Til We Meet Again

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are sure you have heard by now that we are moving out of the ward.  This will be our last posting.  We wanted to leave you with some thoughts as we have been downsizing.

One article we found was from The Nome Nugget, a newspaper from Nome, Alaska.  Brother May received this paper when he was a reporter working in Nome.  On the front page of the Thursday, April 14, 1988 edition, is an article entitled “Family history salvaged at Nome City Dump”.  It is a story about a man who was tossing a load of trash in the Nome City Dump and his foot slipped on something slick.  He picked it up and found a baby book among the items.  The book contained more than 100 photos and notations from a mom about her new baby son.  The notations covered his life from his birth in 1946 through the year 1962.  They included information about his family members – his father, his brother and his mom.  As the man looked through this baby book and the photos he felt he was getting to know this family.  He also had the promptings to try to locate them and get the book back to them.  He, himself, had lived in Nome all his life and did not recognize the last name but after some research he found a family member.  The family member told him that the family home had been burglarized 12 years earlier and the baby book was among the things that was taken.  What a joy it was to have the treasure returned! 

There were a couple of things Brother May and I learned from this story. 

First, the baby book included family history information that connected mom, dad, and children.  It had birth information, the father’s military history and contained valuable photos (even had a bill from the hospital where the new baby was born!).  This info is invaluable as we bind our families for eternity.  We may not keep baby books any longer, but recording this information is important. 

Second, we never know where we will find invaluable family history information.  Brother May and I have, on several occasions, found photos and information at thrift stores,  Some items are tossed indiscriminately, some in error.  As we are in tune with the Spirit, we can be lead to information that will not only assist our search for family members, but we can be an instrument in the search others are involved in as well.

Third, we may not know those in our family who have gone on before, but, just as this man felt he was getting to know the family in the baby book, we can get to know our relatives by researching and studying the information we receive.  When we are finally able to meet them on the other side of the veil, we will know them!   And we will have grown to love them!

As we work on our family history, let’s go back to the basics.  Start with yourself.  Record the information you know about your immediate family.  Then expand on that by the following:

·          Add photos and stories to FamilySearch in the Memories Tab.

·         Add your pets  (did you know that I had a lizard, several snakes and white rats and mice as pets?  True story!) 

·         Add favorite expressions of your family members,  My grandmother had the most wonderful expressions:  “Crimenantly” (used when she was frustrated), “skedaddle” (when she wanted us to get moving), and “catiwampus” (for things that are not straight or level). 

·         Add hobbies:  my grandmother sewed quilts and pajamas for the children in the orphanage so they would have something that was “just theirs”.  She also baked pies and literally put them on her wide windowsill to cool.  My mother was an avid stamp collector.  It was specific and worth quite a bit of money when she passed away.  Brother May and I were skaters – Brother May played ice hockey, I danced on roller skates at the rink,

·         Add achievements:  my sister was in the Army and drove 18-wheelers, then became an EMT and paramedic.  She also was a member of the Red Cross Disaster Team and traveled all over the country to assist in emergencies.  On top of that, she was part of the team that was responsible for the Women’s Military Memorial Monument.  So many achievements for such a short time on this earth. (She passed away at the age of 48 – much too young!)  Brother May’s mother was one of the first WAC’s during the war.  She was also an accomplished snow skier and an expert in family history!

Check out the 1950 Federal Census.  It is complete and ready for our use now. You may know someone listed on there!

And last, but certainly not least, attend the Temple as often as possible.  The Provo Temple does not require reservations any longer.  However, those with reservations will be given priority if an ordinance is full or nearing full capacity.  On Friday evenings and all day Saturday, Endowment sessions are held every 20 minutes.  Sealing sessions begin every 15 minutes every day the Temple is open. Baptism and Initiatory sessions are still scheduled on a 30-minute schedule.   (Just an insider note:  If you are available during the week, the least busy times are around 11 AM to about 12 noon – especially in the Initiatory).

And just another insider note:  Last Wednesday, during the prayer meeting for ordinance workers, President Owens spoke to us.  During his remarks he said he did not know when the Provo Temple will be rebuilt, but he did know that the Orem Temple will be ready for dedication in about 1-1/2 years.  We know that they will not close the Provo Temple until the Orem Temple is dedicated.  So this gives us a tentative time frame for getting our work done in our temple. 

Brothers and Sisters, we will miss you.  We are looking forward to a new chapter in our lives. 

The good news is that we will still be in the Stake.  See you in Stake Conferences and in the Temple!

Until we meet again,

Love, Brother and Sister May