Shane (1:18:19)
Margie's Bday (1:19)
Swingset (1:19:25)
#31 Jen'sBday/Christmas 1976
Jen's 6th Bday (1:19:32)
Scott Changing Baby Shane (1:20:43)
Scott's Bday (1:21:47)
Santa (1:22:08)
Grandma Norman's House (1:22:31)
Red Dresses (1:24)
#32 Christmas 1976
Christmas Morning (1:24:14)
Big Henry/Toto
Gingerbread House (1:25:27)
Baby Shane and Big Henry
Red Dresses Again
#33 Christmas 1976
Cousins Over (1:27:39)
Flash of Bath (on original - removed for YouTube)
New Year's Baby Shane (1:28:02)
#34 Easter 1977
Basement/Chin Up Bar (1:28:07)
Grandparents Over (1:28:44)
Shane Walking (1:29:15)
Easter (1:29:58)
#35 Wendy Bday/Summer 1977
Wendy Bday (1:30:57)
Little Shane (1:31:31)
Shane's Bday
Summer Outside (1:33:32)
Lots of Neighbors, Tina the Dog
#36 Jenny Bday 1977
Jen's 7th Birthday (1:35:25)
Family Party - Grandparents and Cousins
#37 Scott's Bday 1977
Scott's Birthday (1:36:20)
#38 Christmas 1977
Christmas at Grandma Normans (1:38:44)
Westra Home (1:40:22)
Outside/ZimZam(1:41:58)
Cousins House (1:42:05)
#40 Christmas 1978 (oops, out of order)
Christmas Morning (1:42:14) seems to repeat here
Christmas Morning (1:44:26)
#39 Summer 1978, Shane'sBday
Jen/Wendy & Shane (1:45:08)
Bathtime (1:45:14)
Wendy and Jen - Baton Twirling (1:46:17)
Parade (1:47:10)
Birthday Cake (1:47:27) - Chris blows out the candles ...
Easter (1:47:47)
Shane's Bday(1:47:56)
(Lots of flowers/bouquet in background, Kellie's passing)
Mom/Margie's 80th birthday was coming up, and it was Wendy's idea for the six siblings and spouses to get together for a birthday dinner celebration- sans kids, just the grownups. Wendy was also the one who traveled the furthest (4+ hours, but she had a longer visit with the folks staying over at their house, and stopped to see kids and grandbabies). Friday, November 11 was the date that seemed to work out for everyone. Originally, Shane and Alicia had been scheduled to move that day, but it got bumped.
With the need for gluten-free gourmet (Derek has now joined Dad/Lamar, Scott and Wendy) Asian Star was mentioned as a good choice. Scott is well known there (the staff know him by name, "Scotty") and arranged for a reservation for the family (13, as Rick was on a cruise and unable to attend). Scott also had recommendations for the menu:
All Gluten Free, 1 of each:
Walnut chicken
Walnut Shrimp
Broccoli Beef
Cashew Chicken
Tangerine chicken
Veggie stir fry/chicken
Ham fried rice
2 Pon Pon chicken (Not gluten Free)
9 dishes for 13 people
Jen (no dietary concerns, just finicky eating habits) and Chris did end up needing their own specialized meals, but everyone else thought Scott's recommendations were good, and it was served up family style, with everyone just taking a little bit of whatever looked good.
Due to the table seating, conversation among everyone was difficult, but the bottom half of the table talk consisted of Grayson and Scott comparing Peloton trainers, discussions of the Great British Baking Show, home improvement conversations and Tesla talk.
The folks usually pick up the check for dinners out, but as it was Mom's birthday, this was split between the six siblings. Scott paid in full and then the others reimbursed him via Venmo. Just a "did you know" moment ... Venmo was first brought up by Scott in an email sent July 2015. Looks like Jen's family was the last one to join (Dec2016).
There was some teasing as Wendy pulled out an actual camera (those are still in use? Jen still uses a dedicated video camera for the boy's basketball games) and one of the waitresses snapped a picture, and then took another with Chris's phone.
A smaller group went out to dinner at Asian Star back in 2014, that was also for Mom/Margie's birthday!
As old artifacts were uncovered, more memorabilia has been added to each Westra Sibling box. Jen had taken quite a bit of music when she moved out, but some of her original compositions from PTA Reflections contests over the years hadn't made it out of the Westra home. It was fun to get the actual music (printed and cassette recordings) to look at and listen to some 35-40 years later. Would you believe Jen still remembers the songs she wrote way back when?
The first official music entry was in 1985 ... the theme was "What Sparks My Imagination?" Jen was in the 8th grade, 14 years old. Writing the lyrics and the melody for piano was no issue, it was getting the musical notation written down on paper that was the problem. Music theory, notes/timing had always been a bit of a struggle. The collage below shows some of the steps and progress, the handwriting and piano penmanship, along with the final result and entry info ... the song was recorded on submitted on cassette tape.
The lyrics ... (Verse 1) "I see a cloud, floating by. I see a rainbow way up high. When suddenly in the back of my mind, my imagination sparks, it's one of a kind. (Chorus) What sparks my imagination? What makes it burn? What sparks my imagination? What makes it flow? What makes it glow? What makes it grow? (Verse 2) My imagination sees some things, and then it flies upon it's wings. It turns some words into a song, and then I sing it all day long. (Chorus) What sparks my imagination? What makes it burn? What sparks my imagination? What makes it flow? What makes it glow? What makes it grow?" The recorded submission was just the piano ... no singing? Was Jen not confident enough in her voice? Was it written out of range? 37 years after the fact, Jen went ahead and re-recorded the song, with singing this time (going with the lower harmonies, because yes, it's too high in some places), just for this blog post, adapted for youtube (as sharing just audio is trickier than sharing a video). See/listen HERE.
With that first music entry done ... Jen came up with a song for Reflections for the next three years. In 9th grade, the theme was "From Liberty's View". Won at the school level and went on to region, and was asked to perform the song at 9th grade promotion/graduation at the end of the year.
The lyrics ... "If you will listen, you'll hear her calling you. And you might think, that she is just a statue. But she's part of me, and she can be part of you. She can see us all, we're all in Liberty's view. And so are the oceans, and so are the skies, so are the mountains, and so am I. And so are you, and everything you do. Let's make her proud. Let's make her proud. Won't you believe, she's a part of you, she's a part of me. Then you might too, realize, she's calling you." Audio from the original submission can be found HERE.
Jen's sophomore year (1986-1987) the Reflections theme was "A Past to Remember, a Future to Mold" which must have been especially inspiring, because Jen wrote TWO songs that year! Definitely some oversinging on the original audio. Not sure which song was written first, or which did better in the competition. The two songs were "What is Tomorrow" and "A Past to Remember, a Future to Mold" and both songs have been added to the family youtube after having the audio transferred from the original cassette tapes.
The final song was for the 1987-1988 school year. Jen was a junior. The Reflections theme was "Wonders of the World". Interesting to mark the change in handwriting and how the notes and other musical markings are written. This cassette tape wasn't with the others, but a later pile of "Jen's stuff" had an envelope with this entry, and the cassette tape with original audio. Listen HERE. Jen performed this song at a school assembly (picture in the yearbook of her at the piano).
No entry senior year ... but there with all the "Jen's Stuff" were a bunch of papers and poems. There was one poem that Jen had a distinct memory of also being a song for Reflections. It would have been back in 1981-1982. Jen was in 5th grade and the Reflections theme was "What Makes Me Smile?" Too intimidated by the music entry process (writing the music down, recording it) ... Jen simply submitted the poem in the literature category instead of music. 40 years later, Jen could still recall the simple tune though. So, just for fun, and for the first time ... it's been recorded HERE.
Will Jenna remember her song submission in 40 years? Wendy did a write up of her Reflections win on the Jenson Journal (school win, region win) and while the PTA had the song posted online for a bit, the school link is no longer working, so the song is saved in Dropbox, and on Youtube (here).
Janika also wrote a song in 2009 ... WOW was the theme. You can hear it HERE. One might wonder if Janika has shared this song with her husband (yes, she has) ... as this cute melody recounts the wonder of a cute boy ;) Sounds like it's out of a Broadway musical.
Here's a list of all the PTA Reflections themes from the past years ...
I THINK all the musical entries have been addressed here. Derek has been very musical in his later years, but I don't believe there was ever a music composition entry for Reflections. He did get a ribbon for a picture he took (see HERE). Aniston entered in 2021, also in photography ...
The Reflections categories have changed some over the years, with new additions of Dance Choreograph and Film Production (Jaiden entered in dance in 2014). Wendy wrote up all the Reflections experiences for her kids on her blog, check them out: 2014, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.
This blog is all about family history, but also highlighting current events too. Recently, Rick was featured in the Church News for his role as Seminaries and Institutes North America ASL coordinator and adviser. You can read the full article HERE.
Oh the memories. As old artifacts are uncovered in the Westra home, often a picture is taken and exchanged over email ... most of the Westra kids remembered these mugs. No one was so sentimentally attached that they wanted to keep them forever, but they are deserving of a blog post before they find a new home ... via a thrift shop, or maybe there are some selling on Ebay and other auction sites (although these aren't in the most pristine condition having been used and loved over the years).
Doing a reverse image search, several of these mugs popped up on the internet ... selling on auction sites, and with a few informational posts. Seriously, check out these articles for more images, videos and background.
A quick recap ... the mugs were introduced along with a sugar-free drink mix, Pillsbury's attempt to compete with Kool-Aid. The crazy, animated faces were meant to appeal to kids, and they each had their fun names. There was even a little book written about the characters; Freckle Face Strawberry, Jolly Ollie Orange,
Loud Mouth Punch, With It Watermelon, Goofy Grape, Lefty Lemon, Choo
Choo Cherry, Rudy Tutti Frutti, and Rah Rah Root Beer. Two of the original iterations Injun Orange and Chinese Cherry were deemed not politically correct and were updated/replaced.
I don't know that we ever had the pitcher, but I do remember more of the mugs than the three that surfaced during the move in 2022.
Check out the Timeless Toys post for more memories of other plastic Westra Classics ;)
The "GoodReads" site created in 2006, is one of the main ways people keep track of their books today. In the olden days ... often it was just writing down the titles on a sheet of lined paper. Shane's booklist from his sixth grade year was discovered among the "saved, to be scanned" items.
While some books stand the test of time, and are enjoyed by generations of kids, the Westra grandkid generation likely has a very different list of books for different ages and stages (Magic Treehouse, Captain Underpants, Big Nate, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter ... check out a Blackham post about Keaton's love of the Origami Yoda series) . Definitely something that is interesting to track and reflect on.
"The Shades" was considered a Westra classic, absolutely adored by the Westra girls especially (along with the author's other book "No Flying in the House"). The "Indian in the Cupboard" series was made into a movie, as was "Babe". Jen reread "Call it Courage" and "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" recently. Which of these are still in circulation today? Have the younger generation read any of these "old" books? Which other books are considered favorites from Growing Up Westra (Beverly Cleary and Carolyn Haywood books, Encyclopedia Brown, The Great Brain, Sonny Elephant, The Marrow of the World ... I feel another blog post coming on!)
Many books have been updated and republished over the years. It's fun to do a Google search and see if there are original covers that bring back memories. "The Ghost Next Door" didn't ring a book bell, but a look at the cover felt very familiar.
... the original list was scanned, and photographed. It's always fun to see the original handwriting. The photo is a little more legible (it's what is included here), but to make the list even easier to read, it's been retyped below.
The Pinballs by Betsy Byars
The Magic Meadow by Alexander Key
The Shades by Betty Brock
What Eric Knew by James Howe
The Not Just Anybody Family by Betsy Byars
Rasco and the Rats of NIHM by Jane Coley
The Ghost Next Door by Wylly Folk St. John
The Return of the Indian by Lynne Ried Banks
Babe the Gallant Pig by Dick-King Smith
A Hidden Magic by Vivian Veldo
Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Star Ka'at by Andre Norton
Seven Spells to Sunday by Andre Norton
Cave of Danger by Bryce Walton
The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito by Shelia Garrigue
Me, My Goat, My Sister's Wedding by Stella Pevsner
The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop
Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling
Eli's Ghost by Betsy Hearne
Out of the Bug Jar by Kathleen Thomas
Prairie Songs by Pam Conrad
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
