Story Time From Neil

Back in the good old days when we were very young and lived in Altonah our home was what mother referred to as the John Ashby home. It was a two room house with one room serving as the kitchen and dinning area and the other room serving also as multi purpose room. It was our bedroom and our living room. It was years later that I found out that there were such things as a couch and a big chair etc. The furnishings in this room consisted of a bed which we referred to as the day bed. That is in the daytime it folded up so that it served as a couch. At night it folded down so that it was a bed. I remember in those days that LaVora and I slept on camp cots. Then, too, we did not know that a clothes closet was a part of the bedroom. But we did know about wardrobes. It seemed that in that day Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Ward made and sold about everything. The wardrobe was one of those items. It was merely a portable clothes closet. As I recall along with the daybed we had this wardrobe. Then, too, it really was not very big.
In that day we also lived on the Ute Indian Reservation. Most of the Indians lived to the south and east in what was known as White Rocks and Myton areas. There were this two Indians that lived up to the north of us, From time to time we would see them riding by on their way from or to town. Their names were Two Horn and Tu Rouse. I use to listen to the adults tell about when the Altonah Pioneers (Grandfather James B. Murray and others) were building the Farmers Canal from the Yellow Stone River to their farms that from time to time Two Horne or Tu Rouse would take a few shots in their direction. These kind of stories put just a little bit of fear in a child’s mind. I recall this one day when LaVora and I were home alone and we saw these Indians riding up the road. We became quite frightened for we were sure they would come in and scalp us. We looked for a place to hide. It was the wardrobe. Like I say it was not very big but it was big enough for two frightened children to hide in. We were quite relieved when they rode on by without stopping.

From Neil

September 26, 2009

Dear Family

Where has this summer gone? It seems like it just passed me by. I did, however, get a trip or two to Myton as well as a trip to Idaho and a picnic up Provo Canyon. Oh, yes, I got the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting.
As you know the trips to Myton were work projects. Over the past two years the trees and other vegetation regrowth has about turned our place into a jungle. After three trips and after several members of the family were turned loose with trimmers, pruners and chain saws there are not as many trees etc., now as there was. Dewey, Jerry and I spent a day in Myton. We did a lot more cutting and clearing. Jerry got on the chain saw, Dewey got on the weed trimmer and I got pair of pruners. We added to the pile of tree limbs. Now we need to find a time to go out and haul them off. While we were out there I had planned on treating Dewey and Jerry at the Frontier but Jerry brought each of us a Hershey bar. This got us by until we got back to Orem and we all went to the Sizzler for Dinner. Curtisy of Dewey and Beverly.
It has been nice to have Jerry and Marylyn close by and Dewey and Beverly stayed with me for a few days. While Dewey and Beverly were here we frequented the restraints a number of times. This one day Jerry and Marylyn took us to a camp ground up Provo Canyon for a picnic. The camp site they choose had lots of trees and a nice stream of water running past our picnic sight. It was really a present afternoon. Then all too soon Dewey and Beverly were gone. Jerry and Marylyn say they will be here until the end of the month or until it snow which ever comes first.
And, yes, I did get to speak in Sacrament meeting two weeks ago. When it came my turn to speak the member of the Bishopric conducting held up five fingers which meant “you can take five minutes.” I told the congregation that I felt like I was on the High Council again. So much for my opportunities, but you know, I did not mind.
Bruce and a friend stopped in last Saturday. It was good to see him. I’m glad he was able to take a few minutes with me.
Do take care.
Love, Neil

Jerry and Marylyn News

Hello Murray Family!I guess everyone is tired of sending in news to Allison for the Murray Newsletter Blog, since the only ones we hear from, lately anyway, is Uncle Neil, and our family. Maybe we should do this just "whenever" someone has some news they want to share with the family (just my suggestion) and then we won't feel under any pressure. It's been fun though, Allison, and thank you very much for your awesome efforts. And, a big thank you to Neil for giving us such fun and interesting things to read and figure out!September in Utah was fun and October in Utah looks very promising. We have taken some beautiful canyon drives to see the Fall colors. This is a beautiful place to live in the Autumn! We will be going back to Petaluma the end of October, but we have enjoyed our visit with Dewey and Beverly, visiting with Neil and look forward to LaVora's visit for a week on the 15th. Jerry is busily engaged in our basement putting up the molding and door trims. We are doing the temple work for a Murray family from Ireland. We don't think they are related to us, but a friend did the research and asked us if we wanted to do their temple work. Neil and Jerry put a lot of work into a rental agreement for the Myton house and then sent it to our possible renter. We haven't heard back from him, so maybe the terms were too tough. Those boys are pretty rigid about how they want their old home treated! Maybe we will be on the lookout for a new renter.News flash from our family: Lyle and Jean are buying a fixer-upper house in Suisun, CA - about an hour from Petaluma. We sure will miss having them just across town, but it is a good thing that they will be putting money into a home of their own instead of down a black hole. Their Michael turned 7years old and Andrew turned 1 yr. in September. Have I ever told you how cute our six grandchildren are?!?!Jerry and I are getting together with the senior couple missionaries we worked with in the MTC International Office. I went to lunch the other day with four of the sisters and we had so much fun catching up. Jerry and I hope to attend a session in the Draper and the Oqquirh Temples before we go back to Petaluma.Well...that's about it for this month. We hope you are all healthy, happy and busily engaged in worthwhile things. Happy General Conference weekend!With love,Marylyn (and Jerry)

Hello From Jean and Lyle

Hi all! I hope this finds you well. We are good but BUSY! Michael is in second grade and is doing well. He's one of the top readers in his class and is learning double digit addition, carrying tens, and studying geology and lifecycles in science. His improvement just from last year to this (we only have a 5 week break summer.....) is astounding! Izabella is in kindergarten this year and she LOVES it. She burns through her 4 to 6 pages of homework in about 20 minutes and asks for more. Anytime she brings home any kind of paperwork she tells me "guess what mommy, I got more homework today!" If its only informational papers for me she gets SO disappointed. She is learning phonics and doing well. She has learned the letters a, b, m, n, r, s, t- their sounds and names, and she is already figuring out how to spell words by sounding them out (like cat, sat, bat, hat, ran, can). We have a dry erase easel in the living room and she'll just spend 30 minutes sounding out and writing different words. She is learning her numbers 1 through 10 and doing many creative art projects that she loves! Penngrove is so awesome!!!!! The teachers have been wonderful and both sets have allowed me to bring all the kids in once a week to help in the classroom (Michael's room for about 40 minutes in the morning on Fridays and a little over an hour in Izabella's classroom on Wednesdays). I'm also doing the book orders for Michael's class this year. If feels so good to help out the teachers. They are amazing and underpaid. Their dedication and commitment, I just can't say enough about them!!!! Kathrynn is as mischievous and hilarious as ever. She speaks very concisely and will tell you exactly what you should and shouldn't be doing. She is now waiting very impatiently to start school herself. If you ask her what her or anyone else in the family's name is she will very clearly tell you Daddy, Mommy, Michael Blaine Murray, Izabella Jeanne Murray, Kathrynn Heather Murray, and Andrew Lyle Murray. She doesn't say just their first name, its the whole thing. She likes to help me out and she also does very well independently. She loves to color and play imaginative games. You'll find her quietly in the living room playing with her toys (mostly animals, she LOVES animals, she usually walks around saying, "I love your doggy, I love the kitty", as a matter of fact, that's what Kathrynn is saying most of the time, she LOVES everything, or she hates me, but you know, that goes with the mommy territory, they love you and they hate you, laugh or cry, there's no in between.....). Andrew is not quite walking yet but he climbs everything. If he can't climb onto it he'll push a stool or chair (even from another room) up to it so that he can climb it. He gets on and off the beds, couches, and chairs in the kitchen. He can't get onto the kitchen counter, but he can push the chairs up to them so that he can reach the entire thing. No really many signs of walking. He will stand up by himself, but he doesn't like to do it. He will walk along things, and push things from room to room standing up, but no walking by himself. All the other kids were walking by now, but I'm not too worried about it. I can hardly keep up with him on all fours, I don't know what I'm going to do when he's running on two!!! Andrew is still the happiest baby in the whole world. He is also the most loved. The kids will squabble, usually Kathrynn being the odd "man" out, but everyone LOVES Andrew. The kid is going to be spoiled rotten, even if I don't do it the kids will (and I'll be hard pressed to not spoil him myself, he melts me, I'm putty in his 1 year old hands.....). He is talking a little, you know, dada and mama, and he's into everything. Lyle is well, work is stressful but its work and we're all VERY glad he has a job in these rough times. I'm good and busy just trying to keep everyone fed, clean, caught up with their homework, keeping the house clean (and of course Lyle helps with ALL these things too) and getting everyone to where they are supposed to be mostly on time. By the way, Michael had perfect attendance last year, and no tardies. Thanks to Lyle making breakfast and lunches, the kids working with us to get to school on time, no illnesses (amazing!), he was one of 15 kids in the entire student body of 320 that accomplished that. He's already missed 1.5 days this year because of illness, but neither he nor Izabella have any tardies, and tomorrow is the day of our first three week break! Where does the time go! Well, I hope this finds you all well. Sorry that its been so long since I've written. I'm swamped!!! I love you all, and the rest of the family does too. Thank you for your love, support, and tolerance. We miss you! love,jean and family

Oh, I forgot, Lyle got up early on Michael's bday day, even though it was a school/work day, and made homemade pancakes from scratch (you know, home ground whole wheat flour and all the other ingredients) for the family, that's the photo of Michael and the Micky Mouse pancake. No offense to all you all, but I really do have the best husband in the whole world. Thanks to Jerry and Marylyn. I don't think my kids will appreciate, at least until they are trying to have families of their own, and perhaps not even then, how great their dad is. Thank you Lyle. I love and appreciate you, and the whole world should know it! :) Thanks to all you husbands, grandfathers and fathers, you'll never really know the influence you have on your kids, but they take on many of your character attributes and they look up to you so very much! love,jean

Murray Reunion 2010!

Greetings!

I hope all is well with the Murray Family. We had a great visit with Dewey and Beverly when they came down for Zach and Karlee’s wedding.

I have finally heard from Camp Nauvoo. Unfortunately, most of the week I requested was taken up by the church.

So, I ended up reserving 4 Nights. Saturday July 31, and August 1, 2, 3. We check out of the camp by noon on the 4th.

I know that this is not what we originally planned, but I hoping that it is still early enough that it will still accommodate everyone.

Please let me know your thoughts about the dates and if you are planning to attend.

Lots of Love,
Travis

Austin and Kyra Fisher's First Day of School and Ball Game

Hello From Jerry

Dear Family-

We have been working on the yard and trying to keep the deer, squirrels and gofers out of the garden and walnut tree here in Petaluma. The garden was starting to produce when we left to go to Utah . I guess I raised a garden for the animals and the kids as I do not think we will get much from the garden this year.

Marylyn is happy to be back in Utah so she can visit her family and live in her house. She is looking forward to all the Fall colors on the mountains and canyons. We went on a picnic up the Provo Canyon with Dewey, Beverly and Neil the other day and we could see that the trees are starting to turn even though it is still rather warm. We enjoyed our time with the Neil and the Dewey's.

We are back in Utah staying with Allison in our Provo House. It seems strange to be here and not serving a mission. We have a lot of time on our hands, although I still have lots to do in the basement. We will just probably keep working on it every time we come back to Utah.

We just returned from our semi-annual trip to Montana with our friends the Lewis’ and the Buchan’s. We spent a week with them in their cabin next to West Yellowstone . We had a great trip but the fishing stunk. I was able to hook a few, but was never able to get them into the boat. That was about all we could complain about as the rest of your time was peaceful and restful. We took in a play at West Yellowstone and went to see Old Faithful . It was not too faithful as it was over a one half hour late. It did give us time to eat our lunch.

This past week we have been out to Myton to do a little clean up on the place and see if we can rent it. I think we have some one who will rent if for a year. Just need to get a contract to him and get the money out of him. .

A rather slow month for the Murrays.
Love,
Jerry (and Marylyn)

Allison's Life

Hello Family!
Just a quick update. I think it was last month that a friend and I were able to attend the temple open house. It was beautiful inside and out! What a great experience to have! I hope everyone who could was able to make it out there!

I was also able to get together with a group of old friends and have dinner with my old bishop and his wife. It was great getting together again! We're planning on having a ward reunion at the end of the month, so I'm looking forward to seeing even more people from my past!


I hope everything is going well for everyone else! Dewey and Beverly are here for a little bit and I was bugging them about posting something on the blog and they said their computer has been down! I hope that is the reason why I haven't heard from lots of my cousins for the blog! :)

Joseph Elison Beck Story

There follows a letter, concerning Joseph Ellison Beck, sent to me by my daughter Sharon. Due to the length of the prayer I’m only going to include a part of it. If anyone would like the full prayer please let me know and I will send it to you. Neil

Dad,Here is the story that I found in a book about pioneer women. I found it under Hannah Forsyth Beck.Joseph Ellison Beck"...He first heard the gospel at a street meeting conducted by Apostle Orson Hyde who was on his way to Palestine to dedicate the land as a gathering place for the Jews. He was impressed by the elder's message and determination to fulfill the mission assigned to him. At the close of the meeting Joseph stepped to the front of the crowd and handed the speaker a wallet containing money and departed without letting his identity be known, only asking to be remembered in the dedicatory prayer on the mount of Olives, which he did."
(The following is a part of the dedicatory prayer mentioning grandfather Beck.)
PRAYER OF ORSON HYDE ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES "O Thou! who art from everlasting to everlasting, eternally and unchangeably the same, even the God who rules in the heavens above, and controls the destinies of men on the earth, wilt Thou not condescend, through thine infinite goodness and royal favor, to listen to the prayer of Thy servant which he this day offers up unto Thee in the name of Thy holy child Jesus, upon this land, where the Son of Righteousness set in blood, and thine Anointed One expired."Be pleased, O Lord, to forgive all the follies, weaknesses, vanities, and sins of Thy servant, and strengthen him to resist all future temptations. Give him prudence and discernment that he may avoid the evil, and a heart to choose the good; give him fortitude to bear up under trying and adverse circumstances, and grace to endure all things for Thy name's sake, until the end shall come, when all the Saints shall rest in peace. ---------------------------------------

"Do Thou also look with favor upon all those through whose liberality I have been enabled to come to this land; and in the day when Thou shalt reward all people according to their works, let these also not be passed by or forgotten, but in time let them be in readiness to enjoy the glory of those mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare. [PARTICULARLY DO THOU BLESS THE STRANGER IN PHILADELPHIA, WHOM I NEVER SAW, BUT WHO SENT ME GOLD, WITH A REQUEST THAT I SHOULD PRAY FORM HIM IN JERUSALEM. NOW, O LORD, LET BLESSINGS COME UPON HIM FROM AND UNEXPECTED QUARTER, AND LET HIS BASKET BE FILLED, AND HIS STOREHOUSE ABOUND WITH PLENTY, AND LET NOT THE GOOD THINGS OF THE EARTH BE HIS ONLY PORTION, BUT LET HIM BE FOUND AMOUNG THOSE TO WHOM IT SHALL BE SAID,'THOU HAST BEEN FAITHFUL OVER A FEW THINGS, AND I WILL MAKE THEE RULER OVER MANY."]"O my Father in heaven! I now ask Thee in the name of Jesus to remember Zion, with all her Stakes, and with all her assemblies. She has been grievously afflicted and smitten; she has mourned; she has wept; her enemies have triumphed, and have said, `Ah, where is thy God?' Her Priests and Prophets have groaned in chains and fetters within the gloomy walls of prisons, while many were slain, and now sleep in the arms of death. How long, O Lord, shall iniquity triumph, and sin go unpunished? ------------------------------------------- And all the glory and honor will we ascribe unto God and the Lamb forever and ever. Amen."

On the top of Mount Olives I erected a pile of stones as a witness according to ancient custom. On what was anciently called Mount Zion, [Moriah?] where the Temple stood, I erected another, and used the rod according to the prediction upon my head. -----------------------
May grace, mercy and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, rest upon you all from this time, henceforth and for ever. Amen. Your brother in Christ, ORSON HYDE
JOSEPH ELLISON BECK - HANNAH FORSYTH MARGRET FRANCENA BECK - RICHARD MURRAY JAMES BECK MURRAY - ATTA ARMELIA ASHBY JAMES WILMER MURRAY - ANNA MARY WINKLER LOVE YOU DAD,SHARON

Where is this?

What are these two items?

Name These People....

From Anna and Wilmer Murray’s Journal

Friday, August 8, 1980

I hacked out the big weeds on the road by Davis’. Ardis and Iris had cut the lawn sometime before but these weeds were too big for the mower. I worked a while then laid in the shade to rest. Soon I had them down. It looks better. Dad cut grass in the ditch. I also quilted some during the day and paid the bills. Fred came up to have me tell him about his Insurance papers.
Neil and Ella came. We visited then went to Roosevelt to change their garments for new style ones. Ella bought some for their families. I bought one pair to try. But Dad didn’t want any. We stopped for them to visit Fay at the L & L. While we waited we saw a mounted deformed lamb. It had one head, eight legs, and two hind parts with a tail on each end. The one hind part was right under the head. One lamb seemed perfectly formed with the other in the front. Soon Ella and Neil were gone too. Sorry they missed Jerry and the family.

Monday, August 18, 1980

It is Wilmer’s 77th birthday. I wanted to go to see how his blood is but he didn’t want to go. He didn’t get even a card from me, but I made him a good dinner and a chocolate sheet cake. This is what he wanted. He received a card from Grace and one from Verona. Also made two apple pies and put them in the deep freeze. Dad weeded a while, while I picked currents. I picked a few ears of corn for Kay Dennis and gave her some cucumbers and took some cucumbers to Doris. Velma and Ross called Wilmer and sang happy birthday to him. Then Sara and Claude called him. Ruth just called and wants some corn. We had just settled down to sleep when Darrell called for Dads birthday. Dewey called. It was nice to hear from all of them. I wonder how the Jerry’s are coming.

Story Time From Neil

When we first moved to Myton the property was completely fenced with an inner fence enclosing the area where the house is located. There were three gates, a small one on the south side or in front of the house and two on the north side of the house. One of these two gates on the north was a large double gate opening into the barn and the area north of the house. Then, there was another small gate opening into the area where the house is located. The land to the west is where we kept our live stock. I don’t remember a lawn any where on the property. The first summer we were there it seems that dad tried to grow watermelons on the ground east of the house. Then the following year we decided to plant a lawn. As you well know there is a lot of work that goes into the preparation for a new lawn. First you work the ground to develop a good seed bed. Then after you sow the lawn seed, so as to help maintain the moisture for the seed to germinate, we covered the area with straw. Then you need to keep the planted area wet by frequently watering with the hose until the small grass seed germinates and sends its root down into the soil. Well we had gone through this process and the grass was beginning to show green shoots above the straw cover. Things were going well and our potential lawn was looking nice.

In those days, out of necessity many people kept a few live stock especially a milk cow. We were no different. I don’t remember how many cows we had at that time but I do remember we had old Black. She was a good sized holstein, that filled a fourteen quart bucket at each milking. She had on her head what I would call a perfect set of horns and was a smart old gal.

Before I become the family cow herder we had what I called the town herder. It was a young man by the name of Joe Tanner. Each morning he would start picking up animals in old town and work south picking up people’s cows, who wanted him to herd their cows, as he went. I think our animals were his last pick up before he drove them into the vacant areas south of town to graze.

As it turned out Joe was human and due to neglect of duty or something he let that herd of cows get away from his kind care and keeping. In other words, he lost them. Well old Black took command of the herd and led them, all of them, back to our place, and with her perfect horn she opened the south gate and led that bunch of animals, and there was not just a few, onto our new straw covered wet lawn. I’m sure you have heard of sheep foot rollers; well we had cow foot rollers. There was four cow feet on each animal. It seemed like for years there was these deep hoof tracks all over our new lawn.

From Neil

August 31, 2009

Dear Family

In our family August was a month of highs and lows. We had a sad event take place in Ella’s family that was a downer but yet there were a few bright spots as well. Thank Heavens for that. It is like I used to tell Ella, when I was Bishop and when I returned home from whereever I had been, and she reported to me the things that had happened while I was away, if at least half of the report could be good news or at least positive, we could make it through the challenges that come with the job.
The first of the month Ella’s sister, Vera’s son, Michael and his wife Myrna’s son, took his own life. He left a wife and a young son. I think they had only been married since 2003. It was a very tragic thing. Death is always difficult to deal with but a situation like this is even harder.
The rest of the month went by with us watering and mowing lawns and other related things. The 29th, however, we did step things up a little and make our way to the Myton homestead to do a little clean up. There was a great representation from all of the families. We cut, trimmed, pulled and piled weeds, trees and shrubs. I also cleaned the sprinkler heads that I could find. I was surprised that there were a few heads that I did not find. I guess that means that I will have to make another trip to locate them after Amanda waters and locates the heads for me. I just hope they are still there. After our labor we made our way to the Frontier Café and had dinner. Yes, we even had scones. On the way home Deward had to drive up the Ioka lane to the Revola dugway and then drive through Arcadia. It was a good day. Today, however, I’m feeling some muscles that I guess I have not used for a while.
Sunday, Dewey and Beverly stopped in for a few minutes. They were on their way to Arizona. Jerry and Marylyn came just as they were leaving. So our visit was quite short. Jerry and Marylyn went to church with me. The visit with them was short but it was a quality visit.
I hope everyone is well, Love you

Neil