A GATHERING PLACE

Our home on Sherwood Drive has become a little Mecca for family and friends. It is a gathering place and there is action alsmost every week. This was Sunday Dinner with Douglas and his family. It was specai because Bry, Scotty and Heidi were here for the Big Guys camping trip to the Unitah mountais. And it was Heidi's 11th birthday that we were celebrating.

But others began to arrive. Cheryl and Paul arrived with seven of their children (We were baby-sitting Jonathan) from their trip to the Lake Powell and at the exact moment when dessert was served, Al and Paul with their six kids arrived from their trip to the Arches in the same moment. It was like old times and their were kids everywhere. It was family fun again!


Our home is also visited by former young Missionaries and friends from Europe/ Here is a picture of a small gathering to celebrate the visit of our Swiss Missionary, Michael Schluchter who was in town for business. Here are the former mission pals, Jake Gertsen, Tom Miller, Brett Martingale, Jordan Backman, their former President, and Michale Schluchter.

All are doing well; Michael is married with two kids and Brett is married and on his way to med School at Ohio State. I never tire of seeing these men and hearing of their exploits. We were awash with memories.

Here is another great visit from Vienna. Ernst Husz and his wife and daughter and friends came from Vienna. (Wien V Gemeinde) They dropped by one night and I asked if they had had some good old western food like barbecued steak. They had not so they came up to the house after a visit to the Temple and I put on some special New York Sirloin steaks. The deal was we would provide the steaks and they would bring the homemde Apfelstrudel. It was a great trade.

Sister Husz has made a miraculous come back from surgery for carcinoma that was spread. It was wonderful to see our old friends and my former counselor here again.

Well the Fourth of July is coming and we will go to a second gathering place, our little farm at Bear Lake, where more families will visit and get together for the Fourth.

See you there, love, Opa

REMEMBERING FATHERS:LE ROY ALVIN WIRTHLIN

Dear Family

We had a great Father's Day yesterday with the phones ringing, many coming to the house. My granddaughter, Maryanna Fredenberg, capped it by coming up and saying she had a clean face and clean hands and wanted to hug and kiss me on Father's Day.

My thoughts turned to my own father, your grandfather, Le Roy Alvin Wirthlin, whom most of you never met or even saw. He was always my hero growing up. He was a collegiate athlete starring in track and football. He was on the University of Utah football team that won its first conference championship. He went to med school and transferred back to graduate from Harvard Medical school in 1928. He trained in general surgery at a prestigious New York Hospital, the Lenox Hill hospital.

He interrupted his training to serve a eight month proselyting mission "without purse of script" in the backwoods of New Jersey. That meant he had no apartment or finances and he and his missionary companion traded gospel messages for food and a place to sleep. They had success.

He finished his surgical training and started a practice in New York and married my Mom. From the time I was old enough to carry his medical bag, I knew I wanted to be a doctor and I wanted to be like him. He also had many callings and served in the Church as a Patriarch and on the General Welfare Committee in the days they travelled around to stake conferences. He was just a good man!

When I went back to Harvard Medical School, I was interviewed by a psychiatrist... I believe this was routine for all new med students. The Psychiatrist asked me a lot about my parents whom I enthusiastically described. At the end of the interview he observed, "You really identify with your Father". I asked, "Is there anyone better that I should identify with?" and that stopped the discussion cold. So we remember Father's and Grandfathers on this day we honor those remarkable men in our lives.

Alles Gute, Dad

REMEMBERING FATHERS; GREAT GRANDFATHER LEOPOLD WIRTHLIN

Dear Family,

As we remember Fathers, my thoughts went back to my great grand father, Leopold Wirthlin. Here is his p[icture.

I had written a blog about my great grandfather's baptism. but did not tell more of the story. In those days, when you were baptized it also meant that you packed up and came to Utah Ths was about 1863.

He and Anna Hirschi combined funds, bought passage to America, dodged Civil War conflicts as they made their way to cross the plains. They went with a covered wagon company to Salt Lake. They essentially walked across the plains. They married in Salt Lake and began their family. Leopold found work in the granite quarries bringing the huge blocks for the construction of the Salt Lake Temple.

They had several children and then one day Leopold went to Conference and President Brigham Young got up and read the list of new missionaries and Leopold was called to return to Switzerland. There were no interviews and in those days if you had been a pioneer, left your homeland and made your way to the West, you were ok to go back.

Leopold left his young family and filled a 18 month mission in Switzerland. He had some sucess as was reported in the Desert News on his return, He was a man of faith and conviction. I received the follwoing note on Facebook from someone who had found my blog post. On this Father's Day, I feel connected to my Great Grandfather Leopold Wirthlin.

"Bro. Wirthlin, I was surfing the net and found your post on your blog, about your great grandfather Leopold Wirthlin.He baptized my Great Great Grandparents Michael and Elizabeth Knutti in Därstetten, Bern, Switzerland in 1877. They emigrated and settled in the Bear Lake Valley, Montpelier, Idaho. Will always be eternally grateful for Elder Wirthlin bringing the Restored Gospel to our family. We are also related to the Hirschi family."

Gene Knutti, Montpelier, Idaho

Alles Gute, Dad

AUSTIN HAS HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTTY

Rebecca's son, Austin Le Roy Hatch, had his first birthday party. Here he is enjoying all the commotion and the food. Some of the Wirthlin family were there in addition to the Hatch family. Rebecca and Emily organized a great party with Paul doing the barbecue honors.

It hardly seems like a year had gone by since the drama of Austin's birth; there seems to always be a little drama. Austin was in a hurry to get out and face the world and when it was time, he came in a hurry. It was late at night and Becca said they had better hurry because she was going to have a baby any minute. Paul raced to the hospital, went through a few stop signs, yelled for help when they got to the hospital and prayed she would not have the baby on the elevator.

The nurses were saying that there was no doctor present but nevertheless when they placed Becca in her bed, Austin just jumped out and has been a little dynamo since.

I remnded Becca that she repeated the drama of her own delivery back in Michigan. She was #13. I had taken 11 kids to our place in northern Michigan with some dirt bikes and they rode around until they broke all motorcycles. I called Mom and told her we were coming and noticed that she was groaning a little every minute by my watch, "Are you in labor?" This was two weeks early! "I want to get our of this" was the reply. I called Roy to the phone (he was 18 and at home for work) and gave him instructions to take Mom to the hospital immediately and do not listen to her stories of why she could not leave right now and if he did not he would have to deliver one of his siblings in the back of the Pinto car. He screamed!.

After an hour of driving, I found a phone in a remote little town and called into the delivery room of the hospital. The Doctor informed me that Mom had just arrived and was having the baby, (little Becca) on the stretcher (without anesthesia) as we spoke.

I talked to Roy later and wondered why it took so long to get to the hospital. He said Mom would not leave until she found matching shoes for 12 children for church the next morning and they had to stop for gasoline. He totally freaked when the nurse came and told him that he had a nice baby girl!

Well Austin and all the cousins had a great time at his first brithday party.

Alles Gute, Opa

MISSIONARY WEDDING

We are fortunate to be invited to wedding receptions. Many are to our former missionaries with whom we served in Austria and Germany.

This one is Matt Davis who married Ashley Graf. Matt was one our great missionaries who served in Vienna.

Before going on his mission, in High School, Matt was the fastest sprinter in Utah. After finishing his mission, he was accepted to the Air Force Academy.

The rule there is that you cannot be married while attending the academy. So he and Ashley were engaged for 21 months. I thought this was rather smart of Matt; to take such a wonderful catch out of circulation with the official engagement ring.

He graduated from the Academy and they promptly got married. Good luck and best wishes to this newly wed couple.

Here is a video of Matt and Dario Dzierzon in Vienna, four years ago singing one of my favorites of all time, Jesu Dir Gehoert Mein Herz (Jesus Lover of My Soul). Danny Gledhill (concert pianist) is on the piano. (this was taken with a digital camera so is a little amateurish).


Alles Gute, Opa Wirthlin