Canada 2019 – Part 3

July 6, 2019

After having met many of the family members the day before, I was anxious to meet more of them on Saturday. The unofficial starting time was 10:00 a.m., and we arrived a few minutes early.

Some of the campers were up and about, and we waved to them as we arrived. The building was still locked, so we waited for someone to show up with the key. Finally, Marilynn and her husband, Neil, got there, and we were able to stash our fruit tray in the refrigerator.

Marilynn Lund Broadhurst, Lorna Lund Collins, Linda Christensen Salmon

Marilynn and Linda were the two cousins on this branch who were the first matches I found when we had our DNA sequenced. Actually, Marilynn and I had communicated on Ancestry.com before that. Other DNA “cousins” showed up later, and I got to meet them, as well.

I had been in touch with Linda’s brother, DeLoss Christensen. He lives in Utah, and came to the reunion with his wife, Toni.

Toni and DeLoss Christensen

I think he and my brother somewhat resemble each other.

I was very happy to get to know him because we share a common concern. When we visited the Pioneer Cemetery in Spring City, Utah (where the Lund family settled when they arrived in the US) in 2012, the headstone for my great-grandmother, Mary Jane Ashworth Lund, was in three pieces. It appears an attempt has been made in the intervening years to stick it back together, but it almost looks worse now. DeLoss wants to contact a monument maker to either have hers and her husband’s (Marinus Lund) restored or to have them replaced. Off and on since 2012, I have tried to locate someone to do it without success.

Now that DeLoss is taking action to make it happen, I am thrilled. I told him if he needed additional funds, to contact me. More later about his intention to fund the project.

I had talked to several of my cousins about this project, and my cousin, Roger Royal was as enthusiastic as I to see it happen. Roger died earlier this year, and this seems like something I can also do for him.

Lunch was served: Alberta beef sandwiches with lots of sides: industrial size pans of potato salad, coleslaw, chips, raw veggies, and a variety of other salads as well as our fruit tray.

I also got to meet many of the other descendants of Marinus DeLoss.

Linda Christensen Salmon, Jeffrey Reed Salmon, LeRay Ralph Witbeck

I was especially glad to know my dad’s middle name was perpetuated in the family. The original spelling was like my dad’s: LaRay. However, as often happens, somewhere along the line, the spelling changed. LeRay told me there is yet another spelling somewhere in the family.

Marie Ralph Witbeck is the eldest of the cousins. LeRay is her son.

Lunch was enjoyed by all.

After lunch, the kids (and those who still felt like kids) enjoyed outside games: water balloon fight and human piňata.

One of the highlights of every reunion is the auction. DeLoss Christensen and Terry Lund did the honors. Family members donate crafts and other goods to be auctioned. This photo was taken after some of the items had been bought—including two hard copies of our book, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park. We learned in past years the bidding sometimes became intense. (Are we Lunds competitive? You bet!)

DeLoss told me he had made an “executive decision” that some of the funds raised would be used to restore the headstones in the Spring City Pioneer Cemetery.

After the auction, desserts (a few of which can be seen on the left) were served. The Lunds are also great cooks!

We spent the rest of the time looking at pictures and other memorabilia. I had planned to share my tree on Ancestry.com with them, but there was no wi-fi. It seemed strange to find many stretches where it simply didn’t exist.

Terry Lund had salvaged the door from the family ranch before it was flooded. (The original ranch no longer exists.) He brought it to show us. In the photo with me are Linda’s daughter, Alita Salmon Laurie, and her husband, Evan Remington Laurie. Alita did her Mormon mission in Japan, so we had fun talking with her.

When we were cleaning up and getting ready to leave, Terry said we had to stop by his house, just a few blocks away, to see his “stuff.” His house should be a museum. His father and two others in the family were world champion rodeo riders. He has dozens of their silver belt buckles, several saddles and lots of other memorabilia. What a treat to see it!

DC Lund’s watercolor of the family ranch

Our trip wasn’t over yet, however.

To be continued…

Canada 2019 – Part 2

July 5, 2019

The first day of the reunion wouldn’t start until about 5:30 p.m. on Friday, so we had the morning to ourselves.

I had taken my Mickey Mouse jacket—my favorite piece of clothing. However, the zipper had been giving me a bad time, and it finally broke. The weather reports I had looked at a couple of weeks earlier had said it would be hot. By the time we arrived, the prediction was for cool weather with a chance of rain. So, I needed a warm replacement for Mickey.

We also needed to take a salad or dessert for Saturday’s meal, and I had discovered there was a Costco in Lethbridge, where we were staying.

After breakfast, we headed out to shop. We had free wi-fi at the hotel, so I programmed the address on my phone. While we drove to Costco, it rained. However, it had pretty well stopped by the time we arrived. We decided on a large fruit tray since it could be either a salad or dessert.

Then we went on to Walmart. It drizzled on the way, so in addition to some toiletries and a hooded sweatshirt with “Canada” on the front, we picked up a small travel umbrella. Larry had intended to throw one of ours into his suitcase, but he forgot. Of course, by the time we walked out, the umbrella was no longer needed. (We never used it…)

Since by then it was two o’clock, we were hungry and decided to find somewhere for lunch. We drove around until we spotted a breakfast/lunch place. What a find!

Cora had a terrific menu. Everything looked good. I ordered their veggie skillet: vegetables (with no mushrooms) covered with melted cheese and a bechamel sauce. Larry had the fruit crepe—a HUGE crepe! It was served on a platter, and the crepe hung over the ends. The fruit was covered in warm custard, and three huge mounds of whipped cream perched on top. He was a really happy camper. So was I. We had hoped to get back there before we left, but we never made it. Wish they had locations here in California.

We put the fruit tray in the mini-refrigerator in our room, and then headed out for the reunion at Centennial Reunion Park in Sterling.

Through the years, traditions had been established. The first was dinner on Friday night: hot dogs and watermelon, followed by “flap jacks.” I have always used this term to refer to pancakes, but the family also calls these “Navajo Fry Bread.” More about them later.

One of the first people I spotted was Marilynn, who had invited us. It was nice to see a friendly face. She showed us where to go. Even though the event was held in a park, it had a great building with large kitchen, dining area, and restrooms.

Several of the attendees and their families camped, and the park had facilities both for tents and RVs. I don’t camp. Last year, I even wrote a blog about why.

Larry helped set up the tables while I signed us in and introduced myself. Everyone wore nametags (thank goodness). Each of the members of DeLoss’s family also indicated which of his children they were descended from. I wrote my grandfather’s name, and had to explain the relationship several times. Larry just wrote “Lorna’s husband.”

The hot dogs were grilled, served with all the trimmings, and dinner began amid lots of visiting.

Later on, the bread dough was brought out and torn into pieces about the size of small pancakes, thinner in the middle and thicker around the edges. They were fried in lard. (The gals all swore this was the secret.) Several sauces were  available: maple syrup, honey, golden syrup (the best), corn syrup with cinnamon, and several others. Of course, Larry had to try them all.

The ladies kept making these until all of the dough was cooked. They decided not to bring as much dough to the next one! However, I think all of these treats were eaten.

Then a fire was built in the fire ring. Of course, marshmallows and toasting forks came out, and everyone ended up sticky.

Since the sun doesn’t set until around ten at night, the group didn’t start to break up until about then.

We returned to the hotel to rest and anticipate meeting even more of the relatives on Saturday.

To be continued…