November 28, 2022

 

The youth of the ward went to the Ogden Rescue Mission in Ogden , UT, to provide service. This was organized by Young Women President Jody Rasmussen. The youth who participated were Emma and Kate Rasmussen, Jyllian and Greenlee Christensen, Emma Rydalach, Clara Jones, Josie Chrisensen, Hazen Baird, Conner Iverson, and Devlyn Currie. The group organized the pantry for the Mission and served dinner to their patrons. There were comments made by the teens in this situation that indicated a recognition of their own blessings. Adults who accompanied the youth were Jody Rasmussen, Amy Baldwin, ReNae Egley, Lacey Christensen and Bishop Paul McKay.

Kim and Wally Christensen and Vickie and Richard Free managed a fall vacation, going to Branson, MO, for about ten days. They had fourteen different shows lined up for their entertainment and still had time to relax, take in some shopping, enjoy the higher humidity and have fun.

Royce and Lorraine Christensen are announcing a new grandbaby. Their son, Fred and Victoria Christensen of Orem, UT, recently brought a bouncing baby girl, at 9 lbs, 10 oz, still the smallest of their three babies. She is welcomed by her big brother and sister. She will be named Serena and is the littlest baby of these three.

Dr. Kyle Jepsen and his wife, Anastasia and their children were here to spend some time with his father, Glen Jepsen. Kyle is a dentist in the Dallas, TX, area. Temperatures here were considerably more chilly than in Texas.

There has been much coming and going over the Thanksgiving days. Home for the holiday, but still having to get back to work the following day tweeks the time spent on home ground. It was dry as far as moisture is concerned but very cold. This did not dampen the spirits of any who were following their family ritual of getting their Christmas tree from our canyons. Suffice it to say that Many Trees have gone down the road, piggy back atop of cars, in the back of pickups, some even on trailers and possibly more than one tree per vehicle.

2 Days before Thanksgiving, 2022

 

Brock nd Catherine Goff and their family have moved to Mink Creek from the area around Malta. There are four children: Emma, a teenager, Jacob and Olivia who will add to the small numbers of our primary age group, and Evie, a cute baby girl with a smile that sparkles. They have moved into the rental home of Paul and Terrie McKay on Bear Creek Road. The Goff’s are friends of Doug and Beverly Bruderer, Mink Creek residents, with Doug and Brock both drivers of milk trucks.

The community wants to say a big “Thank You” to Glen Smedley. He is the driver of our school bus of the Preston School District. Driving a school bus is not an easy job and requites a good dose of patience and good humor, and one where sleeping in is not an option every school day of the week. We appreciate Glen’s efforts in behalf of our kids and families.

Pedro and Avery Gomez have been having some grandparent fun while watching over Flint and Taylor Van Buren. They have had a night at the movies, and lots of outdoor fun, regardless of the chilly temperatures. Outdoors is just part of life with this Pedro grandpa. These two youngsters belong to Nicole and Matt Van Buren of Grace.

Winter is on its way, officially. Bishop Paul McKay of the LDS Ward invited the congregation of Mink Creek to consider signing up for Snow Shoveling for the coming months. The inviting sign-up sheet is posted on the Ward’s bulletin board. A plus to this activity is a new snow-blower used to help on the job.

The turkeys have returned from the higher elevations of summer. Now they are invading yards, garden spots, fields, even paved parking lots. They think they own the place when in reality they are imports, brought in by the Fish and Game Department to our area a little over 25 years ago.

In the countdown before Thanksgiving. Homes are getting ready for arrivals, or making plans to go elsewhere over the next few days. Women are wondering if their menu planning is sufficient, or way too much, as the clock ticks closer. The weather is dry for driving. It is cold, and colder when the sun goes down. I wonder how many families are planning homestyle football activity during this cold holiday. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Remember why we have this holiday, it is not about the food.

November 15, 2022

 

Election day was wet and slushy, but it proved a good day for this district. Poll workers this fall were Lana McCracken, Lorraine Christensen and Claudine McKague. Although the day was chilly and some had to navigate the snow covered roads, there was a good turnout of voters. With 108 ballots for the day, plus some absentee votes 60% participated in this election.

Lorraine and Royce Christensen recently returned from a vacation ‘down south.” Flying from Salt Lake City, they met their son Kevin Christensen and his roommate, Quinten Brown, in Tennessee. Plans had been made for lots of activities, most of them old-fashioned, being clean, corny and fun. They started out in Gatlinburg, Dolly Parton country at Pigeon Forge, with dinner and a show at Dolly’s Stampede restaurant. They enjoyed some Hatfield & McCoy’s feuding humor. A trip to Murphy, North Carolina, and the lake nearby with waterfall territory gave them the opportunity to explore four waterfalls and the hiking trails of the area. Back to Chattanooga, TN, they were taking in scenic tourist spots. For the last day Royce and Lorraine visited the Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that is in Nashville before returning to Idaho. Kevin and Quentin returned to their home in Arizona.

Sharla McKay enjoyed a trip with her aunts to Colorado to see her sister, for a reconnecting with family. They enjoyed the area around Colorado Springs, took in a Denver Broncos game, a drive up Pikes Peak. The high altitudes of this part of the state and the chilly weather made the trip all the more memorable.

There was a Christensen Cousin’s Reunion, all first cousins. These were children of three brothers: Lloyd, Allen and Carl and the cousins all grew up in Mink Creek within walking distance of each other. Three still live in Mink Creek, Lee Christensen, Royce Christensen and Clare Christensen. DeVerl and Elizabeth Christensen now live in Dayton,ID, and Jeanette Christensen in Preston. Vachelle and Jay Higbee call Arizona home and the rest are located in Utah: Verneal Lowry is in Tooele, Clarice Feichco at Farmington, Brad and Raeone Stuart in Bountiful, and Vance and Connie Christensen and Sonia and Melvin Ray are both in Vernal. They had a cousin from far away Denmark at this gathering, Irma Warnsdorf. Clare and his wife Linda hosted a dinner for the group in their lovely ‘workshop.’ All other activities and visiting took place at Raone and Brad’s home, where Carl’s family spent their youth.

Elk season is closing down, but there are still reports of tags being filled. Keep in mind that it needs more than a backpack to tote one of these animals out of the mountains on its way to becoming winter meat. Hunting is fun, but there is much work involved once the goal has been achieved.

November 8, 2022

 Election Day!  Hope you all voted.

There is a new Wilcox home going up on a hillside above the stream of Mink Creek. This one is for Doug Wilcox, who has had property here for years along with his brothers, Con and Lynn, all from Utah. The house is nearly invisible to anyone passing by, but it has been an ongoing project for most of the past summer months.

Clare and Linda Christensen hosted an evening on October 28, a getting-to-know-you party, for the people who have moved into our community fairly recently, a mix and mingle. Called a Fall BBQ, the menu turned out to be a prime rib dinner with those attending bringing potluck salads. Fifteen households were able to come. Some of them have Mink Creek roots, but not recent, part of their ancestral past. Others are totally new to the area.

Halloween Trunk ‘r Treat on October 29 at the recreation hall turned out to be a very fun event. The Young Women were in charge and the girls had things going constantly, a nice deal. Food was first on the agenda, chili dogs. Then they were ready to have doughnuts on a string for the youngest age group. Next was added a cake walk—with cupcakes for the prizes and more doughnuts for the older kids. There were five categories for the costumes: Best All round won by Clayton Phillips as a small Frankenstein, Group or couple won by Jesse and Celina Groesbeck with daughter Oakley all in cow costumes from their head to their ankles, Silliest category went to Timber Christensen as a ghost buster, Scariest was a grim reaper who turned out to be Hendrick Chatterton, and Most Creative went to Rapunzel, better known as Addy De Vries with a blond braid bedecked with flowers reaching to the floor. There was a big variety of costumes, all ages, which made the costume parade a big hit.

Winners of the pumpkin carving contest were Timber Christensen for best all around, Annie Rasmussen, then Katiana Baird and her niece Cedar Packer shared the third prize. Phee Crosland won the prize for their decorated trunk. It was loaded with ghosts, had a skeleton duet plunking some scary tunes on a banjo, topped off with an eerie lantern to lure the treat seekers to a cauldron of goodies.

Slush! That was the conditions today. Grateful for highway snowplows and the men that get up in the middle of the night to set them in motion.

Remember the wildlife that is out in the storm during the night hours. There were a couple of deer fatalities during that time with evidence, plus the remains filling the barrow pit between Mink Creek and Preston. We live here, but their ancestors were here before ours.

November 1, 2022

 

The Primary children were the Program for a Sacrament Meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ward in Mink Creek. This annual event is always a spiritual treat, as well as one that brings many smiles during the participation of the children The chosen topic was Spiritual Heroes. Each child spoke of a person in the scriptures and said why they felt that person was a hero. They sang a variety of primary songs that were woven into the program. This little group has grown a bit, now about 13 children, and they were a beautiful choir, even well behaved. Primary president is Brittnee Phillips and her chief organizers for this were Terrie McKay, Primary chorister, and Linda Christensen, the pianist.

ReNea and Raphael Arnsworth celebrated the high school graduation event in the life of his son, Hawk Arnsworth, by taking him on a trip to Mexico. They included a few days in Texas, Raphael’s hometown area north of Houston, with family parties and barbecues, aunts and uncles, Texas-style. Then it was a bit more than a week to be spent in the area around Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with the beach, the ocean, the jungle along the coast.

The community has had some internet ailments with little service for many residents for a couple of days. That is always a challenge when there are demands online and it is beyond reach. If a families home phone is dependent on the internet, that is one more service that is silent. Even the scammers can’t breach that!

Ben and Mollie Seamons and their little boy, lAndrew, have moved into Mink Creek. They will be living in the home where Ben spent most of his growing up years, a beautiful spot down a slope on Birch Creek Road. We welcome them home. Ben is the grandson of Cathy and Scott Seamons and Joe and Kathy Jarvis, so Andrew will warm hearts with every step he takes.

Our village had a very fun Trick R Treat party on the 29^th, it will be covered in the news next week. Even the weather was dry when rain had been anticipated, but it was wise to have it indoors. Comfort counts.

We have piles of dried leaves that have been blown from the trees. The wind picks them off the branches, tosses them about and then piles them up against something with a little solidarity. It might be in a yard, or just against a rock. The crunchiness makes for a definite sound for anyone walking about. Any hunter would have a hard time being quiet and sneaky.

Today it was a south wind, a little warmer than expected, but it still had its drying effect on anything living outdoors.