Memories Week #3

1. Do you know of a favorite ride at the amusement park they has as a child?
2. What did they do as a child that got them into the most trouble? How did their parents handle it?
3. Do you know of any childhood birthday's.
4. Did they meet or work with any famous people? Where, who, when…?
5. Tell about any pets they had as a child.

"As far as I know the only time they went to an amusement park was when they provided dinner for the old folks @ Lagoon before I was born. In that condition I doubt she would have gone on a ride. But if she did I’m sure my siblings and children would agree that could account for some of my craziness. So that’s Eileen’s/mom’s problem!!! I could see dad fixing rides, but I don’t see him going on to many of them, but I’m sure he did. I’m sure they both rode amusement park rides at sometime in their life but they wouldn’t have been high on their priority list.

I’m sure dad got in a little trouble taking the wheels off the buggy while the baby was in it, but that was one thing I always admired about dad was he was obedient and always treated his parents with respect. You could especially see it when he was willing to take so many days taking care of his folks, after grandpa Kunz had his stroke; ‘til he had his heart attack and they had to put them in the rest home. Whenever I was over their helping with grandma, he was always so patient and respectful.

I know they had a birthday every year, but other than that I don’t think much attention was paid to birthday’s for either of them. I do remember dad saying that Aunt Iris always remembered his birthday, because she had to miss out on the 4th of July celebrations that year because dad was born at house in Bern, Idaho, so no one could get her to Montpelier. In fact, it might have been Aunt Iris that said it.

The only one I can think of was I remember mom talking about going to a political meeting or something and meeting the then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, and of course he became the President of the United States when John Kennedy was assassinated. I don’t know if dad ever meet President Hinckley, but they sure did resemble each other when you looked at them.

When they grew up it was all their families could do to feed their families and putting money out on pets would have been taking food from their children. The animals they had were for their survival, so wouldn’t have been pets. I’m sure they probably had cats and dogs around the farmyard, but I don’t recall any particular ones they talked about. Hopefully some of the others will remember hearing them talk of pets. I do remember dad talking of a dog they had that kept the rats under control and was a better mouser than any cat. The horse ‘Old Floss’ was the only animal I remember mom talking about.

Sorry, not recalling a lot on these at the moment."
-Eileen

"I don't think there were any amusements parks any place they lived.

Trouble when they were growing up?
Probably for dad it would be not getting enough work done. But trouble of a different sort reminds me of the story grandma Vilda told about dad. Dad was as I recall the story about 2 years old or less but he still had a bottle. Grandma had put him down outside and dad has wandered a ways away from her. Grandpa Ezra was moving some cattle and a feisty steer broke away from the herd and ran toward dad. It ran right up to him and stopped and put it's head down to his level and looked at him. There was nothing grandpa or grandma could do. Dad just raised his bottle and smacked the steer on the nose. The steer jumped back giving grandpa time to get between it and dad and pick dad up.

The other story was when dad was old enough that he was doing work for neighbors. But I think he was about 10 or so. Which would mean it probably happened in Wabuska Nevada. Anyway dad had done some work for a neighbor and when he finished the job the neighbor told him his pay would be one of the little piglets he had in the pen with their mother. He told dad that he was to hop in the pen and catch one and take it home with him when he left. As dad was leaving he hoped over the fence and picked out a piglet and caught it. Once he had hold of the piglet it started squealing and the mother sow charged across the pen with it's mouth open. Now for those of you who aren't aware a mad pit is a very formidable adversary and wouldn't be averse to stomping you into the mud and then eating you. Anyway dad saw the sow coming but didn't have time to get to the fence. So he just faced the sow. When she came at him with her big mouth open he would stick the piglet into her mouth. Not wanting to hurt her progeny she would back off. When she backed off dad inched his way toward the fence. Then she would come at him again. Again he would stick the piglet in her mouth. This continued to happen until dad was close enough to the fence that when she backed away the last time he hopped over the fence with the piglet and went home.

Childhood birthdays? They had them obviously but I don't believe they were celebrated like birthdays are today. For dad as soon as the first crop of hay was ready in the spring they started cutting and hauling and stacking hay. They would finish the first crop about July 3, dad's birthday. They would celebrate the 4th of July the next day and then start cutting the next crop of hay on the 5th of July and continue putting up hay until it was to cold to grow. This of course was in addition to there other chores which would be feeding the stock and milking the cows.

I don't know of them meeting any famous people but when dad worked at the temple many of other workers thought he and Gordon B. Hinckley looked a lot alike. So when dad would go to the temple people would tell him they had seen his brother in the temple the other day or last week what ever the case may have been. I don't know that dad ever did meet him face to face.

I think mom may have had some pets but I don't think dad did. But I couldn't tell you anything about them.

As I think about it I don't think I ever paid much attention to mother unless she was telling something about dad. I know very little about mother. Apparently the thing between mother and I started at a very early age and continued the rest of her life."
-Marvin