Memorial Day 2011

Memorial Day 2011

My sister Natalie and I traveled to Rexburg to visit our father and assist him in decorating our mother's and ancestor's graves.

First we visited the Rexburg Cemetery--

 Decorating our mother's grave.  She passed away nine years ago on May 24.

 Headstone of my father's parents

 Headstone of my father's grandparents

 My grandparent's baby daughter's headstone

 Baby daughter of my great-grandparents

 On our way to the Plano Cemetery, we drove by Doug's and my first home that we built in North Hibbard, which was a split level with four levels.  This was where we lived when the Teton Dam broke.  Two of the bottom, unfinished levels were flooded.

Next, we visited the Plano Cemetery--

 This headstone marks the grave of Harriett Leeson, wife of James Lucas, our Great-great grandparents on the Lucas side.  Harriett died in Plano and was buried there, and her husband went to live with his daughter in Centerville where he died and so was buried there (his headstone is shown below).  When I returned from Idaho, Camille, Holland and I decorated James' grave in the Centerville Cemetery.

 This is the headstone of Grandma Rigby's sister who died in California.  Our father was instrumental in having her body returned to Plano where she could be buried by her parents.

 Hyrum J. Lucas' separate headstone.  He and his wife, Josephine (below), were the parents of 10 daughters--our grandmother being one of them.

 The large headstone of "Mr. and Mrs. Hyrum Lucas." I don't know why they just didn't combine three in one!

 Our father's brother, Lalovi, is also buried in the Plano Cemetery.

On the way home from the Plano Cemetery, we drove into Grandpa and Grandma Rigby's yard.  Talk about a trip down memory lane....

 This was the chicken coop where our dear grandmother would faithfully tend to her chickens.  She would gather the water from a hand pump each morning and evening.  A real treat was for us to help her gather the eggs.  We as grandchildren would also help her clean the coop in the spring just in time for her to bring new little chicks home to.  I still am in wonderment at to how those tiny little chicken feet could trample down the sawdust so hard that we had to use metal scrapers to get to the concrete floor.  I also remember the gagging dust we created.  

 This was my grandfather's barn

 It is amazing that these buildings are still standing!!!

 This old granary, which was actually the tithing granary, was moved to my Great-grandfather's property after tithing was no longer paid in commodities but dollars.  He was bishop of the ward for 23 years.  I remember playing in the grain with little baby mice and big mice running through it.

 And, here is their old red brick home that holds memories galore in and around its walls.

 The cinderblock garage on the right is where we as grandchildren would carry in the mounds of ears of corn that our mothers had picked and we would husk; where we watched our mothers scald the headless chickens to remove the feathers after our grandmother and Aunt LaRue would chop off their heads.  The little wooden building in the middle was the wash house where Great Grandmother and Grandmother Rigby would do their wash on wash days.  On the left lining the lane, were several apple trees where we as grandchildren would climb the limbs to pick apples and throw down to our mother and aunts as part of the applesauce process.

 This home had so many wonderful memories created inside, also.  The big picture window on the lower left was the large living room where we celebrated Christmas Eve for all of our growing up years (and even several years after we were married).  Grandmother would purchase gifts throughout the year for each individual grandchild.  We would all meet together in our best clothes, have a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner (which included homemade ice cream churned in a green wooden ice cream maker using salt and snow), Santa would come and then we would open our gifts.  

My Great grandmother used the upstairs as an apartment where school teachers would live throughout the school year and she could make a little extra money.  My Great grandfather had his bishop's office in the room to the right of the front door.  We had many picnics in the front yard with all of my cousins, aunts and uncles.  We were a very close extended family thanks to my grandmother getting us together (with the support of my grandfather).  

 The family wall is now complete--a project started by Beverly and me.  It was just coincidental that the last picture was hung on Memorial Day weekend, but meant even more since we had seen all of the graves on the bottom row.  Gr.-Gr. Grandfather Rigby & his wife and Gr.-Gr. Grandfather Beck and his wife (on the top row) are all buried in the Newton Cemetery in Utah.

On Sunday, we had a memorial service for mother where Blair offered a beautiful prayer and Dad spoke about Mother.

 All in all, the weekend was really special.  I am so grateful for my siblings, their families and especially my father.  Even though many couldn't be there, we knew that they would have been there if it were possible.  I'm thankful for Dad's great desire that we come and participate in such an important event as remembering our loved ones who have passed away, especially our dear mother.