Rosalyn Ingram Lesh passed away last Sunday afternoon peacefully and quietly at the age of 42, after an extended illness. She was remembered by her family and friends in Yuma on Thursday, 7 May 2009. There was a large attendance, many more than we had expected, with many from the past there to pay their respects to her. The service was very touching, with a thoughtful life story by Janie Parry, a sweet expression from her son, Brian, who flew in from Hawaii to take part, and his lovely Hawaiian song to his Dear Mother. Then Bishop Bruce Wallace gave a beautiful gospel discourse on the plan of salvation, life, death, and the future life of our loved ones. Jan Ellsworth Jackson then gave a very beautiful vocal solo. In all, this was a beautiful tribute to Rosalyn.
She was transported from Yuma, AZ to Logan, UT, for interment near her grandparents and others of her relatives. Others of her family and friends gathered in the Logan City Cemetery today, Saturday, 9 May 2009, to pay their respects, as she was laid to rest. We all then gathered at an LDS Ward House, for a luncheon and to exchange remembrances of Rosalyn. Much love and good feelings were expressed by those present.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Let us remember those who have served and sacrificed
By ROBERT E. L. INGRAM
It is important for us to remember those who are serving in uniform, those who have served and those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. I remember the time when I stood before that black wall of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D. C., with the 58,000 names of those who died in Vietnam—including, among many others, the name of Bravie Soto of Somerton.
I remember the time I stood before the white wall with the 1,600 names of those who died on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.
I remember the times when I stood before the forest of white stones at the national cemeteries in Arlington, VA, and in the Punch Bowl in Hawaii.
I remember the time when I stood before the Tomb of the Unknowns and watched the steady pacing of the vigilant sentry of the honor guard there.
I remember the many who have struggled for the freedoms which we enjoy. The price that has been paid through the years for our right to be free is not to be forgotten, nor are we to fail when the bill falls due again.
I remember the many times men and women have stood and fallen—the brave farmers at Concord Bridge, Boston, Long Island, Princeton at Chriatmas time, the winter at Valley Forge, in the trenches at Yorktown, at Lundy’s Lane, Fort McHenry and before New Orleans.
And those who stood at Manassas Junction, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Vicksburg, in gthe Wilderness, at Petersburg, and at Appamatox Court House.
And the men of the USS Maine and those who charged up San Juan Hill, The battles of the Marne, Meuse, the Argonne, Chateau Thiery.
I remember Pearl Harbor, Manila, Bataan, Corregidor, Wake Island, Tulagi, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Midway, Leyte, Lingayen Gulf, Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, crossin the Arno, Normandy at Omaha, Utah, Sword, and Gold Beaches, the Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge, the bridge at Remagen and crossing the Rhein and the historic meeting with the Red Army along the Elbe. And the Pusan perimeter, the Inchon landing, Hamhung, Chosen, Hue, Lang San, Mae Ly.
All around the world, valiantly they stood and fought for the right as they understood the right.
To this list I can add those who took part in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Somolia and Haiti.
These were the days when uncommon valor was a common possession.
On November 11, 1918 on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the end of the "War to End All Wars" was marked. This date must continue to remind us of the great cost of freedom and that this precious possession cannot long survive without at least a common desire to see it stand.
All those who share its benefits must stand ready to come to its defense. Even though it is not perfect, it is the best system in the whole world and we can do our best to see that it is perfected!
Robert E. L. Ingram is a Yuma resident.
By ROBERT E. L. INGRAM
It is important for us to remember those who are serving in uniform, those who have served and those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. I remember the time when I stood before that black wall of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D. C., with the 58,000 names of those who died in Vietnam—including, among many others, the name of Bravie Soto of Somerton.
I remember the time I stood before the white wall with the 1,600 names of those who died on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.
I remember the times when I stood before the forest of white stones at the national cemeteries in Arlington, VA, and in the Punch Bowl in Hawaii.
I remember the time when I stood before the Tomb of the Unknowns and watched the steady pacing of the vigilant sentry of the honor guard there.
I remember the many who have struggled for the freedoms which we enjoy. The price that has been paid through the years for our right to be free is not to be forgotten, nor are we to fail when the bill falls due again.
I remember the many times men and women have stood and fallen—the brave farmers at Concord Bridge, Boston, Long Island, Princeton at Chriatmas time, the winter at Valley Forge, in the trenches at Yorktown, at Lundy’s Lane, Fort McHenry and before New Orleans.
And those who stood at Manassas Junction, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Vicksburg, in gthe Wilderness, at Petersburg, and at Appamatox Court House.
And the men of the USS Maine and those who charged up San Juan Hill, The battles of the Marne, Meuse, the Argonne, Chateau Thiery.
I remember Pearl Harbor, Manila, Bataan, Corregidor, Wake Island, Tulagi, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Midway, Leyte, Lingayen Gulf, Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, crossin the Arno, Normandy at Omaha, Utah, Sword, and Gold Beaches, the Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge, the bridge at Remagen and crossing the Rhein and the historic meeting with the Red Army along the Elbe. And the Pusan perimeter, the Inchon landing, Hamhung, Chosen, Hue, Lang San, Mae Ly.
All around the world, valiantly they stood and fought for the right as they understood the right.
To this list I can add those who took part in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Somolia and Haiti.
These were the days when uncommon valor was a common possession.
On November 11, 1918 on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the end of the "War to End All Wars" was marked. This date must continue to remind us of the great cost of freedom and that this precious possession cannot long survive without at least a common desire to see it stand.
All those who share its benefits must stand ready to come to its defense. Even though it is not perfect, it is the best system in the whole world and we can do our best to see that it is perfected!
Robert E. L. Ingram is a Yuma resident.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Ingram Chronicle
Vol.4 No. 3
It's been a while since my last effort, but here goes again.
We had a very fine visit with all the Utah family on our trip to Saint George, Salt Lake City, and Jackson. We had a fun time sharing Saint George with Monika and her children. While there, we took in shows at Tuacahn Theater for the presentation of "Peter Pan", which was, as expected, very well done and very professional, and at the Saint George Theater for the presentation of "The Sound of Music", also very enjoyable.
Rosalyn has had her first course of chemotherapy as directed by Dr. Kenneth McClain of BCM, Houston, and Dr. Giangreco, Yuma. She has had a significant reduction in the external signs of the histiocytosis X, but with some serious side effects, such as weakness and loss of equilibrium in walking, some numbness in her face, arms, hands and feet, and significant fluid retention or edema. We are hoping that the second chemotherapy series will continue her improvement in her total health. Her doctors are quite concerned for her continuing health.
Brian found a local fellow who had a 21-foot Windstar Mark 22 sloop (single-masted sailboat) for sale at the surprisingly low price of $1500.00 for the boat and trailer! We made the purchase in November and the boat is parked in the back yard. Brian has been quite busy getting the boat in shipshape and sea-worthy order. Brian has named the sloop for his mother, the "Rosalyn." He did take the boat out to Senator's Wash reservoir for a trial sail--he and his buddies had to tow the boat back across the water to the launching ramp, swimming and rowing the boat--didn't understand how to tack her upwind! He has hopes of someday sailing it in the Gulf of California (Mar de Cortez)--after learning better how to control the craft. He has a small outboard motor--6 hp--as an auxiliary propulsion power, but it might not be quite powerful enough to push her about as needed.
Mother and I went over to San Diego for a Missionary Reunion with the San Diego Region Employment people and had a fine visit with all those that we knew from our Church Service Mission. We helped prepare the desserts by mother cutting the pies and placing them on plates and I placed the plates on the tables for the selection--pumpkin and apple pies, and a blueberry cream cheese cake. Yummmm! Kirk Draper, the Regional Office Manager is quite special, and we are grateful for his great assistance in getting the Arizona Yuma Stake Employment Center up and going. We do enjoy working with the Mesa Regional Office now, since the Yuma Stake has been fully moved into the Southwest US Region, from the San Diego Region.
I've been quite busy with setting up and holding Eagle Scout Boards of Review for the local Scout District, Ocotillo District. I think that we have had some 20 to 25 Eagle Scouts over this year! That is something for a district with only about 1400 to 1500 Cubs, Scouts, Varsity, and Venturers. We keep trying to serve even more young boys and young men, to share the good influence of Scouting with as many as possible.
We are presently preparing to hold another Family History Seminar, in January, and have had some 60+ registered already! We have some very good instructors and programs lined up for that Saturday.
I keep looking for any leads that I can find on our own family history, and hope that someone will continue the search after me, since this is a never ending enterprise. I have looked over the old listings that I have, and have sought to establish any remaining names of people who need to be processed and served. There are many collateral lines that need polishing, and I am seeking any and all possible support on these pursuits.
Well, this issue is all text so far, without the usual pictures, but I don't seem to have the ones I was looking for with me now. I shall try to include any I locate in a later Chronicle.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Love,
Dad
Vol.4 No. 3
It's been a while since my last effort, but here goes again.
We had a very fine visit with all the Utah family on our trip to Saint George, Salt Lake City, and Jackson. We had a fun time sharing Saint George with Monika and her children. While there, we took in shows at Tuacahn Theater for the presentation of "Peter Pan", which was, as expected, very well done and very professional, and at the Saint George Theater for the presentation of "The Sound of Music", also very enjoyable.
Rosalyn has had her first course of chemotherapy as directed by Dr. Kenneth McClain of BCM, Houston, and Dr. Giangreco, Yuma. She has had a significant reduction in the external signs of the histiocytosis X, but with some serious side effects, such as weakness and loss of equilibrium in walking, some numbness in her face, arms, hands and feet, and significant fluid retention or edema. We are hoping that the second chemotherapy series will continue her improvement in her total health. Her doctors are quite concerned for her continuing health.
Brian found a local fellow who had a 21-foot Windstar Mark 22 sloop (single-masted sailboat) for sale at the surprisingly low price of $1500.00 for the boat and trailer! We made the purchase in November and the boat is parked in the back yard. Brian has been quite busy getting the boat in shipshape and sea-worthy order. Brian has named the sloop for his mother, the "Rosalyn." He did take the boat out to Senator's Wash reservoir for a trial sail--he and his buddies had to tow the boat back across the water to the launching ramp, swimming and rowing the boat--didn't understand how to tack her upwind! He has hopes of someday sailing it in the Gulf of California (Mar de Cortez)--after learning better how to control the craft. He has a small outboard motor--6 hp--as an auxiliary propulsion power, but it might not be quite powerful enough to push her about as needed.
Mother and I went over to San Diego for a Missionary Reunion with the San Diego Region Employment people and had a fine visit with all those that we knew from our Church Service Mission. We helped prepare the desserts by mother cutting the pies and placing them on plates and I placed the plates on the tables for the selection--pumpkin and apple pies, and a blueberry cream cheese cake. Yummmm! Kirk Draper, the Regional Office Manager is quite special, and we are grateful for his great assistance in getting the Arizona Yuma Stake Employment Center up and going. We do enjoy working with the Mesa Regional Office now, since the Yuma Stake has been fully moved into the Southwest US Region, from the San Diego Region.
I've been quite busy with setting up and holding Eagle Scout Boards of Review for the local Scout District, Ocotillo District. I think that we have had some 20 to 25 Eagle Scouts over this year! That is something for a district with only about 1400 to 1500 Cubs, Scouts, Varsity, and Venturers. We keep trying to serve even more young boys and young men, to share the good influence of Scouting with as many as possible.
We are presently preparing to hold another Family History Seminar, in January, and have had some 60+ registered already! We have some very good instructors and programs lined up for that Saturday.
I keep looking for any leads that I can find on our own family history, and hope that someone will continue the search after me, since this is a never ending enterprise. I have looked over the old listings that I have, and have sought to establish any remaining names of people who need to be processed and served. There are many collateral lines that need polishing, and I am seeking any and all possible support on these pursuits.
Well, this issue is all text so far, without the usual pictures, but I don't seem to have the ones I was looking for with me now. I shall try to include any I locate in a later Chronicle.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Love,
Dad
Ingram Chronicle
Vol.4 No. 2
Hello! We are still here on this good green earth. We haven't gone off into a black hole somewhere in space. We've been rather busy with a wide variety of things. Gerry and I are approaching our fiftieth wedding anniversary, this week. We will be going to San Diego, to the temple for our celebration, looking to enjoy a few days there, before we begin our summer trip to Saint George and Jackson, WY. We will be stopping briefly in SLC, to look in on the families there. Most of our time will be visiting the condos and those areas. There will be more to report later on.
The Yuma Sun ran an article about the coming anniversary--noted by quite a number of our friends--but they had a rather large number of typos in the article--they misspelled mother's name (Gery Lynn instead of Geryl Lynn) and omitted Harold and Monika from the list of our children. I've made contact with the editor--Terry Ross--for a correction to be entered into the paper, but haven't seen it yet.
We will spend over a week in St George, from July 19th through the 28th, the n a few days in SLC and Beaver Dam, before we go on to Jackson, WY, from August 3rd through the 10th. We will then return to Yuma, for a variety of medical appointments, etc., before Rosalyn and I travel off to Houston, to visit Baylor Medical College, to have her "histiocytosis" condition examined by Dr. Kenneth McClain, who is said to be an outstanding specialist in this condition. We hope that this can be a great step in controlling her condition. We can hope for the best.
BMC is rated as one of the best schools and research institutions in the Southwestern US. It was headed a number of years ago by Dr Michael DeBakey, of heart transplant renown. It has continued to be a leading Medical School from the very beginning, years ago, in Dallas, where it was associated with Baylor Hospital and Baylor University at Waco. They moved to Houston in 1943, and were made independent of the University shortly thereafter. We hope that we are going with another "A" team, like Dr. Robert Spetzler, at Phoenix's Barrow Neurological Institute of St Joseph's Hospital, where Rosalyn had her brain surgery several years ago.
We have a very busy summer before us. We hope to see many of you in the next few weeks.
Vol.4 No. 2
Hello! We are still here on this good green earth. We haven't gone off into a black hole somewhere in space. We've been rather busy with a wide variety of things. Gerry and I are approaching our fiftieth wedding anniversary, this week. We will be going to San Diego, to the temple for our celebration, looking to enjoy a few days there, before we begin our summer trip to Saint George and Jackson, WY. We will be stopping briefly in SLC, to look in on the families there. Most of our time will be visiting the condos and those areas. There will be more to report later on.
The Yuma Sun ran an article about the coming anniversary--noted by quite a number of our friends--but they had a rather large number of typos in the article--they misspelled mother's name (Gery Lynn instead of Geryl Lynn) and omitted Harold and Monika from the list of our children. I've made contact with the editor--Terry Ross--for a correction to be entered into the paper, but haven't seen it yet.We will spend over a week in St George, from July 19th through the 28th, the n a few days in SLC and Beaver Dam, before we go on to Jackson, WY, from August 3rd through the 10th. We will then return to Yuma, for a variety of medical appointments, etc., before Rosalyn and I travel off to Houston, to visit Baylor Medical College, to have her "histiocytosis" condition examined by Dr. Kenneth McClain, who is said to be an outstanding specialist in this condition. We hope that this can be a great step in controlling her condition. We can hope for the best.
BMC is rated as one of the best schools and research institutions in the Southwestern US. It was headed a number of years ago by Dr Michael DeBakey, of heart transplant renown. It has continued to be a leading Medical School from the very beginning, years ago, in Dallas, where it was associated with Baylor Hospital and Baylor University at Waco. They moved to Houston in 1943, and were made independent of the University shortly thereafter. We hope that we are going with another "A" team, like Dr. Robert Spetzler, at Phoenix's Barrow Neurological Institute of St Joseph's Hospital, where Rosalyn had her brain surgery several years ago.
We have a very busy summer before us. We hope to see many of you in the next few weeks.
Ingram Chronicle
Vol.4 No. 1
Hello again! I've been rather occupied with a variety of events here and there. At the end of last year, your mother and I spent some time in Colonial Williamsburg and Fredericksburg, Virginia, seeing the colonial reconstructions and visiting the Virginia Ingrams. We had a really good time, both in the Williamsburg area, visiting Jamestown and Yorktown as well as CW, and in Fredericksburg with the baptism of Noah Ingram.
We had a real fine visit with all these fine family and friends.
We then went north to visit with the Fonnesbeck family and continue the process of clearing the old family home of relics and things. We still have a variety of things in the back of the white pickup that have no space at home.
We also had a fine gathering for Christmas in the Salt Lake City area, with the Torres' family and the Lamb family. We also had a nice visit with the Bennett family for your Aunt Genevieve's 80th birthday--with the families of Caroline Ugolini, Keith Bennett and Julie Halterman. We all gathered at Gena and Clyde's house to celebrate the occasion. Bob and Marcia and their bunch we+and+Jennifer+Smart.JPG)
re also there to help with the celebration. The event was very special.
Vol.4 No. 1
Hello again! I've been rather occupied with a variety of events here and there. At the end of last year, your mother and I spent some time in Colonial Williamsburg and Fredericksburg, Virginia, seeing the colonial reconstructions and visiting the Virginia Ingrams. We had a really good time, both in the Williamsburg area, visiting Jamestown and Yorktown as well as CW, and in Fredericksburg with the baptism of Noah Ingram.
We had a real fine visit with all these fine family and friends.
We then went north to visit with the Fonnesbeck family and continue the process of clearing the old family home of relics and things. We still have a variety of things in the back of the white pickup that have no space at home.
We also had a fine gathering for Christmas in the Salt Lake City area, with the Torres' family and the Lamb family. We also had a nice visit with the Bennett family for your Aunt Genevieve's 80th birthday--with the families of Caroline Ugolini, Keith Bennett and Julie Halterman. We all gathered at Gena and Clyde's house to celebrate the occasion. Bob and Marcia and their bunch we+and+Jennifer+Smart.JPG)
re also there to help with the celebration. The event was very special.Genevieve Bennett and Gerry and Mathew Ingram in SLC.
Tim Smart as Santa Clause and Jennifer with their new baby girl.
As the New Year began, we had some pleasant events here. Brian had his Eagle Scout Court of Honor with all the trimmings, with quite a gathering of friends and family. We had quite a number there to see the achievement as an accomplished fact! We are still hoping that Stephen Ess will pursue the same course and complete his work toward his Eagle Scout Award, also. We gave your Mother an Eagle Scarf with stars for the four sons and four grandsons who have earned their Eagle Scout Awards. The scarves are from the Great Salt Lake Council.I remain quite involved with the Stake Employment Center and the Family History Center, along with continuing as the Ocotillo District Eagle Scout Board of Review Chairman.
Last year, the Ocotillo District had about 24 Eagle Scout Awards earned by young men! Quite a show, for an area with only about 1000 involved in various levels of Scouting!
May you continue to have a good year.
Love,
Dad
Uncle Bob
Etc.
Harold and the children at Noah's baptism.
Ingram Chronicle
Vol. 3 No. 6
Well, another summer is about passed. We’ve been to Utah and back now, with quite a fine visit with all our families there. We were able to make two visits to Saint George ORE, especially with Monika and the children, to see how all have grown so much. We had fine visits with Alex and Lisa, Bob and Marcia, Harold and Monika, and their children.
It was a shock to see Grandfather Frank in his last days, with his body failing him so. It was good to be able to visit with him at least a little. We were able to see the tender care that Aunt Annette and Cousin Paul were giving him in his last days, and the caring that the other Torres brothers and Lamb cousins were there to help provide him. The feelings of all the people of the Parley’s 4th Ward were very comforting for the family through the memorial service.
The interment in Logan City Cemetery was very nice, with the assistance of the mortuary staff and all. We were able to gather there after the drive up from Salt Lake City, in peace and safety.
All of the Fonnesbeck family members were able to assemble together, your mother and I, Christian and Sydney, Annette and Emerito, Kathryn and Wayne, and Robert, except that Kristine was not able to be there. She is recuperating from her auto accident—severe broken bones and strained tissues—but beginning to heal and get around the house.
Your mother and I were able to see Zion National Park from the Park Shuttle Bus. We also took our usual drive through the tunnel toward the East side of the Park, and enjoyed the scenery very much.
While in St George the first time, we saw a local production of "The Sound Of Music" in the round as performed by the St George Musical Theater group. The casting was very good, Maria, the Baron von Trapp, and the Mother Superior were in very good voice. The Nazis were the ones you could really hate! It was an outstanding production.
We also took Rosalyn, Monika, and the kids to see "The Beauty And The Beast" at Tuahcan Outdoor Theater near Ivins, but the performance got rained out part way through—with lightning and thunder and all—just not safe for the cast or the patrons!
Brian drove my pickup truck up to Salt Lake City to visit, and was able to attend the memorial service for Grandfather. He brought a friend, TJ, to be with him on the road, so when they were to take Rosalyn back with them, they had to trade the pickup for the van, and your mother and I drove it back to Yuma when we came home.
There is much to do to take care of all the family heirlooms in the house on South 20th East, to close the home of some sixty some years. There are many memories that prevail in the walls and rooms of the place. Many happy and sad moments have transpired there. The sharing of many little things were of importance, to have mementos and relics of lives lived in full, and the great love that filled the rooms and all. The little Hummel figures that filled the mantle above the fireplace were treasures to be shared among the daughters and granddaughters. Pictures and other items will be shared through the family, to remain as reminders to all of the great love that was shared there.
We are back at work here in Yuma, doing those things that need to be done about the house. We've had several wet monsoon rains in the area, some really wetting down the neighborhoods. Fortunately, we were in the house as the rains started, so we didn't have to venture out and get really wet—the cars were closed up and safe from the downpour! We went out on the front porch to see the rain up close and personal without getting too exposed. The rain was a pleasant relief from the usual August heat—but the humidity can get unbearable!
Well, this will be all for this edition.
Love, Dad
Vol. 3 No. 6
Well, another summer is about passed. We’ve been to Utah and back now, with quite a fine visit with all our families there. We were able to make two visits to Saint George ORE, especially with Monika and the children, to see how all have grown so much. We had fine visits with Alex and Lisa, Bob and Marcia, Harold and Monika, and their children.
It was a shock to see Grandfather Frank in his last days, with his body failing him so. It was good to be able to visit with him at least a little. We were able to see the tender care that Aunt Annette and Cousin Paul were giving him in his last days, and the caring that the other Torres brothers and Lamb cousins were there to help provide him. The feelings of all the people of the Parley’s 4th Ward were very comforting for the family through the memorial service.
The interment in Logan City Cemetery was very nice, with the assistance of the mortuary staff and all. We were able to gather there after the drive up from Salt Lake City, in peace and safety.
All of the Fonnesbeck family members were able to assemble together, your mother and I, Christian and Sydney, Annette and Emerito, Kathryn and Wayne, and Robert, except that Kristine was not able to be there. She is recuperating from her auto accident—severe broken bones and strained tissues—but beginning to heal and get around the house.
Your mother and I were able to see Zion National Park from the Park Shuttle Bus. We also took our usual drive through the tunnel toward the East side of the Park, and enjoyed the scenery very much.
While in St George the first time, we saw a local production of "The Sound Of Music" in the round as performed by the St George Musical Theater group. The casting was very good, Maria, the Baron von Trapp, and the Mother Superior were in very good voice. The Nazis were the ones you could really hate! It was an outstanding production.
We also took Rosalyn, Monika, and the kids to see "The Beauty And The Beast" at Tuahcan Outdoor Theater near Ivins, but the performance got rained out part way through—with lightning and thunder and all—just not safe for the cast or the patrons!
Brian drove my pickup truck up to Salt Lake City to visit, and was able to attend the memorial service for Grandfather. He brought a friend, TJ, to be with him on the road, so when they were to take Rosalyn back with them, they had to trade the pickup for the van, and your mother and I drove it back to Yuma when we came home.
There is much to do to take care of all the family heirlooms in the house on South 20th East, to close the home of some sixty some years. There are many memories that prevail in the walls and rooms of the place. Many happy and sad moments have transpired there. The sharing of many little things were of importance, to have mementos and relics of lives lived in full, and the great love that filled the rooms and all. The little Hummel figures that filled the mantle above the fireplace were treasures to be shared among the daughters and granddaughters. Pictures and other items will be shared through the family, to remain as reminders to all of the great love that was shared there.
We are back at work here in Yuma, doing those things that need to be done about the house. We've had several wet monsoon rains in the area, some really wetting down the neighborhoods. Fortunately, we were in the house as the rains started, so we didn't have to venture out and get really wet—the cars were closed up and safe from the downpour! We went out on the front porch to see the rain up close and personal without getting too exposed. The rain was a pleasant relief from the usual August heat—but the humidity can get unbearable!
Well, this will be all for this edition.
Love, Dad
Ingram Chronicle
Vol. 3 No. 5
Continuing the experiences of the Atomic Veteran, with reference to "Operation Castle" and my experiences there, I need to review the experiences of some others, who were more seriously exposed after the very first event.
The USS Pasig (AW-3) had made a delivery of fresh water to the Air Force Base on Eniwetak Island and the Atomic Energy Commission contractor facility on Parry Island at Eniwetak Atoll. She was a special ship that was called on to ferry fresh water to ships and stations that didn't have adequate fresh water supplies of their own. She was sailing directly back to Pearl Harbor. She was scheduled to take on another load of water for the complexes in the test area. She was about 700 nautical miles down wind from the Ground Zero on Bikini Atoll, as the first test event took place. While we in the Sioux made our sampling runs under the fallout cloud, the Pasig was steaming serenely along, unaware of the load of radioactive materials accumulating on her topsides. After the Sioux had reported our experience of that day, the Pasig was surveyed, and discovered that they had a large amount of fallout on deck and in their living spaces, tracked in by crewmen doing their ordinary duties. They had to take some very serious work, to reduce the effected spaces. They were somewhat successful, without any crew members being severely injured by their exposure to the fall out.
About 50 nautical miles further away, from the Pasig, the Japanese fishing boat, Fortunate Dragon, was blithely fishing for albacore tuna, in the Central Pacific, in an area thought to be well away from the test zone. The crew of fishermen continued their labors, collecting a large catch of the tuna, and noticed the appearance of a flaky white powder on their ship and catch. They were sustaining themselves by eating some of their fresh catch—along with the flaky white powder—and ingesting very large doses of radioactive materials. Many of these Japanese fishermen died a horrible death from the ingested materials.
I don't remember the name of the small "jeep" carrier that was a part of the Task Group, but there were several helicopters from a Marine unit aboard her. The Marines were wearing their regular "fatigue" dress—with the wide band of fabric above the belt, with the tops tucked inside their pants tops. This produced an outward folding lip on their trouser tops, which became a perfect collection point for the "hot" fallout from the event cloud. Several Marines ended up getting an early release and quick flight back to the States, for emergency surgery, to remove the radiation burns that cropped up about their waists!
While out at Eniwetak Atoll, I was able to make a connection with the LDS group on the Air Base there, and to attend several Sunday services. I had the opportunity to exercise my Priesthood, as a Deacon, since most of the Air Force fellows were returned Missionaries, and had been drafted through Selective Services! I was the only AP there, and they were kind enough to allow me to be of active use as I was able to meet with them. That was a good time--since I was the only member of the Church on the Sioux! I did a lot of reading of the Bible and Book of Mormon while we were cruising there.
I was always glad to be able to visit with the Church in ports, particularly in San Diego--I usually visited the North Park Stake wards--I had encountered the members through their service, by assignment, to the Recruit Training Station, to provide services on that Naval Station. On the USS Haven, there were two of us, myself and the ship's Communications Officer, who was a full Lieutenant--we didn't have much to do with each other on board--Church-wise--since he was OIC over the radio and electronic people of the Haven.
While we were at sea, there were few opportunities to attend Church services--although we did have a Catholic Chaplain on the Haven, the Sioux was much too small to rate any such an officer. I had established some contacts with the Church in both San Diego and San Francisco, where I was able to meet with the good people whenever I was in either port over a Sunday.
I have to laugh at the turn of events at the Presidio in SF, where the OIC of the 6th Army Communications Center was a Colonel Stewart, who was LDS, and who was kind enough to take me on a tour of his huge radio facility there. He was a full "bird" and I was a Seaman Apprentice (E-2), at the time. While walking about the Presidio, he placed me under "arrest," which required me to remove my white hat and walk directly beside him, where he could immediately supervise me. This was the result of meeting all the junior Army officers and exchanging salutes. Such protocol! I really enjoyed seeing the types of equipment that the 6th Army was using to handle their traffic with the forces in the Far East and with the Pentagon in DC!
Vol. 3 No. 5
Continuing the experiences of the Atomic Veteran, with reference to "Operation Castle" and my experiences there, I need to review the experiences of some others, who were more seriously exposed after the very first event.
The USS Pasig (AW-3) had made a delivery of fresh water to the Air Force Base on Eniwetak Island and the Atomic Energy Commission contractor facility on Parry Island at Eniwetak Atoll. She was a special ship that was called on to ferry fresh water to ships and stations that didn't have adequate fresh water supplies of their own. She was sailing directly back to Pearl Harbor. She was scheduled to take on another load of water for the complexes in the test area. She was about 700 nautical miles down wind from the Ground Zero on Bikini Atoll, as the first test event took place. While we in the Sioux made our sampling runs under the fallout cloud, the Pasig was steaming serenely along, unaware of the load of radioactive materials accumulating on her topsides. After the Sioux had reported our experience of that day, the Pasig was surveyed, and discovered that they had a large amount of fallout on deck and in their living spaces, tracked in by crewmen doing their ordinary duties. They had to take some very serious work, to reduce the effected spaces. They were somewhat successful, without any crew members being severely injured by their exposure to the fall out.
About 50 nautical miles further away, from the Pasig, the Japanese fishing boat, Fortunate Dragon, was blithely fishing for albacore tuna, in the Central Pacific, in an area thought to be well away from the test zone. The crew of fishermen continued their labors, collecting a large catch of the tuna, and noticed the appearance of a flaky white powder on their ship and catch. They were sustaining themselves by eating some of their fresh catch—along with the flaky white powder—and ingesting very large doses of radioactive materials. Many of these Japanese fishermen died a horrible death from the ingested materials.
I don't remember the name of the small "jeep" carrier that was a part of the Task Group, but there were several helicopters from a Marine unit aboard her. The Marines were wearing their regular "fatigue" dress—with the wide band of fabric above the belt, with the tops tucked inside their pants tops. This produced an outward folding lip on their trouser tops, which became a perfect collection point for the "hot" fallout from the event cloud. Several Marines ended up getting an early release and quick flight back to the States, for emergency surgery, to remove the radiation burns that cropped up about their waists!
While out at Eniwetak Atoll, I was able to make a connection with the LDS group on the Air Base there, and to attend several Sunday services. I had the opportunity to exercise my Priesthood, as a Deacon, since most of the Air Force fellows were returned Missionaries, and had been drafted through Selective Services! I was the only AP there, and they were kind enough to allow me to be of active use as I was able to meet with them. That was a good time--since I was the only member of the Church on the Sioux! I did a lot of reading of the Bible and Book of Mormon while we were cruising there.
I was always glad to be able to visit with the Church in ports, particularly in San Diego--I usually visited the North Park Stake wards--I had encountered the members through their service, by assignment, to the Recruit Training Station, to provide services on that Naval Station. On the USS Haven, there were two of us, myself and the ship's Communications Officer, who was a full Lieutenant--we didn't have much to do with each other on board--Church-wise--since he was OIC over the radio and electronic people of the Haven.
While we were at sea, there were few opportunities to attend Church services--although we did have a Catholic Chaplain on the Haven, the Sioux was much too small to rate any such an officer. I had established some contacts with the Church in both San Diego and San Francisco, where I was able to meet with the good people whenever I was in either port over a Sunday.
I have to laugh at the turn of events at the Presidio in SF, where the OIC of the 6th Army Communications Center was a Colonel Stewart, who was LDS, and who was kind enough to take me on a tour of his huge radio facility there. He was a full "bird" and I was a Seaman Apprentice (E-2), at the time. While walking about the Presidio, he placed me under "arrest," which required me to remove my white hat and walk directly beside him, where he could immediately supervise me. This was the result of meeting all the junior Army officers and exchanging salutes. Such protocol! I really enjoyed seeing the types of equipment that the 6th Army was using to handle their traffic with the forces in the Far East and with the Pentagon in DC!
Ingram Chronicle
Vol. 3 No. 4
Time for a further addition to the Chronicle. This is a long story that I felt needed to be told to all of you. I was asked about being an Atomic Veteran—one of those exposed to the products of atmospheric atomic and thermonuclear bomb testing while on official duty by Adrian Groggett, who is now a part-time faculty member in Welding Technology at AWC.
To get with the story….
While I was serving in the USS Sioux (ATF-75), we were attached to a US Navy Task Group for Operation Castle in the areas surrounding the atolls of Eniwetak and Bikini in the Central Pacific.
I was selected to be the courier for the ship, and had to be checked by the FBI for my background (criminal connections, etc.). Some of the neighbors in Lisbon, and teachers were interviewed, to determine whether or not I would be responsible and safe to carry "Top Secret" documents and other secure mails between the Sioux and other points, as if I would be able to convey these items any where else—there were no other places to transfer them to any "enemy" while on station with the Sioux. The neighbors and teachers contacted Mom after their interviews and asked what kind of trouble I might be in, as they only thought of the FBI as crime-fighters!
We had to have all cameras, binoculars, and any other optical devices surrendered to the ship for securing during the time on the Pacific Test Station surrounding the atolls. Thus, I have no personal pictures of the locations or events that took place.
I was sent to a Radiological Safety (Class "B") School at the Naval Receiving Station, San Diego, for two weeks to learn the latest on radiological safety. I was designated as the "Radiological Safety Petty Officer (RSPO)" by the Captain of the Sioux, and had to train several other PO's in the necessary "care and feeding" of our various devices for measuring our exposure to radiation.
The Sioux was rigged with fire-hoses and fog applicator wands, as a jury-rigging for the planned atomic fall-out wash-down system. These devices could spray seawater over the ship's topsides, from high on the mast to the water-line, to provide a means of removing any sediment or other material that might be produced by the proposed nuclear devices and explosive events.
We sailed from San Diego around the first of May 1954, to the test area through Pearl Harbor to Eniwetak Atoll. The Operation Castle was scheduled for some 13 weeks and about 14 nuclear events. During the voyage, we picked up a group of oceanographic scientists from the Scripps Oceanographic Institute at La Jolla, California. We would provide the necessary support to their efforts to collect information on the extent, amount, and nature of the "fall-out" from the test explosions. We were provided with a World War II Radio Direction Finder unit for helping to locate sampling buoys deployed before each test event, each buoy was intended to trap any materials from the event. We would also take samples at various depths in the ocean through lowering a string of "Nansen flasks" on a wire line, to a depth of about 1000 feet, I think, not to 1000 fathoms—I don't think that little wire was nearly that long! We would rig about ten flasks at distances of 100 feet, deploy the string and drop a messenger weight down the line to trip the flasks at their depths. We would then retrieve the flasks, empty the water into sterile bottles, seal each with wax, and on returning to the lagoon at Eniwetak, send them off by air to San Diego and La Jolla.
As we were cruising away from "Ground Zero" for each test event, we would sail about 40 nautical miles to windward with the rest of the Task Group, and take station well away from the scheduled event. After the test had been fired, the other ships of the Task Group would sail further away from the test site, while the Sioux would sail back past the test location, to collect samples down wind from the test event site. I would set the radiological safety (RadSafe) Watch as we entered the area of fall-out, to collect the samples as requested by the scientists. I always had the first watch, and would patrol the ship until the radiation level became strong enough that I would start the rotation with the other PO's through the period of exposure, limited to periods of about 30 minutes at a time. As each of us come inboard from our patrol duty, we immediately went through our decontamination routine. We would strip off all clothes, including head covers and socks, place them in the ship's washing machine to be washed twice, and take a fast series of showers and checks for any contamination in our hair and extremities, repeating the wash-down until the test instruments showed us to be free of all contamination. During these operations, we had to have a small, select, crew on deck at times to collect the buoys as we located them and for streaming the Nansen Flask lines. Then, the crowd became a mess at the showers, since all that crew had been exposed to some fall-out! When the level of contamination reached a significant level, the Captain would order the wash-down system activated, to flush as much as possible of it over the side. After the very first try of the system, I made a survey of the top-sides with the radiation detection device, and to the dismay of all, found that the radiation level was actually higher than before the wash-down. I suggested to the Captain that the ship's fire pumps were drawing their feed water from the near surface layer of the ocean, and therefore, that layer would be heavily contaminated with the fall-out under the mushroom cloud. I suggested that we would have to sail some distance across the wind, into waters not exposed to the fall-out, in order to use "normal" seawater for the wash down. The Captain agreed and had the course changed. Sure enough, when I took readings over the bows of the Sioux, as we steamed away from the area of sampling, the level of radiation fell to very low—indicating that the ship was beyond the fall-out zone. Then, the flush down system did reduce the amount of radiation present on the ship to well below that observed under the fall-out cloud!
As we were on station away from "Ground Zero" awaiting the initiation of each event, a necessary few of our ship’s crew were allowed to be top-side at the time of the test, but to be careful to keep our backs toward the event site, facing forward, to avoid exposure to the very bright flash of the device as it exploded. We were instructed to cover our eyes with the palms of our hands, that no light would be visible to our eyes. I remember that several times, as the flash struck the ship, I was able to make out the bones in my hands, so bright was the light, reflecting off the battleship gray paint on the after bulkhead of the deckhouse of the ship!
One of our chores, as we were taking the Nansen Flask samples by the wire line, required someone to take a surface sample, by lowering a bucket on a line into the water, and retrieving it quickly. On one sampling effort, I had the line running over my wrist, and just as the bucket struck the water, it jerked the line through my hands and tore my watch off my wrist and over the side. I asked the senior scientist about replacing it, but he said that was a common failure in oceanographic sampling procedures, and such losses were to be expected—so no replacement of the watch from that source!
The Radio-Direction-Finder unit was only partly successful, since the little radios on the buoys were not very strong sources, we had to be quite close to hear them, and the lookouts would often spot the buoy before the navigator could hear it on the radio. Our electronics was nearly state-of-the-art, but still well below that required for the task at hand. So we mainly relied on good eyes to spot the buoys as we sought them after each shot!
After we had returned to the Navy Yard at San Diego, for the Sioux to be thoroughly cleansed of all residual contamination, the radiation badges of those crew whose duties had required their exposure, were sent to the Naval Radiation laboratory for processing and their readings reported to the ship. It turned out that I had a higher reading than the Captain, by a few percent. He asked me how I had been derelict in exposing myself more than he had been exposed. My answer was that I had been doing my duty in seeing that the other members of the crew were not exposed unnecessarily, that I had only been doing my duty, that my exposure was totally due to that responsibility. He then made an entry into my personnel record of his recognition of my effort in protecting my crewmates.
While the USS Sioux was still in the Yard, I was transferred to the Naval Receiving Station, San Diego, for processing for discharge from the Navy, as I was near the end of my enlistment. While at the NavRecSta, I was subjected to many hard sell attempts to get me to re-enlist—but I'd had enough sea duty, and wanted some solid land under my feet for a time. Besides, I would be eligible for the Korean War Veterans Bill of Rights—separation payments and four years of college at the expense of the Federal Government (Veterans Administration).
Thus, I was exposed to about 3 REM of radiation at this time, and as yet, have not seen any adverse effects—although I have said that I have had six beneficial mutations, the six bright children your mother and I have produced!
Vol. 3 No. 4
Time for a further addition to the Chronicle. This is a long story that I felt needed to be told to all of you. I was asked about being an Atomic Veteran—one of those exposed to the products of atmospheric atomic and thermonuclear bomb testing while on official duty by Adrian Groggett, who is now a part-time faculty member in Welding Technology at AWC.
To get with the story….
While I was serving in the USS Sioux (ATF-75), we were attached to a US Navy Task Group for Operation Castle in the areas surrounding the atolls of Eniwetak and Bikini in the Central Pacific.
I was selected to be the courier for the ship, and had to be checked by the FBI for my background (criminal connections, etc.). Some of the neighbors in Lisbon, and teachers were interviewed, to determine whether or not I would be responsible and safe to carry "Top Secret" documents and other secure mails between the Sioux and other points, as if I would be able to convey these items any where else—there were no other places to transfer them to any "enemy" while on station with the Sioux. The neighbors and teachers contacted Mom after their interviews and asked what kind of trouble I might be in, as they only thought of the FBI as crime-fighters!
We had to have all cameras, binoculars, and any other optical devices surrendered to the ship for securing during the time on the Pacific Test Station surrounding the atolls. Thus, I have no personal pictures of the locations or events that took place.
I was sent to a Radiological Safety (Class "B") School at the Naval Receiving Station, San Diego, for two weeks to learn the latest on radiological safety. I was designated as the "Radiological Safety Petty Officer (RSPO)" by the Captain of the Sioux, and had to train several other PO's in the necessary "care and feeding" of our various devices for measuring our exposure to radiation.
The Sioux was rigged with fire-hoses and fog applicator wands, as a jury-rigging for the planned atomic fall-out wash-down system. These devices could spray seawater over the ship's topsides, from high on the mast to the water-line, to provide a means of removing any sediment or other material that might be produced by the proposed nuclear devices and explosive events.
We sailed from San Diego around the first of May 1954, to the test area through Pearl Harbor to Eniwetak Atoll. The Operation Castle was scheduled for some 13 weeks and about 14 nuclear events. During the voyage, we picked up a group of oceanographic scientists from the Scripps Oceanographic Institute at La Jolla, California. We would provide the necessary support to their efforts to collect information on the extent, amount, and nature of the "fall-out" from the test explosions. We were provided with a World War II Radio Direction Finder unit for helping to locate sampling buoys deployed before each test event, each buoy was intended to trap any materials from the event. We would also take samples at various depths in the ocean through lowering a string of "Nansen flasks" on a wire line, to a depth of about 1000 feet, I think, not to 1000 fathoms—I don't think that little wire was nearly that long! We would rig about ten flasks at distances of 100 feet, deploy the string and drop a messenger weight down the line to trip the flasks at their depths. We would then retrieve the flasks, empty the water into sterile bottles, seal each with wax, and on returning to the lagoon at Eniwetak, send them off by air to San Diego and La Jolla.
As we were cruising away from "Ground Zero" for each test event, we would sail about 40 nautical miles to windward with the rest of the Task Group, and take station well away from the scheduled event. After the test had been fired, the other ships of the Task Group would sail further away from the test site, while the Sioux would sail back past the test location, to collect samples down wind from the test event site. I would set the radiological safety (RadSafe) Watch as we entered the area of fall-out, to collect the samples as requested by the scientists. I always had the first watch, and would patrol the ship until the radiation level became strong enough that I would start the rotation with the other PO's through the period of exposure, limited to periods of about 30 minutes at a time. As each of us come inboard from our patrol duty, we immediately went through our decontamination routine. We would strip off all clothes, including head covers and socks, place them in the ship's washing machine to be washed twice, and take a fast series of showers and checks for any contamination in our hair and extremities, repeating the wash-down until the test instruments showed us to be free of all contamination. During these operations, we had to have a small, select, crew on deck at times to collect the buoys as we located them and for streaming the Nansen Flask lines. Then, the crowd became a mess at the showers, since all that crew had been exposed to some fall-out! When the level of contamination reached a significant level, the Captain would order the wash-down system activated, to flush as much as possible of it over the side. After the very first try of the system, I made a survey of the top-sides with the radiation detection device, and to the dismay of all, found that the radiation level was actually higher than before the wash-down. I suggested to the Captain that the ship's fire pumps were drawing their feed water from the near surface layer of the ocean, and therefore, that layer would be heavily contaminated with the fall-out under the mushroom cloud. I suggested that we would have to sail some distance across the wind, into waters not exposed to the fall-out, in order to use "normal" seawater for the wash down. The Captain agreed and had the course changed. Sure enough, when I took readings over the bows of the Sioux, as we steamed away from the area of sampling, the level of radiation fell to very low—indicating that the ship was beyond the fall-out zone. Then, the flush down system did reduce the amount of radiation present on the ship to well below that observed under the fall-out cloud!
As we were on station away from "Ground Zero" awaiting the initiation of each event, a necessary few of our ship’s crew were allowed to be top-side at the time of the test, but to be careful to keep our backs toward the event site, facing forward, to avoid exposure to the very bright flash of the device as it exploded. We were instructed to cover our eyes with the palms of our hands, that no light would be visible to our eyes. I remember that several times, as the flash struck the ship, I was able to make out the bones in my hands, so bright was the light, reflecting off the battleship gray paint on the after bulkhead of the deckhouse of the ship!
One of our chores, as we were taking the Nansen Flask samples by the wire line, required someone to take a surface sample, by lowering a bucket on a line into the water, and retrieving it quickly. On one sampling effort, I had the line running over my wrist, and just as the bucket struck the water, it jerked the line through my hands and tore my watch off my wrist and over the side. I asked the senior scientist about replacing it, but he said that was a common failure in oceanographic sampling procedures, and such losses were to be expected—so no replacement of the watch from that source!
The Radio-Direction-Finder unit was only partly successful, since the little radios on the buoys were not very strong sources, we had to be quite close to hear them, and the lookouts would often spot the buoy before the navigator could hear it on the radio. Our electronics was nearly state-of-the-art, but still well below that required for the task at hand. So we mainly relied on good eyes to spot the buoys as we sought them after each shot!
After we had returned to the Navy Yard at San Diego, for the Sioux to be thoroughly cleansed of all residual contamination, the radiation badges of those crew whose duties had required their exposure, were sent to the Naval Radiation laboratory for processing and their readings reported to the ship. It turned out that I had a higher reading than the Captain, by a few percent. He asked me how I had been derelict in exposing myself more than he had been exposed. My answer was that I had been doing my duty in seeing that the other members of the crew were not exposed unnecessarily, that I had only been doing my duty, that my exposure was totally due to that responsibility. He then made an entry into my personnel record of his recognition of my effort in protecting my crewmates.
While the USS Sioux was still in the Yard, I was transferred to the Naval Receiving Station, San Diego, for processing for discharge from the Navy, as I was near the end of my enlistment. While at the NavRecSta, I was subjected to many hard sell attempts to get me to re-enlist—but I'd had enough sea duty, and wanted some solid land under my feet for a time. Besides, I would be eligible for the Korean War Veterans Bill of Rights—separation payments and four years of college at the expense of the Federal Government (Veterans Administration).
Thus, I was exposed to about 3 REM of radiation at this time, and as yet, have not seen any adverse effects—although I have said that I have had six beneficial mutations, the six bright children your mother and I have produced!
Ingram Chronicle
Vol. 3 No. 3
Well, we finally got the items that were burgled out of the YPD Evidence Locker--my Casio PDA and digital caliper scale and Brian's keys to Rosie's red Ford F-150 Pick-up--but nothing else has been recovered as of yet. On Saturday, while mowing the yard, our neighbor from across the alley called us over to ask if we'd been burgled. He said that his next-door neighbor had been hit twice, but that Shawn Hayden had been apprehended as one of the perpetrators! Perhaps we shall see further progress on the trail of the bunch that have been involved in these transactions. We do not expect much more of our stuff to be found by the police--the perpetrators had been burning anything that might not be useful, to get rid of the evidence--one purse had been recovered in badly burned condition, along with our stuff.
As you know, we've had a rather wet winter--over 4 inches of rain--and the desert has been in glorious bloom--I'll include some pictures of the scenery--out toward the College on County 10th (24th Street extension) just before the "cove."
The season proceeds, we are generally doing well. Rosie has a severe infection of her lower end, really tearing her up. Her doctor has put her on a strong antibiotic, hoping to arrest this problem. The laboratory confirmed that it is a staphylococcus infection. She's been up and down, and we hope things begin to become much better for her.
We were able to see Harold for a few days--he'd been sent to Phoenix to present an orientation on Afghanistan to an Army Reserve unit bound for that service area--since he was so close, he was able to drive down and visit with us and many others in Yuma. We had a nice time with Karene and Tom, Chris and Teri, Rosie and Brian, and Harold, getting together.
We are looking forward to being able to travel to see some of the others of the family this summer--in Salt Lake City and Saint George. We have some time in the condos in St George.
I have had some good experiences over the years that I might tell a bit about. I was talking with someone recently, probably at the College, about the travels with the USS Haven (AH-12) and the USS Sioux (ATF-75). They'd been to some of the places I'd seen--Yokusuka and Sasebo, Japan, and Pusan and Inch'on, Korea. I've been in contact with some of the crew from the Haven--they hold a reunion in Seattle in September--I won't be able to go and be there, but that might be fun--who knows?
We made several trips out of San Francisco to Pearl Harbor and Yokusuka and Pusan. I was able to travel about the Pusan area of Korea, to Chin Hae and some small fishing ports near-by. This was after the front line had been established near the present DMZ, so that our visits were reasonably safe.
Chin Hae was the location of the ROK Naval Academy, with one special site, a memorial to an ancient Korean Admiral who had special armor placed on his ship, when he faced the ancient Japanese Navy in the Strait between Korea and Japan. He was successful at repelling the Japanese invasion force at that time--around AD 1200.
I was the USS Haven vehicle driver, on shore, chauffeuring the Captain and other officers about the various areas to meetings and dinners.
While we were at Inch'on, I had the responsibility for making the weekly drive to the Air Supply Depot at Seoul City Air Base, to receive several cases of pints of whole blood, to be quickly delivered to the beach at Inch'on, for the ship's boat to take it to the ship. I would drive at the designated speed limit of 25 mph going to Seoul, but had to make much better time on the return, with the whole blood. I was stopped regularly by the Army MPs along the way, and as regularly, I would ask them to please finish their write-ups of the incident quickly, so that I would not be delayed too long as I was transporting the whole blood to the ship. I would then pass the citations to the Officer of the Deck as I returned to the ship at the end of that day, and the ship's captain, Capt. C. B. Hamblett, USNR, would write a response to the CO of the MP Regiment, explaining that I was operating under direct orders from the Haven CO and hospital CO, that I had to exceed the speed limits set by the Army on the Main Supply Route (MSR) between Inch'on and Seoul, that it was a medical necessity that the trip back be made at the higher speed, in order to deliver the whole blood in good order. These exchanges occurred weekly, through-out our stay at the port of Inch'on.
I was regularly mixing with a unit of tanker Marines at Inch'on, who were there to help train Navy crews in landing heavy equipment from ships at the port, where the tidal range was around 45 to 60 feet. The ships had to schedule the transfers at times near high water (high tide) so that the equipment wouldn't become bogged down in the muddy ground that would become exposed near low water (low tide).
While we were at Inch'on, the British Cruiser, HMS Newcastle came in and anchored for a few days, to allow the crew members to have a short period of shore time, to relax from the stresses of their duties off the coasts of North Korea, in support of the Commonwealth troops. A few of the officers of the Newcastle tried to come over to visit the USS Haven in their motor whale boat (mwb), but, their timing was not too good, as they got caught by the ebb tide flow, which could run at 8 to 10 knots, while the mwb could only make about 5 or 6 knots through the water--they suddenly discovered that they were headed for the Yellow Sea, and our launch had to make a fast run and tow them back into the Han River estuary, to the anchorage of the Haven and Newcastle. Such was our life in that era!
Vol. 3 No. 3
Well, we finally got the items that were burgled out of the YPD Evidence Locker--my Casio PDA and digital caliper scale and Brian's keys to Rosie's red Ford F-150 Pick-up--but nothing else has been recovered as of yet. On Saturday, while mowing the yard, our neighbor from across the alley called us over to ask if we'd been burgled. He said that his next-door neighbor had been hit twice, but that Shawn Hayden had been apprehended as one of the perpetrators! Perhaps we shall see further progress on the trail of the bunch that have been involved in these transactions. We do not expect much more of our stuff to be found by the police--the perpetrators had been burning anything that might not be useful, to get rid of the evidence--one purse had been recovered in badly burned condition, along with our stuff.
As you know, we've had a rather wet winter--over 4 inches of rain--and the desert has been in glorious bloom--I'll include some pictures of the scenery--out toward the College on County 10th (24th Street extension) just before the "cove."
The season proceeds, we are generally doing well. Rosie has a severe infection of her lower end, really tearing her up. Her doctor has put her on a strong antibiotic, hoping to arrest this problem. The laboratory confirmed that it is a staphylococcus infection. She's been up and down, and we hope things begin to become much better for her.
We were able to see Harold for a few days--he'd been sent to Phoenix to present an orientation on Afghanistan to an Army Reserve unit bound for that service area--since he was so close, he was able to drive down and visit with us and many others in Yuma. We had a nice time with Karene and Tom, Chris and Teri, Rosie and Brian, and Harold, getting together.
We are looking forward to being able to travel to see some of the others of the family this summer--in Salt Lake City and Saint George. We have some time in the condos in St George.
I have had some good experiences over the years that I might tell a bit about. I was talking with someone recently, probably at the College, about the travels with the USS Haven (AH-12) and the USS Sioux (ATF-75). They'd been to some of the places I'd seen--Yokusuka and Sasebo, Japan, and Pusan and Inch'on, Korea. I've been in contact with some of the crew from the Haven--they hold a reunion in Seattle in September--I won't be able to go and be there, but that might be fun--who knows?
We made several trips out of San Francisco to Pearl Harbor and Yokusuka and Pusan. I was able to travel about the Pusan area of Korea, to Chin Hae and some small fishing ports near-by. This was after the front line had been established near the present DMZ, so that our visits were reasonably safe.
Chin Hae was the location of the ROK Naval Academy, with one special site, a memorial to an ancient Korean Admiral who had special armor placed on his ship, when he faced the ancient Japanese Navy in the Strait between Korea and Japan. He was successful at repelling the Japanese invasion force at that time--around AD 1200.
I was the USS Haven vehicle driver, on shore, chauffeuring the Captain and other officers about the various areas to meetings and dinners.
While we were at Inch'on, I had the responsibility for making the weekly drive to the Air Supply Depot at Seoul City Air Base, to receive several cases of pints of whole blood, to be quickly delivered to the beach at Inch'on, for the ship's boat to take it to the ship. I would drive at the designated speed limit of 25 mph going to Seoul, but had to make much better time on the return, with the whole blood. I was stopped regularly by the Army MPs along the way, and as regularly, I would ask them to please finish their write-ups of the incident quickly, so that I would not be delayed too long as I was transporting the whole blood to the ship. I would then pass the citations to the Officer of the Deck as I returned to the ship at the end of that day, and the ship's captain, Capt. C. B. Hamblett, USNR, would write a response to the CO of the MP Regiment, explaining that I was operating under direct orders from the Haven CO and hospital CO, that I had to exceed the speed limits set by the Army on the Main Supply Route (MSR) between Inch'on and Seoul, that it was a medical necessity that the trip back be made at the higher speed, in order to deliver the whole blood in good order. These exchanges occurred weekly, through-out our stay at the port of Inch'on.
I was regularly mixing with a unit of tanker Marines at Inch'on, who were there to help train Navy crews in landing heavy equipment from ships at the port, where the tidal range was around 45 to 60 feet. The ships had to schedule the transfers at times near high water (high tide) so that the equipment wouldn't become bogged down in the muddy ground that would become exposed near low water (low tide).
While we were at Inch'on, the British Cruiser, HMS Newcastle came in and anchored for a few days, to allow the crew members to have a short period of shore time, to relax from the stresses of their duties off the coasts of North Korea, in support of the Commonwealth troops. A few of the officers of the Newcastle tried to come over to visit the USS Haven in their motor whale boat (mwb), but, their timing was not too good, as they got caught by the ebb tide flow, which could run at 8 to 10 knots, while the mwb could only make about 5 or 6 knots through the water--they suddenly discovered that they were headed for the Yellow Sea, and our launch had to make a fast run and tow them back into the Han River estuary, to the anchorage of the Haven and Newcastle. Such was our life in that era!
Ingram Chronicle
Vol. 3 No. 2
We got an interesting phone call the other day—from a YPD detective—about some items recovered by the YPD from their raid on some houses here in Yuma! They found several items that seem to be mine—including my PDA, which showed several phone numbers for the Ingram family—Alex, Bob, Chris, Harold, and Dorothy! That has to be out of my denim bag. They also have my digital caliper scale. And a large number of car keys—seeming to include at least one set of old Ford keys—maybe those of Brian's that were taken from the house with all the other stuff.
Your mother and I went to the Yuma PD to meet the detective, and the detective showed us several pictures of the materials recovered from the people responsible. The items we were able to identify were my Casio PDA, my digital caliper scale, and Brian's key ring with the Ford pickup keys and his guitar pick pouch attached. Of all the items taken, that was all that we could recognize. The detective said that the break in the case was the taking of a truck with ATVs and tool boxes and camping equipment from the parking lot of one of the motels. That gear belonged to a group of people from Texas, and has been released to them. The materials were located in a trailer house out in the county, around County 16th and Avenue B. The patrolling Yuma County Sheriff's deputy probably noticed the stolen truck in the yard, there, and passed the word on to the Yuma PD.
One of the suspects they named was a boy who lived down the street from us, and knew Brian. That youth had to be the one who entered our house and took the things, but he was not one of the three perpetrators shown on the Wal-Mart surveillance video using mother's Visa card. Those Visa charges were high, but have been taken off of our account as fraud adjustments. We are willing to go to court if called to help the prosecution of the suspects.
We have our continuing studies of my health--I've begun to use a CPAP machine to increase the air pressure into my nose while sleeping to overcome my sleep apnea—as Bob Ed has reported his same treatment! I guess that problem runs in the family—like father, like son! I am experiencing better sleeping—fewer periods of awakening in the night, and feeling more rested in the morning. As the ads say, you can't beat a good nights sleep for resting the body! I hope that I shall be better able to keep alert in meetings—at church and at school.
We have had a good stake conference, with a visitor from the Second Quorum of Seventy, Elder Shirley Christensen. Very good meetings for the Priesthood Leadership, Adult and General Sessions. There have been changes in the Sixth Branch and San Luis Branch Presidencies, but no major changes in the several Wards of the stake. The general theme was the greater development of personal testimonies and strengthening the family, by more personal and family prayer, more personal and family scripture study, and better family home evenings.
Our meeting of the Yuma County Retired School Employees Association was at the West Wetlands City Park, with the All-Arizona School Retirees Association State President, AnJi Craig-Wooten, present to visit our group, and the presentation by the Yuma Parks and Recreation Development Manager, Roger Blakeley, on the development of the park over the past 14 years, largely by volunteers from the community, including many Eagle Projects, and School Class Projects, such as cloning cottonwood and desert willow trees, and then planting these trees along the river and throughout the park. Many have grown very large and quite tall along the banks of the river, where the beaver haven't gnawed them down. He spoke of one rather large beaver that had learned to climb up on the protective screens placed around the trees, to keep the beaver away, and do his gnawing at about the five foot level! His hope was that the progeny of this one wouldn't learn too well from him, and proceed to deforest the park!
This park is to be the location for the new statuary garden of the pioneers. The garden is to include several statues, a statue of one of the early Spanish explorers and colonizers, either Father Garces or Captain De Anza, and a statue to represent the Army of the West (Mormon Battalion) of 1847, that members are raising monies to pay for casting the heroic statue of one of the men of the Battalion.
Mother, Rosie, Chris and Terri will be going to Salt Lake City over the Easter break, and should be there about one week.
Have a Happy Easter!
Dad
Vol. 3 No. 2
We got an interesting phone call the other day—from a YPD detective—about some items recovered by the YPD from their raid on some houses here in Yuma! They found several items that seem to be mine—including my PDA, which showed several phone numbers for the Ingram family—Alex, Bob, Chris, Harold, and Dorothy! That has to be out of my denim bag. They also have my digital caliper scale. And a large number of car keys—seeming to include at least one set of old Ford keys—maybe those of Brian's that were taken from the house with all the other stuff.
Your mother and I went to the Yuma PD to meet the detective, and the detective showed us several pictures of the materials recovered from the people responsible. The items we were able to identify were my Casio PDA, my digital caliper scale, and Brian's key ring with the Ford pickup keys and his guitar pick pouch attached. Of all the items taken, that was all that we could recognize. The detective said that the break in the case was the taking of a truck with ATVs and tool boxes and camping equipment from the parking lot of one of the motels. That gear belonged to a group of people from Texas, and has been released to them. The materials were located in a trailer house out in the county, around County 16th and Avenue B. The patrolling Yuma County Sheriff's deputy probably noticed the stolen truck in the yard, there, and passed the word on to the Yuma PD.
One of the suspects they named was a boy who lived down the street from us, and knew Brian. That youth had to be the one who entered our house and took the things, but he was not one of the three perpetrators shown on the Wal-Mart surveillance video using mother's Visa card. Those Visa charges were high, but have been taken off of our account as fraud adjustments. We are willing to go to court if called to help the prosecution of the suspects.
We have our continuing studies of my health--I've begun to use a CPAP machine to increase the air pressure into my nose while sleeping to overcome my sleep apnea—as Bob Ed has reported his same treatment! I guess that problem runs in the family—like father, like son! I am experiencing better sleeping—fewer periods of awakening in the night, and feeling more rested in the morning. As the ads say, you can't beat a good nights sleep for resting the body! I hope that I shall be better able to keep alert in meetings—at church and at school.
We have had a good stake conference, with a visitor from the Second Quorum of Seventy, Elder Shirley Christensen. Very good meetings for the Priesthood Leadership, Adult and General Sessions. There have been changes in the Sixth Branch and San Luis Branch Presidencies, but no major changes in the several Wards of the stake. The general theme was the greater development of personal testimonies and strengthening the family, by more personal and family prayer, more personal and family scripture study, and better family home evenings.
Our meeting of the Yuma County Retired School Employees Association was at the West Wetlands City Park, with the All-Arizona School Retirees Association State President, AnJi Craig-Wooten, present to visit our group, and the presentation by the Yuma Parks and Recreation Development Manager, Roger Blakeley, on the development of the park over the past 14 years, largely by volunteers from the community, including many Eagle Projects, and School Class Projects, such as cloning cottonwood and desert willow trees, and then planting these trees along the river and throughout the park. Many have grown very large and quite tall along the banks of the river, where the beaver haven't gnawed them down. He spoke of one rather large beaver that had learned to climb up on the protective screens placed around the trees, to keep the beaver away, and do his gnawing at about the five foot level! His hope was that the progeny of this one wouldn't learn too well from him, and proceed to deforest the park!
This park is to be the location for the new statuary garden of the pioneers. The garden is to include several statues, a statue of one of the early Spanish explorers and colonizers, either Father Garces or Captain De Anza, and a statue to represent the Army of the West (Mormon Battalion) of 1847, that members are raising monies to pay for casting the heroic statue of one of the men of the Battalion.
Mother, Rosie, Chris and Terri will be going to Salt Lake City over the Easter break, and should be there about one week.
Have a Happy Easter!
Dad
Ingram Chronicle
Vol. 3 No. 1
The month of January is about gone, and I have just begun to think of what I need to tell everyone. We had a good visit to SLC--saw all the Lambs at Anamarie's farewell talk in Beaver Ward--Emerito went off by rail to Miami to see his family and Maria followed on by air--Aunt Gena is beginning to get around the house better, but still is very cautious about the outdoors. We had a good trip back to Yuma--except for the snow over Searchlight, Nevada--that gave Rosie a different thrill that she didn't want--the ride went all right anyway.
I've had my first visit to the Sleep Clinic--and do suffer from sleep apnea--and am scheduled for another trial there in February. Dr. Garcia is worried about a spot on my right upper lung--but the pulmonologist, Dr. Hopurani, says that we just need to keep an eye on it for a while, to see if anything develops—Dr. Garcia referred me to a pulmonary surgeon, Dr. Koopot, in Phoenix, for another opinion—Dr.. Koopot agreed with Dr. Hourani--so we will have another CT scan in March or April—just to see if anything is changing.
Your mother and I went to Phoenix for a meeting of the All-Arizona School Retirees Association (AASRA) State Board—I am now the District Vice President for District 4 (Yuma/La Paz Counties). We had a fine gathering of many of my old friends, from when I was the Editor of the AASRA Newsletter. We discussed many things related to the affairs of the retired school employees and our interactions with the State Legislature and Arizona State Retirement System board.
I’ve had my second Sleep Clinic session, with the assistance of the CPAP breathing apparatus—slept much better than before—so, I guess that I shall have to be anchored to the bedroom with the CPAP supplying over-pressure air to my nose—so that I can sleep better. I guess that this is for the better—I do hope that it will supply a good night’s sleep for Gerry.
Some time has passed, and I have received my CPAP machine—just need to get it installed in the bedroom—finding the electrical outlet beneath the bed will be difficult—I’ll have to shift the new mattress to get at the headboard and the outlet—then we’ll begin the CPAP sleep treatment.
We were burgled—mother’s purse and my little denim bag were taken—Brian’s set of keys to Rosie’s Ford 150 PU were also taken—he’s now using a club regularly!—then the credit cards were used that morning at Wal-Mart and Target for big buys—and for gas at the new Chevron Station at 24th St. and Pacific Ave—all within about one hour—as we were trying to cancel the cards—some deal—Officer D. Sullins, YPD, is our contact for the investigation—Brian took a look at the security video from Wal-Mart—but didn’t recognize the perpetrators—whoever had lifted the loot had passed it on—we do suspect one of his acquaintances was the burglar—he has had a large number of "friends" in and out of the house—what with his "band," so we will be more careful about locking up the house—I’ve replaced all three door locks—the front door and the two side doors with new locks—better than the 40+ year-old locks—It is very hard to cancel credit cards without a knowledge of the credit card numbers! And whose card is which! Mervyn’s, Penny’s, Target, Sears, Visa, Discover, etc.!!! Some were in my name, and others were in your mom’s name. But, we were able to finally get through—I even contacted Experian Credit Bureau to post a possible fraud warning, who also alerted TransUnion and Equifax, since the burglar got mother’s driver’s license, too! I am in the process of obtaining a new set of Medicare and PacifiCare medical insurance cards. There will be more to report in the future, I am sure.
Vol. 3 No. 1
The month of January is about gone, and I have just begun to think of what I need to tell everyone. We had a good visit to SLC--saw all the Lambs at Anamarie's farewell talk in Beaver Ward--Emerito went off by rail to Miami to see his family and Maria followed on by air--Aunt Gena is beginning to get around the house better, but still is very cautious about the outdoors. We had a good trip back to Yuma--except for the snow over Searchlight, Nevada--that gave Rosie a different thrill that she didn't want--the ride went all right anyway.
I've had my first visit to the Sleep Clinic--and do suffer from sleep apnea--and am scheduled for another trial there in February. Dr. Garcia is worried about a spot on my right upper lung--but the pulmonologist, Dr. Hopurani, says that we just need to keep an eye on it for a while, to see if anything develops—Dr. Garcia referred me to a pulmonary surgeon, Dr. Koopot, in Phoenix, for another opinion—Dr.. Koopot agreed with Dr. Hourani--so we will have another CT scan in March or April—just to see if anything is changing.
Your mother and I went to Phoenix for a meeting of the All-Arizona School Retirees Association (AASRA) State Board—I am now the District Vice President for District 4 (Yuma/La Paz Counties). We had a fine gathering of many of my old friends, from when I was the Editor of the AASRA Newsletter. We discussed many things related to the affairs of the retired school employees and our interactions with the State Legislature and Arizona State Retirement System board.
I’ve had my second Sleep Clinic session, with the assistance of the CPAP breathing apparatus—slept much better than before—so, I guess that I shall have to be anchored to the bedroom with the CPAP supplying over-pressure air to my nose—so that I can sleep better. I guess that this is for the better—I do hope that it will supply a good night’s sleep for Gerry.
Some time has passed, and I have received my CPAP machine—just need to get it installed in the bedroom—finding the electrical outlet beneath the bed will be difficult—I’ll have to shift the new mattress to get at the headboard and the outlet—then we’ll begin the CPAP sleep treatment.
We were burgled—mother’s purse and my little denim bag were taken—Brian’s set of keys to Rosie’s Ford 150 PU were also taken—he’s now using a club regularly!—then the credit cards were used that morning at Wal-Mart and Target for big buys—and for gas at the new Chevron Station at 24th St. and Pacific Ave—all within about one hour—as we were trying to cancel the cards—some deal—Officer D. Sullins, YPD, is our contact for the investigation—Brian took a look at the security video from Wal-Mart—but didn’t recognize the perpetrators—whoever had lifted the loot had passed it on—we do suspect one of his acquaintances was the burglar—he has had a large number of "friends" in and out of the house—what with his "band," so we will be more careful about locking up the house—I’ve replaced all three door locks—the front door and the two side doors with new locks—better than the 40+ year-old locks—It is very hard to cancel credit cards without a knowledge of the credit card numbers! And whose card is which! Mervyn’s, Penny’s, Target, Sears, Visa, Discover, etc.!!! Some were in my name, and others were in your mom’s name. But, we were able to finally get through—I even contacted Experian Credit Bureau to post a possible fraud warning, who also alerted TransUnion and Equifax, since the burglar got mother’s driver’s license, too! I am in the process of obtaining a new set of Medicare and PacifiCare medical insurance cards. There will be more to report in the future, I am sure.
Ingram Chronicle
Vol. 2 No. 10
Here we go again! The Chronicle of my afflictions shall continue. The arthroscopic surgery on the left knee went very well, so far. I have just had a bad accident on Monday 6 Dec. I was out doing my home teaching round, when, as I was proceeding to the home of the second sister, at about 6:30 PM, I went out Winsor Ave. to 32nd St. and ended up with the little Ford Ranger pickup being totaled in an encounter with a Dodge Ram pickup. All the things that went flying through the cab! It's a wonder that more things weren't damaged. One of the firefighters found my glasses on the ground outside the cab of the truck and gave them back to me. I had to reset one lens back into the frame, so that I could see. I was not seriously injured, although I do have many sore muscles and aching bones. "Dusty" Fields, whose grandfather had lived down the block from us, captained the YFD crew that responded to the scene. He had also been one of my Hazardous Materials students. The extrication from the truck was an interesting experience--with the restraint on the head and body to prevent further injury if anything was wrong with my neck. When they tried to slide the body board under my bottom, I tried to lift myself off of the seat of the truck, by pressing down with both arms. The right arm functioned very well, but the left let me know in no uncertain terms that I was not to exert any force with my left shoulder. It was as if someone had stabbed me under the clavicle! Wow! The pain clearly said, "No, you don't!" The firefighters carefully maneuvered me out from behind the steering wheel, rotated my body to the supine position on the body board and strapped me down. They cut through my garment top in order to obtain access to my bare chest for measuring my vital signs.
The Rural Metro Ambulance crew transported me to YRMC's ER, strapped to a body board. I was examined for all the vital signs and restrained from any cervical vertebral damage with a Cervical Collar.
At the ER, I was further examined, x-rayed for broken bones, and CAT-scanned for internal damage--nothing serious, just severe muscle strains and sprains. After about 12 hours at the ER I was released to go home--7: 30 PM to 7:30 AM!
I have difficulty using my left arm to exert any heavy strain--pushing up or off, but I am able to write and type with it now. It is some times difficult to find a comfortable arrangement of the body that doesn't produce a pain--sitting in the recliner in front of the television is about the most strenuous thing I do at the moment. I have been severely restricted in getting around--they've taken away my little skateboard! (The Ford Ranger!)--Your mother has had to ferry me from point to point along with her normal routine of attending to all her own doings with Betty Cornelius and Angela Snyder--she's still the "Good Samaritan" that she has always been.
I have yet to go see the orthopedic surgeon again--I will have to see that he sees the x-ray of my knee after the accident--my thigh was hit by the arm-rest on the door--and thrust against the upper calf of my right leg-left a large dark bruise! You find all sorts of places to ache and have pains! Rib cage, legs, all over, I have many hurts--but I will get better--the ER examinations found nothing seriously wrong with me--just got beat up in the altercation with the Dodge Ram!
I've seen both the knee-doctor and the lung-doctor for now. The knee is doing fine and should overcome the trauma from the collision with the door of the pick-up truck. I do have some kind of spot on the right lung--up high--and it will require me to have periodic check-ups over the next 2 years--cat scans--but the doctor doesn't think that it is likely to be cancerous--but we will keep looking to be sure and catch it if it starts to grow at all.
All our love to all, and may you have a very Merry Christmas! And a very Happy New Year!!
Dad, Granddad, Uncle Bob
Vol. 2 No. 10
Here we go again! The Chronicle of my afflictions shall continue. The arthroscopic surgery on the left knee went very well, so far. I have just had a bad accident on Monday 6 Dec. I was out doing my home teaching round, when, as I was proceeding to the home of the second sister, at about 6:30 PM, I went out Winsor Ave. to 32nd St. and ended up with the little Ford Ranger pickup being totaled in an encounter with a Dodge Ram pickup. All the things that went flying through the cab! It's a wonder that more things weren't damaged. One of the firefighters found my glasses on the ground outside the cab of the truck and gave them back to me. I had to reset one lens back into the frame, so that I could see. I was not seriously injured, although I do have many sore muscles and aching bones. "Dusty" Fields, whose grandfather had lived down the block from us, captained the YFD crew that responded to the scene. He had also been one of my Hazardous Materials students. The extrication from the truck was an interesting experience--with the restraint on the head and body to prevent further injury if anything was wrong with my neck. When they tried to slide the body board under my bottom, I tried to lift myself off of the seat of the truck, by pressing down with both arms. The right arm functioned very well, but the left let me know in no uncertain terms that I was not to exert any force with my left shoulder. It was as if someone had stabbed me under the clavicle! Wow! The pain clearly said, "No, you don't!" The firefighters carefully maneuvered me out from behind the steering wheel, rotated my body to the supine position on the body board and strapped me down. They cut through my garment top in order to obtain access to my bare chest for measuring my vital signs.
The Rural Metro Ambulance crew transported me to YRMC's ER, strapped to a body board. I was examined for all the vital signs and restrained from any cervical vertebral damage with a Cervical Collar.
At the ER, I was further examined, x-rayed for broken bones, and CAT-scanned for internal damage--nothing serious, just severe muscle strains and sprains. After about 12 hours at the ER I was released to go home--7: 30 PM to 7:30 AM!
I have difficulty using my left arm to exert any heavy strain--pushing up or off, but I am able to write and type with it now. It is some times difficult to find a comfortable arrangement of the body that doesn't produce a pain--sitting in the recliner in front of the television is about the most strenuous thing I do at the moment. I have been severely restricted in getting around--they've taken away my little skateboard! (The Ford Ranger!)--Your mother has had to ferry me from point to point along with her normal routine of attending to all her own doings with Betty Cornelius and Angela Snyder--she's still the "Good Samaritan" that she has always been.
I have yet to go see the orthopedic surgeon again--I will have to see that he sees the x-ray of my knee after the accident--my thigh was hit by the arm-rest on the door--and thrust against the upper calf of my right leg-left a large dark bruise! You find all sorts of places to ache and have pains! Rib cage, legs, all over, I have many hurts--but I will get better--the ER examinations found nothing seriously wrong with me--just got beat up in the altercation with the Dodge Ram!
I've seen both the knee-doctor and the lung-doctor for now. The knee is doing fine and should overcome the trauma from the collision with the door of the pick-up truck. I do have some kind of spot on the right lung--up high--and it will require me to have periodic check-ups over the next 2 years--cat scans--but the doctor doesn't think that it is likely to be cancerous--but we will keep looking to be sure and catch it if it starts to grow at all.
All our love to all, and may you have a very Merry Christmas! And a very Happy New Year!!
Dad, Granddad, Uncle Bob
Ingram Chronicle
Vol. 2 No. 9
Well, it is time to tell of my latest experience with the field of medical science. I have just had some arthroscopic surgery of my left knee. I had torn the medial ligament of the left knee at the family gathering for the celebration of the birthdays of the three great-granddaughters in May. After hobbling through the summer of ’04, I went to see my personal physician, Dr. Roberto P. Garcia, who referred me to Dr. Gregory Peare, one of the local Yuma area Orthopedic Surgeons and a member of the Church. After having me examined by MRI and x-rays of the knee, he determined that I had actually torn the ligament. He would have to do a further arthroscopic examination and determine the extent of the necessary surgery, either to trim off the frayed edge of the ligament or to do some sewing of the torn pieces together. I was then subjected to a thorough coronary examination by Dr. Osman, including a stress test and I-139 scans to determine the extent of any possible coronary involvement that might preclude the necessary knee surgery—but the findings were that the old ticker would not be injured in any way by the procedure. To the surprise of my former students, the doctor did find that I actually had a heart.
I was processed at the outpatient center for the surgery on Wednesday, 10 November 2004, with Dr. Peare, surgeon, and Dr Chan, anesthesiologist. When I woke up, my leg was all wrapped up, with a drain connected to the interior of my knee. Gerry had the "honors" of being my care-taker, attending to the drain, feeding me, and seeing to my comfort. I was able to make the few steps from the bed to the bathroom, and an excursion down the hall to the living-room—while struggling to control the crutches—all I was allowed to do for the past few days—I even wasn’t allowed to go to Church on Sunday—although my presence was reported by a High Councilor, who thought that he’d seen me there! I would like to get back to the regular routine, but I may be slowed down for several more days.
I did get Gerry to bring me to the office on Tuesday evening—to observe my regular hours of operating the Employment Center, and Dr. Peare happened to be in the building—he's the junior High Councilor, and in charge of the annual High Priest Dinner for this year. He was surprised to see me but glad to see that I was able to negotiate my way without the crutches. I was also able to spend my regular time in the Family History Center (FHC) on Thursday morning, doing the usual things there. That afternoon, Gerry took me to Dr. Peare's office, where they removed the stitches from the arthroscopic incisions and showed us the images of the interior of the left knee, which they had taken with the arthroscopic camera. The staff said that I might try to start using the pick-up with the regular clutch and manual—the stick shift! They felt that I shouldn't try to overdo the driving bit—but that I should behave myself and be careful on the road. That evening I drove the Chrysler minivan out to AWC, where they were holding a Family Night, to let the various student groups, i.e., VICA, Student AWS, Broadcasting, Police Academy, Fire Academy, etc., show their expertise, and sell food and drinks as fund raising things. I found many of my old faculty and students enjoying themselves very much. I then drove in to the Stake Center to my office, to carry on my usual attempts to serve those needing employment center services.
The Stake people have been stringing some cables to connect my office computer with the high speed inter-net connection in the FHC, so that I might be better able to maintain the inter-net files for the Employment Center—rather than through the slow dial-up system that I am currently using. The Church moves on!
We are looking forward to seeing some of you over the Christmas Season--in the Salt Lake City area. I should be ready to travel anywhere I care to, as long as I take reasonable care of the knee. I am trying to not do anything involving my exerting a strong force with the knee for the next month or so. But the prognosis is good, with no real complications in view.
Love,
Dad
Vol. 2 No. 9
Well, it is time to tell of my latest experience with the field of medical science. I have just had some arthroscopic surgery of my left knee. I had torn the medial ligament of the left knee at the family gathering for the celebration of the birthdays of the three great-granddaughters in May. After hobbling through the summer of ’04, I went to see my personal physician, Dr. Roberto P. Garcia, who referred me to Dr. Gregory Peare, one of the local Yuma area Orthopedic Surgeons and a member of the Church. After having me examined by MRI and x-rays of the knee, he determined that I had actually torn the ligament. He would have to do a further arthroscopic examination and determine the extent of the necessary surgery, either to trim off the frayed edge of the ligament or to do some sewing of the torn pieces together. I was then subjected to a thorough coronary examination by Dr. Osman, including a stress test and I-139 scans to determine the extent of any possible coronary involvement that might preclude the necessary knee surgery—but the findings were that the old ticker would not be injured in any way by the procedure. To the surprise of my former students, the doctor did find that I actually had a heart.
I was processed at the outpatient center for the surgery on Wednesday, 10 November 2004, with Dr. Peare, surgeon, and Dr Chan, anesthesiologist. When I woke up, my leg was all wrapped up, with a drain connected to the interior of my knee. Gerry had the "honors" of being my care-taker, attending to the drain, feeding me, and seeing to my comfort. I was able to make the few steps from the bed to the bathroom, and an excursion down the hall to the living-room—while struggling to control the crutches—all I was allowed to do for the past few days—I even wasn’t allowed to go to Church on Sunday—although my presence was reported by a High Councilor, who thought that he’d seen me there! I would like to get back to the regular routine, but I may be slowed down for several more days.
I did get Gerry to bring me to the office on Tuesday evening—to observe my regular hours of operating the Employment Center, and Dr. Peare happened to be in the building—he's the junior High Councilor, and in charge of the annual High Priest Dinner for this year. He was surprised to see me but glad to see that I was able to negotiate my way without the crutches. I was also able to spend my regular time in the Family History Center (FHC) on Thursday morning, doing the usual things there. That afternoon, Gerry took me to Dr. Peare's office, where they removed the stitches from the arthroscopic incisions and showed us the images of the interior of the left knee, which they had taken with the arthroscopic camera. The staff said that I might try to start using the pick-up with the regular clutch and manual—the stick shift! They felt that I shouldn't try to overdo the driving bit—but that I should behave myself and be careful on the road. That evening I drove the Chrysler minivan out to AWC, where they were holding a Family Night, to let the various student groups, i.e., VICA, Student AWS, Broadcasting, Police Academy, Fire Academy, etc., show their expertise, and sell food and drinks as fund raising things. I found many of my old faculty and students enjoying themselves very much. I then drove in to the Stake Center to my office, to carry on my usual attempts to serve those needing employment center services.
The Stake people have been stringing some cables to connect my office computer with the high speed inter-net connection in the FHC, so that I might be better able to maintain the inter-net files for the Employment Center—rather than through the slow dial-up system that I am currently using. The Church moves on!
We are looking forward to seeing some of you over the Christmas Season--in the Salt Lake City area. I should be ready to travel anywhere I care to, as long as I take reasonable care of the knee. I am trying to not do anything involving my exerting a strong force with the knee for the next month or so. But the prognosis is good, with no real complications in view.
Love,
Dad
Monday, February 2, 2009
Ingram Chronicle
Volume 2 Number 8
Well, here we are, back in Yuma from our wide travels to the "ends of the earth"! Gerry and I have just returned from our short cruise to the Western Caribbean Sea (Cozumel, Mexico), our visit to Chichen Itza in Yucatan, and ten days with Harold and Monika and their kids in Virginia. I will have to include some pictures of sights and sites along the way.
We went to Fort Lauderdale, FL, to visit Fairfield Resorts, to listen to their 90-minute presentation on the beauties of their program--actually ending up as a 7-hour ordeal! We (I) bit and bought a small unit (share) of their program--hopefully, we will be able to use it in the future.
We saw a bit of Ft Lauderdale and Pompano Beach before going to the Port of Miami to board the M/V Fascination--Bahamian registry--to cruise to the Western Caribbean Sea to Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The sailing was very nice, seas of only 2 to 3 feet--almost a millpond smoothness. Our cabin was on the Riviera Deck (4), way down in the interior of the ship. Some of you have had the experience of an ocean liner, but it was radically different from my experience with the "luxury" of a US Naval Vessel! Imagine a large hotel--with space for about 2600 guests--all on a large platform that propels it through the sea! With two large restaurants, seating about 650 to 700 at a meal. A large theatre for musical shows and dramas, seating about 1000! Shops, cafes, bars, a casino, and an internet café--all the various things to entertain you in almost every way--and a crew drawn from about 50 nations--to care for you hand and foot!
We really enjoyed the voyage to and from Cozumel. Then, we were able to take a bus ride through the peninsula to Chichen Itza with a very knowledgeable guide, Freddy, whose English was more than adequate to explain all that we were seeing on our trip, although he was apologetic for his "limited English".
We were allowed to climb up on the monument known as "El Castillo" the highest remnant of the Mayan construction at Chichen Itza. The stairs are "STEEP"! But with only 91 steps up and 91 steps down, we made the climb to the top and then had to make the "DESCENT" of the steps--thankful for a guide rope to hold on to on our way down--polishing each step as we carefully slid down from step to step!
We sailed back to Miami, arriving on Friday morning at the same pier we left from on Monday afternoon. Having successfully passed through US Customs inspection (Grandmother's bag got searched for contraband!), we retrieved the rental car and made our way to Ft Lauderdale International Airport to fly on to Baltimore and visit Harold and Monika and their children. The flight took about 2 1/2 hours, and Harold's drive from Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) to Fredericksburg, VA took another 2 1/2 hours--DC Traffic!!
It was very special to see all the Virginia Ingrams--particularly the little ones! We had a good visit there--with tours to historic sites around northern Virginia. On Monday, we took the Virginia Rail Express (VRE) Commuter train into Franconia to the Metro rail service into DC. We went past Harold's State Department Office Building to visit the Washington Mall and its monuments--particularly the Lincoln Memorial and the new World War II Memorial. We walked past the Vietnam Memorial to walk along the Reflecting Basin to the Smithsonian Museums--about a two-mile hike! We did visit the Air and Space Museum, the Old Castle, the new Museum of the American Indians and then we went through the Holocaust Museum--brrrr! DC is, of course, filled with Government Buildings and Government Civil Servants, but the Metro System does provide a rapid way around the major areas of the Powerful. We were able to really tire ourselves out with all the walking through so much history!
We rested up on Tuesday, then went to see the estate of Thomas Jefferson, Montecello, at Charlottesville, VA. The location is beautiful, with much to consider, as the mansion has been preserved much as Jefferson left it on his death on 4 July 1826--the same day that John Adams died in Quincy, Massachusetts.
After another long day on the road, we put off the visit to Orange, VA and the home of James Madison, Montpelier, until a later time. Grandmother and I took the two little ones to see the sights there--quite a place--the home had been bought by the DuPont family after the deaths of James and Dolly Madison, and was greatly altered. The Montpelier Foundation is in the midst of a great renovation and restoration of the place to the form known by the Madisons. They have carried out a ten year architectural archaeology research project, and are in the midst of a four year restoration project--removing all the DuPunt additions and restoring the old structure as James Madison would have known it.
We also toured the Virginia North Neck--that part of Virginia between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, where the earliest of the Ingram Family settled in the 1630s. We were headed southeast down Virginia Route 3, when Grandmother had me turn off to visit Pope Creek, the birthplace of George Washington. We saw much about his first three years, before the family moved closer to Fredericksburg, at Ferry Farm.
We also visited Stratford Hall, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee, General of the Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. I was given quite a reception when I said that I was named Robert Edward Lee Ingram, for the General! His father, Henry (Lighthorse Harry) Lee, was one of the only brothers to sign the Declaration of Independence, along with his brother Richard Lee. We were shown the fine rooms of the mansion, and the service rooms on the lower floor. There were several outbuildings, including a large carriage house, with several old carriages and coaches, including the landau used by the French General, Lafayette, when he visited the country in the 1820s.
Harold took us down from Fredericksburg to Guinea Station, to visit the Stonewall Jackson Memorial, where T.J. Jackson, Lee's right hand aide and cohort died from pneumonia after being shot by one of his own sentries after the Battle of Chancellorsville. His death made the later struggle of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia more difficult for Lee. "Stonewall" Jackson was really of one mind with Lee in fighting against the Federal Army of the Potomac, whether that army was under command of Burnside, McClellan, Hooker, Meade, or Grant. This was a case of tragedy from "friendly fire."
Our flights on Southwest Air Lines from Phoenix (PHX) to St Louis (STL) to Tampa (TPA) to Ft Lauderdale (FLL), from Ft Lauderdale (FLL) to Baltimore-Washington International (BWI), and from BWI back to Phoenix (PHX), went smoothly, even with the short periods of rough riding over the weather fronts. The transits of the TSA security screenings were also interesting--my knee-brace drew some attention--but we didn't have to quite strip all the way for the searches! I had made sure that most of my armamentaria--knives, Gerber tool, clippers, etc.--were left behind or in checked baggage.
Here is Gerry in the loby of the hotel in Fort Lauderdale, before we took the cruise out of Miami to Cotzumel, Qintana Roo, Mexico.
Here is the MV Fascination at port in Miami, Florida as we were about to board her.
Here I am at the rail of the MV Fascination as we are sailing out of the port of Miami, Florida, headed for Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Here is Gerry on the steps of El Castillo at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico, as we started to make the climb up the steps to the
Temple on the top of the pyramid.
Here are Gerry and Jocelyn on the steps of Harold and Monika's home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, with spiderwebs through the trees for decorations for Halloween.
Lincoln Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DC
And, here is the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Basin
on the Mall of Washington, DC.
This is part of the Birthplace of George Washington, on Pope's Creek in the North Neck of Virginia.
Here I am standing in front of Stratford Hall, the birthplace of Robert Edward Lee, for whom I was named. This is only a short distance from Pope's Creek, where George Washington was born.
Here are Gerry, Monika and the Ingram children at Montecello, the home of President Thomas Jefferson, near Charlotteburg, Virginia.
Here is Gerry about to enter the back door of Montpelier, the home of President James Madison.
This is a view of the foundation of the Ferry Farm where George Washinton spent his teen years, living with his older brother Lawrence, where he began to become a land surveyor.
The family gathered at the place where General T. J. "Stonewall" Jackson died after the Battle of the Wilderness, from gun-shot wounds, by "friendly fire," as he had ridden forward to observe the deatruction of Union Troops in that battle.
Volume 2 Number 8
Well, here we are, back in Yuma from our wide travels to the "ends of the earth"! Gerry and I have just returned from our short cruise to the Western Caribbean Sea (Cozumel, Mexico), our visit to Chichen Itza in Yucatan, and ten days with Harold and Monika and their kids in Virginia. I will have to include some pictures of sights and sites along the way.
We went to Fort Lauderdale, FL, to visit Fairfield Resorts, to listen to their 90-minute presentation on the beauties of their program--actually ending up as a 7-hour ordeal! We (I) bit and bought a small unit (share) of their program--hopefully, we will be able to use it in the future.
We saw a bit of Ft Lauderdale and Pompano Beach before going to the Port of Miami to board the M/V Fascination--Bahamian registry--to cruise to the Western Caribbean Sea to Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The sailing was very nice, seas of only 2 to 3 feet--almost a millpond smoothness. Our cabin was on the Riviera Deck (4), way down in the interior of the ship. Some of you have had the experience of an ocean liner, but it was radically different from my experience with the "luxury" of a US Naval Vessel! Imagine a large hotel--with space for about 2600 guests--all on a large platform that propels it through the sea! With two large restaurants, seating about 650 to 700 at a meal. A large theatre for musical shows and dramas, seating about 1000! Shops, cafes, bars, a casino, and an internet café--all the various things to entertain you in almost every way--and a crew drawn from about 50 nations--to care for you hand and foot!
We really enjoyed the voyage to and from Cozumel. Then, we were able to take a bus ride through the peninsula to Chichen Itza with a very knowledgeable guide, Freddy, whose English was more than adequate to explain all that we were seeing on our trip, although he was apologetic for his "limited English".
We were allowed to climb up on the monument known as "El Castillo" the highest remnant of the Mayan construction at Chichen Itza. The stairs are "STEEP"! But with only 91 steps up and 91 steps down, we made the climb to the top and then had to make the "DESCENT" of the steps--thankful for a guide rope to hold on to on our way down--polishing each step as we carefully slid down from step to step!
We sailed back to Miami, arriving on Friday morning at the same pier we left from on Monday afternoon. Having successfully passed through US Customs inspection (Grandmother's bag got searched for contraband!), we retrieved the rental car and made our way to Ft Lauderdale International Airport to fly on to Baltimore and visit Harold and Monika and their children. The flight took about 2 1/2 hours, and Harold's drive from Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) to Fredericksburg, VA took another 2 1/2 hours--DC Traffic!!
It was very special to see all the Virginia Ingrams--particularly the little ones! We had a good visit there--with tours to historic sites around northern Virginia. On Monday, we took the Virginia Rail Express (VRE) Commuter train into Franconia to the Metro rail service into DC. We went past Harold's State Department Office Building to visit the Washington Mall and its monuments--particularly the Lincoln Memorial and the new World War II Memorial. We walked past the Vietnam Memorial to walk along the Reflecting Basin to the Smithsonian Museums--about a two-mile hike! We did visit the Air and Space Museum, the Old Castle, the new Museum of the American Indians and then we went through the Holocaust Museum--brrrr! DC is, of course, filled with Government Buildings and Government Civil Servants, but the Metro System does provide a rapid way around the major areas of the Powerful. We were able to really tire ourselves out with all the walking through so much history!
We rested up on Tuesday, then went to see the estate of Thomas Jefferson, Montecello, at Charlottesville, VA. The location is beautiful, with much to consider, as the mansion has been preserved much as Jefferson left it on his death on 4 July 1826--the same day that John Adams died in Quincy, Massachusetts.
After another long day on the road, we put off the visit to Orange, VA and the home of James Madison, Montpelier, until a later time. Grandmother and I took the two little ones to see the sights there--quite a place--the home had been bought by the DuPont family after the deaths of James and Dolly Madison, and was greatly altered. The Montpelier Foundation is in the midst of a great renovation and restoration of the place to the form known by the Madisons. They have carried out a ten year architectural archaeology research project, and are in the midst of a four year restoration project--removing all the DuPunt additions and restoring the old structure as James Madison would have known it.
We also toured the Virginia North Neck--that part of Virginia between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers, where the earliest of the Ingram Family settled in the 1630s. We were headed southeast down Virginia Route 3, when Grandmother had me turn off to visit Pope Creek, the birthplace of George Washington. We saw much about his first three years, before the family moved closer to Fredericksburg, at Ferry Farm.
We also visited Stratford Hall, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee, General of the Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War. I was given quite a reception when I said that I was named Robert Edward Lee Ingram, for the General! His father, Henry (Lighthorse Harry) Lee, was one of the only brothers to sign the Declaration of Independence, along with his brother Richard Lee. We were shown the fine rooms of the mansion, and the service rooms on the lower floor. There were several outbuildings, including a large carriage house, with several old carriages and coaches, including the landau used by the French General, Lafayette, when he visited the country in the 1820s.
Harold took us down from Fredericksburg to Guinea Station, to visit the Stonewall Jackson Memorial, where T.J. Jackson, Lee's right hand aide and cohort died from pneumonia after being shot by one of his own sentries after the Battle of Chancellorsville. His death made the later struggle of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia more difficult for Lee. "Stonewall" Jackson was really of one mind with Lee in fighting against the Federal Army of the Potomac, whether that army was under command of Burnside, McClellan, Hooker, Meade, or Grant. This was a case of tragedy from "friendly fire."
Our flights on Southwest Air Lines from Phoenix (PHX) to St Louis (STL) to Tampa (TPA) to Ft Lauderdale (FLL), from Ft Lauderdale (FLL) to Baltimore-Washington International (BWI), and from BWI back to Phoenix (PHX), went smoothly, even with the short periods of rough riding over the weather fronts. The transits of the TSA security screenings were also interesting--my knee-brace drew some attention--but we didn't have to quite strip all the way for the searches! I had made sure that most of my armamentaria--knives, Gerber tool, clippers, etc.--were left behind or in checked baggage.
Here is Gerry in the loby of the hotel in Fort Lauderdale, before we took the cruise out of Miami to Cotzumel, Qintana Roo, Mexico.
Here is the MV Fascination at port in Miami, Florida as we were about to board her.
Here I am at the rail of the MV Fascination as we are sailing out of the port of Miami, Florida, headed for Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.Here is Gerry on the steps of El Castillo at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico, as we started to make the climb up the steps to the
Temple on the top of the pyramid.
Here are Gerry and Jocelyn on the steps of Harold and Monika's home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, with spiderwebs through the trees for decorations for Halloween.
Lincoln Memorial on the Mall in Washington, DCAnd, here is the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Basin
on the Mall of Washington, DC.
This is part of the Birthplace of George Washington, on Pope's Creek in the North Neck of Virginia.
Here I am standing in front of Stratford Hall, the birthplace of Robert Edward Lee, for whom I was named. This is only a short distance from Pope's Creek, where George Washington was born.
Here are Gerry, Monika and the Ingram children at Montecello, the home of President Thomas Jefferson, near Charlotteburg, Virginia.
Here is Gerry about to enter the back door of Montpelier, the home of President James Madison.
This is a view of the foundation of the Ferry Farm where George Washinton spent his teen years, living with his older brother Lawrence, where he began to become a land surveyor.
The family gathered at the place where General T. J. "Stonewall" Jackson died after the Battle of the Wilderness, from gun-shot wounds, by "friendly fire," as he had ridden forward to observe the deatruction of Union Troops in that battle.
Friday, January 30, 2009
I will interject a new Chronicle into the stream of older editions at this point.
We had an interesting event in Yuma on Thursday, with the dedication of the new Agriculture and Science Building along with the new "3C" (College Commons Center) building. I have a number of images of these rather startling structures.The first is the "3C" building, from the area in front of the Sci-Ag building. This is a view along the west front of the Sci-Ag building. The Ceremonies were held in the area under the "3C" building, with a ribbon cutting after the several talks by the rather proud officials and contractors! I have a number of pieces of the ribbon that I was able to cut, alongside Professor Fred Croxen (Geology & Earth Sciences}. I had sat 
with Professor Sam Colton (Welding Tech) through the talks. It was rather interesting to see and talk to a number of the old staff, both faculty and support. There were several past members of the AWC District Governing Boards present also. I was the principal contributer to the design of the old Chemistry building, years ago. We had been assured that there would be a new Science building "soon" but it has taken many years to see this building rise from the desert and gleam in the sun with its stainless steel exterior and many "green" features, such as solar panels for power production and the reflective skin to reduce thermal heating from the sun!
The general contractor was Pilkington Construction of Yuma, and almost all of the sub-contractors, electrical, HVAC, concrete, steel, etc., were local as well. This is the major part of the $70 million bond issue of 2004, with additional structures in Wellton, San Luis, Quartzite, and Parker. I feel that the construction appears to be outstanding, state-of-the-art for 2009!
The NAU-Yuma has also added another building next to the new Sci-Ag one, for their Science courses. A new Kathy Watson Child Development Education Center has also been added recently, so the old small close-quartered campus has really expanded far beyond the old clustered buildings. Such is change!
Ingram Chronicle
Volume 7 Number 2
30 January 2009
We had an interesting event in Yuma on Thursday, with the dedication of the new Agriculture and Science Building along with the new "3C" (College Commons Center) building. I have a number of images of these rather startling structures.
with Professor Sam Colton (Welding Tech) through the talks. It was rather interesting to see and talk to a number of the old staff, both faculty and support. There were several past members of the AWC District Governing Boards present also. I was the principal contributer to the design of the old Chemistry building, years ago. We had been assured that there would be a new Science building "soon" but it has taken many years to see this building rise from the desert and gleam in the sun with its stainless steel exterior and many "green" features, such as solar panels for power production and the reflective skin to reduce thermal heating from the sun!
This next is a view of the south side of the Sci-Ag building along the new, larger parking lot between the campus and 24th Street.
The general contractor was Pilkington Construction of Yuma, and almost all of the sub-contractors, electrical, HVAC, concrete, steel, etc., were local as well. This is the major part of the $70 million bond issue of 2004, with additional structures in Wellton, San Luis, Quartzite, and Parker. I feel that the construction appears to be outstanding, state-of-the-art for 2009!
The NAU-Yuma has also added another building next to the new Sci-Ag one, for their Science courses. A new Kathy Watson Child Development Education Center has also been added recently, so the old small close-quartered campus has really expanded far beyond the old clustered buildings. Such is change!
Ingram Chronicle
Volume 2 Number 7
Today is 10 September, and we have
been back in Yuma for several weeks. The old routine is taking hold on us again. Mother is busy with the Meetinghouse Library again, Rosie is substitute teaching in the schools, and I am back busy with the Yuma Stake Employment Center.
We had a very enjoyable time in Salt Lake City and Jackson, Wyoming. We had a fun time seeing the sights in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, along with trips to the tram up to the top of Renedzvous Mountain from Teton Village and floating down the Snake River from Wilson Bridge to South Park Bridge--about 13 river miles. We saw a lot of bald eagles and other avian species then. We saw quite a number of wapiti (elk) in both Grand Teton and Yellowstone--picture below--but we saw no bears or bison.
The Native Americans were performing their native dances and displaying their fine arts at Teton Village, just north of Jackson. We were well entertained by the small Pow Wow there. They were very special people.
We are preparing to go on our cruise in October, if the hurricanes leave any of Florida there to visit! "Charlie", "Frances", and "Ivan" seem to be (have been) very bad for that part of the country. "Frances's rains as she moved north up the coast really played havoc with the coastal states
The scenery in Yellowstone and Grand Teton NPs was as expected spectacular and grand. There wasn't much wildlife in the parks this time--a few wapiti or elk along the roadsides and in the streams.
I am having a lot of problems trying to get any coherency in these Chronicles--there has been a long space between issues.
Aunt Genevieve Bennett fell and broke her pelvis and sacrum while we were in SLC--she is improving, has been home since before we left to return home. Aunt Frances is moving into an Elders Housing place in Dallas--no more lawn-mowing and other outside chores for her. Aunt Anna is suffering further inroads of her decline in health--we are all getting a lot older! And the parts are all wearing out.
I have suffered a torn medial ligament in my left knee--may need orthoscopic surgery in November--we shall keep you informed as to the prognosis and prospects for recovery.
Volume 2 Number 7
Today is 10 September, and we have
been back in Yuma for several weeks. The old routine is taking hold on us again. Mother is busy with the Meetinghouse Library again, Rosie is substitute teaching in the schools, and I am back busy with the Yuma Stake Employment Center.
We had a very enjoyable time in Salt Lake City and Jackson, Wyoming. We had a fun time seeing the sights in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, along with trips to the tram up to the top of Renedzvous Mountain from Teton Village and floating down the Snake River from Wilson Bridge to South Park Bridge--about 13 river miles. We saw a lot of bald eagles and other avian species then. We saw quite a number of wapiti (elk) in both Grand Teton and Yellowstone--picture below--but we saw no bears or bison.
The Native Americans were performing their native dances and displaying their fine arts at Teton Village, just north of Jackson. We were well entertained by the small Pow Wow there. They were very special people.
We are preparing to go on our cruise in October, if the hurricanes leave any of Florida there to visit! "Charlie", "Frances", and "Ivan" seem to be (have been) very bad for that part of the country. "Frances's rains as she moved north up the coast really played havoc with the coastal states
The scenery in Yellowstone and Grand Teton NPs was as expected spectacular and grand. There wasn't much wildlife in the parks this time--a few wapiti or elk along the roadsides and in the streams.
I am having a lot of problems trying to get any coherency in these Chronicles--there has been a long space between issues.
Aunt Genevieve Bennett fell and broke her pelvis and sacrum while we were in SLC--she is improving, has been home since before we left to return home. Aunt Frances is moving into an Elders Housing place in Dallas--no more lawn-mowing and other outside chores for her. Aunt Anna is suffering further inroads of her decline in health--we are all getting a lot older! And the parts are all wearing out.
I have suffered a torn medial ligament in my left knee--may need orthoscopic surgery in November--we shall keep you informed as to the prognosis and prospects for recovery.
Ingram Chronicle
Volume 2 Number 6
The Sunday before we left—27 June, your mother and I had the opportunity to speak on a patriotic theme at Sacrament Meeting. The Bishopric caught us before we could get out of town. It was a good talk by your Mom. I had found several references to patriotic themes on the Church WebPage <www.lds.org> and the extensive magazine articles by the General Authorities. I don’t mind stealing ideas and thoughts from the best—Pres. Benson, Elder Oakes, etc. Our text was from Ether 2:11, on the blessed nature of this land as a land of freedom, as long as we held to the laws and commandments of God.
I must relate somewhat about our travel from Yuma to Salt Lake City. We started out quite late in the day—I had misplaced my Temple Recommend and had to make a quick connection with Bishop Squires and President Spencer to replace that. We were finally on the road about 1:30 PM, I started off driving the Ford Ranger—Rosie and Becky will return to Yuma in that next week—I was out on US95 toward the College when your mother and the girls caught up with me and took the lead.
All was fine, until we stopped at the Pilot filling station on I-40 and AZ95—after we’d filled both gas tanks, I moved the Ranger off the pump line to park it by the store—your mother couldn’t get the van to start! Not a single peep—nothing! I then tried to jump start the van with the Ranger—no go!
I then made recourse to the AAA roadside assistance. Shortly, a nice fellow showed up with his flat-bed tow truck—and was able use his portable jump-start battery to get the van running. Your mother had found that the battery was from Wal-Mart (ticket and warranty)—and there was a Wal-Mart 20 miles back in Lake Havasu City. I then drove the van to the store—the fellow followed us to Wal-Mart in the tow truck—and around back looking for the automotive department—ain’t none—and the van died there for good. I went through the J. C. Penney store to go into the Wal-Mart and bought a new battery—had to call a roadside service mechanic—no help from Wal-Mart! No mechanics! The new battery checked out ok and the other electrical systems were fine.
We were finally on the road to Mesquite—to follow Rosie and Becky—who’d taken off from the Pilot store while we awaited the AAA roadside service. Mother and I grabbed a quick bite in Las Vegas at the Golden Arches—and arrived in Mesquite just before midnight. The remainder of the trip was nothing off beat, except for the several construction projects—Rosie and Becky stopped in Cedar City to take in a play at the Shakespeare Festival, "My Fair Lady"—they will see another on their way back home next week, "Taming of the Shrew".
On the way into SLC, we stopped off to visit your Aunt Genevieve Bennett, who’s in the rehab center at Highland Care Center, recovering from her fall in the family back yard. She has breaks in her pelvis and saccrum, quite painful and slow mending.
We have now passed over the glorious Fourth of July and all its excitement—fireworks, picnic, and all. Your mother and I, along with Rosalyn and Becky are enjoying the opportunity to visit with all the various family here in Salt Lake City.
We have visited with Bob and Marcia, and their family, briefly on the 3rd, just before they took off for Bob’s tour at San Diego for his Naval Reserve "Cruise" on the beach.
Your uncle Robert Fonnesbeck, along with Jens and Eric passed through on their way to Provo and then returned with Kris and her sister on their way to Costa Mesa—Robert had to be to his Bishopric Meeting at 6:30 AM on Sunday, the Fourth! He is the new Bishop there.
Kathryn came through from helping Michael move into new digs in Saint Louis—and is as busy as ever.
We had a fun picnic dinner with the Torres crowd—Annette and Emerito, Peter and Sarah with little Max, Aaron and Hillery, and Jennifer and Tim. Sarah’s Mom Ann was there with Bishop Brad Stewart and his wife and daughter.
We have made some contacts with others in the family and friends—Aunt Elaine Rasmusson, Julie Halterman, Caroline Ugolini, and Bill Breck. We hope to visit as many as we can—so as to renew our fellowship with the clan. We’ve had some contacts with Brian, thanks to the cell-‘phones that we have.
Hermana Maria Torres is due to return from her mission in Central America this next week, 23 July—to report on that next Sunday in the Parley’s 4th Ward—it will be good to see her again. She has reported such good things to your Grandfather Fonnesbeck.
Also, I’ve been enjoying the notes from Elder Brandon J. L. Ingram from the Honduras Teguchigalpa Mission in Central America. His adventures are quite important to your mother and I. As you may have noted, I’ve tried to share these with you all as they have come in—his dad is now sending them on to the mailing list that I was using.
As you can see, we are doing just fine at the moment. I hope to spend a day or two in the Family History Library here in SLC, doing some more research on the family tree—trying to follow up on a few new leads to pursue the John Ingram line back into England, perhaps to York. The detective work goes on—where it will lead I don’t know, but I am hopeful to find more than I know about them at present.
This will suffice for the moment—May God Bless You All—Dad
Volume 2 Number 6
The Sunday before we left—27 June, your mother and I had the opportunity to speak on a patriotic theme at Sacrament Meeting. The Bishopric caught us before we could get out of town. It was a good talk by your Mom. I had found several references to patriotic themes on the Church WebPage <www.lds.org> and the extensive magazine articles by the General Authorities. I don’t mind stealing ideas and thoughts from the best—Pres. Benson, Elder Oakes, etc. Our text was from Ether 2:11, on the blessed nature of this land as a land of freedom, as long as we held to the laws and commandments of God.
I must relate somewhat about our travel from Yuma to Salt Lake City. We started out quite late in the day—I had misplaced my Temple Recommend and had to make a quick connection with Bishop Squires and President Spencer to replace that. We were finally on the road about 1:30 PM, I started off driving the Ford Ranger—Rosie and Becky will return to Yuma in that next week—I was out on US95 toward the College when your mother and the girls caught up with me and took the lead.
All was fine, until we stopped at the Pilot filling station on I-40 and AZ95—after we’d filled both gas tanks, I moved the Ranger off the pump line to park it by the store—your mother couldn’t get the van to start! Not a single peep—nothing! I then tried to jump start the van with the Ranger—no go!
I then made recourse to the AAA roadside assistance. Shortly, a nice fellow showed up with his flat-bed tow truck—and was able use his portable jump-start battery to get the van running. Your mother had found that the battery was from Wal-Mart (ticket and warranty)—and there was a Wal-Mart 20 miles back in Lake Havasu City. I then drove the van to the store—the fellow followed us to Wal-Mart in the tow truck—and around back looking for the automotive department—ain’t none—and the van died there for good. I went through the J. C. Penney store to go into the Wal-Mart and bought a new battery—had to call a roadside service mechanic—no help from Wal-Mart! No mechanics! The new battery checked out ok and the other electrical systems were fine.
We were finally on the road to Mesquite—to follow Rosie and Becky—who’d taken off from the Pilot store while we awaited the AAA roadside service. Mother and I grabbed a quick bite in Las Vegas at the Golden Arches—and arrived in Mesquite just before midnight. The remainder of the trip was nothing off beat, except for the several construction projects—Rosie and Becky stopped in Cedar City to take in a play at the Shakespeare Festival, "My Fair Lady"—they will see another on their way back home next week, "Taming of the Shrew".
On the way into SLC, we stopped off to visit your Aunt Genevieve Bennett, who’s in the rehab center at Highland Care Center, recovering from her fall in the family back yard. She has breaks in her pelvis and saccrum, quite painful and slow mending.
We have now passed over the glorious Fourth of July and all its excitement—fireworks, picnic, and all. Your mother and I, along with Rosalyn and Becky are enjoying the opportunity to visit with all the various family here in Salt Lake City.
We have visited with Bob and Marcia, and their family, briefly on the 3rd, just before they took off for Bob’s tour at San Diego for his Naval Reserve "Cruise" on the beach.
Your uncle Robert Fonnesbeck, along with Jens and Eric passed through on their way to Provo and then returned with Kris and her sister on their way to Costa Mesa—Robert had to be to his Bishopric Meeting at 6:30 AM on Sunday, the Fourth! He is the new Bishop there.
Kathryn came through from helping Michael move into new digs in Saint Louis—and is as busy as ever.
We had a fun picnic dinner with the Torres crowd—Annette and Emerito, Peter and Sarah with little Max, Aaron and Hillery, and Jennifer and Tim. Sarah’s Mom Ann was there with Bishop Brad Stewart and his wife and daughter.
We have made some contacts with others in the family and friends—Aunt Elaine Rasmusson, Julie Halterman, Caroline Ugolini, and Bill Breck. We hope to visit as many as we can—so as to renew our fellowship with the clan. We’ve had some contacts with Brian, thanks to the cell-‘phones that we have.
Hermana Maria Torres is due to return from her mission in Central America this next week, 23 July—to report on that next Sunday in the Parley’s 4th Ward—it will be good to see her again. She has reported such good things to your Grandfather Fonnesbeck.
Also, I’ve been enjoying the notes from Elder Brandon J. L. Ingram from the Honduras Teguchigalpa Mission in Central America. His adventures are quite important to your mother and I. As you may have noted, I’ve tried to share these with you all as they have come in—his dad is now sending them on to the mailing list that I was using.
As you can see, we are doing just fine at the moment. I hope to spend a day or two in the Family History Library here in SLC, doing some more research on the family tree—trying to follow up on a few new leads to pursue the John Ingram line back into England, perhaps to York. The detective work goes on—where it will lead I don’t know, but I am hopeful to find more than I know about them at present.
This will suffice for the moment—May God Bless You All—Dad
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Ingram Chronicle
Volume 2 Number 5
Well, May has passed, and June is here, so here is the next issue of the "Chronicle."
Your mother and I have been to Phoenix to the 2004 Convention of the All-Arizona School Retirees' Association (AASRA) and we both had a great time, meeting with all the people from across Arizona, and hearing very good speakers on a variety of topics, ranging from Jana Boomersbach on "Winnie Ruth Judd, the Trunk Murderess," to reports from the legislative lobbyists of the AASRA at the Phoenix State House, to reports from the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) on coming changes in payments and medical insurance--coming attractions. We do have a very good group, with about 100 in attendance at the convention.
We are still looking forward to being able to go away from Yuma for a while--to SLC and Jackson--to see some things that we've seen before, but may see in a new way this time. We have received a notice from ORE regarding our scheduled stay at Jackson, Wyoming at the end of July--a really beautiful location in the mountains of the everlasting hills!
Here are the three cuties with their cakes before the great destruction struck them! We celebrated the birthdays of our of three of our great-granddaughters at the park by the Yuma water tower and the water play spot--lots of fun for the little ones and for the not-so-little-ones--we are enjoying the rare opportunities to see the expanding family as these little ones are added to the family. Ah! How we look fondly on these sweet little spirits as they come into our life!
Here is their beautiful birthday cake!
Today, as I sit in the office, listening to the Reagan Funeral Service, I reflect on the happenings of these past few years, the changes that have transpired in the world. After my experiences in Korea and the experiences of others in Viet Nam, who could really believe that the USSR would actually collapse within the next few years. That the Church would be active and growing in Eastern Europe and Asia! Stakes and Missions in places far beyond our human imaginings! The Work of the Lord goes forward apace! From only 10 Temples in operation, mostly on the Wasach Front, to well over 100 Temples across the World!
I am still working on the family history and genealogy--looking to extend the lines further back--I have found the first Ingram--John or Robert(?) who came to Virginia early, with at least one son, John, who later received land grants from Sir William Berkeley, Royal Governor of the Colony, for aiding the transport of a number of individuals to the Colony. I have yet to find where in England out forebear came, I haven't found what vessel he came to Virginia in or exactly when--by the 1640s--young John was also born somewhere in England in 1618 or 1620.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Ingram Chronicle
Volume 2 Number 4
We are now in The Great Month of April! With Conferences all over the place, Yuma Arizona Stake, General and Yuma First Ward. We were able to participate at many meetings with really great speakers. We are enjoying relatively good weather--a few short rain showers have passed through--just enough to get the freshly washed cars dirty! And not enough to do more than stir up the dust. And not really enough snow in the mountains of Utah, Wyoming and Colorado to recharge the reservoirs along the Colorado River! Maybe more snows next year?
The general health of all here is still good--with a few minor ailments as usual with the onset of Spring--just normal, I presume.
Here is a recent photo of your Mom and I taken at the Wal-Mart Studio here in Yuma.
We are nearing the end of the school year, with final exams just around the corner, and winding up the class in metallurgy. I hope to see more students follow this large class--14 attending classes! We've had some good experiences in the classroom and in the laboratory. There will be continuing growth in enrollments as time goes on--more welders and machinists are needed as the area gains in industrial and agricultural needs, along with the ongoing military establishments. I have a number of men from the MCAS, military and civilian, seeking to improve their understanding of the trades and crafts that they already endeavor to use in their employment. I will lose about three or four of the class before the final exam--they will be deployed to the East Coast in the next two weeks--to service the F-18s and other aircraft in the Carolinas. I'll have to establish a method for them to take the final remotely, before they go on their way, to ensure that they earn their full credit for the course.
I've been using an electronic process for their homework and class and laboratory assignments--to show that they are in tune with the new technology for communicating with the world. I am still getting used to this idea myself, seeking to further ground myself in the technology--there are many glitches in the system--such as images and organization of the work on the electronic page. I hope that I can manage to learn the new along with the students. I'll just have to keep trying to learn the ins-and-outs of the system.
I am glad that Bob has seen fit to forward the letter from Brandon to us--I have shared it with your Mom and Rosy--I will have to add the e-mail address for Brandon to the distribution list for these Ingram Chronicles. We've also received snail mail from Sister Wendy Camerena--who's bound for the Switzerland Bern (French Speaking) Mission--from the Yuma First Ward! She is a niece of Moses Camerena of AWC, daughter of Adam Camerena, who's married to Suzanne Parker. She is a really sweet young lady, a real go-getter, and will be very successful on her mission! Her dad was a student of mine some time back.
Time has flown and I am just getting back to this issue with some small news. I've been busy with the Eagle Scout affairs of the Ocotillo District--I've been the Advancement Chairman of the district for some time, and have been responsible for setting up and holding the Eagle Scout Boards of Review! We've had about six or eight young men complete the Eagle Scout process so far this year. Tonight (11 May) we had Darrell Skousen of Hyder Branch here with his parents--a very fine young man.
We got an e-mail this week from Caroline Ugolini, in Sandy, UT, informing us that my sister Genevieve Bennett had fallen and broken her pelvis and was undergoing physical therapy for the recovery process--she had been helping your Uncle Clyde about the house and fell in the back yard. Times are tough. We all hope that she will recover quickly.
Volume 2 Number 4
We are now in The Great Month of April! With Conferences all over the place, Yuma Arizona Stake, General and Yuma First Ward. We were able to participate at many meetings with really great speakers. We are enjoying relatively good weather--a few short rain showers have passed through--just enough to get the freshly washed cars dirty! And not enough to do more than stir up the dust. And not really enough snow in the mountains of Utah, Wyoming and Colorado to recharge the reservoirs along the Colorado River! Maybe more snows next year?
The general health of all here is still good--with a few minor ailments as usual with the onset of Spring--just normal, I presume.
Here is a recent photo of your Mom and I taken at the Wal-Mart Studio here in Yuma.
We are nearing the end of the school year, with final exams just around the corner, and winding up the class in metallurgy. I hope to see more students follow this large class--14 attending classes! We've had some good experiences in the classroom and in the laboratory. There will be continuing growth in enrollments as time goes on--more welders and machinists are needed as the area gains in industrial and agricultural needs, along with the ongoing military establishments. I have a number of men from the MCAS, military and civilian, seeking to improve their understanding of the trades and crafts that they already endeavor to use in their employment. I will lose about three or four of the class before the final exam--they will be deployed to the East Coast in the next two weeks--to service the F-18s and other aircraft in the Carolinas. I'll have to establish a method for them to take the final remotely, before they go on their way, to ensure that they earn their full credit for the course.
I've been using an electronic process for their homework and class and laboratory assignments--to show that they are in tune with the new technology for communicating with the world. I am still getting used to this idea myself, seeking to further ground myself in the technology--there are many glitches in the system--such as images and organization of the work on the electronic page. I hope that I can manage to learn the new along with the students. I'll just have to keep trying to learn the ins-and-outs of the system.
I am glad that Bob has seen fit to forward the letter from Brandon to us--I have shared it with your Mom and Rosy--I will have to add the e-mail address for Brandon to the distribution list for these Ingram Chronicles. We've also received snail mail from Sister Wendy Camerena--who's bound for the Switzerland Bern (French Speaking) Mission--from the Yuma First Ward! She is a niece of Moses Camerena of AWC, daughter of Adam Camerena, who's married to Suzanne Parker. She is a really sweet young lady, a real go-getter, and will be very successful on her mission! Her dad was a student of mine some time back.
Time has flown and I am just getting back to this issue with some small news. I've been busy with the Eagle Scout affairs of the Ocotillo District--I've been the Advancement Chairman of the district for some time, and have been responsible for setting up and holding the Eagle Scout Boards of Review! We've had about six or eight young men complete the Eagle Scout process so far this year. Tonight (11 May) we had Darrell Skousen of Hyder Branch here with his parents--a very fine young man.
We got an e-mail this week from Caroline Ugolini, in Sandy, UT, informing us that my sister Genevieve Bennett had fallen and broken her pelvis and was undergoing physical therapy for the recovery process--she had been helping your Uncle Clyde about the house and fell in the back yard. Times are tough. We all hope that she will recover quickly.
Ingram Chronicle
January 2004 Volume 2, Number 1
Hello to all!
Here it is the second day of the New Year! We just received another four inches of snow last night on top of the previous three feet that had fallen earlier. Here is a view of the neighborhood with the fresh coverage of snow!
This trip has really been an adventure. Your mother and I traveled to San Diego on Friday, 26 Dec 2003 to assist with Robert E. Ingram, Junior’s wedding on Saturday at the San Diego Temple.
After the affairs of Saturday, your mother and I, along with Candice and Brandon, traveled to Primm, NV to drop Brandon off to travel further with his dad to SLC.
I-15 was a royal mess through the area east of Los Angeles, near San Bernardino—a real slow moving parking lot! We were in a real traffic snarl for over 100 miles—all the Christmas Week crowd going home, the New Years Week crowd going out, and the regular Sunday traffic—more than the interstate could properly handle. We took a rest stop in Barstow, visited the Del Taco for lunch, then returned to the road—eventually clearing the mass of traffic before we reached the Cal-Nevada state line, and the casinos of Primm.
We registered Brandon in the casino hotel, and as we were saying our good-byes, Mathew hit the door—Bob and Marcia had just checked in to the other room at the hotel!
Your mother, Candice and I continued on up I-15 through Las Vegas to Mesquite, NV, to the new Ramada Hotel, where I had made reservations for the night for us—a beautiful place without a casino, above the town in "West Mesquite". We had arrived at the Las Vegas Strip area just at the dinner hour and show time! I-15 at Las Vegas was another slow moving parking lot for about 15 miles—the length of the Strip! Gutter to gutter and bumper to bumper with a lot of traffic! We survived the jam, but with frazzled nerves!
Other than that, the trip to Salt Lake City was uneventful—with increasing amounts of snow on the roadsides as we neared SLC. The roads were only slushy or wet—no real snow—the plows had done their jobs well.
On New Years Eve we had a gathering of many of the family here at Grandfather Fonnesbeck’s to welcome the New Year—but most of us folded our tents early and went with the New York New Year celebration on Times Square! Too tired to wait out ‘til midnight in SLC!
On New Years Day, we had another massing of the family here—with the men watching the Bowl Games on TV and the women visiting in the other room. It has been very good to see as many as we have so far—further visits will be made before we leave for our return to Yuma.
I have resumed the epistle near the end of January after our return from SLC, with the gathering of the family to Yuma, again. Rosie is busy substituting at the various schools, she and her mother have the Primary Achievement Day girls each Tuesday. I am back in the Employment Center office and the Family History Center--we just held the annual Family History Seminar last Saturday--some 170 plus participated in many different classes.
I have been remembering the times in Korea--some fifty or more years ago. I was the duty driver for the ship's pick-up and assigned to make the blood runs to Seoul City Air Field and back to In'chon. The route we took was the MSR#1 up the Han River estuary, through the mainly open country, consisting of market gardens and rice paddies. The legal speed limit on the MSR was only 25mph, which I would do going up to Seoul, taking about 2 1/2 hours. With the several cases of chilled whole blood in the bed of the truck, I had to make the return trip in under one hour--to be able to get the blood to the ship in good condition--the dry ice and regular ice would be gone at the legal pace! I would usually get flagged down in one of the little villages along the way, where the Army MP Battalion had a speed check point. After a short discussion with the MPs, I'd resume my way at my usual 45-50 mph to get to the beach as quickly as possible. I would then turn the "tickets" over to the Officer of the Deck for processing. Once, the CO of the MP Battalion was at the speed check point, and tried to read the riot act to me. I simply told him to sign the ticket and let me get the whole blood to the Haven! That really ticked him off, but he had to let me go on, since I was able to show him the manifest for the blood cargo I was carrying--I reported that stoppage to the OD and was then sent to see the Haven's Captain, Capt. Hamblett.
After I had explained the reasons for the series of speeding tickets, he wrote a letter to the CO of the MP Battalion, with a copy to the CG of the First Marine Division and the UN HQ in Tokyo (MacArthur!). After that, the MPs simply flagged me on through on my return trips!
I was always encountering some units of the 1st MarDiv, and was careful to inform them that I was from the Haven--and got very kind treatment from them--I just didn't tell them I was an ET and not an HC (corpsman/medic).
It was very interesting to be at In'chon, where the tides ranged over 45 to 60 feet between high and low water. The ebb and flow was very strong there--once the Captain's Gig of the HMS Newcastle tried to cross over to the Haven for a visit, but couldn't make sufficient headway against the ebbing tide--so our launch had to go and tow them back to us, rather than their being swept out into the Yellow Sea!
I am looking into my other medals from the Republic of Korea--I have received my ROK Korean War Service medal and should soon receive my individual medal for the ROK Presidential Unit Citation to the Have. I hope to put them together in a "shadow box" frame for display at home--if I can find a bare spot of wall for hanging the frame!
I just received some pictures of my 
Dallas sisters from my niece, Macia Melaun Hurni. We have Anna (Marcia's mom and my oldest sister), Charlotte (Marcia's sister), and Frances (my sister). The next one is of Marcia and her husband.
I will have to include some more pictures from the SLC visit later.
Love
Dad
January 2004 Volume 2, Number 1
Hello to all!
Here it is the second day of the New Year! We just received another four inches of snow last night on top of the previous three feet that had fallen earlier. Here is a view of the neighborhood with the fresh coverage of snow!This trip has really been an adventure. Your mother and I traveled to San Diego on Friday, 26 Dec 2003 to assist with Robert E. Ingram, Junior’s wedding on Saturday at the San Diego Temple.
After the affairs of Saturday, your mother and I, along with Candice and Brandon, traveled to Primm, NV to drop Brandon off to travel further with his dad to SLC.
I-15 was a royal mess through the area east of Los Angeles, near San Bernardino—a real slow moving parking lot! We were in a real traffic snarl for over 100 miles—all the Christmas Week crowd going home, the New Years Week crowd going out, and the regular Sunday traffic—more than the interstate could properly handle. We took a rest stop in Barstow, visited the Del Taco for lunch, then returned to the road—eventually clearing the mass of traffic before we reached the Cal-Nevada state line, and the casinos of Primm.
We registered Brandon in the casino hotel, and as we were saying our good-byes, Mathew hit the door—Bob and Marcia had just checked in to the other room at the hotel!
Your mother, Candice and I continued on up I-15 through Las Vegas to Mesquite, NV, to the new Ramada Hotel, where I had made reservations for the night for us—a beautiful place without a casino, above the town in "West Mesquite". We had arrived at the Las Vegas Strip area just at the dinner hour and show time! I-15 at Las Vegas was another slow moving parking lot for about 15 miles—the length of the Strip! Gutter to gutter and bumper to bumper with a lot of traffic! We survived the jam, but with frazzled nerves!
Other than that, the trip to Salt Lake City was uneventful—with increasing amounts of snow on the roadsides as we neared SLC. The roads were only slushy or wet—no real snow—the plows had done their jobs well.
On New Years Eve we had a gathering of many of the family here at Grandfather Fonnesbeck’s to welcome the New Year—but most of us folded our tents early and went with the New York New Year celebration on Times Square! Too tired to wait out ‘til midnight in SLC!
On New Years Day, we had another massing of the family here—with the men watching the Bowl Games on TV and the women visiting in the other room. It has been very good to see as many as we have so far—further visits will be made before we leave for our return to Yuma.
I have resumed the epistle near the end of January after our return from SLC, with the gathering of the family to Yuma, again. Rosie is busy substituting at the various schools, she and her mother have the Primary Achievement Day girls each Tuesday. I am back in the Employment Center office and the Family History Center--we just held the annual Family History Seminar last Saturday--some 170 plus participated in many different classes.
I have been remembering the times in Korea--some fifty or more years ago. I was the duty driver for the ship's pick-up and assigned to make the blood runs to Seoul City Air Field and back to In'chon. The route we took was the MSR#1 up the Han River estuary, through the mainly open country, consisting of market gardens and rice paddies. The legal speed limit on the MSR was only 25mph, which I would do going up to Seoul, taking about 2 1/2 hours. With the several cases of chilled whole blood in the bed of the truck, I had to make the return trip in under one hour--to be able to get the blood to the ship in good condition--the dry ice and regular ice would be gone at the legal pace! I would usually get flagged down in one of the little villages along the way, where the Army MP Battalion had a speed check point. After a short discussion with the MPs, I'd resume my way at my usual 45-50 mph to get to the beach as quickly as possible. I would then turn the "tickets" over to the Officer of the Deck for processing. Once, the CO of the MP Battalion was at the speed check point, and tried to read the riot act to me. I simply told him to sign the ticket and let me get the whole blood to the Haven! That really ticked him off, but he had to let me go on, since I was able to show him the manifest for the blood cargo I was carrying--I reported that stoppage to the OD and was then sent to see the Haven's Captain, Capt. Hamblett.
After I had explained the reasons for the series of speeding tickets, he wrote a letter to the CO of the MP Battalion, with a copy to the CG of the First Marine Division and the UN HQ in Tokyo (MacArthur!). After that, the MPs simply flagged me on through on my return trips!
I was always encountering some units of the 1st MarDiv, and was careful to inform them that I was from the Haven--and got very kind treatment from them--I just didn't tell them I was an ET and not an HC (corpsman/medic).
It was very interesting to be at In'chon, where the tides ranged over 45 to 60 feet between high and low water. The ebb and flow was very strong there--once the Captain's Gig of the HMS Newcastle tried to cross over to the Haven for a visit, but couldn't make sufficient headway against the ebbing tide--so our launch had to go and tow them back to us, rather than their being swept out into the Yellow Sea!
I am looking into my other medals from the Republic of Korea--I have received my ROK Korean War Service medal and should soon receive my individual medal for the ROK Presidential Unit Citation to the Have. I hope to put them together in a "shadow box" frame for display at home--if I can find a bare spot of wall for hanging the frame!
I just received some pictures of my 
Dallas sisters from my niece, Macia Melaun Hurni. We have Anna (Marcia's mom and my oldest sister), Charlotte (Marcia's sister), and Frances (my sister). The next one is of Marcia and her husband.I will have to include some more pictures from the SLC visit later.
Love
Dad
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