Happy Birthday my sweet Dad

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

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

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?

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!

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

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

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