Fun and Nonsense

More From Grandpa Wasden's Little Brown Notebook

These are the other notes that were in Grandpa's little brown notebook. Hopefully, if you click on the image, it will enlarge enough so you can read it. Many of his notes are very smudged, especially those in the first few pages.

Dad's (Russell Blood) Pocket Knife

Since everyone is so busy posting family keepsakes on here, I thought I'd post one of the few that I have.  Dad probably carried this pocket knife every day of his life.  The bone handle is worn down to a smooth surface, and the metal plate is almost worn off. I was witness countless times to one of the main uses of this knife, which was kept to a razor-sharp edge, when Dad performed numerous operations on young male pigs and calves, so to speak, and one monumental operation on my 700 pound Duroc Jersey Boar which won the grand champion ribbon at the Wyoming State Fair but which soon met his inglorious fate in the sausage grinder.  One time while Grandpa Wasden was about to perform this operation, after studying the young pig for awhile, he announced, "aha, a seedless grape!"  Sorry if this makes anyone squeamish, but such was and is life on the farm and we never thought anything about the necessary routines of farm chores.

Grandpa Wasden's Little Brown Book

I suspect I am not the only one who can remember how Grandpa Wasden always seemed to have this little book, or one similar to it, in his pocket, along with a little piece of a pencil, so he could make notes when the occasion required it. Following are some of the items that are in this booklet.

Which child do you suppose practiced their art work on the back page?


This little booklet is very small, but it contains so many tidbits about Grandpa's life, from working at Yellowstone, to church records, to accounting of where he spent his money, and the quote from Pres. Roosevelt. Hopefully, if you click on the pages, they will enlarge so you can read them a little better. If anyone is interested in more of the pages on the concrete pour, please let me know.

Letter from Jas B to Gramma

The original of this letter must exist somewhere because I only have a copy. Note the letter heading.
The text of the letter follows:
Yellowstone Park Wyo Aug 24, 1903
Dear Gramma
Your most welcom letter was reced A few days ago, And it gave great satisfaction to know you were getting along so well as you are An if you can but take things quiet and not worrey And do that. That is realy nessery and not wothe about eny thing else you will get on alright I am sure. I realise you have much to contend with and feel the responsibility resting upon you And while that is the case just take your ease and let others do the russling and worring. Now as to the farm I wish it was so we could buy it but just at presant that looks rather doubtfull. But as I look for work to be threw here by next Months end we can then talk matters over and deside on the best corse to persue in the future. Tilda spoke of keeping me home after this And I don't think Shell have hard work to do that as I am so tired of this kind of life. Well Gramma let your helth be at all times the foremost consideration And May God Bless you in your indeavors. As ever your Son, Jas B Wasden.
Remember me to all the folks And write soon. All is well fat and sassy here. Bye Bye.

Mystery Man

And this is? I think this picture came from someone's locket because of the way it was cut. It is in very poor condition.

Which of us never played with this steel rule, making it bounce up and down, or unfolding it to see how far it reached? I, for one, was fascinated with it. The shop had a special feel for me because it was the very essence of Dad. I used to like to arrange - or rearrange - things on the bench in the back room of the shop. thinking I was being helpful. I'm not sure if I put things where Dad would have wanted them, but he never said anything. The tool on the right was Grandpa Wasden's.

Remembering Father

Can you smell the shaving soap? That stirs up memories of seeing Dad shaving in our kitchen/bathroom on Sunday mornings while several other activities are going on around him - Elizabeth and I doing the breakfast dishes, one or two trying to brush their teeth. How did we manage to get around each other? I also have memories of watching Dad shave even as a small child when we were living in the little brown house. Most of all, the smell of the soap just makes me think of Dad.

Letter from Dr. Quick about Roscoe Blood

Dr. Quick was Mary Blood (our father's step-mother's) father. He was the attending physican for our grandfather Roscoe. In this letter to Roy Blood, Roscoe's brother, he tells of the suffering of Roscoe's last days. Though we never knew him, we mourn at his pain and wish we could have all been there to comfort him.

March 19, 1943 letter from Elizabeth

This letter speaks for itself. When Dad found this letter in his things in the early '80s, he brought it to me, chuckling about the "Dear Rus" greeting. I suppose the attitude carries over from some of the earlier pictures of me. Anyway, this is pretty newsy, and if any of the three of us want to tell our children how tough we had it growing up, just read this one. Dwight and Louise were in the 6th grade and I was in the 2nd - and these chores didn't include the Saturday chores. Mother must have been milking the cows in Dad's absence. I'm not sure what "help with the cows" included. It was surely too early in the season for them to be in the pasture? Obviously, though, we had our appointed chores - and other letters indicate that we were getting some money. However, I think that the separation was pretty traumatic for us.
It's also obvious that I had a problem tracking across the page. I'm not sure why the writing ran downhill, but remember, I had just learned cursive this year. And, I can't remember who Mrs. McFarland was - obviously a teacher. Alice Carroll was my 2nd grade teacher. We certainly talked about grownups in a very familiar way.

Letter from Louise, 1943

Another letter from the March that Dad was in Edmonton.

Louise always was the neat one - This letter reflects her tidy habits. She is the only one of us who mentions Ann - Judy must have really been minding her business. Can't believe we were so self-absorbed not to include more about our baby sister, and our little sister. Glad that has all changed.

Letters from Ralston, 1943

Sorry these copies are so awful. I made them in 1994 when I had access to the letters. When you click on them to enlarge them, they are readable. As we get better copies, I will exchange them. However, I had so much fun in reading through these serious letters to our father who was far away in Edmonton, Canada, working as a carpenter on a war project, that I really wanted to share them. Each of the three older children wrote letters, and they reveal so much about them. I'm assuming that Dwight would have been in the sixth grade in March of 1943? I'm not sure if he's boasting about how he has been disciplined at school, or just stating the facts. And now we know what happened to Dwight's wonderful comic book collection. Ah, me! All of the letters I read through impressed me. In the early '70s I taught Junior High English, and I had few students who could write as well, both in penmanship, and in expression.

CABIN AT THE RANCH IN SUNLIGHT

Until I scanned this picture, I always thought it was just a photo of the cabin which Dad helped build while living at the ranch. Be sure to enlarge to see who is sitting on the rail of the front porch!

Just for Fun

What will the weather be like today? This is what has been going on in the mountains - this was taken on Friday. There was lots of snow under those clouds.
And this is what is going on down in the valley. What crazy weather! Happy Sunday.

Veronicka Mach Krajicek

This picture is undated - I always thought from this picture that our great-grandmother must have been pretty strong spirited. Her sisters called her Vera, but I also found in the Round Robin that she may have been called "Sarah". Who knows? She lived in Aunt Nance in Pocatello the last years of her life, but she is buried in the Cody, Wyoming cemetery - probably because that is where Elsie was living at the time.
These are the Mach sisters in later years - Veronicka is in center front; the others sisters' names were Kathrine "Kate", Annette "Nettie", and Anna. I don't know which is which, do any of you?

Minnie and the motorcycle

Our uncle, David Wasden, and Mother had an interesting relationship. She wrote letters to him on his mission - I have some of the ones he wrote back to her, correcting her spellings, and, in general, writing "down" to her. Don't know why she continued to write. When he came home, they still had a friendship - there is a picture she took of him on the motorcycle at the same place that Dave took this picture. Don't know when their relationship became so "techy", but there were years of alienation. Then, in later years, in the late '70s when Mother and Dad came to Powell to see me, they went to Cody to see Dave, and he insulted her so badly that she never went back. It seems strange to me when the six of us get along so well, that one person could short-circuit that sibling relationship that can be so precious.

Wasden Pictures

Is this the picture of Grandma that also hung in their bedroom? Elizabeth, is this the black dress you wore?

James Brooks Wasden

Letter from Home

By August of 1953, I was getting desperate for more news from home, so I made up this "form" letter, which was pretty nonsensical, but Daddy rose to the bait. One of the funniest things is the way he signed this - and you can tell that we worried about politics, even then. The desperation of the situation on the farm - barely squeaking by - comes through in all of Dad's letters.

Velna's Gourmet Veggie Soup, as Reconstituted by Dwight , Part 2

This is a report. It was another cold, wet, nasty,dreary, cold (did I already say that?) day in the great northwest. So to warm up the body and the spirit, it seemed like the perfect time to try out the recipe section of the blog. Velna's soup offered the most hope of comfort. Bob and I give it the full star value. I am just glad I made a big pot so there will be some to warm up for tomorrow. Once again the blog comes to the rescue. Thank you, one and all.

News from Penrose, June 30, 1953

When this wonderful communication came to me, I had been in Laramie almost a month, and was dreadfully homesick. I had just graduated from high school, had worked two weeks as a secretary for the welfare office in Cody, when Dwight sent word via Western Union that he had a line for a couple of jobs for me if I could come to Laramie with Mother and Louise for his graduation from the University. I jumped at the chance. The two weeks in Cody, staying in a room in the old Green Gables with a bathroom down the hall, and eating in restaurants three times a day had only enhanced my loneliness. (Mother had rescued me during the weekend.) However, I hadn't anticipated the terrific homesickness I would suffer from for most of that summer. Only having Dwight and Velna in the same town saved me - and they were very busy, so I didn't see them too often. Getting letters, notes, etc. from home really saved me, and I'm sure I laughed long and hard at this clever message from Judy.

Important Happenings at Home - Spring 1953

In the spring of 1953, I rebelled against the edict that I could not try out for the Senior Class Play, "The Madwoman of Chaillot", although I had been promised an important part. Mother and Dad's reason (valid, I realized in later years) was that they didn't have the time, energy, or money for gas to take me to play practice 5 nights a week for 6 months. However, I worked a deal with Mrs. Kells, the mother of my friend since 3rd grade, Shirley Kells, and was allowed to stay in town with Shirley during week nights. Then Mother and Dad would pick me up on Friday night. Shirley was involved with the play, also, so we either walked, or she pedaled me to play practice on her bicycle. (I never learned to ride). Because I was gone from home during the week, Ann, who was 11 years old to my 17-almost 18, would send me little notes via Audrey Baxter, a classmate who also rode our bus. This is the only one I can find, but it more than compensates for the loss of the rest. What stupendous news Ann had to tell me! Changes were in the air - I always thought Ann would grow up to become a news reporter, but that didn't prove true. The incredible loyalty that I felt from my siblings has continued through the years.

One important side note. When I went back to live in the house at Penrose from the spring of 1971 to the spring of 1973, the old stove was still there. It didn't work very well anymore, and I was able to buy a new electric stove with a self-cleaning oven. However, the linoleum was still on the floor- almost 20 years later.

P.S. Ann, I hope this isn't embarrasing to you - it is such an endearing communication.

Big Chief

The back of this photo reads: "Russell little Big Chief at our home in Mitchell, Nebraska". Here he is a typical little boy. Who do you suppose gave him this outfit? (If this has been on before, forgive.)

Dynamic Duo

The Saturday Haircut?

Don't have a date for this memorable picture - and I didn't take it, but isn't it wonderful? Dad (Russell Blood) and daughter Judy Petersen -

Baptism Records

These are interesting for several reasons. Look at the misspelling of Mother's middle name, and of Grandma Wasden's maiden name. Dad's certificate is so faded but it says the following:
Penrose Ward, Big Horn Stake No. 88
This certifies that Russell Marion Blood son of Rosco[e] Marion Blood and Louise Krajicek born Feb 3 1908, at Mitchell, Nebraska was baptized Dec 16, 1930 by John J. Welch, Elder and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dec 21, 1930 by Elder John J. Welch. Signed by Charles G. Anderson P.E. (Presiding Elder)
Dad had started to write over the faded writing, but quit after his name. Where do you suppose he was baptized in December of 1930? I find it interesting that J. C. Berthelson baptized Mother, and Grandpa confirmed her.

I Need a Penmanship Lesson

The date on this letter was March 12, 1929. Who do you suppose wrote like this? If I had to write like this, I wouldn't have time to do anything on the blog! Just a fun example of beautiful writing from long ago!

More Sugar Beet History

So, do you suppose this meant survival for another year?

Missed this one on Liz's birthday.

Missed this one on Judy's birthday.