Christmas 2019

This year, KC received a trash can. Yes, a trash can. Why, do you ask? He wants to start smeltering metals and needs a container to place them. In addition, he received a toy truck. It is approximately 7 inches long and 4 inches wide. It is red and does, "Vrrrrrrmmmmm," when you click on its hood. You can imagine how he loves it. Actually, his gift is a remote starter for his truck, but he has to take his truck to Salt Lake to the mechanic in order to install it, and he hasn't done it yet. So, I gave him a toy. I found it funny. I don't know if he thought so.

KC gave me a microscope that I can connect to the computer or Smartboard. He also gave me a steam cleaner. In the afternoon of Christmas, I went around our home, in my pajamas, cleaning several places like the corners of the laundry room and the ceiling of the "cave." This is the TV room.  There is the fireplace, and it is painted browns.  It is KC's room; however, the family spends a lot of time in there, especially during the winter.  We all LOVE to sit by the fireplace.  Anyway, I cleaned the white spots that have remained on the ceiling of the cave since KC sprayed the textured ceiling many years ago. Now, they are not there.  The steamer removed them easily!

Emma loves her purple chair and her Lego set called, "The Rescue Mission." It is composed of a yacht and several other things to save aquatic animals. Of course the colors are pink, purple, light blue and white.

Tyler received three Transformers and 30-40 pairs of boxer briefs from Grandma Thacker. He does not like them, because he didn't think he was needing boxer briefs-especially so many. But, now, he has a plethura of boxer briefs.

Julia received materials to paint- paints, brushes, canvases, easels. She loves art and painting. In her home, she does not have these things, because her mother does not share the same love of creating as I do. For years, she has not encouraged Julia to follow her desire to paint. But you know me. Creating is very important to me. So, I have encouraged her to create and paint ... and she loves it.

The day after Christmas, I had feelings that I needed to write my great grandmother's story. I have been gathering information about her life for many years. For 6 hours, I outlined her life. The next day, I spent 14 hours writing her story. Finally, I finished it at seven at night. It is currently 25 pages.

Today, I asked KC to listen to it and give me feedback.  He told me, "It's not long enough. You have to write her biography ... no! a novel. Her story needs to be written." Then, he started telling me how I needed to do it. So, I will probably write more about my great-grandmother's life, Flora Eva Perry.

Here is an entry from my scriptural diary:

Dec. 27, 2019

"Amulek spoke of the Lord's 'furious anger' in Alma 10:23. This caused me to stop and think. Emotions are normal and essential for our existence. Emotions themselves are usually not bad. It is how we act, or more often, react to them.

"If Christ can have 'furious anger' and still be perfect, it means our challenge isn't to rid ourselves of emotions. Our challenge is learning to control ourselves when feeling those emotions.

"This is true with all emotions A person can be so giddy with happiness that they act out of sorts just as much as a person who is angry or depressed."

Sacrifices of Service

 

Joseph Watson Maynes

John Alexander Maynes, Jr.

For many years I have cherished the story of my 2nd great grandfather, Joseph Watson Maynes.  He was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England on Oct. 25, 1856.  He immigrated to Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America, after he had converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  When most of his children were raised, he was asked to serve a mission for this church in his mother land. As he and his mission companion were going to church on June 9, 1912, he stopped to fix a flat tire on his bicycle and had a heart attack, which killed him.  His body was brought back to Salt Lake City.  

Today, as I was doing some family history, I discovered that his brother, John Alexander Maynes, Jr., had a similar experience.  John Alexander was born on Oct. 28, 1859, in East Riding, Yorkshire, England.  He, too, immigrated to Salt Lake City, Utah.  After most of his children were raised, he, too, was asked to serve a mission for the same church in his mother land. Despite his brother having passed away the previous year while on a mission, he accepted the call to go.  His wife was also called to go with him.  They fulfilled their mission; however, it was during WWI, and there was a scarcity of missionaries going to England, so when they were asked to extend their mission in  England awhile longer. During the last part of October, 1915, he came down with pleurisy and died three days later on Oct. 14, 1915, in Hull, Yorkshire, England- his birthplace.

I was stunned, to say the least, when I came across this.  I like to imagine that as the two brothers were close and lived in the same area that their wives were able to draw on one another to strengthen and buoy each other through their sorrows.

Patriotism

Hello! Hello!  I have been pondering a lot lately about patriotism.  Dictionary.com defines patriotism as "devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; or national loyalty."  With the Fourth of July quickly approaching, I began with my ancestors that had served in the American Revolutionary War. There are many. For example, one of my fifth great-grandfathers, John Shaffer, served as General Washington's private secretary.  He witnessed first hand the terrible winter of Valley Forge.  Another great-grandfather (6th g-g), Amos Perry, was at Concord on April 19, 1775, and took part in the first shots of the war.

 Then, my thoughts extended to other ancestors who served in the armed forces of their countries.  There are even more. Both of my grandfathers served in WWII.  One of them, Hyrum Ray Peterson, was in the Marines. After WWII, he was sent to Korea.  There, he suffered and survived the Chosin Reservoir massacre.  He was one of a small number of survivors known as the Chosin Few.  My other grandfather, Roy Godfrey Maynes, served in the Cavalry.  During one particular battle, all of his leaders fell.  His platoon was in disarray and did not know what to do.  He stepped up to the plate, took charge, and led his comrades safely through the remainder of the battle.  Afterwards, he was advanced to the rank of captain.  One of my g-grandfathers, Hyrum Smith Peterson, served in WWI.  He saw a lot of action overseas and was in attendance when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. 

My thoughts continued to expand to memories of my grandparents who showed patriotism in smaller less noticeable ways.  My Grandpa Peterson (Ray) always became emotional when he saw a flag of the United States of America.  He proudly saluted that flag and felt tremendous loyalty for the country it represented.  My other grandfather (Roy) watched the news every night.  He felt that it was important to know what was happening in the country he loved so dearly.

Finally, my thoughts narrowed in on specific ways I can be a better patriot. One scripture I read this morning pricked my heart.  It touched on an area I feel I need to improve in.  The scripture reads, "Curse not the king, no not in thy thought..."  (Ecclesiastes 10:20).  This stung.  I do not live in a country with a king; however, I have been guilty of voicing my non-supportive opinion about our current President on more than one occasion. How grateful I am to live in a country where I can  express my opinion, but I realized that although I may not agree with his actions, I should not belittle him.

Patriotism takes many forms. As tomorrow marks another day to remember the history of my dear country, I thank God for my patriotic heritage and the blessings I enjoy.  I thank Him for opportunities to develop greater patriotism myself, and I pray that I can continue to weave the chain of patriotism for my descendants.



 

John Shaffer

JOHN SHAFFER

 

John Shaffer was born on June 10, 1755, in Berks, Pennsylvania, United States to Johann Jacob Shaffer and Catherine Delaplank.  He died on 27 April 1847, in Washington, Virginia, United States.

John married Eve Kelchner (many different name spellings).  He served in the Revolutionary War with General Washington.

It is said that John was a small man of about 155 lbs., dark hair, and yet known for his strength.  During the war, the Brits sent out a man to egg them on every day for quite awhile.  The man sent out to taunt the American soldiers was large and fierce.  Finally, one day, General Washington had enough.  He said, "John, go take care of him for us."  So, John accepted the Brit's invitation to fight.  John won.  When the Brit realized he had lost the fight, he pulled out his sword and injured John's thigh severely.  As a reward for his service and bravery, General Washington made John his personal secretary for the remainder of the war.  He was in Valley Forge with him, at Cornwallis' surrender, and all of the famous battles.  John walked with a limp for the rest of his life.

 

George Powell & Maria Mousley

GEORGE POWELL & MARIA MOUSLEY

 In the year 1863 they decided to immigrate to America, but lack of means for transportation forced Grandfather George Powell to leave his wife and family in England. He joined his son-in-law, Edward Payne, Emma's husband, who had come to America the year before, leaving his family with Grandfather Powell. Edward had come to work in the coal mines in Pennsylvania in order to obtain money for passage for their families. 

 They worked together, and in a few months saved what they could, and then borrowed the remainder for passage for their wives and families and also the family of James and Ann Price, who had been caring for the families in England. Grandmother Powell worked day and night at her profession as a seamstress to support the family and save what money she could to help with the fare to America. 

They set sail in a sailing vessel the first day of June, 1864. They were six weeks on the ocean, landing in New York City in July. From there they traveled to a pioneer campground in Omaha, Nebraska, where they stayed for some time, making preparations for the journey to Utah. 

President Brigham Young had counseled them to make haste because of the Civil War threat. Grandfather Powell and daughter Emma Powell Payne met the family, leaving Edward Payne in Pennsylvania to work to pay off the indebtedness. While at the camp, Grandmother Powell supervised the making of tents and wagon covers. Due to a sprained ankle, Grandmother Powell was lame, so she rode most of the way across the plains. As she was unable to walk, she would care for the children. She would wash their faces and comb their hair while others fixed camp, built fires, and did other camp chores. 

Grandfather walked all the way across the plains. After a hard and toilsome journey, they arrived in Heber City, Utah, October 20, 1864. 

-excerpt from familysearch.org. "History of George and Maria Mousley Lunn Powell." Contributed by: Lisa Ratzlaff

James Price & Ann Powell

JAMES PRICE & ANN POWELL

On 28 March of 1857 or 1858, Ann married James Price. They heard the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and accepted it. They were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1861. James and Ann and some of Ann’s family desired to travel to Zion, or Utah Territory. Most of the men in the family worked in the coal mines. 

 Ann’s father, George Powell, and her brother-in-law, Edward Payne, left during the night and went to America. They found work in the coal mines in Pennsylvania and sent back every cent they could so their families could pay for passage to come over. If George and Edward had been caught as they left England, they could have been forced to stay and work longer in the coal mines. At the time, the owners of the mines treated the mine workers as slaves to some degree. 

The three families finally were able to sail on 21 May 1864 on the sailing ship General McClelland. It was a rough, stormy crossing but after six weeks they arrived at Castle Gardens, New York. The group of three families then went by train to Winter Quarters where they bought wagons, teams and supplies and joined the Joseph S. Rawlins wagon train. 

Leaving in early July of 1864 they had traveled for two weeks on the plains when James William, the little son of James and Ann, died on 21 July. They had to bury him on the plains wrapped in a quilt. They piled rocks over his grave to discourage wild animals from finding him. It was very hard for them to leave him there. 

 A few weeks later on 22 August 1864, the wagon train stopped at Ash Hollow, Nebraska just long enough for Ann to give birth to a baby girl, Maria Rawlins Price, and then they moved on. They reached the Salt Lake Valley on 20 September 1864 and were assigned to go to Heber Valley. For a time all three families lived in one room with a dirt floor and dirt roof.

-Excerpt from familysearch.org titled "Ann Powell."  A summary of available histories compiled in 2010 by Debra Edwards Plane. 

William Thacker & Rachel Tonks

WILLIAM THACKER & RACHEL TONKS

In l856, William and Rachel embarked on the ship, Amason. We landed at Philadelphia after six weeks on the ocean. We spent a little over 4 years in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  During this time, William and Rachel worked at a bucket factory.

In the spring of l861, we started on the trip to Utah in wagons with oxen to pull them. The Captain's name was Joseph Horne. The teamster's name was Charley Cowley. They were both fine, good men. We had plenty to eat all the time. I remember the horsemen chasing the antelope and other wild game. There were herds of buffalo. I remember seeing these people, men and women, wade the river; some holding to each other's hands. They would sing as they walked along. Mostly the Mormon hymns. Father had an old musket he used to carry with him. One day he killed a Prairie Dog and we cooked it. It was good meat. One day Father was walking along as usual and he saw what he thought was a bunch of mushrooms. He took them to camp and cooked them. We all ate some except the baby; and were all very sick. But the Elders administered to us and we vomited them up and were all soon well again. Just as we were starting out, the United States officers took charge of Father and was going to draft him into the army; but the emigrant agent got him free and we were all very thankful. We traveled on an average of fifteen miles per day. Some days we would lay over for washday, and to rest the oxen and cows as well as the people. Mother had a nursing baby. She was a very fleshy woman and couldn't walk very much. The rest all walked most of the time. I walked some, but not much. The last day's travel was Emigration Canyon. Soon after leaving the head, we could see down through the mountains and see the Salt Lake, and how the people did cheer! That night we reached Salt Lake City. 

Excerpt from William Timothy Thacker's autobiography about 1940.