This is a review of the tribute I gave to you on your 50th wedding anniversary. It is divided into 8 basic areas: travel and holidays, a good neighbour, working, having fun, gentle and loving, value of education, music and spiritual.
Tribute to Mom and Dad
on their 50th Anniversary
This is a review of the tribute I gave to you on your 50th wedding anniversary.
It is divided into 8 basic areas: travel and holidays, a good neighbour, working,
having fun, gentle and loving, value of education, music and spiritual.
TRAVEL AND HOLIDAYS;
One of the things that I remember most, is traveling with our family. There
were many visits to relatives and friends. Many evenings we would pack up the
family and drop in on the neighbours or our relatives. My favorite was the visits
to relatives because they would talk of the old stories. To this day I love
to hear the stories of long ago when mom and dad were little.
Some of the neighbours were: Dean and Joyce Gregson, Russ and Deloise Kearl,
Stewart and Thera Allred, Bill and Ada Blackmore, Keith and Joy Bevans, Reed
and Melva Quinton, Fulton and Marie Bevans, Arden and Mary Draper,
Some of the relatives were: Dennis and Lavon Broadhead, Uncle Vern and Aunt
Thelda, Aunt Elva Beazer, Uncle Glen and Aunt Clarice Broadhead, Uncle Lyndon
and Aunt Ardeth Broadhead, Uncle Ardell and Aunt Alice Leavitt, Uncle Glen and
Aunt Ruth Leavitt, Uncle Ray and Aunt Norma Leavitt, Grandpa Matthew and Grandma
Ella Leavitt, Grandpa Clarence and Grandma Ruby Olsen,
GOOD NEIGHBOURS
Dad and Mom were always good and helpful neighbours. Mom and Dad's philosophy
was that a person was very generous especially with ones neighbours. Many times
we went down to the neighbours to help put up hay or build a fence. Often Mom
would go to help do a quilt or put up fruit. That was just the way it was, you
didn't think twice if your neighbour needed help, you just went and helped.
I have many memories connected with helping neighbours, like drinking some of
Grandma Blackmore's Yarrow Beer. That was the worst tasting stuff I have ever
tasted. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up and I thought
it was going to kill me. All the Blackmores (Emer, Rod and the others) just
stood and laughed and laughed. I think it was one of the puberty rites the Blackmores
had to pass. One time a neighbour used our tractor for something but didn't
offer to do anything or pay anything for it's use, so we got mad at dad because
the neighbours were taking advantage of us. Dad just said," they are neighbours
and you have to put up with a little to keep good neighbours". That was
always dad's philosophy.
WORK
I learned to work from mom and dad. Many mornings when I was very young, I would
wake up to a quiet house and find cold mush on the table and a note that mom
and dad had gone to the field to bale or haul hay or something else. I developed
a taste for cold mush with milk and brown sugar. There was always work to do
on a farm, whether cleaning the barn, milking the cows, fixing fence, feeding
the animals, rounding up the sheep and cows, branding, calving, lambing, gathering
the eggs, hauling hay, and a million other things, or so it seemed to a young
boy. Add to this the work dad did with Dennis Broadhead: stuccoing, drywalling,
gyprocing, painting and general handiwork around the house. Today I still do
drywalling and painting because of my early start.
FUN AND VACATIONS
In all the work dad always managed to find time to take us fishing. We would
be up at the Woodruff field at about 5:00 o'clock pm and it would be a calm
warm evening and we would be baling away. Dad would say, "I bet it would
be beautiful at Police Lake, let's call it a day and go fishing." We would
quit baling and rush home, throw the little green boat in the back of the truck
and tear up to Police lake and go fishing until dark. Somehow the hay got put
up and the work got done but we always carry the memory of the fishing and our
time together. I guess Dad had the philosophy that he was raising boys, not
hay, I'm glad that Mom always supported Dad in taking us boys fishing.
Our family always liked to play games and do jigsaw puzzles. Some of our favorite
games were Racko, Monopoly, Old Maid, Trouble, Mouse Trap, Crokinole, Life,
Checkers, Chinese checkers, and many others. It seemed that we would always
get a game for Christmas.
We also managed to find time to go on holidays. All the family would load up
the camper and away we would go for a weekend. Often we camped up at Police
or Mami(Payne) Lakes and went fishing and playing.(remember the time they drained
Mami Lake (Payne) and we walked out to the island and picked lures of the trees?)
One time the Leavitt family camped on the island at Police Lake for a week.
Most of the trips were close by but we did go to Salt Lake to see Uncle Lyndon
and Aunt Ardeth Broadhead and swim in their pool. We also went to Marshall's
Lake resort in Washington. The last family vacation we went on with everyone
was the trip to Vancouver and Victoria. I loved going on the ferry and seeing
the seagull bomb LaRae on her nice new sweater. I have many wonderful memories
of traveling, camping, and playing with my family.
GENTLE AND LOVING
I think I grew up in my "home on the range" because I never heard
Mom or Dad say a discouraging word to each other. Dad always told us and mom
that he loved us. To me it made all the difference. I knew when I went away
from home that I was loved and supported and didn't need to look for acceptance
from any other source. I always saw mom and dad share in the fun and the work
together outside and inside the house. We were always treated with kindness
and gentleness through our whole growing up years. I remember talking to a group
of kids in a poor section of town in England. One boy asked me if my mom had
ever tried to run away from home. I was stunned that a mother and wife would
ever think about it. I was always grateful that my mom and dad had such a good
relationship. Only a few exceptions to the above happened when the boys would
get carried away and a good hit on the backside would get our attention.
When I think of mom and dad I think of the word "gentle". I suppose
the one exception to that was that dad was known to run over gophers and rabbits.
I can still hear him say to the driver, "get it, get it, get it".
EDUCATION
Education was always highly valued in our home. Dad drove the school bus for
years so we always got to school. Even though neither of our parents completed
high school, we were always expected to work hard and do our best in school.
We were always encouraged to go on to further studies and were supported morally
and financially. Our house was always full of books and magazines, World Book
other reference books and novels, a great deal of time was spent reading. My
favorite trick was to have to go into the house to the bathroom while we were
our working in the barn. Many times dad would have to come find me because I
would be reading and conveniently forget the time. I thank our parents for the
love of and ability to read.
MUSIC
How our family loves music of all kinds especially the old tunes of the 20's,
30's and 40's. Many nights I went to sleep to the sound of Uncle Glen Broadhead
playing the piano, Lyndon Broadhead on the saxophone, Dad on the drums, Ray
Broadhead, Dennis Broadhead, Scott Beazer, Uncle Ervin Olsen, and others, singing,
playing guitar, sometime a trumpet or occasionally an accordion. What a way
to drift off to sleep. Often as Uncle Glen would pound on the piano it would
sound like it was coming through the floor. All the old songs like: Ma She's
Making Eyes At Me, Five Foot Two, Home on the Range, Blue Heaven, It's Only
A Shanty, KKK-Katey, Moonlight Bay, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, When the Red
Red Robin, I Love You Truly, and hundreds more. Mom could play them all by ear
with only the help of a card with all the titles written down. We would point
to one and say play that one and she would start and dad would join in with
song and the guitar. Many fun nights were spent with just our family singing
around the piano. The love of music and dancing was instilled from an early
age and continues to this day.
SPIRITUALITY
Perhaps the most important part of our family life was the commitment to the
gospel of Jesus Christ. Always being active members of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints gave our family a direction and foundation for our lives.
Mom and dad always took us to church and to other church activities. There was
never a question of whether we would go or not, it was just expected that we
would. I don't ever remember mom or dad holding a high profile church job or
getting the glory for their work but they always went and took part. It makes
it hard for me to understand when people are upset and sometimes leave the church
because they don't get the glory jobs. Dad would always talk to us and other
people about the church. I don't know how many people joined the church because
of him but many heard about it. Dad always had a love of the Book of Mormon
and talked about it and shared stories from that sacred record. I loved to watch
mom in fast and testimony meeting because she would always cry as people bore
their testimony. Mom was always involved in playing the piano or organ or teaching.
Our family always had family prayer and family home evening. Sometimes we would
take out our big family scripture set and read the scriptures. Mom and dad would
always go to the temple every week when we were young and gave us a real desire
to go when we were older. I will always be grateful to mom and dad for their
commitment and dedication to the gospel. As their children we are trying to
pass on this heritage to our children.
There is much more that I could say in tribute and honor but suffice it to say
that we love you mom and dad and wish you a long and happy life.
Thaine
December 29, 1994.