Feb 02, 2010

Do you have any ice skating memories to share?

Although I have owned a pair of ice skates all of my life it seems , they have hardly ever been used but plenty abused. I vaguely remember a couple of different things about ice skating as a youth. One was ice-skating on the pond down on the lower part of the farm. It was a bit tricky because there was a spring that few the pond and would keep the ice pretty thin n that area. However we never really worried about falling through the ice because if we did the water was maybe 4 inches deep below it. The worst part of the pond was thinking you could walk across it when it look dry and instead sink to your knees in mud much like if you were in quick sand. The other time or possibly times we skated was behind the County Courthouse in the middle of town. There was an area that they would flood in the winter to make a skating ring for the citizens. Needless to say I skated just enough to get my ankles sore but never enough to be able to skate.

Feb 01, 2010

What extra's did you use for your snowman's face, buttons, arms, hat, etc?

The only things that I remember using were pieces of coal for the eye's mouth, nose, and sticks for the arms. Since we used a coal burning furnace there was plenty of coal to use. I don't remember putting hats or scarves on them like we have with the family as you were all growing up and we didn't have coal so it was rocks that took the place of the coal.

Jan 31, 2010

What did you use to go sledding down a hill in the snow?

Living on a farm we had an interesting change in the way we did things. This was one of them. Dad had a piece of equipment that we used on the farm to work the ground and it had large metal disks and needless to say was used for disking the fields. Once the ground was plowed the disk hooked to the back of the tractor would break all of the clods up and make it easier to level the ground, plant it and them mark it for irrigating. Dad however found another use for these old disks. He would weld metal handles onto the sides and then we would take those to the top of the hill. It would take several rides down the hill to make a trail (and we were usually pretty tired by that time since we had to pull that heavy metal disk back to the top after each slide down the hill. So consequently the sledding ended after just a few runs down the hill. There was one interesting thing however and that was if you hit a tree the disk just bounced off. (We usually didn’t though but yet we were never hurt. We did have a traditional sled as well but it was a lot harder to find a place to use it and thus we seldom rode it.

The old sleigh of my youth.

Jan. 30, 2010

Tell about the worst winter storm that you can remember as a child.

I would suppose that the worst storm was in September and I don’t remember which year. The leaves were still on the trees and we had a big snow storm while we were at school. That night as we were going home on the bus we couldn’t make it into our yard. The snow on the trees had broken several limbs and one of them was a large limb from the Walnut tree by the side of the house and then right around the corner was a large cottonwood tree that had fallen across the road and landed on the corner of the house where the fruit room was built. I don’t remember if the house was damaged or not but the bus had to back out a half mile to get turned around. Dad finally moved the tree by strting the little D4 Cat that we had and often had to use to move the snow from our lane in the winter time. Later in that year as the snow melted we ended up having to walk that half mile each time we came or went from the house because the runoff from the melting snow had washed out the road.

Jan 29, 2010

Tell about an experience or event that drew you together.

I remember mostly the times that Leesa would get on the piano and then everyone would talk dad into singing the “Mighty Deep” or “No man is an Island.” He had a beautiful deep bass voice and in fact sang at almost every funeral in a quartet as the bass singer for all of the funerals in Duchesne that I can remember. He was always being asked to sing.

Anyway it was usually a Sunday evening and after he would sing that song or both of them then the rest of us would join in and sing for about 45 minutes to an hour. It was a special time with him and mom.

We always ate our meals together as well and they were just a part of farm life but I think they were also times when we drew closer together. I especially remember eating bread and milk with onions and salt after getting home from Sacrament Meetings on Sunday evenings. It sounds like it wouldn’t be very good but it really was very good and one of the thins that I miss.
Most of the other experiences were when we were working together as we cut and baled the hay in the summer and doing chores all year round.

Jan 28, 2010

What did you and your brothers and sisters fight about the most?

I only remember a couple of fights, one with Lynn and then an incident with Leesa but I am not sure I can really call it a fight. Here is how I have written it in my stories.

Teasing Leesa

Children that are siblings can be very mean to each other just in the name of fun or at least it starts out that way most times. This particular incident I will never forget because I was just teasing Leesa but she certainly didn’t see it that way.

As a youth and the youngest son in the family, born between two girls, made me the one who had to do dishes when I would rather be working outside or so I thought. The older boys were always out doing the chores milking the cows and feeding them as well. There was also bringing the coal into the house and taking the clinkers from the furnace back out. It really sounded fun to a young boy stuck doing dishes. Well one day my assignment was to clean off the table and Leesa was washing the dishes and Marsha drying them or at least that is the way I think it was. Anyway I don’t remember what led up to this but I really didn’t feel like doing dishes but I was going to make the best of it by teasing Leesa. It worked pretty well apparently because she had finally hit her limit and turned and threw the old porcelain sugar bowl lid at me. She is a pretty good shot because it hit me in the head and so I just slumped down to the floor and closed my eyes and played like I had been knocked out. Well Leesa, being the very tenderhearted sister that she was, went crazy thinking that she had really hurt me and maybe even killed me. I stayed there long enough for her to freak out really well and then I started laughing really hard. It became obvious really fast to her that I was OK but that then just made her mad because she had been so worried about me. I think I did end up with a pretty good goosebump to show for the fun. I don’t remember the punishment but I didn’t have to dishes again that I can remember and instead I began carrying buckets of hot water to the barn,washing the milking equipment, milking cows even in the coldest of weather, hauling hay, feeding the cows and horses, hauling in 4 large buckets of coal at a time into the basement for the furnace, carrying out the buckets of clinkers and of course cutting, raking, baling and hauling the hay. Needless to say what I ended up doing alone, except in the mornings when Dad helped me, for over four years after the boys were all gone (missions, marriage) was a lot harder than doing the dishes. Maybe that was pretty good punishment after all.

I can't find an image of what it looked like but was probably similar to this one with a lid and a hole for a spoon handle as I remember.

Jan 27, 2010

Since this is actually being published on Jan 26, I am going to wish Loren a Happy 25th birthday to start this blog.

Happy 25th birthday Loren, a quarter of a century old.

Now for tomorrows blog tonight.

Did you ever have an imaginary friend?

No but in my adult life I have three special experiences that I would like to tell relating a little to yesterdays question and of men who I consider to be special friends but far from imaginary.

I have had three special experiences with general authorities.

Carlos E Asay became a General authority in 1973. I had been associated with him for 9 months as a missionary in the Texas North Mission. I remember vividly our first meeting and our last many years later. There were 30 or so of us headed to the Texas North mission in Oct of 1872. The first and largest group left on the plane first and then 10 of us followed in a second plane quite a while later. It was my first ride in an airplane and a very new experience. I recall the lights of the Fort Worth - Dallas area as we flew over them and landed at Love Field in Dallas. We all got off the plane and proceeded down to the baggage claim area with no idea what was going to happen next or how we were to get to the mission home. No one was there to meet us as we were told would happen. We were all just about ready but facing the baggage ramps when a fellow laid his hand on my shoulder and turned me around. He no more than saw my face and said “Hello Elder Poulson”. I, needless to say, was very impressed that he knew my name and everyone else’s as well. The first group had arrived and they had left the airport headed to the mission home when they were about half way there President Asay realized that his entire group had apparently not arrived. Of course I grew to love him as we worked together in Texas and as he conducted his monthly interviews with me. He was called to be an Area Representative just prior to completing his three years as our mission President. Later at mission reunions he never failed to know our names. In 1999 he invited all of us to a mission reunion at the Salt Lake Temple with any of our endowed children. Jeff attended with Marie and I having just returned from his mission and again President Asay knew my name. He invited all who lived outside of Utah to meet with him after the session and he would give them a tour of the temple and then told the rest of us to set up a time with his personal secretary. He was currently the Salt Lake Temple President.

We were again with him about a week later but it was at his funeral. He had a massive stroke Monday at work and passed away the following Friday. He had gone into work that morning as his secretary related to us very excited and as though he were on cloud nine because of the special reunion. There were 305 of us there and we had also enjoyed it as well.

The second was in 1986 or 87 with Marion D “Duff” Hanks as he was introduced to us. He was the Bother of Janet Christensen and came to a dinner with us at Timp Lodge at an adult overnighter in the 4^th ward. He sat across the table from me and we talked about my current position in the ward. I was the Varsity Coach/Teachers Quorum advisor at the time and I remember him asking me if they were all active and what I was doing to get them that way. He then related how he had 14 in his quorum and that he had been able to get them all active and then challenged me to do the same with my quorum. It was almost like a Personal Priesthood Interview because he was focused on me and I on him during the conversation even though it was at a dinner with others all around us.

The third was not as personal but was with President Boyd K Packer when he came to the Mapleton Stake for a conference. I was currently serving on the High Council and at the start of the conference we were asked to provide security for him along with his two personal body-guards. After they arrived we all had a chance to meet him and shake hands, introduce ourselves and then he went into the office with the Stake Presidency and we went to the chapel. We met at that time with the security personnel and they started it off with a prayer. After the prayer they thanked us for being there to help and then said “We noticed that you all closed your eyes during the prayer (apparently they hadn’t) and we know that is what you are to do BUT it will not happen again during this conference.” They then went on to explain that during prayer was when any trouble makers will most likely make their move since no one will really be watching. (You ought to be on the stand and look out into the audience during prayers for sacrament meeting and you would soon learn that they were probably not totally right but none the less it is apparently when things do happen.) We were then given a list of names to look over and tell them if we knew any of them on the list. I did and in fact was not surprised that his name was on the list since I had been his parents home teacher and had met with him several times and listened as he complained about certain things the leaders of the church fell short of doing. I was then asked to keep look out specifically for him and his movements. Well he moved all over but never was any trouble, I did finally figure out that if I went and talked to him and stood by him that he stopped moving around and was much easier to keep track of during the remainder of the meeting.

Jan 26, 2010 Loren’s Birthday in 1985

Did you ever see a President or Vice President in person?

No, as to the US Presidents

Yes, as to LDS Presidents. In fact I was about 2 yards away from President Gordon B Hinckley as he was hurried into the RS Room at one of the chapels in Springville. It was a Region Leadership Meeting and he was just coming in from Vernal from a morning session to Springville for an afternoon session and you couldn’t even see any fatigue from the trip. It was a very special conference and he was rushed out just as fast by his security.

Then Marie and I apparently walked right past the room where President Monson was waiting after our stake conference in April of 2009. We would have seen and met him had we waited just 2 or 3 more minutes. He was there to ordain his son as our new stake president in the BYU 6^th stake.

Part 2: Which of the Presidents in your lifetime has been your favorite?

US President Ronald Reagan. He had the guts to see things how they were and act on them. And most of all he was proud to be an American and show it to the world just the opposite of our current guy in charge hiding behind the Arabs.

LDS President. President McKay was the President of my youth for 17 years and thus hold a very special place in my heart but I cannot say he is my favorite because each president as they become the prophet have a very special spot to the side of him. I almost feel a little ore close to President Monson simply because I am getting to know him better than any of the others because of sitting at the feet of his son who has learned so much from his father and sounds so much like him as well. So I do not have a favorite LDS President they are all on a pedestal far above any other men in the world except for the other general authorities. I have now lived during the Presidencies of exactly half of the church president. Also as a side note: We are also related to President Heber J Grant, if I remember correctly.

Jan 24, 2010

At what age did you first vote and for whom did you cast your first Presidential vote?

I was 18 when I first voted but it was not during a Presidential year. Then the next year when it was I was serving my mission in Texas and did not vote. So my first Presidential vote was in 1976 and I voted for Pres Gerald Ford.

Jan 23, 2010

Who was President when you were born.

The author of this book is probably not LDS but when I read this question two answers came to my mind at the same time. I had to go to the internet to make sure that my memory was correct and it was but the internet also made it possible for me to add images of each. So here they are.

The President of the United State of America was Dwight D Eisenhower. He was president until I was 8 years old.

The President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was David O McKay.

He was president of the church until I was 17.