Heritage Days

I don't know how many people across the U.S. get to experience a small town celebration, but here is our city Chief of Police Max Jackson shaking hands with my good friend Elaine during Harrisville City's parade. And it's not even election time yet ...

Shown is the city honoring all of its past mayors. Mayor Saunders on the right is in his 90's.

And now for some "Harrisville Idol" as part of the talent show. 

"MY STRENGTH IS MY PEOPLE"

I hope I'm this vibrant when I'm 90!

Youth City Council members scooping up ice cream to go along with a big birthday cake. 

Angie and Kieley are awesome. (They didn't even put me up to that compliment.) 

And... the celebration always ends with fireworks, which we watched this year from the roof of our house!

Our daughter graduated from high school today. I took this photo of some of the young men in her class, and I just really liked it so I posted it!

Celtic Celebration

My husband and I attended the Celtic Celebration at Peery's Egyptian Theater here in Ogden yesterday, and we really enjoyed it. It's an annual event with Celtic music and dance by the local group Celtic Beat.  This year's featured band was Idlewild. My husband plays the Irish tin whistle and is learning to play the fiddle. I especially loved the Scottish drummers!

I love the look of the theater's new website, too. http://egyptiantheaterogden.com/

10th Anniversary of the 2002 Olympics

I love the "Living History" moment that our kids got to participate in this month. Venture Academy students went on an "expedition" to learn more about the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Utah. We took a trip to Park City to visit the Utah Olympic Park and the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Museum and then shared what made this event such a great moment in Utah history at an official celebration in downtown Salt Lake. 

The Park....

 

The Museum ...

 (Pic above is Jimmy Shea's helmet) 

The Celebration ...

As part of the expedition and the celebration in Salt Lake, Venture students wrote "If I Were" historical fiction and created artwork inspired by the Salt Lake 2002 Olympics.Our son and daughter both researched Jimmy Shea, the Olympic Gold Medalist in the skeleton. Their drawings and writing were on display at the Union Pacific Depot today! 

The coolest part of all was ... they got to meet Jimmy Shea in person!

ARISE DVD's Finished

I took hundreds of photos during the Arise Celebration journey along with the rest of my committee.  Then... with the help of my talented daughter, we put everything together on a DVD - photos, video, you name it. It turned out fabulous.  I am so happy it's done and that the youth enjoyed it.  It totally made my week when one of our young women told me she has watched the DVD several times since we finished it; it's now her favorite Sunday movie!

Zemira Palmer blog breakthrough

I am so excited to resume work on my Zemira Palmer blog.  A distant cousin contacted me and has all kinds of information to share including pictures, letters, and other documents.  He is the owner of Zemira Palmer's sword! COOL!  The link for this blog is www.zemirapalmer.blogspot.com.

Peloton Movie

I took our four kids and had a little adventure the past few days; we were all background actors (extras) in an upcoming movie.  I loaded up our truck with food and a pad in the back to rest on; I loaded my bag with sunscreen, more food, water, band-aids, and umbrellas; and I loaded a few of our kids' friends each day to bring along with us.  We spent the days on the set learning the ropes of the movie business, playing cards, watching the actors, and otherwise having great fun. The cast and crew of Peloton were great to work with. A little history in the making, eh?

Youth Spectacular is SPECTACULAR!!

The North Council with their rendition of the pre-existence.  

I love all the white - especially the missionaries in the back!

We are almost finished with our huge youth production of "Arise and Shine Forth" (see previous entry for details). Our dress rehearsal went extremely well and I am so proud of all of our youth!  The end means I will have more time to get back to some of my other projects--as I won't be to every practice supporting our ward and heading the photography committee. It's been fabulous.  

I am looking forward to summer! One of our family's favorite days is Harrisville Heritage Days.  We love living in Harrisville - a little hometown in the middle of the "big city." I love living next to a field, and having chickens, and  running into people I know at the grocery store! Every year I have taken pictures during the festivities, and I really enjoy it.  This year is going to be crazy, however, because I'll miss some of the fun due to our church's girl's camp. I have wondered if I should post some pics online so people can see them and be able to get a copy if they want ...  The city posts some photos here at www.cityofharrisville.net, and some in the advertising book every year, but it's only a fraction of what I actually take! Don't call me for portrait sessions, though. :) See my suggestions for photographers in the right hand column on this blog!

Every year I think I ought to do a booth or a float and advertise my photo restoration, but then I think, "Oh, well, I think I'll just watch a great parade, eat some great food, visit with my neighbors, and spit a few watermelon seeds ..."  Sounds like a great way to spend a summer's day, doesn't it?

The Night Grandma Lost Her Nightgown

by Deniane Kartchner


Grandma knew where all her things were.

And when clothes were dirty it wasn’t hard for her

To find the clothes basket, and throw the clothes in,

Then put them in the washer to wash, rinse and spin.

When the clothes were dry, she’d sort and fold

And then put them away, very NEATLY, I’m told.

So the night that she lost her nightgown, you see,

Grandma couldn’t imagine where it would be!

She looked in the basket, looked under the bed,

She looked in the closet and on shelves overhead.

When she got to the dresser… she was ready to doze,

So she just jumped into bed.  She’d sleep in her clothes!

Just as she closed her eyes for the night,

From the bathroom door appeared a strange sight.

Into the bedroom danced ... her MISSING NIGHTGOWN!

“Why, someone is WEARING it!” she thought with a frown.

Then she laughed out loud.  He looked so funny!  

It was GRANDPA in her nightgown: “Is this what you’re looking for, honey?”

Grandpa was grinning, and though grandma frowned,

She loves to tell the story of the missing night gown.

*I wrote this story several years ago and think it would make a really cute children's book. 

My post today is just to thank my husband Lorin for all he does for me. He doesn't complain about the time I spend researching family history and (trying to) develop talents that I am interested in. 

History of LDS church through song and dance July 16-17

So much of my time is involved in charity work, and here is my new project.  I was asked to head the photography committee for our stake's involvement in "Arise and Shine Forth," the 2010 Youth Spectacular being held July 16-17 at Weber State University in Wildcat Stadium. Young men and women from 30 stakes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Weber County, Utah will participate! 


We are in the process of learning songs, dances, and otherwise going crazy to put together what will be a wonderful performance and experience for our youth highlighting a history of the Church and its youth.


Two blogs to check out:
http://site.ariseandshineforth.com/
http://arisewestcouncil.blogspot.com/

Lately I've had fun making clocks for wedding receptions. 

New blog added for Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers

I started a new blog today to celebrate the legacy of my Hole-in-the-Rock pioneers, W. Joshua and Elizabeth A. Kenney Stevens! They were newlyweds on the historic trek through the rough country of San Juan to establish the LDS San Juan Mission. The blog is http://stevens-holeintherock.blogspot.com/
You can access it here or through my links list.


I was inspired by the youth project I have listed, http://trekholeintherock.blogspot.com, which is being spear-headed by my long-time mentor Janet Wilcox. She just keeps going and going on history projects, even though she currently calls herself the "Ganado Granny."  Check out this blog, because there may be something you can do to find some lost children of the trek!

Kirt's Drive-In

The photo restoration and design work that I completed for Kirt's Drive-in is now on the wall!  This was a fun project where I pulled old photos of Kirt's together with a history of the business to create the two 20x30 posters you see in the center. Up close you can see other photos such as the one below which were fading but are now preserved digitally.

"Cousins"

"Out of the Drought"

This photo was taken in my hometown of Blanding, Utah. The Blue Mountain is on the left.

This is the Miles Goodyear Cabin at the DUP Museum in Ogden. I took this photo before they added the pavilion over the top (which makes this photo history, too)! I'm going to present the photo to the museum as a gift.

On Friday after our family Halloween party, I discovered that my uncle had brought me Volume 39 of Blue Mountain Shadows magazine ("Movies in San Juan County"). I snatched it and skimmed through it immediately even though it was after midnight. Thanks, Uncle Kent!


I love to get the new issues and I try to continually support the efforts the staff makes to keep the magazine rolling.


I've been involved with BMS quite a bit over the years. In the summer of 1987 (I was about to begin my junior year at San Juan High School), I accepted a part-time job as an interviewer for the Blue Mountain Shadows Oral History Project which ultimately became the magazine. BMS has been going now for 22 years!  I was the layout/production editor for 11 of the now 40 issues (I think I'm still behind one in my collection?). I also authored and/or compiled several articles and photo essays. In '94 I worked on the layout for the book The First Forty Years: A History of San Juan High School, also affiliated with the magazine.


I haven't done much with BMS since 1998 when we moved from Blanding (other than I designed the magazine brochure in 2006). Maybe I'll post some links later of the projects I have completed!


The home Web site is www.bluemountainshadows.org.

Oral History Transcription Project

For the last two months I have been fortunate enough to earn a little $ transcribing interviews. Many of the wonderful people interviewed were 80+ years old at the time (and some interviews took place 30, even 50 years ago!) It is so exciting to have this history now becoming available in printed format for others. The project has inspired me to conduct interviews again myself; you'll see some pop up on my blogs soon.

Preta

We have six chickens we keep in our yard as pets and this hen's name is Preta.  One day I followed them all around our yard, just playing with different viewpoints and seeing what shots I could capture.  I really like this one!

Ogden Cemetery

Pioneer Day at Fort Buenaventura

I love spending Pioneer Day (July 24th) at Fort Buenaventura in Ogden. So many volunteers come and spend time sharing their crafts; many of them come year after year and it is a highlight of our summer to go and learn more about Utah's heritage!

Balloon Fest

Colonial Days - Provo, Utah

This is my second year of attending Colonial Days at the Crandall Printing Museum on the 4th of July; I may have started a personal tradition. They did such a great job of reinacting Independence Day through speeches, booths and displays. Here are a few of my favorite shots!

A day that was just "write"!

Above: One of the seniors shares his talents with his pen pal from Venture Academy. 

Yesterday I spent an incredible day at the Senior Center in Brigham City.  I helped chaperone about 45 students--ages 9, 10 and 11--from Venture Academy in Ogden who went to eat lunch with their senior pen pals.  I witnessed a connection there between young and old that was wonderful: listening, smiling, and happy youth who got to meet their pen pals after writing to them for six months.  Hats off to Trina Thomson, my son's language arts teacher, who created and carried out this wonderful project!  I am in the process of putting together a book with their completed bios, illustrations and poems they wrote.  It's 150 pages and will be available to each child on a CD.  It's stuff like this that I just love. 

Ants on your pants!  Well, on his hands at least....

R is for "railroad!"  I saw a book a few years ago with photos of objects which made up the alphabet.  It was a very cool book!  This is from one of the train cars at Ogden's Union Station. 

Mule Canyon ruin in southern Utah. 

HATS OFF!

One of possibly three rodeos I have been to in my life.  I need to go back because it was so much fun. I love the lighting in this shot and how I (very accidentally) caught the hat in the air!