May 24, 2010

Tell of someone you envied and why?

It would probably have to be Leesa because she was so smart. However I finally got to catch up a little as I got to 9th grade and started getting straight A report cards, something she had always been able to get . She was also very good on the piano but I had to realize that I had my chance, we started piano lessons the same year and I stopped after just 8 weeks. Oh well I was only 8 at the time and hated the piano at that time also.

May 23, 2010

Did you have homework during your school years?

Well if I did I don't remember it very well. I might have had a few days of homework but I can't think of any. Our teachers usually gave some time in class for doing homework and I took advantage of it as well as the time before and after school in the library. I think the teachers were a lot more aware of the work they gave us since they knew a lot of us also had responsibilities on farms and had work to do after we got home. I probably could have taken more home but didn't.

Then I got to college and had a shock of a lifetime with homework that kept me busy well into the night a lot of days. It was a totally new world.

May 22, 2010

How many students were in your high school? approximately 300.

In your graduating class? A grand total, still holding the school record, of 54.

Duchesne had a lot of activity during my high school years adding a lot of people to the towns head count and census. There were a lot of oil well people working the new fields and Starvation Dam was being built so there were a lot of people with the government in town. That was what created the largest class ever to go through school.

May 21, 2010

What year did you graduate from high school? What do you recall about your feelings, emotions, hopes and dreams at this time of your life?

1971, at the age of 17. I was close to the youngest in my class. I think one girl was younger.

I was a bit scared about the future as well as excited for it. I knew I would have a full year in college before I could go on a mission so since Lynn and Leesa were both attending Snow I applied for and received a scholarship to SnowCollege in Ephraim, Utah. It was a small school but highly accredited and had an electronics program which I had decided that I wanted to go into. I knew I would miss MArie terribly but did look forward to dating without fear of judgement. (I did date that year also and I also dodged and ducked from one girl that was chasing me.) It was a good time of my life but one filled with a lot of questions and few answers. The answers did come however and I have enjoyed all of my life with the challenges and activities that I have had and done that never crossed my mind at that time.

May 20, 2010

Tell about your graduation exercises or traditions.

When I graduated I was the Salutatorian of my class which meant I had t write a talk for graduation. I really don't remember much about my graduation except that it was held in the gym of the High School. However I do remember the night. The local movie theater stayed open for a show from about 11 PM to 1 AM. W, Pauline, Marie, and I went to the movie and then went home. I wanted to stay up all night just because I never had before so we played games for awhile until they became to tired and fell asleep. I then went outside and tore down the sheds behind the barn to stay awake. Little did I know the plans that would be put into motion the next day. Dad came home from getting the mail and asked if I wanted a summer job. I ended up working from 10 PM till 6 AM every night for the remainder of the summer at the Texaco station at the west end of town.

May 19, 2010

If you have another photograph of your childhood to share , place it here.

My foster sister Pauline Shepherd (Novak) Denetsosie

May 18, 2010

Share another memory involving a war during childhood or youth.

I am actually going to answer this question from an experience in my young adulthood not earlier because it has been a major part of my life. When I was newly married and worked for American Television my boss Carl sponsored an electronic technician from Viet Nam. His name was Khoi Ngoc Vu. Khoi became a very dear friend to me through the next two years as we worked together at the television shop. I then left AM TV and went to Signetics. About two years later I was able to get Khoi to get a job at Signetics. I really don't remember how it all went together but I was glad when he came and applied and we began working together again for several years. We took our children to his home several times to shop in his home store for special candy that he sold from his homeland. Khoi was the son of one of the French Diplomats from Viet Nam. He was Vietnamese and when the communists came in promising freedom from the french his father was one who helped them until he started to realize what they were really up to in their country. His father owned thousands of acres of land and Khoi said that when he rolled out the maps of their land they had to use magnifying glasses to be able to see the detail since it was crammed into a large map but made small enough to get it all onto the map that covered the large front room floor. When he discovered what was happening however he fled with his family to South VietNam leaving it all behind and grateful for their lives. They started from scratch again to make a living but never getting anywhere near the fortune that they held in the North. Then when Khoi, who was an attache to the American military, was told as he was going into a meeting to turn round and get his family out of the country and onto one of the boats headed for America, he turned around and went to the school and got his daughter and then went for his wife and went directly to a boat owned by his brother who then took them to the American ship. Khoi would have been killed had he not left at that point since the military was pulling out that day and the officer who was his friend gave him a head start to leave in time. They came to America into a tent city of sorts where they were being housed until people from America were able and willing to sponsor them and give them jobs. We were really lucky to have Khoi, his wife and his daughter come to Orem.

May 17, 2010

Share a memory involving a war during your childhood or youth.

The memory that comes to mind is one involving my Senior prom. We were decorating when Jack Skewes came into the gym (where we held all of our proms and dances). He was coming to tell his wife, Dea, that he had just received word that his brother, my cousin, had been killed in Viet Nam. Bobbie was close to my age and had only been in Nam for a short time when he was killed by friendly fire. A bomb had gone off and he was hit by shrapnel from the bomb. It hit Jackie pretty hard and I was glad that he was married to Dea so that he had a support system very close to him at that time even though as cousins we were also there.

May 16, 2010

Describe your military experience or that of someone in your family.

I had an initial drat number of 314 or something high like that and therefore was never a consideration for the draft to go to the Viet Nam War.However Stanley was drafted and Clair went in as an MP so that he could avoid the draft. Clair served at Fort Ord in southern California and Stan went to Viet Nam. After Stan had been released from military service he came home and shared my room downstairs when he wasn't at college. He told me of some of the experiences that he had and some of the challenges in Viet Nam. He went to Viet Nam as an Army Corp Engineer. I don't know if he had any officer rank but I don't believe he did. He sat in the gunner seat as his partner would operate one of the large dump trucks. He told me once that the convoy would not stop for anything due to the dangers of sniper fire and ambush attacks so if a truck would get a flat tire you were left there. I don't know if they would then call in air support or anything but he was blessed to not have had that happen. There was one time when the driver was killed by a claymore mine that went off and Stan just had particles hit his jacket. Stan showed a picture of one of the trucks and told me that if he were to stand net to the tire he would barely come to the center of the tire or in other words the tires were a little over twelve feet tall.

Stan then received a blessing from the Lord which would end his military service and bring him home with an honorable medical release from the service. He woke one day and was seeing double. It wasn't blurry he said just two images of everything. he was sent to the military hospital in Japan and they could not discover the problem so after a month in the Japan hospital they sent him to the military hospital in Colorado. Still nothing could be detected as the cause and then one morning he awoke and the problem was gone. he was then released and has had one 5 minute attack in his life since that time. i am sure the Lord was saving him for service as a Stake President as well as a Bishop and other positions that he has held since tat time.

One time I discovered why Stan was made a rifleman or whatever they were called. We took the 22 rifles out and he showed me how he could hit walnut rolling down the bank from the canal in the driveway. He wouldn't even have to put it to his eye and would shoot them from the hip position. It was fun to see how well he could shoot. And then it became clear why he couldn't stay in the army without his proper eye sight.

I cannot leave this blog without making a comment about the sacrifice that other members of my family have given to our country. I had two great Uncles that fought in WW 1. Both of them sustained major injuries. I remember best Uncle Mark Johnson. He lost both of his legs and was in a wheel chair. However he was a lot of fun and I always loved it when we visited them in Holden on Memorial Day.

May 15,2010

Tell about your high school prom or formal dance.

I don't remember a lot about my prom or Marie's even though I do remember that we went to them both of them and she was my date both times. I also remember her yellow dress and I believe it was for her prom. It doesn't matter so much as to which prom but rather the fact that she was so beautiful.