Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
April 3, 2011
How old were you when you got your driver's license? Did you have your own car?
I was 16 when I got my driver's license, 22 when I got my first car (given to me by Marie's dad), about 35 when I bought my first car that wasn't given to me, and finally 57 when I bought my first NEW car.
Cars were not really a priority in my life. If it ran it was good enough for me. Even though I didn't get my license until I was 16 I actually started driving when I was eight years old. It was a tractor and it was set at the slowest speed so that all I really had to do was to steer it between the bales of hay in the field.
I was 16 when I got my driver's license, 22 when I got my first car (given to me by Marie's dad), about 35 when I bought my first car that wasn't given to me, and finally 57 when I bought my first NEW car.
Cars were not really a priority in my life. If it ran it was good enough for me. Even though I didn't get my license until I was 16 I actually started driving when I was eight years old. It was a tractor and it was set at the slowest speed so that all I really had to do was to steer it between the bales of hay in the field.
April 2, 2011
What kind of clothing did you wear? Were there fads? How were your clothes different from clothes and hairstyles toady?
I wore levi's and western style shirts for the most part. I am sure there were fads but not in the small town of Duchesne. We were pretty much all farmers and wore fairly plain clothes that could be ordered from Sears catalogs. We usually got a couple pair of pants and a couple shirts. However most of the time I didn't have to get any because I had hand-me-down clothes to wear. The hair styles were fairly simple for boys. My hair was cut about once a month by my mother or later my brother Stan. Hairstyles are different for the girls but I can't explain how but I can tell you to pull out my yearbooks and the changes will be obvious.
I wore levi's and western style shirts for the most part. I am sure there were fads but not in the small town of Duchesne. We were pretty much all farmers and wore fairly plain clothes that could be ordered from Sears catalogs. We usually got a couple pair of pants and a couple shirts. However most of the time I didn't have to get any because I had hand-me-down clothes to wear. The hair styles were fairly simple for boys. My hair was cut about once a month by my mother or later my brother Stan. Hairstyles are different for the girls but I can't explain how but I can tell you to pull out my yearbooks and the changes will be obvious.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Apr 1, 2011
Have you attended any high school reunions? What impressed you the most?
Yes I have attended all but one I believe. I have enjoyed them and was impressed by how much the school had changed from when we were there of course now it has been torn down and a whole new school was built where my old elementary school stood. However the thing that impressed me the most was how much weight Wendell Moon had gained. He was always tall in school and when I would walk to places with him I really had to lengthen my stride to keep up, which turned me into a very fast walker with long strides. But when we went to the reunion he was a big man and probably two or three times the size he was in high school. Most of us had changed but I was voted the one who had not changed (appearance wise) from the day we graduated. I was still within 10 lbs of the weight I had been in high school and to this day within 20 lbs still. I weighed 148 lbs wringing wet and was 5 foot 8 inches. Today I am 163 lbs and 5 foot 7 inches. (And that's no April Fools joke.)
Yes I have attended all but one I believe. I have enjoyed them and was impressed by how much the school had changed from when we were there of course now it has been torn down and a whole new school was built where my old elementary school stood. However the thing that impressed me the most was how much weight Wendell Moon had gained. He was always tall in school and when I would walk to places with him I really had to lengthen my stride to keep up, which turned me into a very fast walker with long strides. But when we went to the reunion he was a big man and probably two or three times the size he was in high school. Most of us had changed but I was voted the one who had not changed (appearance wise) from the day we graduated. I was still within 10 lbs of the weight I had been in high school and to this day within 20 lbs still. I weighed 148 lbs wringing wet and was 5 foot 8 inches. Today I am 163 lbs and 5 foot 7 inches. (And that's no April Fools joke.)
Mar 31, 2011
What was your graduation like? What did you wear?
It was a small graduation ceremony. I had to give a talk so for the most part I have no idea what happened. I can remember the events of that night far better after it was over than during. I also graduated from Seminary with a four year degree that year and Serena Davies and I both had to talk in that ceremony as well. I wore a suit, white shirt and tie for both events.
The events after the school ceremony have stayed well in my mind because of the life changing consequences of that night. Pauline, Marie and I all went to a movie that was shown at midnight in the local theater. (It went out of business within just a couple of years after I left Duchesne.) Anyway I don't remember which movie was played but it ended around 2 am so we went home to our place and played games. I wanted to stay up all night for some dumb reason for the first time in my short life and so when Marie and Pauline were both too sleepy to stay awake I went out to the corral behind the barn and tore down some sheds that were nearly falling down anyway. That kept me awake and busy until Dad got home from getting the mail in town that morning. When he got home I was just headed into the house and he got out of the car and asked if I wanted a summer job at the Texaco gas station in town. I did and that is where the life changing part comes into play. I spent that following night after graduation and every night that summer until I left for college on August 13 working from 10 PM to 6 AM at the Texaco Station owned by Carl Workman. I later in life worked seven years straight graveyard at Signetics and knew I could do it because I had survived the summer following graduation.
There were a number of interesting experiences from that summer which are also burned into my memory but I'll leave that for my stories about my life. Four in particular come to mind. The night I was sprayed by a skunk, the night 20 or so men got out of a black van and circle the station until the Highway Patrol pulled in, the night the bosses son came to play and I called the Police and was threatened to be killed because of it, and the night the drunk wandered toward the station just before 6 am.
It was a small graduation ceremony. I had to give a talk so for the most part I have no idea what happened. I can remember the events of that night far better after it was over than during. I also graduated from Seminary with a four year degree that year and Serena Davies and I both had to talk in that ceremony as well. I wore a suit, white shirt and tie for both events.
The events after the school ceremony have stayed well in my mind because of the life changing consequences of that night. Pauline, Marie and I all went to a movie that was shown at midnight in the local theater. (It went out of business within just a couple of years after I left Duchesne.) Anyway I don't remember which movie was played but it ended around 2 am so we went home to our place and played games. I wanted to stay up all night for some dumb reason for the first time in my short life and so when Marie and Pauline were both too sleepy to stay awake I went out to the corral behind the barn and tore down some sheds that were nearly falling down anyway. That kept me awake and busy until Dad got home from getting the mail in town that morning. When he got home I was just headed into the house and he got out of the car and asked if I wanted a summer job at the Texaco gas station in town. I did and that is where the life changing part comes into play. I spent that following night after graduation and every night that summer until I left for college on August 13 working from 10 PM to 6 AM at the Texaco Station owned by Carl Workman. I later in life worked seven years straight graveyard at Signetics and knew I could do it because I had survived the summer following graduation.
There were a number of interesting experiences from that summer which are also burned into my memory but I'll leave that for my stories about my life. Four in particular come to mind. The night I was sprayed by a skunk, the night 20 or so men got out of a black van and circle the station until the Highway Patrol pulled in, the night the bosses son came to play and I called the Police and was threatened to be killed because of it, and the night the drunk wandered toward the station just before 6 am.
Mar 30, 2011
Did you receive any awards or recognition in high school?
Quite a few as I recall. They were for various debates we won (Lee Moon and I were a debate team and went to State our Senior year) and for other things like top science and math student. Jon Telisak and I were tied for the top math student our senior year. Jon drowned in Starvation reservoir the day after we graduated in May. The highest one that I received was Salutatorian of our Senior class beat out of Valedictorian spot by a couple hundredths of a percent by Serena Davies. If I had kept up my grades the way they were going in grade school I would have been near the bottom of the class but in 9th grade I finally figured out that I could get A's in class and went from a C student to a straight A student the last four years of school. (I was trying to keep up with Leesa who was the Valedictorian of her class the year before I graduated.)
Quite a few as I recall. They were for various debates we won (Lee Moon and I were a debate team and went to State our Senior year) and for other things like top science and math student. Jon Telisak and I were tied for the top math student our senior year. Jon drowned in Starvation reservoir the day after we graduated in May. The highest one that I received was Salutatorian of our Senior class beat out of Valedictorian spot by a couple hundredths of a percent by Serena Davies. If I had kept up my grades the way they were going in grade school I would have been near the bottom of the class but in 9th grade I finally figured out that I could get A's in class and went from a C student to a straight A student the last four years of school. (I was trying to keep up with Leesa who was the Valedictorian of her class the year before I graduated.)
Mar 29, 2011
Did you go to school dances? Did you have dates? What songs or dances were popular?
Yes I went to school dances but rarely stayed in the dance hall for them. They played the music far too loud. Yes I had two dates. One of them I took all but one time for every dance after we turned 16. The other one was with Linda Peatross because Marie and I decided that we should follow the counsel of our church leaders and not steady date. So I took Linda to one dance our senior year and we had fun. Marie ended up not going if I remember correctly. It was on a Friday night and monday morning by the time we got to school rumors were all over the place as to why she and I had broken up. My mother worked in the school library and her mother worked in the school lunch kitchen. They did not hear favorable things at all and so we decided not to try that again. When I went to college my freshmen year I dated several girls during that time and then when she went to college while I was on my mission she dated and was even asked to be married before I got home. Luckily for me she said she wanted to wait and see how things would go with me and he never came back to find out what had happened.
The popular songs were from the Beatles era as well as the Beach Boys, The Monkees, Peter, Paul and Mary and other bands of the 60's. I remember one dance when I had taken Marie and the last song of the night was "Hey Jude" (the 7 minute version) and I asked her to dance with me. About 3 or so minutes into the dance Leon Mallo tapped me out and so I didn't get to finish dancing it with her. I didn't give up though and walked her home after the dance was over.
Yes I went to school dances but rarely stayed in the dance hall for them. They played the music far too loud. Yes I had two dates. One of them I took all but one time for every dance after we turned 16. The other one was with Linda Peatross because Marie and I decided that we should follow the counsel of our church leaders and not steady date. So I took Linda to one dance our senior year and we had fun. Marie ended up not going if I remember correctly. It was on a Friday night and monday morning by the time we got to school rumors were all over the place as to why she and I had broken up. My mother worked in the school library and her mother worked in the school lunch kitchen. They did not hear favorable things at all and so we decided not to try that again. When I went to college my freshmen year I dated several girls during that time and then when she went to college while I was on my mission she dated and was even asked to be married before I got home. Luckily for me she said she wanted to wait and see how things would go with me and he never came back to find out what had happened.
The popular songs were from the Beatles era as well as the Beach Boys, The Monkees, Peter, Paul and Mary and other bands of the 60's. I remember one dance when I had taken Marie and the last song of the night was "Hey Jude" (the 7 minute version) and I asked her to dance with me. About 3 or so minutes into the dance Leon Mallo tapped me out and so I didn't get to finish dancing it with her. I didn't give up though and walked her home after the dance was over.
Mar 28, 2011
What school activities, sports, or clubs did you participate in? Were you involved in music, drama, or the school band?
I was on the yearbook staff four for years and did the most with that as far as school activities. However with that said I was also on the Cross Country Track team in the fall and on the track team running the 880 yard race and mile relay aces in the spring. I wrestled in 7th and 8th grades but didn't like it well enough to continue with it through high school. I was on the drama debate team my junior and senior years and participated in the school play with the drama team for three years. I was in the high school band every year that played at the basketball games and was in a special band that played for other school plays. I was also in the science club. In a school of our limited student body count you could be in and do nearly anything that you wanted to do. It took all of us participating in nearly everything to keep the school going. Since I wasn't one who liked to play basketball in competition on the school level I spent my time playing ball for the church team. High school players couldn't play on the church team so the rest of us got too do that. It was a lot of fun without the stress of daily practice and school competition. I was actually one of the top ball stealers on the church team and played the guard position.
I was on the yearbook staff four for years and did the most with that as far as school activities. However with that said I was also on the Cross Country Track team in the fall and on the track team running the 880 yard race and mile relay aces in the spring. I wrestled in 7th and 8th grades but didn't like it well enough to continue with it through high school. I was on the drama debate team my junior and senior years and participated in the school play with the drama team for three years. I was in the high school band every year that played at the basketball games and was in a special band that played for other school plays. I was also in the science club. In a school of our limited student body count you could be in and do nearly anything that you wanted to do. It took all of us participating in nearly everything to keep the school going. Since I wasn't one who liked to play basketball in competition on the school level I spent my time playing ball for the church team. High school players couldn't play on the church team so the rest of us got too do that. It was a lot of fun without the stress of daily practice and school competition. I was actually one of the top ball stealers on the church team and played the guard position.
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