August 14, 15, 16, 1981

I worked until the time to go and get my hair done and then I picked Jamie and Macy up to come down and play and sleep overnight.  We came down and picked up the lunch and the rest of the kids along with Wanda and Melissa.  We all went over to Riverside Park and had a picnic and the girls had a ball playing.  We came home and the girls got their sleeping bags rolled out on the living room floor.  By that time it was about 9:30 p.m. so I laid down and had a little snooze.  When I woke up around 10:30 they were still up having a late night snack.  Then they settled down and I didn’t hear anymore until the next morning.  I got up and fixed their breakfast.  We all went outside and mowed and watered the lawn.  They had a picnic lunch out under the tree on the lawn.  In the afternoon the five –Lisa, Amy, Katie, Macy and Jamie and Melissa, JoDee and Christine (Randall) and Cheney and Travis Allen were swimming in the irrigation ditch, first on Olga Hannum’s lawn, then on Nell Allen’s.  They played all afternoon riding their bikes, etc. until 5 o’clock and then I had to take Macy and Jamie home.  Macy was really unhappy and I had to do some tall talking to get her to go.  Needless to say, I had a rather strenuous time and was glad to go to bed but in the night I got really sick at my stomach and I went in the bathroom and lost all the corn and apples I had eaten for supper, but I felt better and I was able to get up and go to my meetings today.  I went to Steve and Jackie’s for dinner and later they took me for a ride up around East Canyon Dam then over into Henefer and into Coalville.  I hadn’t been up there for a long time and it was very, very enjoyable.  I spent some time this evening preparing for the Cultural Refinement lesson on Indonesia and Singapore for next week.

August 12-13, 1981

August 12

I got invited up to Ken’s and Jeanie’s for supper tonight.  Macy and Jamie were there and we had a delicious supper – corn on the cob, string beans, pork roast, mashed potatoes and gravy.  Jeanie had taken the little girls down and bought them new clothes and they were beautiful.  They seemed to have a good relationship with each other.  I am so thankful and I hope that things will turn out to be good for them.  We must n ever give up hope that they will.  Heaven bless us all. 

August 13

I am looking back and trying to remember what I did on Thursday.  I know they girls were here in the evening for a while because I tried to get ready for the weekend – if such a thing is possible.  Also I froze raspberries.

August 31, 1981

 

Commissioners meeting all day today.  Nothing of a very sensational nature happened but just a little bit of everything.  On Wednesday the fair began and there was activity all over the courthouse and the park and the county.  They had some outstanding events and the first one that I saw was the parade on Saturday morning.  It was headed by Connie and Bernie Nance and was without a doubt the finest parade I’ve ever seen in Morgan Co.  Most people agreed to that.  Then tonight Wanda & Melissa, Jackie, John & Katie went over to the fair.  We took in all the exhibits and then Jackie started looking for Lisa and Amy but she couldn’t’ find them.  She finally ran across Joy Randall who told her that Lisa and Amy had insisted that they had to be home at 5:00 p.m. so she brought them home.  Jackie was pretty upset with them and I would have been too.  I bought Kate a balloon and she let it go.  The clown gave her another one and she let that one go too.  Then I bought her another and tied it to her wrist.  She got along OK until she got home and she was going to tie it to the handle bar of her big wheels and she let that one go too.  She really cried but we all have to learn.  We thought it was fun though.  It reminded Wanda and I when we took Janet, Robert and Susan over to the fair and Harvey had their pictures taken in some coolie hats that he bought for them.  I believe we’ve still got some pictures.  Memories are wonderful things to have to look back on especially when the future and the present aren’t too pleasant to think on then again I guess it’s just what we make it.  No matter what type of experiences we have it’s what we learn from them that are important.

March 2, 1981

This morning as I woke up I thought back to the day when I was born.  I wondered what time of day it was and what day of the week and what kind of a time my mother had.  It was commissioner’s meeting and a very busy one.  This afternoon that sneaky Janis Widdison and Betty Green came in with a birthday cake at 3 o’clock and they all same “Happy Birthday” to me.  Betty Green said it sounded so great that they should organize a courthouse choir.  Then tonight I went over to Steve and Jackie’s for supper and after that, Lynn, Deloy and family came up and we had ice cream and Jackie had made a beautiful birthday cake for me.  Also Wanda and Melissa came over.  This made a lovely ending to my sixty-fourth birthday.

The remainder of the week was taken up with going to work, coming home.  I went down to Dr. Tanner on Wednesday.  He looked at my back and was very pleased with the way it is healing.  Bette Mecham went down with me and drove the car for me.  I thought that this was really sweet of her.  In spite of the fact that she and Spike are separated she remains one of my best friends.  She is one of the most sincere persons I have ever met.  I believe I could ask her for anything and he would do it for me and that is saying a lot in this day and age.

Saturday evening I stayed with the girls while Steve and Jackie went to Stake Conference.  Brother LeGrande Richards was present and announced that the next day they were going to divide the stake.

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.

October 31, 1980

Halloween was a fun night although, as usual, I had overindulged in buying candy and then I ate it, and put on weight which I immediately have to take off again.  Saturday I spent most of the day getting ready for Sunday and Monday and Tuesday.  Sunday, Steve blessed John Steven and did a very good job too.  Wanda was up and had made Katie a sweet little red and white checked dress for the blessing.  Jackie bought a new dress for Amy and Lisa also.  Mavis and Vickie and her family came up.  Deloy, Lynn and their family were here and Deloy helped Steve bless the baby.  They were the only ones.  I wished Steve would include more – at least a member of the bishopric.  They all came over to my place for dinner afterward and we really had a delicious dinner.  Ham, turkey with all the trimmings and then Jackie had made such a neat Raggedy Andy birthday cake for Amy.  It was Amy’s birthday on Monday so we celebrated that too.  Being Ken’s birthday I wanted him and Rex to come down but they both had to work.

 

Well Dear Diary, we’ve completed our first 100 pages of this journal.  Congratulations!

September 15-16, 1980

Monday September 15

Blue Monday is a good way to describe Mondays and it was all day but the evening was nice.  I went over to Steve and Jackie’s and the girls came over for a few minutes and I gave them some treats to take home. Then I called Wanda to talk to her.  I also started mowing my lawn.

Tuesday

We had the canvas of ballots yesterday and it didn’t change anything. Commissioner’s meeting was tonight.  City Council met with the commissioners.  Some of the important issues to discuss were ambulance service, fire department and health aid secretary.  Cindy Coffer, reporter for the Standard Examiner was present at the meeting.  An article came out in the paper several days later devoted to the subject of Nurses’ Aid Secretary.  Thos created quite a controversy around the courthouse.  It seems like there’s always something to keep things stirred up.  Like Grandpa used to say about S__T: the more you stir it up the more it stinks.  Homely advice, but true.

A Journal Prompt Idea: How did you meet your spouse?

I am 2 days late!  In one of Grandma’s journals, she has written a lot of her past memories.  One of those journals includes the story of how she met Grandpa.  Their wedding anniversary (according to my records) was February 25.  So I started to transcribe her story today and found out that my records were wrong: their anniversary was February 23, 1943.  This journal of hers is different from the others because it is not about her daily life.  It is full of her memories, like when they decided to go on a mission, her life before marriage, etc.  As I have been working on this, I thought it might give everyone else some ideas for starting a journal.  Maybe you think your life is boring, but your grandchildren will enjoy reading your story.  So today, after you read this story, go write your own!  Type it up and print it out, or write it in a notebook. 

How We Met (recorded July 2, 1978)

 

This evening I was over to Steven’s.  He asked me how Harvey and I met.  I related the circumstances of our first meeting and the events which led to our engagement and eventual marriage in February, 1943 on the 23^rd day, he asked me if I had written it down so here goes.

 

Irene James, a cousin, and I were in Cache valley for the weekend.  I was working at that time as a secretary in the District Health Office in Ogden.  Irene was working at the American Canning Factory at the time and we were living at that time with our Aunt Jane Obray on 1925 Grant Ave.  Irene’s fiancé, Russel Maughn from North Logan and Harvey had also come up (to Paradise) for the weekend.  At that time, Harvey was driving a low-slung yellow Oldsmobile convertible.  Irene and I were planning on going to Hyrum to catch the bus back to Ogden.  Early in the afternoon they came by and asked if I’d like to ride back with them.  They didn’t have to ask me twice.  I said to my mother “come and get a load of this car!”  We rode back to Ogden, and then they asked if we’d like to ride up to Morgan.   Harvey wanted to leave his dirty clothes and pick up his clean ones.  We accepted the invitation and this began a series of events that led to one of the greatest episodes of my life up to that time.  This was in the later part of August in 1942.

 

 When we first became acquainted Harvey had acquired the smoking habit.  Ordinarily I wouldn’t have given him a second glance, but there was something about his personality that seemed to reach out to me and we hit it off beautifully.  As we continued to date, we found we had many things in common.  One was our mutual love of horses.  That was one of the first loves of my life.  I could never remember a time when I didn’t ride horses.  I t must have been a things which my brothers and I inherited from our gather.  My sisters, Alice and Mildred, never seemed too enthusiastic but my other sister, Winona, who died when she was 198, had this same love the same as I did.  All my brothers, especially Gideon and Lloyd, inherited this same madness and believe me, when you’ve got it, it never leaves you.

 

I came up to Morgan one Sunday with Harvey and we went horseback riding.  I rode a little bay mare called Penny.  She was to the Mecham Family what Old Barney was to the Olsen’s.  This was the first time I had met Harvey’s folks and it was almost love at first sight when I met and talked to them.  Harvey’s father asked me all about my folks and my work while his mother fixed food for us to eat.  Grandma told me later on that she would much rather cook a meal than entertain people and that was a practice she followed as long as I knew her.  As time progressed our interest in one another deepened however, Harvey continued his smoking habit.  I knew that to continue on would just make it harder to break it off so I told him one night that I felt that we should not see each other so much because I didn’t intend to be married any way except in the temple and I knew he could never make it unless he stopped his bad habits.  He didn’t say anything but we made a date to go down to Salt Lake and meet his sister Wanda and her family.  On the way down he told me he had quit smoking.  Russel had made a big production a week or so before in front of Irene and myself of throwing away his cigarettes.  Then as soon as they left us, he bought a package and lighted one up and continued to smoke.  This (Harvey’s vow to quit smoking) made me very happy because by this time I was truly in love with him.  We continued our courtship and at Thanksgiving time Harvey presented me with a beautiful diamond engagement ring.  Of course we were outrageously happy (as Charlie Brown would say.)  Although we had actually known each other for a short time, we felt we had known each other forever.  We always felt that our marriage must have been planned in Heaven.  At Christmas time we went up to Paradise and celebrated with my folks and at that time Harvey gave me a watch to match my ring.

 

The next step was to find an apartment as we had set the date for our marriage on Feb 23, 1943.  We finally located one on 26^th Street on the third floor in Ogden.  It was small but nice – very adequate for 2 people.  The ensuing weeks were very busy ones.  We obtained our license in Weber County for Laurence Malan Clerk.  I took the week off before our wedding and went up to Paradise to prepare as we were going to be married in the Logan Temple. My mother and sisters entertained for me the day before with a trousseau tea, which was the customary thing at that time.  Harvey came up that evening so we could be together to go over to the temple the next morning.  Although mother couldn’t’ go to the temple with us, she got up and cooked breakfast for us.  Harvey’s folks and Harry and Lena Giles came up to Logan to go through with us.  Brother Giles was Bishop of Milton Ward at that time.  My folks were there just about 100%.  We were the first ones of Grandpa and Grandma’s family of children to go through the temple.  After we had been through the endowment ordinance we went into the sealing room.  This beautiful ceremony will be engraved on my mind forever.  As we knelt at the alter, we exchanged the marriage vows, the words “for time and all eternity” have stayed with me all these years.  Harvey seemed to be the one I’d been waiting for all these years.  We bother had a strong conviction that our marriage was ordained in Heaven.  It more than likely was.   After our marriage, my family entertained at a wedding dinner for us.  It was really special.

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!)

May 1980

Aunt Wanda, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Mecham

Earl Robinson dropped over dead while he was out working in his garden.  Lloyd Noyes drove by and saw him and stopped thinking he might have hurt himself but he’d died of a heart attack.  Here today and gone tomorrow that’s the way it goes.  The thing to do is to live every day like it is your last one on Earth.  As I sit here writing in my diary I am thinking, “I wonder how much longer I’ve got to live.”  I can see lots of reasons why I should live.  So my grandchildren can have a grandma – that’s an experience no one should miss.  I try to be the kind of grandmother that mine were to me.  I dearly wish I could have had a little of the wisdom I have now when the boys were growing up.  I would have made a much better mother.  It might not have made any difference to them, but I surely would have felt a lot better about it.  The only think I can do is try and make up to them in the years that I have left to me the things I did wrong when I thought I was doing right.  I realize no one is perfect but it would sure help to be a little more wise when it comes to organizing our lives so we can hit the “bull’s eye” a little closer than we do. 

This morning is Saturday.  Larene Preece and I went to Ogden and did 3 endowments each.  We surely had an enjoyable time.  The names I had were Marie (can’t remember how to spell it) and Appolina and Maria Kl*ein.  President and Sister Raymond Larsen went through the last session with us.  Larene and I really enjoy going together because no one else wants to go through that many sessions.  I spent the afternoon doing small cleanup jobs around the house. 

 

Sunday morning: I spent the whole morning reading in preparation for Relief Society lesson which I give next Sunday on Indonesia.  I know one thing, I surely know a lot more about Greece, Iran and Indonesia that I did.  I enjoy these peaceful Sunday Mornings, which allow time for uninterrupted study and preparation.  I use the remainder of the day after church to write letters, write in my journal, etc.  It’s very worthwhile and I’m sure they know what they are doing.

 

May 18-26

 

Sunday was the 18^th and I’ve already written the happenings that day so I’ll begin on Monday May 19.  (I’m actually writing on Sunday May 25)  In looking back over the week’s activities I don’t recall anything very big transpiring. Tuesday night was comm’s meeting – had a full evening’s schedule and got home at 12:35.  From 8:00 that morning that makes a long day but that’s the way it goes.  Wed. evening was our stake Relief Society leadership meeting.  They one main point which they stressed is the time element.  Sometimes I feel that they are overemphasizing it.  It seems like we are running a race with time instead of giving a lesson.  I’m sure though that we’ll learn to coordinate our time until we are able to do it the way it was intended to be done. 

 

After two attempts the previous Fridays the High Priests finally made it h ere on Friday evening to do some welfare projects for me.  They weather rained them out before and it just about did this time also but they came in spite of the drizzle and the chilly wind.   They sawed down some Box Elder suckers and fixed my clotheslines.  Then on the 26^th (Memorial Day) morning I looked down in my strawberry patch and there was the whole Morgan family pulling weeds.  That’s what I called a service of love.  This new program is really uniting families.

 

Wanda came up Thursday 22^nd and she stayed until today the 26^th.  We surely enjoyed her visit.  She and I had several good chats like we used to have when she stayed over here when Grandpa and Grandma were alive.  I hated to see her go back and I think she hated to go back.

 

Memorial Day (26^th) was a beautiful day but cold.  Steven, the girls and myself took the flowers up about 8:30 Monday morning.  The country looked beautiful – everything is so green – clear back to the snow.  I didn’t go to Cache Valley because of the gas situation and the Olsen reunion is scheduled for July 5^th and I hope to get up them