Family History Friday: Norma & Bill

These are my maternal grandparents. What were their experiences in life? Were they ever worried? They look so young, but they had a lot of weight on their shoulders. Married during the depression, teenage parents, finding their way through life with hope and love. They were married for 49 years. Grandpa was a hard worker, always. He was an amateur boxer, very athletic, then had a stroke at 59. He was paralyzed on his right side for the rest of his life. He died at 79 years old, twenty years after his stoke. Grandma was such a sweetheart. She was always helping Grandpa with all of his daily routines. She loved to watch Lawrence Welk, and go for rides in the car, and have picnics. She got cancer and died at 66. I love them. When life is hard, I remind myself that life has always had challenges. It is the reason we’re here, to learn and grow. To love each other and help each other. When I think about my ancestors and their lives, I know I can do hard things. Life is a gift. Love is the most important.

Family History Friday: Adelaide Dye White

Adelaide Dye White was my Great-Grandma. She was just a tiny little lady, about 5 feet tall, and only about 98 pounds when she married. I never knew her, because she died two years before I was born. I shared a story about her husband, Charles Elmer White a couple of weeks ago for FHF.

This is what my Mom said about her Grandma,

“When I think of Gramma, I remember her just the way a gramma was supposed to look: small, a little round, gray haired, glasses, and always an apron. She wore flowered house dresses and an apron (many of which she made), hose and laced up shoes.

   When she worked in her garden she wore a large straw hat, that when not worn, hung on a nail on the back screened porch. If she didn’t have her hat on she would shade her eyes with her arm. She spent a lot of time in her garden. She knew how important the harvest was to her family’s well-being, and bottled everything. She even bottled chickens and some beef. She didn’t seem to really enjoy the animals, but was grateful for what they provided.

I remember our trips to Idaho. We always looked forward to them and could hardly wait  once we saw the trees of Firth, and then we crossed over the canal to Basalt. Once we rounded the corner we would see family coming out the front door to greet us. Gramma would have already made plans for special country dinner. Her house smelled of home-made bread or she would be making rolls.

We enjoyed the results of her hard work as she allowed us to go to the garden a salt shaker and a knife for tomatoes , cucumbers, radishes, etc. Who could ever forget corn-on-the-cob, new potatoes and peas, chicken and home-made noodles, ice cream and chocolate cake. Pickles, relishes, and pickled beets, fresh cream on raspberries or Wheaties and biscuits and home-churned butter, with jam or jelly.

We always sat around the kitchen table; an oilcloth table clothe, and a crystal spoon bowl. Her kitchen was large for the size of her home and a refrigerator. A wood burning stove that she had mastered to perfection, a few cupboards and in the early days a large milk can of water from the well up the hill, and a tin cup for dipping. Dishes were done in a dish pan and when she was done she would go to the door and toss the water out into the yard.”

I am so glad my Mom put down on paper her memories of Great-Grandma Adelaide. I can almost picture her in my mind doing those things. And what an amazing women to bake and cook on a wood burning stove. You can’t just set the temperature, can you? You would have to practice a lot to know how to use it. And getting water from a well? Instead of having the convenience of turning a faucet. I wish I had been able to meet her. I know I will some day. When I do, I am going to tell her, “Thanks Grandma Adelaide, for being such an inspiration to me. I love you.”

Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy

Family History Friday (FHF): She really wanted to be baptized!

Mary Malden Peek 
was my 4th great grandmother. She was born in England. When she was just a young girl, she lived a life similar to other girls her age. 
One of her favorite things to do was sew
Another was to enjoy tea,
 when she was invited with her mother and some of the other ladies. While she was still quite young, her father died, leaving the family with not enough money to live on. Mary took jobs sewing to help with the family’s income. One day their family met some missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “the Mormons”, and they were touched by the things the missionaries said. 
Mary knew in her heart that what the elders were teaching her was true, and she wanted to be baptized. 
At the time this happened, there was some persecution happening to members of the church, as well as the missionaries. They had to meet in barns and other places that they might not regularly meet. Also, when someone wanted to get baptized, they would have to do it in secret. Mary wanted to be baptized so bad, she didn’t want to wait until others were okay with it. So they made a plan. She would be baptized in the shed. They dug a hole and spent the whole day filling it with buckets of water till it was deep enough for her. That night, after dark, she was baptized. When I was baptized the water was clear and clean and warm. My family was there and it was safe and wonderful. Mary must have really wanted it, to go through all that. I’m not sure if she felt safe, but I’m pretty sure that water wasn’t clean or clear or warm. She and her family later left England to come to Utah to be with other members of the church. Mary walked to the Great Salt Lake Valley. She married a good man, and lived a good life full of happiness. She never regretted her choice to join the church. I love her for all she went through, for her courage, drive and purpose.
Her life was full! 
Find one of your ancestors who was amazing and tell the story to your family!  Happy Family History Friday! Love, Joy