What did you do on New Year's Eve? Were you allowed to stay up until midnight? Did you do anything special at midnight?
I remember one particular New Year's Eve and it was in Metarie, LA. I had gone with mom and dad and Stan down to visit Alma and Loyle. We had gone to visit between Christmas and New Year's. I remember going to New Orleans earlier that evening and going through the French Quarter's. It was an education for me and I didn't particularly like it. We stayed in the car with the doors locked. Then we played Monopoly after we got back to Alma's. It lasted all evening but I didn't play the entire time. I don't remember for sure but it seems like I was pretty tired and fell asleep before midnight but was awaken easily by the noise of the fire crackers and fireworks that started going off just before midnight.
So that was the most memorable one I ever had but I am sure that I stayed up for some of them but I really don't recall for sure. Anyway ringing in the New Year I don't remember being any real big deal or I would probably had a few more memories stick. I am sure we banged pots and pans or made some noise for a short period of time but we never did use and fireworks or fire crackers. It just wasn't something that we needed to spend any money on since money was never in great abundance.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Mar 8, 2011
Did you have a Christmas Tree? Buy it? Cut it? What were the decorations like? Tell about your most memorable Christmas.
We had a Christmas tree every year and they were always fresh cut from the farm or bought from the scouts because I had gone on a fund raiser and cut them also. Most of the trees were cedar trees with the occasional white pine that we brought from the scout fund raisers. Those were cut from Grass Hollow in Indian Canyon south of Duchesne. We would then put them into a water stand and they lasted really well until we took them down after Christmas.
Our decorations consisted of breakable glass ball ornaments, pop corn strung on thread that were usually long enough to go around the tree several times from the top to the bottom. We also had silver tinsel that was always fun to put on but hard to take off. There would be occasional ornaments that we had made in school but they were far apart and few. There were also candles on the tree that we lit, oh wait a minute I am not that old, we had strings of lights with the big bulbs in them that we would string around the tree as well. Then there was a star that we would put on the very top. I always loved the smell of the fresh cut trees each year.
As far as my most memorable year I have already written about it in my 2010 edition. 1963.
We had a Christmas tree every year and they were always fresh cut from the farm or bought from the scouts because I had gone on a fund raiser and cut them also. Most of the trees were cedar trees with the occasional white pine that we brought from the scout fund raisers. Those were cut from Grass Hollow in Indian Canyon south of Duchesne. We would then put them into a water stand and they lasted really well until we took them down after Christmas.
Our decorations consisted of breakable glass ball ornaments, pop corn strung on thread that were usually long enough to go around the tree several times from the top to the bottom. We also had silver tinsel that was always fun to put on but hard to take off. There would be occasional ornaments that we had made in school but they were far apart and few. There were also candles on the tree that we lit, oh wait a minute I am not that old, we had strings of lights with the big bulbs in them that we would string around the tree as well. Then there was a star that we would put on the very top. I always loved the smell of the fresh cut trees each year.
As far as my most memorable year I have already written about it in my 2010 edition. 1963.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Mar 7, 2011
On Christmas, what time did you get up in the morning?
When I was little it seemed harder to go to sleep than to get up. But if I recall correctly it was sometime around 5 or so but then I would have to lay in bed until much later. Then when I began milking cows and helping with the chores we would go out and do the chores before we could open any presents or see what had been left by Santa. So it was usually around 5:30 or 6 that we would start doing the chores and then come back in about a half hour later and get everyone else up. I thought it quite mean to have to do chores first but it was so much better because then we didn't have to stop in the midst of playing with our toys to go do them.
When I was little it seemed harder to go to sleep than to get up. But if I recall correctly it was sometime around 5 or so but then I would have to lay in bed until much later. Then when I began milking cows and helping with the chores we would go out and do the chores before we could open any presents or see what had been left by Santa. So it was usually around 5:30 or 6 that we would start doing the chores and then come back in about a half hour later and get everyone else up. I thought it quite mean to have to do chores first but it was so much better because then we didn't have to stop in the midst of playing with our toys to go do them.
Mar 6, 2011
The next question was about Christmas but that was covered last year so I am putting another segment from my histories about my grandparents.
Grandpa Poulson's lap and Grandpa Hansen’s blessing |
Many of the memories of my Grandparents were with my mother parents. Grandpa Hansen gave me my patriarchal Blessing and Grandma Hansen lived until I was home from my mission and had my first son. Dad’s parents however were a part of my memories as well but Grandpa Poulson was only a part of one specific very vague or faded memory. I remember sitting on his lap while I was three years old just prior to his death. I can’t remember his funeral even though I was most likely there but I can remember sitting on his lap just that one time. I have often wished that I could remember him better but know that someday I will get to know him just as I did my own father. Grandma Poulson was a big part of my childhood though since she was my babysitter after mother started working for the school. I would go from Kindergarten to her home just a coupe blocks from the school. I would play there until Mom or Dad came to pick me up. Dad was working as a carpenter and at that time was helping Mr. Grant build a home just a block away from Grandma so she would let me go visit him once in a while also while he was at work. We got to spend most of the holidays with her since she lived in Duchesne. We always loved to go there to do our Trick or Treating on Halloween and I always loved her tapioca pudding. Grandma lived until I was ten years old, seven years after grandpa had passed away. She was in our home for the last couple of months prior to her death and passed away the day after Christmas in 1963. Mother said she always felt that Grandma had stayed until after Christmas so that she wouldn’t spoil Christmas day for us children. We all loved her very much and she was the lucky Grandma that we got to live close enough with that visiting her was almost a daily occurrence. I loved my other Grandparents as well but getting to visit them required a trip usually taking up a couple of days.
Received My Patriarchal Blessing from Grandpa Hansen
My Grandfather Hansen had been a spiritual leader in the church most of his life. He was a Bishop and a Stake President and late a Stake Patriarch. It was the last calling that I remembered him as being in the church during my lifetime. I could hardly wait to receive my patriarchal blessing since I could receive from my Grandfather even though he was in a completely different stake of Zion. I knew my Brothers and sisiters had all received theirs from him so I was anxious to get mine. It was a soft policy I suppose in the church while I was growing up to wait until you were older than 14 to receive your blessing. However there were some allowances made for my younger sister Marsha and I when we traveled to Centerfield to receive them from Grandpa. I was 13 and Marsha was 10 years old. I remember it seemed like hours as I sat on the chair with Grandpa sitting on a stool behind me nd with his hands on my head and then Grandma sitting to the side with a pencil and paper recording the blessing for him as he spoke it. That was part of the reason for the length of time since he would pause regularly to give her time to write each word down. Marsha and I were dressed in Sunday clothes and it was on a Sunday that we received the blessing. I have always felt very fortunate to have been able to receive that blessing when I did because only a few months later he had a heart attack and passed away. Marsha was really lucky since he was only 10. Grandpa was always special to me for a lot of other reasons a swell. I would wait for him to go get water from a lake north of Gunnison and then help carry in the gallon bottles filled with their drinking water. The water apparently was so hard from their well that they could only bathe and do dished in it. I also loved going out to the corrals behind the house to watch him do chores and help feed the livestock. I never got to know my Grandpa Poulson since I was so young when he passed away and so Grandpa Hansen filled both of the roles so to speak and did it well.
March 5, 2011
What did you do on Thanksgiving? Who came to visit? Where did you go to eat?
Thanksgiving was always held at home. Mom and the girls would cook a large meal and we would eat it as a family. I do remember after the older children (Alma, Clair) were married that we would have their families and after Clair had built his home on the farm that we would sometimes hold it over in his yard. I don't remember any more than that. I am sure Grandma Poulson would be there when she was living and we may have even eaten in her home a few times but I don't remember for sure on that point.
Thanksgiving was always held at home. Mom and the girls would cook a large meal and we would eat it as a family. I do remember after the older children (Alma, Clair) were married that we would have their families and after Clair had built his home on the farm that we would sometimes hold it over in his yard. I don't remember any more than that. I am sure Grandma Poulson would be there when she was living and we may have even eaten in her home a few times but I don't remember for sure on that point.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Mar 4, 2011
What did you do on Halloween? What did you wear for a costume? Did you make your own costumes or buy them from the stores?
I have a lot of memories of going to Halloween Carnivals but not many where we ever dressed up in costumes. I don't remember even doing any Trick or Treating other than at Grandma Poulson's after the carnivals. The carnivals were always fun however and the had a lot of fun booths to spend money at and win prizes. I think they were used as fund raisers for the most part but it basically was also designed to prevent Trick or Treating for safety reasons. I remember one specific year when I went with Marie to the marriage booth and was married by Don Hansen, my best friend. I think I still have the paper we used for it. Other fun booths included face painting and ring tosses. I don't remember a lot to then though, just the fact that they were pretty fun. If I ever did dress up in a costume it was most likely home made and a ghost at that. I don't remember any store bought costumes until I was older and then it seemed like it was mostly just masks that we put on for a few minutes. No wonder it was always more fun for me to stay home and hand out treats that to go out for treats.
I have a lot of memories of going to Halloween Carnivals but not many where we ever dressed up in costumes. I don't remember even doing any Trick or Treating other than at Grandma Poulson's after the carnivals. The carnivals were always fun however and the had a lot of fun booths to spend money at and win prizes. I think they were used as fund raisers for the most part but it basically was also designed to prevent Trick or Treating for safety reasons. I remember one specific year when I went with Marie to the marriage booth and was married by Don Hansen, my best friend. I think I still have the paper we used for it. Other fun booths included face painting and ring tosses. I don't remember a lot to then though, just the fact that they were pretty fun. If I ever did dress up in a costume it was most likely home made and a ghost at that. I don't remember any store bought costumes until I was older and then it seemed like it was mostly just masks that we put on for a few minutes. No wonder it was always more fun for me to stay home and hand out treats that to go out for treats.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
March 3, 2011
What did you do on Valentine's Day? Did you make your own valentine's? How did you deliver them? Did you have a valentine box at school?
Valentine's holds a special place in my heart. I didn't like to make all the valentines that we did each year and it wasn't always easy to make the shoe box Valentine Boxes each year. Yet it was always fun to give out the valentines at school and then get others back from our classmates. They were usually the store bought variety but hand written by each person. I didn't really enjoy writing on all of them either but there were probably a couple of them that I did like to do each year and usually they were to girls. Later in my teenage years though there was one Valentine that I really liked getting something from and of course still do.
Valentine's holds a special place in my heart. I didn't like to make all the valentines that we did each year and it wasn't always easy to make the shoe box Valentine Boxes each year. Yet it was always fun to give out the valentines at school and then get others back from our classmates. They were usually the store bought variety but hand written by each person. I didn't really enjoy writing on all of them either but there were probably a couple of them that I did like to do each year and usually they were to girls. Later in my teenage years though there was one Valentine that I really liked getting something from and of course still do.
March 2, 2011
Do you have any special memories of holidays or family reunions?
I have mentioned our holiday memories before but I have not always mentioned much about family reunions.
The first reunions that I can remember on my Poulson side were held in Duchesne. The one or two that I can remember are probably mixed into one memory but it was pretty good. We had it at our home and at the fireplace in the yard. I remember most however the fact that Dad, Milton, and Ned all three laid down on the grass with their cowboy or other hats covering their faces and going to sleep. I remember wondering how they could do that but have since learned that it was pretty darn easy.
Later years we held several more reunions at Uncle Tennis's home in Orem. We had a lot of fun at those as well and in fact it was held around their outdoor fireplace as well. I had a lot of second cousins that were my age and didn't know the difference until I was much older.
The Hansen reunions were always held at Centerfield where Grandma and Grandpa lived. It was always a long trip but worth it and then even longer to go on down to Circleville to Uncle Carlings which we would often do as well. I remember Grandma and Grandpa always coming out of the door to meet us and it was always worth a great big hug as well. It was always fun to play Red Rover and other games outside with with my cousins. It was fun and they were my first cousins on that side of the family. There were a lot of cousins and we always had a lot of fun together.
I have mentioned our holiday memories before but I have not always mentioned much about family reunions.
The first reunions that I can remember on my Poulson side were held in Duchesne. The one or two that I can remember are probably mixed into one memory but it was pretty good. We had it at our home and at the fireplace in the yard. I remember most however the fact that Dad, Milton, and Ned all three laid down on the grass with their cowboy or other hats covering their faces and going to sleep. I remember wondering how they could do that but have since learned that it was pretty darn easy.
Later years we held several more reunions at Uncle Tennis's home in Orem. We had a lot of fun at those as well and in fact it was held around their outdoor fireplace as well. I had a lot of second cousins that were my age and didn't know the difference until I was much older.
The Hansen reunions were always held at Centerfield where Grandma and Grandpa lived. It was always a long trip but worth it and then even longer to go on down to Circleville to Uncle Carlings which we would often do as well. I remember Grandma and Grandpa always coming out of the door to meet us and it was always worth a great big hug as well. It was always fun to play Red Rover and other games outside with with my cousins. It was fun and they were my first cousins on that side of the family. There were a lot of cousins and we always had a lot of fun together.
March 1, 2011
What were your favorite family traditions?
I suppose my favorite traditions would have to be using the outdoor fireplace in the summer for family dinners and entertainment. It was always a chore to take all the food from the house down to the fireplace but it was also always worth it. Sometimes the bugs were also a bit bad but that didn't seem to dampen it much either.
Sleeping out side on the 23rd of July so the canon's going off would wake us up on the 24th of July. That was always quite fun. Here again the mosquitos were sometimes a pain or an itch but still fun.
Making homemade ice cream in the summer and swimming in the canal. These were also fun even though the entire family was not always involved in the swimming part.
And maybe this wasn't a tradition but it seemed like it and that was going to Dinosaur land with the cousins every year or so.
Then of course the annual trips to Grandpa Hansen's and the Christmas evenings with Grandma Poulson.
I suppose that was probably most of them that I may or may not have written about. The Family Home Evenings or Sunday Evenings singing around the piano would also have been included in this list as well.
I suppose my favorite traditions would have to be using the outdoor fireplace in the summer for family dinners and entertainment. It was always a chore to take all the food from the house down to the fireplace but it was also always worth it. Sometimes the bugs were also a bit bad but that didn't seem to dampen it much either.
Sleeping out side on the 23rd of July so the canon's going off would wake us up on the 24th of July. That was always quite fun. Here again the mosquitos were sometimes a pain or an itch but still fun.
Making homemade ice cream in the summer and swimming in the canal. These were also fun even though the entire family was not always involved in the swimming part.
And maybe this wasn't a tradition but it seemed like it and that was going to Dinosaur land with the cousins every year or so.
Then of course the annual trips to Grandpa Hansen's and the Christmas evenings with Grandma Poulson.
I suppose that was probably most of them that I may or may not have written about. The Family Home Evenings or Sunday Evenings singing around the piano would also have been included in this list as well.
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