Last of July, 2018

           What a month this has been!  Full to the brim!  Of people and events, some planned for, others unexpected.  Life!

           Celebrating Pioneer Day the jumping off spot for the majority of river runners was full on July 24^th. There are frequent times when there needs to be a parking lot for those so involved. Vehicles line both sides of Highway 36 just east of the river bridge. Perhaps a crosswalk would be appropriate as well.

             Benjamin Seamons has received a mission call for the LDS Church. He will be serving in the Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, North, Mission, entering the MTC in October. Ben is the son of Jennifer and Jeff Seamons.

           Youth Conference for the teenage set of our community took place on Gold Hill, a place totally new for most of them, but part of our history. The group of around twenty camped there for two nights and got a feel for the early years of our community. Activities were varied: some rock climbing, shooting real guns at the gun range in Preston, a lunch at Oneida Dam prior to water sports using Kerry Jepsen's boat for power. One evening Brother Crowther from Lewiston, UT, came up for a fireside talk. There was singing, there was dancing, and lots of games. A sunrise hike to the top of Gold Hill was perfect for an early morning devotional. In their meandering they were able to see two of the old mines once operated at the hill. Top all this off with great food and talking around the fire, what could be better?!

           Kent and ReNae Egley and family members traveled to the northwest. Oregon was the site of car races for their son Matt Egley at the Hermiston Raceway. Hermiston is not far from the Washington/Oregon border.

           Terry and Hayes Carr and their daughter Courtney drove up from Centerville, UT, for a weekend visit with her folks, Mary Jean and Larry Rasmussen.

            Wayne and Jackie Olson's place is a little closer to their dreams. Their house arrived recently, but the workers lacked some equipment needed to get all things put together so the Olsons are 'on hold' again, reminding themselves that every step forward is progress.

           Bracken and Mariah Atkinson and their two little girls, Timberlee and Hadlee, have moved to Preston recently. This neighborhood will miss them. They will be living near Bracken's parents.

            Our little village has been full of visitors this month and not all have gotten recognized on this blog. So fun to have so many “come home” to Mink Creek,and this is the month with class and family reunions in full swing, also the Rodeo that holds memories for most.

            Our main street, Highway 36, is being chipped this month and we are needing to add travel time to and from home no matter where we go as we wait for the pilot car in the heat of the day. One of those glad/bad situations.

Happy Pioneer Day, 2018, aka July 24

          No official holiday, bu still one felt by this community.  Some of those pioneers were our founding families and the surnames are still a part of our village a little less than 150 years after their arrival.  We are grateful for their courage and willingness to endure hard times.  Because of them we are blessed to have this little valley as home.

           There was a surprise family reunion for the siblings of the Lionel and Alna Keller family. All who are living came to Mink Creek's July 4^th celebration to support the grand daughters of their deceased brother Bob when the girls performed at the celebration as the 'Keller Sisters Band.' Caysi and Chey Keller, daughters of Charlie Keller, Bob's son, grew up in Pocatello, and have moved to the Salt Lake City area. This reunion was unintentional, but enjoyed by all of the siblings. Scot Keller now lives in Tell City, IN, Myrna and Ralph Criddle call Mesa, AZ home. The other two brothers, Kent and Ben, still live in Mink Creek. The youngest of the family, Kolette Bybee, has also passed away.

           The Mink Creek girls attended the Preston North Stake Girls Camp this summer in Camp Kolob, near Cleveland, ID. Camp leader was Melinda Jepsen, with assistance from Young Women leaders and some spouses: Wynn and Cecelie Costley, Terry and Wendy Westerberg, Terrie McKay and Bishop Kurt Iverson. Girls attending were Hannah Greene, Emily Longhurst, Tara Jepsen, Ella Jepsen, Liberty Stanworth, Celina Crosland, Davanie Ostler, Tia Hatch, and Shayleigh Forbush. They are a fun bunch of young ladies. Activities included: hiking, rock wall climbing, target practice in the shooting range and uplifting sessions with stake leaders, besides eating fun food and wading in the cooling waters of Cottonwood creek.

            Jimmie and Anna Beth Olson and their entire family: five children, their spouses and all the grandchildren spent several days on the Oregon coast. The beaches, the ocean, the ocean breezes, shells and all that is part of the experience kept them going. Throw in family fun, games and some tourist shopping. A wonderful change from the usual summer activities.

           A piano concert was offered to our community by CJ Madsen and his wife, Sam. CJ is the grandson of Larry and Lillian Hansen. The Madsens are students at BYU in Provo, with music their main pursuit. The two performed vocal duets, CJ accompanying, and had a repertoire of pieces that Cj had arranged. The Madsen's little daughters, Charlotte and Hollis provided entertainment of their own, with some original dance steps not intended for the program. Lillian offered refreshments of brownies and lemonade to wind up a lovely evening.

            Elder Angelo Crosland has returned from serving a mission in the Indiana, Indianapolis, Mission. He spoke of his experiences at the LDS Ward this past week. Friends and family filled the chapel and welcomed him home. He is the son of Robert and Phee Crosland.

            One evening this week brought some serious wind damage to a few residents. Strong bursts swept the canyon, ripping branches from unsuspecting trees, and moving loose garbage cans and any other unsuspecting item about. The forces were strong enough to drop several big trees. Russell and Kaylee Bair lost a lovely yard tree. Stuart and Alona Ostler's place had three trees uprooted completely with four more cracked and split, needing to be removed. There may have been more damage of which I am unaware but these were reported.

             End of July and grain fields are golden. Second crop hay is being baled and hauled off fields that are now thirsty for moisture. Cherry trees have been heavy laden this year, the birds could not keep up with the ripening fruit, the first time in years. In just a few days the pie cherries will be demanding attention.

July 17, 2018

          The smoke from the Treasureton Hills fires has been rolling through our heavens for most of this day. As the sky clears it brings gratitude that those fighting the blazes have once more tamed the monster down. This has been an area of frequent summer fires over the past several years.

           A group of 30 girls and their Young Women leaders from an American Fork, UT, LDS ward enjoyed a fabulous Girls' Camp with the Mink Creek Ballpark as their base and headquarters. Their camp director, Carla Erickson Nielsen, grew up here and she knew what the area could offer to these young ladies. They toured Minnetonka Cave, rappelled at the Paris Ice Caves, swam in a local farm pond, and had fun in general, eating great food and sleeping in tents, all without access to electronic devices.

           Royce and Lorraine Christensen have had a busy week or two. Fred and Victoria Christensen and their daughter Pearl were up from Orem,UT, to spend some time with his parents. Grandparenting is always good. Then Royce and Lorraine drove out to Lafayette, IN, to help their daughter Carrie and Ken Melton move their family to Layton, UT. This includes a new job, a new house and other major changes.

           Hannah Costley Singleton and her sons, Samuel and Grey, are here for their annual month of sharing time and memories with her parents, Wynn and Cecelie Costley. They come from Arkansas and welcome our cooler temperatures. Yes, it is hot here, but compared to the south, not so bad, and it does cool off of an evening.

            Mike and Mary Ann Jepsen have been having a grandchildren 'retreat.” Cousins of near ages hang out with their grandparents and are thoroughly entertained with horses and various outdoor activities.

           Things were humming at the home of Bob and Claudia Erickson when three children and their families gathered to celebrate July 4^th, Mink Creek style. Kristin and Jay Collins came from Lakeview, OR, and their daughter Claire drove down from BYU/I in Rexburg to join them. Carla and Mark Nielsen and son Aidan came up from American Fork, UT, getting here in time for Aidan to run in the 5K race in Lewiston, UT, festivities. A day later, Drew and Hilary Erickson arrived with children Spencer and Paige, taking a break from their overly warm lives in Tempe, AZ.

           We had some severe wind storm gusts move through our valley last evening. They did some damage, trees down, garbage cans on the march, limbs of trees deposited. Sudden and unexpected.

Cleanup ahead for some of us.

           Summer is moving along. With summer comes highway road construction and we are getting our share. The crews have refinished Hwy 34 between Preston and Thatcher, and now the work on our Hwy 36 has begun. Lots of sitting in hot cars waiting for the pilot car to guide the lines.

July 11, 2018, what a week!

              With the big day of the 4^th this is a lengthy post. One can hardly talk about July 4^th in the middle of August, it must be now. Please bear that in mind.

             Shout for joy! We have another new family in our boundaries. This is Brint and Brittnee Phillips and their three children Henry, Clayton and Abigail. They come to us from Buckley, WA, and are building a home on our slopes.

            The LDS Ward sustained a new Sunday School Presidency recently. Pedro Gomez is the President with Royce Christensen as his 1^st Counselor and Ivan McCracken as the 2^nd counselor.

          Melissa Colvin, daughter of JoAnn and Drew Ford, flew in from her home in Iowa to be with family for the funeral of JoAnn's mother in Bountiful, UT, and Melissa was able to be here a few days following. She is hopeful of a little longer visit not too far in the future.

           George and Bobby Garr are at home in Mink Creek. Those days in California have gotten too warm and the cool nights of Idaho were beckoning. Their son John, who also has a home in Mink Creek, is glad to have them a little closer for a while.

           Two Mink Creek couple have been traveling abroad recently. Rico Crosland has been planning this trip to Italy with his parents Robert and Phee Crosland for at least a year. The longer Rico planned the more activities he threw into the itinerary. Another son, Mario, joined them for the first two weeks and then he returned. This trip across the pond took them to England, Austria, Italy and in between. They covered 12 countries, in the month plus that they were gone. Beautiful sights, interesting and educational. Imagine biking in Paris, France. Imagine all the German castles, the British Isles in all their greenery. Imagine Robert and Phee, tired and ready to come home, and so they are back. Recuperating but with memories of great things.

           Patti and Forrest Christensen had a lengthy vacation spending time in their favorite spots on earth, Portugal and Spain. The couple takes this trip quite reguarly to visi relatives and friends formed over the years of their traveling. Patti's ancestral roots lead her back to villages in Portugal.

          Thee family of Kent and Tammy Beardall gathered around at the passing of Tammy's mother, Doreen Wells. All of their children were able to attend the services, Michelle Wall and family from Colorado, Shawn and Callie Beardall and children from Spanish Fork, UT, Kyle Beardall of Logan, Heather Beardall and Ty Beardall of Mink Creek and Nicole Denney of California and Mikel and Rebecca Beardall of Preston.

           One might say that July 4^th went off with a bang, its usual style in our village. The cooking crew got an early start including Clare and Linda Christensen and her son , Glade Larsen, Ross and Judy Young, Brent Sharp, Stuart and Stetson Ostler, Kent and Tammy Beardall, Royce and Lorraine Christensen and Jesse Christensen. They were brewing Dutch oven potatoes, chicken, roast beef, tossed salad, western beans, all that went with fresh rolls, followed by a piece of 'birthday ' cake from a beautifully decorated American flag cake. By the end of the day ticket dispenser, Wally Christensen, had tallied 275 partakers of this great meal.

           In the morning hours a plane flew over with a candy drop. The first drop was an announcement as it rattled down the roof of the pavilion and through the nearby trees. The other passes scattered the goodies across the ball diamond and park and the rush was on for those gathering. It was great, thank you, John Kezele. There were all sorts of activities offered: horseshoes, gaga ball, paint ball, games tailored for the younger kids, swimming pool/kick ball and of course the favored water slide in the afternoon.

            A patriotic program began with the raising of the flag by veterans of our village. The audience closely as our newest American citizen, Pedro Gomez, described his path to American citizenship. The crowd retired to the pavilion for a presentation of the veterans that enlightened all on the 13 folds in the flag as it is retired plus the significance of each fold, narrated by Warren Wilde. Following this a swinging musical duo,dubbed the “Keller Sisters' Band” kept the feet thumping with patriotic music from Caysi and Chey Keller, whose ancestral roots go back to Mink Creek's founder, James Morgan Keller.

           Eldon and Danita Wilcox headed up this celebration and kept the enthusiasm high with prizes and interest throughout the day. Decorations enhanced the whole area provided by Sherry York and her assistants, TK Bullock and Brittnee Phillips. Nearly 300 people enjoyed this day together at the beautiful Mink Creek Ballpark.

          A neighborhood deer has discovered the cherry tree in our yard and is visiting regularly. He keeps an eye on the activities within the house through our patio door. I am hoping he gets a belly ache from the green apples that he consumes. But he is beautiful, that lovely color they have this time of year and his antlers in velvet. Living amidst the wild critters has a price, and sometimes it is the fruit and vegetable you are hoping to harvest.

July 4, 2018

           Yes, it has been a day for celebration and you will get a more complete description next week when it hits the newspaper publication date. Suffice it to say, very nice indeed.

           The annual Mink Creek School Reunion was held this past month at the recreation hall of the LDS Meetinghouse. The event was potluck, well, assigned potluck depending on where your name came in the alphabet. This year's hosts were Jimmie and AnnaBeth Olson. The agenda included great visiting time, prizes awarded, and recalling fond memories with historic pictures of past years in Mink Creek.The planning baton for next year's party has been passed to Gary and Sharen Erickson of Chubbuck, ID.

          Kathryn Wilde McCarrel spent a weekend with her brother Jay Wilde at his Mink Creek home. Katharine brought her granddaughter, Whitney Trapp, with her. Both live in Lehi, UT.

           Exciting news in the family of Dick and LaDawn Jensen. Their grandson, Braydon Arhens, the son of Shirley and Kevin Arhens, leaves for the MTC and will be serving in the Ecuador, Quito North Mission, Spanish-speaking. The LDS farewell meeting was held at the Ahrens' home ward in Chubbuck, ID.

           The newest members of the Mink Creek LDS Ward are Lisa Blackmon and Sidney Whitehouse. This couple came from the area around Sacramento, CA, to this Idaho village about three years ago, looking for a place to build a home and they have been in and out of our lives ever since. They were baptized as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints during a Saturday afternoon meeting and confirmed member the following day in the Mink Creek Ward. Now they are busy putting down long-term roots.

           Lana McCracken traveled to Salt Lake City to celebrate the wedding of her son, Owen Baird, to Heidi King in the Bountiful LDS Temple. Heidi's parents came from their home in Manchester, England for the occasion. A reception was held at the Smoot Park in Centerville, UT, following the proceedings. All of Owen's siblings were together for this event to wish the new Mr. and Mrs. Baird the best.

          It is getting dry enough that the kittentail flowers aren't blooming, unless they are in someone's yard.

           The annual Mink Creek July 4^th celebration was absolutely fine. Things going on all day by the nearly 300 who attended. A mid-week 4^th always brings a few less than those on the weekends. More details will be published next week Hope your day has been one to reflect on the blessings of our nations independence.