July 27, 2022

 

Elder Charles Iverson spoke in the local ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this past week, just prior to his beginning of two weeks service as a missionary to the Philippines, Bacolod Mission. He is the son of Dr. Kurt and Margret Iverson. His grandparents are Johnny and Jeannine Iverson of Mink Creek and Sharon Knapp of Cub River. Relatives from both the Iverson and Knapp families attended this meeting as well as a number of Charles’ high school friends. He graduated from Preston High School this part May.

JoAnn and Drew Ford are enjoying time with several grandchildren at their home. These are Sarah, Adele and Patrick James, of North Ogden. They liven things up at the Ford home from the relatively quiet days of their aunt Bethane, JoAnn and Drew and participate in community activities.

Marilyn and Bob Godfrey have spent nearly a month in Mink Creek. The chief reason for the stay was that of a Godfrey Family Reunion being held on the farm of Glen Jepsen, Marilyn’s brother. They have been preparing genealogical information to share with famiy, visiting with Jepsen and Godfrey relatives and enjoying the cooler temperatures of Mink Creek before heading back to their home in Casa Grande, AZ, south of Phoenix.

The family of Mary and Ron Norris gathered here for the funeral of their parents. Mary had been hospitalized for quite some time and passed away on July 1. Ron died in a 4 Wheeler accident on the their Birch Creek farm just six days later. The Norris’s moved to Mink Creek from Utah a number of years ago.

The family of Hannah Pearson met at their Leghorn Lodge, formerly Hannah’s home, for a family reunion. Hannah’s daughter Colleen Hawkes of Kaysville, UT, and Dean Pearson of Cedar City are the last two living siblings of Hannah’s family. People came from Washington state to South Carolina and places in between ,Texas, Colorado and lots from Arizona). Obviously from Utah and Idaho, too. Around 140 family members were able to enjoy the fun of reconnecting, cousins meeting cousins, and the wonderful feeling of togetherness that results from these events.

We are not “enjoying “ the heat, enduring is more fitting. We are no longer a green valley, only irrigated lawns and fields are green, the rest rapidly drying with the hot winds that seem to arrive daily. But it is the end of July, so this is expected.  

July 20, 2022

 

Lisa and Sid Whitehouse have been among us for a few weeks. They are now living in South Carolina, in a more permanent style, but have leftovers from the years they spent in Mink Creek that are slowly being taken east. Lisa claims they are not finished just yet, and that makes the community pleased. We like having them continue to ‘revisit.’

Judy Clark has plans to move to Preston, to be closer to her children/grandchildren that live in that area. She hates giving up her yard, her favorite walking paths and the life she and her husband built in Mink Creek. The move will solve some winter care problems, etc. Already she is missed in our village. In the meantime she has been visiting with her daughter Kim and Sam Daines in Lehi, UT.

Summertime brings people home. Drew Erickson and his daughter Paige of Tempe , AZ spent some time at the home of his parents, Bob and Claudia Ericskon. It was a time to escape the intense Arizona summer temperatures, something to which Drew has never been able to enjoy. Another daughter, Claudine and LaMar McKague of Vancouver, WA, came down for a week to check out some of the challenges here in Idaho as they make plans to build a home in Mink Creek in the near future.

This is also the season for family reunions. The Fenton family, Utah based, gathered here with Ami and Tom Fenton and their children, Ami the daughter of Eldon and Danita Wilcox, grew up in Mink Creek. The immediate family of Wynn and Cecelie Costley were on hand for the holiday weekend, celebrating the return of their parents from their most recent mission services to the Salt Lake City Temple Mission.

The sons of Delmer and Velda Olson, Jeff, Jimmie and Nate, all who now live on Station Creek, threw out the welcome mat for Terry Olson and his family. Terry is a cousin of the Olson’s who spent his younger years in Texas, but spent several summers with the family in the Station Creek mountains. Terry brings his family to reconnect with the days of his youth and remember the many great times in Mink Creek. He is retired from his career as chairman of the Family Living Department at BYU/Provo and now lives in Orem, UT.

The invasion of the swallows has been survived. The birds come yearly, seeking places to build their mud nests and any place available becomes a target for their housing. Quite often they choose a spot above the door of a home, leaving mud drops and bird debri hanging above the head of anyone trying to enter the house. An outdoor light fixtures on a home is another favorite. If a person leaves their garage door open while the house hunting is on, it is nearly guaranteed that they will have started to move in. These birds are a persistent creature and it takes a toll on a homeowner’s patience to dissuade them from their intentions.

July 13 2022

 

The annual July 4^th celebration went off in great style. Not too hot, got tables, chairs, picnic blankets in a shady spot early on. The community had purchased a new, HUGE flag for the occasion. It was beautiful to behold—, strung between two light poles on the eastern side of the park. Any person driving through our village could not miss it, the sun shone its spotlight as it billowed in passing winds. The park was full of people. Phil and Jenny Christensen, selling the meal tickets counted about 330, and that didn’t include children age 5 and under. The morning started with a Candy Corral in the field of the ballpark, a replacement of our usual airplane candy drop, of course the most important thing in the eyes of the kids was the candy, not from whence it came. There were various games, kickball, bottle rockets, a bounce house. Singer John Dalley and his wife Penny provided music for much of the day, patriotic and otherwise. Five men presented short talks on a patriotic theme. They were Mike Jepsen, Drew Ford, Glen Jepsen, Jimmie Olson and Bishop Paul McKay.

Food prep and serving had many helpers. Owen Ovens were hired to do the potatoes, Clare Christensen’s kitchen crew were Sam Stanger, Jim Harrison, Pedro Gonzales, LD Larkin, Shade and Brittani Watts, and Jody Rasmussen, The main course was pork loin roasted chicken and hot dogs for the kids. The Primary officers decorated the pavilion with table runners of red and blue on white covers, with quart jars of red roses, the white blooms of wild yarrow and quaking aspen leaves. The Relief Society was responsible for the rolls, the tossed salad, rounding up volunteer servers and potluck desserts. Leah Costley Gilbert made an enormous cake, decorated to be a license plate of Franklin County. All of this was very yum. The afternoon was relaxing for some, enjoying our local water slide hill for others. We so enjoy our ballpark, the space and shade it provides for many of the village activities.

Mink Creek has started a once a month Evening of Family Fun. During warm months it will be at our beautiful Ballpark with games like Frisbee, football, races, etc. There will be board games, card games and the opportunity to sit around and swap stories. There will also be a fire, for anyone who might want to bring marshmallows and a stick. The first one was a success, with a variety of ages showing up. One group of adults played board games, several just enjoyed the time catching up on the neighborhood, sharing table space under the pavilion. The playground equipment attracted the kids and Jody Rasmussen, YW President, furnished a large exercise ball for playing Dodge ball. Any who wanted were treated to a wedge of watermelon for the evening treat.

I wish we could close the door on the COVID virus and its mutations, but it seems not to be. At least 4 cases have been reported in our village, and endured over the last 2-3 months. None hospitalized due to the virus, all quarantined. One hospitalized for a separate reason and COVID tagged along.

July 6, 2022

 

Elder Andrew Iverson has returned home after serving the last two years in Spanish speaking missions. Due to the COVID his first months were spent in the Texas East Mission. Then he received the transfer he had been waiting for, to the field where he was originally called, the Mexico Quenetaro Mission. In some ways it was like starting from the beginning, all over again. Elder Iverson is the son of Dr. Kurt and Margret Iverson. Most of his siblings were able to gather to welcome him home: Johnny and Gaby Iverson and daughter of Rexburg, Walter and Jillian Iverson, Charles and Conner Iverson, brothers still living in Mink Creek. His grandparents, Johnny and Jeannine Iverson of Mink Creek and Sharon Knapp of Cub River were able to be there. Other relatives of the Knapp and Iverson families attended.

This was perfect timing for the Iverson family. Walter Iverson and his new bride, Jillian Jarvis, were hosted with an open house at the Iverson home, June 25, introducing Jillian to friends in this area. Walter and Jillian were married on May 4, in Provo, UT, and there was a reception for them in American Fork, UT, that evening. Jillian is the daughter of Matthew and Heather Jarvis.

There were more wedding festivities at the home of Dr. Kerry and Melinda Jepsen for their son Cole marrying Marissa Kay on June 24^th. Due to the fickle weather patterns experienced recently this event took place indoors. The evening prior to the nuptials the family celebrated with a “getting-to-know you” party for all friends and neighbors to meet the new couple.

Douglas Mellor, husband of RaNae Olson Mellor of Meridian, ID, passed away recently. ReNae grew up in Mink Creek, the daughter of Delmer and Velda Olson in the Station Creek are

Sam and Katie Hatch are announcing a new grandbaby. Haylee and Bryce Jensen of Brigham City, UT, have a new little boy to join their family. Big sister, Emma, is already a big fan of this brother. The name the Jensens have chosen is Lukas Lee Jensen.

Jay Wilde, a summer resident of Mink Creek, is encouraging interest in the beaver dams being restored in Birch Creek. He held a question and answer presentation for all who were interested at Clare Christensen’s shop and the following morning gave a tour of the Birch Creek Beaver Project in Birch Creek Canyon, complete with a hamburger lunch at Little Basin.

The July 4^th celebration was great and the newly purchased huge national flag was very well received. Anyone driving past on Hwy 36 was drawn to the colors rolling high and wide in the breezes on the east side of the ballpark.