Horsin' Around For A Good Cause - May 2010

By: Jennifer Oleen-Rook

Vernal teenagers Ashlea Murray, McKayla Chivers and Brandi Massey don't really have time to be bored, but if they feel life isn't exciting enough, don't worry, they'll dream up an event to spice things up and maybe even find a way to give back to the community in the process. These three outstanding girls really had no idea what a huge event they were starting 4 years ago when they decided to put on a horse show to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes, but that doesn't stop them from working harder each year to make sure the show is a success and that money is raised for a great cause.

    17 year old Ashlea Murray, daughter of Thumper and Ann Murray, said she and her friends just wanted to create a fun horse show for participants of all ages and skill levels back in 2007, but they really got the fire burning when they decided they would like to give back to the community somehow and make the show a charity event. Ashlea thought of her peers who struggle with diabetes, "There are a bunch of kids at our school who have diabetes. There was one boy in particular I remember who had to pack an insulin pump with him every day. He had to leave class all the time and missed a lot of school. We thought Juvenile Diabetes sounded like a great charity to give to so we decided to donate all our proceeds to them."

    Ashlea, McKayla and Brandi soon found themselves canvassing local businesses for donations, sponsors and prizes and were amazed at the turnout. "That first year we had people from other states travel here just for OUR show. We had no idea it would be this huge." Ashlea gushes.

    The Three Musketeers, as Ashlea's mother calls them, are hard at work again and have even secured the Ft. Riley 1^st Infantry Division Mounted Color Guard to present the colors and perform at the onset of this year's show. The girls are hoping to raise more money than ever and so far are on track to do so.

    The 4^th Annual Diabetes Charity Horse Show will be held June 5^th at Vernal's Western Park at 9 a.m. All proceeds go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund. Come horse around with us for a great cause!

Friday Nights In A Small Town - Memorial Day Memories - May 2010

BY: Jennifer Oleen-Rook
    "Just go pick some!" my brother urged. "They'll never even know! We don't have any other flowers for them. We NEED these."
They were quite pretty. The lilacs were gorgeous and in full bloom at just the right time that year. They had bloomed out perfectly, just in time for Memorial Day. Some years the lilac bloom was over by the time Memorial Day came around and other times it was too cold for lilacs to be out yet, but this particular year, there was a bountiful crop, and I needed some flowers. We were headed to the cemetery and I needed a bushel of flowers for a couple of special graves. The only problem was we didn't have a lilac tree in OUR yard. The one I was contemplating robbing was in my neighbor's yard.
    "Come ON!" he pushed. "You've got to hurry or we'll get caught. GO!"

      I was hesitant to move, but I couldn't help but think about those headstones in the cemetery that my grandfather so lovingly cleaned each year and how he would take out his pocket knife and carefully etch out the name, barely visible in the stone after a year of erosion. In addition to our family headstones, there were two extras he cleaned up each year. The smaller of the two had just one name on it. It read "Dunham". There was no birth year, no death date, and no other name; just a single name in a small stone placed in the ground on the edge of the Roosevelt Cemetery. The other headstone was larger, but was no more than a cement slab.
    My brothers and cousins and I always helped Grandpa take care of these graves each Memorial Day. We'd carry coffee cans full of water so he could clean the stones off. He'd use that same pocket knife to cut the overgrown grass away from the sides of the tiny stone. Then, we'd put flowers on those graves. His father had been taking care of them for years so Grandpa followed in his footsteps. We simply called them "The Paupers".
    "Jennifer! GO!" My brother hissed as I lay there daydreaming.
So, I went. I ran across our field, climbed the fence to the top rail and jumped over. Then I did my best Mission Impossible tuck, roll, and duck behind all the objects in my neighbor's yard until I reached her prized lilac trees. I raised my scissors and began to snip. I snipped a small bushel, hurrying as fast as I could, but also taking care not to take too many from the same spot. I spread the trimming out so I didn't make an obvious bald spot in the bushes, but once I had my little bundle you could hardly tell any lilacs had been removed.

      With the stolen lilacs in hand, I sprinted to the fence. I got to the top rail though, and went nowhere. I was sort of hanging in mid air as my brother laughed and pointed up to where my pants were caught on a nail on the top rail of the fence. Seconds later I crashed to the ground as the seat of my pants ripped out completely, but I wasted no time. I immediately got up and set off running. The denim that once covered my rear end flapped in the breeze as I tore up the ground, prized lilacs clutched in my hands. I'm not sure if the Paupers were somewhere up above smiling down at me or shaking their heads in shame, but I was pretty sure my Grandpa would be happy I'd brought the lilacs, as long as I didn't tell him about my crime and the ripped jeans.
     The Pauper's story goes that Dunham and the Sexton's had been poor homesteaders who couldn't afford perpetual care in the cemetery. My Great Grandfather, Theophilus Phillips, a Roosevelt area homesteader himself, and some other homesteaders saw to it that these folks' final resting places were tended to. They all eventually paid for perpetual care for the graves, but that really only meant grass would be planted around them. Great Grandpa Phillips continued to make sure those headstones were cleared and cleaned and decorated every year as a sign of respect.
    He passed this duty on to his son, Ted Phillips, who in turn passed the same duty down to all of his own grandchildren. Grandpa Ted is gone, but my cousins and I still gather at the cemetery in Roosevelt each Memorial Day to decorate the graves of our family members and you better believe we have some fresh lilacs to place on The Pauper's graves as well. And somewhere, Grandpa Ted is smiling.
   Wherever you find yourself this Memorial Day, be sure you take the time to remember those who have passed before us. Maybe I'll see you at the Cemetery.
 

The Greatest Generation Ladies - May 2010

BY: Jennifer Oleen-Rook

    I call them "The Greatest Generation Ladies". They're ladies I've known all my life. They're the ladies who have standing, weekly appointments with their hairdresser to wash, curl and backcomb and shape their hair into little round helmets. They're the women who not only attended my wedding, but helped out in the kitchen, threw me a shower and made sure I had plenty of dishtowels, embroidered pillowcases and other important heirloom type items to store in my hope chest. They're my Grandmother's friends; her coffee klatch, dancing buddies, and confidantes.
    These same women were also the first ones to hug me and cry with me when my grandmother died and the last to leave after her casket was placed in the ground. These women meant a lot to my grandmother and to each other. They were the women she met through the American Legion Women's Auxiliary and somewhere through all the service projects, parades, dances, raising children and helping veterans, these women became a family, leaning on each other in times of sorrow, drawing strength from one another through trials, rejoicing and enjoying life together. Their love for "God and Country" brought them so much more than just personal gratification. Mildred Betts, a member of Jensen Legion Post 124 for 35 years and current Chaplain of the post, says, "The friendships I've made in my many years with the Legion are treasured. We've just kinda become a little family. We've taken care of each other and spent time together outside of our Legion meetings and just become really close."
    This Greatest Generation Ladies are also the most patriotic people I know. Many joined the Women's Legion Auxiliary more than thirty years ago because they had husbands who were war veterans and were active in the Men's American Legion. Dorothy Evans has logged more than forty years. She says the purpose behind the American Legion Women's Auxiliary is to support the men, help veterans and promote patriotism. They believe in the ideals and principles of the American Legion Auxiliary and in "America's founding fathers. They pledge to foster patriotism, preserve and defend the Constitution, promote allegiance to God and Country, and uphold the basic principles of freedom of religion, freedom of expression and freedom of choice." Evans says, "The patriotism we enjoy and try to foster is essential to our society. And we need to take care of our Veterans when they come back from wars. A lot of them need a lot of help and the legion just steps right in and helps them."
    It is through this service that these women I admire grew so close. During the holidays the women would gather at my Grandmother's home to make goodies for people and organize gifts to send to the Veteran's Administration Gift Shop for Veterans (so hospitalized veterans can have gifts for their families, free of charge), or to give Christmas to a family in need. There was much laughter, gossip, and a whole lot of fun. Auxiliary programs were created to provide assistance, education and financial support for veterans and their families, but the Greatest Generation Ladies made it their life and they enjoyed it. Those ladies had fun wherever they went together.
    Another goal of the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary is to be active in the community and help to create a better society, particularly for the nation's citizens of the future. Each year the Ladies Auxiliaries nationwide sponsor several girls to send to Girl's State, a weeklong event for high school juniors to learn about the government and electoral process. The Legion Ladies work hard year round to raise money in order to sponsor the best and brightest applicants and send them to Girl's State. It is one of their crowning glories and proudest accomplishments. This year, Jensen Legion Post 124 will send six Uintah High girls to Girl's State, and Kristie Francisco, a Uintah High senior who was selected last year, will reign over the festivities as Girl's State Governor; a first for Jensen Legion Post 124 and Uintah High. The Greatest Generation Ladies are, no doubt, beaming like proud mothers, and several of the Ladies are smiling down from Heaven at such accomplishments as well.
    I've been a card carrying member of the American Legion since birth just like all the other granddaughters of the Legion Ladies. These ladies enrolled us in the Legion, enlisted our help each year to sell paper poppies (made by veterans to raise money for veterans) and my cousins and I were all groomed to participate in Girl's and Boy's State. Three out of eight of us attended and The Ladies were pleased. They weren't just happy that their brood was selected, they were happy that the younger generation seemed to be interested in becoming good citizens and there was hope that one day they would carry the torch and stay active in the American Legion.
    The American Legion men's organization and the Legion Ladies Auxiliary both need young blood. The Greatest Generation Ladies won't be around forever. It seems they attend more funerals nowadays than they do birthday parties. Last month, Mildred Betts entered the legion hall in Jensen only to discover a terrible smell. So, she began lighting candles to cover the smell. It was soon discovered the noxious odor was emanating from a propane tank. Longtime Legion member Boyd Redden told Mildred she'd gotten lucky that time then quipped, "If we'd have been blown up who would've done the 21 gun salute over our graves?" There is humor in Boyd's comments, but also a truth and a realization that once these people are gone, so are their traditions and a huge part of American culture and life.
    So, it is up to us, The Greatest Generation of Soccer Moms, to carry the torch and get involved in the American Legion. If you are a daughter, granddaughter or wife of a veteran, get in touch with your local chapter today. Mildred Betts and Dorothy Evans are just two of the Greatest Generation Ladies who need us to carry on. They've worked hard to educate the younger generations and make sure we were raised up to become good citizens who take an active part in local politics, respect the flag, show patriotism and pass these ideals on to our posterity.

Notes to Mom - May 2010

10 Reasons Why I Love My Mom

    I will be the first to admit that the relationship between my mother and myself is somewhat on the lacking side.  My mom and I don't really argue, but we don't really talk, either.  Major emotional issues are not discussed with my mother.  My father is definitely not discussed with my mother.  Arguments with her are avoided altogether or quickly retreated from once they begin, because it's just safer that way…
    As much as she frustrates me and as often as she drives me completely up the wall, she is still my mother and I love her a great deal.  And, this is completely and totally dorky, I know, but the following is a list of all the reasons I can currently come up with as to why I love her and am proud of her:
    1.  She always had hot chocolate ready for my sisters and I, growing up, after we'd come inside from playing in the snow…  as a little kid, this was something I adored about my mom, so it makes the list… also, she used to braid my Barbie's hair for me when I couldn't do it.
    2.  At one point, when I was 14 or so, my mom had a friend who was a single mother; she had broken up with her boyfriend and had no place for herself or her 8 year old son to live, nor enough money to pay rent in an apartment, and so my mother asked the woman and her son to live with us.  They ended up staying with us for three or four years.
    3.  When my parents got divorced, my mom went back to work, after being a stay-at-home mom for 13 years, to support my sisters and I.
    4.  My mom went back to college, in her 40s, to get her nursing degree.  She graduated in 2005 with her RN.
    5.  She saved like crazy while I was in high school so that she could take my sisters and I on a vacation to Walt Disney World for a week.
    6.  When Brent died, my mom offered to take work off so she could go with me to the calling hours and funeral; she didn't even know Brent, really.
    7.  Before she started working evenings, my mom never missed any of my sisters' basketball games, soccer tournaments, track meets, or band concerts.  She went to all of our chorus concerts, marching band shows and award ceremonies.  I can count, on one hand probably, the number of times my dad showed up for all these things.
    8.  She made all sorts of sacrifices for the girls and myself; mom rarely bought things for herself.  She never had new clothes, never went out with friends…  I was startled, a few weeks ago, when I learned that she's gone 3 years without getting new glasses, even though her prescription's changed again, because my sisters and I need new glasses every year.
    9.  My mom says what she thinks.  I can honestly tell you that my mom makes her feelings known.  There are plenty of times where I'd much rather not know her opinion on everything, but that's another story…
    10.  She has always been 100%, completely encouraging of me in everything I do.  My mom has always told me that so long as I did my best at everything, that'd be enough for her.  And, for my mother, my best has been enough; regardless of how it measures up in comparison with others.

Oh Mother! - May 2010

    One universal truth that can be stated is that we all have a mother. These moms may be biological, foster, adopted, good, bad, ugly or beautiful and several degrees in-between and we all have one! May is the day that we celebrate our moms and we here at The Edge Magazine are more than willing to join in this celebration. In order to gain a better understanding of this holiday we have compiled a short explanation of the history of the Mother's Day holiday that we celebrate today.

    Celebrating motherhood is a historical tradition dating back almost as far as mothers themselves. A number of ancient cultures paid tribute to mothers as goddesses, including the ancient Greeks, who celebrated Rhea, the mother of all gods. The ancient Romans also honored their mother goddess, Cybele, in a notoriously rowdy springtime celebration and the Celtic Pagans marked the coming of spring with a fertility celebration linking their goddess Brigid together with the first milk of the ewes.

    During the 17th century, those living on the British isles initiated a religious celebration of motherhood, called Mothering Sunday, which was held on the forth Sunday during the Lenten season. This holiday featured the reunification of mothers and their children, separated when working class families had to send off their young children to be employed as house servants. On Mothering Sunday, the child servants were allowed to return home for the day to visit with their parents. The holiday's popularity faded in the 19th century, only to be reincarnated during World War II when U.S. servicemen reintroduced the sentimental (and commercial) aspects of the celebration American counterpart.

    In the United States, Mother's Day experienced a series of false starts before eventually transitioning into the "Hallmark" holiday that we celebrate today. In 1858, Anna Reeves Jarvis was the first woman to hold an official celebration of mothers, when in her home state of West Virginia, she instituted Mothers' Work Day to raise awareness about local sanitation issues. During the Civil War, she expanded the scope of Mothers' Work Day to include sanitary conditions on both sides of the battlefield.

    Meanwhile Julia Ward Howe, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," attempted to institute a national celebration of mothers that honored women's inclinations toward peace (rather than cleanliness). In 1872, she initiated and promoted a Mother's Day for Peace, to be held on June 2, which was celebrated the following year by women in 18 cities across America. The holiday continued to be honored by Bostonian women for another decade, but eventually phased out after Howe stopped underwriting the cost of the celebrations.

    Then in 1905, Anna Reeves Jarvis passed away and her daughter, Anna Jarvis, took up her mother's torch. Anna swore on her mother's gravesite that she would realize her lifelong dream of creating a national day to honor mothers. In 1907, Anna launched her campaign by handing out white carnations to congregants at her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia. In 1908, her mother's church acquiesced to Anna's request to hold a special Sunday service in honor of mothers - a tradition that spread the very next year to churches in 46 states. In 1909, Anna left her job and dedicated herself to a full-time letter-writing campaign, imploring politicians, clergymen and civic leaders to institute a national day for mothers.

    In 1912, Jarvis' efforts met with success: Her home state of West Virginia adopted an official Mother's Day; two years later, the U.S. Congress passed a Joint Resolution, signed by President Wilson, establishing a national Mother's Day emphasizing the role of women in their families - and not, like Julia Ward Howe's campaign, in the public arena. Ever since, Mother's Day has been celebrated by Americans on the second Sunday in May.

    Perhaps the country's greatest proponent of motherhood, Anna Jarvis ironically never had children of her own. Yet that didn't stop her from making the celebration of Mother's Day her lifelong mission. In fact, as the holiday took on a life of its own, Jarvis expressed frequent dismay over its growing commercialization. "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit," she is quoted as saying.

    As we reflect on our own mothers and jobs as mothers this year we here at The Edge Magazine hope that you take a moment to thank your mom for all that she has done for you. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

 
 

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