Last one for June, 2017

           Those freezing nights a week or so ago appear to have an affect on the possibilities of a good fruit harvest later this year. The low temperatures occurred just when the trees were in blossom and the result is that very few fruits are forming in our orchards or the wild trees in our village.

           Layne and Karen Erickson drove down to Payson, UT, to attend the wedding of their grandson, Kylan Erickson, son of Bryan and Shannon Erickson of Mt. Sterling, UT. His bride is Karlee Jo Hales of Salem, UT. Other family members attending were Paul an Terrie McKay and children, Morgan and Andy. Connie and Adam Westenskow drove down from Woods Cross, UT, to be with the family group. Wedding celebrations continued in Salem following the ceremony in Payson.

           Eric and Lisa Hickman are having an extended visit with our community. They brought his father, Van Hickman, to his summer home in Mink Creek. Van is a summer resident of many years. Eric shares his memories of his own first summer here 40 years ago. All this time,and we still claim him.

            Our Naomi Wilde has celebrated yet another birthday. She turned 102 this past month. She is now living in Pocatello but continues to be part of the Mink Creek scene with her vibrant comments and sense of humor.

            The annual Mink Creek School Reunion was a resounding success this year. It was very well attended, to the point that an extra table needed to be added for the meal. Potluck menu filled plates to overflowing. Mike and MaryAnn Jepsen were in charge this year and their committee was kept busy having things ready. Reminiscing is high on the list of entertainment and both Glade Larsen and Richard Westerberg shared stories for all to hear. Karen Olson Tribbett presented a series of photos from the past when her father John Olson was the principal of the Mink Creek School, beginning in 1949. Many related to those years: the plays, the baton corp, the dances, snowshoeing. Several people donated items for door prizes and there were many pleased faces on the recipients. Ladies over the age of 90, Arda Keller Smith and June Wilde Austin got first pick of the prizes. Names that have been part of the community since its early days were present: Keller, Crane, Jensen, Wilde, Rasmussen, Erickson, Westerberg, Christensen, Olson, Moosman, Larsen, Oliverson, Jepsen, Hansen---a mix of Danes, Norwegians, Swedes and a few Brits. Next year's reunion will be under the direction of Jimmie and AnnaBeth Olson.

           The days are sweltering, the nights are cool, still a great place to live. Plenty of wildlife around this summer, including skunks and cougars. Neither of these are too welcome. The creeks are still high, but not quite as high as a month ago. The weeds continue to grow and the vegetable gardens are trying to keep up the pace. It is summer and we have had lots of visitors, per usual.

           I have found a great little story from my archive searching about a Silas Hansen of Mink Creek, about 1917.  Is he related to any of you?  If I could just find out I might print up that experience for the paper, or for whoever would like.

Summer solstice, 2017

           Last week totally got away from me, my apologies for the missing weekly blog.  Too many irons in several fires.  Hope you haven't left me.

            The hay balers have been going long into the hours of the night in the hopes of getting a dry field of mowed hay put up before the rains descended. It was partially successful, some of this first crop got baled before the deluge of two days hit, other hay in windrows got a thorough soaking.

Most of our yellow roses and the copper rose bushes as well have passed their peak of blooming. There are still a few stragglers. Up and down our valley the wild pink rose bushes are putting forth their delicate petals now. Pungent yarrow plants are adding some white clusters to the outdoor scene.

            Betty Jo and Glen Jepsen traveled to Dallas, Texas, over Memorial Day weekend to participate in the wedding of their son Kyle and his new bride, Anastasia Milios. Kyle's siblings and their families also attended. Kerry Jepsen, Kyle's older brother, and his wife Milinda live in Mink Creek. Kerry served as Kyle's best man,very fitting, since 27 years ago Kyle served as Kerry's best man in his marriage to Melinda. Anastasia's family is Greek and many relatives attended from Greece. Communication was a bit difficult, but a smile was always understood. Kyle has lived in Dallas since finishing dental school and Anastasia is a Dallas native. The couple will continue to live in Uptown Dallas. The evening was warm and the reception included lots of incredibly beautiful dancing, much with a Greek flavor.

            Margret and Kurt Iverson have returned from a trip abroad, celebrating their 25^th wedding anniversary in the shadow of the Alps. In Austria they glided in a gondola while in Vienna and soaked up a puppet show of the Sound of Music while visiting Salzburg. They hiked, they visited historic mountains, they visited LDS Temples in the area. In Rome, Italy a highlight was seeing the sculpture and frescoes of Michael Angelo. Kurt's brother Stephen and his wife Jessie were fun partners to share this time. The Iversons returned home to find Mink Creek was as green as their European tour, but with mountains of lesser height.

           Max and Jennifer Despain and their son Josh spent a few days with his folks, Bill and Myrna Despain. Max and Jennifer live in Lolo, MT. Bill and Myrna traveled to Flagstaff, AZ, to celebrate the marriage of another son, Danny Jolley. They were surprised to find the temperatures around Flagstaff a bit on the chilly side when most of AZ is heating up.

              Jody and Laural Janke and their six children have moved to Richfield, UT. Jody is still employed with Rocky Mountain Power, now in the position of service coordinator of that area. This family loves baseball and three of their children, Abi, Keenan, and Cooper, are already playing on summer teams in Sevier County.

             I look at the weather map and the whole nation all seems to be the color of orange. We are surely the part of that orange stuff. But it is cooler here than it is in St. George, UT, where many Franklin County residents go when things get cold here. We are in the 90's during the day, but thankfully, we are still cooling down at night with a bit of a breeze wafting about.

            First crop of hay is mostly in the barns, or hauled off to whatever buyer. However any windrows that were still on the fields last evening were blown every which way when a horrific wind swept through our valley. More about this wind in next week's newspaper version of this column.

June 7, 2017

            The daughters of Jeannine Iverson gathered at the Iverson home during the weekend of Mothers' Day to present their mother with an unusual gift. They did her spring cleaning of the home from top to bottom, including those tall high windows that add so much to the home.

Two young men of our LDS Ward were recently ordained to priesthood callings. Jonathan Seamons, son of Jeff and Jennifer Seamons, was ordained to the office of a deacon. Jacobi Johnson, grandson of Robert and Phee Crosland was ordained to the office of a priest.

           Tony Mainini, son of Terry and Steve Mainini, will be employed by Idaho State University in Pocatello, ID, as a computer analyst. During the past school year Tony has worked for the Pocatello School District in the technology department.

           Kent and ReNae Egley went up to the Pocatello Raceway to watch their son Matt race in a car that he had built himself. Many members of the Egley family and Matt's friends were there to cheer him on. Cars and speed have long been a passion of this guy.

           Jesse and Annavelyn Wilcox are home after spending nearly a month in the Philippines. Their trip was timed so that they could attend the wedding of Annavelyn's sister, Haydee Malate in Tigaon. They went to Caramoan Island, a 3 hours drive by land on a rough road, sharp turns left and right, up and down, road constructions here and there. Part of this island is where they shoot the "Survivor USA." All the islets are all white sand, clear and very salty water. The island is rich with sea shells so they added some to their collection. Snorkeling was fun and they saw, star fish, red, orange and blue , jelly fish,even a little nemo in there.

            Jesse's parents, Eldon and Danita Wilcox, are serving in the Philippines, Quezon City, Mission, and the couple were able to spend some time with them. Again it took several hours of land travel and also by boat to reach Mindoro Island where Elder and Sister Wilcox are assigned. The four of them went to Puerto Gallera to celebrate Elder and Sister Wilcox's 40th wedding anniversary. They went swimming, jet skiing, snorkeling, tried new foods that weren't Filipino. Part of the adventure in Mindoro Island was going to the "Sablayan, the longest island to island zip line in the whole world." It is the first motorized zip line in Asia. A distance over a mile, it takes 3 minutes for the whole ride. It is not zippy compared to most zip lines. The operators said it feels like you were just parasailing. Annavelyn thinks they made it slow in order to see the beauty of the island or the ocean. Water so clear they could see some star fish and other fishes swimming in shallow water.

           There is no shallow water around here these days. I have never seen Mink Creek as high and dangerous as it is right now. My husband's great uncle spoke of the days when the Mink Creek men who operated a sawmill up Strawberry Canyon and another at the head of Mink Creek would haul their logs to the 'creek' and float them down to a corralling spot below. I can envision that easily this year and the logs would be crashing into each other in many spots along the way. My husband's grandfather would have been one of those men.