45

Time: late 1950 Place: Grandparents Farm near Malad.

One visit took me to the old barn in back of their house. Somewhere in that barn I came upon some 45 caliber bullets. As I recall the bottom half were more brass and the top was lead and was gray. I was able to bring a number of them home. They sat in my room for years. I am not sure if these were the exact same bullets that I might have given another cousin who lived near by. The memory is enhanced by the recollection of the bullets "going off" one day. Either me or my cousin were just bumping them together. Not a wise idea we found.

A gift from a cousin has been a treasure.

J. Stevens A & T Co. Chicopee Falls Mass. 22 Long Rifle

The rifle has an interesting history and brings back a lot of memories. This rifle was in the home of our Grandfather Jones as the family grew up. I am not sure which of the boys would really lay claim to it but my father told me he used it during the time that he grew up and often hunted with it. The gun is a lever action single shot. About 1 million of these were produced by the J. Stevens Company in the 1890’s.

My Dad told me that on the farm he often hunted rabbits with this gun. He also told of catching rabbits with snares. Traps, sometimes metal, and sometimes like little ropes were set in the regular paths taken by the rabbits in the winter. Under the bushes where the snow was broken some animals found small trails that ran to areas of food and they would regularly use the trails making them prime for small traps.

My cousin Michael Alyworth gave this gun to me. My Grandmother lived in his home in Salt Lake for a time after my Grandfather died and I am sure that was the reason that this family gun came to be in Michaels possession. Michael worked with me in a wholesale business in Salt Lake when I was first married. We had moved to Salt Lake from Pocatello. One day he brought this to me and told me he had felt it was a gun my father had used and probably his as a boy and he wanted me to have it. The gun has been in my study area for many years and always makes me remember my Dad. It also has many times made me think of my cousin Michael.

HB KJ

Happy Birthday KJ.

Nothing original here. The picture has been posted before and so has the poem. Both favorites. Don't know how to say it better but then it still falls short.................

How Do I Love Thee?
Poem lyrics of How Do I Love Thee
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight. For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love with a passion put to use In my old grief’s, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints; I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death

A village in Wales

Great Grandfather Jones was born November 2nd 1831 at Yetgach-Llanllwng-Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Several life stories have been written that will be more interesting and complete than this. When he about 18 years old he went alone to Liverpool where he boarded a ship named the Trnbadore in a group lead by Captain Dan Jones. The ship took 7 weeks and 3 days to cross the ocean. It landed in New Orleans and they then went up the Mississippi River to St. Louis where they then went west to Salt Lake. A cousin is by the sign on a trip taken a couple of years ago. The Chapel by the cemetery is most likely where John's parents were married. From the cemetery is a good view towards house where they lived across the valley. Then another view near the house. Also a view of the area where the house is hidden in the tree. Then a view of the house with our cousin and the people who now live in the house

"Old house" with "old" memories

This house is where my father grew up and where as a young boy I went to see the "Grandparents". To the right (South) of the house was a stream. In back was a large underground potato cellar as well as some chicken coops and open land. Somewhere back there was the "Silver Fox" pens written about in the last blog but by the time I remember going to the farm the fox pens were gone. In front of the house was a road that when I was young was the main highway from Idaho to Utah. Across the road, to the West, were the fenced off areas for cows and hay storage. A trail went much further west to where the cows spent their days. Each morning the cows were taken to their fields on a horse and then again late afternoon the horse went to bring the cows back. They were heavy with milk and wanted to be milked and they came back quickly. This farm was only 60 miles away and we went to it often. The experience of going for the cows and living in the country was an influential part of my youth. My father, having grown up on this farm, didn't look at it as much else than just hard work and never had any interest in living again on a farm.

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The front room of this house was the main room. It was the kitchen as well. A stove heated the room and the back room that was mostly a large open bedroom was heated by a smaller stove. The main stove was also used for cooking. The stove had several top burners and a oven and wood was the fuel that provided the heat and allowed the food to be cooked.

Silver Foxes were like "common stock to" my Father

Somewhere around 1920 to 30 + many ranchers in the Western United States raised Silver Foxes and made money selling them for their fur. Some years the prices were higher than others and the market had its ups and downs. On my grandfathers farm were Fox Pens where these animals were raised and sold over several years. My father had the assignment over several years to feed these foxes daily and to care for the needs of the animals in their pens. It involved carrying food to the pens each day and working out the water needs. This was a project to raise funds and was viewed in later years by my father as a hard lesson in speculation. He remembered a a few specific years very well. He told me that the price of the foxes and the cost of the food resulted in a loss not even counting the cost of "time". It was largely, at least for the years he remembered, his time. The issue was that the price of the fur went up and down and was really responding to speculation by investors.

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Probably my fathers Silver Fox experience lead in part to a rather conservative approach to savings and investments on his part over the rest of his life. I recall that he really never owned any "common stock" and stock for him was just too much subject to the influence of speculators and a market that moved up and down. The only exception to his never owning stock was some company stock at his employer but interest bearing investments were his focus.

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Remembering his commitment to interest bearing investments took me many years to appreciate. How glad I am that I was finally influenced.

Appreciate the Blue Sky, a New Year, and you too

this is my 454th blog.

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The odds of getting to 908 are not real high. I have reached the point where the subject of the blog is the number of blogs so that fact may have some deep significant meaning? Or on the other hand it may mean nothing. It is now 2009. Another interesting number. "So far so good" is all I can say about 2009.

Highlights of 2009.............

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Utah wins the Sugar Bowl.

Time Magazine has a very funny article on voter intelligence. Seems as though the recount in Minnesota has verified, according to Time, that voters and their ability to read and then follow instructions is a very funny subject.

Blue Sky in New Mexico continues to be outstanding. Actually based on an actual 3 State visual survey just completed New Mexico is significantly bluer.

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A special thank you and I appreciate you goes out to all 4 of you that have read this blog over the last while. Consider yourself Appreciated.............................