August 29, 2012

Our community held the annual end-of-summer on the shores of Bear Lake.  Hot dogs and fixings were provided with salads and desserts set out in pot luck fashion.  It is always fun to get wet and even the wet sand is welcome.   When the sun set it was time to head back over the mountains to home.

Two of our citizens have recently passed away.  Jewel Christensen and his wife have enjoyed their summer home in Mink Creek for many years, while living in Bountiful. Jewel was nearly 90 at the time of his death. There are quite a few Christensen families still living here in Mink Creek that would be grand nephews or nieces.  

Don Jepsen has had Parkinson’s for quite some time and passed away at age 85.  He grew up in Mink Creek, the son of Hyrum and Agnes Jepsen.  He and his wife, Miriam, have been living in a small town in Utah, Marion, near Kamas.

Cody McKay, son of Paul and Terrie McKay has received a mission call.  After a short stay at the MTC in Provo he will be headed to the Birmingham, Alabama, Mission on Dec. 12^th. 

Laural and Jody Janke made a quick trip to Cedar City to enjoy the production of Les Miserables at the Shakespeare Festival.  While there they stayed with Judy and Ervin Larsen, and Laural’s Aunt Sarah, Judy’s mother.  The Jankes are currently playing in a pit orchestra in Logan, preparing for the Logan High School’s production of Les Mis.

It is nice to live in an area where it is sufficiently dark to see the stars at night.  August is the month when there are the most falling stars so it is the perfect time for star gazing.  There is action from all directions.

            Our parking lot  is looking much better, not best, but better.  As of this week there are fewer piles of dirt and they are in new locations.  Much of the parking area is surfaced with dirt at this time and we are hoping that is not a permanent situation.

            A quick note about the activities of Elder Jimmie and Sister AnnaBeth Olson while they are serving in England.  Some of their assignments have taken them to areas of ancient castles.  Of course they were suitably impressed by the castle that was used for filming some of the Harry Potter films.  While there they were able to meet a Hagrid and a Harry Potter (not the actors of the films.) 

August 22, 2012

Weddings  came in pairs this week.   The first was that of Heidi Free and Brendan Brown.  Heidi’s parents, Richard and Vickie Free, celebrated with a big party at the Mink Creek Park for friends and family.  It had a western flair and the food and dancing fit perfectly.

Mallory McKay and Jacob Linderman tied the knot and were presented as Mr. and Mrs. L on the evening of their wedding day at the home of Jake’s parents, Dan and Pam Keller, in Preston.  Mallory is the daughter of LuJean Jensen and Lin and Sharla McKay.  This new couple have some Mink Creek connections on both sides.

The Mink Creek LDS Ward members viewed the Preston North Stake Conference this past weekend in the Riverdale Ward church house.  These two wards trade locations, back and forth for the conferences.  Meeting in Riverdale was certainly the best on this occasion since the Mink Creek parking lot is still in a state of disrepair.

Ben and Arianna Hostetter and their little ones have enjoyed having some summer time in these western states.    They have had some Mink Creek time, done a little living up in the northwest for an internship, managed to get a little relaxation along the way. Arianna is the daughter of Robet and Phee Crosland, doing her growing up in Mink Creek.  Now the family is going back to their current reality which is more school and classes, taking place in  Jacksonville, FL.

Our chokecherries are “just right,” black and glistening, ready for juicing to fill jars with jelly or syrup.  Reports are that this has been a good year in the chokecherry department.  Even though the season has been extremely dry the trees are heavy laden with fruit.   This has not been the case with raspberries, there has barely been enough for those with perennial patches.

            We have had a new source of smoke in our atmosphere.  A fire, this time near Soda Springs.  The smoke was sufficiently dense in our community that one could not see our northern most mountains from the lower reaches of Mink Creek. 

            More canning is underway---we are that sort of community.  Another item is that of sharing garden produce.  Unknown individuals have contributed corn on the cob and summer squash to my available produce.  Tomatoes are ripening and that makes for smiles.  There is no comparison to a garden-grown tomato and those red orbs one buys at the grocery store.

            I, Claudia Erickson, have just returned from a fun trip to Cedar City, UT, and the Shakespeare Festival.  My friend and I managed to soak up three productions while there and were wishing we had time for more.  We were able to spend time visiting relatives, Sarah Westerberg and Judy and Ervin Larsen and enjoying the hospitality of their home.

August 15, 2012

Twelve of our young ladies enjoyed Girls’ Camp this summer. They spent a few days at the Preston North Stake Campground with their leaders: Camp Director, Hilary Checketts, assisted by Macy Jepsen; Young Women leaders, Sherrie Corbett and Kristi Hall.  The theme for this year was Tropical Islands and Mink Creek was assigned an island off the coast of Japan, one they couldn’t pronounce.  Even so they learned about the island.  One evening they performed skits and were joined by Bishop Kent Egley in an acting role.  Lots of fun!

We have an engagement announcement.  RoZann Crane is engaged to marry Tom Baker.

RoZann brought Tom to Mink Creek recently to get him acquainted with her early years.  RoZann is the daughter of Keith and Ramona Crane, presently of Burley, but RoZann spent her pre-high school years here, living on the Two Creek ranch.  The Crane family in this area goes back several generations to the founding fathers of Mink Creek.  RoZann now lives and works in Los Angeles, Tom is located in the Salt Lake City area.  Their wedding is scheduled for November.   To her surprise, RoZann discovered that she still knew quite a few people living in Mink Creek.

            Some of the adult children, plus their children, of Johnny and Jeannine Iverson participated in a family hike of the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. At least two generations were involved. This has become an annual outing for all of the Iverson bunch who are willing and able to participate   .  They come from as far as Texas and Virginia.

Nate and Dana Olson welcomed a group of California friends at their home on Station Creek. The Olsons lived in Highland, CA, before moving to Mink Creek and were happy to introduce this group to Idaho, including the Preston Rodeo for entertainment.

The smoke from fires in Utah and Idaho continues to hang down into our valleys.  In the evenings the horizon is blurred with shades of grey, blue and orange ascending as the sun goes down, the mountain peaks hazy.  Some days it is noticeably present in the afternoon hours.  These fires aren’t even close to us in terms of distance.  Imagine all the gunk in the air, as well as the distinctive aroma.  As the sun rises in the morning it is like a pink ball, trying to peek through the gloom.

4H projects are due this week.  It is Fair Time in Franklin County.  I noticed a pickup loaded with hay, pulling a horse trailer, on its way to town today.  The weeks of tension and endeavor have reached their peak and now it is time for some relaxation and fun.  Both leaders and youth should have a sense of accomplishment, no matter what color ribbon adorns the projects they have worked so hard to complete.

Aug 8, 2012

Two weeks ago Mink Creek held a Court of Honor for those involved in scouting.

Rank advancements and merit badges were delivered on this night.  This was a special one for Johnny Iverson receiving his Eagle rank, presented to him by his father, Kurt Iverson.  Johnny’s Eagle project was that of constructing soccer goals to be used at the local ballpark.

Mikel Beardall, son of Tammy and Kent Beardall, received his LDS mission call.  He will be serving in Russia, Novosibirsk, Mission, headed that way this fall.  The Beardall family has other news to announce.  A granddaughter was born to Michelle and Gary Wall, of Grand Junction, CO, and Tammy has been  doing some grand-mothering there.

The Varsity Scouts took a three day trip to Yellowstone Park. Young men able to go were Johnny Iverson, Rico Crosland, Josh Greene, and Justin Coleman, accompanied by leaders: Wynn Costley, Kent Egley and Nelson Coleman.  Besides visiting some tourist highlights they took a swim in the Firehole River and rafted down the Snake River.

Kurt Torfin, of Waco, TX, arrived in Mink Creek just right to wish his mother, Sallee Keller, “Happy Birthday!”  It had been 12 years since they have had this much visiting time. Kurt's siblings, Casey Torfin of Nibley and Kristi Hall of Mink Creek, enjoyed reliving some of the "old days" when they were all kids. They took a memory trip to Grace where Kurt had grown up.

Progress of some description is taking place at the parking lot, the only paved one in our community.  There are huge piles of debris, a mix of pavement and earth, machinery is present indicating that work is going forward, in spite of difficulties.

Rodeo time brings many residents home.  Some I noticed were: Jim and Debbie Harrison from St. George; children and grandchildren of Eldon and Danita Wilcox; Peggy Flinders and Dana Petersen, the twin daughters of Jimmie and AnnaBeth Olson; children of Austin and Kathy Jones; some Pearson family; relatives at the Crane Cabin.   No doubt there were many I did not see. 

“When the rodeo is over it is the end of summer,” is heard up and down the valley.  There seems to be some truth in that feeling.  School shopping is a big item right now, along with meetings at the various schools.  Kindergarteners are probably the most excited age---at least for a few more weeks.  The youth in this community are expecting that big yellow school bus to arrive on August 22^nd.  Another indication of the summer season closing is that of the combines in the fields, reaping those golden grains that have been carefully tended for months.

Bug season is in full swing. Trying to keep ahead of the box elder bugs that have arrived.  Earwigs are plentiful as well.  There are enough grasshoppers to cloud the sky, thank goodness they are scattered about.

The winged creatures seem to increase about the same time that our grains get ready for harvest.  When one looks in the storage bin on a combine there are many kernels, but also lots of hopping going on.  Grasshoppers make good fish bait, maybe there is a possibility of a crop we hadn’t considered.

Aug 1, 2012

Sorry for the late post this week, I have been out of town.  I hope you will check again tomorrow to see if I finally arrived with this week's news and the additional blibs.

After last week’s comments about the parking lot the need for retraction is great.  The project is still in the works, will take about six weeks and, in the meantime, people had better be mindful of where they choose to park. 

Marco Crosland is now at the MTC in Provo.  When he spoke to the LDS Ward prior to departure and many of his friends and relatives were present.  He will be studying the Malay language, preparing to serve in the Singapore, Malaysia, Mission.

Nicki Straight, lovely daughter of Avery and Pedro Gomez, was chosen to be the Downy Rodeo Queen in a competition a few weeks ago where she demonstrated her equestrian skills. The Downey Rodeo is scheduled for August 10^th and 11^th.

Some of us may have seen the Grand Canyon, but not many would claim to have seen it from a raft, coursing down the Colorado River from Glen Canyon Dam to Lake Mead.  This was a recent experience of Sharon Moran and her son, Willie.  They spent 16 days going the 226 miles with 16 other people and plenty of white water to keep them alert.  Along the route were hikes into the side canyons and all the wildlife that inhabit that area, some familiar, but more herons, and even endangered condors.  Vermillion Cliffs lived up to their fame.  They enjoyed diverse weather from sun to rainbows.  Covering such a distance even the drop in elevation was evident.

River trips attracts many in hot weather.  A group from this area, made up of Smith cousins:  Smiths, McKays, Westerbergs, McGregors; with some children and friends, took a five day ride on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.  They entered the river at Boundary Creek, near Stanley, ID, and climbed out near Salmon with reports of much fun, lots of good food and possible plans for a repeat.

Dry weather continues, keeping things a bit on edge, in this area of the state.  Every time there is the slightest chance of needed rain, there is also the threat of lightning strikes that might ignite the tinderbox dry undergrowth of weeds and bramble, not to mention the grain fields that are shortly to be harvested.

When there is a report of a fire it raises no surprise, the question is always, “where?”  The sound of rain on the roof waking a person at night is not totally comforting  given these situations.

4H projects are priority items on home agendas as August begins.  The Franklin County Fair and that day of reckoning is fast approaching.  Young people and their leaders are on the homestretch whether the project is cooking, sewing, horseback riding, babysitting, on and on with the big variety of choices offered.