Kenneth Cope Live

I heard that Kenneth Cope was coming to Rexburg to do a concert at…somewhere. Was it called the tabernacle? I don’t know. At any rate, I had loved Kenneth Cope for years. So I found a way to get tickets, and I went to that concert. I went with someone, but I have no idea who. I think it was Carol. It was fantastic. I loved going there, listening to him live, and feeling the spirit that his music always, always brings. It was very small, for a concert, but it was the best concert of my life.

My First Turkey

There were a few of us who weren’t going anywhere for Thanksgiving one year. We decided we’d get together and have our own Thanksgiving. It was me, Jason, Troy, and some girl that Troy knew who lived in one of the dorms. We used one of the dorm’s common rooms with a kitchen to make our Thanksgiving feast, and I cooked a turkey for the very first time. I was very proud of myself! And now, decades later, I’m even more proud knowing that I did that without the help of Pinterest. Ha ha!

A Very College Halloween

We never got any trick-or-treaters, because everyone just plain knew that our street was full of college kids. But we still dressed up and had parties and carved pumpkins! Two of my favorite pumpkins I’ve ever seen carved were done on College Ave. One was Carol’s CTR pumpkin, and the other one was Jason’s Halloween pumpkin.

Stephanie Orr

Carol carving her pumpkin.

Jason and his pumpkin.

One of my favorite costumes of all time was my roommate Erin’s costume. She dressed up as a date. Here she is with Carol…

The Mission I Missed

I remember trying to decide whether or not I should serve a mission. I kept thinking about it and praying about it, and I was sure there must be something wrong with me, because I did not feel good about it. How could I not feel good about it? I mean, I was the right age, and heaven knows I had no prospects whatsoever for getting married. I figured I was just confused. So I went in to talk to Bishop Clarke. I sat down across from his desk, looked at him, and told him I came to talk to him about serving a mission. I didn't say I had decided to, just that I came to talk about it. He just sat there and looked at me. And he kept looking at me for several minutes. I could tell something was going on inside his head, but he wasn't saying anything.

Finally he said, "You're not going to believe this, but I don't think you are supposed to go on a mission." I think he said he had never said that to anyone before. I was stunned. I was sure he was going to be all gung ho about starting the process, and all that great stuff. It was amazing, because he just completely confirmed what I had been feeling. Although I didn't realize I was feeling that way because I wasn't supposed to go, I just thought there was something wrong with me. But when he said that, it straightened everything out for me, and I knew that going on a mission was not the path the Lord had for me. 

Instead, I finished out college and went home to start a career. Obviously, if I had gone on a mission I would not have been in Turlock at the right time to meet Jared, so we can all see how that one turned out!

Bishop Clarke

In the Fabulous 46^th Ward, our bishop was Jack Clarke. (He was also the head of student employment at Ricks). He was one of the best bishops I ever had. I heard plenty of stories from before I moved over to College Ave, about monumental acts of service that he inspired in that ward. One that I remember was that there had been a girl in the ward who struggled immensely with her self-esteem, largely because her eyesight was so bad that she had to wear coke bottle glasses. They were so thick, and they just took over her whole face. The ward decided to raise money by taking donations from ward members, and pay for her to get contacts. Bishop Clarke had tears in his eyes every time he told about the difference those contacts made in her life. He told that story at the beginning of every new year, because it illustrated the kind of ward the 46^th ward was—a ward of service, and love one to another. A family. I personally know, from stories of some of my roommates, that Bishop Clarke helped people financially with emergencies or other things that came up, without recognition, due to a request that it not be advertised about. (and yet somehow I knew. Hmmm).

At one point, I shared with him my poetry. He asked my permission to borrow the book for a while, because he wanted his secretary to type up all my poems for me. She typed them all up, and he presented me with several copies of a spiral bound book full of my poems—on the condition that he got to keep one of them.

I remember when Bishop Clarke was released. It was so hard for the entire ward. We always had prayer meeting every Sunday evening, where someone gave a devotional type thought, and we had a prayer, and we usually stayed around and socialized for a while. The night Bishop  Clarke was released, our prayer meeting was kind of a farewell for him, and a chance for us to all say goodbye.

Here is a picture of me and Bishop Clarke at a ward party shortly before he was released.

On a positive note, Bishop Palmer was called as the new bishop, and we all ended up loving him so much as well. He was still the bishop of the Fabulous 46^th ward when Celeste moved to College Ave a few years later, and she has fantastic memories from having him as bishop.

Christine Gets Married

Christine was a great family friend while I was in High School. Sam’s friend Shawn had moved from Turlock to Mariposa, and Christine lived in Mariposa, and Sam and I met her at a youth dance or activity. (I think?)

Christine and I became fast friends. At one point she came and lived with my family for a while. I’m thinking she had already graduated from high school at that point, and had a job working somewhere. I can’t remember where.

I was at Ricks College when Christine got married in Utah, and my roommate April and I took a road trip down to Utah so that I could be the maid of honor at her wedding.