U of U digitized images of Duchesne

Danen Lott found these images that were recently

digitized at the University of Utah.

Most of these pictures were from the era 

of history long before my time but most of these 

were while my father and his family were there.

They moved from Holden to Duchesne in 1913.

I cropped this image from one of the images

where more of Duchesne was in the image

but I wanted to get a close-up of the 

building where I attended K-6th grades.

It was torn down when I went to 7th grade 

in the high school across the street (1965-66).

I was playing marbles on the front walk

the day President Kennedy was killed in 1963
as he was riding in the motorcade in Dallas Texas.
I later visited the museum in 1972 while
serving my mission in Texas.

I ran across the bridge many times 

when walking home.

I also ran across the bridge many times 

when walking home. (Not sure if it is the
same bridge as in the other photo but Duchesne
had two bridges like this one.)

The Cozy Theater was in the center of these buildings.
We, Marie, Pauline and I, watched a movie there
the night Pauline and I graduated from high school.
I loved the nickel suckers because if you were lucky
one would have a star on the inside of the wrapper
and you would get another one for free.
That is where I saw Bambi for the first time and
couldn't watch it again for many years because of the
forest fire scenes. (I was pretty young when I saw it.)

My father was in the High Council

when this picture was taken.

He is fourth from the right on the back row. 

If I remember correctly this was one of two pinnacles
up strawberry river 20 miles more or less from Duchesne.

This reminds me of my Grandparent Poulson's home.
(I don't know if it was theirs or not.)

Our barn was used for dairy cows and I wonder also
if this is where the milk was taken each day.

This looks like it might be the road headed
East out of town just after crossing the river.

I have wondered if one or two of my 

uncles could have been in this image.

Hidden treasure found after 50 or so years

When I was young we had no video games or the like

to rob ourselves of precious time for exploring and 

hiding simple treasures.

I remember a tree , cedar tree, on the hill above our house 

that had limbs that extended out and down to the ground.

It made a perfect hut and a special place to play 

after the chores were done.

One year we, Lynn and Leesa and I if I remember correctly, 

 buried a special treasure under that tree.

I don't remember if it was in the summer

or in the winter when the snow had drifted 

over the top of the tree making it into 

a real snow cave. I would have been 

somewhere between 6 to 11 years old.

(Added note: I have talked with Lynn and Leesa

and so far Leesa is the only one who remembers doing it also.

She also thinks we were in an elementary school timeframe.)

Anyway we buried a can of treasures and I didn't remember 

what was in it but over the years when I have 

had a chance I have gone several times up the hill

and looked for that treasure. I never ever found it probably

because my memory of the hill was skewed over the years 

and the path to the hideout obscured by time.

Well today September 25th of the year 2016 I received

a text from my nephew in Duchesne, who lives

on the old farm where I was raised, with this image attached

and asking if any of us remembered anything about this treasure.

He said they had been clearing trees up on the hill 

and found it while removing an old dead tree. 

Well I remembered it and was kind of shocked

to find that it had been found.

I thought that maybe over the years someone else had found it and 

removed it from our secret hiding place under the tree in that cave.

Craig said that I may not have found it because the tree was now dead

and I would have been looking for a live one.
I was also probably thinking that it was further up on the hill

than where it actually was located.

Anyway it was fun because he said he had also found evidence

of rocks lined up to mark a trail and 

of dead branches moved to cover the area better.

Well we had made a border to the trail into the cave with

rocks and we probably made the cave a little more 

secluded with other limbs, that part I don't really remember.

Needless to say it has been pretty fun

realizing that a treasure that we had hid as boys 

was found so many years later by our nephew. 

It is also really fun to now know what I as a boy considered 

a real treasure. There probably would have been coins in it

had I been rich enough to let go of a penny or nickel.

However it housed for us 30-30 and .22 shells, rocks, 

hazelnuts, round toothpicks, a wooden domino, marbles,

pencil erasers, a suction cup, little train car, green rubber hammer head,

yellow plastic ring from a vending machine or cracker jack box, 

and a carved wooden face much like what I have 

carved on several scout campouts as an adult.

They were all stored in a can made to last over the decades

that used to have Cocoa in it.

Yep it was a treasure can filled with many of my 

boyhood treasures. I am surprised that I would part with any of

them but maybe they were all things that belonged to Lynn instead.

I have since hidden coins in walls while building our house

and while remodeling the house Dawna lives in now. 

That was while we were getting it ready to live 

in when Marie and I were married.

If I remember correctly they were of the year when we did it

1975 and again in our current home in 1983.

(Just a note in case you ever remodel or tear down this home.)

A visit to Duchesne and meeting with family

 We had a family meeting to get memories of our parents Kermit and Ilean recorded for history. Stan and Leesa were not able to be there and we were grateful to have Jack, our cousin yet more of a brother, there with us also. We also had our spouses of whom we so appreciate.

 L to R: Marsha, Clair, Alma, Jack Skewes, Lynn and Kent.

 Julie (Lynn)

 Center: Dea (Jack)

 Left: Scott (Marsha)

Left: Ruth (Clair)  and Right: Julie (Lynn)

Left: Loyle (Alma)

We also had a fun tour of Clair's farm animals.

  

We also stopped to see the Veterans Memorial at the East end of town.

Then there was a full moon rising that I just had to capture.