“The now defunct mining town of Contact, Nevada, is seen in this early Clarence Bisbee photo. The town once had a hotel, a church, restaurants, and a service station that burned in a 1942 fire. Remnants of the town remain about 20 miles south of the Idaho-Nevada border.
This photo caught my attention because I have some limited memories when I was very young of going to Contact, Nevada. In fact, it might be one of my earliest memories of traveling. My Dad has much more experience with Contact. Here is a quote from his history related to Contact.
“July 17, 1975, Larry called me at home and sent me to Twin Falls, to move Dale Aslett mining and milling from Garrison Utah to Tuscarora Nevada. It was my first time in the office, a little white house east of the shop. Nothing like the nice big office they built on the Northeast corner of their property later. The man in the office was called JR; his real name was Francis Cammack. He was a hunch back, heavy smoker, and bike rider. That was not a very good description, but true, I learned a lot about him over time, we would become good friends. He was excellent office help, and a good bookkeeper and accountant. I had learned years ago when going out of town for a company to take clothing, toothbrush, shaving things and lots of cash, I didn’t have credit cards at that time. A little bag of tools was also a good thing. JR gave me instructions on what I would be doing and where, that I needed to keep track of every dime spent, miles, and hours Dale Aslett would be paying the bill for the truck and me. When I went out to get the truck in the yard, I was met by the driver, of (his) truck #39 that I was to use. He told me he didn’t want me driving (his) truck that they should have waited till he had time to do the job and not put a driver in (his) truck. He was a Mechanic and driver for Circle A. he was mad giving me a lot of instructions, he gave me the keys, telling me not to hurt (his) truck and a flatbed trailer. I had temporary Nevada permits for 72 hours. I was off south on Highway 93 to Jackpot, Wells, Ely Nevada then East on 8 & 50 to Baker, Nevada then on 487 to Garrison, Utah. Off the paved road, on a dirt road 15 miles into the mountain, where mine was. The mine was a strip mine; they had cleared the pine trees and brush putting them in a big pile. Then I used a cat to push up the ore. It was Fluoride rock that had to be crushed, screened, and washed to remove impurities. Dale Aslett had a big pile of ore that he had crushed and more to crush. The product could not be cleaned to speck he tried everything he could think of. He had used a shaker screen table with water like used in gold mines but could not make it work. He was broken and needed to move on the next thing for him to try. This was silver mine at Tuscarora, Nevada. The man and his wife were living in a trailer house on the sight, with a diesel generator for power for mine equipment and their trailer. The other miners had moved on with no money to pay them. George and Rose Steel were all that was left. Years later I would work with them south of Contact, Nevada where Dale was trying his hand at barite ore mining, it would be a money maker for some years. George and I, with the help of a loader, loaded the trailer with conveyer belts and hoppers as much as we could put on and still stay legal. They invited me to eat with them, it was a big meal with deer steak, baked potatoes, boiled carrots with onions and homemade bread. Then I was on my way to Tuscarora about 250 miles, when I got their Dale had dug a long trench, the width of the cat’s blade, as deep as my trailer. I backed into the trench and Dale with a piece of 4 inch drill steel chained to the dozer lift arm, with a hook chained on the end of the pipe, would lift each piece up and dragged it out in the sage brush, then the next till I was unloaded. This I learned through time this was the normal thing for Dale. Later at Contact Nevada, and at Monsanto in Soda Springs Idaho. The nick name of chain and cable construction was really a fact. I traveled back and forth till everything was in Tuscarora, one night in Tuscarora I had to buy Dale supper he was out of money. I got to eat with George and Rose many times; George even took me out to the big pile of pine trees and dirt that had been stripped off the mine. There he had a secret door of pine boughs that led into like a big teepee. There inside hung deer, which he would cut off some meat for each meal, along with bags of potatoes, onions, and carrots. He would miss this at the mine in Tuscarora, only miles of sage brush. When I finished the last load my permits had run out, Dale told me not to worry. If I went north on highway 226 through Mountain City, Nevada and Owyhee, Nevada through the Duck Valley Indian reservation to Bruneau, Idaho in the dark no one would bother me, the Idaho border was only 50 miles that way, this was the long slow drive narrow two lain road with lots of bends and curves. That was an interesting time seeing the way Dale did things. When I got back to Twin on July 20th, the driver of (his) truck came out for a full inspection. Counting chains and binders are used to secure the loads and straps, checking the oil in the truck, looking at all the tires. Well, I passed, next was JR turning in all the paperwork, reporting what I had done, I drove 26 hours went 1075 miles on 185 gals fuel. JR told me Dale would pay me later, I didn’t know that would be months later, but I did get paid and very good.”
We took the opportunity to attend the Casper Wyoming Temple Open House on 31 August 2024. We planned the weekend to do some sightseeing and visit some church and family history sites. I am reposting as this has updates on 3 additional ancestors that also came through the Overland Trail.
We left on the Friday morning with the hope of making it all the way to Casper before nightfall. We took old US Highway 30 through Soda Springs and Montpelier. We made a stop to visit the grave of my Grandmother in Dingle.
Aliza, Lillian, Paul, James, and Hiram Ross at the graves of Bud and Colleen Lloyd
We drove through Cokeville and reminded the kids of the story of the Cokeville miracle. As we drove along the old highway, I pointed out the old railroad Y that used to go to the Stauffer mine that was located in Leefe, Wyoming. I spent the first summer or two of my life at Leefe while my dad was tasked with tearing down and removing the mine with Circle A Construction. We stopped in Kemmerer to refuel and also drive past the first J. C. Penney store. We made a quick stop at the Parting of the Ways along the California, Mormon, and Oregon trails.
James Ross at Independence Rock
With four kids, we often stop at rest areas. As you can see above, we stopped at the one at Independence Rock. The rock is nearby and doubles as the parking location to visit the rock.
We finally made it to Casper about sunset. We ate an amazing Italian meal at Racca’s Pizzeria Napoletana and checked into our hotel.
Casper Wyoming Temple
We got up early, dressed appropriately, and headed out to visit the Casper Wyoming Temple. It was beautiful. Much smaller than I had anticipated. It is definitely one of the smallest temples, but that is because of the population and distance to other temples. It will supposedly have five stakes in its temple district, some of which will still come from a long distance to attend. Don’t let size fool you, it still has all the distinct parts of a temple and related quality. I think I may very much prefer the intimacy of the smaller temples. It actually reminded me of the Helena Montana Temple on size and flow.
Ross family at the Casper Wyoming Temple Open House
The temple does not have an adjoining chapel, but it does have a distribution/visitor center. We watched the video, enjoyed waiting in the line, and got to see the whole temple. If I were asked, there are a couple of design changes I would make for flow, but this temple will not regularly see these types of crowds or have those issues.
Ross family with the Casper Wyoming Temple
We hurried back to our hotel, changed, loaded up the car, checked out, and headed off to our next stop: The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center in Casper. I did not take any pictures there, but it was very well done. I enjoyed the visit, helped the kids with their junior ranger activities, and learned a few things. Part of the museum had its own little room and video dedicated to the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies.
We stopped at Independence Rock again on our way headed west. We walked around the massive rock and looked at a number of the signatures carved into stone from over 160 years ago. It was hot and we needed to get our little doggies along to Devil’s Gate.
I will write about this more in a bit, but Devil’s Gate was a major landmark on the trail going west for all pioneers on the trails. But Devil’s Gate became more than a landmark and became a historical site in the tragic fall of 1856. Fort Seminoe was based there on the west side of Devil’s Gate, but it had been abandoned earlier that same year. It was that fall that the Martin Handcart Company found itself stranded in the snow. Days later the stranded handcart company moved into a nearby cove to get away from the wind, snow, and cold. That cove is now known as Martin’s Cove.
The Sun Ranch from Devil’s Gate, now The Martin’s Cove: Mormon Trail Site
We found the visitor’s center much more hospitable than some of our ancestors. As I worked through my family history, I had some of my own ancestors who passed through this very Devil’s Gate and area. Here are my ancestral lines that came across on the Mormon Trail. I had counted only 3 while in Casper, but hadn’t realized the Williams clan came over in two separate trips.
William and Mary Ann Sharp in 1853. Wagon train. Moses Clawson Company. William and Mary Ann met in the wagon train and married in Nebraska in 1853. William and Mary are my 3rd Great Grandparents.
John Williams in 1860. Wagon train. John Smith Company. John came over with his two sons John Haines (1829) and Richard (1838). I don’t know why his son David went separately in 1864. I am a descendant of John through David. John is my 4th Great Grandfather.
Johanna Benson in 1862. Wagon train. Joseph Horne Company. Johanna came over with some of her children and their families, her daughter Agneta, came over in 1864 with her family. Johanna is my 4th Great Grandmother.
William Edward Stoker in 1863. Wagon train. Unknown Company. William was traveling with his family, including the baby Mary Ann. William is my 3rd Great Grandfather, Mary Ann is my 2nd Great Grandmother.
John and Agneta Nelson in 1864. Wagon train. William Preston Company. Agneta is the daughter of Johanna Benson who came over in 1862. John and Agneta are my 3rd Great Grandparents.
David D and Gwenllian Williams in 1864. David is the son of John mentioned above. Wagon train. William S Warren Company. Gwenllian came with her sister Mary. Both married on the ship in Liverpool before setting sail for Utah. Gwenllian and Mary’s parents, David and Margaret Jordan, came over in 1872 crossing the plains by rail. David and Gwenllian are my 3rd Great Grandparents.
That gives me 10 ancestors that crossed the plains by wagon, none by handcart that I can tell. The unknown companies were all wagon trains as there were not handcarts those years.
Devil’s Gate – 2024
Every single one of these ten ancestors of mine who came west on the trail would have passed through Devil’s Gate. Here I stood on this sacred ground and snapped this photo of my daughter, my descendant and their descendant, at Devil’s Gate.
Aliza Ross at Devil’s Gate
It took me a bit more work, as I am not as familiar, to find those family lines of Amanda’s that also would have passed along the Mormon Trail to the west before the railroad made it much, much faster and safer. It took me several occasions over a couple of weeks to spend the time to research all these lines.
Henry and Ann Jackson in 1852. Wagon train. James C Snow Company. This is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandparents.
Regina Hansen in 1853. Wagon train. John E Forsgren Company. Her son, Hans Hansen, also accompanied her on the trip. Regina’s husband stayed behind. Regina is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandmother, Hans is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandfather.
Grave of Hans Hansen in Plain City, Utah. Edith Sharp Ross’ stone is the stone at 10 o’clock from the top of this stone, my Great Grandmother.
David Buttar in 1854. Wagon train. William Empey Company. He appears to have traveled alone. Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandfather.
Birthe Jacobson in 1854. Unknown if wagon train or handcart company. Birthe’s daughter, Maria Jacobson, also accompanied her on the trip. Her husband Jorgen died in Missouri as part of the trip. Birthe is Amanda’s 5th Great Grandmother, Maria is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandmother.
Harriet Housley in 1856. Handcart company. Edward Martin Company. Harriet’s son, George Housley, also accompanied her on the trip. Two other children came later. Harriet is Amanda’s 5th Great Grandmother, George is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandfather.
Richard and Christine Hemsley (1836 – 1915) in 1857. Handcart company. Israel Evans Company. This is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandparents.
Ole and Anne Jensen in 1861. Likely wagon train. Unknown company. Amanda’s 5th Great Grandparents.
John Crompton in 1862. Wagon train. Joseph Horne Company. John also had his daughter, Hannah Crompton, with him. John is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandfather, Hannah is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandmother.
Anna Nielsen in 1862. Wagon train. Christian Madsen Company. She traveled alone. Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandmother.
Joseph and Penelope Thompson in 1862. Wagon train. John Riggs Murdock Company. Their son, Joseph Thompson, also accompanied the family. Amanda’s 4th Great Grandparents, Joseph is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandfather.
Joseph Wayment in 1863. Wagon train. Unknown Company. Appears to have come alone. Although his parents and most of his siblings would come later by rail. Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandfather.
Axel Boyer in 1866. Wagon train. Abner Lowry Company. Amanda’s 4th Great Grandfather. Also traveled with the Keeps, other ancestors of Amanda.
James and Ann Keep in 1866. Wagon train. Abner Lowry Company. Their daughter, Sarah Keep, also accompanied the family. James and Ann are Amanda’s 4th Great Grandparents, Sarah is Amanda’s third great Grandmother. Also traveled with Axel Boyer, other ancestor of Amanda.
Richard Hemsley (1801 – 1866) and his later wife Sarah in 1866. Wagon train. William Henry Chipman Company. Amanda’s 5th Great Grandfather.
Peter Peterson in 1866. Wagon train. Joseph Sharp Rawlins Company. Peter is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandfather.
That is the Hemsley line alone, Amanda’s Dad. I count 26 ancestors of Amanda’s Dad that came through Devil’s Gate.
James, Lillian, Hiram, and Aliza Ross at Devil’s Gate Mormon Handcart Visitor Center
Amanda’s Mom’s line, the Holden family, has the following:
Edwin and Ruia Holden in 1852. Wagon train. Uriah Curtis Company. Their son, Henry Holden, also accompanied the family. Edwin and Ruia are Amanda’s 4th Great Grandparents, Henry is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandfather.
Jesse and Temperance McCauslin in 1851. Wagon train. Unknown Company. Temperance passed away in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She did not make the trail in Wyoming or Devil’s Gate. Their daughter, Louisa McCauslin, also accompanied the family. Jesse is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandfather, Louisa is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandmother.
John and Adelaide Roberts in 1863. Wagon train. Thomas Ricks Company. Their son, Hyrum Roberts, also accompanied the family. John and Adelaide are Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandparents, Hyrum is Amanda’s 2nd Great Grandfather.
Thomas and Mary Ashton in 1851. Wagon train. Morris Phelps Company. Mary also passed away in Iowa. She did not make the trail in Wyoming or Devil’s Gate. Their son, Joseph Ashton, also accompanied the family. Thomas is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandfather, Joseph is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandfather.
Sarah Jarvis in 1854. Wagon train. Job Smith Company. She came with some of her family, but not with her son, Amanda’s ancestor, George Jarvis. Sarah is Amanda’s 4th Great Grandmother.
George and Ann Jarvis in 1853. Wagon train. Unknown Company. George and Ann are Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandparents. George is the son of Sarah Jarvis mentioned above.
William and Rebecca Finch in 1854. Wagon train. Daniel Garn Company. William and Rebecca are Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandparents.
Joseph Finch in 1853. Wagon train. Joseph Young Company. Joseph is the son of William and Rebecca Finch mentioned above.
John and Hannah Davis in 1851. Wagon train. Eaton Kelsey Company. Their daughter, Mary Jane, also accompanied the family. The family also has Davies listed for their last name sometimes. John and Hannah are Amanda’s 4th great grandparents, Mary Jane is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandmother.
John Evans in 1866. Wagon train. William Henry Chipman Company (same company as Amanda’s Richard Hemsley above). His wife, Sarah, died on the trip from the United Kingdom in New York. His son, John Evans, also accompanied his father and brother. John is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandfather, John is Amanda’s 2nd Great Grandfather.
James and Elizabeth Boyack in 1855. Wagon train. Milo Andrus Company. James and Elizabeth are Amanda’s 4th Great Grandparents.
James Boyack in 1853. Wagon train. Appleton Harmon Company. James is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandfather. James is the son of James and Elizabeth Boyack above that came in 1855 across the plains.
Margary Waterhouse in 1855. Wagon train. Milo Andrus Company. Margary is Amanda’s 3rd Great Grandmother. She came across with the same train as James Boyack’s parents, presumably that is how she met her future husband. The Company arrived 24 October 1855 in Utah, James and Margary married 23 November 1855 in Springville, Utah.
That is the Holden line alone, Amanda’s Mom. I count 26 of ancestors of Amanda’s Mom that came through Devil’s Gate. As an aside, I also looked at her biological line (as she is adopted), and not a single one of her biological ancestors passed through Devil’s Gate.
James riding while Hiram, Lillian, and Aliza Ross pull a handcart at Devil’s Gate Mormon Handcart Visitors Center
We also stopped and visited with the sixth crossing of the Sweetwater River. This was the location where, like the Martin Handcart Company, the Willie Handcart Company also got stuck in wind, snow, and cold in 1856. Their rescue occurred here.
The next day, on our way to Grand Teton National Park, we made a stop at Fort Washakie, Wyoming. This is one of the alleged graves of Sacagawea. We stopped and remembered her, whether her final resting place or not.
All in all, I was surprised by my own connection to the Mormon Trail. I had never considered that I have 10 ancestors who had literally came this way. Or that my children have 59 ancestors that literally come this way. They passed by Independence Rock, through Devil’s gate, and two of those 59 suffered with the Martin Handcart Company. I will write more on the Housleys later as there have been other interesting interactions with that clan since our marriage.
Brandon Woolf, McCord Larsen, Paul Ross with Idaho State Capitol
This year I was more involved in the legislative process than in the past. There were a few bills I was particularly interested and closely involved. I even helped write a few.
On 3 March 2023 I traveled to the Idaho State Capitol with my friend and Cassia County Prosecutor McCord Larsen to testify on a particular bill related to Public Defense. While there, we took the opportunity to make a number of other calls and visits in addition to the legislators/legislative. This photo comes from one of those visits.
Brandon Woolf is the Idaho State Controller. More importantly he is my friend. He is always out and about in visiting communities and friends. I have run into him in Preston, Soda Springs, Malad, Burley, Rupert, and Boise. Not only do I respect and honor this friend, our families have been friends for generations. Brandon is from Preston, where my Andra, Nuffer, and Wanner lines are all from. I have ran into Brandon at That Famous Preston Night Rodeo, the Rodeo Days Parade (also in Preston), and even the Independence Day Breakfast in Preston. It has been a small world and an oddity that I run into this guy as much as I do.
He took us through and shows us the new Transparent Idaho website. He is pretty excited for this website to continue to be rolled out and outfitted with all information for Idaho government. That is not just state, but every taxing district from cities, to counties; from cemetery districts to school districts.
The highlight was catching up between old friends (and Aggies). For the occasion, we snapped this photo from Brandon’s office. Somehow it seems enchanting. My beloved state, a phenomenal Idaho Constitutional Officer, friendship, and a beautiful Capitol. My experience with Idaho is that we are in good hands.
As for the legislation we were working on that day, well it was a disappointment. Representatives Weber and Cannon apparently were more interested in passing a bill than getting it right. We have tons of clean-up, which is always harder the second or third year than at the beginning. I have many, many reservations on the bill generally and don’t think it cannot be cleaned up but for a rewrite. But they didn’t care about that either. For a state that is independent, local control, and willing to do things different, this bill flew in the face of all that. It centralized power, removed local stakeholders, consolidated processes, ignored processes, and all at the same time wildly underfunded. I hope I am wrong, but I think it will get worse before it gets better.
Other bills were introduced too late and didn’t get too far. Others passed through unmarred and become clarifying law. The updates of bankruptcy related law all seem to have failed. But we will try again next year. Too bad it does not pay, it is hard doing all this on your own dime and sacrificing your gainful employment.
We were able to do lunch with our local Representative Clay Handy and visit with Representative Doug Pickett. Senator Kelly Anthon was kind enough to introduce us and welcome us from the Senate floor. We were unable otherwise to meet up with him.
Idaho is still small. I hope we do not lose the small state legislature, the gentleman’s creed, and the ability to do business. Please like Brandon keep hope in government when it is sometimes hard to keep hope in such a process.
Working through more photos for scanning were these three family portraits all in the same frame. I am glad I took the one out to scan because I would not have otherwise found the other two. As you can see below, the last is faded from being in the front. I recall the one hanging near my Grandma’s phone, but I don’t ever recall the other two even though I think they are newer. These are all within a few years in the 1980s.
Brook, Linda, Doug Jonas
Doug is my Mom’s oldest brother. There are three, Doug in 1952, Mom in 1954, and Jackie in 1960.
Brook, Linda, and Doug Jonas
Doug, Linda, and Brook lived in Soda Springs, Caribou, Idaho when I was growing up. They moved to Alaska about 1987. They still live there in Anchorage now.
The first time I saw this picture I grabbed it for a number of reasons.
First, that looks like my car on the front right of the photo. That is clearly a 1956 Dodge car on the right in the same yellow, charcoal, and white as my car. Although when my car was repainted about 1984, the top and inside the fins around the taillights was also painted charcoal so that there is not any white on it at present. Mine is a Coronet. Looking closer at the photo, that car is likely a higher model as the chrome stripe goes up before the bumper, where the lower models went down. So it must be a Custom Lancer or Custom Royal. Here is a link to the different models and nuances of the 1956 Dodge lineup.
Aliza and 1956 Dodge Coronet
Second, I have been to Montpelier dozens of times in my life. Beginning in the 1980s with my Grandmother, Colleen Jonas, selling insurance. I came to love the town. Soda Springs and Montpelier both had the viaducts which stuck out in my mind. I immediately recognized the town.
Growing up in and near Burley, Idaho, I am familiar with the history of the King’s Variety Store chain. On the left is the M. H. King Co. Who in southern Idaho is not familiar with Milton Herman King and his variety or discount stores? I went looking and can see on Google that the King building in the photo is no longer present in Montpelier. However, the rest of the buildings on the north are still there, but some with some pretty drastic facade alterations. Even though King’s has now closed, Google still has one across the street on this picture. Apparently with the buildings the Dodge is parked in front of all gone.
Third, the red car in the picture appears to be the only 1958 model, I think. The rest all look like 1956 or earlier, so that red one might only be a 1957. This picture is likely in 1957 or 1958.
Fourth, my Dad, Milo Ross, spent quite a few summers in Montpelier growing up as my Great Uncle Chauncey De Orr Michaelson was born in Montpelier in 1922. He was married to my Grandma Gladys Ross’ sister, Dena Dorothy Donaldson. Richard Michaelson and Dad ran around Montpelier probably during the same time period as this photo. When we lived in Leefe, Wyoming, once and a while the family would have to come in or through Montpelier as well.
Fifth, my Grandma Jonas married Bud Lloyd who haled from the Montpelier area. Grandma and Bud met in the early 1990s while she was working in the Montpelier area. They dated and were married in 1998. Unfortunately she passed away in 1999. They are both buried in Dingle, just south of Montpelier.
Deer Cliff Inn 1998
Lastly, Montpelier has an announcement for a temple. This modern view will have a temple spire in it down the road, probably above that truck that looks like a garbage truck. Montpelier on the right side has a beautiful school that has been kept. I hope it continues to be kept and maintained. Bringing a temple to downtown Montpelier will do much to help rejuvenate the downtown area that seems to have struggled.
In September last year, 2017, the Hemsley family took our yearly excursion into the hills.
We traveled into Soda Springs to get to know the town and its sites a little better.
We made a trip to Hooper Springs Park north of Soda Springs to see what we could see.
Hooper Springs Gazebo
A memory stretching from my childhood appeared. I remember going here with my Grandma when I was about 5 or 6 years old when I would go with her selling insurance for a week or so at a time. I remember this little park and the gazebo covering the spring.
We brought our cups out and we did partake of the carbonated waters from Hooper Springs.
I did a little research on Hooper Springs. This little spring has been here and advertised for over at least 160 years. Rain service reached the area in 1882 and W. H. Hooper marketed the springs nationally. Hooper was a banker and President of Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution. He was a great advocate of Soda Springs and the soda water industry.
William Henry Hooper was born in Maryland, moved to Illinois, converted to Mormonism, and moved to Utah with the exodus. He served in Congress from Utah from 1859 to 1873 with some gaps.
He was superintendent of ZCMI from 1873 until 1877, then as President from 1877 to 1882. He was also the President of Deseret Bank from 1872 until 1882.
Hooper first came to Soda Springs about 1870. He had his own home in Soda Springs as well as Salt Lake City.
Here we came into Hooper Springs in September 2017. Photo of the Hemsley clan to prove our attendance.
James Ross sits int he car seat on the bench, Zach Smart and Alyssa Hemsley in the back right, Bryan Hemsley holding the red solo cup with flavored carbonated water, Jill Hemsley, Amanda Ross, Derek & Jordan Hemsley holding Jack, with children Alyssa Ross, Lillian Ross, Olivia Hemsley, and Hiram Ross in front.
2017 is now ending. Where in the world has it gone? Here is a photo that I think more or less sums up the entire year.
Hiram, Lillian, Amanda, Paul, James, and Aliza Ross in 2017!
Ms. Brandi Teuscher took that photo and deserves the credit. She had some difficult subjects to work with under the circumstances.
A 1956 Dodge Coronet with plenty of blemishes due to age. She turned 61 this year. Hopefully we can get her better looking in the future.
One of my favorite things in the photo, beyond the family and car, are the dandelions. They make my heart happy.
Aliza turned 7, Hiram turned 5, Lillie turned 2, and James was born in March. Amanda and I continue to mature in age and demeanor. Our little family continues to grow.
In March we saw the raging Snake River over Shoshone Falls.
Hiram and Aliza at Shoshone Falls 19 March 2017
In April, the Snake River continued to rage so we took a picture at Minidoka Dam.
23 April at Minidoka Dam spillway
Our grass greened up and was beautiful and the kids enjoyed a new Radio Flyer wagon.
Lillie 23 April 2017
We attended the Open House and Rededication of the Idaho Falls Temple.
Idaho Falls Temple during the Open House
Hiram was antsy to start farming in June.
Hiram on Grandpa’s 1948 Ford 8N
During most of the summer, the kids loved to go for walks or bike rides in the evening.
30 July trip around Fairmont Street
We traveled to Rexburg for the 2017 Great American Eclipse!
Amanda during the Total Eclipse 21 August 2017
We enjoyed some hot miniture golfing in Twin Falls in September.
Twin Falls Miniture Golfing
The Annual Hemsley Camp Out also took place in September in Soda Springs. We not only enjoyed the carbonated springs, we felt a few earthquakes too.
2017 Hemsley Reunion: Front kids (l-r) Aliza Ross, Lillie Ross, Olivia Hemsley, Hiram Ross; Second row Jill Hemsley, Amanda Ross, Derek Hemsley, Jordan Hemsley holding Jack Hemsley, Bryan Hemsley holding Red Solo Cup, with Zack Smart and Alyssa Hemsley behind; James Ross sitting in car seat
James grew up enough to look around, crawl, and Lillie grew enough to pull him in a wagon by September.
Lillie pulling happy James
Made a trip to Cedar City for the Cedar City Open House by November.
Paul, Amanda, Aliza, Hiram, Lillian, and James Ross at the Cedar City Temple Open House
And Cove Fort.
Paul, Amanda, Aliza, Hiram, Lillian, and James Ross with Jill Hemsley recreating a 1939 photo of David and Dave Donaldson.
What shall 2018 bring with it?
I find myself echoing Jacob. “And it came to pass that I, Paul, began to be old… the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream.” It passes too quickly. We could make more memories, but health and money are limited. Hopefully more memories and life in the upcoming year.
Sagacity 