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A-Z Ranch Mohave Co.
Ariz.
The thirteenth annual family reunion is now in the
pages of our history. We did have a great time. As Mom would say it was
just wonderful!
Some families arrived Friday the 24th;
these included the Jamie Maxwell’s and the Max Iversons. I don’t know
who else.
Three grandchildren, (one of them having gone earlier
with Boyd) and I put in our appearance about 9:30AM Sat. the 25th.
Since I had the kids Kurt and Paula took a little more time and got there
in time for dinner. They had driven their camper from California. The same
one that failed them two years ago when they had to turn back and missed
the reunion. This time it did chug up the hill. Heard Jamie had a little
trouble making it up the hill because of overheating. He was pulling a
camp trailer and the small motorized vehicles all the kids just love to
ride.
When Garn's finally joined the group they told tales
of spending half the night on Mormon Mesa, as Hal and Terrie were going to
northern UT to see her family and their car failed them. I’m not sure
just what happened, but Cyle said they were back and forth, hither and
yon—until I guess Hal and Terrie just decided to go home to Vegas and
forget the whole thing and pull the covers over their heads! With Terrie
being in a delicate condition it was probably a prudent decision. I hear
they now have a new car. Anyway we really missed them; also Kevin and Tina
and look forward to seeing them all there next year with their new babies.
There were others missing this year which included
Ramona’s family most of Scott and Cindy’s family (Amie was there). All
of Lee family also the Brent and Craig Hawkinson families. Bob was
missing-- and we forgive Shawn as he is in Spain, and also Lee Alan in
Chile. Don’t know what excuse the Wiscombe family had for not showing
up. Hope I haven’t overlooked anyone as we do expect to see you all
there next year. There were about 65 in attendance, 2 or 3 of them guests.
Family dinner on Saturday was super fine with all the
usual favorite foods. Boyd put a new and improved spicy twist on his beans
this year and they were better than super fine. I kept reheating them
Saturday evening and Sunday morning like mom used to do in the days of old
so they wouldn’t spoil. Debbie, Mike, and myself finished them off for a
snack on Sunday afternoon.
The treasure hunt that Mary puts on for the kids each
year came right after dinner. The kids had a great time searching over
hill and dale and under bed and chair, Steve Hawkinson said he was the
first one to discover the prized goodie box but they brought it back to
the patio before diving in. I had never observed the dive in process
before and I tell you it was something to behold! Such fun! Such fun!
After that we were trying to gather in, “The Boyd
Room”, as the new addition was dubbed by Paul. For you that don’t know
Boyd and helpers added on an 800 square foot room to the north side of the
house. It has a cement floor, nice big windows, and a sliding glass door.
It’s really swell. I like it.
Most of us were in there when a little tornado came
along and ripped the temporary tin roof off the patio. Fortunately only a
few people were out there at the time and no one was hurt. I figure Lee
and Marge may have sent it out from the mid-west just so we would know
they had not forgotten which day the reunion started and that they were
probably there in spirit if not in body.
After that someone decided too set Boyd's truck on
fire. Paul threw the burning gas can out of the back of the truck and
followed it out—then Jamie located the keys, leapt into the cab and
backed it out of the flames. Here I am going to interject three journal
entries, which tells it much better than I can.
#1 All the Tris Iversons are at the ranch this year.
We just had to come out and see the new addition. Great job guys. I think
it was nice to have the 5pm bonfire for those people that had to leave
before dark—but next year lets find a better place for it than in the
back of Boyd's truck! Bonnie
#2 Reunion ’91 the year Hal single handedly ripped
the roof off the house, blew up Uncle Boyd's truck and set the back forty
on fire. He also caused the wind to blow, the ice cream to melt and the
macaroni salad to go bad! We took a pool, and unless he learns better
manners, we are not inviting him next year.
Dick & Cheri
#3 I’ve had a wonderful time. The new addition to
the house is cool and comfortable. They are calling it the Boyd Room. Get
this; we even have a flushing toilet in one outhouse. One hint; It’s the
one next to the water tank! Whose idea was it? My Dads? If so is it called
the Harley House? Ha!
Lorene
All levity aside we were all very thankful that the
worst that happened was that Paul singed the hair on his arm; and Mike had
to wash some burnt punch off the truck-cause he helped Paul set it on
fire! Did I get that all correct group?
Well we finally got most everyone rounded up for the
program and the giving out of awards that we had planned. We also had two
quilts to raffle off. One of them, which was a family tree quilt (with
everyone’s name on their own trunk, limb or leaf,) had supposedly,
accidentally disappeared into the local land-fill.
This story started as a small practical joke on Barb.
Shauna said to me, ”Wouldn’t it be funny to tell Barb that
after we finished the quilt, we put it back into the black trash bag; she
had sent it over from Vegas in to keep it clean—and Arnie accidentally
took it out to the trash when we had gone to lunch.
So. So
long quilt!!
Just happened that very night Barb called and I tried
laying this story on her—but she never believed Arn stopped playing his
guitar long enough to take a bag of trash anywhere. However she did relay
this story to Boyd in all sincerity, and he thought it was hilarious-as he
and I had a small wager on which quilt would sell the most tickets. His
was a camp quilt with a smiling rattlesnake on it—can you imagine???
Anyway when Barb told him this trash truck tale, it quite tickled his
funny bone. In fact he wrote
me an “Ode to the lost quilt,” on a Dicks Café napkin-which I read at
the program.
Now when I read it we thought that Boyd was the only
one who still thought that the quilt was really gone and we were trying
hard to keep him thinking that way. Somehow it had been neglected to let
Debbie (who had spent hours writing names on the quilt) in on the joke. So
when she heard me read that the quilt was lost she was devastated! On top
of that she was just plain mad because she didn’t think any of the rest
of us were acting properly depressed over the loss. When the awards were
handed out for all the people who had worked on the project she told Mike
she didn’t even want hers if the quilt was gone. She had been so upset
she hadn’t heard me say at the end of the poem that the quilt still
lived.. But when we brought it in and hung it up she was all happy again,
and Boyd knew it was him who had been had. We are sorry Debbie, we won’t
do it again! Maybe.
Shauna also did a poem about all the fun we’d had
working on the quilt, and planning all this tomfoolery!
It was a real cute poem Shauna, and Boyd’s was pretty
entertaining also-even if Debbie didn’t like it too much! Since Hal
couldn’t be there Cyle did his poem for him. It was a story of years ago
when they were at the ranch branding, and Barb got into a disagreement
with a big bull calf. It was a great poem Hal, and Cyle did a good job for
you. Hope you can be there next year.
This time we gave out a
“Reunioner of the Year” award.
Barb and I decided who it should go to….Why only the two of us,
you ask? We never even
pretended that we ran this outfit as a democracy! It went to Boyd for his
hard work and enthusiasm for the new room. He also got a hip boot award
for believing the lost in the trash quilt story. (For once we got him)
Shauna also received a hip boot award, but that is to complicated to even
try to explain…You just had to be there!
Then it was time for a little music. Garn plucked his
banjo, Kurt strummed his guitar, and Jenica Maxwell stood in for Hal, so
she and Nita sang the theme song. After the pickin’ and singin’ was
over we had an auction. Max’s family had some pictures for sale; Harley
had also done some computer pictures of Dad and Mom. There was also a
picture of the Keller house, which someone had painted.
Max was the auctioneer, and it was very entertaining.
At one point Cyle was bidding on something, and his friend Stacey started
bidding against him. He gave her this look like,
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” She
said I can bid if I want too! That gave us all a good chuckle. She is a
real cutie; and that’s right Stace, you can bid if you want too!
The bonfire was started at dark, and when it had
burned down enough-kids large and small started toasting marshmallows and
making smores.
After that came the dance, and was it ever fun. Merna
put on a clogging exhibition, with Garn playing the banjo for her. They
were excellent! She also performed for us, dancing to,
“The Streets of Bakersfield!”
yeeeeehah! It was
great.
At one point her son-in-law Brett joined her, but
believe she about wore him down. However Brett and Shamane were doing some
pretty high stepping there on their own. Even the little kids were out
there dancing up a storm. That was great to see, as if the kids don’t
have fun at a reunion, it usually does not hang together too long. Radlee
seemed to be the champ in the kid department-he could really shake a leg!
Max’s family, plus their friend Mike Mace all had
matching tee-shirts. They were really fine. The shirts were bright blue
and said MAXS GANG on the back; then someplace on the shirt was a cow
branded A-Z. From there on I think they were all allowed to free-lance!
Even Ducky (Evan) and Karissa had one. Karissa had lace on hers. Nita had
all the names she answers to on the front of hers. My personal favorite,
she had there was Pssssssst! Good job group, they were really cute.
Barbara Carroll gave us an enlarged picture of Dad
standing by the truck he used to haul supplies into the Grand Gulch Mine
years ago. That was a drawing just among the original 8 off-spring. Mary
won. Barbara (our cousin) also gave us some other pictures which each of
you (8) will get one. We thank her very much.
Now it’s Sunday morning; after a breakfast of all
the bacon, ham, sausage, eggs, and pancakes we could put away-I went with
Cyle and Stacey up toward MT Trumbull to take pictures of old houses. Some
houses that I thought would be there weren’t! What time and vandals can
do, eh?
After we got back to the ranch, Cyle and Stacey
decided to head up a group for a hike over Diamond Butte. They said they
were taking the easy route; but since it is my firm believe that there is
no easy route, I didn't go. There was quite a group that did go including
a whole herd of kids. I was told that not all that went climbed over the
butte, The rest kinda milled around the bottom, and half way up the north
side.
The wind was blowing something terrific that day, so
Boyd and Barb built an Indian wind charm out of a cedar tree branch, an
oose stalk, and a piece of slate rock, to calm it down. That is what they
told Tessa anyway. I don’t know if she believed them or not. I know for
sure that she didn’t buy the story of Mike Mace and Boyd finding a nest
of prehistoric baby birds with wide open mouths big enough to swallow
doorknobs! Or maybe it was doornails; I’m not real clear on that. Jamie
and Boyd also wired some fake flowers onto the oose bushes, and told Barb
that they only bloomed once every hundred years; and she would be arrested
by the BLM if she picked them! tut
tut.
They all staggered home mid-afternoon and said what a
good time they had had. The ones who actually climbed over the Butte (to
the best of my knowledge) were Cyle, Stacey, Kurt, Steve, Matt, Radlee,
and Max. The almost got to
the top were Jamie, Leberdie, Tessa, Coal, and Billy.
Pikers who stayed at or near the bottom were Tris, Garn, Boyd,
Barb, Mike Mace, and I think Mickey! Who says dogs don’t have good
sense?
After they got home we had food and ice cream again,
and some people were getting ready to leave, having had all the fun they
could stand for one weekend. Paula and I came to town Sunday evening as
she had a bad case of allergy from all the stuff the wind was blowing
around; plus her system was probably in shock and withdrawal from not
having any California smog for a couple of days. That’s a hard habit to
break, I know it took me a long time to get over it.
Sunday night at the ranch, found Kurt and his kids,
Jamie and his kids, plus some of Dicks kids—Max and Nita and some of
everybody’s kids-more or less.
They said they had a wonderful time after all the rest of us left
(I don’t quite know how to take that.) The kids told of cooking more
great food, and also having a marshmallow puff contest.
Now I have never heard of this game before but was
informed that you put a marshmallow in your mouth and
“wet” it up real good; then you see who could spit it the
farthest. Now does that sound like a class act or what? Kurt was the
winner, and the kids said Aunt Nita didn’t do to well cause she laughed
too much! I don’t know if they patented this game or not, but it sounds
like it has real potential for an Olympic event to me.
Pamela and Alan told us that they were leaving on the
13th of June for Taiwan, to teach English to the natives for
the next few months. Alan has been there before and speaks the language.
It sounds like a great adventure. They said they would be home for next
reunion. Have fun kids! Shawn will also be home from Spain. (We thought
about Shawn while we were eating carrot cake and ice cream!) Don’t know
when Lee Alan will be home from Chile, but we missed you.
Now for all of you who were not there-do you wonder
who won the quilts? Or you don’t care? Well
it doesn’t matter, because I am going to tell you anyway.
LORENE won the family tree quilt. CRYSTAL (Stella's
daughter) won the camp quilt.
I heard Shamane make an offer to buy the family tree
quilt from Lorene. She was promptly turned down. I don’t think Shamane
gave up though because she said something like,
“Wait until next month when your rent is due.”
Is that what you said Shamane?
Also heard that no way would Lorene put the quilt
back in the black trash bag, she put it in a white one and left it with
her mom for safekeeping.
See you all there next year.
LOVE, CARLA
We took in $1, 386.00 from auction and quilts, which
went to help pay for new improvements.
This typewriter does not make question marks,
quotation marks, or apostrophes, (this computer does once in a while
though) so please just ignore all that stuff! Shauna offered to retype it
for me, but she is expecting a new baby next month-so I thought I should
spare her!
PS
Remember Cyle’s friend Stacey-well she is now his fiancee.
Congratulations Cyle, you picked a winner!
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