Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Hallelujah!
I agree, now we can expect some regularity,tempo on the beat.. She'll have order established in no time. Maybe she can even get the angels to bed at 9Pm.. I love your posts..
Hallelujah!
Dear sisters,
I said to Kaylee the other morning at breakfast, "I wonder what Mother is doing in Heaven today."
And She said, "Well, the first thing that happened when she walked through the pearly Gates, was, the gate keeper announced over the loud speaker, "ILENE IS FINALLY HERE!!!". Then the choir started singing Handel's Messiah. "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah,Halleeeeelujah," And the choir director said, "Finally, someone who can play the piano! Kick Pocahontas off that piano bench. She's always been one beat behind me. It's time to get serious. Now that Ilene is here, maybe we can beat the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in next years Competition!" loveu, Jelene
I said to Kaylee the other morning at breakfast, "I wonder what Mother is doing in Heaven today."
And She said, "Well, the first thing that happened when she walked through the pearly Gates, was, the gate keeper announced over the loud speaker, "ILENE IS FINALLY HERE!!!". Then the choir started singing Handel's Messiah. "Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah,Halleeeeelujah," And the choir director said, "Finally, someone who can play the piano! Kick Pocahontas off that piano bench. She's always been one beat behind me. It's time to get serious. Now that Ilene is here, maybe we can beat the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in next years Competition!" loveu, Jelene
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The cattle drive from hell and back!!!
Hello sweet sisters,
This memory is when we lived on and ran the ranch. I was 16, Ruth was 14, and Beth 13. We were the cutest cowgirls this side of Mt. Wilson( lol the only ones). Jelene got married the first spring to her handsome tall man. It took Kay two years to marry into her fun and wonderful family. So it left us 5 girls plus mother at the ranch. The brothers were either married or working full time. They would come out periodically to see how we were managing their ranch. We were taught to love them and our mother was always so happy to see them that it passed down to us. We always had a good breakfast on the weekends. so us girls got up and milked two or three cows and brought it in for mother to strain through a cloth. Then because our brother and his friend ( that we always made fun of ) was out there, I started making pancake dough and started cooking. We would have jams for the toppings, anything from apple butter to chokecherry or elderberry that our mother and us had made. It was so much fun cooking pancakes on top of a wood stove. They were delicious with that smoky smell on them.
At that time, our brothers would come and visit occasionally, but we were the cowgirls and could handle a big group of cows. Well, it was a beautiful summer and the cows would not stay up into the hills. They wanted the pasture grass and no matter where we would take them, they would be back the next day. We had about fifty by the house pasture and another fifty at the 320 pasture which was about 2 miles from the house. So my dad had this brilliant idea that if we took them clear up on Mt. Wilson (the highest mountain 10,000 ft. elevation) and drop them down into the canyon that had a spring of water, that they would stay. It would be an all day ride and at least 15 miles out in the wildest country that we knew.
At the breakfast table we discussed the trail we would go and how to get them there. Lilly and Donna would stay home and help Mother for the day. Lilly just did not like to go with father because it made her so nervous that she would get sick with diarrhea and Donna was still our little baby. Roger was at the ranch with his friend Leroy Brisco and their job was to bring supper to us and sleeping bags because we where going to sleep up there with our horses. By this time in our lives, we did not have a lot of faith in our brothers. I remember telling Roger to not be late because it was going to get very dark on us. Why we didn't take matches with us I don't know. We didn't have a trailer to haul the horses home so we were going to have to ride them. We knew it was an all day ride and it would be dark by the time we got to the main road. Ruth, Beth and I saddled our horses and packed a small lunch of water,dried fruit, apples and jerky. We were all a little sick with the excitement and the knowledge that we were going to be a long ways away from family and we only had each other to rely on. The meeting place was going to be on the road just before the summit pass.
Ruth and Beth went down to the end of the field and started to drive the cows out to the road. We have family standing on the mountain by the house and on both roads. It all started out smooth and we were in the saddle once again. We really loved it once we got going. We would take the cows up to the 320 and gather all the rest of the cows and head up the mountain with 100 head of cows. Father road ahead and started gathering the cows at the 320 so when we got the herd going all we had to do was meet at the bottom of the field and head the whole herd up the canyon.
Our father was not the greatest cow herder. He liked to run the cows and get them all riled up so by the time we got our small herd up to his herd, the cows were all excited. We were relieved to know that father would not stay with us but he did help us get the cows up the steep ravine to the clearing. He said good-bye and off he went. Now we could let the cows relax and just walk at a steady pace. We knew it was about 15 miles that we had to go that day so we had to keep the herd moving. Up and down the mountains until finally we brought the cows down a pretty steep mountain and met the road to Mt. Wilson. There was a spring where we were going to refill our water jugs, water the cows and let them rest a bit, but of course one stringing beastly heifer decided to start running up the wrong canyon. Off we went on a fast run through bogs of water and brush, finally we got ahead of the main cow and turned the herd back around. We decided that from now on we couldn't let them rest because they were tired and just wanted to get away from us. Up the hill we went about 4 more hours herding the cows and pushing them. Finally came to the top of the mountain where we needed to push them down into another steep canyon where the spring was. It was starting to get dusk and we knew that as soon as the sun left us we would get cold. But we were told to do this job and we took to seriously. It was about a fourth of a mile straight down to the spring. We took them sideways for a while and then turned them for the rest of the way. By then the sum had gone from us and we knew that we needed to get to the top and so Roger could find us.
The wind was blowing briskly and we were hungry and tired from the ride when we got to the summit. Roger was no where to be found. We found a grove of trees just off the road and down a bit so that the wind was not quite as cold and waited and waited. The night was as black as it could be because there was no moon to light it up. Just the wind to keep us company. We were quite mad at Roger for being late, but of course he was a precious brother so we shouldn't say much. We finally heard voices coming up the canyon and much to our relief it was Roger and Leroy (O just to let you know, he was my prospective husband). They had food, blankets and matches for a fire. Our relief was met with panic and horror when Roger started the big tree on fire and also did not bring the hobbles for the horses. That meant that our horses were stomping around us all night and not happy. Well, needless to say, in a few hours we woke up because our horses were not stomping around and knew that they had taken off. Beth and Ruth (the two brave souls) started walking down the road feeling their way into the black night. They walked right into the back end of Tex and Ginger. Beth felt her way around and grabbed Tex's halter and then got Ginger and Meg. The other two horses followed them back. This time We girls took control of the situation and stayed awake holding our horses. It seemed that the night and darkness would never end.
At the crack of dawn, we were on our horses and off we went without breakfast and did not even bother waking them up. We rode our wonderful, faithful horses back to the stable and brushed and fed them before we went to get our breakfast. We were so very happy to see our home and so were the horses. We will never forget that night for as long as we live. It feels good writing it down and finally putting words to the memories.
Thanks Ruth and Beth for going after the horses because it would have been a long walk home.
Love Helen
This memory is when we lived on and ran the ranch. I was 16, Ruth was 14, and Beth 13. We were the cutest cowgirls this side of Mt. Wilson( lol the only ones). Jelene got married the first spring to her handsome tall man. It took Kay two years to marry into her fun and wonderful family. So it left us 5 girls plus mother at the ranch. The brothers were either married or working full time. They would come out periodically to see how we were managing their ranch. We were taught to love them and our mother was always so happy to see them that it passed down to us. We always had a good breakfast on the weekends. so us girls got up and milked two or three cows and brought it in for mother to strain through a cloth. Then because our brother and his friend ( that we always made fun of ) was out there, I started making pancake dough and started cooking. We would have jams for the toppings, anything from apple butter to chokecherry or elderberry that our mother and us had made. It was so much fun cooking pancakes on top of a wood stove. They were delicious with that smoky smell on them.
At that time, our brothers would come and visit occasionally, but we were the cowgirls and could handle a big group of cows. Well, it was a beautiful summer and the cows would not stay up into the hills. They wanted the pasture grass and no matter where we would take them, they would be back the next day. We had about fifty by the house pasture and another fifty at the 320 pasture which was about 2 miles from the house. So my dad had this brilliant idea that if we took them clear up on Mt. Wilson (the highest mountain 10,000 ft. elevation) and drop them down into the canyon that had a spring of water, that they would stay. It would be an all day ride and at least 15 miles out in the wildest country that we knew.
At the breakfast table we discussed the trail we would go and how to get them there. Lilly and Donna would stay home and help Mother for the day. Lilly just did not like to go with father because it made her so nervous that she would get sick with diarrhea and Donna was still our little baby. Roger was at the ranch with his friend Leroy Brisco and their job was to bring supper to us and sleeping bags because we where going to sleep up there with our horses. By this time in our lives, we did not have a lot of faith in our brothers. I remember telling Roger to not be late because it was going to get very dark on us. Why we didn't take matches with us I don't know. We didn't have a trailer to haul the horses home so we were going to have to ride them. We knew it was an all day ride and it would be dark by the time we got to the main road. Ruth, Beth and I saddled our horses and packed a small lunch of water,dried fruit, apples and jerky. We were all a little sick with the excitement and the knowledge that we were going to be a long ways away from family and we only had each other to rely on. The meeting place was going to be on the road just before the summit pass.
Ruth and Beth went down to the end of the field and started to drive the cows out to the road. We have family standing on the mountain by the house and on both roads. It all started out smooth and we were in the saddle once again. We really loved it once we got going. We would take the cows up to the 320 and gather all the rest of the cows and head up the mountain with 100 head of cows. Father road ahead and started gathering the cows at the 320 so when we got the herd going all we had to do was meet at the bottom of the field and head the whole herd up the canyon.
Our father was not the greatest cow herder. He liked to run the cows and get them all riled up so by the time we got our small herd up to his herd, the cows were all excited. We were relieved to know that father would not stay with us but he did help us get the cows up the steep ravine to the clearing. He said good-bye and off he went. Now we could let the cows relax and just walk at a steady pace. We knew it was about 15 miles that we had to go that day so we had to keep the herd moving. Up and down the mountains until finally we brought the cows down a pretty steep mountain and met the road to Mt. Wilson. There was a spring where we were going to refill our water jugs, water the cows and let them rest a bit, but of course one stringing beastly heifer decided to start running up the wrong canyon. Off we went on a fast run through bogs of water and brush, finally we got ahead of the main cow and turned the herd back around. We decided that from now on we couldn't let them rest because they were tired and just wanted to get away from us. Up the hill we went about 4 more hours herding the cows and pushing them. Finally came to the top of the mountain where we needed to push them down into another steep canyon where the spring was. It was starting to get dusk and we knew that as soon as the sun left us we would get cold. But we were told to do this job and we took to seriously. It was about a fourth of a mile straight down to the spring. We took them sideways for a while and then turned them for the rest of the way. By then the sum had gone from us and we knew that we needed to get to the top and so Roger could find us.
The wind was blowing briskly and we were hungry and tired from the ride when we got to the summit. Roger was no where to be found. We found a grove of trees just off the road and down a bit so that the wind was not quite as cold and waited and waited. The night was as black as it could be because there was no moon to light it up. Just the wind to keep us company. We were quite mad at Roger for being late, but of course he was a precious brother so we shouldn't say much. We finally heard voices coming up the canyon and much to our relief it was Roger and Leroy (O just to let you know, he was my prospective husband). They had food, blankets and matches for a fire. Our relief was met with panic and horror when Roger started the big tree on fire and also did not bring the hobbles for the horses. That meant that our horses were stomping around us all night and not happy. Well, needless to say, in a few hours we woke up because our horses were not stomping around and knew that they had taken off. Beth and Ruth (the two brave souls) started walking down the road feeling their way into the black night. They walked right into the back end of Tex and Ginger. Beth felt her way around and grabbed Tex's halter and then got Ginger and Meg. The other two horses followed them back. This time We girls took control of the situation and stayed awake holding our horses. It seemed that the night and darkness would never end.
At the crack of dawn, we were on our horses and off we went without breakfast and did not even bother waking them up. We rode our wonderful, faithful horses back to the stable and brushed and fed them before we went to get our breakfast. We were so very happy to see our home and so were the horses. We will never forget that night for as long as we live. It feels good writing it down and finally putting words to the memories.
Thanks Ruth and Beth for going after the horses because it would have been a long walk home.
Love Helen
Monday, July 9, 2012
The Greatest Generation
Dear sisters,
Yesterday, Brian and his wife, Tawnya and boys were speaking in church so I went to show my support. I got to watch their youngest, 2 year old Rex, who incidentally ate my last 3 sticks of gum by the time church was over.
There, sitting in the seat in front of me, sat Uncle Reo's Granddaughter and her husband with their darling twin boys, who are 6, their cute 4 year old daughter and new 6 month old baby girl. Amber is cousin Rick's daughter. She reminds my a lot of Uncle Reo's boys. She has coal black long curls and all her kids have Grandma Lillie's dark hair.
A few of years ago, Brian and Tawnya walked across the street to meet their new neighbors, Amber, her husband and their twin boys.
Amber said they were just getting home from a family reunion. Brian asked."Where was your reunion?"
"Rexburg, Idaho." Amber said.
"That's where my family is from. What's the name."
"Archibald."
"Shut up! That's my Grandma's name. Her first name is Ilene."
"Shut up! My Grandpa Reo has a sister named Ilene."
"We're second cousins!!" They said together....
And they have been good friends ever since.
As I sat there in church it felt like mother and her brother, Reo and Grandma Lillie and Grandpa David were sitting on the bench with me. What a lovely man Uncle Reo was. All 8 of mothers brothers were wonderful, kind men. Five of them went off to war at the same time. Uncle Reo was a medic and by the time he came home from the war, his coal black hair had turned white. He never wanted to talk about the horrors he had seen. I remember he always had a smile on his face and would have given you any thing he had. He was just older than Mother and he played house with her a lot when they were little. They loved each other dearly.
The next generation is moving on. Taking the example their parents set for them. Taking their babies to church. Singing 'Come, Oh Thou King of Kings', like I did yesterday, (with the slowest chorus director I have ever seen. I mean I was singing as loud as I thought appropriate from the back trying to get her to speed it up before everyone went to sleep. I was on the second King when she was just getting to the First King, my gosh how slow can you go! And that tight, white, almost see through skirt she was wearing should have been outlawed. What the heck was she thinking. Getting up in front of all those people wearing that skirt that showed her ass off like that!!!)
I think the next generation of kids we raised are awesome too. They are products of the Greatest Generation, so how can they help but be great.
My 2 year old charge had yelled out 'Hi Daddy', really loud, waving his tiny hand, 3 time during his daddy's talk, filled his hand with half the bread off the sacrament tray, ran up and down the rows, dragging his blankie, eaten all Amber's kids treats and then finally got out of my grip long enough to walk all the way up to the stage and climb up onto his mama's lap. Boy, I'm sure they will call me to watch him during church again.
I was a proud Mom and Grandma after Briggs read his story about how to be a good friend, Beckham sang "I Love To See The Temple", and Brian and Tawnya had given their talks on God's Tender Mercies. We sang the closing song, (really, really slow) and after the prayer I leaned forward to talk to Amber. I told her I had never met her new baby yet. "What did you name her?" I asked
"We named her Haven Lillie."
And the beat goes on..........Love You All, Jelene
Yesterday, Brian and his wife, Tawnya and boys were speaking in church so I went to show my support. I got to watch their youngest, 2 year old Rex, who incidentally ate my last 3 sticks of gum by the time church was over.
There, sitting in the seat in front of me, sat Uncle Reo's Granddaughter and her husband with their darling twin boys, who are 6, their cute 4 year old daughter and new 6 month old baby girl. Amber is cousin Rick's daughter. She reminds my a lot of Uncle Reo's boys. She has coal black long curls and all her kids have Grandma Lillie's dark hair.
A few of years ago, Brian and Tawnya walked across the street to meet their new neighbors, Amber, her husband and their twin boys.
Amber said they were just getting home from a family reunion. Brian asked."Where was your reunion?"
"Rexburg, Idaho." Amber said.
"That's where my family is from. What's the name."
"Archibald."
"Shut up! That's my Grandma's name. Her first name is Ilene."
"Shut up! My Grandpa Reo has a sister named Ilene."
"We're second cousins!!" They said together....
And they have been good friends ever since.
As I sat there in church it felt like mother and her brother, Reo and Grandma Lillie and Grandpa David were sitting on the bench with me. What a lovely man Uncle Reo was. All 8 of mothers brothers were wonderful, kind men. Five of them went off to war at the same time. Uncle Reo was a medic and by the time he came home from the war, his coal black hair had turned white. He never wanted to talk about the horrors he had seen. I remember he always had a smile on his face and would have given you any thing he had. He was just older than Mother and he played house with her a lot when they were little. They loved each other dearly.
The next generation is moving on. Taking the example their parents set for them. Taking their babies to church. Singing 'Come, Oh Thou King of Kings', like I did yesterday, (with the slowest chorus director I have ever seen. I mean I was singing as loud as I thought appropriate from the back trying to get her to speed it up before everyone went to sleep. I was on the second King when she was just getting to the First King, my gosh how slow can you go! And that tight, white, almost see through skirt she was wearing should have been outlawed. What the heck was she thinking. Getting up in front of all those people wearing that skirt that showed her ass off like that!!!)
I think the next generation of kids we raised are awesome too. They are products of the Greatest Generation, so how can they help but be great.
My 2 year old charge had yelled out 'Hi Daddy', really loud, waving his tiny hand, 3 time during his daddy's talk, filled his hand with half the bread off the sacrament tray, ran up and down the rows, dragging his blankie, eaten all Amber's kids treats and then finally got out of my grip long enough to walk all the way up to the stage and climb up onto his mama's lap. Boy, I'm sure they will call me to watch him during church again.
I was a proud Mom and Grandma after Briggs read his story about how to be a good friend, Beckham sang "I Love To See The Temple", and Brian and Tawnya had given their talks on God's Tender Mercies. We sang the closing song, (really, really slow) and after the prayer I leaned forward to talk to Amber. I told her I had never met her new baby yet. "What did you name her?" I asked
"We named her Haven Lillie."
And the beat goes on..........Love You All, Jelene
Saturday, July 7, 2012
A reunion at the ranch.
I thought I would put names to go with our faces, starting from right to left
Mother, Cheryl, Janice, Kay, Jelene, Helen, Ruth,(second row left to right)
Beth, Lilly, and Donna. That is the birth order of us girls.
Ruth, what the heck is above your ears? Yes, we got our clothes out of boxes that people would bring us. These were our nice clothes. Dang, we were all cute except that Lilly girl front center. She got better with age. Mother was always beautiful. Cheryl, Janice, Kay, and Jelene were in their beautiful years. Donna was still in her cute years and the rest of us were ranch hands. Helen and Ruth had men that wanted them as second or third wife's but Beth and I were safe for a few more years.
Hi my name is Ruth. I was 2 1/2
years old when we moved to Colorado City, Arizona. I only remember being the
prettiest and the fastest girl in town, and always being followed by at least
ten other girls. I was cool and I knew it. Then we moved to the ranch and that
all went away. What an adventure this was going to be, no electricity, no
indoor toilet. Wow we were all excited. A few weeks later I showed my true
colors and screamed, "I want to go home." This was home, and I
had to deal with it for the next nine years. I was a very strong headed
child and it took me some time to value my family as my only social circle.
I remember the day when I
was walking home from feeding the cows with my sister Beth. I looked across the road as we walked and I
said to her, "Did you know that you’re my best friend?" Then we
laughed hilariously and rolled all over the road in the snow. Then I said,
"Actually, you’re my only friend." And that was the scary part,
because, if given the chance I'd have had a zillion friends. But I thank
the Lord every day for my sisters and the bond we have. That ranch life helped
it come to pass.
My mother taught me to play the
piano, sing with my sisters in four part harmony, and play the clarinet and
trumpet. My father loved to play the clarinet too. We played duets at
night and for everyone who walked through the doors. Boy did we have an
amazing father. He actually thought we were the prettiest, most talented people
in the world.
In all the free time that we
had, I dreamed that prince charming would ride his horse into my life and sweep
me away. So that is what happened when I married a cowboy from
the boonies and we ran away for the weekend and got married.
We have brought 12 wonderful
children here into this world to live and to seek their fortunes, so I guess it
worked out pretty well.
Ruth
I don’t remember the name
of the man that used to visit us at the ranch, but I know that he was married
and I remember being completely scared of him because whenever he visited, he
and Father would tease with me and say that someday maybe he would come and
marry me and take me to live with him. I was old enough to know that when you
got married, you were supposed to like the man that you married, and smart
enough to know that this man was at least 20 to 30 years older than me and that
would mean that I was married to an old man.
I used to get sick to my stomach when he would come to see us because I
was not sure how old I had to be in order for Father to tell him it was ok for
him to take me with him. All I knew for
sure was that the Ward boys were a lot cuter and I was holding out for one of
them…Too funny. And they were busy
entertaining Lilly, so I had no chance.
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