Aunt Arlene's memories of her Grandma and Grandpa Wride

Aunt Arlene sent me these memories of hers and I wanted to share them with you. I remember Dad talking about throwing peanut shells on the floor.

GRANDPA AND GRANDMA WRIDE

My grandparents lived just two blocks away from us on 5th Avenue. I’ll always remember that my grandpa taught me to drive. At first I would just drive his little Ford coupe up and down his 20-foot driveway. Later we ventured out in parking lots and then to the street.

Grandpa had a fun backyard with chickens running around and a big compost pile. His garden was wonderful. Grandpa loved to have his grandchildren come over to feed the chickens and help gather the eggs. He was so proud of each one of us. I remember his “peanut parties.” He would buy peanuts in a huge bag; I remember it being a bag about three feet tall. For our Family Home Evening, Grandpa would sit and tell us stories and he would have us eat peanuts and throw the shells on the rug. Grandma must have hated it. She was a wonderful woman, quiet but loving. I always wanted to go to her house to help her cook and bake. She was so supportive of my grandpa in all of his ideas and inventions.

Grandpa Wride was an educator. He invented and patented several devices to improve handwriting. Another of his inventions was called a Pant-O-Graph. This was an interesting device to enlarge pictures. He also had a system of shorthand in which the characters were based on the hour angles of the clock. Another idea he developed was a system of phonetic writing that he wanted to make into a new language. He called it Novolingua. Grandpa hoped that it would someday become an international tongue.

My grandmother passed away in 1944, eight years before my grandpa. He came and lived in our home for the last two years of his life.

Feddock Letter - October 2009

Dear Family,

There is plenty to report from around here. For once.

Most recently, the Michaels went spelunking last weekend, Thursday-Saturday. Spelunking is cave exploring. They drove 400 miles north almost to the Oregon border to Lava Beds National Monument. They camped there for two nights and explored caves formed by lava flows. The rock is very rough so it's best to wear a helmet and gloves. The caves are pitch black inside, making it easy to bump/scrape your head. Ouch! You are also encouraged to bring three light sources with you. If your lights go out you are stranded until someone comes along. And with there being about 400-500 caves discovered there so far, it could be a while. They got to see Indian petroglyphs on some of the rocks. Cool! Mikey missed two days of school so he's doing a report on the caves. He'll bring in a poster of photos and a chunk of lava rock.

Gearing up: you need a helmet, gloves, and three light sources.

Exploring

Morning in the tent

Someone is totally digging this trip!

Indian petroglyphs

A bat, folded up on the ceiling, napping

Over the same weekend, Breanne went 400 miles south to Disneyland with a small group of friends (and two mothers) for a friend's birthday. They got to have dinner at a very exclusive club at D-land called Club 33. Only 400 people are allowed to be members at a time and the waiting list is 14 years! She had 'Chateau Breanne' for dinner. Well, it sounded like that. She went on Pirates of the Caribbean for the first time and loved it. That's an E-ticket classic.

While everyone was 400 miles away I spent my evenings with chick flicks and ice cream.

I've started a part-time job at the local Boy Scout council office. I work 20 hours per week doing admin work. I'm really enjoying it! Everyone is so nice and it's only a few minutes from home. I stumbled into the job by asking my contact there if I could put him as a reference while looking for a graphic design job. I designed three brochures for the BSA earlier this year. He offered me a job with them! It doesn't pay as much as graphics but it felt right. Also, there is supposedly some website maintenance in my future there. I would like that. I could finally put those online classes to use. It's funny, I keep thinking to myself, "We should really get some low-paid person to do this busy work I'm doing. Oh wait, we have one. It's me!"

I've officially decided that soy sauce gives me headaches. I have one now from beef jerky. Do any of you experience that?

Breanne's friend, Jack, who was baptized last year is now serving a mission in the Florida, Tampa mission, Spanish-speaking! He was already pretty fluent in Spanish so he was only in the MTC for three weeks. I send him a postcard each week but haven't heard from him yet. I'm sure he's doing great. He is on fire about the gospel and is very articulate, but easy to talk to.

Elder Treseler (Jack) and Michael comparing puppy dog
faces the day before Jack entered the MTC.
Michael wouldn't let go of Jack.

Breanne has another friend, Katie, who was baptized last month. Breanne plans to serve a mission (in two years!) unless she is 'swept off her feet' and if there are still people left to baptize. She may have converted them all by then. Another friend is going to institute with her.

Michael got his braces and expanders off. He had an upper and lower expander to make more room in his mouth for teeth. It was a real mouthful o'stuff. Round two (ugh) of braces will be in a few years. Cha-ching!

At stake conference Elder Andersen of the Twelve was our visiting authority and called mini-Mike up to the stand. He put his suit coat on Michael, showing how big it was on him, to illustrate that one never feels ready or prepared to be an apostle. You grow into the mantle. Mikey has some big admirers in our ward. Two post-coat comments were as follows: "It wouldn't surprise me if one day Michael was putting his coat on someone else." That sister is pretty sure Michael will be an apostle one day. Another was, "In 20 years, Michael will be a Bishop. In 22 years, a stake president. In 24 an apostle."

Michael's big moment in stake conference
with Elder Andersen

In stake conference I was released as stake Relief Society president. I'd been doing that for roughly 3.5 years and was a counselor for 1.5 years before that. I am the new ward Primary chorister and totally loving it! I was actually hoping for that very calling. It's the funnest, lowest-stress job ever! No, Primary pianist would be lower stress. But not as fun. I'm also the new ward historian, too. What they'd like me to do is take all the info and objects from our ward's history and compile it into something texty & visual to give to the ward members. Sounds like fun.

My very fabulous presidency. I'll miss working with them!

That's it for now, folks!

Love, the Feds