Saturday, March 9, 2024

God Knew! He's Been with Me My Entire Life

       I’m putting facts about my life on paper so that first-hand facts will be known by my descendants if the time comes when anyone is interested. I became interested in my family history at age 51 and realize the importance of documenting facts and details about a person’s life. I havent wanted to go into too much detail, as I realize how boring that would be. Im eliminating many personal thoughts, impressions, and judgments as I do not want to pass those along. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s reputation and I realize many of my thoughts are simply my own personal opinions and reactions to situations, so Im choosing to leave those out. I will try to be brief, but want to share some of my memories and also document the major events of my life. Since I’m posting this in public on my “Grace and Glory” blog, I’ve eliminated names of any living people, specific dates and all photos that were contained in the original document. I’m going to try to depend on someone to post the full version on Family Search.org upon my death.

I was born in 1947 in St. Rose Hospital, Great Bend, Barton, Kansas at 10:27 pm. My mother, Ruby Nadine (Flanders) Margheim had just delivered (with the help of Dr. Don Kendall) my twin brother at 10:07 pm.

At the time of my birth, my dad, Ernest Ludwig Margheim, was employed as a bookkeeper at Thies Packing Co. in Great Bend, KS. My mother was a homemaker and our family lived in the basement house at 2201 Jefferson, Great Bend, Kansas

    My mom and dad had met at a community dance while Dad was playing guitar in Earl Haines’s Western Music dance band. From the stage, Dad saw Ruby dancing with Raymond Buehler, who turned out to be a lifelong friend of Ruby. Dad came off the stage and asked Ray who the woman was that he’d just danced with. Ray refused to give Dad her name. But obviously Dad found out because they were married July 9, 1943 in Dad’s hometown of Hoisington, Barton, Kansas.

    In 1949, my mother left her marriage to my dad and moved to Manhattan, Kansas. Dad and Dennis and I moved to Hoisington, Kansas to live temporarily with his parents, John Ludwig Margheim and Amalia  Molly” (Koleber) Margheim. In 1947 my dad’s younger brother Leonard and twin sister Laverna had just graduated from high school. When we “moved in”, Leonard was serving in the United States Army and my Aunt LaVerna was still living at home. I have early memories at age 3 of spending time riding on Leonard’s shoulders when he was able to be home for a visit, and having my hair washed and fingernails polished by my Aunt Laverna. My Grandpa Margheim worked as the Head Custodian at Hoisington High School and occasionally allowed Dennis and I to go to work with him so we could play in the gymnasium or visit the ladies in the office. I remember watching Grandma Margheim wash her laundry on a “wringer” Maytag washer that was set up in the back yard, then hang her clothes on the clothesline to dry. At times we watched her make soap in the back yard, or stir up and bake cakes from “scratch”. We spent many happy hours playing with the children of the Demel family next door.

    At age 4 (1951) my brother and I began taking piano lessons from our Aunt Laverna on her baby grand piano in Grandma’s house. That old ruler came out to slap my hands if I didn’t play with my fingers curved!

    At about this same time, on March 18, 1951, Dad married Phyllis Jean Jones at Emmaus Lutheran Church in Hoisington. A new house for our family was built on top of the “basement house” at 2201 Jefferson in Great Bend.

    Upon moving to Great Bend, my twin brother and I started Kindergarten in Miss Aileen Williams’ class at E.E. Morrison Elementary School, which was a close 4 block walk from our house. On Sundays we attended Concordia Lutheran Church in Hoisington, then would enjoy some of Grandma’s fried chicken and homemade (butterball) noodle soup for our Sunday dinner.

    My memories of Kindergarten in 1952-3 are of painting on our easels, making wax candles, partnering with my brother to show him how to tie his shoes, and getting stung by a wasp as I left the classroom one morning. I remember my first day of 1st Grade since I was frightened and cried to go back home. My teacher, Miss Reba Hay, was patient with me and I soon felt secure and adjusted, enjoying learning to read and write in manuscript. I thought Miss Hay was really “old”, (actually the Census shows she was just 54 at that time, but she had white hair and appeared much older to me). I was happy when my 2nd Grade teacher was a new young teacher named Miss Delores Temple.

    Through 2nd Grade I often experienced anxiety and insecurity. It was during this time that my Dad and Mom (Phyllis) went to court with my natural mother (Ruby) over the custody issue. As it turned out, an arrangement was made that Dennis & I would visit Ruby and her husband Don (Donald Lee Craine) from Blue Rapids, Kansas) the fourth weekend of each month (I remember it was from 9:00 AM Saturday until 2:00 PM Sunday), then for two weeks in the summer. Ruby was a homemaker, Don drove a truck for the Santa Fe Trucking Co. and they lived in Wichita, Kansas.

    Don & Ruby had their first child in 1953. I think it was about this time too that the visitation schedule was changed and both Dennis & I started visiting Ruby on the 4th weekend of each month, alternate Thanksgivings, the week from Dec. 26 to New Year’s Day, and for 6 weeks each summer (July 1 @ 9:00 am—August 10 @ 2:00 pm). It’s immaterial today, but I mention it here because that schedule was such a structured part of my childhood and had quite an impact on me emotionally. On those weekend visits, we always spent the weekend in Stafford, Kansas at the home of Ruby’s parents, my Grandpa (Milo) and Grandma (Nannie Becker) Flanders. We played with our cousins, went to the movies on Saturday night and attended Sunday School each Sunday morning at the Stafford Christian Church.

    In 1952 my brother and I started taking piano lessons from Mrs. George “Maude” Maddy in Great Bend, KS. She was an elderly lady (65 at that time, but with white hair and thick glasses) and only allowed us to play Classical piano selections. In July, 1956 we performed in a recital of our own at Park Elementary School. We each played 10 solos by memory, then closed the recital with two 2-piano duets.

    It was in 2nd grade in 1954, at age 7, that my brother & I began taking tap dancing lessons from Carol Kutina. The two routines I remember learning and presenting at public programs was the “black face” routine where I was “Mandy” and my brother was “Rastus”, along with the “Hector the Horse” routine, where he was the front legs of the horse and I danced as the back legs, covered with a fabric (horse cover). A fine position to be in at such an early age!

    By 1956 I entered 3rd Grade and my teacher was Mrs. Jean Nossaman. I enjoyed my role as a pilgrim in the Thanksgiving play. I remember learning a lot about birds, was introduced to the SRA reading/study program, and really enjoyed the stories by Laura Ingalls Wilder that were read to the class each day. 

    In 4th Grade, in the class of Miss Delores Quasebarth, I remember learning multiplication and division. I don’t remember anything that was very remarkable while I was in fourth grade.

    I think I liked 5th Grade the most because I absolutely adored my afternoon teacher, Mrs. Elinor Haneke. I hung onto every lesson she presented, memorized the clothing and jewelry she wore and decided to grow up and be a teacher myself. In the mornings, our class was taught by Mrs. Pearl Dodd, who also served as the school principal. She was strict, but a good teacher. The hardest part of my school week was when Mrs. Kline came in to give the music lessons, as she was strict and I don’t remember ever seeing her smile. I did enjoy the art lessons given by Gordon Zahradnik.

    Our weekly piano lessons continued each Thursday afternoon, until we graduated from high school and on Wednesday afternoons I continued attending the Midweek Bible School class at our church, Trinity Lutheran Church. I attended Midweek Bible School from Third Grade through Ninth Grade in preparation for my confirmation at Trinity. The course of study was Luther’s Small Catechism, which we were required to memorize.

    Since I’ve told you who all my school teachers were so far, I’ll tell you that Mr. Leo Lake was my teacher in the mornings of 6th Grade (and he served as the Principal that year), and again Mrs. Eleanor Haneke was my afternoon teacher.  

    It was during sixth grade that Dennis & I started taking “Arthur Murray” ballroom dancing lessons from Mrs. Herb (Hazel) Smith.  Each weekly lesson cost $.50/hour and my mom thought it was better to pay $.50 per hour for a lesson to learn how to dance than to pay it to our babysitter. That was a lucky break, because I really enjoyed dancing lessons and that was the class to go to in my crowd of friends back in 1957! We learned such dances as the jitterbug, waltz, fox trot, rhumba, samba, tango, and cha-cha. We continued to take the weekly Friday afternoon lessons through 10th grade. 

    In 7th Grade I attended Harrison Junior High in Great Bend. It was a new school, 1959 being its second year open. I played the flute in the school band...the instrument I had started playing in the fifth and sixth grade bands. I chose the flute because while I was in the 5th grade, I got braces on my teeth and was told the flute would be a good instrument to play while I wore braces.

    Shortly after starting my 8th grade year in 1960 and having turned 12 years old the previous November, the visits to see our mother and step-father, Ruby and Don Craine stopped. I mention it because it was a rather traumatic experience for me...to meet with my mother (Ruby) at 9:00 am on July 1, 1959 and tell her (upon instruction from our parents) that Dennis & I would no longer be visiting her at all. By that time Ruby and Don had three daughters.

    We continued to attend Harrison Jr. High through the 9th grade. Piano lessons with Mrs. Maddy were still part of our weekly activities. Our step-mother Phyllis required us to practice one hour each day, to prepare for each Thursday’s lesson. In 7th and 8th grade I was able to practice after school, before I worked on homework. But in 9th grade, I turned 14 years old and was able to start working each day after school and on Saturdays at Jones Laundry, the commercial laundry in town that “Mom” managed and was owned by her father, Henry James Jones. I wrapped up the clean clothing “bundles” that the employees had ironed throughout the day, and I waited on the customers. Mom and I closed the laundry each evening at 8:45 and got home for supper at 9:00 pm. After supper it was time to do my homework.

    My brother and I each had to practice piano for an hour every morning before school, so we alternated practicing 5:30-6:30 and 6:30-7:30 am. Music was a big part of our lives as we grew up. As I’ve previously mentioned, our Aunt LaVerna Margheim was an accomplished pianist and started giving us piano lessons at age 4, so when we moved back to Great Bend in 1952 we took those weekly lessons from Maude Maddy.

     Our lessons continued until we graduated from high school in 1965. My brother was exceptionally talented and capable on the piano. At age 10 he took organ lessons from Deaconess Mertice Spaude at our church, Trinity Lutheran in Great Bend, and was hired to play for weekly Sunday services at age 11. He played the pipe organ there clear through high school.

    We also played musical instruments in the school bands from grades 5-12. As I’ve previously mentioned, I played Flute and he played the French Horn in the school marching and symphonic bands. In grade 9, I also sang in a small vocal group of girls, called Triple Trio at Harrison Jr. High. We both sang in our church choir through Junior and Senior High School.

    My brother and I were blessed to be able to join a group of Lutheran Youth and attend the International Convention of the Walther League (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Youth Group) in Washington, D C in 1963. We joined High School Seniors on a Senior Trip to New York City in 1965 and visited all the tourist sites. We were fortunate to attend the Youth Retreats with our Church Youth each summer and I often served as a teacher in the Vacation Bible School program at our church.

    As I grew up with my parents working long hours at their respective jobs, I enjoyed time at home, doing household chores such as cleaning, ironing, mowing the lawn, and helping Dad with planting his many gardens. I didn’t have much desire to get involved in social events. I had no burning desire to attend college, but knew it was expected by my parents. My grades throughout school qualified me for the Honor Roll, so my mom, Phyllis, suggested that I go to college at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, and major in Elementary Education so I could become a teacher. Her reasoning was that I’d get off work every day at 4:00 pm, have weekends and holidays off, as well as 3 months each summer. That was attractive to her since she worked 80 hours per week at Jones Laundry! So I took her counsel and attended Ft. Hays and majored in Elementary Education. While in college I resided in the dormitory McMindes Hall and earned a paycheck by serving as a Resident Assistant.

    The two incidents that stand out in my memory from my college years are these:

1. I was reunited with my MOTHER! As I’ve already told you, when Dennis and I were age 12 we were instructed to tell our mother Ruby Craine that we’d no longer be available to visit her weekends and summers per the Court Order of 1954. So our contact with her came to an end. However, as we moved away from home and attended college (I was in Hays, Kansas and my brother was attending Wichita State University in Wichita, KS), we were free to make whatever arrangements we desired with visiting our mother and step-father. Our mother Ruby lived in Valley Center, KS, which was a small town near Wichita, KS. Ruby learned through her sister Ethel where we were attending college. Aunt Ethel was working as a Housekeeper for our Great Bend neighbor and read in the Great Bend Tribune where the high school graduates were attending college. Upon contact with my brother, after no contact for 6 years, plans were made for him and our mother to come and get me in Hays, KS for a weekend visit! In November, 1965, I was reunited with my mother. I must note that as I got in the car with them, I noticed that I was carrying the VERY SAME PURSE that my mother was carrying! We arrived in Valley Center late that evening and were greeted by a long peek from behind a wall at us from my youngest half-sister, who was only 6 at the time and of course had never met us, or even known about us.  We enjoyed the weekend together, and got reacquainted with our two older half-sisters. We maintained contact with our Craine family as we became adults and were able to do so. 

 2. My twin brother was drafted to serve in the Army and was ultimately stationed in Viet Nam in 1968. He served one year there and on the day before he was to be shipped back to the U.S. he was wounded, survived, was shipped home, and was awarded the Purple Heart. 

    Upon my graduation from Ft. Hays in May, 1969, I was hired to teach Second Grade at Grace E. Stewart School in Salina, Kansas. I enjoyed my experience there 1969-1971.

    On June 6, 1971, I married Bill Klein at Trinity Lutheran Church in Great Bend, KS. I was able to retire from teaching and become a homemaker, which had been my dream. Bill was a Master Electrician and formed Klein Electric, LLC in May 1974. I served as the bookkeeper and was able to work from home.

    After 5 years of marriage I was blessed with the greatest blessing of my life as Bill and I adopted our son.

    When he was six months old, we moved to a new house at Bissell Pt, a housing area north of Great Bend. As our son was in grade school, we hired my mom Phyllis to work as our Secretary/Bookkeeper at Klein Electric so I was able to be at home with him. Her father “Jim” Jones had died in March 1976 and she closed Jones Laundry, so was available for her new job. Mom worked as our Secretary until 1984, when she became employed at Thies Packing Co, where my Dad worked as Comptroller for his 54 year career.

    My years throughout my son’s childhood in Great Bend, near my parents in Great Bend and grandparents in Hoisington, KS were so enjoyable and fulfilling. I could write a lengthy and in-depth account of my wonderful and fulfilling days as the mother of my son as he grew up. But I remind myself this publication is the story of MY life. I won’t take the liberty to expose his personal life except to stick to the facts.

    As an economic recession hit Kansas in 1984-6, Bill “shut the doors” (his phrase) on Klein Electric and in 1986 we sold our house and bought a house in Derby, Kansas. He had gained employment in Wichita, KS to install the site lighting on the Marriott Hotel that was being built there. I was hired by Ruffin Properties as the Secretary to the Project Manager on the building site of the Marriott Hotel. Bill quickly learned, after the site lighting was installed, that his employer had no more work for him and he was laid off. He gained employment in Sept. 1986 with a local company that was engaged in a project in Blue Springs, MO, so we promptly put our house on the market and moved to Blue Springs in Dec, 1986. That necessitated another transfer of schools for our son and a necessary termination of employment for me. We quickly learned that the job offered to Bill in Blue Springs was a temporary assignment and he was laid off Jan 2, 1987. Since we owned and enjoyed our log cabin in the mountains in Colorado, we decided to seek employment near there. In March, 1987 we moved to Canon City, Colorado. Bill was able to earn his Electrical Master’s license in Colorado and gain employment, eventually establishing Klein Electric in Fremont County. In May, 1987 I went to work as the Office Manager at the Canon City Chamber of Commerce where I directed tourists to the local attractions and did all the bookkeeping and secretarial duties. In 1989, as a Bookkeeper, I moved to employment at Fredrickson Brown Insurance Co and Fredrickson Brown Financial Services.

    My marriage to Bill Klein came to an end in Jan 1990. I continued to reside in Canon City while changing my employment to that as Office Manager for a local Certified Public Accountant.

    As a divorced woman, in 1990-91 I attended a local Divorce Recovery Support Group, whose motto was “Become a happy single person instead of a bitter divorced person.” My parents had visited me soon after my divorce and my mom encouraged me to join a Support Group. In July, 1991 I met a new attendee in the group, Larry Jamison. We became friends and enjoyed the company of many other attendees. I was diligent in attending a bi-annual Divorce Recovery Workshop in Colorado Springs sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church. I certainly wanted to be a happy woman instead of a bitter divorcee!

     In March, 1992 I moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado and became employed as the Secretary to the President of Schmidt Construction Co. I prepared the monthly newsletter and served as Secretary to the President of the company and to the staff of Estimators. It was my job to also plan the annual summer picnic enjoyed by the employees.

    As my employment in Colorado Springs continued, my relationship with Larry Jamison also developed. He was a fellow participant in the Divorce Support Group and we enjoyed outings with the other participants.

    Larry & I were married in 1994 as I continued my employment at Schmidt Construction Co. In September 1996 we made the decision to move back to Canon City, CO. I was hired as the Parish Administrator at Christ Episcopal Church and went to work there Oct. 14, 1996. Larry & I bought a 3-story house that had been built in 1904 and had quite an interesting history.

    As I was married to Larry, I was taught by him about the Doctrine of his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was raised with strong faith and good instruction in my Lutheran Church. But as Larry taught me, I came to believe that I was finally learning “the rest of the story”. On May 13, 1995, I was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As residents of Canon City, we attended the Canon City Second Ward. I was immediately called to prepare the Sunday bulletins since I was a Secretary and had access to printers and copiers. As it turned out, I prepared those weekly bulletins for 24 years. I served in many other “callings” while a member of that Ward. I served as Relief Society Secretary for 11 years, Cub Scout Committee Chairman for 2 years, FamilySearch Center Consultant and teacher for 19 years, Ward Historian for 24 years, and taught many classes on Family History and Temple Preparation. I participated in many activities, groups, functions and prepared many publications (reports, flyers, newsletters, etc), with great pleasure!

    My son moved into our home with me and Larry in Colorado Springs in 1995, after residing with his father in Canon City 1990-94. He graduated from Canon City High School and furthered his education at Pueblo, CO. Following his Education he directed his interest in and employment in the field of Electrical Contracting.

    My husband Larry Jamison was the father of six children born 1970-1984. Upon his divorce in 1991, he gained custody of his three sons, and regular visitation with his youngest daughter. So I became a step-mother to a large family! As such I served as hostess to every holiday family dinner and acknowledged every birthday, graduation, marriage and any other family celebration.

    Larry Jamison was employed as a Scenic Artist with Highland Film Productions, a company owned by his brother and sister-in-law Richard L. and Linda Jamison. That employment offered us the privilege of traveling to Madisonville, Tennessee, Oakland, California and Laie, Hawaii as they prepared film sets for LDS movies and Temple Visitor Center renovations. 

    As I was employed in Colorado Springs, CO at Schmidt Construction (1993-96), I was afforded the opportunity to attend a class to learn how to use Microsoft Publisher. That gave me the instruction needed to prepare the monthly newsletter at Schmidt. So after I moved to Canon City, CO and began working for Christ Episcopal Church, I also was assigned the task of writing and publishing their monthly newsletter. Somehow word was spread of my ability, so I quickly took on the tasks of preparing monthly newsletters in Canon City for Mother Nature’s Health Food Store, The Fremont County Retired Teacher’s Association, the local PEO Chapter, Canon City After 5 Club, our Canon City Second Ward at Church, and the Ward’s Relief Society newsletter.

    It was Larry who introduced me to the exploration of our family’s history. He encouraged me for many weeks to visit the Family History Center in Colorado Springs, CO. I held off for personal reasons, until the day I finally agreed to “just take a look at their computer resources”. I discovered the listing of MY MARGHEIM GRANDPARENTS, who were Germans from Russia and very strong members of the Lutheran Church. I was truly amazed and slightly intrigued. I knew I had to look into this. I gave it serious consideration and decided I would only explore records to the extent that I could prepare a 4-generation pedigree chart for my son, one that I could mount on the wall.

    It was 1999 and I installed the Family Tree Maker software on my computer and began the hunt online. I found a site where my cousin Kathryn Keller had submitted her family’s genealogy. I didn’t personally know “Kate” but noticed that she had entered the birth date of me and my twin brother in error. So I had to contact her to correct that mistake! I entered what information I had into the database on FTM. I was going to limit my activity to that! But as I entered the names of my parents and grandparents I noticed the software was asking for the names of “THEIR” parents, etc. I had to keep going! And I haven’t stopped.

    As I’ve developed my interest and activity in the study of my family’s history, I’ve taken advantage of the resources offered by Family Search, especially. With my supportive husband Larry, I was blessed to be able to attend the annual RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City from 2012—2018. During those years, I developed several blogs online, to share my findings and my interests. They were:

· A Joyful Spirit: My personal web site

· Canon City Family Search Center: News for Consultants

· Canon City 2nd Ward Relief Society: News for our Relief Society

· Ernie’s Journeys: A blog written about and by my 90-year-old father, Ernie Margheim

· Grace and Glory: my genealogy stories of findings and discoveries (still active at beckysgraceandglory.blogspot.com)

· Gramma’s House: our family news and events

· Our Son Matt: Matt’s life stories that I shared with his Birth Mother

· Promptings: Promptings I’ve received from the Holy Spirit

· Somewhere in Time: My husband Larry Jamison’s life-ending stories

· Tuberose: my personal thoughts and favorites

     On Feb. 24, 1997, my step-mother Phyllis passed away, leaving my dad to live alone in Great Bend, KS. Dad drove to Canon City in November, 1998 to attend my son’s wedding and we discussed his potential move to Canon City so he could be near us. That move was facilitated within two months and was a blessing for us all. As his health declined I was able to accompany him to his medical appointments and help him with household chores. In 2012 he entered permanent residence at Progressive Care Center, where my husband Larry and I were able to tend to his needs, as well as visit him daily.

    Dad passed away in the early morning hours of May 13, 2014. It was a blessing, as his age was 92 and he was ready. I attended a “Care Conference” with him and the staff at the Care Center on April 29, 2014. At the close of the interview, the nurse asked Dad if he had any questions. This was his final question: “Why won’t God just let me die?“. Knowing he felt that way helped me deal with his loss of life. His cremains were buried in the Great Bend, KS Cemetery on July 24, 2014.

    During the years 2007-2018, my husband Larry Jamison experienced many health concerns, including major back and shoulder surgeries. In 2016 we made the decision to move out of our 3 story house and move into a one level home to eliminate stairs. In Nov. 2016 we moved just 6 blocks east of the home we had occupied 1996-2016.

     As I shared previously, I had begun my employment as the Parish Administrator at Christ Episcopal Church in Canon City, CO on Oct. 14, 1996. I was blessed to still be working there when my husband Larry passed away on Nov. 13, 2018. I was comforted by the many friendly and helpful gestures I received from my friends at work and those who also attended the Second Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Canon City.

    My final gesture, as it turned out, as a loving, caring and considerate step-mother to Larry’s six surviving children and their families, was a Reunion in July 2019, in my home, where I was able to distribute to them all the remaining Jamison family heirlooms I believe they were entitled to. There had always been a story passed around the Jamison family about Larry’s grandfather, who had remarried and upon his death, the second wife would not allow the distribution of any of the grandfather’s heirlooms. I certainly didn’t want to be guilty of that and be remembered in the Jamison family as that nasty step-mother!

    As I’ve experienced the trials and situations that life has dealt me, I’ve often uttered the phrase “GOD KNEW!” God blessed me with a twin brother who was by my side from the moment of my birth. It was comfortable to have him by my side as we experienced the changes brought about at the time of the divorce of our parents, relocation of our residence with grandparents at age 2, then the adjustment of residence with our new, and very loving step-mother in our new home at age 4. He was in the back seat with me as we were driven to our monthly and annual visits with our mother Ruby and step-father Don Craine. He was seated on the organ bench as he offered the beautiful music during my weddings to Bill Klein in 1971 and Larry Jamison in 1994. And he was at the organ again at the funeral of my husband Larry in 2018. 

    And “GOD KNEW!” that after I had experienced widowhood for 2 years, I was ready to again offer my love in a relationship with a qualifying man. I was very blessed to draw the attention of a recently-divorced gentleman at my church, William Thompson.

    William and I were married in Colorado Springs, CO and on Dec. 31, 2020 we each retired. We began the New Year as we arrived at our new home in Fruitland, Idaho. Since I was born in Kansas, I was drawn to living near the agriculture fields of Idaho. William was born in the agriculture part of California and is much more comfortable at this Idaho elevation than he was while briefly living at the 6,000 ft. elevation in Colorado.

    Again I experienced a situation where “GOD KNEW!” after we established our home in Fruitland. We were quickly called in our Church to serve as the leaders for the 8-11 year-old Girls Activities. Through that service we’ve met and been blessed with the friendship of many of the members of our Ward and have felt right at home here.

Monday, January 1, 2024

My Reading Keeps Connecting Me to the Richards Family

Two days ago I added my most recent post to this blog and told of my connection to a Richards family who were early leaders in the history of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

This year in our Sunday School class we're going to study the Book of Mormon in depth. I was blessed last week to find this book at Deseret Industries in Nampa, Idaho, where I frequently have the privilege to buy religious books for $3.00 or less!

As you can see, "A Case for the Book of Mormon" was written by Tad R. Callister. I feel especially drawn to this author as I had the opportunity to hear him speak in a church service many years ago when I lived in Canon City, Colorado. This afternoon I sat down to read this book and was amazed that I had only gotten to page 4 !!! when I read that Tad Callister referred to his ancestor Willard Richards while discussing the authenticity of the Book of  Mormon. This chart show his connection to Willard Richards, as well as his connection to me. (I'm the Mary R. Margheim at the lower left). 
I love discovering "connections" and then creating the charts to illustrate them. I'm just amazed (but I'm easily amazed!) that I was so fascinated last Saturday by the book I had just bought that I wrote about it in my previous post. It was formerly given as a gift by Mr. and Mrs. Franklin D. Richards. 

And today I picked up a new book to read and discover another connection to this Richards ancestry! 

Saturday, December 30, 2023

This Book Spoke to Me Right Off the Shelf

Since I'm now retired, it seems I've picked up a new hobby of buying books at Deseret Industries in Nampa, Idaho. They range in price from $.75-$3.00! At this point in my life, the only subject matter I'm willing to spend my time pursuing is Religion and the many topics it encompasses.

I was drawn to this book for several reasons. It's in very good condition, was published in 1955, and was autographed by Helen and Franklin D. Richards on June 11, 1960 as a gift given to "The McCarreys". I immediately recognized the name "Franklin D. Richards" as a former Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

When I got home I did a little research on this Franklin D. Richards, who I learned was the GRANDSON of the Apostle Richards. Without going into a lot of detail, I will show you the results of my quick research. One thing I've learned about myself during my years of doing genealogy research is that I'm very interested in, and amazed by, family connections.  So I worked up this chart showing how I'm connected to this Richards family. I'm the Mary R. Margheim at the bottom left. 
This chart shows that my cousin Robert Lund Judd was married to Louise Richards, the great-granddaughter of Franklin D. Richards and Jane Snyder.

I also learned that Franklin D. Richards' grandson by his wife Nancy Longstroth was LeGrand Richards, the well-known author of "A Marvelous Work and a Wonder". That was one of the first books I read after joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1994.

I feel blessed to have discovered this autographed book this week and blessed that my husband encourages me to buy books to which I'm drawn! As a side note, I might add that while I'm shopping for books, he walks across the parking lot to the Lowe's store and indulges his passions too!

Saturday, June 24, 2023

This 6th Grade Song Surprises Me!

In my last post, I shared a story about Lloyd J. Dotterer, the Illustrator of the New Horizons music book I learned from in First Grade. As I was looking through the 6th-grade music book we used at E. E. Morrison School in Great Bend, Kansas, I noticed this entry:  

We can see the sub-title "Mormon Hymn". This book was copyrighted in 1946 and 1952 by Silver Burdette Company. This hymn is currently in the hymnal of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as #30, titled "Come, Come, Ye Saints".

I don't remember learning this song as a 6-year-old. But I'm surprised to see that this song was included in the public school music book at that time. For one thing, I'm surprised to see any Church Hymn in our elementary school music book. And I'm mostly surprised to see a "Mormon" hymn in a public school music book for 6th graders, in Kansas! 

I will certainly add that while I'm surprised, I'm quite happy to have made this discovery. While attending Morrison Grade School, I was a very devoted member of the local Trinity Lutheran Church. In 1995 I became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have happily sung "Come, Come, Ye Saints" in our Church services. I just had no idea this song was in my 6th-grade music book. Small discoveries like this just blow my mind! And I'm grateful for that.