Hola,
This week went pretty well. We had a baptism on Saturday. The old lady I wrote about, Virgilia, was baptized. The baptism went really well except for when the Bishop started rambling and going into deep doctrine. But overall it turned out fine.
This week we found a new family that we started teaching. It's a single mom with three kids. The mom had a stroke 6 years ago and can't speak very clearly. But they are really cool, and they all came to church on Sunday. It was kind of difficult to bring them to church because the mom was afraid to leave the house by alone. She said that they never leave the house alone because someone might come in and rob them. We were able to convince her to come for just the first hour, but she was still pretty unsure. I hope we can find a solution to that problem.
We should have a baptism this Sunday. Her name is Mayra, and she is the mom of the two kids that were baptized three weeks ago. We had a cool experience with her this week. She is currently separated from her husband, but a few weeks ago we had the opportunity to teach him when he came to visit the kids. This week we were talking about her relationship with her husband and she told us that he called her and told her that the lesson we taught had really touched him. He said that in a month he is going to visit for a few weeks, and he would like us to teach the lessons and be baptized.
This week we had a cold front come in. I think it has gotten down to the 40s at night. I know that's not much for you Wisconsinites, but when you live in a cement house that's pretty dang cold. During the day the weather has been gorgeous, in the 70s and sunny. And in the evening I've been able to use my sweaters for the first time since the MTC. But the cold front has caused quite an uproar. Apparently, it never gets this cold this early in the year, and everyone thinks the cold is just unbearable. I'm enjoying it while I can before I have to face a cold January in Utah.
I liked Dad's story about the old man that won the marathon race. I guess sometimes we've just got to keep on keepin' on.
Well, I hope all ya'll have a great week.
Love,
Elder Hansen
Monday, November 29, 2010
11/1/10 Dia de Muertos
Feliz Dia de Muertos,
It's a holiday here in Mexico today and tomorrow. Everyone puts up a shrine in their houses for their deceased family members. The shrine includes all of their favorite food. The tradition is that the dead come on November 2 at mid-day and eat the food. Outside of every house there is a trail of yellow flower petals leading to the shrine. Then on the night of November 2 everyone eats the food, and drinks the alcohol that they put for their dead grandpa. But nobody celebrates anything on the 31, so yesterday was pretty uneventful.
Yesterday was the day of changes, but neither my companion nor I got changed. I guess Elder B will be my last companion. I guess that's alright. I think God wants me to learn a little more patience before I go home.
This week went alright. We were both expecting a change, so we didn't work as hard as we could have. But yesterday we planned really well for this change, and I think that we should have success. We should have a baptism this Saturday. It should be really cool, because she is an old lady that almost everyone in the town knows. Everyone seems really surprised that she accepted to be baptized. Apparently she used to be really Catholic, but ever since her husband died she has been looking for answers that she could never find in her religion.
There's not much new here in Cocoyoc. I hope all is well back home.
Love,
Elder Hansen
It's a holiday here in Mexico today and tomorrow. Everyone puts up a shrine in their houses for their deceased family members. The shrine includes all of their favorite food. The tradition is that the dead come on November 2 at mid-day and eat the food. Outside of every house there is a trail of yellow flower petals leading to the shrine. Then on the night of November 2 everyone eats the food, and drinks the alcohol that they put for their dead grandpa. But nobody celebrates anything on the 31, so yesterday was pretty uneventful.
Yesterday was the day of changes, but neither my companion nor I got changed. I guess Elder B will be my last companion. I guess that's alright. I think God wants me to learn a little more patience before I go home.
This week went alright. We were both expecting a change, so we didn't work as hard as we could have. But yesterday we planned really well for this change, and I think that we should have success. We should have a baptism this Saturday. It should be really cool, because she is an old lady that almost everyone in the town knows. Everyone seems really surprised that she accepted to be baptized. Apparently she used to be really Catholic, but ever since her husband died she has been looking for answers that she could never find in her religion.
There's not much new here in Cocoyoc. I hope all is well back home.
Love,
Elder Hansen
Sunday, November 28, 2010
10/25/10 Virgilia
Hola,
This week went pretty well. Last Sunday an old lady sister from the ward brought her friend to church with her, so we set up an appointmet to visit her. We went and challenged her to be baptized in the first lesson, and she accepted. It was a good way to start the week. Her name is Virgilia, and she's an old widow. She's pretty lonely and loves when we go to visit her. Last time we went, she had little sandwiches prepared for us when we got there. She now has two times in church and should be baptized on November 6.
This week we tried out a new idea to find new investigators. We put up a stand near the market of Cocoyoc. We set up a table with all of our different pamphlets, some Book of Mormons, some DVDs, and the special Liahona about temples. We also put up posters with different questions on them: What is the purpose of life? How can my family be more happy and unified? What does Jesus Christ expect of me? So we spent the whole morning in that stand contacting people. It went alright. We got a few appointments out of it. But it's nice to try something different every now and then.
There are a lot of new missionaries arriving to the mission right now. I heard that half of the mission is going to be new missionaries and their trainers. Two weeks ago like 12 new gringos came. Today 9 more came, and next Monday 14 Mexicans arrive. A lot of the Americans had visa problems and that's why they're getting here right now instead of on their original date. My companion is a little bummed out because a lot of people are being made trainers and he's still junior comp. We had a good talk yesterday. I think our relationship has improved drastically. We went the whole week without a single arguement. I don't think that had happened since our first week together.
Today I saw one of my MTC buddies for the first time since the MTC. He's had a pretty difficult mission. I think he's had even more difficult companions than I've had. But I was glad to see that he still has a good attitude and was just made a zone leader.
Well, there's not much new. I finally brought my cable, so I'll send some pictures. (note from mom--didn't see any pictures???)
Love,
Elder Hansen
This week went pretty well. Last Sunday an old lady sister from the ward brought her friend to church with her, so we set up an appointmet to visit her. We went and challenged her to be baptized in the first lesson, and she accepted. It was a good way to start the week. Her name is Virgilia, and she's an old widow. She's pretty lonely and loves when we go to visit her. Last time we went, she had little sandwiches prepared for us when we got there. She now has two times in church and should be baptized on November 6.
This week we tried out a new idea to find new investigators. We put up a stand near the market of Cocoyoc. We set up a table with all of our different pamphlets, some Book of Mormons, some DVDs, and the special Liahona about temples. We also put up posters with different questions on them: What is the purpose of life? How can my family be more happy and unified? What does Jesus Christ expect of me? So we spent the whole morning in that stand contacting people. It went alright. We got a few appointments out of it. But it's nice to try something different every now and then.
There are a lot of new missionaries arriving to the mission right now. I heard that half of the mission is going to be new missionaries and their trainers. Two weeks ago like 12 new gringos came. Today 9 more came, and next Monday 14 Mexicans arrive. A lot of the Americans had visa problems and that's why they're getting here right now instead of on their original date. My companion is a little bummed out because a lot of people are being made trainers and he's still junior comp. We had a good talk yesterday. I think our relationship has improved drastically. We went the whole week without a single arguement. I don't think that had happened since our first week together.
Today I saw one of my MTC buddies for the first time since the MTC. He's had a pretty difficult mission. I think he's had even more difficult companions than I've had. But I was glad to see that he still has a good attitude and was just made a zone leader.
Well, there's not much new. I finally brought my cable, so I'll send some pictures. (note from mom--didn't see any pictures???)
Love,
Elder Hansen
10/18/10 Jonathan & Bryan Baptisms
Hola,
Well, this week was another good week. We had two more baptisms,
and we found quite a few new investigators. The two people that were
baptized are named Jonathan and Bryan. They are the nephews of a
member in the ward. We are also teaching their mom. She is really
cool and wants to be baptized, but she has only come to church once.
She works nights and going to church at 9:00 am has been a little
difficult. But I think that after seeing her kids' baptisms she will
be more willing to come to church.
We also have another family that we are teaching. But they are kind
of special. They just came here from some little town in the
mountains in Guerrero. They're from the "sierrra" as they say it
here. Sierra means mountains or hills. The sierra is kind of it's
own little world, and the people there have difficulty interacting
with other `people. They are super poor, and none of them know how to
read. The oldest son is 17 and is pretty out of control. They just
moved in to a little room next to the bishop's house. They've come to
church with us twice, but I'm not sure how much they get out of it.
This week we got the youngest girl to say a prayer and the grandma
said one once. It's been pretty difficult trying to teach them, but
we feel like they have made some `progress.
I haven't really written much about my companion. These 2 changes
that we've been together haven't been very easy. He's very different
than any other companion that I've had. With my other companions, our
disagreements were almost always over obedience or work issues. But
this companion works hard, is obedient, yet he's probably been my most
difficult companion so far. He is very sensitive, and I have to be
careful about everything I say and do. He also gets angry very
easily, and it seems like every other day he gets angry at me. It's
been a challenge. Last night, he exploded and started yelling at me.
I wanted so badly to just get up and walk away, yell back, or hit him.
Butt I just waited for him to calm down and I started thinking of what
I could say to calm him down. I asked if there was anything I could
do to serve him. His attitude changed immediately. We were able to
find a solution to the problem and make plans to prevent future
arguements. Today we have gotten along really well.
Well, I think that's all for this week. I forgot my camera cable
again, so sorry i still don't have pictures.
Love,
Elder Hansen
Well, this week was another good week. We had two more baptisms,
and we found quite a few new investigators. The two people that were
baptized are named Jonathan and Bryan. They are the nephews of a
member in the ward. We are also teaching their mom. She is really
cool and wants to be baptized, but she has only come to church once.
She works nights and going to church at 9:00 am has been a little
difficult. But I think that after seeing her kids' baptisms she will
be more willing to come to church.
We also have another family that we are teaching. But they are kind
of special. They just came here from some little town in the
mountains in Guerrero. They're from the "sierrra" as they say it
here. Sierra means mountains or hills. The sierra is kind of it's
own little world, and the people there have difficulty interacting
with other `people. They are super poor, and none of them know how to
read. The oldest son is 17 and is pretty out of control. They just
moved in to a little room next to the bishop's house. They've come to
church with us twice, but I'm not sure how much they get out of it.
This week we got the youngest girl to say a prayer and the grandma
said one once. It's been pretty difficult trying to teach them, but
we feel like they have made some `progress.
I haven't really written much about my companion. These 2 changes
that we've been together haven't been very easy. He's very different
than any other companion that I've had. With my other companions, our
disagreements were almost always over obedience or work issues. But
this companion works hard, is obedient, yet he's probably been my most
difficult companion so far. He is very sensitive, and I have to be
careful about everything I say and do. He also gets angry very
easily, and it seems like every other day he gets angry at me. It's
been a challenge. Last night, he exploded and started yelling at me.
I wanted so badly to just get up and walk away, yell back, or hit him.
Butt I just waited for him to calm down and I started thinking of what
I could say to calm him down. I asked if there was anything I could
do to serve him. His attitude changed immediately. We were able to
find a solution to the problem and make plans to prevent future
arguements. Today we have gotten along really well.
Well, I think that's all for this week. I forgot my camera cable
again, so sorry i still don't have pictures.
Love,
Elder Hansen
10/11/10 Ruby's Family Baptisms
¡Feliz Dia de Cristobal Colon!
Happy birthday Zac and Brooke.
Clint, keep telling the missionaries in your ward that they're dumb. We don't do that here.
Well, this week was a week full of blessings. We had three baptisms on Saturday. Ariel, Martha, and Jose, who are the siblings of Rubi that was baptized two weeks ago, were all baptized and confirmed. It was really cool. I had never had three baptisms on the same day before. On Sunday, Ariel even came with a white shirt and tie. But wait, it gets even better. We had 10 investigators at church on Sunday. It was great. I had never had that many in church before. Right now we have seven with baptismal dates for this month. Our goal was 3 confirmations, but I think we could double or even triple it. But wait there's more. They made me the new district leader. On Sunday, we fasted just to give thanks for an amazing month, but as we did that God blessed us even more. We can never give sufficient thanks.
Today we went to this cool town called Tepoztlan. We hiked to this temple that's built on top of a mountain. The hike was more difficult than I thought it would be, but it was worth it. It's pretty amazing how there's this pyramid on top of a mountain. It wasn't that big, but it was still cool. The town is pretty tourist friendly, and we even saw a few white people there.
Well, last week was a good week and I think this week will be as well. If all goes well, we will have two baptisms this Saturday.
That's all for now. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Hansen
PS next week i'll send pictures. i forgot the cable today.
Happy birthday Zac and Brooke.
Clint, keep telling the missionaries in your ward that they're dumb. We don't do that here.
Well, this week was a week full of blessings. We had three baptisms on Saturday. Ariel, Martha, and Jose, who are the siblings of Rubi that was baptized two weeks ago, were all baptized and confirmed. It was really cool. I had never had three baptisms on the same day before. On Sunday, Ariel even came with a white shirt and tie. But wait, it gets even better. We had 10 investigators at church on Sunday. It was great. I had never had that many in church before. Right now we have seven with baptismal dates for this month. Our goal was 3 confirmations, but I think we could double or even triple it. But wait there's more. They made me the new district leader. On Sunday, we fasted just to give thanks for an amazing month, but as we did that God blessed us even more. We can never give sufficient thanks.
Today we went to this cool town called Tepoztlan. We hiked to this temple that's built on top of a mountain. The hike was more difficult than I thought it would be, but it was worth it. It's pretty amazing how there's this pyramid on top of a mountain. It wasn't that big, but it was still cool. The town is pretty tourist friendly, and we even saw a few white people there.
Well, last week was a good week and I think this week will be as well. If all goes well, we will have two baptisms this Saturday.
That's all for now. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Hansen
PS next week i'll send pictures. i forgot the cable today.
10/4/10 Conference & Questions from Mom Answered
Hola,
This week went really well. I was able to watch all of conference, and I watched all of it except for one session in English. It is much more interesting to hear the speaker's actual voice. The talks were great. I especially enjoyed priesthood session. I felt like every talk was amazingly well prepared and well delivered. I liked when Elder Nelson asked all of the missionaries to stand. I thought about how 52,000 people standed when he said that. I imagined all of my friends in different parts of the world that were standing at the same time as I was. The prophet, President Uchtdorf and President Eyring all delivered very powerful messages. The whole conference was excellent, and the best part was that we brought 8 investigators to it. I think that this month we will have many baptisms. The three brothers of Rubi, the girl that was baptised last week, have a baptismal date. We also have a super cool family that we started teaching that came to conference with us this week.
Well, rainy season ended here in Mexico. All week it's been super sunny but not too hot. In the morning and at night it's pretty cool. Last night it even got a little chilly. Now, I will answer Mom's questions. Yes, I got your package. Sorry, I forgot to write that I received it. Thanks.
Now that we're in a fairly large ward, we eat with a different family every day. One month we eat with one ward, and the one month we eat with the other ward.
Yes they do have markets here, but I don't think I have ever bought anything in one. The only thing I ever buy is cereal to eat in the morning, and maybe something small to eat at night.
I haven't had any problems with dogs. If they bark, you just have to throw a rock or pretend to throw a rock. But the ones that don't bark are the ones that bite.
In Morelos, I haven't seen much crime at all. I'm in a pretty safe area. When I was in Acapulco, it was pretty bad. We had to be careful about what neighborhoods we went to and which streets we could walk on at night. My area in Acapulco was the ghetto of the ghetto. The streets were always full of military trucks.
Our house is pretty nice. It has two rooms and a kitchen. We have hot water and we live next to some members who let us wash our clothes at their house. We cover two wards. The wards are fairly large. One has about 160 attendance that sometimes reaches 180 and the other ward has between 100 and 120 attendance. Our area covers a number of colonias on the outskirts of Cuautla.
The fall leaves looked really cool. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that. I agree that Dad looks younger with his shaved head.
Well, that's all for this week.
Love,
Elder Hansen
This week went really well. I was able to watch all of conference, and I watched all of it except for one session in English. It is much more interesting to hear the speaker's actual voice. The talks were great. I especially enjoyed priesthood session. I felt like every talk was amazingly well prepared and well delivered. I liked when Elder Nelson asked all of the missionaries to stand. I thought about how 52,000 people standed when he said that. I imagined all of my friends in different parts of the world that were standing at the same time as I was. The prophet, President Uchtdorf and President Eyring all delivered very powerful messages. The whole conference was excellent, and the best part was that we brought 8 investigators to it. I think that this month we will have many baptisms. The three brothers of Rubi, the girl that was baptised last week, have a baptismal date. We also have a super cool family that we started teaching that came to conference with us this week.
Well, rainy season ended here in Mexico. All week it's been super sunny but not too hot. In the morning and at night it's pretty cool. Last night it even got a little chilly. Now, I will answer Mom's questions. Yes, I got your package. Sorry, I forgot to write that I received it. Thanks.
Now that we're in a fairly large ward, we eat with a different family every day. One month we eat with one ward, and the one month we eat with the other ward.
Yes they do have markets here, but I don't think I have ever bought anything in one. The only thing I ever buy is cereal to eat in the morning, and maybe something small to eat at night.
I haven't had any problems with dogs. If they bark, you just have to throw a rock or pretend to throw a rock. But the ones that don't bark are the ones that bite.
In Morelos, I haven't seen much crime at all. I'm in a pretty safe area. When I was in Acapulco, it was pretty bad. We had to be careful about what neighborhoods we went to and which streets we could walk on at night. My area in Acapulco was the ghetto of the ghetto. The streets were always full of military trucks.
Our house is pretty nice. It has two rooms and a kitchen. We have hot water and we live next to some members who let us wash our clothes at their house. We cover two wards. The wards are fairly large. One has about 160 attendance that sometimes reaches 180 and the other ward has between 100 and 120 attendance. Our area covers a number of colonias on the outskirts of Cuautla.
The fall leaves looked really cool. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that. I agree that Dad looks younger with his shaved head.
Well, that's all for this week.
Love,
Elder Hansen
Ross's Eulogy for his Father 9/25/10
Here's the talk Ross gave at his Father's funeral:
A year and a half ago my wife and I moved to Wisconsin. The area where we live still qualifies as “America’s Dairyland”. About 20 miles from our house is a town called Black Earth. It is called Black Earth because of the deep rich topsoil in the area. The neighboring community of Arena has a type of soil named after it. Ever since moving to this part of the Midwest I have wished that my father could come and see what it is like farming in this area. When they plow the fields I never see a single rock laying on top of the earth. The dairy cows provide a never ending supply of natural fertilizer . None of the farmers in our area irrigate their crops. And yet, their corn is eight feet high, the alfalfa seems to get gets cut at least once a month and the vegetable gardens produce amazing yields.
I wish I could invite some of the Wisconsin farmers and gardeners to come to Utah and see what they could do with a little plot of ground at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. I have never seen any “black earth” and if they were to name a soil type after what was in our backyard I am sure it would include rocks in the title. There is never enough rain to grow anything other than weeds, so constant irrigation is a requirement.
It was in this soil and this environment that my father was able to raise prize winning tomatoes, corn, carrots, potatoes, asparagus, Chrysanthemums and Orchids.
In addition to fruits and vegetables it was on that plot of ground at the mouth of Mill Creek canyon that my parents raised a family. Today we are here to memorialize the life of Russell Hansen and I think it is impossible to discuss his life without discussing his passion for gardening. To my nieces and nephews I hope that I can share with you some of the lessons that I learned from my father hoping that you can learn from his life and his example.
No one becomes a Master Gardner over night and I know that my father learned many of his gardening skills by trial and error. I think he always was trying to improve upon what he had done before and to learn from what others had done. A few years ago my father finally gave us a copy of his life story. After reading his story I realized for the first time that he did not have a lot of good examples teaching him about how to be a good father and raise a family. I was shocked when I read about him and his mother hiding in the back of their small home from a drunken brother looking for money with the husband and father nowhere in sight. In spite of this start he managed to raise a functional family that works together and care for one another.
I remember a cold spring storm was predicted to come one night just as the cherry tree was about to blossom. Having recently returned from living in southern California my father was very familiar with the smudge pots used by the Southern California citrus growers to protect their trees from freezing . He figured he just needed some warm smoke to protect the cherry tree during the night and thought he could create his own smudge pot by burning a tire in the wheelbarrow. A tire was found, the wheel barrow was rolled into place and the fire was started. The next day I remember seeing one-half of the cherry tree burned black and one side looking okay. As time went by obviously nothing grew on the burned side but the other half of the tree blossomed and bore fruit just as he had intended. I suspect depending on your attitude it could have been considered a success because he got fruit would otherwise have been lost but at a price of burning half of his tree. At least it was a learning experience.
In all he did I think my father was an example of commitment. Real commitment means that at times you cannot be concerned with what others may think. Many years ago our Stake experimented with a welfare project that never really got off the ground. As a result there was a green house left in the Mahoney’s back yard. Through some negotiation my father acquired the rights to the greenhouse and he resolved to move it to our yard. The proposed idea for moving the greenhouse was to remove the glass then put the frame on scaffolding with rollers and roll it down the road to our house a distance of nearly a mile. As a young teenager my biggest concern with this experiment was fear that someone might recognize me participating in moving this aluminum beast down the road. It was truly a horrifying experience. But my father committed to this project saw it through to completion and I participated although I am sure I never raised my eyes from staring at the road as we rolled along. I think the same commitment was demonstrated in the years of church service and willingness to serve two missions after his retirement.
Succesful gardening also requires determination and a willingness to keep going when things don’t turn out right. Not every crop that is planted is going to grow and sometimes the bugs and worms win. I am sure my father hoped that his children would develop a passion for gardening. If that happened it would be news to me. If lemons grew at Marsha’s house I am confident that she had nothing to do with it. And last time I checked out Kent’s condo there was no place he could have been hiding a garden. But, in spite of such a failure to produce gardening children my father never seemed discouraged and was truly thrilled when in-laws and grandchildren showed interest in what he was doing. I am sorry that I don’t think he recognized the fruits of Sheri’s garden this summer or saw Clint’s new beehive. In spite of my failings as a gardener I never felt that I was less in his sight he accepted me for what I was “a spoiled city boy”. I would like to suggest that the gene for gardening simply skipped a generation but I don’t think that would be honest or accurate.
Reaping a bountiful harvest from a garden requires attention to detail and patience. Certainly there were times when Kathy may have crashed a car into the carport or I demonstrated a reluctance to put forth a 100% effort towards pulling weeds that I felt my father was not as patient as he could have been. However, anyone who watched him starting seeds under his grow lights and transplanting seedlings in the winter knows these were efforts requiring great patience and attention. I never recall expressing an opinion on a religious or political topic and feeling like I was not being listened to or that my thoughts would be criticized. Certain family members loved to argue the opposite of whatever opinion may have been previously expressed and even they were listened to. Tolerance and patience in listening to others are attributes which seem to be in short supply in today’s world. My children always felt comfortable talking at my parents home.
I think some of the efforts at being a good father worked in kind of the same way. I have wonderful old memories of going to basketball games at the Einer Nielsen Fieldhouse at the University of Utah and sitting in general admission seats in the end zone at Utah football games –those would be successes. I also have memories of being asked whether I wanted to work in the garden or do the dishes after ose not working in the garden. That was probably not a success. In fact, I am sure Russell felt badly that none of his children developed a passion for gardening. His rewards came later as the daughters in-law and sons-in law came and were actually interested in what happened in the garden and really did want to go outside and dig up vegetables. I am sorry that he wasn’t really able to see his grandchildren brag on their blogs about their wonderful vegetable gardens and even the beehives in their backyards. I guess the gardening genes skip a generation.
Beside trial and error every garden needs some fertilizer to help it grow. I recall more than once going off someplace to retrieve a load of fertilizer to spread around the garden. If I was lucky the fertilizer was mixed with sawdust and didn’t smell so bad. I suspect that within our family there was fertilizer in the form of humor and fun. I suspect Kent was the primary purveyor of fertilizer within our family. At the family dinner table we could discuss most any topic relating to politics or current events and we were sure that Kent would provide the contrary opinion regardless of the topic. I remember travelling in the brown station wagon and singing songs on the way to California. One song was about Ragtime Cowboy Joe who lived out in Arizona. I certainly could never imagine someone from our family actually moving to Arizona. But most of all I remember singing about Quennie the Cutie of the Burlesque Show. It was only later in life when I was singing that particular song to my wife that I started to wonder about what sort of a song that was that my father had taught us. The funny thing about it is that I suspect my children probably are also familiar with the song although the tune got lost somewhere in Nevada.
No Utah garden grows without lots of watering and irrigation. I remember various irrigation methods tried over the years. There was pumping water out of the irrigation ditch at night and funneling the water down the rows of vegetables. Finally there was a new source of water up on MiIlcreek road that required us running pipes through the neighbors yards down to the garden. Within our family the essential our Out in Arizona where the badlands are lies and how they were supposed to workThings in my life that I remember
1) Going to Scout Camp
2) Weeding for one hour a day and picking up rocks in the garden
3) Being given a choice of working in the garden or doing the dishes
4) Planting flowers at my grandmothers house on Memorial Day
5) Fathers and Sons outings
6) Being encouraged to work at a scout camp
7) Filing topical law reporters in his office downtown
8) Going to the downtown library and then getting ride home
9) Business people telling me how helpful he was when I was doing computax
10) Going to Utah Stars basketball games, University of Utah football games (endzone) the old Einer Nielsen fieldhouse, Derks Field
11) Learning to ride the ropetow at Brighton then Alta
12) Family Ski Passes at Park City
13) Bishop when I returned from my mission and when I got married
14) Giving blessings to aunt in her later years
15) Backpacking to Havasupai
16) Hiking in Buckskin Gulch
17) Burning the cherry tree with the tire smudge pot
18) Dinner table conversations with Kent arguing for whatever was the opposite side
19) Handyman projects
20) Vacation to California
Ways I am like my father
1) Obsessed by hobby outside work
2) Picking up chairs after meetings
3) Reading books
4) Watching basketball
5) Trying to be helpful
6) Wishing I had children who would do the outside work
7) Exercise – heavy hands walking in the canyon
Ways I am not like my father
1) Hate gardening
2) No handyman projects
A year and a half ago my wife and I moved to Wisconsin. The area where we live still qualifies as “America’s Dairyland”. About 20 miles from our house is a town called Black Earth. It is called Black Earth because of the deep rich topsoil in the area. The neighboring community of Arena has a type of soil named after it. Ever since moving to this part of the Midwest I have wished that my father could come and see what it is like farming in this area. When they plow the fields I never see a single rock laying on top of the earth. The dairy cows provide a never ending supply of natural fertilizer . None of the farmers in our area irrigate their crops. And yet, their corn is eight feet high, the alfalfa seems to get gets cut at least once a month and the vegetable gardens produce amazing yields.
I wish I could invite some of the Wisconsin farmers and gardeners to come to Utah and see what they could do with a little plot of ground at the mouth of Mill Creek Canyon. I have never seen any “black earth” and if they were to name a soil type after what was in our backyard I am sure it would include rocks in the title. There is never enough rain to grow anything other than weeds, so constant irrigation is a requirement.
It was in this soil and this environment that my father was able to raise prize winning tomatoes, corn, carrots, potatoes, asparagus, Chrysanthemums and Orchids.
In addition to fruits and vegetables it was on that plot of ground at the mouth of Mill Creek canyon that my parents raised a family. Today we are here to memorialize the life of Russell Hansen and I think it is impossible to discuss his life without discussing his passion for gardening. To my nieces and nephews I hope that I can share with you some of the lessons that I learned from my father hoping that you can learn from his life and his example.
No one becomes a Master Gardner over night and I know that my father learned many of his gardening skills by trial and error. I think he always was trying to improve upon what he had done before and to learn from what others had done. A few years ago my father finally gave us a copy of his life story. After reading his story I realized for the first time that he did not have a lot of good examples teaching him about how to be a good father and raise a family. I was shocked when I read about him and his mother hiding in the back of their small home from a drunken brother looking for money with the husband and father nowhere in sight. In spite of this start he managed to raise a functional family that works together and care for one another.
I remember a cold spring storm was predicted to come one night just as the cherry tree was about to blossom. Having recently returned from living in southern California my father was very familiar with the smudge pots used by the Southern California citrus growers to protect their trees from freezing . He figured he just needed some warm smoke to protect the cherry tree during the night and thought he could create his own smudge pot by burning a tire in the wheelbarrow. A tire was found, the wheel barrow was rolled into place and the fire was started. The next day I remember seeing one-half of the cherry tree burned black and one side looking okay. As time went by obviously nothing grew on the burned side but the other half of the tree blossomed and bore fruit just as he had intended. I suspect depending on your attitude it could have been considered a success because he got fruit would otherwise have been lost but at a price of burning half of his tree. At least it was a learning experience.
In all he did I think my father was an example of commitment. Real commitment means that at times you cannot be concerned with what others may think. Many years ago our Stake experimented with a welfare project that never really got off the ground. As a result there was a green house left in the Mahoney’s back yard. Through some negotiation my father acquired the rights to the greenhouse and he resolved to move it to our yard. The proposed idea for moving the greenhouse was to remove the glass then put the frame on scaffolding with rollers and roll it down the road to our house a distance of nearly a mile. As a young teenager my biggest concern with this experiment was fear that someone might recognize me participating in moving this aluminum beast down the road. It was truly a horrifying experience. But my father committed to this project saw it through to completion and I participated although I am sure I never raised my eyes from staring at the road as we rolled along. I think the same commitment was demonstrated in the years of church service and willingness to serve two missions after his retirement.
Succesful gardening also requires determination and a willingness to keep going when things don’t turn out right. Not every crop that is planted is going to grow and sometimes the bugs and worms win. I am sure my father hoped that his children would develop a passion for gardening. If that happened it would be news to me. If lemons grew at Marsha’s house I am confident that she had nothing to do with it. And last time I checked out Kent’s condo there was no place he could have been hiding a garden. But, in spite of such a failure to produce gardening children my father never seemed discouraged and was truly thrilled when in-laws and grandchildren showed interest in what he was doing. I am sorry that I don’t think he recognized the fruits of Sheri’s garden this summer or saw Clint’s new beehive. In spite of my failings as a gardener I never felt that I was less in his sight he accepted me for what I was “a spoiled city boy”. I would like to suggest that the gene for gardening simply skipped a generation but I don’t think that would be honest or accurate.
Reaping a bountiful harvest from a garden requires attention to detail and patience. Certainly there were times when Kathy may have crashed a car into the carport or I demonstrated a reluctance to put forth a 100% effort towards pulling weeds that I felt my father was not as patient as he could have been. However, anyone who watched him starting seeds under his grow lights and transplanting seedlings in the winter knows these were efforts requiring great patience and attention. I never recall expressing an opinion on a religious or political topic and feeling like I was not being listened to or that my thoughts would be criticized. Certain family members loved to argue the opposite of whatever opinion may have been previously expressed and even they were listened to. Tolerance and patience in listening to others are attributes which seem to be in short supply in today’s world. My children always felt comfortable talking at my parents home.
I think some of the efforts at being a good father worked in kind of the same way. I have wonderful old memories of going to basketball games at the Einer Nielsen Fieldhouse at the University of Utah and sitting in general admission seats in the end zone at Utah football games –those would be successes. I also have memories of being asked whether I wanted to work in the garden or do the dishes after ose not working in the garden. That was probably not a success. In fact, I am sure Russell felt badly that none of his children developed a passion for gardening. His rewards came later as the daughters in-law and sons-in law came and were actually interested in what happened in the garden and really did want to go outside and dig up vegetables. I am sorry that he wasn’t really able to see his grandchildren brag on their blogs about their wonderful vegetable gardens and even the beehives in their backyards. I guess the gardening genes skip a generation.
Beside trial and error every garden needs some fertilizer to help it grow. I recall more than once going off someplace to retrieve a load of fertilizer to spread around the garden. If I was lucky the fertilizer was mixed with sawdust and didn’t smell so bad. I suspect that within our family there was fertilizer in the form of humor and fun. I suspect Kent was the primary purveyor of fertilizer within our family. At the family dinner table we could discuss most any topic relating to politics or current events and we were sure that Kent would provide the contrary opinion regardless of the topic. I remember travelling in the brown station wagon and singing songs on the way to California. One song was about Ragtime Cowboy Joe who lived out in Arizona. I certainly could never imagine someone from our family actually moving to Arizona. But most of all I remember singing about Quennie the Cutie of the Burlesque Show. It was only later in life when I was singing that particular song to my wife that I started to wonder about what sort of a song that was that my father had taught us. The funny thing about it is that I suspect my children probably are also familiar with the song although the tune got lost somewhere in Nevada.
No Utah garden grows without lots of watering and irrigation. I remember various irrigation methods tried over the years. There was pumping water out of the irrigation ditch at night and funneling the water down the rows of vegetables. Finally there was a new source of water up on MiIlcreek road that required us running pipes through the neighbors yards down to the garden. Within our family the essential our Out in Arizona where the badlands are lies and how they were supposed to workThings in my life that I remember
1) Going to Scout Camp
2) Weeding for one hour a day and picking up rocks in the garden
3) Being given a choice of working in the garden or doing the dishes
4) Planting flowers at my grandmothers house on Memorial Day
5) Fathers and Sons outings
6) Being encouraged to work at a scout camp
7) Filing topical law reporters in his office downtown
8) Going to the downtown library and then getting ride home
9) Business people telling me how helpful he was when I was doing computax
10) Going to Utah Stars basketball games, University of Utah football games (endzone) the old Einer Nielsen fieldhouse, Derks Field
11) Learning to ride the ropetow at Brighton then Alta
12) Family Ski Passes at Park City
13) Bishop when I returned from my mission and when I got married
14) Giving blessings to aunt in her later years
15) Backpacking to Havasupai
16) Hiking in Buckskin Gulch
17) Burning the cherry tree with the tire smudge pot
18) Dinner table conversations with Kent arguing for whatever was the opposite side
19) Handyman projects
20) Vacation to California
Ways I am like my father
1) Obsessed by hobby outside work
2) Picking up chairs after meetings
3) Reading books
4) Watching basketball
5) Trying to be helpful
6) Wishing I had children who would do the outside work
7) Exercise – heavy hands walking in the canyon
Ways I am not like my father
1) Hate gardening
2) No handyman projects
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