November 28, 2018

          The fall winds have been making regular visits and have pretty much swept the dried leaves off the deciduous trees. Pheasant hunters have been enjoying going through the habitat of these beautiful birds. They are good a playing Hide and Seek.

           Clare Christensen had a bout in the Logan Hospital. When he showed up at the local hospital in Preston they put him on an ambulance and sent him to Logan. It turned out to be a ruptured appendix and he and Linda were grateful to have hospital services with quick action..

           Mary Ann Jepsen took a few days to go to Sacramento, CA, with a group of friends for a girlfriend reunion. The California friend was having some health challenges so they were there to boost her spirits and spent four days playing games and just fun in general. Mary Ann reported that the skies in that part of the state were smoke laden from the northern California fires.

          Tom Sharp, a neighbor from down the road in Riverdale, enjoyed some time with his son Jackson in the Salmon River country. They caught some hefty trout, watched mountain sheep in action. It is one of Tom's favorite spots and he returns as often as he can.

         Glen and Betty Jo Jepsen have spent some time in the area around Dallas, TX recently. Their son Kyle and Stacy live there and have a new baby girl for these grandparents to get to know. This was the time for her name and blessing. She was given the name of Alexandra Emery Jepsen, with smiles all around.

         Sherrie Corbett has taken on the sport of rowing and is having a great time. This lady seems to thrive on challenges : races of various lengths, new goals at the gym and now has added rowing to her accomplishments.

        Part of the Thanksgiving holiday in this neck of the woods is the presence of many people in our canyons, tromping about as they try to locate the perfect live tree for their home. It is a good thing they don't all want the same tree! The action has already started and will only increase in the coming days.

         Thanksgiving Day was full of cold sunshine. The foreboding warnings of storms moving in during the three days following did not materialize. A bit of rain now and again, but not much. People were seen hiking the roads here and there, but any treks into our fields yielded muddy footwear.

As is usual for this holiday we had plenty of visitors while at the same time many of our residents went elsewhere. More details for some of that next week.

           New homes under construction has been mentioned a while back. It is a happy report to say that the outside constructions appears to be intact and that now it is the inner workings that are underway. Just in time for some more nasty weather to arrive.

November 20, 2018

I have been out of town, so this may be a catch-up post. Don't want you to miss anything so here is the missing from Nov 14th.

          It is time to get out our woolies, each day the temperature drops a mite. Most homes in the area have smoke curling into the air above the chimneys. Dried, crumbly leaves are in abundance, not just on our lawns but up and down the hillsides, snuggled in among the dry weeds and crop stalks. The latest deposit of snow in our mountains appears to be here for the long haul.

          Jeff and Deborah Olson made a quick 3-day trip to see a friend in Montana. Larry Egley spent all of his younger days in Mink Creek and still returns off and on. At the present time Larry and his wife Bunny are the owners of the Great Bear Inn, a bed and breakfast lodge located about a mile from the border of Glacier National Park. Jeff and Deborah drove up before the weather got so cold and, while there, were given a tour around the Hungry Horse Reservoir by Larry. The Olsons had a great time and report that the Egleys reside in beautiful scenic country.

           Wynn and Cecelie Costley wound up the warmer days with a trip to Lake Powell and some days on their houseboat. They included Cecelie's mother on this outing, knowing it would soon be too chilly for such an occasion.

             Karen and Layne Erickson, along with Paul and Terrie McKay and their family went to Wellsville, UT, to attend a missionary farewell for Braden Erickson, the son of Bryan and Shannon Erickson. Braden will be serving in the India, Bengaluru, Mission. Connie and Adam Westenskow came up from Utah, and Julie and Todd Kunz and children of Ammon, ID, made it a total family occasion.

             The funeral of Sheldon Longhurst was conducted in the Preston North Stake Center for family and friends . He was buried in the Mink Creek Cemetery and following the graveside services , the Mink Creek Ward Relief Society served a luncheon to the family in the church recreation hall.

And moving to this week's edition:

           Election Day blew in on chilly wings, the polls open at 8am for any early voters. The workers for that day were Danita Wilcox, Lorraine Christensen and Vickie Free. They reported having a good turnout from the registered voters, keeping fairly busy most of the day.

            Jimmie and Anna Beth Olson had a fall visit from Peggy and Jon Flinders and their girls. They live in Rigby, ID, and were down for some grandparent time.

           There has been a change in the leadership of the Young Men organization of Mink Creek. Jared Egley was released as the secretary of that group and Shane Corbett will now fill that calling.

           Kurt and Margret Iverson have been in New Jersey, attending a professional meeting. While in the eastern part of our country they drove to New York City, confronting with all the noise and hustle and bustle, and were were pleased to find calm and peace within the walls of the ManhattanTemple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

           Richard and Vickie Free and Robert and Phee Crosland were able to spend nearly a week in Hawaii. They stayed in cottages on the island of Kauai and it provided the perfect spot for a short “get- away.” A highlight of this stay was a tour of a golf course as the sun was setting, beautiful scenery accented with unusual colors.

           Laural and Jody Janke and their children spent the weekend with her parents, Bob and Claudia Erickson. While they are enjoying their new surroundings and neighbors in Richfield, UT, the Janke family still considers Mink Creek as home. They had a working Saturday taking care of fall cleanup jobs around the Erickson place.

          The residents of Mink Creek have been asked to save the gazillion dry leaves that are filling our yards. Bagged, or in some other form of transportation, they will be used to mulch the garlic field on the Longhurst farm. This has become a community project, and who would have guessed when it began that the dry leaves, usually a nuisance to homeowners, would have a worthwhile purpose to protect those bulbs over the winter. We are all going to learn about the process of growing garlic, and learning is good.

           Happy Thanksgiving, readers! It is looking like we might have our first good snowstorm during Thanksgiving weekend. Hoping this will help the fire areas of California and not cause them more grief with flooding.Good for the land, not so good for those out on the road headed to or away from Mink Creek. One positive note, if they have been raised in Mink Creek they do have snow-driving experience.

November, Election Day, 2018

          It was a chilly evening for the Ciderfest of the village, held at the Mink Creek Ballpark on Halloween Eve. A bonfire helped to ward off the coolness somewhat. An apple press was available for those who might want to use it. Those attending brought some sort of treat to share. The Trunk R Treat took place around the bonfire, for the ghost and goblin set. Fun was the order f the evening.

            Ernie and Sherry York endeavored to enjoy a trip to the Midwest in their motor home. They got as far as Sidney, NE, when their outfit had coughing spells and they checked out the reasons. As it often goes things did not go smoothly getting the correction and Sherry ended up taking their small car and coming back home to Idaho to take care of other obligations. Ernie followed a few days later, and had yet another siege of motor problems. When it finally got straightened out it appears the fuel filter was the main culprit. Oh, the joys of taking trips!

           Bryce Egley, son of Jared and Juli, took the District title with his mountain bike racing, He has worked and trained hard in this his freshman year. The State races took place in Green Valley near St. George, UT. He was 1st in the North division and finished 5th in the State race of 187 riders, even with his chain slipping twice. Congratulation, Bryce!

              Wynn Costley has been called to serve as Second Counselor in the bishopric of the Young Singles Ward in Preston. Due to this his wife, Cecelie has been released as Mink Creek Ward's Young Women's president, so that she might be part of this calling. Melinda Jepsen will now serve as the Mink Creek Young Women's president and her counselors will be Terrie McKay and Jennifer Seamons.

              Lori (Strawberry) Muldner is happy to have her brother Carl Muldner staying here in Idaho for a lengthy visit. He hails from Goodyear, AZ, where he was a property storage manager. He is a diesel mechanic by trade, been an outside salesman for Freightliner of Arizona, a parts man and various other jobs, including being a fix-it man. Currently he is doing just that with the maintenance of the old Aupperlee home where the Aupperlee daughter Sandy Wylie and Lori now live. Carl is a man of the outdoors and is enjoying our cooler temperatures along with the beautiful surroundings.

           Our owl population keeps up a steady stream of comments during our dark nights. It goes back and forth, back and forth, chatting across the valley.

           Today was Voting Day, 8 am to 8 pm. Mink Creek community still casts their ballots in the multipurpose room of the LDS Ward Meetinghouse. It is the only public building in our village. Sometimes newcomers have a hard time figuring that this event takes place at a building owned and used by a church. The answer is simple, it is the only place possible. It is now nearly the end of the day and I have no idea what percentage of our community voters came to the polls. I was part of the election board for Mink Creek for many years, but have tossed in the towel with the aches and pains that go from sitting too long. I hope the turnout was good because we should never forget what a privilege it is to have a vote.