Holy Toledo!!

By Keriann Felt
Jon and I have moved to Toledo, Ohio. We love Ohio! It is so beautiful here! Jon started Medical School on August 13th. He is doing well. He has had two exams already and has done well on both of them.

I am just a stay at home wife which everyone seems to think is weird. I love being at home and keeping things under control. Jon and I have been put in the nursery in our ward. It was rough the first few weeks, but the Nursery Leader is very organized and has structured things so well, that things are going really well now. Jon says it is even better than the beginning when he was basically a bouncer for the really rowdy boys.

We have had some crazy adventures in moving and starting our life out here. We started a blog to let our family and friends see our adventures. Here is where it can be found: www.jonandkeriann.blogspot.com

It has been fun to learn how to blog and to hear others comments on how life is going.

Just a few things that have happened to us. We had our car broken into in the parking lot of our apartment and they stole our radio. It has been hard to have no music, but we are hesitant to replace it, because it would probably just get stolen again. Luckily, they didn't break anything to get into our car. They were able to jimmy the lock and not ruin the electric locks.

Then the week after that happened, we lost our hard drive on our computer. It is only 2 years old and was still under warranty! So we got a new hard drive for free. DEL even came out a installed it. The sad part was that we were afraid that we would loose all the data on our old hard drive, but through a lot of prayer, miraculously we were able to get to the data and move it over to the new hard drive. It was a amazing!

We are so grateful that even though we are so far away from family we are being looked out for. It is hard to be so far away, but I know that Jon and I are not alone. That is a great comfort. We hope you are all well.

Keriann and Jon Felt

Doug and Deana Brower Update

By Deana Brower

Doug is still working at Robertson Supply. He was recently given his own accounts as a salesman and is enjoying his job. He hopes to move even further up in the company. I am not working at Jakers anymore. I am now working at Vino Rosso, a wine, beer, and gourmet food shop in the Downtown area of Idaho Falls. I love it there, and feel that it was a good change for me while I wait to get out of the night time job into a day time job. Raven is in the 3rd grade this year and absolutely loves school. She is an amazing student that excels at all subjects. She is reading at almost a 5th grade level and enjoys the ability to read chapter books like Harry Potter. Scarlet started Kindergarten this fall. She was nervous about it at first but has since jumped in head first and can't wait to go to school everyday. It has been an adjustment for me to not have any children home in the morning, but I am using the time to walk/jog around the river and enjoy a cup of coffee and a good book in the local coffee house. We hope all is well with all of the family. Everyone have a wonderful Fall!

Thank you-

Deana

Ian Williams Off To College

Hello All –

Thought you might enjoy some photos of Ian moving into his dorm at the University of Washington yesterday.

He shares a room with Maxwell (Max) Burke of Phoenix, Arizona, who we just missed meeting yesterday. Ian says he is a perfect dorm mate, friendly, yet independent.

The dorm is served on one side by a cafeteria that serves a wide variety of food including the campus favorite – Pagliacci Pizza. The other side sports a snack bar and internet café named, interestingly enough, “Ian’s Domain”. Ian feels right at home.

Ian hated all the pictures, but from a brief email today, is delighted with campus living so far, especially the freedom to come and go as he pleases.

Another cool thing for Ian is that he has already tied down a campus job. He has been working for the past three weeks already as a computer technician for the Department of Education. Basically, he and 2-3 other students set up and maintain all the computers for the professors and staff of the department. He finds this a vast improvement from his previous job at Dairy Queen!

A little slice of life from our neck of the woods.

Lydja

Marc and Carol Vaughn Update

Well, there's still not a lot of change going on for Marc and I. Marc is still going to school, taking 17 credits this semester and doing well so far (he's about a quarter of the way through). He quit his job at Acres (a food market) and now has an on-campus job refereeing. We're still living in Pleasant View in the basement of Marc's parents. It hasn't been bad, since there's an apartment set-up so we have quite a bit of privacy. I have a job teaching Spanish at Wahlquist Jr. High. It's been going well so far. It would be going better if I hadn't been sick the entire time (although things are getting better). No, I don't have a terminal illness, but I do have a terminal "condition": I'm twelve weeks pregnant. :) So that's been exciting. I've sworn to never work and be pregnant at the same time again...but sometimes you don't know what's going to happen in life. Right now we're focusing on getting Marc through school, not on what "might" happen.

Carol & Marc Vaughn

Robert and Breanna May Family Update

Things are going well in the May house. School has started, so it’s a busy time, plus Breanna’s thyroid is still messed up, so that’s hard for her, but she’s doing o.k. The kids are all healthy, which is always a plus. Andrea is already six months old. They just keep growing up and we never have time to catch up. We’re entering the busy time of year with birthday’s and such. We’ll have 7 birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and our anniversary all between August 28th and the end of the year. Something is going on every week.

Ashley turned twelve this year and the horns grew and her head started rotating in circles. Do all girls go crazy when they hit twelve?? At times she’s very grown up and happy, but sometimes she’s just nuts. Must be a girl thing. Landon is known by everyone in his school, and by ALL of the teachers in the school. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing . . . Landon’s birthday is today, and he’s old enough to go to dances now. Scary. I dread the day when he can drive, and its only two years away.

I’ve been called as an Assistant Stake Clerk over Technology in our stake. I have a much bigger appreciation for Stake Conference now that I have to make sure that we’re broadcasting to all of the buildings in our stake, and making sure that everything else is in place for the conference. I didn’t know that so much work went into stake conference, but there is quite a bit. Overall, it’s a nice calling—I’ve had much worse. We had a social evening with the stake presidency and the high council and it was pretty funny to find out that I had more kids than anyone else in the room. Makes me feel old.

I will hopefully be receiving my Black Belt of Taekwondo sometime around March. That’s been a nice stress reliever.

I’m still working for a consulting company writing software for a company that makes healthcare software. It’s a lot of fun, since we’re using the latest and greatest technologies (WPF, WCF, XAML, and a bunch of other acronyms). There’s so much to know in the programming space that it’s hard to keep up with it. Currently I’m acting as the scrummaster for a team of about 12 people (3 teams really) plus coordinating a couple of other projects. It keeps me busy.

Other than that, we’re pretty busy with life. We love where we live and hope to stay here for a long time.

Robert, Breanna, Landon, Ashley, Rebecca, Robert, Ayesha, Donald, Samuel, and Andrea.

April 2007 Brower Bits

Brower Bits
Volume 12, Number 1
April 2007
Welcome!
Wow! The marriages, babies, and graduations in this family just keep going! I really appreciate all of you who faithfully submit information to the newsletter. For my Christmas Family History gift to my parents and siblings I printed all of the newsletters that have been written in the past ten years. I was amazed at how many pages that ended up being, and how much history was there! Thanks to all of you for making that happen. The next newsletter will be out November 1st (to allow me to recover from the start of the school year crunch before I put the newsletter together). I hope to hear from you anytime before then.
Vivian Foley
13165 Lock Lane
Excelsior Springs, MO 64024
(816) 637-9228
vivian_foley@yahoo.com

Congratulations to...

• Jon Felt for graduating from BYU in Chemical Engineering, and being accepted at the University of Toledo Medical School.
  
• Chris and Peyton Jensen on the arrival of Maren who was born January 14, 2007.
  
• Michael Jensen and Leslie Draper who were married on April 7, 2007 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
  
• Robert and Breanna May on the arrival of Andrea Janet who was born March 21, 2007.
  
• Kelli Brower and Creed Brown who were married on March 17, 2007.
  
• Isaac and Kristy Campbell on the arrival of Tyson Jay who was born on November 14, 2006.
  
• Carol Vaughn on her graduation from BYU-Idaho in English Education.
  
• Rulon and Angela Brower on the arrival of Jared who was born January 11, 2007.
  
• Angela Brower on her graduation from University of Utah.
  

Newsbits
Jon and Keriann Felt

Well, I can’t really think of what has happened since the last newsletter. Jon is getting ready to graduate from BYU on the 27th of April in Chemical Engineering. We are waiting to hear if he is going to Medical School, or trying to figure out a plan B. We will move from Provo to Stansbury Park, UT (just north of Tooele) right after graduation. We will be living with Jon's parents for the summer to save a little money.

I am counting down the days until I can quit my job at the Provo Temple. I have given my last day as May 9th. I have loved working there (at least on most days), but I am ready to leave. I have packed most of our apartment, except for the things we will need for the next month and we are slowly moving it to Jon's parents’ house.

Melvina Anderson
Thanks from a sister procrastinator for being late. I'm watching to see where and when my flowers grow. The daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, and tulips have been beautiful for the last month.
STEPHANIE ASAY and Eric Hatton are still working on their home in Heber. The contractor is through with his part. There were many delays in getting the materials. Steph and Eric are doing the sheet rocking, tiling, painting, and finishing themselves, going up almost every weekend. Stef still works at Zions. She’ll get her Associates Degree from SL Community College in May.

TERRIE AND DEWAYNE HOLGERSON: Terri is a full time lunch lady in Granite School District. DeWayne is finishing a job at Kennecott for GSL. Carrie is adjusting to a graveyard shift for Zions Bank. Her kids are doing well, and they want her awake in the daytime. Jessie is moving to a new (rented) house. Kelly is an electrician too. She tends Rachael's kids along with her three. Rachael is working for Granite School District office cafeteria but thinks she may quit. Buddy commutes daily to Ogden where they have a major building contract. Travis works for GSL too, and passed his test for his electrician’s license.

WESLEY AND BONNIE ANDERSON: Wes is still working long hours for Nevada Power. Bonnie works for a nursing home and get lots of requests to cover nights and weekends. Heather Beecher is having a baby shower Saturday. She and Micah are excited. She's due in August. Megan has her own apartment and is working full time. Harley and Rebecca are still at home and in school.

LORI AND ROLAND LARGO: Lori works at Mrs. Fields corporate office. Her new boss just quit. So far that’s three of the financial people leaving in the last six months, so that makes her nervous. Roland works for Craig Automotive and inspected my car today.

GEORGE ANDERSON and Sharyl Prisbrey decided to renew their lease. George just started a new position with Convergys as a graveyard supervisor for a Cisco account. He likes the work and is adjusting his sleep schedule and wearing ear plugs to shut out the "yapping" dogs. Sharyl is an assistant trainer at a hotel reservation service. Her time and hours are erratic depending on her supervisor. Otherwise, she likes it much better than the complaint department.

At Daughters of the Utah Pioneers we were asked for names of ancestors who were in the Mormon Battalion. The woman behind me said, "Arza Hinckley." She is Marsha Mason, whose husband is Fred Herbert Mason, the son of Fred Mason, the son of of Arza's third wife Clarinda. She said she has a copy of Arza's journal of the Battalion. However, last month she said her husband is seriously ill, in a nursing home, and may die. She could not find the journal yet; it wasn't where she thought it would be. Small world anyway! I was elected to Company Second Vice President, but I haven't any idea what my job will be. Love to all.

Ivan and Susan Brower
We've had an exciting last quarter. In January Kelli thought she had pneumonia and discovered she has a tear in her pericardium (the membrane around the heart). This is usually caused by blunt force, a car accident or being hit really hard in the chest. She has had neither. She was put on complete bed rest with no children around. We took the kids, of course, and she moved in with a friend where the nurses from the hospital (EIRMC, where she was working) could keep an eye on her and kept her sedated, under doctors orders, for 3 weeks. When that didn't start the healing process, she went to SLC U of U hospital to see a specialist. They aren't sure what to do with her, but are working on a solution with the Mayo Clinic. She and her friend, Creed Brown, decided to get married during all this and on March 17th she became Kelli Brown.

Since she is feeling better, with the aid of medication and pain killers, she has taken back her children, being a full time mother. Now we can pick up ourselves and restore some semblance of normal existence. Joseph was ordained a deacon on March 25th, and was so excited. He has been waiting since the beginning of December. Kaitie participated in an area dance competition at Bonneville High School with her class. They got 2 superiors and 1 excellent. She loves to dance and does well. Bryce is a normal 3 year old with a new 3 year old step sister to compete with and keep up with. Kenna is our new granddaughter. She is Creed's daughter and is a fun and energetic addition to our family. Ben just tries to keep up. He does a good job of making his place in the family as the 'baby'. He is cuddly and loveable when he needs to and rough and tough when with the 3 year olds!

Ivan has received notification that his disability benefits have been okayed and will start receiving Social Security in April. He will receive some back pay and is glad that it is finally going to be okay. I don't make enough to even dent our budget, and with the extra children we've had it has been a worry to him. He is still doing some computer repair and programming so he keeps busy. He is the secretary of the High Priests in our ward. I am an assistant Den Mother and love being with the Scouts. We were released from serving in the baptistry of the Temple in January. It was hard to make that decision, but under the circumstances, it was best. We miss working with the Young Singles and BYU-I students, but hope to be recalled when Kelli is back to normal, whatever normal is!

Lori has been tending the children while Ivan and I work. Now that 'her' babies have gone home, it’s a little sad and a little happy. She has been like a mother to those little boys of Kelli's and is hard to let them go. She is trying to decide what to do now. She would like to go back to school, but the anxiety that builds up inside of her at going out and applying makes it difficult to do anything. She has kept busy crocheting baby blankets, Afghans, mittens, and sweaters; and has sewn costumes, clothing and capes for Kelli and Kaitie. She also gets to love on Kristy's baby, Tyson.

Kristy and Isaac live about 8 blocks from us and are usually here for dinner 5 out of 7 nights a week. Kristy stays home to be a full time mom and Isaac has been working at Walmart in the Deli. He will start working at Yellowstone Log Homes in a few weeks to get away from picky, whiney people. He has been applying for teaching jobs all around South-Eastern Idaho and hopes to hired soon. He is Elders Quorum Secretary in their word.

Amy is a BYU student and is just keeping up. She has a job at the testing center and has seen lots of 'interesting' people. Her major now is Family and Home studies. She keeps telling me how to help raise Kelli's kids and the things I did wrong (and right). She is moving to a new apartment a few blocks away and will be in another ward. She is nervous about change and with Keriann and Jon leaving it will be interesting to see how she will grow.

Keriann and Jon will be moving at the end of the semester. Jon is graduating!!!!!!!!!! He has been applying for Medical schools since August and is getting a bit nervous. He interviewed in Toledo, Ohio, in March and thinks they are going to take him. They are excited to be done with BYU and will be excited to move to Ohio if that is the place. Keriann has been working in the linen department at the Provo Temple and will be glad to have something else to do. They love their ward and will be sad to leave them, but they said they will be glad to leave Utah!

Doug and Deana are doing very well. Deana was able to quit her waitress job at Jakers and is staying home. They have been upgrading their house by putting tile in their kitchen and bathroom. The family room, office and master bedroom were painted and look really great. Deana has a flair for decorating and does exceptional work. She found an old china cabinet (antique), cleaned and polished it, and is using it as a dining room decoration. It is too old to actually use on a daily basis, but looks wonderful, and a good price. Doug is still with the plumbing supply and loves his job. He is a good dad and is glad to have his wife home in the evenings. Scarlet loves to have her mom home with her during the days and is looking forward to going to school in a few years. Raven is in 2nd grade and is turning into a responsible little girl. She is her dad's girl and takes care of him really well. Doug thinks she was his mother in another life! I'm not sure what that means, but they are a pair.

We are proud of our family and their families. It is fun to watch them grow and learn and struggle. They did pretty well, considering the parents they had. We hope all is well and happy with all of you. We love being part of you and look forward to the Brower Bits to find out that all of you are doing about the same.

Rulon and Angela Brower
In January we were blessed with a brand new baby boy. We named him Jared, and he weighed 6lbs. So, we now have five boys, but I like boys. However there are two 15-yr olds in the house which always makes life interesting. Thirteen-year old Zachary struggled through the first two quarters of the school year, and then last quarter he got all A's and B's. We're really proud of him. Benjamin (8) crashed his bike and chipped his tooth. Jacob (5) now has a wiggly tooth, and is telling everyone that he thinks it will come out when he's seven. Angela is graduating with her bachelor's in May, and has been accepted to a Master's degree program at the University of Utah. It's a one-year program for teacher certification, but then she'll really be done. YEAH!!!!! Rulon is doing quite well at balancing supportive husband, great dad, ward clerk, and busy employee putting out fires. We're looking forward to a busy but fun summer.


Marc and Carol Vaughn
Not much on Marc and my end. I'll be graduating with my Bachelor's Degree in English Education and minor in Spanish Education this weekend (YEAH!) I am currently job hunting. Marc is still going to school at Weber State, and has thus far had one of the best semesters ever (for him). His English professor told him that he should consider majoring in Psychology and minoring in English. I don't know if he'll do it, though. He hates English! :) Anyway that's about all the news from where we are. We're living in Pleasant View, UT, right now with Marc's parents and now that I'm job hunting, maybe we'll be able to move out! We're both excited about that prospect.
Update: Just graduated from BYU-Idaho, and I recently acquired a job at Wahlquist Jr. High teaching Spanish (it starts in the fall). Marc is still working at Acres and just finished his semester, although he hasn't graduated yet.

Robert and Breanna May
The biggest news for us is that we have a new baby girl named Andrea Janet May. She was born on the 21st of March at 11:00 AM, and was the weirdest delivery we’ve had. It was nearly 11 hours with a bunch of issues, like the baby not being able to keep her heart rate up. After a few days in the NICU, she was able to come home and has been doing very well since.

The day after she came home, Breanna was complaining about not feeling well and on an impulse I took her blood pressure. 170/110. So we went back to the emergency room where they determined that she had pre-eclampsia. In rare cases, it can happen after delivery, so now we’re a statistic. After 36 hours of Magnesium Sulfate, her blood pressure dropped and she lost a lot of water weight (25 pounds worth).

Both mom and baby are doing well now and we’re excited to have #8. 8 is enough?

Kent and Jean Jensen
On January 14th, Chris called with the news that their second daughter, Maren, had been born about 3: 56 p.m. North Carolina time. She has black hair and was 6 pounds 15 oz. The first of March Kent and I flew to Raleigh and spent four days at Chapel Hill with Chris and Peyton and the two little girls. Ella, who is two, welcomed us and we had a wonderful time seeing the campus of University of North Carolina, the zoo, the temple, and just enjoying holding the baby. She was blessed on Sunday. Chris will be graduating in May and they will be moving to Charlotte where he has accepted a job.


Valerie completed her internship as a recreational therapist at the Shriner’s Childrens Hospital in Honolulu the middle of January, and I flew over and spent a week with her. I was able to meet some of the children and their parents from the hospital as well as some of those Valerie worked with who made life bearable there. We attended church in Honolulu. Our hotel was next to the International Market and a block from the beach, so we were able to see the sunset over Waikiki. We took a tour of the Polynesian Cultural Center and the Temple grounds, flew to Kauai and were able to spend four days driving around the island sight-seeing and at the beach. Then we flew back to Oahu, toured the island (Diamond Head, pineapple plantation, and Pearl Harbor); attended church and flew home Sunday night. This was the last thing Valerie needed to do to graduate from BYU in April. She now working in Skagway.

Michael and Leslie Draper of Taylorsville were married on April 7th in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a beautiful day. All of our children and their spouses, and children, minus the step children, were in Salt Lake with us: Mark from San Diego; Pam and Kent Nuttall from Lake Tapps, Washington; Chris and Peyton and two girls from Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Robert from Los Angeles; Valerie from Skagway, Alaska; David and Elizabeth from Provo; and Melanie and John from Orem. The reception was held at the top of the Huntsman Cancer Institute Bldg on the U of U campus at the Point Reception Center. After Mike and Leslie went to Maui for their honeymoon, we had an open house at our house. It went well. Thanks to all of you who were able to make it. They will be living in Sandy, with Mike commuting to the Utah State Hospital in Provo, working as a social worker and Leslie finishing her pharmacy residency at the University Hospital in Salt Lake.

We have two granddaughters who are baptized. David and Elizabeth’s second daughter Rachel was baptized and confirmed on the 14th of April and this was a beautiful day. Jael Harmon, daughter of Melanie and John turns 8 in June and will be baptized in July.

Pam and Kent’s son, Zane was on the team who won the Washington State Middle School competition (Destination Imagination), a team-based problem solving competition. He will be going to Knoxville, Tennessee with his team for a Global competition in May. Their daughter, Haley is a senior and will be graduating from High School and then will attend BYU in June.

Sean and Vivian Foley
We have been crazily busy trying to keep up with all of our children, church, work, and home. We are really looking forward to the end of the school year and a family trip to Hawaii to visit with Scott and Melody.

Brock just finished being on the track team which he joined to make his soccer coach happy, and has decided he won’t do again. He has been driving for 5 months now and isn’t scaring his mom quite so much anymore. Ryan took a flute solo to District and received a 1rating which qualified him for State, where he also received a 1 rating. He played the vibraphone in a mallet ensemble with three friends, and they also received a 1at District and State.
E

mily and Branden just finished another soccer season with Vivian as their coach. Emily recently took the ACT and received a 25 (she is in 7th grade and scored higher than I did as a Senior!). Branden keeps us all entertained with his 12 year old silliness.

Sage and I were in a car accident one morning while Sean was gone on a business trip. We were waiting to turn left to drop Sage off at school and someone tried to drive right over us. We ended up having an ambulance ride to the hospital and some aches and pains as a result. The biggest pain was that we were hit by an unlicensed, uninsured driver. It took over a month and $8,000 to fix our car (of which we had to pay the $500 deductible), but we are back on the road again.
Sean recently decided to step down as President of Rimrock Technologies and is currently searching for a job. His last day is June 8th, and he hopes to find something really soon. The thought of working for me for free is really frightening.

Update: Sean received an offer just yesterday to work as a contractor for the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City. (I hope he passes that background check (g)) It is likely he will accept that offer.

Wayne and Stacey Brower
I am traveling all over the place. From Iowa to Minnesota to Arkansas. I am currently in Arkansas working the last outage of the season. I'm tired of living out of hotel rooms and look forward to spending some time at home with Stacey kicking back and enjoying the time off.

Joseph Workman Brower
(This is the third section of the history recorded and transcribed by James.)
In that country if the water started to cut along a stream, it'd cut, and it could be 30, 40 feet down. It'd just cut right down. One evening we took the herd back down to water and heard a goat making a racket and there he was, he'd fell of down there and we had to go around and get down and get him out.
There was rattlesnakes out there, AC used to take and when he'd get them to crawling he'd grab their tails and then pop their heads off. As long as they was crawling they couldn't hurt you. (AC was 20 years old then, he was born in 1893 and that was 1913 when we was there).
We had our horses and we had our plows and we had a Guernsey heifer, I can't remember having a cow.
We left Sutherland for Ruby Valley and it must have been in the spring of 1914 cause on the records of Sutherland, Mother was put in as a counselor in the Relief Society in 1913. So from our place in Sutherland we went right back west, north west, I believe it was, there was a road and it went toward Ruby Valley. I believe we had four head of horses and two outfits. We had plows and everything in one and then we had the camp outfit is what we went in. Then we had the Guernsey tied behind that.
When we got out quite a ways that night we camped to a cow camp, I don't know where that was, but I can remember the guys riding there in the corals and Katie, she wasn't very big, and she'd get up on the corrals and watch them. Then we left from there and went over to a mining camp. I can't remember the name of that mining camp. We went up and over and when we started down there was a mining camp and we camped there. A fellow who owned a saloon or something came out there and seen that heifer and he wanted to buy it and Father wasn't going to sell it to him first, so he kept on offering a little more. He got up to $110.00 for that heifer, so she wasn't worth over $35.00, I don't believe. But he didn't want to sell her so he sold her for $110.00.
Then we went on over and came down into Ruby Valley. Now, Ruby Valley was a place where some outfit had went up and got some land and took it up and then had people come in there and they was going to sell it to them. And when we got there, there was a hotel in there and all the rest was in tents. There was quit a few outfits in there. I don't remember their names. Some of them went up and cleared up same land. We didn't so we stayed there that summer and then in the fall we pulled out of Ruby Valley, that's how soon we left. It was just the summer.
So in the late fall we came into Pella, Idaho, now that's right out from Burley. There was a sugar company farm there. We were about two and a half miles from the Pella church, and most of the times we'd walk there. We lived close to a Jones family that had two or three girls and a couple of boys, they were quit a hand to thin beets. The sugar Company farm was right by them. We went to school in Pella; it was about two miles from our place or near there, maybe a little over. The lady, she wasn't much older than I was, just her first year and she had to teach all eight grades. It was pretty hard on her there. That was the last time I ever went to school and I was in the seventh grade.
In the spring I had to go out and help put in the crops, we planted sugar beets. Father'd get so much and acre for cultivating, plowing, and everything like that. He'd get paid that way. So we got the beets in and thinned beets. Then when they got the thinning done, that's when we left and went out for Horny Valley. That would be after the beets was up in 1915, we left for Horny Valley. Horny Valley is in Oregon. When we left there, Steve stayed. Ora was going to get married and she stayed and Steve stayed with them. AC left with us. We left Pella and headed for Horny Valley. So then we went out through Bliss and went down through Boise and then into Horny Valley.
I don't know who sent us out there but the place was a good place. It was a big place right by the side of the mountain. It was an old cattle and sheep outfit and they had a small house. But it was a good place and it run up a creek. I don't know how many acres it had but we didn't have any money. If you'd had money enough you'd be alright on that place.
That winter, there was a fellow a ways away that had a cow. A white-faced cow and she was mean, so he let us take her and AC took her and tied her up and he'd have to tie her before he could milk her. Then there was another fellow that lived a half or quarter of a mile down and that place set back about a quarter of a mile.
That winter we hunted rabbits and we got 5 cents bounty on them, and we made $200.00 that winter. Steve come out there and so there was AC and Steve, Father, and myself. We had 22's and we hunted rabbits. We didn't have anything to feed them to. We also caught them with snares too. The smaller kids would put snares up under the fences and we'd catch rabbits that way too. While we was there, AC and Steve went out and got a job on the road, and they were quite a ways out. And Lenny, that was Mothers first boy, he got sick and he sent word that he wanted someone to come and help him so Father sent Steve in. And we had to go out in the road and get Steve and he went back to Lenny's place in Snowville Utah, or somewhere along there. AC stayed there till he was through on the road and then he comes back.
Then we left Horny Valley and as near as I can figure we come back to Lincoln, up here by Idaho Falls, and AC and Steve worked there at pounding sugar in the Sugar Factory, it got hard. After that Father and them went out and put up hay and along in the fall I can remember when the roundup was I had a little blue mare I rode it into the rodeo. Then we left there and come down to Blackfoot in the fall of 1916 and camped right out back of the Sugar Factory; the Sugar Factory was the same place it is now. And we lived in tents and they had a cinder pit there and we, AC and I, drove the teams and we was cleaning that out with scrappers. The team that I had why they got so they wouldn't pull.
Oh, there was our foreman, Hank Boyce, he used to be a guy that would tell all kinds of stories, so he come over there and he took hold of the lines and as soon as he took hold of the lines they walked right on out with the outfit. Then latter in the fall when the beets was up we helped get out some of the beets. Some of them froze in and we was out there pounding the beets. You know they'd freeze and you'd have to hit them and knock the frost off to get the beets that was out there.
And that fall AC and Steve left on the blinds and went back down to Delta. The blinds, you know what the blinds is? It's passenger cars and back behind there, between the passenger cars there was blinds and you could crawl in there if you could get by the (conductor). So they got in there and went down and worked for uncle Abram for a while and then they headed on down but I don't remember where they was. That fall Father sold his outfits. He had four head of horses I believe it was, and the wagons and plows and harnesses. He sold the whole outfit to a guy there for 300 hundred dollars, I remember. And we got on the train right after the first of the year in 1917 and headed for Grants Pass Oregon.
And when Steve and them was on their road down, they was picked up for riding the cars and the officers told them that they'd either have to join the army our go to jail or something, so I think they decided to join the army. So then they came over to Grants Pass were we were at. But they didn't join the army right then and there in Grants Pass, Oregon. Before AC and Steve come in Father and I, before the sugar factory started we went up the Roger River, I believe it was called the Roger River. There was a dam and up along there used to be a gold thing where they used to bring their thing down and wash it and get the gold out of it. And we panned in there and we got quite a few colors. And one time before we left to go up there, we had to walk, why father dreamt that he found a nugget on the top and when we got up there sure enough we found a nugget on the top. It was worth I believe he said a dollar and ten cents at that time. But I think all that we got out that time was about $8.00 worth of gold through the panning.
That winter we worked in the sugar factory. I worked in the beet end in the. . . they called it the crows nest, where the beets come in there was a thing and it picks them up and it goes up in and then they drop down into the slicers and they call that the crow's nest because you ring a bell when they need more beets. And I would have to change knives.
So we stayed there that winter and then in the spring there was, I don't remember who it was, but they sent us on up to Sutherland, Oregon and we put in same beets up to Sutherland, Oregon. That's, I don't know how many miles it is but it's north of Grants Pass, Oregon. So we put the beets in and that's when AC and Steve come. So they had rented same [land] they each had three smaller mules apiece on the hand plow and I had 2 big mules and we plowed that place with hand plows, you've seen a hand plow haven't you? You followed hand plows along. So we plowed that and put beets in and their beets wasn't very good. During the summer there, after we got the beets in we went on up to where there was a guy lived up the canyon a ways and I guess he was quite a well to do fellow. I believe he was something in the state or something and we got out wood for him. There was same Carrs, I believe or something like that. People named Carrs had a pile of trees and they asked me to saw I forget how much but I sawed them up and you couldn't keep the saw sharp. It was one of them there crescent saws. It took me a long while to do it. I forget how much they qive me for it.
So them we left Sutherland and went to Zillah that's Zillah, Washington. Zillah, Washington is out from Toppinish. It was out up on the side of the mountain east from Toppinish. We stayed there and picked apples. Tom from came Idaho at that time and they picked apples right out of Zillah for a guy, I forget how much a box we got. You'd pick them in a sack and then the sack come open at the bottom and you'd open that and let them drop in the box. One time Tom was up and he was picking the upper side in the trees and Adria his wife was picking around at the bottom. And just about the time the box come around something hooked onto that or dropped and opened his sack and they come out and I can remember the boss was just sure telling him off. Wasn't his fault, it just happened that way.

Arrival of McKenzie Jean Beecher

McKenzie Jean Beecher was born August 4, 2007. She is the daughter of Micah and Heather Beecher, grandaughter of Wesley and Bonnie Anderson, and great grandaughter of Melvina Anderson.

Jennifer Bruggeman Attends Workman Reunion

Dear Vivian- The Workman Reunion was held in Hurricane, Utah. The weekend of the 14th and 15th of September. It started out at the church and everyone brought their information and sat around and shared family stories. I didn't go to that, but my mom said she couldn't tear my dad away. Saturday morning a few of us went to the temple and did baptisms and initiatory. There weren't very many of us, but there was a special closeness and some neat spiritual experiences. What a joy to be able to do work for your own family. Next we met at the Hurricane Pioneer museum and had a tour. Hurricane is where Jacob Lindsay's 3rd wife Fanny is buried. Most of the family there are descendants from Abraham Workman. I'm not sure if that is Jacob Lindsay's brother or son, I just knew that it wasn't our branch. It was neat to see a representative from the Nancy Reader branch. My dad learned that he was named after James Thomas Workman. I think that we figured out that it was Josephine Workman's dad. So that was neat to know where your name came from. After the museum we toured around different sites in Hurricane. Jacob Lindsay is buried in Virgin, UT and we spent some time in the cemetery there. Then we drove to a ranch that is supposedly where Jacob L and Fanny raised there family. A homestead of 25 acres. We went to the park and had lunch, and then my son had a football game so we had to leave. That night they had a special session at the temple. They met at 6:30 and did endowments and sealing. It was very well planned and exciting to sees o much activity centered around the temple. If anyone is interested in temple cards, there is an official family historian named Ken Workman and he can supply them. I can get you in contact with him. Also there is a website I believe it is Workmanfamily.com. If not type in John Workman family organization in Google and you will find it. There weren't a lot of people there, but there certainly was a family resemblance. My dad has the "Workman eyes." Anyway-it was fun and exciting for those of us that were there. Talk to you soon. Jennifer

Brower Bits Online

This is a possiblity for gathering and keeping future information in a form that doesn't cost anything. I am tired of paying for the myfamily.com site that is little used, so I am trying this out for size.