September 29, 2021

 The month is nearly gone.  Remember the rhyme, "30 days hath September, April, June....." So here we are tomorrow wraps up the month.

Summer is family time in our village. Lin and Sharla McKay have seen River and Hunter Morgan of Centerville, UT, on several weekends. Josh and Sarah Newby with Gage, Nash and Kace, came up from Spanish Fork, UT. Payton and Judith Newby and their four, Xander, Declan, Adalind and Ryland of Springville, UT, matched visits on a weekend or two so the cousins could get together and enjoy family camping, and rides on motorcycle and 4-wheelers.

Davis Collins, son of Jay and Kristin Collins of Lakeview, OR, is staying at his grandparents’ home in Mink Creek, Bob and Claudia Erickson. He graduated from BYU/Idaho in Rexburg, loved the Idaho lifestyle, and is now hoping to send down some roots of his own in this area.

JoAnn and Drew Ford celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary this summer in July, having missed the celebration last year due to the COVID restrictions. Nearly all of their five children, with spouses and grandchildren were able to come to Mink Creek for this occasion. The states of Iowa, Utah, and Iowa were well represented. Such fun and reconnecting on all levels took place, particularly with the cousins.

With the recent passing of Kent Egley, all of the Egley family have been home, gathering for the funeral and support of Kent and ReNae’s family. Kent has three brothers: Carl and Carol Egley now from Ulysses, KS, still farming but with huge fields on flat ground after being raised on the Mink Creek mountain slopes. Larry and Bunny Egley from West Glacier, MT, where they have a travelers’ resort near Glacier Park, Lynn and Shelley Egley from Benson, UT, just across the Idaho border. These, plus children and grandchildren in each family, coming from many directions, gave support in this trying time.

News of the death of Sandra Wylie was reported this week by her daughter, Mona. Sandy is the daughter of Marie Aupperlee and came from Texas to visit her mother here in Mink Creek. After Marie’s passing Sandy lived here for several years. A few years ago she moved to Rock Springs, WY, to be closer Mona and her family. Sandy suffered from health issues over this time and recently was dealing with an infection, then COVID-19 and pneumonia developed. She passed away on Sept. 22, 2021, after 10 days of hospitalization.

It is time to be homesick if you have Mink Creek in your family tree somewhere. This is a beautiful fall and each day it seems to get a bit better. The colors, oh my, the colors—the dark of our evergreens on the mountainsides just accents the reds of the maples as the trees have turned. Just turn on your memories of a vibrant fall season and imagine being home. The water sources however are at a small trickle as they make their way down to the main stream, our namesake.