A CONVERGENCE IN CALIFORNIA

Dear Family,

We had a great few days in California. Doug's wife and girls went to Portland to be with her family so Doug decided he should take his boys, Douglas, Nate, Spence and Tom and visit Rick and Gemina on their farm in the foothills of the Sierras. Mom and I were invited and when Bryan heard about it he booked a ticket for himself and Scotty. Bina and Scott heard about it as well and came up from Herrit where Scott is in Dental school. So there were about 15 of us who descended on Rick and Gemina.

Doug drove his new van and we left Wednesday night and got as far as Las Vegas where we overniughted in a hotel. We got up early and traveled to California via Bakersfield to Rick's mountain hideaway.

I had never driven this route and it was interesting to drive through the San Joaquin valley past miles and miles of orange and other citrus groves. Miles of vineyards, fruit orchards, olive groves, were all an impressive sight. There were these little cities of Mexicans who were the pickers and workers in these orchards. there were tons of honey bee supers on the edges of many fields. It was most impressive.

Rick's place is in the hills and the farm was a former tree farm where you could buy your Xmas tree. We drove up this hill and it reminded me of Tennessee and I fully expected to see a couple of guys playing Dueling Banjos. We got to the end of the road and there was Rick and his farm. It has a 100 year old two story log house that he is renovating. there were many other well kept buildings and a roaring stream that ran through the center of the property. There was a fire next to the stream and as I sat there I thought I was in Heaven, I was back in the woods again!

Doug brought the family tent and put it up. This tent is 40 years old and was used in Maine when we lived In Boston. This was the tent we used on our vacations on remote lakes in Maine. It brought a blast of memories, We had anywhere from eight to 12 kids in that tent and usually several in diapers, Mom was such a great sport during that time. Everyone remembered the family trips and sleeping in this tent which appeared much larger when they were younger. It is 12 by 10 feet and Doug and his boys slept in the tent.

So here we are, 40 years later with a second generation of campers.

We cooked on the fire, Doug brought his Dutch ovens and he cooked ribs, Cinnamon rolls, and brownies in the Dutch oven. We cooked steaks over the coals and breakfast was eggs, bacon and pancakes cooked over the hardwood coals. It was the best.

Rick has always had an interest in cutting wood. When he came to Munich and we visited the Fischen und Jagen show, he was fascinated with the tools of the Forester, the professional woodsmen who tend to the forests of Europe. Now Rick has become a Forester on his tree farm clearing the woods of fallen trees.

Here he is sharpening one of his chain saws as we attack a huge fallen Cypress tree. This tree was about 3 feet across at the base and at least a 100 feet long. Rick cut the tree into two foot slices and Bryan and Doug and I split the sections with a log splitter. We did this for two days.

I thought it was a funny scene. Here we had a partner in a large Beverly Hills law firm (Rick) a vascular surgeon (Doug) and the president of a secussful information technology firm (Bryan) and of course the old Dad (me) acting like a scene out of Axmen lacking only the Fu Manchu moustaches. It was so fun and invigorating.

Doug and the boys also cleared the trails of much brush. Here is the result of much work. This is the hardwood pile and will keep the house warm for a long time.

We also had the shooting chore after all the work was done. The gang went to the Sequoia national park and when they came back. more cooking over the coals.

We drove back the next day.. 858 miles but it was a trip much enjoyed.

We now are getting ready for General Conference and look forward to our Missionary Reunion.

Love, Dad

VISIT IN VIRGINIA

Dear Family,

We were invited to visit our friends, Larry and Madeline Manwaring in Virginia. He was Mission President in Frankfurt during the time we were in Munich. He is a retired ENT surgeon who grew up in Virginia.

They built this beautiful home in Warrenton. County code called for 10 acre house lots. The neighboring county required 25 acre building lots.

This is a most beautiful part of Virginia. Rolling hills, manicured meadows, temperate climate and simply peaceful. Their family has a 1100 acre farm 1/2 hour away in a gorgeous countryside with the Blue ridge mountains om the horizon. This is open hunt country and there are groups that dress up and ride to hounds chasing the elusive fox which abound in these parts. We drove past Civil War battlefields and saw the local cemetery with special markers for the confederate sons of Virginia who fell in those battles.

We share similar tastes and hobbies but Larry has perfected them. He is an avid horseman and has Tennessee Walkers at his home. He is also an avid bird hunter and trains bird hunting dogs. He has a coop full of chuckers that are then released for sport. He also entertains large hunting groups on his acreage. Here is a shot of Larry with two of his Brittany Spaniels which I thought were superb hunting dogs. These dogs range and when they scent the bird, get close and freeze on a point, There were three dogs; the first would freeze; the other two would quietly sneak up and "honor" the first dogs point. They did not flush the bird.

I used John Deere Gator to get around and it was great to be able to pull right up to the birds, get out and make the shot. They did not spook. Larry is a crack shot and was excellent backup.

Here is the first days bag/ We dressed them out and cooked them for supper.

Here is Larry who is also an accomplished chef, preparing the game birds for supper.

The next day, three other hunters came for another hunt. Larry's son, a retired Colonel, a retired Admiral who was a Naval Aviator. These were all great shots as well. The two retired military men are what one might call spazz bird hunters who travel the globe on wing shoots. They go on plantation hunts, hunt from horseback, go to Argentina and shoot thousands of doves which are a pest there. They were crack shots and when they hit a bird, it was hit with the center of the shot pattern. They were great guys and we had a good time watching the dogs work and covering more of the farm up hill and dale.

We had the best time with Larry and Madeline. While we were out hunting. Mary helped Madeline prepare for her Sunday Relief Society lesson. We spent hours just chatting and discussing missionary work then and now.

It was the best vacation and how wonderful it is to meet such great people everywhere through our church connections.

Next week it is off to Rick's farm in Northern California.

Love, Dad

FIRESIDES GALORE

It seems like we are always meeting or are in meetings. There is not meeting that cannot be attended and there is no meeting that seems to be unnecessary.

We had Stake Conference this weekend so there were several meetings but in addition, it was our turn to host a Missionary Fireside of an older Swiss-Austrian missionary group. These were missionaries that I picked up at the Basel Bahnhof in 1958 and helped them on their way. They have been meeting for the last 50 years come rain or shine and it was our turn to host them. This is a very successful group many of whom returned to serve as mission presidents in various parts of Europe.

The deal is when it is your turn, you provide the house, refreshments and line up a speaker. We invited someone in our ward to speak, Patriarch Eldred G. Smith and his wife Hortense. They give an unusual fireside but I did not know they have stopped doing this. They agreed to come and meet with our group.

Patriarch Smith is a direct descendant of Hyrum Smith, is the Emeritus Patriarch to the church and is 102 years old. He has kept several possessions of Hyrum Smith in their family over the years. Sister Smith spoke of Joseph and Hyrum and their martyrdom. She displayed the clothes Hyrum wore when he and Joseph were assassinated in the Carthage jail. There was his blood stained shirt, vest and trousers. I thought the shirt was a 3xl size, Hyrum was six foot three inches tall. She showed the bullet holes in the various pieces of clothing. It was amazing to actually see this in our home.

Elder Smith spoke of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and added some unusual details. He has the wooden laptop writing desk that belonged to Alvin Smith. Joseph Smith used this portable desk to carry the plates and the other things used in the translation. Alvin's name was carved in the edge of the desk. It was used as a box and easily fit those sacred contents. One received a good idea of the size of the plates which were 7 by 8 inches and six inches deep including the rings that bound them together. He explained the Breastplate and gave an indication of its size and purpose. It was most fascinating. At the martyrdom, these articles were gathered by Hyrum's second wife. (first one died in Kirtland giving birth and is buried there) Mary Fielding Smith, who went west with the church. It brought the reality of these momentous events to our vivid understanding.

Here is Emily looking at the box (turned on its side) that carried the plates, Patriarch Smith, 102 years old, Douglas and Mike. Other things were Lucy Mack Smith's footstool that you can see on the table. There were also two pocket watches that belonged to Hyrum. One was shattered by a bullet in the Carhtage jail.

It was a powerful and sweet fireside,

Love, Dad

SHAKESPEARE IN MAPELTON

Natalie, our granddaughter in Mapelton, starred in a Junior High School production of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night Dream. She of course was the Queen of the Fairies. Here she is with Joseph, her younger brother who played the little Indian boy. She is surrounded by her Fairy entourage.

Natalie is really a drama queen who is a little shy normally but on stage, look out! She was graceful, poised and simply charming but then I am a bit biased.

We drove five grandchildren down to see her in this production and we all had a good time at Emily and John's house before going to the play.

We are in the dessert or die Nachspiese phase of our life when we have time to see our grandchildren grow, develop, and blossom. What a blessing,

Love, Dad

ANOTHER MISSIONARY VIDEO

We are planning our missionary reunion for April 10, and will have it in out home. the numbers are getting smaller as the missionaries marry or finish school at the "Y" or the "U" and move on to other graduate schools or find employment out of the state.

It has been great to watch their progress. We cannot keep track of everyone but when we bump into them or hear from them through email or even better on Facebook; it is so fun to keep up the contact. I signed up for Facebook a year ago and found a bunch of our former missionaries. They are the bulk of our 350 Friends.

I belong to two missionary groups; one is from my era a long time ago before anyone really reckoned time. That group has been meeting apart from the reunions for the last 51 years. The other night we went to the Hale Theater which is a Theater in the round and watched a local adaptation of Phantom of the Opera. We went with VL Kesler and Dave Wirthlin and wives.

We all worked together in Austria years ago. VL was the District President in Graz and Dave was the District President of Vienna and I was the Traveler. VL was the one who taught Br. Brandl whom I met again wen we were back over there. Dave and Ann were the ones who lined up Mom and me on our first blind date.

I thought it remarkable as we stretched in intermission; here were three old Austrian Missionaries still hanging out together and had lives that were later intertwined. When we were there, President Uchtdorf was also there and came down and chatted with us.

By popular demand (my son John wanted to hear Erin Swenson in solo) I will include another musical video of then Erin Swenson, (now Hatch) performing on her old Viennese violin in one of our Vienna chapels. Daniel Gledhill is on the piano.

COVERING THE BASES ON SUNDAY

Dear Family,

We had a great Sunday but did a little hustling.

We drove to Bountiful to attend church where a former Sister Missionary, now Elizabeth Newren Egburt was having her new baby blessed.

We got there a half hour early and called Cathy who lived a mile and a half away so we dashed over there. It took longer but we did have exactly a four minute visit. That was enough to greet Pete and little Philip, smile at little Lily, hug Cathy, and meet their new dog which is a cross between a Pug and a Pekinese, (Which should be against all breedng and cloning rules). It was a four minute visit and Cathy was a good sport.

We went to this Bountiful ward which was large and watched the baby blessing. Here is a picture of Jared, Liza and little Caleb. She had a challenging pregnancy, a difficult delivery and we saw the baby in the hospital born prematurely. The baby weighed under five poundsand and had a low Apgar rating. He spent some time in the newborn intensive care unit.

The little guy rallied, went home,did well on nursing, and now is over nine pounds and can turn himself over. This is a picture of joy and happiness and gratitude for the blessings of Heaven.

The smile of joyous Motherhood is universal. Here is a picture of Mom at her first Mother's day Sunday in Cambridge, Mass., holding, Roy 48 years ago'

We then traveled to our home ward for Fast Meeting. It was a great meeting as well, with one General Authority who resides in the ward, an Area Seventy, a Stake President and so many others in attendance. We sat there with Al and Paul and our six grandkids with Maryanna on my lap, little Henry LeRoy on Mom's lap and the others spread over two rows. Our Elder Lawrence's younger brother was leaving for a mission to Fiji. His two older brothers served in Munich.

Then it was over to Cheryl and Paul's and their eight kids who are all in full steam and energy. We had a great meal and a family night that included a lesson, comment, piano recitals and prayers. It was a full Sunday.

I should mention that Saturday night we went to another Jazz game at the Energy Solutions arena. President Monson was there with his brother and grandson. We chatted about the Jospeh Smith Papers project and he mentioned that he had read the complete book which is an accomplishment. I got hung up in the introduction but will push ahead.

At one point two of the Jazz Dancers came up to the box in their little sequined outfits and shook hands with President Monson and gave his family souvenirs. He was most gracious and asked their names and chatted with them

It was another great weekend

love, Dad

Dinner at Paul and Cheryl's