We are all getting older, one day at a time. Children are a gift to help you not forget your continual aging. Lillian filled the bill this year with this card!
If their getting older, bigger, wiser was not enough, they put it in writing to remind us. Smart Aleck!
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean
And the pleasant land.
Humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages
Of eternity.
Julia A Fletcher
That poem seemed to fit as I work through more photos that belonged to my Great Grandparents. These photos found their way to my (Great) Uncle Dave and (Great) Aunt Betty. I scanned and worked through these photos, in some cases over 100 years later. I wonder what thoughts or emotions my own family’s photos might evoke in 100 years. The little minutes add up.
David Donaldson was born in 1894. If this photo were taken at 18 years old, then it would be 1912.
David certainly appears older in this photo than the prior one. His 20s or 30s?
I can recognize Dena and David on the left, along with David’s mother Mary. I would have been guessing on Alvin, but his age and size appear to match. Who is Ms. Berry? There are so many Berry/Barry/Beery ladies in Ogden in 1920, even within a mile and half of the house, that I cannot make any identification. The Donaldson family in 1920 were living at 2270 Ogden Ave, Ogden, Utah. I have written a biography about my Great Grandparents, David Delos Donaldson and Berendena Van Leeuwen.
This photo has a couple of interesting pieces. I don’t immediately recognize the little girl as one of David’s children. The family lived in Ogden. The mountains seem to line up. But I generally think it is early 1920s. Interesting note, I appreciate that the baby clothing between boys and girls were somewhat interchangeable. Perhaps this is actually David William Donaldson and the same day as this photo:
This photo is interesting to me as I don’t see Dena as quite as young as when her first kids were born in 1920. I cannot tell if it is a boy or girl she is holding, but if it is David/Dave, then this could be around 1929-1930. Dena was born in 1898, so 1930 would put her at 32 years old.
Milo was born in 1943, Judy in 1946, and Caroline in 1948. This photo seems it could have taken place in 1950 to 1951.
I don’t know whose car it is, or the make and model. The plate says 1949. I don’t know if plates had to be replaced every year, or if they were longer time increments. If they are only one year, then this would appear to place the photo and the one above in 1949 or 1950.
This photo is interesting. It had 1940 written on it, so my Grandma turned 19 that year. She married in 1942. Doing an AI search, it showed one of the locations near Grotto Geyser. The small piece of the sign to the right appears to begin with the letter G. Here is a modern shot from Google Maps from 2013. It really does not look like the Grotto Geyser features have changed much in 85 years.
This photo was a fun photo of Grandma. Her teeth in the picture are different than I remember. Going back through all the photos I have of her and Grandpa, I don’t have many pictures of her full-toothed smile. Having her tongue in her teeth distorts how her teeth look.
This photo is interesting in that the back says it was taken 28 June 1939 in Napa, California. The only explanation for the photo must be while they were in California for the 1939 World Fair. Here is a photo from that occasion.
Here is another fun photo. Berendena Van Leeuwen Donaldson and Catharina Johanna Van Leeuwen Collins are sisters. Dena was born in 1898, Kate in 1902. Dena passed away in 1959 and spent the last 4 years of her life in a wheelchair, so this is before that. You can see she is standing on the right and holding on to the side of the image. Guessing, this is probably early to middle 1950s.
I wanted to share this photo from 10 September 2020. The mirror of the Snake River from the Burley side with Heyburn’s Riverside Park just behind captivated me then, and still does.
In honor of Dad’s 82nd birthday, I am sharing these photos.
After Dad’s first wife, Vicki, passed away, most of her photos and other documents were scanned. Found in those documents were these two class pictures for Dad. These are for his 1952 and 1953 class years. Since he graduated in 1961, these are likely his 3rd and 4th grade pictures. He attended Plain City Elementary in Plain City, Utah.
Mr. Leslie Gerald “Jerry” Bundy (1929 – 1999)
Ms. Emma Walker Munson (1918 – 1992)
Dean Allred (1943 – alive)
Ilene Bingham (1943 – alive)
Gary Butler (1943 – alive)
Carole Carver (1943 – alive)
Kenneth Clark (1943 – alive)
Fred Coy (1943 – alive)
Jeff East (1943 – alive)
Kay East (1943 – alive)
Maye Endow (1943 – alive) married Bothwell
Ernest Walter Hansen (1943 – 2010)
John Kent Hodson (1943 – 2022)
Donna Mae Jensen (1943 – alive)
Linda Knight (1943 – alive) married Charlton
Austin McWilliams (1943 – alive)
Cleora Mae Meyerhoffer (1943 – 2013) married Oliver
Connie Poulsen (1943 – alive) married Esplin
Frances Rochell (1943 – alive)
Elayne Rogers (1943 – alive) married Cliften
Milo Paul Ross (1943 – alive)
Deanna Kay Slater (1943 – 2006) married Hart
Leon Everett Taylor (1943 – 2000)
Linda “Cookie” Thompson (1943 – alive)
Kenneth Wayment (1943 – alive)
Carol Wheatley (1943 – alive)
I found some negatives that did not look familiar. I asked my father-in-law to help and he got them scanned and converted. These turned out to be real treasures that I don’t have anywhere else. Be careful with those negatives you think are probably just duplicates of photos.
Jackie was born in 1960. These are all in the home in Richmond, Utah. Happy Birthday Jackie! I recognize some of the furniture in the photos, bookshelves, headboards, decorations.
Dad has these two photos sitting on his desk at home, they sat on his desk at work too. The one above is from the recognition party given for him and Mel Keyes in 1990. Dad still has the picture, one of the trucks on the cake, and the Traeger smoker. Circle A transferred Dad to AgExpress in about 2004 when AgExpress took over the Paul operations. Dad had roughly 34 years with Circle A Construction. I am posting this in honor of Mel and Dad for what is 55 years since they started for Circle A Construction!
This photo below is for a supervisor training get away some time in the 1990s. Dad could not remember the exact year.
Leslie Sanford Abbott (1953 – 2005)
Lenny Aslett
Larry Dean Aslett (1944 – 2022)
Marvin Bridges Aslett (1926 – 2022)
Sage Aslett
Steven Le Roy Aslett (1947 – 2021)
Clifford “Boomer” Bailey
Eli Calamantes
Dave Dana
Mike Ehrmantraut
Tom Ehrmantraut
DeLane Terry Fetzer (1947 – 2020)
Edward Lenn Foreman (1951 – 2015)
George Reece Garro (1947 – 2012)
Gradus Geert Heeling Jr (1951 – 2020)
Jeff Herzinger
Dale May Keyes (1947 – 2017)
Melvin Eddie Keyes (1943 – 2018)
Jeff Mecham
Milo Paul Ross (1943 – alive)
Tom Schmidt
Nick Stephens
Gerald Stowell
Terry Vitek
I attended the temple in June and did the proxy endowment for Richard Max Hirschnitz. I felt captivated by the name and the individual.
The temple card indicated he was born 20 February 1893 in Langebruke, Kamenz, Dresden, Deutschland.
After doing some research on Richard Hirschnitz I discovered he passed away in 1917 in Belgium. Which to me told me he was likely a casualty of World War I.
He died 1 May 1917 in Flanders Province of Belgium. It shows he was buried in the Vladslo German Military Cemetery. He was definitely fighting for the Germany military.
I could not locate a formal battle happening in Flanders in May 1917. A German website shows Richard is at Seeflugstation I at Zeebrugge. The ongoing Battle of Arras seems too far away for him if he was a pilot. He could have been part of preparations for the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). I just don’t have enough detail to tell me more about how or where he died.
FindaGrave shows this designation: Flugzeugf.-Matrose. He was certainly on an aircraft. Planes in 1917 were not very large and not many crew members.
What he shot down? Crashed? Plane failure? He was just over 24 years old.
His proxy baptism and confirmation were performed 13 April 2019 in the Twin Falls Idaho Temple.
His proxy initiatory was performed for him 26 April 2019 in Twin Falls Idaho Temple.
I attended to his proxy endowment on 28 June 2025 in Twin Falls Idaho Temple.
His proxy sealing to parents is yet to be performed.
He appears to be fourth of 13 children born to the marriage Max Friedrich Heinrich Hirschnitz and Johanne Therese Schlegel.
I have more questions but cannot locate answers. Perhaps some day?
“HELP BUILD LOCK. These foremen and supervisors are working on the Eisenhower lock in placement of concrete. They hail from various parts of the country. Shown are Ward Turner, supervisor, from Arkansas; Manuel Martinez, vibrator, from Mexico; Golden Andra, general foreman, from Idaho; John Catera, foreman, from Utica.
This newspaper article and photo were in the records of Golden Andra. Golden is named in the newspaper, I don’t know/think the second photo is of Golden. It says it came from the Department of Interior, he kept it for some reason unknown to me.
I know this was a significant time in the life of the Andra family. Golden worked and is shown as a general foreman. But I also know that Golden’s brothers Donald and Ross both also worked on the St. Lawrence Seaway. I believe they both worked on the Eisenhower Lock as well.
Golden and Utahna adopted a boy born in 1957 at Bombay, Franklin, New York.
Donald married in 1957 at Hogansburg, Franklin, New York.
Ross told me multiple stories of New York. Unfortunately, I don’t remember any to share.
Since this is Golden, and this article also shares some information in New York, I share it here as well.
“Andra, former Preston man, gets Silver Beaver. The Citizen (Preston, Idaho) 20 March 1986.
“A former Preston man was awarded a Silver Beaver award from the Mt. Whitney Area Boy Scout Council in California recently.
“Golden Andra, son of William F. Sr., and Mary Wanner Andra, of Preston, was one of the two Tulare, Calif., scouters to get the prestigious award, the highest given on the council level.
“Andra, who has been involved in scouting for more than 20 years is serving as district commissioner for the Golden State District, and Explorer advisor for Post 234.
“An active member of the LDS church, he married Utahna Bird of Salina, Utah in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
“He worked for Morrison Knudsen Construction and the government for many years. He now works in sales for Selig Chemicals and has been in sales for 20 years. He is now buying the old Willard Wanner home in Preston for retirement.
“Andra organized the first charter for the Boy Scouts in Hogansburg, N.Y., for Mohawk Indians, becoming scoutmaster; worked with youth in Pierre, S.D.; Page, Ariz.; Roseville, Calif.; Crows Landing, Calif.; served as a counselor to a branch president and scoutmaster in Manteca, Calif.; scoutmaster, stake missionary, president of the Seventies, president of the MIA in Tulare.
“He also served as High Priest group leader, stake assistant secretary and scoutmaster over all scouts, last year being given the district award of merit.
“The Andras have six children (four living) and three foster children.
Sagacity 