May 1, 2013

The sound of sandhill cranes, flying high, nearly out of sight, reassures us it is spring. 

Another sure sign is the song of the meadowlark, perched on a bare  tree limb with just a faint touch of green leaves starting to show.  2013 is a cold Rocky Mountain spring. 

Tiffany Longhurst is home from several months of employment at Disney World in Florida.  How would that be for a fun job?   She is now headed back to the grind of college at BYU/I in Rexburg, ID.  The employment has been a nice warm break.

Spencer Wilde, son of David and Judy Wilde, has received a mission call to the South Dakota, Rapid City, Mission.  He’ll be leaving in August, so he has just a few short months of preparation time.

Fae Larsen passed away recently. She has been a resident of the Franklin County Transitional Center for several years.   She was married to Dale Larsen and they lived on Dale’s farm on Bear Creek.  The funeral and burial for Fae was in Tremonton, UT, her home prior to meeting Dale.

 In the LDS Ward, Esther Andra, daughter of Greg and Heather Andra, received her Primary graduation certificate.  Clay Jepsen, son of Kerry and Melinda Jepsen,  was recognized for having earned his Duty to God as a Deacon. 

The Mink Creek youth took care of their spring highway cleanup tradition.  The evening was damp and cold, with spits of rain and snow, but the job was just more challenging because of that.  Usually this time of year the trash isn’t too bad, but for some reason it was big on garbage this time around.  Does that mean people are littering more, having little regard for our environment?  Makes a person wonder!  When they finished Clare Christensen had prepared a wonderful warm treat for their return to the church building.  It was a choice of peach or berry Dutch-oven cobbler---yum!               

In just a week, when I wrote the above for the paper deadline, the color of our village has changed.  With several days of warmth we are now that lovely shade of varied Mink Creek green.  The grass, the trees, the evergreens, the newly planted fields, ---just wonderful, and chances are, if you are reading this you understand completely about  that which I write.  Curly flowers are dotting our slopes and garden flowers are matching the quote “April showers bring May flowers.”  April showers we have surely had!

The chill wind still visits frequently, making spring slow in coming.  It is enough to make me shiver when I see the new lambs and calves.  However, the ones around here are not “brand new” and they look like they are having a good time, galloping and jumping, but keeping an eye on their mothers.

April 24, 2013

The youth of the Mink Creek LDS Ward enjoyed a combined activity with lots of action and enthusiasm.  Brooke Corbett was in charge and took a page from the TV show Minit to Winit in providing entertainment for the evening.  It turned out to be lots of fun, you might say, “a good time was had by all.”

Shane and Alyna Graham and boys have moved to Preston.  We hope they return for community celebrations.  The Graham sons are getting involved in activities in town and the constant back and forth driving will be a thing of the past.

Pinewood Derby, a roaring event for Cub Scouts, was decorated with racing flags and banners.  Kurt Iverson and Eldon Wilcox weighed each handcrafted vehicle to make sure they qualified.  Cars were displayed on a special table prepared by Katiana Baird. The track was in perfect condition for the thirteen boys to race.  Race they did, over and over, with cheers and applause.  Sharla McKay was the track boss, with Pedro Gomez and Ben Keller the line judges.  Scorekeeper was Lin McKay and everyone won in the Pinewood Derby.  Each racer was awarded a certificate.  Cubmaster Dawnell Greene and her assistant, James Baird, kept the enthusiasm high.

Part of the Pack meeting was the receiving of awards, beads and advancements for boys in the Cub Pack.  The Bears, under the direction of Ivan and Lana McCracken, displayed soap sculptures they had created.  Refreshments of cookies, always a favorite, finished off the night.

Jim Call, past resident of Mink Creek, is celebrating his 80^th birthday this spring.  His family had an open house on April 20^th for all friends and relatives in Perry, UT, where Verdell and Jim Call now reside.

Two children of the Kerry and Melinda Jepsen  family met milestones in their lives recently.  Their son Clay was ordained to the office of a Teacher.  Daughter Tera received her certificate of graduation from Primary and the Faith in God award.

            Tammy and Nelson Coleman’s house was full of family recently.  Tammy’s parents, Ray and Ila Rae Van Vleet drove over from Grace, ID.  Danny and Nicki Coleman and their baby were here visiting at the same time. The Van Vleet Great Grandparents  just couldn’t resist coming to see that youngster.

            Terry Stromberg has made the spring move to Mink Creek, joining her husband Bryce just a week or two after he arrived from their home in California.

            The skies have stayed on the gloomy side for the most part of the last week.  Today was bright and full of cold sunshine.  One thing about this weather—it is definitely a deterrent to cases of spring fever.  Even the daffodils and the pansies are having a struggle showing their happy faces.

            If you get the printed Citizen you will already know this, but just in case you don’t…

Wynn Costley is retiring from the Preston School District this year.  He is currently working as principal of both the alternative Franklin County High School and the Pioneer Elementary School.  His wife, Cecelie has applied for, and been accepted, to teach English in China.  So the Costley’s will soon be bound for the Orient.  Exciting prospects!  They have had some Chinese experience through their children who have served there on missions and later been employed in China.

April 17, 2013

The annual greening has begun.  In spite of a spring blizzard that hit with gusto, Mink Creek is starting to turn green.  The snow melted in a couple of days and served to water the length and breadth of the community.  Recent rains have been here and there, but the snow enveloped all.  Flowers from bulb planting are promising.  Little purple violets are scattered throughout the grasses.

            Austin and Katy Keller were up for a weekend, visiting with his parents, Kim and Dianna Keller.  Austin and Katy and their two children live in Franklin.

Lacey and Kerry Christensen and their three girls had a fun, warm vacation when they visited Matt Hutchinson and his family in Granite Bay, CA.  Matt became a self-appointed tour guide for exploring San Francisco.  He works as a fireman and so has a good background for such a trip.  The trolley was down and so the family got a good workout climbing hills, totally packing their little Kassidy the entire outing.  They loved their visit to the fireboat.  The good weather held while they were there, a real plus.

Eldon and Danita Wilcox have returned from a cruise taken with their daughter Lesli and David Evans.  The group drove from the Evans home in Texas to New Orleans, the port of the launch.  They went to Costa Maya, Mexico, taking a long river ride with the possibility of seeing crocodiles.  The country of Belive was a fun spot.  The residents there speak English since the country was originally a British colony, British Honduras.  A high point was touring the Lamanai Ruins. At Roatan, Honsuras the Wilcox duo had fun with a zipline above a jungle and some time at a beautiful beach.  The top prizes of their shopping on the trip were a bowl for Danita and a floating pumice stone for Eldon.  Stories go along with these purchases.

            This has been mentioned before but is worthy of an update.  MaKenzie Gunter, daughter of the Wilcox family, continues to do well in collegiate track meets.  She performs for Idaho State University.

Snow flurries, a little rain, a few glimpses of sunshine.   That describes how it has been this past week.  Sometimes that sunshine is only if you look to the sky, there is a glow in the clouds. The snowline is marching up and down, and up, the mountainsides.

            There has been some burning of the dry weeds along the roadsides. Only one brought the county fire department out when a tree in the middles of the weedy growth sent up some large flames.

April 10, 2013

Easter Sunday in our part of Franklin County was a beautiful day, full of sunshine and blue skies.  The weekend brought several out-of-town visitors.  Those that are currently at a university brought plenty of studies since final exams are looming on the horizon in just a few days.

Hannah Singleton and her children have been here entertaining her parents, Cecelie and Wynn Costley.  Hannah and her family live in El Dorado, AR, but she manages to come home every so often for grandparenting fun.

Thane and Angelie Winward brought their youngsters up for the weekend. They surely livened things up at the home of her parents, Kim and Wally Christensen.  It is nice having Garland, UT, their home base, not too far away.

The home of Vickie and Richard Free has been a busy one of late.  Jacob and ReNette Free and little boy came from Rexburg for a weekend visit.  The following weekend their daughter Heidi and her husband, Brenan Brown drove up from Logan.

Two of the Bob/Claudia Erickson grandchildren made a quick trip from Rexburg for a family Easter.  Bailey Collins and Sam McKague are both at BYU/I.  Sam will be leaving for a LDS mission to Brazil in May. Call this a farewell visit with the Erickson and Jody Janke families prior to his departure.

The Robert Hawkes family had an important day for two of their sons.  David Hawkes  was ordained to the office of a Deacon and received his certificate of Advancement from Primary.  Nicholas Hawkes was presented with the Duty of God award as a Deacon and he was ordained to the office of a Teacher.

The community has recently participated in a Desert Industries Drive, orchestrated by Camille Knudson.  Boy Scouts worked on the Scouting for Food effort, delivering empty bags to homes of residents early in the week, then picking up filled bags, bright and early, on Saturday morning.  The food was donated to the county food pantry.

            We had a spring blizzard last night and woke up to a white world---again.  Just when we thought spring had arrived and the mud was drying up,  snow covered all outdoors.  Residents heading out to work needed their ice scrapers for the covered windshields. A cold temperature accompanied the white stuff most of the day and only towards late afternoon did the grass become green again.

Not quite April Fool's

I think last week turned out to be April Fool's prank, unintentionally.  Sorry, I'll try to do better.

Aaron Wilde, son of David and Judy Wilde, spoke at a recent LDS Ward meeting.  Family an friends attended, welcoming him home after his service in the Family History Center in Salt Lake City.  His great aunts, dubbed the Wilde Girls, were here.  Dottie Casperson, Dixie Bennett, and June Austin  all spent their own growing up years in Mink Creek.

A sure sign that spring is coming to some may be the arrival of robins.  In Mink Creek a sure sign is the arrival of Bryce Stromberg.  He is here getting the Stromberg home ready of occupancy for the warmer season.  The Strombergs winter in California.

Although it hasn’t been overly warm we have had a string of sun filled days.  Nearly all of the snow on lawns has disappeared.  Even our mountaintops are losing their halo of white.  Mud season is still with us, but there is hope and things are drying out.  It is not yet time to work the fields, but it is a time of equipment repair.

The Max Haws family is here for spring break from California schools.  His wife grew up in the Boise area and loves returning to Idaho.

Eldon and Danita Wilcox have been on the road quite a bit recently.  They are following the Idaho State University track team and the progress of their daughter, MaKenzie Wilcox Gunter.  MaKenzie participates in more than one event and is doing very well.

Clara Christensen Jepsen has passed away, at age 93.   Her funeral was held in Mink Creek this past Thursday.  Her love of music was very evident in the program chosen by her family, with enough grandsons and great-grandsons to make up a nineteen voice men’s choir.  All of her living children and their families were home:  Eileen Anderson, Kay Dawn Cole, Sannette Lowe, Debra McCloy and Darrel Jepsen.  Once raised in Mink Creek is it “home” not matter where a person lives.

I apologize to you readers for last week.  I got caught up in life, etc. and totally spaced adding to the regular column that made the paper.  As a result you got nothing, if this is your only source of MC news. 

The Mink Creek Missionary Newsletter was published this last week.  We have eight young elders and  a sister serving, plus two senior couples.  They are scattered across the globe and Bishop Kent Egley felt this would be a way for our community to be more aware of their activities, their lives, wherever that may be.  So far the effort seems  to be very well received.

The young set has been off for spring break the past week and the weather has been nicer than the last several years during the annual vacation.  Parents could even let them go outside to play without too much mud being tracked back into the house.  The sunshine has made for smiling faces on all ages.   Our snow is on the run, backing off at a speedy pace.  Even the mountaintops have only wisps of white here and there.  Farming is starting in earnest.

March 27, 2013

Forrest and Patti Christensen traveled to Kentucky to spend some time a new grandson, Tucker Zane Christensen, born to Zane and Amber Christensen.  They were in Alexandria, enjoying the wonderful southern hospitality of Amber’s family.  Zane is  in the army and is currently stationed in Korea.

Our scouts took an overnighter for Winter Camp at the Copenhagen Basis parking lot.  Clare Christensen  and Kim Rasmussen went along as our celebrated chefs/leaders.  The boys reported that they “ate like Kings!” The two turned out some grilled pork chops that were mighty tasty.  One young man said, “ I ate four.”  Scout leader Paul McKay and Jeff Seamons were in charge. \ Young men participating in the snow cave adventure were Andy McKay, Chance and Dakota Hatch, Nick Hawkes, Isaac Greene, Ty Beardall, Clay Jepsen, Walter Iverson and Ben Seamons.

New Beginnings, a special night for the Young Womens program, focused on the theme “Stand  Ye in Holy Places.”   Presidents of each class, Beehives, Mia Maids, and Laurels, described the motto of their classes.  The young ladies presented a skit entitled The Worth of Souls Pageant, featuring the traditional Young Women values.  Morgan McKay was the narrator and the rest of the girls modeled shoes(soles) and colors for each value.  Parents and friends who attended were served high heel sugar cookies and punch refreshments following the program.

News has come our way of the passing of Dr. James Low, formerly a physician in Preston, who lived in Mink Creek.  Both he and his wife, Betty, grew up in Wyoming.  Medical training and profession took them to California.  His specialty was family practice. From Fullerton, CA, they came to Franklin County. When he Betty, moved to Utah he practiced in Ogden.  He died in January, 2013, and interment was in the cemetery at Lovell, WY.