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.

Another Letter Written by Dad

This letter, written one year before Dad died, so perfectly tells us how homesick he was for the Wyoming mountains. I thought you might enjoy the little visit.
I believe this was written to go in the Kray/Krajicek Round Robin that Elizabeth still gets from time to time. I don't know if it was ever included, as the original is in THE files I have.

Tilda Wasden

A youthful Tilda Christena Christenson Wasden.

Moses Blood Obituary from Newspaper

You have to enlarge this to read this bit of yellowed newspaper obituary in its entirety. It speaks of hard times, but of family continuing on. Mother's ability to establish a friendship with Eva and Roy Blood certainly netted us some important items.

Obituary for Christena Akeson Christenson

I have had fun with the recipe mode of the day, but have probably worn out any appreciation there might have been for the project. So, I have moved on to the following gem.
The writing styles of the times (1930) were certainly different than what we find in today's obituaries (most of the time). I had not seen this before, that I can recall, and thought maybe there are others who have never read it. For those who are a little puzzled, Christena Akeson Christenson is the mother of Tilda Wasden who is the mother of Minnie Blood and grandmother to the six children of Russell and Minnie Blood.

(Obituary for Christena Akeson Christenson Jan 2, 1930)

HANDCART PIONEER IS CALLED BEYOND
Mrs. Christena Akeson Christensen, resident of Gunnison for 64 years, died at her home in this city Monday evening at seven o’clock. The end came peacefully and her only living children, Mrs. Minnie Taylor of Gunnison and Mrs. Tilda Wasden, were at the bedside when the last spark of life fleeted away, carrying the soul of the beloved woman to the great unknown. Until some ten days before her death, Mrs. Christenson, though in her 94^th year, enjoyed unusually good health. She was forced to her bed and remained until the final call. She died at the home where she had resided for 57 years.

Mrs. Christenson was born at Farlof, Christianstand, Sweden, August 4, 1836. When 15 years of age she removed to Copenhagen, where she remained for ten years. She was converted to the Mormon religion in her native country, being baptized in 1856. In 1861, alone, she came to America and was among the pioneers who walked across the country. She fought the hardships and trials that the early pioneers encountered when a company walked all the way from Omaha to Salt Lake City. November 2, 1861, she was married to John Christenson, the ceremony being performed at Salt Lake. Four years after the marriage Mr. and Mrs. Christenson removed to American Fork and in 1865 they came to Gunnison where Mrs. Christenson had resided continuously since[should this say prior to?] her death. In 1903 Mr. Christenson passed away.

Mrs. Christenson was a devoted mother and a kind and loving neighbor. In her religious work she was ever active during her younger days. She served as a Relief Society teacher for 47 years in the Gunnison ward, and she will always be remembered for her loving sacrifices and kindness during distress, sickness, and want, never faltering to give aid where needed. Notwithstanding her advanced age Mrs. Christenson was noted for her active mind and she was keen in learning of civic and religious doings up to the time she was forced to her bed.

To the kind mother and respected citizen who has been called, four children were born, two of whom survive. Mrs. Minnie Taylor of this city and Mrs. Tilda Wasden of Penrose, Wyo., are the surviving daughters. Thirteen grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren, besides hundreds of warm friends, are also left to mourn the death of the grand old woman.

Funeral services will be held Sunday afternoon at one-thirty, from the Gunnison Valley high school. Bishop Chas. E. Embley will be in charge of the services.

Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Wasden of Penrose, Wyo., and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Taylor of Salt Lake, have arrived and are at the home of Mrs. Taylor. The relatives will remain until after the Sunday services.

Velna's Gourmet Veggie Soup, as Reconstituted by Dwight

I will not be outdone.  Here is Velna's classic recipe for vegetable soup.  Get out a big pot. Put it on the stove.  Brown some hamburger.  Get a little bit of everything you have in your kitchen and pantry.  Tomatoes, onions, celery, cabbage, green beans, peas, corn, potatoes, green peppers, red peppers, garbanzos, navy beans, and whatever else is about to turn or get thrown out.  Throw it all in the pot.  Add some water.  Throw in some low sodium beef broth and a bouillon cube.  Sprinkle with oregano, Johnny's seasoning salt, pepper, couple of bay leaves, any other spices you can reach handily in your cupboard.  Berl (boil) the whole concoction.  Simmer awhile.  Light candles to get rid of the soup smell in your house which will last for days.  Make some whole wheat bread to eat with the soup.  Enjoy.  (Velna may have some suggestions here).  You won't starve for a week.

Almost forgot: add a big slug of garlic.

Classic Recipe - Carrot Pudding and Ginger snaps

Mother's directions on recipes were mostly non-existent. She knew what needed to be done and just wanted to make sure she had the correct measurements.
This is not the original recipe card. That recipe is almost unreadable with smears and streaks. Evidently Mother thought the same thing as she copied it over onto this paper.
Dwight, this clipping has an interesting bread recipe, using salt as the raising medium. Not sure how that would mix with someone with blood pressure issues, but it is an interesting recipe. Click to enlarge.
In case you can't tell, I am excited about the "opportunity to share some of Mother's recipes that I have in my possession.

Recipes - Peanut Brittle, Sour Crm Pie, etc.

Remember this recipe? This is definitely the original from Mother's recipe notebook.

Sour cream pie was one of Dad's favorites, along with many of the rest of the family.
Hmmm, sounds like I need to bake.

When I learned to cook, this was one of my favorite Sunday night treats. Mother and Dad graciously put up with my success and lack of success in reaching the "brittle" stage. Dad would often refer to the end result as "good hard tack".

Classic Family Recipes

MOTHER'S MAYONNAISE DRESSING
INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. dry mustard, salt
butter the size of an egg

Mix sugar, flour, mustard, salt, and add to the beaten eggs. Add boiling vinegar & butter. Cook in double boiler until thick.
Add cream to thin when ready to use.

CRUMB TOPPING FOR CAKE, RHUBARB
Melt 2 T butter and 1 T lard in frying pan. Sfit together 1 c. flour, 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, and 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, & pinch of salt. Add to fat before it browns & stir until it separates & crumbles. Sprinkle on top and bake.

We never worried about the oven temperature - you learned to stick your arm in the oven to decide if it was the right temperature to bake bread, cakes, cookies, pies, or to bake the roast, etc. Dad occasionally teased Mother or Louise about any bread that had crusts that were a little dark.

Kathryn and Paul Blood

Kathryn Blood, daughter of Roscoe and Mary Blood.

Dad tried to find his half sister before he moved from Olympia, Washington. We didn't find her until after his death. It was when her attorney contacted us upon her death.

Paul Blood, son of Roscoe and Mary Blood

What Do They See?

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe from Mother's Basic Recipe

In response to Dwight's call for bread recipes, this is what I am using. It is a variation of Mother's bread recipe she used forever. The bread turns out light, not heavy, which I prefer with whole wheat bread. I hope you like it.

In a 1 cup measure, mix 2 Tablespoon dry yeast with 1/2 cup barely warm water and 1 Tablespoon honey.
(This will make 4 small loaves or 3 good sized loaves.)
In your Bosch mixer (do you still have one? If not, use your heavy duty mixer, if you don't have that, get ready to stir by hand like crazy)
4 cups hot water put in Bosch mixer bowl
4 teaspoons salt
6 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour
1/3 cup oil
3 Tablespoons honey
Add flour gradually to water, honey and salt mixture. If you need more flour, which you will, add white flour to make dough, or grind more wheat and make the bread 100% whole wheat. Right at first that is a little much to deal with - work your way into 100% whole wheat gradually. When your dough is still a little sticky to the touch, add in the yeast mixture. By this time, the hot water will have cooled off and will have made a huge difference in breaking down the whole wheat flour. The way to tell if your dough is thick enough is if it cleans off the sides of the bowl as it mixes. After everything is mixed in, if you are using your Bosch, mix for about 6 minutes on medium speed.

Turn dough out of bowl, knead to make into a smooth lump of dough, place in a large earthen ware bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover and put in a warm place to rise. Punch down once, then the second time when it has doubled in size, dump out of bowl, split into 4 loaves, knead into shape, put in greased bread pans, let rise for about 20-25 minutes. Preheat oven and bake at 350 for app 30 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when you tap on it. If you don't have a Bosch, you may have to go shopping! Just a suggestion.

Mother's Dress

Mother loved this fabric and she sewed the dress from the exact same pattern that she had used for several others. Notice how she has the pattern on the yoke perfectly centered. This was her typical Sunday attire in Washington, often paired with a sweater because of the cooler climate. She had a calling in Primary and she could often be found in the hall with a child that some teacher couldn't handle.

How Do I Make Whole Wheat Bread?

O.K., here is a diversion from ancient history.  Now that the price of Great Harvest whole wheat bread has gone up to $5.50, I am investigating how to make whole wheat bread.  I have lots of recipes, but I know the dear sisters know how to make it so I thought I'd ask for instructions.   I bought a little wheat mill four years ago which is still in its original box, since it was one of several kitchen gadgets I bought my dear wife thinking she would be exuberantly happy to use them all.  So we need a forum on making bread here.

Russell, Minnie and Steve Blood

Lilac Plate

This exquisite plate was used only on special occassions, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, or times when we wanted to make dinner a special celebration.. Wasn't it also used for our birthday cakes? It didn't matter that we didn't have fine china, the table setting was pretty with colorful Fiesta ware plates, and the lilac plate gave an added festive air. We all were excited when we go to use it; our values were such that we could be joyful over small things.

And we cannot think of lilacs without remembering the sweet scent from the several bouquets of lilacs that were cut from the big bushes on the Tvedtness place and put in every room of the house, using Mason canning jars for vases. The lilacs in bloom towards the end of May were such a welcome sign of spring and the long cold winter was over.

Vintage Wedding Dress 1898

This is what has been traditionally known as Grandma Wasden's wedding dress. It was at least worn the day of her wedding to James. The style includes a separate skirt and a top. The fabric is a fine cotton, probably originally white, with a small green print.

A view of the back shows the skirt with a swish behind. Very noticeable is the teeny, tiny waist of 22.5 inches. The skirt is completely lined.

The sleeve detail has gathering all stitched by hand. With no elastic, the gathered opening of the sleeve had to be left large enough to slip hand and arm through.

The inside is a torture chamber: whale boning in every seam with extra in the front to give a lady a great shape. Instead of a nice zipper we have 22 sets of hooks and eyes for closure. The hem is finished with genuine horse hair braid.

It was certainly elegant in its day and we can only imagine that our little short Grandmother was just as little around. And her elegance would have matched her dress as James took her by the hand.

Amsbaugh Gardens

Afternoon view from the front porch. Anyone interested in a late, lazy lunch?

November 1953 letter from Ann

Letters from home were precious, and this chatty one from Ann was aimed at keeping me up to date. (The Jean Lohrenz mentioned was a classmate - just someone we knew from Church and school - anyone was fodder for the news.)
Quotes from the rest of the letter (without correction) : "School is just fine. Miss Plump is the best teacher I could have gotten. Mrs. Richard is okay but she talk to fast and is kind of jerky. 1 six wks is past and so is half of another six wks."
"Last night was Hallowen. We had our party at school friday and apart at primary. Last night some smart little boys took and let the air out of the milkmans tires and strung milk cans from one end of town to ther other. This morning it took him 2 hr. to gather up the cans and a little more time to fill up the tires. He got here about 7:00. At Sunday school lHelen Bloxum and Stanlee Jameson eat trick or treat candy all through class."
"The farm is just fine. Fluffy had twin bulls and Blackie is due sometime around Nov. Fluffy's bulls were as small as holstine calfs and they are plenty small. We had to get some Purina chow to helpmake them grow faster and get much healthyer."
"Louise is getting along just fine up at Cody. All of the Powell girls in the fifth grade wishes that she was still teaching up here only she would have to teach fifth."
And Phooey! I thought that I could insert what ended up at the top of this posting right here - one of you will have to instruct me how to do that. Anyway, you can see that the ending was just right for this wonderfully chatty letter - lifelines from Home.

1953-Letter from Dad

Shucks! I thought I was posting this letter in the correct order. Actually the second page is the first page of the letter. Dad would sure get discouraged about farming. I was so homesick that first summer away from home in 1953 that, if Dwight and Velna hadn't still been in Laramie, I think I would have dried up and blown away. Fortunately, it got better in time, but home was always a wonderful, safe haven to me. We were aware of the financial struggles over the years, but it seemed like we always eked through.

Judy and Dad, summer of 1955

Seeing the Billings picture (we did dress up to go to the big city), I remembered these pictures of Judy and Judy and Dad on the front porch at home in Penrose. Judy was so proud of this dress, but she did share. She let me wear it to Riverton when Dad and I went down to look for a place for me to live for my first year of teaching school (1955). Looking very mature for 15, wouldn't you say? But Judy always was a classy dresser.

A few more Treasure Pictures

Louise Krajicek at age 18. This picture was taken at a studio in Alliance/Gering, Nebraska
This picture was taken in Carneyville. Dad's note on the back says "Left to Right Bob Allgeier, Stanley Allgeier and Russell M Blood, 1916


The note on the back of this picture says: "This was when we got religion and were baptized in the Christian Church." There is no year, but the note on the front says"The two Russells", Denver.

This Picture holds some amazing treasures

Click on this picture to enlarge it. Then, speculate with me - is the baby in the cradle Dad? Is that the lilac plate that is sitting on the buffet back in the corner? Dad has identified the people in the picture as Will Allgeier, Louise Krajicek Blood and Rose Krajicek Allgeier. Tell me what you think. I didn't even see the baby until I enlarged the picture.

A Trip to the BIG City

This was one of our few trips to Billings. It was probably for Mother to see the eye Dr., and as long as we were there, we would take the books of S&H Green Stamps or Gold Stamps and exchange them for Dad's first watch, or some other treasure. Because Judy was hidden in the first picture, the photographer took the second picture of just her and Dad - and besides he thought she was quite "photogenic" (there is that word again!).