birds nests

This is what Bill found in our attic of our Idaho house.  Our house is 98 years old.   How long did it take for this "nest on nest" to grow this big?   We have no idea!  Now, what do we do about it?    Let us know if you have any ideas.

birds nest

Good Friends

I am still on my college days. The picture on the left is me and my two best friends, Carol Larsen and Margret (Swainston) Looslie. On the right is also a very good friend and roommate my first two years of school, Carole Smith.
Carole and I lived at Lund Hall together our Freshman and Sophomore years. Carole was a neighbor in Preston and we were in same ward. Carole married and moved to Madison, Wisconson. I haven't seen much of her through the years.
Carol Larson was someone I met in a music class. We were both music majors. A lot of the times we were the only girls in our music classes. We played in the band percussion section together. One of the fun things I did at school. We became very close. I have lost track of her to my distress.
Margaret and I have been friends since we were in the first grade in the Winder School. We have always stayed in touch. She now lives in Boise, so I see her whenever I get there. We have always been close and will always be.
Margaret, Carol Larson and I were roommates our last two years of school.
There are fortunately those people in your life that will always be "Good Friends"

Collage

Our Mountain Home

Several years age while living on the mountain, I wrote a poem. I haven't shared it with anyone , I don't think. I ran across it yesterday. I decided to put it up for you all to see.

Our Mountain Home

Our Mountain Home up in the trees
Is a place for us to meet.
It's fun to be together here.
With lot's of fish to eat.

The Deep Creek trips are main events
Of any who arrive.
Those that make it back with Dad,
Are glad to be alive.

"Acquire" is the game that's played.
More frequently than not.
The object of the game, of course,
To beat Heidi on the spot.

Now Dad, he likes to fix things up,
He works from sun to sun.
We wonder why he works so hard
But he's the one who gets done.

When all the family is here
For vacations and a rest.
Confusion and chaos may reign
But it's the time that is THE BEST!!!

The Wells Family

Grandma Bessie and her sister

This house was where Alfred and Bessie Wells lived in Preston, Idaho.
Grandma Bessie is sitting on the far left. Standing is Alice Talbot, next to Bessie left to right is Marvel Christinsen, Merelda Winger, and Ivy Clayton.

My Grandmother

This picture was taken right before I graduated from High School. My Mother, my Grandma Bessie (my Dad's mother) and me. It was taken in our Preston house.
My Grandma Bessie liked to dress up and always wore a hat. She was a very sweet woman. My mother says of her: "She was my best friend".
Grandma lived in town. Whenever we would go to town, (about five miles from our house in Winder) we would go by Grandma's for a visit.
I don't remember my Grandpa much. He didn't like to go places. He was a "homebody". Grandma would always come to anything I was in, but not Grandpa.
My Grandma was a great cook. She seemed to aways have something good ready for us to eat when we came for our visits. When I learned to drive, I would go to town to pick her up and take her to the stores. She never learned to drive.
Grandma Bessie was not very tall. I would guess about five feet. She always told me that I was her favorite. I didn't realize until at her funeral, while talking to some of my cousins, that they all thought that THEY were her favorite. She had a way of making you feel so special. I miss her!!

Piano Recital

During my college years, I took piano lessons from Professor Wasserman. I started with him when I was in High School. My mother would take me to Logan once a week for lessons. I was in many recitals with his students. He did a lot of two piano numbers, which were my favorites.
This program above was the highlight of my piano playing career. I played the Grieg piano Concerto in A Minor. My piano teacher, Wasserman, played the orchestra part on another piano. I will never forget the experience. I had it memorized and did a good job. It was a thrilling!

Lund Hall

This is where I liked at Utah State my freshman and sophomore years. The bottom of this picture tells the price. You can't see it very well. It was $250 for Fall quarter, $165 Spring, and $190 for Winter. That included three meals a day at that cafeteria. Can you believe those prices?
It was on the road to Logan canyon. The wind would blow down out of the canyon on Winter days. We hated to even go out the front door on those days in the Winter. Boy was it cold!!

My Dad and me.

This picture of my dad and me was taken around 1956. You can see that dad was not very tall. When I wore "heels", I was a tall as he was. My dad always looked nice when he got all dressed up. I , being his only daughter, was always very proud of the way I looked and complimented me often.
He was a good story teller and was "the life of the party" more often than not.
He loved baseball. I remember watching games with him as he would tell me all about what was going on. That's how I learned to like baseball.
He died way to soon.

Graduation Prize picture

This the picture that goes with the comments of the next blog. How to delete is something I can't do yet. Help!! anyone?

Graduation prize

Graduation Prize

There was a jewelry store in Preston that gave away a watch to one senior girl and one senior boy every year. I was the lucky girl!!

Preston's Rodeo

This is me on the Miss Franklin County float in the "Preston's Famous Night Rodeo" parade. I came in as 1st runner-up to the queen. I can't remember who the other girls were. It was fun!

News paper

I got this a little off center, sorry. The script under the picture says: Karen Wells, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Greene Wells of Preston, Idaho, a senior at Preston High School.
Karen's main interests are in music and dramatics. Last year she participated in and won the piano contest sponsored by the music department of the school and won a superior rating in the district music festival.
Last year she played the lead in the school play and this year she is secretary of the Thespian club.
Her hobbies are singing and dancing.

Friday, January 20, 1956. Logan (Cash Country) Utah
THE HERAL JOURNAL

Double Quartet

These girls were my closest friends. We liked to sing together. This was our senior year. Can you tell which one is me?

Musicals

There were three things I excelled in in High School. One was playing the piano. I won almost all the piano contests I entered, I lost to Bonnie Boden once.
Every year I went to the district festivals to be rated. I got three I's and one II.

Another one was the musicals we did each year. In this picture, I was one of the dancers. I think I was a freshman because all the other years I was an accompanist.
The other love was singing. (See previous blog)

Family of Five

This is one of my favorite pictures. It was taken in front of the Winder house in about 1950.
This was not staged. Notice how we are standing. My mother and I with our hands in front and the boys and Dad with their hands behind their hips. Look at the feet!!

Cheerleading

In the eighth grade, the boys had a basketball team. We girls in the 7th and 8th grades decided we needed to have a cheer squad. There were only four of us but we thought we were great. I think back on the cheers we did and realize how bad the were.

Dad's Trucks

As long as I remember, my Dad had trucks. This is me and Ross on one of them with Dad in the middle. He would haul anything from potatoes, hay, cows, horses, and kids!
He was a hard working man.

Winder Farm

I was very fortunate to be raised on a farm. Dad grew potatoes, hay, wheat, peas, and sugar beats. The crops I remember, anyway. I liked pea the best. I could go into the field and eat all I wanted.

I remember helping Mother fix a big meal to feed the threshing crew. Dad would hire a big thresher and crew when the wheat was ready to harvest.

This is me sitting on the "gunny" sacks ( used to put potatoes in).

Great Grandmother, Eliza Doney Lowe

This is me with my Great Grandmother, Eliza Doney Lowe. Mother of Ruben Doney Lowe, my mother's Dad
This picture was taken in front of her home in Franklin, Idaho in 1938. She always had a beautiful flower garden.
She was born n 1863 in Franklin. Her parents were born in England. They were in the first handcart company to come West. Her older sister was the first child born on the first handcart company.
She had 13 children. All born in Franklin. Her first child was born when she was 16 years old. Her last child was born when she was 41. She became a widow when her last child was less than a year old. She was 42 years old when Grandpa died.
This picture was taken on the day I was Blessed.
Grandma was 75 years old. Notice, with no gray hair!

Song and Poem

In 1948, we got the newspaper from Logan, Utah. In this paper, they would print things that kids would send in. Here is a song and a poem that I wrote published in the paper.

Eighth Grade Graduation

This was my graduating class. Margaret(the other girl) and I were the only two girls in all the grades. Margaret lives in Boise now so I still see her often. We have remained friends for 65 years. This was in May of 1953. The top picture is of me giving a talk at graduation. The man on the right was our teacher, Mr. Griffith.

Church in Winder

The is a picture of church held at the Winder School basement. I am the one on the second row left with the white hat on.

Winder School

The Winder School is where I went to school for eight grades. When you entered the building, there were stairs going up and down. The down stairs on the right was the room that held the 1st and 2nd grades. The top floor on the right was the room for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. The top floor to the left ws the room for the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. I only had three different teachers in eight years.
At the top of the stairs as a kitchen. We had a hot lunch for us every day. We would line up one room at a time and then take our trays to our ro0m to eat.
In the lower left room, was a room with a stage. This is where we held church.
Very often on Friday or Saturday nights, there would be a school or ward activity. This where we had our dances.

Eighth Grade Graduation

I went to Winder School from first grade to eighth grade. Winder was a small school with only three rooms. The first and second grade was in one room. Third, fourth, and fifth in another and sixth, seventh, and eighth another. I had only three teachers in eight grades. In the basement was a large room with a stage. This is where we held church. We also had dances there. I remember my Dad used to put saw dust in his pocket to spread in onto the floor while he was dancing so it would be slick. It made so easy to slide around. My Mother and Dad were really good dancers. My Dad taught me to dance at a really young age. I loved dancing with him.

I loved to play "dress up".

This picture was taken in our back yard at the Winder house. My Mother and Grandma Bessie always wore hats. There were a lot of them around. This was about 1946. In those days, hats were popular. My grandmother especially loved hats.

My childhood

This is me and my Mother when I was one. We were living in Idaho Falls, Idaho at that time. My Dad was driving a gas truck. One day he rolled his truck. He got out of the cab and onto the road just in time to see it burst into flames. After that my parents decided to move to Winder, a small farmng community North of Preston, Idaho , and farm with my Dad's father.