Larry and Betty's Children

The Help

2011-09-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

I've had the chance to see the movie 'The Help' twice; once in Utah with LuAnn and Cherie and then back home with Pat. It is a gorgeous look at America's history with relationships. While provocative, it doesn't upset you or cause anguish. It actually has some great humor while also conveying a very serious storyline. It has given me much to think about. Cherie has read the book and said it is even better than the movie and I will also read it in a couple of months for Book Group. I look forward to it.
One scene in the movie has aerial views of one of the homes in Mississippi where a main character in the movie lives. What you hear though is a descriptive dialogue of something happening. This goes on for several minutes until it becomes clear that it is the TV broadcast of John F. Kennedy's funeral.
Hearing that description and then seeing the black and white images of Mrs. Kennedy and family bring back very vivid memories of the actual event. It was a scary, heart-stopping time in American history. What I most remember about the funeral, and why I wanted to blog about it, is seeing my Dad silently sit in his chair in the living room, watching the funeral on TV (everything shut down for a national day of mourning so Dad was home from work). He was not relaxed but literally sitting on the edge of his chair and he had tears streaming down his cheeks. He was never comfortable crying and letting others see his tears but I was so touched by his emotion. It communicated volumes about his feelings about America and this tragic event.

Childhood has many fears

2011-06-02T23:07:00.000-07:00

These are the fears that haunted me:
Spiders -- that I'd find one that was bigger than me. This seemed to be a distinct possibility in the closet under the stairs off the laundry area.
That I would break the front window. No one could do that and then live to tell about it.
Getting spanked. It hurt. I didn't like getting spanked.
The dark; someone or something would reach out and grab me.
The Twilight Zone. I never actually watched this TV show. But my older siblings would tell me the stories in detail. This usually happened while we were sleeping outside in the back yard. I was scared 'spitless' -- whatever that is.

Happy Memorial Day

2011-05-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

I have fond memories of how Memorial Day was commemorated by the family as I was growing up. And today, thinking about it, I just wanted to thank my Dad for:
teaching me to honor and reverence the American flag,
always acknowledging in his prayers his gratitude for living in a land of freedom and
teaching me respect for our country's leaders and those who serve in the military.
This is part of the legacy you left your family, dearest Dad. And we love you for it.
I recognize and want to acknowledge Dad's justified pride for the military service of Charles and his son John. And I know he is/would be proud of Jacob's love of serving his country. Dick Roth also served in the Army and Lawrence in the National Guard.

The Beloved Rituals

2011-05-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday night watching Lawrence Welk
Taking turns grocery shopping with Mother and Dad -- at the Safeways downtown by Sears -- one child at a time and getting to pick out the candy bars, enough for everyone to have just one
Fried hamburgers
Potato pancakes from leftover mashed potatoes
Driving around to see Christmas lights on Christmas Eve
Going sledding with the sled pulled behind the car
Visits to Aunt Jean and Uncle Walker
Chili and donuts on Halloween
Going swimming at Nat-Su-Pa

Happy Birthday Mother

2011-03-13T16:50:00.001-07:00

Happy 88th birthday mother. We love you.

Learning About New Years Eve

2011-01-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

Pat and I watched a groovy movie over the holidays. The title: Bachelor Mother. It is from the late 30s early 40s. The stars were David Niven and Betty Grable. It is a sweet little movie. Whenever I see a movie from this time period I imagine mother and dad seeing the movie and I wonder what they thought about it and how it influenced them.
This particular movie included bringing in the New Year at Times Square in New York City. We probably can all relate to what that looks like because we've seen it more than a few times on TV. Well, as I was thinking about it, I realized that mother and dad never would have seen it on TV because TV didn't exist -- at least it wasn't available to them. They probably knew about the celebrating in Times Square from radio and newspaper and possibly magazine reports but TV's visual experience of seeing the ball fall and seeing the crowds celebrating would have existed only in their imagination. So seeing the celebration documented in a film would have been pretty captivating and truly informative. Can't you just see them, young things that they were, watching and enjoying a movie together?

Happy New Year Tradition

2011-01-14T22:18:00.000-08:00

How did you usher in the New Year? It was pretty quiet at our house. I don't think either Pat nor I stayed up for the official bringing in of the new year. Now, our neighbors couldn't miss the chance to sound off a whole lot of fireworks and, of course, we are happy to allow them this indulgence.
What traditions did we have as a family for the New Year? The only thing I remember doing with some consistency on New Year's Eve was eating a shrimp dip that mother made. It was pretty exotic for little ole Idaho and the possible ingredients that we could get in our grocery store. I'm not sure where she got the recipe but I think she started making it sometime about the mid 60s. Maybe someone else will remember the origins of this little speciality. I LOVED it! We'd eat it with rippled potato chips -- another NeW and pretty amazing treat. Recipe for dip is as follows:
1 8oz. package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/3 cup cream
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon onion juice (mother used to buy this in a little jar, I'd just grate some yellow onion and collect the juice)
dash of Worcestershire sauce
mix until well blended. Add 3/4 cup canned shrimp, chopped. (This was the exotic part to me and they were the tiny little shrimp -- maybe that is the only size you can buy canned).
Enjoy!

Sorry for the very long hiatus with the blog. I've had lots of stuff going on in my head and heart and processing it has zapped me. I hope to be back up and writing and get lots more family stuff onto the blog in 2011. I WeLcOmE your comments, suggestions, input, etc.
Most of all, please know that I LOVE you!

Happy Birthday my sweet Dad

2010-04-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Happy 89th birthday Dad. It is interesting to imagine what life would be like for you if you were still with us. It would only be acceptable to have you still be alive if your health were good. It was really hard to have you be so sick right before you died and to know that the quality of your life would have been so different from what you were use to.
I think of you often. Not as often as right after you died. It is hard to believe that it has been 18 years! I know for a long time I thought of you each and every day. But as always, I have questions I want to ask you. It is always, "Oh, I wish I could ask my dad about that." You were always so good to answer my questions and help me understand.
I especially wish I could just get your advice. I need your advice!
I love you so much! I miss you! I am so grateful for what you taught me. I recognize more and more the sacrifices that you and mother made for me. I am sorry I wasn't more appreciative. I am grateful that Heavenly Father gave me you as my earthly father. I so look forward to the day that I can once again hug you and mother and be with you.

Happy Birthday Mother

2010-03-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

Today is mother's birthday. She would be 87 years old.
It is hard to believe that she has been gone for 14 years. Time travels far too swiftly.
Much has changed since mother died. I often think how she would have enjoyed her great-grandchildren. She loved babies so much. She also would be so delighted in the growth, change, accomplishments, marriages, etc. of her grandchildren. She adored her grandchildren and had great joy in loving them.
We miss you mother.

Armga Cuisine

2010-01-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

Pat and I have been challenging ourselves to try and remember our dinner menus growing up. It is interesting how much we DON'T remember! As we've talked, it seems there was a change in what the family ate when mother started outside employment in the 60s. I seem to remember more from before she started working than Pat does, which makes sense because I would have been older, had more years of experience and am just more likely to remember because of my age at the time.
Dad hated pasta (BAD experiences with it in the Army) so we really didn't have much. Salads were generally a wedge of lettuce with bottled dressing -- tossed/chopped salads didn't come into fashion until the 70s. Veggies accompanying the main dish came out of a can: corn, green beans, peas, or beets.

So, what do you remember we ate? I'm counting on the olders -- LuAnn, Charlie and Cherie to help fill in the blanks here.

Frequently ate -- like weekly:
fried hamburgers, Saturday nights during Lawrence Welk
hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes
toastwiches, cheese and/or tuna sands toasted in the frying pan
fried chicken (frequency fell off after mother started work)which started with a whole chicken cut into pieces so someone got the back, two individuals had to make it meal with a wing each, same with the legs. Breasts and thighs only came two to a chicken. I don't ever remember having baked or roasted chicken. Did we?
breakfast for dinner (I remember French toast but did we also have pancakes?)
Pork and beans with hot dogs, or weiners cut up and heated with the beans and served over a slice of white bread

Maybe once a month:
roast with potatoes, carrots, onions and the resulting goulash (I think roast beef was the preferred Sunday dinner so we probably had it more than once a month but I don't think we had it EVERY Sunday.)
fried hamburger patties with tomato gravy
baked spaghetti with meat balls (Charlie's favorite)
scalloped potatoes with ham pieces cooked with them
meatloaf
Swedish meatballs (meatballs with rice incorporated, cooked in a mushroom soup sauce)
creamed tuna over toast
fried pork chops
Swiss Steak

Every once in a while:
pigs-in-a-blanket (cabbage leaves wrapped around little rolls of hamburger, cooked in a watery liquid)
corned beef and cabbage -- Dad loved this, but either mother didn't like to cook it, it was too expensive or kids wouldn't eat it (although I don't know if this is possible)

I definitely remember Chili for Halloween but how often did we have soup? And what kinds of soup did we have besides chili and chicken?
In the fall/winter we frequently had squash -- several different kinds but I most remember Hubbard, which we had to cut with the hatchet to prepare it for cooking.

I must be forgetting. This can't be all we ate!!! Please help -- what do you remember?

Remember when we would go sledding?

2009-12-29T08:39:00.000-08:00

Significant snowfalls in Twin Falls were a special thing. They didn't happen often and Dad LOVED them. We have many photos of piled up snow. He loved to document how beautiful the world appeared after a heavy snowfall. One way the family celebrated snow was to go sledding. There really aren't any hills in Twin Falls so we grew up believing that a good sleigh ride involved an isolated country road, some rope and our trusty little family car.

I think we only had one sled or at least only pulled one sled at a time behind the car. I don't remember the preparation part where the rope had to be tied to the bumper or body of the car. I do remember that we usually did our sleigh rides on the rode that is near the canyon and now leads you to the mall. It is right by the new temple.

I remember being in the car while someone else had their turn on the sled. Oh, it was maddening how slowly Dad would drive. We barely moved and it seemed it would be such a very long time until my turn.

When my turn did come it was scary being on the sled. I always felt dangerously close to the road. And fast! Dad would go so fast that I was sure I would fly off the sled. I think I probably repeatedly screamed "slow down" while I was flying along behind the car. It was a thrilling ride but pretty much maxed out my need for a thrill. I would be so cold from the ride that it felt wonderful to get back into the steamy warm car and wait again while we crawled along for someone else to have their thrilling ride.

Oh, what memories!

Happy Birthday Charlie!

2009-12-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

The big day was a Monday. It was December 16, 1946. Charles Richard joined the Armga family. Dad [Larry H.] was in the hallway while mother [Betty Ruth] gave birth. At home, (probably with Grandma and Papa, or perhaps Aunt Lu came to sit with the children) were LuAnn, age 4 and Lawrence, age 3. I don't know of any special connection to the name that he was given except I imagine this was the first "musical" name that mother prided herself on giving to her children (LuAnn's name was decided by Grandma [Emma] and Larry Jr. was simply named after Dad).

From the beginning this third child was unique. First of all, he was beautiful. He had a round cherubic face and startling blue eyes (think Paul Newman blue). LuAnn also remembers that his lashes were beautifully long and dark and framed his eyes in a way that made them especially striking. His hair grew in blond and with a soft curl. His complexion was perfect and he tanned beautifully when exposed to the sun.

Most unique about this child was his boundless energy and curiosity. And it was tinged with an impish mischievousness. He was always moving, always touching, always exploring and absolutely exhausting! One of mother's solutions to the challenge of having 3 children under the age of 4 -- with one who could perhaps have been labeled ADHD in today's diagnosis happy world -- was to tether toddler Charles Richard to a tree in the yard. When I first heard this I was absolutely shocked and scandilized! I could not believe that mother would have treated her child like a dog. And, apparently the harness and leash were also used whenever they had to go somewhere (this was pre-car years. Imagine that those of you with young children -- you had to WALK to go shopping, go to church, go to the doctor, etc.) Of course years later I met children who were so insensitive to risk that I totally understood how a parent would have to restrain the child just for the child's safety.

This child number 3 was called "Dick" through his growing up years. When he joined the Navy at a tender young age and married, he choose to become "Charles" or "Charlie". While it was so very very difficult to make that mental change in what to call my brother I never do now think of him as "Dick".

In my memories, Charlie is famous for practicing all his 'torture' techniques on me, being the one who Dad trusted to climb up into the attic to bring down the Christmas ornaments (I think he was the only one who ever went up into the attic), being gutsy and always taking risks, and being bright and curious and able to tinker to figure out how things work. In the summers he was brown as a nut with his hair bleached white. As an adult in was in his white Navy dress uniform and Dad was always so proud of him.

In the spirit of our recent survey questions of Mom and Dad I guess the following about Charlie:

favorite color: blue
favorite food: anything Satski makes
favorite place to live: Hawaii
favorite place to vacation: Japan
favorite movie: anything John Wayne
favorite sport: crawling around under houses
favorite vocation: moving irrigation pipe on farms as an adolescent
favorite memory: spending time on Jean and Walker's farm
biggest accomplishment: becoming a non-commissioned officer in the Navy

Okay Charlie, how did I do?
Have a Happy 63rd Birthday! We love you and are grateful to have you in our family!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T14:40:00.000-08:00

As I've been reminiscing about Thanksgiving the past few days I decided it would be fun to call and interview my siblings to get the details of how they were celebrating their holiday this year. Is this insight into Armga family traditions?

LuAnn
Where you had dinner: at our table
weather in Kaysville: cold but sun is out, no snow
Who cooked the turkey: Amy and Stephanie
Stuffing: made from scratch
Other menu items: onions with green beans (Stephanie wanted lots of onions),celery casserole, yams, cinnamon jello salad and pumpkin and one other kind of pie for dessert
Casual dress
Attending: Ivan, LuAnn, Stephanie, Blythe, Amy
What else are you doing today? Girls have already been shopping at Old Navy and Shopko. My girls are going to take me shopping later [they want to go to Park City which opens at midnight but I think it's too cold]

Charlie
Where you had dinner: my house
Weather in Lacy: rainy, 45 degrees
Who cooked the turkey: Charlie, using the recipe he's used for 35 years
Stuffing: made from scratch
Other menu items: turkey, stuffing, Mom's candied sweet potatoes (my wife doesn't like yams), green bean casserole, green salad, homemade croissants, gravy, macaroni corn salad, pumpkin pie
Casual dress
Attending: Charlie, Satski, Kouchi, Lexi (Kouchi's girlfriend) and maybe Charlie's co-worker Pat
What else are you doing today: just cooking, eating and doing the dishes

Cherie, Carol and Pat
Where you had dinner: at the Armgas in Austin
Weather in Austin: blue skies, 63 degrees -- beautiful!
Who cooked turkey: Carol (I brined it first. This is the second year I've done it. The turkey is so moist and flavorful as a result. I highly recommend the process.)
Stuffing: stovetop
Other menu items: Turkey, stuffing, gravy (Cherie made), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows (Lindsey made), green beans with tomatoes, onions and bacon (Pat made), corn, cranberry jelly, Rhoades Rolls, water to drink, homemade Pumpkin Pie with vanilla ice cream, store bought Pecan Pie, left-over 'Sting of the Bee' cake.
Casual dress
In attendance: Cherie, Carol, Pat, Lindsey, Micah, Brode, Graham
What else doing today: riding herd on two curious, energetic and funny little boys, with the girls going to New Moon tonight while Micah does daddy duty and watches football

Mike
Where you had dinner: at our house
Weather: sunny and nice, 58 degrees
Who cooked the turkey: it is smoked and Mike just had to heat it up
Stuffing: stovetop
Other menu items: mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans with mushroom soup, canned yams, Rhoades rolls, pumpkin and lemon meringue pie
Casual dress
In attendance: Mike and Julie with company coming later to share dessert
What else you're doing today: nothing, just eating

Bruce
Where you had dinner: at the in-laws
Weather: rainy, rainy, rainy
Who cooked the turkey: one cooked by father in law, one cooked by Bruce -- deep fried [he cooked his first one 5 days ago and the second one today which was better than the first]
Stuffing: stovetop with additions
Other menu items: turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, beans, peas, corn, homemade rolls (m-i-l), green salads, cranberry salad, pumpkin and apple pies, blueberry cobbler
Casual attire
In attendance: all the in-laws with grandson-in-law with his parents and brother and future grandson-in-law
What else you are doing today: just prep for dinner, starting at 9, eating at 4 and doing the dishes

Memories of Dad

2009-11-04T21:00:00.000-08:00

A continuation of the answers provided to the survey distributed by Katie Larson this past summer. These answers are all about Dad/Poppie.

Favorite flower:

LuAnn -- roses

Charles – red poppy – the paper kind associated with Veteran’s Day and World War II

Cherie -- marigold

Carol – roses, he started a rose garden to the east of the drive-way of the house in Jerome

Pat -- roses

Mike – I have no idea, are men supposed to have a favorite flower?

Bruce – the little yellow ones in front of the Addison house

Favorite hymn:

LuAnn – Amazing Grace

Charles—Battle Hymn of the Republic, enjoyed all military marches

Cherie – The Old Rugged Cross

Carol – The Old Wooden Cross

Pat – How Great Thou Art

Mike – I have no idea

Bruce – O, My Father, sung by Jack VanBuren

Favorite meal:

LuAnn – Chicken rice soup w/ bread to sop up the grease

Charles – hamburger patties, mashed potatoes and tomato gravy

Cherie – tomato gravy

Carol – He loved to eat biscuits and gravy (sausage gravy) for breakfast

Pat – breakfast – biskets and gravy at the little diner across the railroad tracks

Mike – corn beef and cabbage

Bruce – meat and potatoes w/ tomato gravy, milk toast, fresh tomatoes, harvest fresh corn on the cob, his chili, stew and for picnics and camping – beans in the can warmed over the fire and hot dogs fire roasted

Favorite candy:

LuAnn – Hershey’s candy bar

Charles – chocolate covered orange sticks and chocolate stars

Cherie -- caramels

Carol – chocolate covered peanuts (which I remember him buying from the candy counter at Sears, Woolworths or Newberry's 5 and Dime)

Pat – candy bars –Hersey’s

Mike – oreos, I can’t really remember him eating candy, I remember him hiding candy but I can’t remember what it was

Favorite season:

LuAnn -- fall

Charles -- summer

Cherie -- summer

Carol – I would guess winter

Pat -- summer

Mike – late summer, fall

Bruce -- fall

Favorite holiday:

LuAnn -- Thanksgiving

Charles – Veteran’s Day

Cherie – 4^th of July

Carol – Veteran’s Day although it isn’t really celebrated in a big way. But Dad was such a patriot and tenderhearted about those who served in the military and especially those who gave their lives for our freedoms. He loved the American flag and generally would tear-up when he saw it displayed.

Pat – Veteran’s Day

Mike – anything that didn’t involve spending money; Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day (but he didn’t like going to the graves)

Bruce -- Christmas

Favorite hobby:

LuAnn – collecting pins for his hats

Charles – beating his kids, fishing

Cherie – watching boats on the sound

Carol – watching TV, camping

Pat – remembering people

Mike -- work

Bruce -- family

Favorite fruit:

LuAnn -- pears

Charles -- grapefruit

Cherie -- watermelon

Carol – he loved raisin pie (yuck!), also loved cantaloupe

Pat – got me here

Mike -- peaches

Bruce – apples and fresh tomatoes

Favorite vegetable:

LuAnn -- carrots

Charles -- potatoes

Cherie -- squash

Carol – fresh corn-on-the-cob

Pat – he loved Aunt Jean’s young sweet corn

Mike -- potatoes

Bruce – corn on the cob

Favorite TV program:

LuAnn – Lawrence Welk

Charles – Lawrence Welk

Cherie – Lawrence Welk

Carol – Lawrence Welk

Pat – when we were young it was Lawrence Welk, later years, Johnny Carson

Mike – Lawrence Welk

Bruce—Lawrence Welk

Of what was he most proud:

LuAnn – serving in the army

Charles – toss up between you and me. You (Carol) because you got a college education and me (Charles) because I became a commissioned officer

Cherie – his honesty and integrity

Carol – That he was an honorable man and a gentleman. Being honorable included paying his bills on time, treating women with respect (especially his wife), and being a man of his word.

Pat – service to his country, memorizing the Gettysburg address, his family

Mike – his name

Bruce – family and marriage

What made him laugh the hardest:

LuAnn – good joke

Charles – Lou M.Boyd, newspaper columnist

Cherie – Red Skelton

Carol – dirty jokes

Pat – dirty jokes, Carol’s notes

Mike – his grandkids

Bruce – dancer in Wisconsin

Pleasant memory:

LuAnn – trips to Wisconsin

Charles – A camping trip when we went to Redfish with Papa’s (Grandpa Luke's) boat. We were up there for a week. Dad was uncharacteristically laid back. It was a really great time together and one of my favorite memories of being with Dad. We reminisced about it many times. While there, Dad almost drown. He was trying to get the boat out of the water at the boat ramp and had his hip waders on. He slipped and the hip waders filled up with water he almost didn’t get out.

Carol – being respected and included as the stage manager in the drama class/club at Twin Falls High School. His classmates and faculty advisor really adored him. Most memories of his time in the military were not positive. He hated the overall experience which he described as ‘hurry up and wait’.

Pat – marrying his sweetheart

Mike – can’t say

Bruce – family – his greatest accomplishment and pride

Vocation he favored:

LuAnn – accounting, public relations for Trout Farm

Charles – he loved bookkeeping and liked selling trout

Cherie -- sales

Carol – He liked all his jobs. He thrived on working and being a good worker. From his job to selling newspapers on the street corner at age 12, to feeding logs into the machines that planed them for the building of Sun Valley Lodge, to topping a million dollars in sales for the Blue Lakes Trout farm, Dad loved it all. Working and providing were an integral part of his life and self-worth.

Pat -- accounting

Mike – he liked accounting

Bruce – bookkeeping/sales

Nicknames:

LuAnn -- Poppie

Charles – “Larry”, Poppie

Cherie – Larry, Poppy

Carol – I don’t think he had any nicknames. Although, in reality, the name Larry, was not his given name. His birth certificate documented his name as Harvey Elmer. Harvey was the name of his maternal grandfather. His father’s (William Carl) brother and wife and recently had a baby boy they named Lawrence. Apparently “Larry” was a name with some cache in the early 1920s. Dad’s mother (Lillian Rose), was quite the contrarian and never one to be outdone, and she started calling her baby “Larry” soon after he was born, even though his birth certificate said otherwise. The name was formalized when Dad was drafted. Once the military documented his name as Larry H. Armga that became his legal name.

Pat – Poppie, he loved being a grandpa

Mike -- Dad

Bruce – Silver Fox

Secret talent:

LuAnn – he loved to dance

Charles – always knowing the right answer

Cherie -- gardening

Carol – he had many. He was a superb shopper – he could find the best deal, always checked details, did comparison shopping, and always knew where the cheapest gas in town could be found. (One incident I remember from a visit to Olympia. I went shopping with Dad to Safeway’s. He was going to buy a 5-pound bag of potatoes. He weighed probably 20 bags of potatoes, only to find that all of them came in at under 5 pounds. He called over a produce manager who was embarrassed but basically could do nothing about it. Dad was VERY good natured about it and mostly enjoyed being the consummate shopper and making Safeway’s admit that they were shorting the customers.) Dad perfected the process of doing laundry. When I was in my late 30s he would correct me on how to fill MY washer with clothes. He thought about most processes he engaged in and found the better way to complete projects. He was friendly and made a point of introducing himself to others and being warm and receptive to conversation. This was something he worked at. He had taken a Dale Carnegie course in his 40s and absolutely did apply the principles he learned in the course. It really changed his life and reshaped his sociability. He had a talent for making great soup. He was very talented in keeping his mouth shut when he would like to say something. Many times when I cooked and my attempts were feeble at best, he never said a word, just got up from the table, pulled the peanut butter from the pantry and made himself a PB sandwich. I think to be honest I’d have to say his most secret talent and love was women’s clothes. He loved having his wife look beautifully groomed and delighted in seeing the women in his life dressed up and looking good. He hated his daughters wearing Levis to excess (me).

Pat – dancing, remembering people’s names

Mike – I never saw Dad dance but he loved Lawrence Welk and there was a lot of dancing

Bruce – relationships, making things happen that would not have normally been accomplished

Also from Bruce:

His most heartfelt memory was during the war. He would sit on the beach (in the Philippines), look east, and long for his family.

Best advice given to you by Poppy and/or Grandma?

1. Turn the other cheek

2. Food is better with a little burn (dark and caramelized)

3. Honor all women!

4. Love and cherish your wife (led by example)

5. Be able to look in the mirror every morning and like what you see

6. Family is the most important thing

Memories of Mother

2009-10-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

This past summer Katie Ann Armga Larson asked the siblings to complete surveys on our parents. There were no right or wrong answers, just memories. It is interesting to note the consistencies.

I'm starting with Mother but will post answers for Dad next week.

Favorite flower:
LuAnn -- red rose, peony, iris
Charlie -- lilac
Cherie -- rose
Carol -- I once asked mother what her favorite flower was and she admitted she had none.
Pat -- peonies, irises or lilacs, not sure which though
Mike -- roses
Bruce -- bearded iris, rose

Favorite Scripture:
LuAnn -- Psalm 31
Carol -- I can't think of a particular scripture. I think she loved the Book of Mormon.

Favorite hymn:
LuAnn -- Because I Have Been Given Much
Charlie -- We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet
Cherie -- Because I Have Been Given Much
Carol -- I'd just have to say that she loved church music. She loved to sing "O Divine Redeemer".

Favorite meal:
LuAnn -- George Kays Chinese
Charlie -- anything she could get someone else to cook
Cherie -- anything she didn't have to cook, Chinese
Carol -- eat at George Kays
Pat -- dining out
Mike -- stuffed green peppers
Bruce -- depended on the restaurant

Favorite candy:
LuAnn -- chocolate
Charlie -- chocolate
Cherie -- divinity
Carol -- Idaho Spuds candy bar
Pat -- Idaho Spud
Mike --no idea
Bruce -- chocolate

Favorite season:
LuAnn -- summer
Charlie -- summer
Cherie -- spring
Carol -- I don't know that she had a favorite. I think she liked aspects of all seasons.
Pat -- Holidays
Mike -- fall
Bruce -- spring

Favorite holiday:
LuAnn -- Christmas
Charlie -- Christmas
Cherie -- Christams
Carol -- Christmas (loved the decorations and giving presents)
Pat -- all
Mike -- Christmas
Bruce -- Christmas -- the gifting

Favorite hobby:
LuAnn -- shopping
Charlie -- gossiping
Cherie -- shopping for bargains
Carol -- shopping, singing barbershop, loving her grandchildren
Pat -- singing
Mike -- singing
Bruce -- spoiling grandkids, shopping

Favorite fruit:
LuAnn -- apple, watermelon
Charlie -- apple
Cherie -- strawberries
Carol -- no favorite
Pat -- strawberries
Mike -- apples
Bruce -- apples and strawberries

Favorite vegetable:
LuAnn -- onion, corn, beets
Charlie -- onions
Cherie -- onion
Carol -- disliked string beans -- her mother's favorite and she said she had to eat too often as a child
Pat -- radishes and onions
Mike -- onions and tomatoes
Bruce -- onion (onion sandwiches)

Favorite television program:
LuAnn -- MASH
Charlie -- I Love Lucy
Carol -- MASH
Mike -- MASH, Bewitched
Bruce -- Mission Impossible

Of what accomplishment was she most proud?
LuAnn -- 8 kids
Charlie -- her 8 kids
Carol -- Church choirs that she directed
Pat -- her singing/conducting choirs and participation in Sweet Adelines
Mike -- singing ability, her family and how we turned out, heritage
Bruce -- family, church involvement and singing

What made her laugh the hardest?
LuAnn -- MASH series
Charlie -- Cuzzi
Cherie -- her grandkids
Carol -- anything funny. Mother had a distinctive laugh that was easily recognized. She loved to laugh.
Pat -- her grandchildren
Mike -- her kids
Bruce -- Grandkids

What was her most pleasant memory?
LuAnn -- of her mother and father
Charlie -- getting married in the temple
Carol -- letter from Marge Pond complimenting her for the excellent performance of a choir she directed for Stake Conference
Pat -- not sure what this would be, but I would guess spending time with her siblings and/or children

What vocation did she favor the most?
LuAnn -- housewife and mother
Charlie -- sleeping
Cherie -- music teacher
Carol -- being a manager at the Orthopedics office
Pat -- singing
Mike -- being in her home
Bruce -- singing, entertaining

Did she have any nicknames?
LuAnn -- Betts
Cherie -- Betts
Carol -- Betts
Pat -- Betts
Mike -- not that I remember

What was her secret talent?
LuAnn -- singing Italian Opera
Charlie -- getting someone else to cook for her
Cherie -- spending money
Carol -- shopping for clothes and finding bargains, soothing crying babies, loving her grandchildren. She was a competitive grandma! She wanted to be each grandchild's favorite grandma!
Pat -- she was the original 30 minute cook
Mike -- beats me
Bruce -- creating havoc

Mehetabelle

2009-10-01T17:32:00.000-07:00

Does my memory serve me correctly that mother use to always call our car Mehetabelle? I remember her coaching the car to keep going, hang in there and not let us down in a tough spot. It didn't matter which car we currently had, this was just the name.

Well, checking Google (what DiD we DO before Google?) I discovered that this name is Hebrew in origin. While it cites both male and female usage of the name (male: favoured of God, God is doing well), it appears in 1st Chronicles as the the name of the wife of King Hadar of Edom. It also states that this was a common Puritan name.

What is the name of your car? I named one of Pat's vehicles Jerry. I think it was her Ford pick-up. She wasn't impressed. Hah!

Lillian Rose Loomis Armga, #2

2009-09-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

The penciled date on the back of this photo is 1930s.

Grandma Armga was scary to me but she was also unknown. Even though I grew up in the same small town where she lived I did not know her and learned to fear any encounter that I might have with her.
When I was a young child she had a 'falling out' with mom and dad. I'm not totally sure what caused the break down in relationships. I do know that she disliked mother immensely. I remember mother saying that Lillian had told our dad that he had to choose between his wife or his mother. This would have been when he also had at least 5 children. He obviously chose his wife and children.
This 'falling out' was not unique to our parents. Lillian was the mother to 3 children. She disowned two of them, dad and Aunt Jean (dad's only sister). She was the grandmother to 13 grandchildren. She disowned all but two grandchildren, Sandra Carr (Aunt Jean's oldest child) and Vicki Armga (Uncle Bill -- dad's only brother).
Lillian also disowned her siblings and had difficult relationships with her husband's family. Her niece in Wisconsin, Agnes (known to us as Blondie, daughter of Agnes, Lillian's sister and John, William Carl's brother, so she was dad's double cousin), could only share with me that no one really knew why Lillian was so angry with her family but she basically was impossible to please and didn't hesitate to let everyone know how disgusted she was with her family. This problem had existed from the time Bill (name our grandfather William Carl was called by family and friends) and Lillian were newlyweds living with relatives in the 1920s.
The details of the end of Lillian's relationship with Aunt Jean will need to be another post. But it illustrates the anger that characterized Lillian's familial relationships and her determination to stop at nothing to get what she wanted.
I mentioned in a previous post that I was able to gather information about Lillian's life because she had agreed to let me interview her. I had wanted so much to know her and to have a relationship with her. But I was also very frightened because her history with family members. In the end, our cousin Sandra arranged the visit. 'Grammy', as Sandra called her, agreed to see us together at her home -- a small apartment in a government subsidized housing area in Twin Falls. Sandra went as the mediator and peacemaker, and in the end I was so grateful that she was there.
What I remember is that the apartment was dark and full of furniture -- but it was small. We did the interview in the kitchen and I used a tape recorder. I had a written list of questions and used them to keep me on course. My stay lasted only about an hour. While I did get through a good number of questions I could have asked many more.
Lillian seemed quite pleased with the opportunity to tell me about her accomplishments. Two things I remember being noteworthy; first, how impassioned she was about not knowing the Roman Numeral system because she had missed that part of her schooling and second, how she would emphasize that people were 'very good to her/them' when talking about someone she liked. The Roman Numeral thing seemed to offer a glimpse of an experience (or perhaps several) in her life where she had been embarrassed because she didn't know how to read Roman Numerals. So ironic I think, because how hard is it to learn the system? It isn't! And even with remembering the X, V and I, I always have to kind-0f intuit from their placement in the number at the values of the M, C and D.
After about an hour Lillian started to become agitated and became very confrontational about my 'horrible' mother. I don't think this was in relation to any questions I was asking, but rather the ongoing awareness of who I was and that I was in her home. When she started getting angry Sandra quickly let me know it was time to go and we headed out to the car. As I left Lillian made some passing reference to not knowing all her grandchildren. It was overwhelming to me to think how tragic that this woman had denied herself of being a part of the lives of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
I remember that when Grandpa Armga died, someone in the family -- one of his sibs from Wisconsin I believe -- had expressed disappointment that he died before Lillian. The family had always hoped that warm relationships with Bill could have been re-established if Lillian had proceeded Bill in death.
Dad in particular was very nervous about encountering Grandma Armga in a public place. If he saw her shopping downtown, he would cross the street to avoid letting her see him.
Michael tells of the harrowing experience of being called up to the front to carry out bags of groceries when he worked at the Safeway in Lynwood and upon arriving at the check-stand discovering that the bags belonged to Grandma Armga. I think she recognized him before he recognized her and she 'threw a fit' and refused to let him help her. Everyone involved in that incident was confused and taken aback about what was happening that this young man who said and did nothing could cause this old woman to shout and carry on.
I interacted with many people in Twin Falls who knew Lillian and considered her to be a wonderful woman and outstanding friend. When they would comment to me about her being my grandmother I usually remained silent about the fact that I didn't know her, but sometimes I had to admit that not only did I not know her but she refused to have anything to do with our family. People were always amazed. Some of her friends were Mormons and felt that Lillian and Bill had adopted them as a family. They spent many evenings together playing games and loved their time together. That has always stumped me. She couldn't have hated us just based on our religion. The only conclusion I could draw when contemplating this dilemma was that with family Lillian had firm and high expectations that were rarely or never met. With friends she had no such expectations so they didn't frustrate or anger her so easily or so much.
When I was working in Nampa I needed help on one occasion to get back to my apartment after a visit to Twin Falls. Uncle Bill and Aunt Velma lived in Boise and Dad had arranged for Uncle Bill to drive my car and for me to ride with Aunt Velma in their car. It was a sweet experience to spend time with Aunt Velma. She is a lovely person. She very carefully shared with me that it was a very very difficult experience being the only family that Lillian accepted. The responsibility and obligation that Bill and Velma felt toward Lillian, and her expectations and temperament, had a serious impact on the quality of their life. So, that candor helped me realize that the situation could have been worse than just not knowing my Armga grandparents.

Lillian Rose Loomis Armga, #1

2009-09-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

Lillian is seen above as a young mother with son Larry and daughter Jean.

Lillan Rose Loomis is our paternal grandmother. She was born December 8, 1902 at Waupun Township, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. She was the daughter of Charles Harvey Loomis and Margaret Kelly and was the youngest child and second daughter of a family of five children. Her brothers and sisters were Thomas Franklin, James Ray, Agnes Josephine and Charles Henry. When Lillian was just nine years of age, her mother died. Lillian described her as tall and slender. Her father, she said, "was wonderful and a quiet man." According to Lillian family history was never talked about.

Lillian was born and raised on the family farm of 100 acres established by her paternal grandparents. Horses were used on the farm to drive the machinery and the crops raised were grain, corn, potatoes and hay. In addition, the family had an apple orchard of 25 to 30 trees and utilized a cider press kept in the cellar of the house. Part of Lilllian's chores as a child were to carry in kindling and water. There was a 100 foot well on the farm and the water drawn from it was always ice cold. Through the summer it was Lillian's job to carry cold water to the men in the fields and water to her mother so that lemonade and ginger ale could be made to quench the men's thirst.

Lillian worked the farm for one year during World War I. She was age fifteen. She recounts the circumstances as follows:

"There was a man that had always wanted to buy the farm from Dad and he wouldn't sell it to him. And I know that this man was on the draft board and we always figured that he thought that if my brother was drafted that Dad would have to sell the place. Instead, even though I was only fifteen at the time, I took over and milked ten cows and did all the chores, cut all the hay and raked all the hay. I worked outside just like a man all summer."

Lillian graduated from the eighth grade and went on to complete two years of high school. Her education was interrupted with the advent of World War I that required her help on the farm. She walked three and a half miles to attend high school in temperatures that often reached forty degrees below zero. She shared the following story from her grade school years, that showed her determination to attend school.

"They had a contest. Everybody that had perfect attendance that year got a certificate for it. Well, I was terribly sick. I used to have sick spells, more or less maybe the same thing as I do now, just be sick for a day or two. And I was going to go to school. In fact they practically had to tie me in bed. I was going to go to school. I was going to get that certificate. Well, the teacher was nice enough to see to it that I got it. I guess she knew that I couldn't have stayed out of school, if it would have killed me I went to school."

Lillian attended school in a one-room schoolhouse that included all eight grades. Edna Cramer was her teacher. Lillian like to read and learned things fairly easily. About grades 5 or 6, she was so far ahead of the rest of the kids that the teacher let her skip a half-a-grade. Part of what she skipped was learning the Roman numerals. Lillian was very good in algebra when she started high school.

Her study of domestic science brought two especially remembered highlights to Lillian's life. Even though she did not want to take the domestic science class because she felt she already knew how to cook and sew, on the day they baked bread, "my little loaf of bread was the very best in the class." When they made cakes the class ran out of milk before Lillian got some to make her cake. The teacher asked her to just watch the others make theirs but Lillian insisted she didn't mind and would use water in hers. "My cake was the best there was and I had just used water!"

Lillian was just two years old when Bill Armga saw her crying on the front porch of her house. She was wearing a red dress. He lived on a nearby farm and had come to pick mulberries. She later learned that he had said at that time, "Someday that's going to be my wife." (Bill would have been 7-years-old at the time).

The Armga farm was located 1 1/4 miles directly north of the Loomis farm. Both families were good friends and traditionally spent Thanksgiving at the Armga's and Christmas at the Loomis' Lillian grew up playing with the Armga girls and they would spend days at a time at each other's house. She helped with the ironing at the Armga house from the time she was 'knee-high-to-a-grasshopper'. The old heavy flat irons that were heated on the wood stove were used.

Lillian and William (Bill) Armga were married in 1920 by a Justice of the Peace named Fairbanks. Lillian wore a beautiful blue georgette dress complemented by a large hat with a pleated ribbon.

Lillian described her brother Frank as an excellent mechanic who was 'one of the best.' In the late summer he would go down 'as far south and Texas and start with the threshing crews' as the work took them through the nation's breadbasket up into the Dakotas and even Canada. He went to mechanics school in Regina, Canada through the winter. Frank and his wife Alice had two boys, Lee and Ray and were 'very good to us'.

James married his childhood sweetheart Marion Carrier. She died. Charles worked the farm and never married. Frank later committed suicide. All the family is buried at Cattaroga cemetery in Waupun.

After Lillian and Bill married they lived on the Armga farm for one year. Son Larry was born on the farm. They next lived in Fond du Lac where Bill worked delivering coal while learning to be a mechanic. Jean was born in Fond du Lac. The family then moved to Washington, Pennsylvania where Billie Lee was born. He was about one year old when the family returned to Kenosha, Wisconsin where Bill worked construction and helped build a bank and a hospital. During this time Lillian and children stayed with her brother Frank and his wife, Alice until they could get a home to live in. Lillian also worked and got a job running the elevator in the bank building for which she was paid $.25 an hour. Later she was in charge of a restaurant at night where she distinguished herself by having the income of the establishment show a significant increase under her watch. In Twin Falls, Idaho Lillian worked for Mary DeBaird at the lunch counter of Woolworth's and also for both Parisian and Troy laundries.

In 1930 the family left Wisconsin in a Ford sedan headed for Twin Falls, Idaho. They drove night and day with the children sleeping in the back of the car. They stopped several days in Montana where they stayed with the Adams family who were 'very very good to us'. In Idaho, Bill worked for a Mr. Mullencamp and helped build the Twin Falls Feed and Ice Building. It was his acquaintance with Mr. Mullencamp that lured the family to Idaho. Mr Mullencamp wrote and promised Bill a job if they went to Idaho so "we brought everything we possibly could, practically all our worldly goods" and set out for the new state.

Lillian recounts, "One of the biggest thrills of my life was seeing Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park [during the trip out to Idaho]. I had started school at 4 1/2 and remember seeing a picture of Old Faithful in my geography book. I said, 'Someday I'm going to see that.'" She also told the following story of the family's stay in the National Park. "We had all our food and utensils on a box on the running board of the car. To sleep, the kids slept in the back of the car with us parents out on the ground. It started to rain so we had to get up and try to sleep the best we could in the front seat. Just at daybreak something woke us up and there was a great big 'ol black bear just about ready to get into our food box. We piled out of the car on my side and shewed the bear away. The food box was on the ground but opened perfectly -- just the luggage carrier was hurt. When the bear left us he went and climbed into the back of a great big truck where some boy scouts were sleeping. Boy, if you don't think that was a sight to behold to see all those scouts scattering!"

This information was gathered from an interview I had with Lillian in 1981 at her home in Twin Falls, Idaho. She died November 22, 1994 in a Boise, Idaho nursing home at age 92.

Remembering 9/11

2009-09-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

Dad would have been so pained with the death, carnage and suffering in the September 11th attacks. And he would have been powerfully touched with the huge American flag that was hung at the Pentagon near the gaping hole that remained after an airplane flew into that building.
One of my most treasured reminisces of Dad is his love and profound reverence for the American flag. I remember him telling, with tears in his eyes, of how touched he was to see the American flag flying on American soil as he returned from his over-seas duty during World War II.
Dad truly believed that America was wonderful. He consistently gave thanks in his prayers for the freedoms that we enjoy in America. He wanted his children to have great respect for the country we live in. He consistently flew the flag at whatever house he lived in. Pat and I purchased a spray of red, white and blue flowers for his funeral. When I think of patriotism I think of my Dad.
God, please bless America.

Our beloved Toufa

2009-09-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

Toufa was the black standard poodle that our family had from 1965 to 1977. She was a wonderful, smart and loving animal. We adopted her from another family -- I don't know any details on this. Does anyone else? We never did know for sure what her name really meant except that to all of us it meant LOVE. She played with the kids and was especially good at the game of 'hide and go seek'. She loved chocolate and french fries. One Christmas she knocked over the Christmas tree and consumed all the foil wrapped chocolate balls which decorated the tree during the night while the family slept.
Toufa loved to go camping with us and would really prance around in the wood. We would take her for a walk and wait until she became caught up in her surroundings and and then we would quickly hide behind a tree. Toufa would keep walking for awhile and then suddenly realize that her human was not with her. She would hunt and hunt all over until she found us. Then she would smile and snort, embarrassed that she had "lost" us and also enjoying our little game.
One thing Toufa had a hard time with on the camping trips was the swimming. She didn't like to swim -- in fact she hated being in the water. But the humans liked to see her swim. We tried everything to get Toufa to swim. Finally we resorted to putting her on one of the little homemade rafts that were always around and taking her ten to twenty yards or so out into the lake. Then we'd push her off. Sure enough, then she'd swim. (Oh, I don't like remembering that we were mean to her!)
Toufa had a cold wet nose that she used to good advantage. She would nudge nudge nudge any idle arm resting on the arm of a chair until it would love her little head. Then oh, she was okay. She loved to go for rides in the car and would often sit in the front seat next to the driver (we had what were called 'bench' seats then. Fancier 'bucket' seats were few and far between). So great was her need for love and affection that she was plastered against the driver making right turns really difficult. People seeing us with her in the car often thought we had some black hairy adult with us, since she was human size when she sat on the car seat with us.
Toufa's most distinguishing characteristic was her smile. She would bare her teeth as a mad dog might, only hers was to show affection or embarrassment. One summer day I remember her standing at the back door with her nose pressed against the glass panel in the closed screen door. As she was looking outside and concentrating, there was a sonic boom. It scared her and she jumped so hard that she slammed her little noses right into the glass. Realizing that a human was watching her she smiled and ducked her head and sneezed over and over. (She was embarrassed!)
Toufa not just tolerated the cats we had through the years, she was buddies with them. They would play together but most often slept together, snuggling up close for warmth.
Oh, we loved Toufa! She was an amazing dog and a true member of our family.

What makes our family special?

2009-09-02T07:32:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking alot about the good feelings that existed at our Family Reunion. I've also thought about a conversation I had with a former neighbor about the fractured relationships with his own siblings. It has made me realize that one of the great things about our family is that we really love each other. It is love that unites us and supports us having really good times together.
Maybe this isn't all so surprising. Maybe most families have this strong bond of love. I don't know. This is my only family so it is the one that frames my perceptions.
Why is our family so loving? I've thought about how Dad always adored Mother and treated her with such respect. And I've always felt that in his later years Dad's love for his children and grandchildren was as close as mortals can get to unconditional love.
I also think of mother's joy for living. She loved to laugh. She loved babies. She loved to be with and around her family. I think her pleasure was infectious and profoundly influenced how we approach life and how we view our relationships with our family.
What do you think makes our family so special?

Mysteries, the Jerome house and inquisitive cousins

2009-08-31T12:46:00.000-07:00

While at the reunion I asked different individuals for suggestions on topics that I cover in this family blog. Stephanie suggested that I tell you about an experience that she and Brandon had. This occurred in the house in Jerome. These two cousins found some 'adult' magazines in the blue bathroom (the bathroom in the main hallway). They showed them to Grandma.
Whose magazines were they?
What did Grandma do?
What were Stephanie and Brandon doing TOGETHER in the blue bathroom?
What were they looking for when they found these magazine which probably weren't just laying on the counter?
Where else did Stephanie and Brandon casually SEARCH while in the Jerome house?
Such mysteries . . .

Guess what?

2009-08-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

I found the photos I was looking for and couldn't find this morning. I just gave up too quickly (that and OLD brain that can't remember).

Look at how close this car came to the house! I should have also mentioned in my post that I think Dad was the one most tramatized in this accident. First, he was most run over by the car and then he watched as he thought the car was going to go right into his house!

There was an accident . . .

2009-08-29T01:38:00.001-07:00

There was an accident in front of our house on Addison on a regular basis. Usually it involved one of our parked vehicles. Addison was always a busy street and was (or became) a highway for traffic entering and leaving the city to the east.
The first accident I remember happened on a weekend night. I don't think it was later than 9:00 p.m. and I don't remember the sound or the reaction of any of us in the house. What I do remember was the two couples nervously exiting their banged up car. It must have been summer because I remember the cotton frock one of the women was wearing. All four of the occupants were unhurt but very preoccupied. One of the men was handling a brown paper bag that concealed contents that could have been several beer cans. He quietly left the group of us and walked down the street past a clump of bushes and shrubs. Soon he returned empty handed and shortly after that the police arrived. I don't ever remember discussing this event with the family but we must have for me to have any idea what they were trying to conceal. And I don't think they were charged with drinking and driving. I'm not sure what year this might have been because I don't remember how old I was. Siblings, do you remember this accident? Can you provide any other details?
The second accident I'd recount is very memorable because of the photos that were taken. I've looked for but can't locate them. Did someone get these when we distributed family photos when we gathered for Pat's 50th birthday?
This accident happened when I was eight and I'm thinking it was early 1959. It was winter because we had snow and ice in our front yard. Dad was going back to work after dinner. He was driving the Swift and Company red pick-up (a Ford?). It was dark outside, probably about 7:00 p.m. As he went to climb in the driver's side he saw a car careening down the street and headed right for him! He jumped out of the way just as the car slammed into the back of the pick-up and knocked it further down the street. The car then went up over the curb, onto the sidewalk and front lawn of our house. It slid on the ice and came to a full stop less than an inch from the front wall of our house. A guardian angel was protecting our house!
The photos showed the neighborhood out in full force. All the young men -- Lawrence, Charles, Mike Victor and Jon Kelker were documented checking out the seriously damaged vehicle.
And I believe this driver was charged with driving while intoxicated. What I remember is that he was quite incapacitated and could not have convinced the police otherwise.
This accident was significant to me because I was asleep on the other side of the wall that the car almost went through. I had been sick and mother had given me some liquid medicine -- I don't remember what it was suppose to do but I do remember that the recommended dose was 1 teaspoon and by mistake mother gave me 1 tablespoon. As a result I slept for a very long time. That is what I was doing in mother and dad's bedroom, and in their bed -- sleeping off the over-dose of medicine.
All of our neighbors had garages and drive-ways. We didn't. We parked on the street for almost 20 years. Finally, and I do believe it was because of the number of accidents that occurred with people hitting our cars, a portion of the fence in the backyard was taken down and we'd park on the back lawn. We had an alley that gave us vehicle access to the back of the house.
How many accidents were there over the years?

Siblings Meeting, July 27th, 2009

2009-08-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

Sibling Meeting, Armga Family Reunion, July 27, 2009
The siblings want to thank Stephanie for her fine job of organizing and making the 2009 Reunion a reality. We note the challenge it is to single-handedly plan a reunion. We recognize that there is no one quite like Stephanie and we are so glad that she is a part of OUR family.
We discussed at length our history of reunions, the purpose of our family reunion and the concerns and different perspectives that have been brought to light regarding when and how the family will gather. Among the siblings we found there to be a variety of ideas and opinions, but we were all in agreement that the purpose of the reunion is to strengthen our family ties, help cousins and their children get to know one another, honor our beloved parents, Larry and Betty, and focus on what it means to be an Armga (even if that is not your family name). We were in agreement that sensitivity should be used in determining the dates of the reunion so that the most number of family may attend. When possible, a full weekend should be included in the planning. We also were in full agreement that we will continue to focus the reunion around the 27th of July in honor of our father and because we’ve experienced how difficult it is to find a mutually satisfactory date if one is not designated for future reunions. We want to continue to meet in Stanley, Idaho because of the great memories the Stanley Basin has for us, because it is so beautiful (and sometimes cool) and the location has worked well as a gathering spot for our family.
We decided that for all future reunions we will have both a chair and a co-chair. Cherie agreed to chair the 2011 reunion and Carol volunteered to be her co-chair. They will announce the date and specifics of the reunion and make sure it is fun and memorable. Look for announcements in your email and snail mail.
Love ya!

Stars Over Redfish

2009-08-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

The Armga Family Reunion has come and gone -- again. It was wonderful. I love my family. Stephanie did a great job of corralling us and getting us to do some things together.

A very special highlight of the reunion was going out with Brandon on his boat on Saturday night. We left the dock just as it was getting dark and he took us (a boat load of mostly cousins) out to the middle of the lake. Then he killed the engine and we sat and soaked in the stillness and enveloping darkness. Bit by bit the night got darker and we could begin to see more and more stars. We saw the International Space Station/Space Shuttle go zooming across the horizon. We saw too many to count satellites. Brianne (with help from others) pointed out some of the major constellations. We talked about the beautiful sky and decided in the future we should spend some time learning together about the stars. We talked about UFOs and intelligent life. Cherie scared us really well with her story of the possible UFO near Albion, Idaho. Jordan and Joshua were not sure they wanted to hear about aliens!

It was so awesome to be able to see so many stars. I loved the absolute quiet (well, when we weren't all talking and joking) that we felt. Thanks Brandon and thanks Brianne for a very memorable experience at the reunion.

South Central Idaho

2009-07-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

Cherie and I drove from Boise to Kaysville this past week. She was graciously transporting me so I could spend time with Utah family and friends. I love driving those long stretches – it gives me great thinking time. I realized that it has been over 25 years since I drove from Boise to Twin Falls. I’ve made the road trip from Utah to Twin Falls on the way to Stanley but hadn’t been on the more northern stretch. Not much has changed. I did note several sections of power-generating windmills just past Bliss --something new to me. And while driving through the Bliss section there were four F16s (that is what I thought they were – I’m sure Michael could verify or correct me on this) flying in tight formation. They didn’t do anything fancy but I saw them 3 different times so they were spending some time flying in the area.

So many memories came flooding back as we approached Jerome/Twin Falls. I noticed growth in homes, farms and businesses along the freeway. Seeing the Twin Falls temple from the freeway is wonderful. I feel strongly that Papa and Grandma (Clinton and Emma) could be considered pioneers of the gospel in Twin Falls. If they are aware of temple building in the spirit world (I believe they are) I know they are THRILLED about that temple.

We can truly say that our roots are planted in Twin Falls and the Magic Valley of Idaho. What circumstances made our family possible? Dad’s family was compelled to move to Idaho because of a lack of jobs in Wisconsin. His father, Bill, had carpentry skills and a friend already living in Idaho communicated to him that jobs were available for carpenters to help build Sun Valley. I need to verify the year they traveled to Idaho (1929?)but I know Dad recounted the journey especially remembering traveling through Yellowstone Park, camping by the roadside and riding on the running board of the family car. The running board was a small, tight platform along the side of the car that helped you step up into the car – and he got to stand on this running board while the car was moving. That means to me that the cars didn’t go very fast. It also means that the concept of safety was very different back then.

I plan to document in future posts the experiences of the Armga family as they settled in Idaho. Dad, Aunt Jean and Uncle Bill have recounted stories of the very challenging times they lived through.

Mother’s family began their Idaho experience with Papa and Grandma (Clint and Emma) first settling in the shadow of the Teton Mountains in Driggs, Idaho in 1917. They had just married. Clint had a job teaching school. They also dry farmed. The farming was not a success. Over time they moved and lived in Rexburg and Idaho Falls, also located in eastern Idaho. In the late 1930s Clint accepted a job in Filer Idaho as the high school instructor of music. I believe he taught both band and orchestra. He may have also taught some vocal classes. The family lived in Filer several years. Because of difficulties with the school district the family eventually moved to Twin Falls. This would have been about the time that mother was first starting high school.

In a sense, our family got its start at the Twin Falls High School. This is where Larry saw Betty up on the stage in the school’s auditorium. He was smitten. Within a short period of time he convinced a friend to introduce him to the cute girl. The rest, they say, is history. Well, and propinquity.

Siblings and spouses who became couples because they both lived in Twin Falls: LuAnn and Ivan, Charles and Judy (his first wife), and Cheryl and Dick. So, many of the cousins can also consider their beginnings to be related to south central Idaho.

We are deeply connected to that beautiful fertile valley with the Snake River, potato farms, natural spring water, the South Hills at one end and far in the distance the Sawtooth mountain range. It was no mistake that the Lukes and the Armgas both found themselves living in the small town of Twin Falls. It was meant to be.

Happy Birthday America!

2009-07-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th of July. Independence Day is a happy day to me. I like seeing the flag, the parades, picnics and fireworks. What is not to like? Well, in Texas that would be the heat. Austin has spectacular fireworks but we haven't been to see them in years -- it is just too hot. Plus, it takes a couple of hours to get out of the park where the fireworks are set-off because of the hundreds of thousands of people who come to watch. Not so much fun.
Armga family traditions? The fireworks were set off at Harmon Park which was close to our house. This park had a baseball stadium where a AAA baseball league played. It had a swimming pool where we took lessons and made an effort to learn to swim. For years it had a WWII army tank parked for us to climb on as we played. I remember having picnics at this park and I also remember playing on the playground equipment and getting really sunburned.
For fireworks I remember we'd take a blanket and sit at the edge of the park. I specifically remember wearing a jacket one year because it was chilly.
Oh, and how could I forget the sparklers. Now this was the big thing! We'd do sparklers on the front yard of our Addison house. Pat also remembers doing the little coil thingies that would burn down and leave a black spot on the sidewalk.
In later years the more sophisticated fireworks became available for purchase. I remember at our Jerome house that Bruce would razzle dazzle us all with his pyrotechnic display. Weren't we lucky that no one got hurt?
Dad was so patriotic and instilled in his children a love, respect and reverence for this nation of freedom in which we live. I worry and fret on a regular basis that I don't do enough to support our democracy. I vote but is that enough? Politics are too political (I remember even Dad saying this)and it is easy to want to disengage from all the bickering, name calling and fear-tactics. But I know the strength of our system of government rests on the citizenry being informed. I believe we each do have an obligation to make an effort to know the issues and to educate ourselves so we can develop informed opinions on those issues. And I don't want my opinions to be just regurgitated media-speak.
I recently purchased a used political science textbook that looks at prevailing theories and ideas that shape our political world. I'm having to do some selective reading to start because some of it just doesn't YET engage my mind. I love pursuing my interest in American Presidents because the more I read about them and their times the more I begin to understand the history of this country. Of course some of that reading just makes me more frustrated because it seems we, as a country, seem to make the same mistakes more than once.
Do you feel patriotic? What do you feel are your responsibilities as a citizen of America?

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-07-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

Yup, it’s true. Today is the big day. I am a grand ole 58. Believe me, it sounds incredibly old. I really can’t believe I am almost 60. It seems just like yesterday that I was surviving the trauma of turning 30. Enjoy your 30s and 40s kids, because those years just keep right on kicking by and there is no going back. Getting older is, however, better than the alternative.
I’ve learned over the years to appreciate birthdays. Because I had the misfortune of expecting that my family would remember my birthday at the same time that my parents did in fact forget my birthday and I was therefore sorely disappointed, I learned to take matters into my own hands. I started to plan and for several years implemented my own birthday celebrations. It really is the way to go. That way you get to do what you most want to do. I generally did a picnic of barbequed hamburgers – seemed perfect for the time of year. I would make a yummy potato salad and Toufkuchen for the birthday cake. I'd serve the cake with Schwan's chocolate almond ice cream -- yum!
And, I consider it an honor to have been born on the day that is the exact half-way point of the year. July 1st is day number 182 – half way to December 31. I was born on a Sunday at 1:08 p.m. “. . . the child who is born on the Sabbath Day is bonny and blithe and good and gay.” Of course, that sounds just like me.
Our family had birthday traditions but they weren’t very elaborate. We always had a birthday cake with candles. The cake was always served with ice cream. The birthday person always had money secreted into their piece of cake. And we had the “Happy Birthday” song sung to us while the cake with lit candles was held in front of us. We were encouraged to “make a wish” and then had to blow out the candles in one breath for the wish to come true.
As a quick aside, Patty Smith Hill co-wrote with her sister the song “Happy Birthday". Patty Hill is also an important historical figure in the world of child development. I’ve lectured about her every year for the last 20 plus years. To help the students remember her, I always had them sing the “Happy Birthday” song with me. The song has been adapted to many other cultures. In Brasil, it is sung rapidly and while lightly clapping hands. The words get translated into: Congratulations to you, Congratulations to you, This day cherished, Many years of life.
We also received birthday presents but to be honest, I can only recall one gift I received – money to buy what I wanted and I bought a hula hoop from Trollinger’s Drug Store on Main Street. I think I was seven so that would have been 1958. Because I had a summer birthday I think I usually got something summery, like a swimming suit that I needed.
I don’t remember if there was a favorite cake for our birthday cake, or if we even had a choice. I remember Aunt Jean doing Angel Food cake with whipped cream and peppermint candies for Bruce’s December birthday but I don’t remember any other specific cake that we had growing up.
I remember that some years we had the choice of either having a party with our friends or going out to dinner with mother and dad. I’m pretty sure the going out to eat was limited to George Kay’s, but I’d defer to the memory of my older sibs on what the choices were in Twin Falls at the time. I only remember having one party and I requested that Judy Hartley who lived down the street “do” the party for me. I must have been to a party at her house and I was impressed with what they did so I wanted a party just like hers and thought that having her do it would make it so. I remember nothing about the party except the house being clean and being ready for people to arrive. In my mind mother always subtly encouraged us to choose the dinner out – gosh, I wonder why? Pat says she doesn’t remember having this choice so perhaps it was a short lived practice.
So, what have I forgotten? What other traditions did we have? How have my sibs morphed these traditions in their own families?
Oh, and for birthday #58 we’re going to see a movie (“The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3”), eating dinner at a Brazilian restaurant, and celebrating with an ice cream cake. Happy Birthday to me!

My Father Is An Uncommon Man Redux

2009-06-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

Redfish Lake

2009-06-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

We're going to Redfish Lake! This makes for jumping up-and-down excited!

As long as I can remember, we've gone to Redfish Lake. My memory tells me that mother recounted that the family went to Alturus Lake before we acquired our Redfish passion. I do remember the two-seater outhouses at Alturus Lake.

Because of photos, I remember the summer of 1958 at Redfish Lake. We took Papa's (CL Luke) boat -- it had a motor. Mother didn't go out on the lake in the boat because she was pregnant with Bruce. What the connection between pregnancy and boating could be, I have no idea. When we took Papa's boat it was full to the brim with camping stuff on the way up and back. We must have not rented a trailer that year because I don't ever remember Dad pulling both a trailer and a boat.

My first real memory of Redfish is having a bonfire down by the lake. We were camping in one of the first campsites. And this was before changes were made to the campsites and road and in my mind the whole area looked very different than it does today. We connected with some people Mother and Dad knew and they joined us at the bonfire. We were sitting around the fire and could look out across the lake. They told us of a funny thing that had happened to them with some other friends.

While gathering around a campfire they started talking about the echo you could hear across the lake. Then someone offered to demonstrate it. He yelled out "hamburger". Then he did the echo sound, "hamburger". He waited then yelled "hotdog". Again, the echo "hotdog" was given. Then "Jim's a good guy". (Apparently there was a Jim in the group.) The echo heard back was "baloney". I thought that was so absolutely hilarious that I've never forgotten it. (It is one of three jokes I can actually remember. You don't want to know the other two.)

Okay, another memory is Bruce being about 5 and befriending a cute little girl. Bruce himself was cute and personable and I thought the two of them were darling going around the lake and playing together. He was wearing little shorts and his legs were nice and brown. And his hair was crew-cut short.

If you've never heard me recount the very memorable tale of Michael and the school coat, you've missed out on seeing me laugh so hard that I start snorting and have to hang on to something to keep myself from falling off my chair. I just remember it all in such vivid detail and find it so hilarious (sorry, Mike). Our big yearly family vacations usually consisted of camping for the three-day weekend over Labor Day. This was a BIG undertaking! Beginning about when Bruce was born we'd rent a small trailer. I remember this was what mother wanted and felt she needed. I think we would cram the trailer full of all the stuff needed for this large family to eat and sleep and play and keep warm for 3 days. Since school had either already started or was staring the next week, we had new school coats to keep us warm and the girls already had permed hair (mine at least was tight, brillo-pad type curls).

Okay, memory of the coat.

It is afternoon on Labor Day. The Armgas are crammed into their Chevrolet (Dad ALWAYS drove a Chevy) pulling their exhausted trailer behind them on their way back home. It has been a full, dirty and excellent-camping-breakfasts three days. Just after we get over Galena Summit (of course, pulling the full trailer this would have been alittle stressful for Dad), Mike leans over the back of the front seat and asks, "Did you pick up my coat from the beach?"

How long had Michael been thinking about the whereabouts of his coat? How brave did he have to be to pose that question? It was quickly determined that no, no one had picked up his coat from the beach. So I can imagine mother and dad quickly thinking through the choices. Would the coat still be on the beach? Was it worth driving the extra hour back to the lake to try and find it? And were they even sure it was left on the beach and wasn't buried someplace back in the trailer. I don't remember any discussion. I do remember dad very resolutely pulling off to the side of the road -- into one of the many pulloffs, parking the car and trailer, getting out, unhitching the trailer, getting back in and turning the car around. We made a flying trip back to Redfish Lake. No talking during the drive back. Stern look on Dad's face. We get to the beach and yes, the coat is there. We drive back to the trailer but this part of the trip isn't so fast and intense. We hook the trailer back up and head home. Mike's life is spared AND he has a warm new coat for school.

Last memory I'll recount here took place the summer that Brandon was one or two. We were camped in the upper level campgrounds on the side of the road away from the Lake. This meant we were flush up against the "mountain". We had a big curve of a parking/drive-way area. The Roths had their camper there. Lawrence was there. I was there. Mother and Dad and Bruce were there. I'm sure there were others of you there also. It wasn't unusual for there to be "Caution, Bears" signs posted in the area. We had a nice big campfire and it was getting late. I was in the camper changing Brandon's diaper. All of the sudden there was a loud crashing noise coming down the hillside. This terrifying sound was accentuated with growls and snorts. This is what I remember: Lawrence grabbed a hatchet and got into fight pose. My knees turned to rubber. I could NOT move and I thought I was going to pee my pants. It was like everyone FROZE, stood looking at where the sound was coming from and WAITED to see what would happen. Out of the dark came this huge man with a familiar face. He was a good friend from the ward who worked with Bruce in scouting. He had seen us earlier in the day and thought it would be fun to come and scare us. Scare us he did! I certainly thought it was a bear coming down the mountainside and I think others felt the same way. There was only one other time in my life when I was that scared, but that is another story.

What do you remember about Redfish Lake?

For Father's Day

2009-06-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

My Father Is An Uncommon Man.

Written in tribute to Larry H. Armga, 1985, by his daughter Carol.

My father is an uncommon man. He is a man who always does his best at whatever task he is doing. He believes the most important accomplishment for anyone is to have done your best. He takes pride in knowing that he is a good employee and a honest, hard worker. My father is proud that he began working as a young boy of twelve. For his first job he sold newspapers on the street corner. He was been working, and working hard, ever since. When I was a teenager my father taught me, "A job worth doing is a job worth doing well." He lives that motto.

My father is a man of quiet dignity. He very carefully respects the rights and individuality of others. He does not require others to behave in a way that he wants. He allows each person to be responsible for their own decisions and their own life. He taught his children to honor and respect their mother, and as those children have become adults, he has treated us with the greatest respect. He does not offer advice unless asked. This sense of dignity has led my father to assume the debts of others with nary a word to anyone that he has taken on the burden of someone else. Everything he does he does with dignity.

My father is a true gentleman. He has lovely, gracious manners that bespeak of other times when good manners were a hallmark of civilized people. With a quiet flair, when accompanying a female, my father opens doors, walks on the street side of the sidewalk, and allows her to proceed before him when walking to a restaurant table or down a theatre isle. He always addresses his elders and persons of authority with Mr. or Mrs. My father is the ultimate considerate driver. He always patiently gives pedestrians the right-of-way, and is never in so much of a hurry that he will not stop so that another driver may enter the flow of traffic.

My father is a man of his word. I have always viewed him as having a sterling character. He has great integrity. He still believes in, and honors, a gentleman's agreement. If he says he is going to do something he does it. And he doesn't just do it until someone else is satisfied, he does it until it doesn't need to be done any more. I will never forget my father's outstanding example of home teaching. He was the home teacher of an elderly sister who lived next to our ward building. Sister Crump's home was modest and she was a semi-invalid. My father assumed responsibility for mowing her lawn. He faithfully attended to this task for not just the time he was her home teacher, but continued to make sure her lawn was taken care of until the time of her death. He gave a commitment to serve her which did not end with a reassignment. He served her to the end.

My father is a man of wisdom. I have always thought he was one of the smartest people I have known. He is interested in world affairs and consistently reads to know what is happening at both national and global levels. He is always aware of what the best buy is, whether it be toilet paper or automobile tires. He can do your taxes or figure out how to screw the legs onto the base of a table. He can cook a terrific pot of chili or do a load of laundry and does both without any hesitation. My father has always been able to answer my most oblique question. And he always can gently explain why he does things and why he thinks the way he does.

My father is a true American. He is patriotic and loves to fly the American flag. He has had a flagpole outside his home for the last twenty years and flys the flag daily. He takes great pride in standing to show respect to the flag as it leads a parade or is raised at a Seattle Mariners baseball game. He served in the Pacific Theatre during World War II and that experience touched him deeply. He has always espoused that it is an honor to serve one's country and has been so proud of a son who was an officer in the Navy. He loves to see him in uniform. My father has always had great respect for government leaders. I will forever remember his tears and sorrow during the televised funeral of President Kennedy. My father gently encourages his progeny to "Buy American" and has asked how we can in good conscience contribute to the national trade deficit. My father loves America.

My father is a loving, gentle, sensitive man. A challenging childhood left him with the burden of feeling unloved but molded a heart that loves people deeply and sincerely. When my father makes a friend, he makes a friend for life because he truly cares about the people in his life. Even though his children have been flagrantly irresponsible and disrespectful at times, as children so often will be, he has continued to love us and then love us some more. My father responds to the world around him with not just his intellect, but also with his heart. He as been loving and gentle with all his family's many pets. He never intentionally hurts any other living being. His eyes tear-up in hearing of others' sorrows and burdens. He loves his brother and sister, his grandchildren, his children and their spouses, and especially his wife. He has devoted his life to helping, serving, and loving them. They, in return, love him and honor him.

There are few men as fine and honorable and good as my father. My father is truly an uncommon man.

More names

2009-06-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

One particular bit of family history that I love is that "grandpa" (John Ferdinand) created nicknames for his grandchildren. I think they are wonderfully unique and memorable. These names were used throughout the lifespan of these individuals.
Agnes was "Tutti". Lester was "Bingo". Lovida was "Buzz". Viola was "Bud". Lois was "Tootles". Maylene was "Putts". Beverly was "Pullywhats" or "Toad" and Bob was "Hunyak". Aren't these creative?

John Ferdinand #3

2009-06-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

John Ferdinand lived close to Minnie Van Hierden who became his wife. The family says they courted in the corn fields between their families' homes. On their marriage day (November 21, 1888) they drove across the marsh and sent the dust flying and the next morning the same ground was covered in snow. They were 22 and 17, respectively, when they were married by a Justice of the Peace in Waupun. Minnie's father John served as one of the two witnesses that signed their marriage certificate. I have a photocopy of their decorative marriage certificate which was treasured by family members.

John was a very early riser (4:00 a.m.) and it became the habit of the entire family. He would tease about how tough he was by saying that he chewed poison ivy. John use to water-witch with cherry tree branches. On my first visit to Waupun, family members drove me to a home (then empty) that had long been in the family. John water-witched for a well at this home. The men dug the well and then went in to eat dinner. After dinner they found the well half full of water. This was the home where the oval portrait of John's sisters Augusta hung in an upstairs hallway. I was given that portrait and it now hangs in my home.

John Ferdinand died on a hot day as he was feeding the pigs. He apparently collapsed and lay on the ground for a long time before the family discovered him. The family dog was with him and kept the pigs from bothering his body. He died one month shy of his eighty-eighth birthday, on May 26, 1954. He was buried May 29, 1954 in Waupun.

The Backyard

2009-06-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

In my dreaming last night I dreamt of the backyard at our house on Addison. Does that sound kind-of weird? I don't know why I would dream about that.
But the ending thought of my dream was, wouldn't it be interesting to do an archeology type dig of that yard to see what we turned up? We'd need to especially focus on the area under the window to the back bedroom. Remember, Michael, how you use to play with your Matchbox cars there for hours? I predict we'd find some paintless, but perserved none-the-less, cars buried down in that dirt.
Back yard memories. I loved sleeping out in the backyard during the summer months. I think what I most loved about it was the conversations we'd have as we settled down to sleep. The older siblings always had fantastical information to impart. And, by the way, this was where I was informed of the facts of life.
I remember the tree house that Bruce built.
I remember having to climb up on the playscape so the mean old greyhound dogs from down the street couldn't get us. That was a problem for like only one summer but it really was pretty scary to me.
I remember messing around with firecrackers.
I remember playing kick-the-can.
I remember when Bruce fell off the picnic table and broke his arm.
I remember playing Wedding when the Smiths came to visit. We used a netting half-slip as the wedding veil and white flowers from our 'Bridal Veil' bushes along the back fence.
I remember the battered garbage cans (we had two) and the big metal barrel for burning trash. How often did we burn trash?
I remember Steve Victor and I tying Nubby Clough's bike up in the tree just for something to do. We got in trouble.
We had a lilac bush along the east fence and the huge weeping willow along the west fence. Our apple tree just outside the kitchen window never really did produce many apples that I remember. The only other tree was the very straight tree that served as the foundation for the tree house. It was in the middle of the yard closer to the back fence. I'm not sure our flowers in back ever really flourished. We had grass but I don't think much time and energy was spent beautifying the back yard. I think it was pretty trampled and well-used from all our play.
What are your memories of the back yard?

John Ferdinand #2

2009-06-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

John's brother was known to the family as Uncle Ernest. He lived in Appleton, Wisconsin and was two years older than John Ferdinand. The family remembers that Ernest spelled his last name "Armge".

John was known to his family as "Pa". He hunted ducks and geese in the Horican Marsh near his home. He was a good hunter and told of times when the ducks would rise up into the sky and be so thick that you could hardly see the sun. He trapped muskrats with a spear and would put the skins on boards to stretch them. He was able to sell these for 5 to 25 cents each. He knew old wives' tales about muskrats that he loved to tell. He also loved to fish. The family relates that on one occasion, he was asked to take the governor of Wisconsin, Govenor Nelson, out in a boat to go fishing.

As a child, John Ferdinand played with Indians.

He talked about sitting on the side of the house opposite the wind. I never could get enough clarifying information from his daughters (Viola and Eunice) to understand why this was important. I think perhaps they also didn't catch any real significance to it, but they knew that "Pa" talked about it frequently.

John Ferdinand voted Republican "and so did everyone else in the family." He always bought and drove Fords. He liked to sing "The Love of God" (http://biblestudycharts.com/SH_The_Love_of_God.html
and at Christmas sang "O Tannebaum".

True Luxury

2009-06-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

Peace of mind

To not be in a hurry

Being satisfied living within your means

Living in the moment

A life without deadlines and imposed expectations

The carriers of our family name

2009-06-01T12:08:00.001-07:00

Armga Family Reunion, August 1991, Waupun, Wisconsin. Left to right: Randy, son of Lester; Alex, son of Randy; Lester, son of John F.; James Bruce, son of Larry H., Larry H., son of William Carl; Michael, son of Larry H.; Charles Richard, son of Larry H., Jeremiah, son of Lawrence; Lawrence, son of Larry H., Logan, son Lawrence.

Not pictured: Austin, son of Randy; David, son of Charles Richard; John Phillip, son of Charles Richard; Jordan, son of John Phillip; Kouchi, son of Charles Richard; Jacob Michael, son of Michael; Harrison Luke, son of Michael; Aaron James, son of James Bruce.

Deceased since photo was taken: Lester, Larry H. and Lawrence

Number of male Armgas as of 2009: 15

Paternal Ancestery

2009-05-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

Three generations, 1952, Waupun, Wisconsin

William Carl, paternal grandfather

John Ferdinand, Paternal great-grandfather

Larry H., beloved father

Something a mother should not do

2009-05-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

I love my mother.
Some things about the two of us did not make a "goodness of fit".
As a young child I had a "lovey". It was a light pink, cotton, loose weave blanket with a wide satin edging. I needed that blanket. I was a timid child that was easily overwhelmed with what life seemed to expect of me. That blanket was pure, safe, soft comfort to me. It helped take the rough edges off of life.
By the time I was five years old, I still needed and used that lovey. It was tattered and dirty. One summer day while in the back yard mother came up and announced to me that she had burned my blanket. Sure enough, there was a fire and smoke in the round metal barrel that we used for burning trash. Mother was giggling in glee. I am sure she was delighted to see the end of that yukky thing. This is what I most remember -- it felt as if life was draining out of me. It was painful that my beloved blanket was being burned, and to have my mother laugh at me in my panic and fear was incomprehensible. I wanted to run and scream and cry and protest, but I could not move. I was both overwhelmed and afraid to feel. It was more than I could process. Life just became different at that moment. I think my basic ability to trust was seriously violated. What was soft and warm and safe and good and predictable in my life was gone.
I believe I was an emotionally vunerable child from day one. It is just how I was programmed. This experience just made me more emotionally fragile.
Some may poo-poo the lasting impact such a small incident could have in a child's life. Research does support the notion that experiences in a child's life can and often do have both an immediate impact as well as long-lasting and cumlative effects.
So, you mothers out there, do not burn your child's lovey. Do not laugh at your child, especially when he/she is in pain or confused or afraid.

John Ferdinand #1

2009-05-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

All dates are subject to verification --
John Ferdinand Armga was born 25 June in 1866 in Stettin, Germany (or between Stettin and Hamburg on the Order River). His father, August, died 4 days later on 29 June, 1866.
John had two brothers and one sister. His oldest brother, Will, was born and died in Germany. His brother Ernest was born in Germany in 1864, lived in Appleton, Wisconsin and died in 1919 or 1920 at age 52. (It is believed that Ernest spelled his last name "Armge"). His sister Augusta was also older than John and lived near him in Waupun, Wisconsin.

John Ferdinand is our paternal great-grandfather, the father of William Carl.

The family (mother, Ernest, Augusta and John) immigrated to the United States in 1874. They entered North America through Nova Scotia. They settled in the Waupun, Wisconsin area.

John used to tell about the voyage from Germany to North America and remembered that whales bothered the boat so the crew threw empty barrels overboard to divert them. He also remembered people dying at sea during the trip across the Atlantic. Their bodies would be thrown overboard and sharks would immediately take the bodies.

John was 5 feet 10 inches tall, had light brown hair and blue eyes. He was a jolly, happy man who never lost his temper. Others found him very easy to get along with. He was always ready to help someone else and never worried about what others had that he didn't. He was honest. Others said of him that he would "never get rich, he was too honest." He chewed tobacco and said he smoked a pipe "to get the nasty taste out of my mouth after dinner" to tease his wife.

Minnie #3

2009-05-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Here Minnie is pictured with her husband, John Ferdinand. They are in front of their home in Waupun. It was here that she operated her boarding home. From her clothes, I am guessing that this photo was taken in the mid- to late 1930s. Notice on John Ferdinand's suit that you can see the creases in the pant legs, where they were folded at mid-leg.

Minnie was considered to be a good cook. She made especially good pie crust, rice pudding, and "boiled dinner (ham bone, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes)". She made dandelion wine, which she would ferment for six weeks. Also passed down in the family, as recipes from Minnie, are "Russian Fluff" and "Crumb Cake".

Russian Fluff
1 lb. ground beef
1 med. chopped onion
3/4 cup rice, cooked
1 can peas
1 can tomatoes
Brown meat and season with salt and pepper. Add onion, cooked rice, peas and tomatoes. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees oven for 1 hour.
[You may want to salt and pepper this dish. Minnie probably did add these spices but her recipe doesn't document that. I've also cooked the beef with some minced garlic to add flavor.]
A variation on this dish is to substitute the rice with cooked elbow macaroni. Then the dish becomes "Eat More".

Crumb Cake
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs, well beaten
1/4 cup milk
Mix dry ingredients and butter and rub to crumb mixture. Reserve 3/4 cup. Add eggs and milk. Beat well. Spread in 9 by 12 cake pan. Sprinkle and spread reserved crumb mixture on top. Bake 350 till toothpick tests clean. This makes a great cake to take on a picnic since the crumb mixture serves as the icing and is easy to transport.

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

When Pat and I first moved to Texas we were surprised at the lack of celebration of this late May holiday. Public schools are often in session on this day. The decorating of cemeteries just isn’t done like I remember it happening in Idaho. Someone explained to me that Memorial Day was a “Yankee” thing and southerners don’t observe it to the same degree.
What I particularly remember about Memorial Day is the decorating of graves. I don’t remember Mother and Dad initiating this activity but they supported Grandma (Emma) in her determination to honor the dead. I do think Dad liked visiting the cemetery because of the American flags at so many grave sites and the sense of reverence in the cemetery.
Grandma had the grave decorating down to a pure science. First we had to clean the headstone. This required liquid acid that she’d get from the cemetery headquarters. She’d take along a glass jar to receive and carry this. She was very careful and full of caution about how to deal with this caustic material. We’d slowly and carefully pour the acid onto the metal headstone and then use a wire brush to scrub and make our best effort to remove the damage done by the past year’s heat, cold, snow and rain. I both remember doing the scrubbing and watching Grandma do it. I think as she aged and her grandchildren got older these roles were reversed. After the acid and scrubbing we would pour water on the headstone to wash away the acid. Water could be collected from a nearby spigot used for watering the huge expanse of greenery at the cemetery. Finally a coat of oil (I remember using a dark oil like what would be used for keeping lawn tools lubricated) was spread on the headstone to protect the metal. The result was a shiny and cleaner than when we arrived headstone.
Then the flowers. Grandma and Grandpa’s headstone had a “built in” vase. That would be put in place and filled with flowers from Grandma’s productive flower beds and shrubs. There were always lots of lilacs sweetly perfuming the air. Peonies were also available in abunance. I think it is interesting that these two showy flowers are in bloom just in time for Memorial Day. Most years Grandma’s snowball plant was in bloom. I remember taking those puffy white flower balls and being required to outline the entire gravesite by laying the flowers on the ground as if tracing the grave site with a white pencil.
After Grandma’s death the tradition continued as if she were standing there to supervise. She trained us well. We added sweet baby Jayson Roth’s tiny headstone to our yearly cleaning and decorating tradition. While we never cleaned Grandpa Armga’s headstone we’d look for it. It has been consistently hard to find. I don’t know why we could never get the visual coordinates figured out and memorized for future years.
I do remember one special Memorial Day with Mother and Dad. I think I was the only one living with them at the time and the only one who went on the outing with them. We drove up to and through Sun Valley. We went beyond that following the Big Wood River and several miles further down the road, but before Easleys we pulled off and into a campsite. It was quite cold and there were drifts of snow still on the ground. Dad built a small fire in the fire grate and then we roasted hotdogs and heated up a small can of Pork and Beans still in the can. I particularly remember standing by the side of the car talking with Dad. Regrettably, I can't remember what was said. I do remember I enjoyed being with them that day as we had a relaxing drive and lunch together.

Found, Lost Shopping List

2009-05-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

Grocery store.
Parking lot.
Empty cart.
Wait, pad of paper left in cart.
Top sheet, appears to be a shopping list.
Wait, what is this?
I recognize chicken (twice) and tomatoes, but what are these other items?
Oh, wait, I get it!
Oh, funny! Hilarious!
Writer's primary language probably isn't English.
Can you guess what items needed to be purchased?

Naming of Names #2

2009-05-22T05:42:00.000-07:00

We recounted the naming of Bruce when we gathered for his 50th birthday celebration. It was interesting how the sibs' memories varied slightly. We all agreed on the main details, but each of the sisters seemed to remember something alittle different about the events surrounding the decision made about what to name our baby #8.
I was eight-years-old when Bruce was born. I have three distinct memories surrounding his birth. Memory number one is so typical of me. I remember how clean and tidy the house was on the day of his birth. Reason? We had carpet laid. Wooden floors were very passe. We had a low-nap greyish carpet laid over our wooden floors to update us. I remember how beautifully clean the house looked and felt with the Christmas tree in the living room on top of that carpet. I love clean and un-messy and I guess this was true even by that age.
Memory #2. Children couldn't go in hospitals except as a patient. This was the policy up until the late 80s. We couldn't go see mother and this new baby. Instead, she came to the window at the end of the hospital (in my memory it was on the top floor -- I'd say the 5th floor, but I'm not even sure the hospital had that many floors -- but she was way up high) and we stood down on the lawn underneath her. I had gotten a bracelet with hangy-down charms. As mother stood and looked I held up my arm with my gorgeous new bracelet hanging from my wrist. Later I realized she couldn't really see it, but at that point in time I thought it was very important that she know what Santa brought me for Christmas.
Memory #3. This is the naming part. I remember Larry Jr. and Dick (Charlie to us) standing in the middle of the living room (and on top of the new carpet) with the big ole black phone between them. They were discussing (I assume with mother who was on the telephone) what the name of the new baby should be. They were talking about how critical the initials of the name were. One of the names strongly being considered was Bruce Allen. The big brothers were concerned about this. (This would have been BAA-- we see the point.) The name the boys wanted was James Bruce because "JBA sounded like an executive". In my mind, that is exactly what they said. I think it made an impression on me because I wasn't sure what an executive was. Anyway, we know they were persuasive because JBA is what was decided. Either way with names, that sweet baby was our Bruce.

The naming of children #1

2009-05-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

Do you know how I got my name?

When mother was pregnant with me she had chosen the name "Lois Beth" if the baby was a girl. There is no history of Dad's involvement in the choosing of the names of children. Also, I have no knowledge of what the name choice was for a boy.

This choice was a combination of the names of two of grandma's (Emma) beloved sisters. Emma had five sisters and they held a cherished place in her heart. It would have been an honor to have been named after Aunt Lois and Aunt Beth. I love both these names. I don't know if the family would have called me Lois or Beth, but either one would have brought me pleasure.

At this time Cheryl Marie was 3-years-old and, as has been consistent across her life-span, had a vivid imagination. She had an imaginary friend. Particularly, she would go out to the back yard to play and then report she had played with her friend. Her friend's name? Carol Jones. So, when baby #5 joined the family, and was a BEAUTIFUL, perfect, baby girl, somehow it seemed the perfect name for her was Carol Joan. I absolutely love having this bit of personal history. I feel my name was somehow inspired through this pure and innocent child who was to be the older sister to this baby. And the fact that I love young children and adore 3-year-olds just adds to my delight in this story.

Dad frequently called me "Jones" as a nickname and I loved it!

However, this is not the end of the story. My namer, Cheryl Marie was named in part, for another beloved sister of Grandma, Marie. When Aunt Marie died in the 1980s she left Cheryl Marie a very nice inheritance because she was a "namesake". Isn't that lovely?! That was so generous of her.

But when Aunt Lois died, and when Aunt Beth died there was no inheritance for me! I had been denied that hope by alittle switch in name. Three-year-old Cheryl didn't know what she was depriving me of when she shared that little secret of her imaginary friend. I say she owes me some money! What do you think?

Past Reunions

2009-05-18T04:09:00.000-07:00

For several years I've worked on documenting our past family reunions. I am interested in the year, where we met and who hosted the reunion. The following is what I remember. I'm not sure it is accurate and welcome any corrections/additions.

1988 Sherwood Hills Lincolns, Mike (the California Raisins)
1990 Redfish Bruce (the groovy puzzles from photos)
1991 Wisconsin (the spontaneous Road Rally where the women smoked the men; we won't mention the missed plane flight nor the belly dancer)

1991 50th Wedding Anniversary

1992 Dad’s Funeral

1994 Stanley Lake Roths (lots and lots of rain)
1995

1996 Mother’s Funeral

1997 Lawrence’s Funeral

1999 Redfish Lake Pat & Carol (nursery rhymes as punishment for swearing)
2001 Stanley Idaho Cousins/Brandon (well organized, Brandon stressed, skits plaque)
2003 Stanley, Idaho Mike (medical based 'souvenirs' for everyone; TENSE cousins meeting)
2005 Stanley, Idaho Lyssa (awesome auction)
2007 Stanley, Idaho Pat & Carol (Boccie Ball!; Harrison's 'Wizard of Oz')
2009 Stanley, Idaho Cousins/Stephanie

Minnie #2

2009-05-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Minnie is remembered as being very tender-hearted and would cry if her husband said a cross word. Her daughters Eunice and Viola told me (1983) that Minnie felt that "what was right was right", and what was hers she wanted. They remembered that in later years, when she took borders in at her house, she decided she would charge board and room by the week rather than by the month since some months had more weeks than others, and that way she could collect more money. They also remember their mother as being a kind woman who would help anyone. Minnie is characterized as having an especially good sense of humor. I guess this was a recessive gene -- we don't have anyone funny in our family now (does Stephanie count?).

Minnie was a very clean housekeeper and a good seamstress. She taught her daughters these skills and they especially remembered her teaching them how to sew aprons (a beginning lesson). She was very particular with her household tasks and when her husband helped with the wash, she told him exactly how to hang the clothes on the outside line to dry. The clothes were to be sequenced by size, with the largest ones first and moving down to the smallest. No bright colors were to be mixed in with the whites, nor with the dark colors. Her daughters also remember that Minnie loved to do the wash because it was a job where she could see the results of her labors.

These were the days of boiling clothes to get them clean, turning the handle to agitate the clothes in the washer and then putting the clothes one-by-one through a roller device to "wring" out all the water. Clothes dryers didn't exist -- well, unless you count the sunshine and a great breeze. Doing laundry usually took all day. And of course when there was a baby, it was cloth diapers to be laundered, and not the throw-away kind. I'm sure Minnie couldn't have even imagined what doing laundry was going to be like for her daughters, granddaughters, great-grandaughters and on.

Minnie #1

2009-05-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

Minnie Van Hierden is our great-grandmother. She is our paternal grandfather William Carl's mother. She was born 10 March 1871 in Amsterdam, Holland. She immigrated to the United States with her parents in 1872 (she was just a baby). Her mother died shortly after. Big family mystery #2: what was the name of Minnie's mother? Her father, John Van Hierden remarried. His second wife, Mary Vanden Hook, never spoke English, which indicates that Minnie was raised in a home where Dutch was the primary language. Minnie was raised and lived with her family "out on M" outside of Waupun, Wisconsin.

Minnie's given name was Wilhelmina. Her daughter, Viola, remembers that she herself was named for Minnie's mother or grandmother. Some family members felt that Minnie had some French heritage because of her features and a darker complexion.

In adulthood Minnie was 5 feet, 3 inches tall and had really dark brown hair, which grayed in her later years. Her eyes were "lighter".

Won't it be fun to meet this ancestor?

Food for Thought

2009-05-14T06:02:00.000-07:00

Eight personality roles in large families develop to help create a meaningful position. These include:

The responsible sib
The popular, well-liked, sociable sib
The socially ambitious sib
The studious sib
The self-centered, isolated sib
The irresponsible sib
The sick sib
The spoiled sib

The Sociology of Child Development
Bossard & Ball (1960)

Sibling Meeting, July 28, 2003

2009-05-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

In attendance: LuAnn, Ivan, Cherie, Dick, Carol, Pat, Mike, Julie, Bruce, Wendee

Discussion:
Who hosts the reunion is to vary between siblings and cousins
Reunion will still be held very other odd numbered year
We meet/gather in the Stanley Basin, Idaho area
Motion: Lyssa is in charge of the reunion for 2005
Future reunions –
$20 per family to reunion planner at previous reunion for misc. & paper products
Everyone brings own drinks
Family = a sibling
Future reunions to include:
Skits (judges are prior reunion winners, responsible for engraving, bringing plaque)
Volleyball
Guessing jars
Evening meals
Sibling meeting
Cousin meeting
July 27th is the focused day, reunion planner may extend forward or backward
The 27th includes a bonfire with time to remember Mother and Dad

A child of Larry and Betty will know

2009-05-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

All the sounds of Lawrence Welk
How to survive with only one bathroom (and no shower) for 10 people
How to play ‘Eeni-Iyenie Over’
The taste (and smell) of fried hamburgers on Saturday night
How to play an instrument
The excitement of going to Redfish Lake
How to do the dishes
You’ll spend Christmas Eve with the Carrs
What room was perfect with a shiny red ceiling
How to play ‘Kick-the-can’
That the drug store across the street was our primary source of red licorice
All about sleeping outside during the summer
The ruthlessness of competition with siblings (especially playing Battleship and Monopoly)
The taste of hotdogs and pork and beans cooked over an open fire
What a jockey box is
The mysteries of the furnace room
That the doorbell never worked
The pleasure of the meals in Grandma’s cool and shady back yard
The long walk to Shelby’s market
About dad’s faithful service to Sister Crump
That you have to eat sugar daddies while driving over Galena Summit
The terrible fear that you’d be the one to break the front window
How much we loved Toufa
The cold, dank feel of the fruit room
The joy of having cousins come visit
The amazing jumble of the junk drawer in the hallway
The perfect love of being part of a close family