November 26 – 27, 1981

November 26

Today dawned beautiful and bright.  I made hot rolls (delicious too!), green shrimp salad and a batch of Rice Crispy treats.  Jeannie came down and we went and had dinner with Steve and Jackie and the girls (and John).  It was very delicious and enjoyable.  I really love Jeannie.  She’s so pleasant and even tempered – a real joy to be around.  Steve showed films of when they were growing up. Jeannie really enjoyed them.  The girls came over and stayed tonight.  They had the usual ball playing post office and store.

 Saturday, November 28

Also dawned bright and beautiful.  I was really happy because I had planned on going to Cache Valley for Mildred and Vernal’s Golden Wedding anniversary.  I went up and got there about 3 p.m.  I had a chance to have a visit with them and their family before the open house began.  All their children and their spouses were present plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren.   It was an impressive gathering and one to be very proud of.  Ruth Allen Brunker was there.  It seemed good to be with her again.

November 4-9, 1981

November 4 I relieved the situation a little by attending Pres. Stephens Old Testament class. I can’t help repeating how enjoyable they are. It’s hard to believe the wicked they did but we know it is true if we believe the bible.

November 9 The main event of the week is the trip I took to Cache Valley on Saturday. We all got together to celebrate Lenore’s birthday and all the others from May until October. We really had a glorious get together. I got out to Mildred’s about 3 p.m. I visited with her and Vernal then I went out to Kathy’s to get Kathryn. I was astounded to find out about how bad Kathryn’s eyes are. She can’t hardly see anything at all and someone has to guide her so she won’t stumble. Well, anyway, we had a lovely supper and then a lovely visit after. Vernal, Mildred and I visited together until about midnight. In the morning, I got up had a shower and then walked over to Frank’s for a walk. He and Evan were milking. I saw all the beautiful little calves and cows. I had a chat with them and then walked back to Mildred’s and we had breakfast. We went to church and I sat by Marion and Lenore in Sacrament Meeting. It was so nice to see my cousins, Annette and Myron, Lee and Virginia, and Dora and Preston and lots of old friends. There gets fewer each time I am there.

February/March, 1981

February 28

It’s so nice to have Wanda staying up so long.  She and I went to the wedding reception of Roger Prescott and the Wiggell girl.  That is one of the loveliest weddings I have ever been to.  Jackie went with us also.

 March 1

Sunday again.  I went to all three meetings and Wanda came over to Sacrament Meeting.  In the afternoon Mildred and Vernal came.  They had been to the blessing of their great-grandson.  We had a very enjoyable visit and Steve, Jackie, the girls and John came over to see them.  Jim and Ann (Turner) came up and left Melissa.

August ?, 1980

(The dates for August, 1980 in Grandma’s journal are kind of mixed, up.  That is why I have put the ? for the date.)

I had commissioner’s meeting all day today.  It wasn’t too bad.  Not too many appointments and the comm’s left for part of the time so I was able to catch up a little more.  Tuesday evening Jackie and I went visiting teaching.  We found that Connie Warden has been in the hospital for two weeks and will be there for about two more weeks. I reported this to Tony when I went to visiting teaching meeting Wednesday evening. 

The highlight of the week was taking Lisa and Amy up to Paradise for a vacation.  They hadn’t been on one and so I decided to spend one of my remaining vacation days for that purpose.  We had supper Thursday evening over at the drive-in and came back to Steve and Jackie’s and had home movies, which were very entertaining.  It was fun to see some of the slides, which Harvey took of the boys as they were growing up.  The girls really enjoyed this.  It makes me glad that we took so many slides of the trips we took with the boys as they were growing up.  The girls really enjoyed this.  There’s nothing that will make and evening more enjoyable.

 

We went up to Paradise on Friday and stayed with Mildred and Vernal.  They are just perfect grandparents.  Lisa and Amy just really had a ball.  They played the piano and dressed up in old costumes.  The Price Reunion was held on Saturday at the park behind the old tithing office – a beautiful place which they have recently built.  We had a wonderful time and it was so good to see my cousins and their children and grandchildren.  Mildred and Diane (Parker…Mildred’s daughter) had the history of Edward Jeremiah who is the common ancestor of the Price Family and they had copies for each of us.  It was so good to see Grace, Gladys and Ruth.  The girls met some of the second and third cousins and had a good time.  We left about 3 o’clock for home.  Time passed quickly on the way.  We stopped in Woolworth’s in Ogden for the girls to do some shopping for their mom, dad and Katie.  We got home around 5 and went over to the county fair.  We stayed to part of the rodeo, which the girls seemed to enjoy.  On the way home Lisa said, “I’m glad we’re going home.  I’m tired and I want to get in my bed.”  I felt the same way.  It was a good weekend.

August 4-9, 1980

I had commissioner’s meeting all day today.  It wasn’t too bad.  Not too many appointments and the comm’s left for part of the time so I was able to catch up a little more.  Tuesday evening Jackie and I went visiting teaching.  We found that Connie Warden has been in the hospital for two weeks and will be there for about two more weeks. I reported this to Tony when I went to visiting teaching meeting Wednesday evening. 

The highlight of the week was taking Lisa and Amy up to Paradise for a vacation.  They hadn’t been on one and so I decided to spend one of my remaining vacation days for that purpose.  We had supper Thursday evening over at the drive-in and came back to Steve and Jackie’s and had home movies, which were very entertaining.  It was fun to see some of the slides, which Harvey took of the boys as they were growing up.  The girls really enjoyed this.  It makes me glad that we took so many slides of the trips we took with the boys as they were growing up.  The girls really enjoyed this.  There’s nothing that will make and evening more enjoyable.

 

We went up top Paradise on Friday and stayed with Mildred and Vernal.  They are just perfect grandparents.  Lisa and Amy just really had a ball.  They played the piano and dressed up in old costumes.  The Price Reunion was held on Saturday at the park behind the old tithing office – a beautiful place which they have recently built.  We had a wonderful time and it was so good to see my cousins and their children and grandchildren.  Mildred and Diane (Parker…Mildred’s daughter) had the history of Edward Jeremiah who is the common ancestor of the Price Family and they had copies for each of us.  It was so good to see Grace, Gladys and Ruth.  The girls met some of the second and third cousins and had a good time.  We left about 3 o’clock for home.  Time passed quickly on the way.  We stopped in Woolworth’s in Ogden for the girls to do some shopping for their mom, dad and Katie.  We got home around 5 and went over to the county fair.  We stayed to part of the rodeo, which the girls seemed to enjoy.  On the way home Lisa said, “I’m glad we’re going home.  I’m tired and I want to get in my bed.”  I felt the same way.  It was a good weekend.

(Geneology note:  Mary’s mother was Maud Price Olsen, thus the Price Family reunion.)

(This may or may  not have been the reunion when the cousins taught Amy and I how to drill holes in the bottom of a can of pop, drink the pop, then put it back in the ice chest to fool other people who would be in shock when they opened an empty can of pop!)

July 1980

(I’ve taken a bit of a guess that this picture goes with this story.  This is Grandma Mary with the brother’s and sisters who survived into adulthood.  Left to right:  Mary, Uncle Lloyd Olsen,  Aunt Mildred Norman, Uncle Marion Olsen, and Uncle Frank Olsen, and Aunt Alice Norman.)

I had convinced myself I wouldn’t be able to go to the Olsen Reunion in Paradise on Saturday, but I talked to Mildred and she convinced me that I could. Wanda came up on Friday and in the late evening I got her to go with me to the drive-in and get a drink.  We had a real, old-time visit and surely did enjoy ourselves.  Wanda has not been feeling well lately but she looks so pretty with her blond hair and pretty clothes.  She looks and acts so young for her age.  Well, anyway, I decided to go to Cache Valley and so I left home about one o’clock.  I had gotten up early in the morning and made a lovely big batch of dinner rolls.  I made it to Paradise by 3:00.  There I found two cars of Canadian Olsen’s had arrived: Ada, Ida, Reed, Nora, Johannah, Irvin and Alice, and a number of their daughters.  We went up East Canyon (in Paradise) and had a reunion around the campfire.  There must have been around sixty people present.  We had an organizational meeting and got permanent meeting committee and named four directors: Mildred, Historian, Ada to represent the Canadian Olsens, Jessie Savage to represent the Christopher Olsen family and Alice Norman and Lloyd Olsen to represent the Gideon Olsen Jr. Family.  This gives the whole organization a feeling of permanency and solidarity.  After the business meeting we had a delicious lunch served smorgasbord and what delicious food!  Everything we could ever desire.  My rolls were well received.  After lunch we all enjoyed visiting and getting acquainted.  A group of us got in the back of Marion’s truck and went up to the dam and then farther up.  When Marion pointed out the location of the old mining town of LaPlatte where Grandfather Olsen used to do his logging in the winter and many of the old-timers did mining.  Then we rode down the canyon to the old lyme kiln where Grandfather hid out from the federal authorities when they were living in p0lygamy.  When we got back to the main group, Garth Norman had arranged a program and we had an enjoyable time listening to the reminiscences of the Canadians and of the Olsen as the stories unfolded of days gone by.

I stayed in Paradise all night, also Ada and Johannah.  We had a nice visit again before we went to bed.  I got up early and came home and attended church in Morgan.  From Sunday until Wednesday night I spent every minute preparing to leave on our tour back east.  We had so much to do at work of the things which needed to be done before I left.  Also things to be done at home.  We had to be very selective because we could only take one suitcase and a carry-on on the plane (plus our purse) to pack enough clothes to last for 2 weeks.  It took some planning.  On Monday night Jackie and I went visiting teaching.  Tuesday night I had comm’s meeting.  On Wednesday I went and had my hair done in the morning and on Wednesday night I finished my packing, plus we had to meet for our visiting teaching interviews and then I had a visit from my home teachers but I finally finished my packing in preparation to leave in the morning!

(The account of this trip is written in another journal entitled_____)

 

(She left this blank!  Now I have to search though my boxes and see if I can find this journal!)

March 17, 1980

It’s St. Patrick’s Day today, Pat’s birthday and Jim Turner’s.  I called Pat up and wished him happy birthday.  Lisa and Amy came in this morning chirping like little birds.  Lisa picked out green earrings for me to wear to work – I already had on a green shirt.  Mildred called me before I went to work and said they were planning a family get-together up at Lloyd and Arlyn’s next Saturday at 7:00 p.m. There are so many activities on it’s hard to make a decision as to what to do.  We had a special interest activity planned for that night in Morgan Second Ward.  I decided to let Esther Stephens make my decision for me.  She is the hostess.  She told me my place is with my family so I’ll abide by her advice.  Paradise here I come!

I had some wonderful news tonight.  I called Jackie to see if we could go visiting teaching next week and she told me she is expecting a baby about the middle of Sept.  Isn’t that great?

 

(Note:  Pat = Russell “Pat” Mecham, Grandpa’s brother; Lloyd Olsen was Grandma Mary’s brother; Grandma’s family came from Paradise, Utah in Cache Valley.  The baby was John.)