Faith, Family and Farm

Tuesday morning Hi: We had a long but enjoyable stimulating day at conference Sunday. Yesterday I packed all morning; slept most of the afternoon and went crayfish fishing in the evening. We're going to leave today if Jeanene gets packed. I went out in the woods gathering some greenery to take back to you this morning. It's kind of nice out there. I'm surely anxious to get back to you, Janet. I saw Arlene Larsen at Conference Sunday. She said the apt. number was 366 E.' I've been sending your letters to 374 E. You must be well into your first morning of school teaching now. I'm kind of wondering what you're like as a teacher and what it's like to be starting with a bunch of stranger third graders. Good luck. See you soon (before you get this, I hope). Love you, Rob

Sat. nite Dear Janet, Didn't catch many fish' three to be exact. Didn't accomplish much else today either, but I'm tired anyway. I've received two letters from you, but didn't get one today. Looks like the Monday holiday is going to make it a long dry spell where hearing from you is concerned. Jeanene wants to wait for the mail Tues. to see if her check comes before we leave, so maybe I'll get another before we go. I'm surely anxious to get back to you, Janet. When we get married let's don't ever leave each other for more than a day or two unless it's really pressing. (On second thought, that sounds like too long.) I guess general foregone statements aren't very wise, but learning to love you is learning to need you, among other things, and it sure makes being away from you rough. I was thinking about the letters I write between now and when I leave, they'll probably arrive after I do. But, I like to talk to you every day, e...

Williams, Oregon Aug 30 Dear Janet, Catastrophe struck yesterday-my dad sold the place. We are to be moved out by Oct. 15. This makes me feel kinda bad, but my folks have been finding it pretty difficult to keep up two farms in different states. Here's what the doctor said: my blood has built back up to within the normal range and I seem to be doing very well. He said that he thought there was found to be some scarring on the liver and this would be permanent. However, the damage may not be symptomatic, meaning I might not be able to tell there was any damage under normal conditions, but the reserve power or capacity would be affected, to if I caught something I probably wouldn't  have as much reserve to fight it with as before. He said that there wouldn't be anything wrong with getting married, as far as my physical condition's concerned. He also said that if I make it through two years without any trouble this would indicate that I probably would be pretty healt...

Tues. nite Dear Janet, I think I've had about enough days away from you. That full moon looks kind of nice up through the pine tops and oak limbs. Seem rather strange that you can probably see the same moon and still be so far away. My sis doesn't have to be back until Sept. 8th, but I've about talked her into going back this coming Monday or Tuesday. We went to town today and that took the biggest part of the day. I still haven't got around to visiting the old haunts on the place-tomorrow, I hope. The night is surely noisy with crickets here. Does Grantsville have any crickets? They make a rather enjoyable background, I think. I'll leave this til morning to finish, that way I get to share the beginning and end of the day with you. At least it's kinda like that. Goodnight, Janet. Hi again, Honey. I woke up at 5:30 this morning and went out strolling through the brush. I went over to the little creek that runs through our place (not the one I fish in ...

Monday nite Hi, I went fishing today. It didn't take me long to decide that this fishing alone leaves a little to be desired. Had pretty good luck though and really enjoyed going the old route again. I made an appointment to see the doctor next Friday and get checked. Mon. morning-that fishing trip really made me ready for some sleep last night. I think you sere right when you said the bed makes a difference.It's felt so nice to crawl into a good bed at night these past two nights. The mornings are beautiful too. I sleep in the cabin and every morning the fresh air just makes you think it could never get hot and dusty and the sun coming up on the hills and woods out my window-I'd never imagine it could be this nice if I hand't experienced it. I guess maybe I'm a little over affected this visit, but as you know, I had some doubts as to whether home would ever be the same to come back to and I'm so tickled to find that it's still here. I didn't thi...

Sunday, Aug. 24 Dear Janet, I'm here and home is great. Pretty warm and dry, though. The folks were hoping I'd bring you with me. I was a little surprised. They seemed to be sensing more than I had told them. They're a pretty intuitive couple of people where their kids are concerned. They seem to act as if they feel that our relationship is a potent thing. I think they're on the right track, by the way. Howard and I had a real pleasant trip to Bend, then I spent from 9:00 P.M. last night til 11"15 am this morning getting the rest of the way home. It wasn't too bad, however. I was able to sleep most of the time. I had to lay over from 9 til 1:40 last night so I got an inexpensive room and "sacked out" for three and a half hrs. I've been wondering what you've been ding-whether you decided to go to Brice or stay at home. I spend quite a little time just thinking about you and how much you mean to me and how much I like being with you. Whe...

Williams, Oregon Aug 29, 1958 Dear Janet, Man, man, man! was it ever cold this morning-at least cold for the middle of August. I woke up shivering at about 5:00 am, so got up and built a fire. This cabin isn't quite as well regulated as the house, so it gets cold quicker. I've been working on my guitar this morning-trying to get it to hold together. I've really given it the care this time. I put three stove bolts in it. If that doesn't do it I'll use some bailing wire. I'm determined to make it work-I have too much time involved to ever ditch it. Sure wish I would remember what your apt. no. is, Either the one on 9 E or the new one. Maybe if I draw a picture for the postman he can find it. I'm surely enjoying my visit home. If you could be with me I doubt if I'd want to leave so soon. Finding home so pleasant and like it has always been has made me very anxious for the time when I bring you here. I'm going in to see the doctor this after...

Wed. nite  Dear Janet, Your letter arrived today. You make me feel so good that I don't know how to tell it. It's kinda like most of the good things in my life are better because I love you. And when you told me in your letter that you had told your family that you wanted to marry me, I just felt good all over. I surely hope this pressure in your ear is not serious and am glad that you're getting it checked. It looks like Jeanene and I will leave here Tuesday and get to Provo sometime Wednesday. I don't think it would be too wise to get in the holiday rush and besides that, she doesn't want to leave til then. Janet, don't get too upset about my saying you were callous. If you are I like it, to that degree. I spent an enjoyable day just loafing, carving, hiking, and missing you. Well, it's time for bed, so I'll finish in the morning and I love you so much, Janet, and the good thing about it is that loving you makes me feel so good. Good morn...

10-7-86 Dear Mom and Pop, I'm sending you a few persimmons. I hope they make the trip okay. We're all okay. We went to Madera to see Saturday sessions of conference and Merced to watch the Sunday sessions last weekend. It smells like cotton defoliant here now. We dread this event every year. It usually brings some upper respiratory irritation and congestions with it. Hope you're well. Love, Robert, Janet etc. 19 Feb 1995 Dear Mother, I hope you are doing well. I went to the Merced 4th ward (Spanish) today to speak as a high councilman. Rick Rowan, father of one of Megan's friends, Gannon's dad, is Branch Pres. Gannon was home from BYU for the weekend. He just got his call to go to the Dominical Republic on a mission in May. He sang a song with his two little sisters. Two of her other friends, Colby Brink, got his call to go to Tennessee and Aaron Ketcher was called to Montreal, Pete's mission. It's a remarkable experience to se...

20 August 2006 Dear Magdalene, Thanks for remembering my birthday with that pretty home made birthday card. We are planning to come to Manti for a month from September 22 through October 22. I've asked the renter to vacate the house by Sept. 15. We're going to spend some time there and evaluate it's potential, or lack of same. I'm excited about the adventure and having a month there. We may take a trip back to see Laurie and Charlie for a few days somewhere in that month. We took a trip back to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Nauvoo for Susie's oldest daughter, Amy's, wedding in the Nauvoo temple. It was a fun time. It was a family reunion, as well, with all the kids except the Wasatch Front dwellers there (except Charlie, who couldn't miss school, He's in Dental school in Pittsburgh, PA.) After flying home from Susie's, we drove back to Utah and Idaho to see the ones that we had missed, especially Mary, who had just had a baby girl, named Olivia Janet...

February 27, 2005 Dear Magdalene, How are you getting along? I haven't heard from you for a while and I am just wondering how you're doing. We are doing fine. We had a tough bout with the California strain of the flu in January. It took just about the whole month to recover, but we're doing well now. I think Janet brought it home from sub teaching and then I got it from her. It had an additional feature of gastritis, which kept me awake at night with discomfort for a couple of weeks after the fever subsided. The fever lasted ten days. This is the second year in a row that I've had upper respiratory problems in January. I keep remembering how much trouble mother had with pneumonia in the cold wet season when she was here and then with you in Oregon, and how moving to Utah seemed to resolve the problem. I wonder if I'm getting old enough that I may need to make the same move. Laurie's husband got a job in Morgantown, West Virginia. He's there working and ...

September 5, 1999 Dear Magdalene,                 I didn’t make it down to see you at symposium week. Did I tell you that I happened into Emma Kate in the cafeteria? That was fun.                 I’m enclosing another check for Mom’s funeral expense.                 Our stake has an 80 acre raisin grape vineyard for a welfare project. The church members all go down to pick them and lay them our on paper trays to dry each year about his time. Grape harvest was the easiest ever this year. We had a light harvest. We were done by 8:30 AM (started at 6:30). The mutual kids went down on Wednesday, after school, and did about half of the rows. It was nice and cool and we had a good time.             ...

27 March 1998 (out of order) Dear Mother, Our boy, Charlie, received his mission call to Bogota, Columbia. He enters the MTC on May 14. The only day that we have for his farewell is Mother's day. I don't know how that is going to work out. He doesn't get home from BYU until the end of April. We really had a rain storm last week. It dropped 2.5 inches of rain here in DP in 36 hours. But, in Merced it dropped 6 inches of rain. Bear Creek flooded part of the city and 1000 people had to be evacuated. That's pretty unusual for a dry place like this. We have had a wet winter...about 15-20 inches of rain...depending on where in the valley you're located. Saturday late afternoon a severe storm warning came on the TV. A thunderstorm accompanied by funnel clouds and 3/4 in. hail was reported 5 miles sout of Merced along Hwy. 99. It was headed for Chowchilla at 15 miles per hour. Chowchilla is getting to be "Tornado Alley." They were hit by a tornado about 3 we...

24 May 1998 Dear Mother,                 We had a great missionary homecoming sacrament meeting today, Justin Anderson, home from the South Dakota mission, gave a great talk. He really impressed me with his spiritual growth over the past two years.                 Only three days of seminary left for this year. I’ll be glad for the rest but I’m already excited about next year. I’m excited for the Lord to “make my weakness into strength”…after humbling me (Ether 12:27).                 We went to the temple again yesterday. The ward had a temple day involving youth doing baptisms and the adults doing initiatories for names submitted by the ward members. It was a nice day.              ...

18 May 1998 Dear Mother,                 I’ve missed a week in my letter writing. I was sick for acouple of days over the weekend 10 days ago. Yesterday, Sunday afternoon, I did a shift in the genealogy booth.                 We’ve been waiting for our first missionary letter from Charlie. We put him on the plane last Tuesday afternoon in Fresno. I've got to try to take one to the MTC once. I only have one left, Sam. The folks at church want the address and a missionary looking picture (white shirt and tie) to put on the missionary bulletin board. We also need one for the stake bulletin board. He needs to have someone take a picture and send it to us.                 We did the second genealogy booth in the Chowchilla fair this past weekend. I took a c...

117 2 May 1998 Dear Mother,                 Last week I drove back to Utah to move Charlie home, pick up some of Heidi’s stuff and a piece of furniture that Janet’s stepmother left her. Also, to attend Janet’s niece’s wedding.                 I drove the hwy 50 route through Ely, Nev., where I stayed overnight. I was too tired to go further by the time I got there. I love to see the back roads and different scenery when I go back to Utah. I realized the next morning when I took off at 6:30 AM that I couldn't make it to SLC by 10:00AM for the temple ceremony, so I decided to take a side trip up to Calleo to see the Andersons(as family who used to live here in Los Banos, but moved to Calleo to take over her family’s cattle ranch). I found the turn off and took the 68 miles of dirt road up through places like Grandy and Trout Creek ...

Dear Mother, We had another rain storm yesterday. The temperature is in the 50's to 60's. The farmers are all crying disaster. They've lost alot of hay to mildew and mold. The cotton is stunted and sick and the future looks bleak for agriculture for this year. It still hasn't warmed up enough to plant my watermelons, but it is surely pleasant living weather. The yard looks so nice and green. Sunday is going to be Seminary Sacrament meeting. Sam has a little two line solo to sing in one of the songs. He was assigned to speak also. He has a good talk ready and is excited to do it. Tomorrow night is Seminary graduation at the stake center. This has been a busy week for seminary. I also spent the morning getting the year end reports in for seminary. Charlie's passport came, FED EX, today. I went to the post office and sent it on priority mail to him. That passport makes that mission to South America seem pretty real. 31 May 1998. It's taking me a little whil...

12 April 1998 Dear Mother,                  I hope this finds you doing okay.                 Our son, Charlie’s farewell will be on the 10 th of May. I think its going to be a Mother’s Day/Missionary farewell sacrament meeting. Then it will be off to Columbia.                 At Easter Sunday, we had an extra long sacrament meeting. They had a youth speaker, a special musical number, a main speaker (Janet) and the Easter cantata on the program. Then they added two confirmations and some ward business. When the speakers were done, the time was about up, so the bishop, changed the format and canceled the middle block and called 5 or 6 people from the audience to come up and bear their testimonies an say a few extemp. Words before proceeding on to th...

Dear Mother, We got a lot more rain last week. This is going on and on. I have to drive through water to get out of my lane. It's pooling at the bottom of my pasture from the run off and flooding part of the road and my lane. We went to conference this weekend. It was good. I gave my usual test for a bottle of pop to Sam and Heidi Jo. I asked them important questions like what is the favorite cereal of the MTC? (Lucky Charms...they eat tons of it per month.) And which cereal is only consumed at the rate of 16 lbs. per month. (All Bran) Did you hear that talk? It may have been in the priesthood session. Local little league baseball season is getting off to a slow start with alot of games getting rescheduled because of rain. I'm going to get two weeks off from teaching seminary. Tomorrow I start my visiting other ward's seminary classes to pickup ideas. Then the following week is spring break. I'm excited about visiting. I'd like to see how the other teachers do ...

15 March 1998 Dear Mother, We went to the temple yesterday. We had three people from the ward getting endowments or sealing ordinances performed. There were about twenty people from the ward there. From there we went to Turlock to visit our daughter, Megan, and go to her stake's performance of "From Cumorah's Hill." She and all of her husband's family were in it. It was good...It was sure a long day, though. The peach trees are blooming and the weather is getting warmer. I haven't seen many bees flying, though. I don't know how well they're getting pollinated. I went on slits with the missionaries this afternoon...Three no responses at the door, one rejection and one "I only have ten minutes, can you just leave the book.?" This was out of five scheduled appointments. It kind of gives me a little feel of what it's like out there for you guys. In seminary we've been studying Helaman and the account of Helaman Jr.'s sons, Nep...