Mission Memories ~ Amsterdam Inspired

In March of 2018,  Shane went to Amsterdam on a business trip and asked Dad/Lamar if he had any addresses or memories from his mission time there. Here's Dad's answer ...

Hello Shane,

We got your letter from Amsterdam. You asked about the addresses of where I lived, and where our church in Amsterdam was located. I had to look up in my old Missionary Journal for some details. 

My mission actually started 20 Aug 1957, and we spent 8 days in the old mission home in Salt Lake City. My companion was Elder Ron Whiting, from Basalt, Idaho, also assigned to go to the Netherlands. We studied some Dutch language and missionary lessons.

Then we traveled via train to Chicago and New York and boarded the SS Maasdam for the trip to The Netherlands, 5-14 September. Newly arriving missionaries in The Netherlands usually went straight to The Hague (Den Haag), where the mission home was located, and where the missionary school was located, where we could get additional language and culture training. However, since we had only the two of us new missionaries, and they were expecting three more missionaries in three weeks, they decided to send us out with a missionary companion to bone us up on that kind of stuff. 

I was sent to Amsterdam, where my companion was Elder Robert J. DeBry, now the famous ambulance chaser. Elder DeBry was the District President in Amsterdam, and spoke very good Dutch. He was a good teacher. We lived above the church, which was then at Weteringschans 101. It was just one of the many buildings along the street. The church was on the main level, and there were four of us missionaries living on the upper floors. 

The church was near some famous buildings in Amsterdam. One of them was Het Rijks Museum, which had lots of art work by Rembrandt, especially his famous Night Watch. The other building was Het Concert Gebouw, translated to The Concert Building. That is still in operation today. I hear on the BBC about concerts coming from Het Concert Gebouw. We had a missionary choir, and sang in lots of places around the mission, and one of the places we sang was Het Concert Gebouw. I still have the programs for this concert in my missionary journal. (See London Temple Dedication for another choir experience). 

After that assignment in Amsterdam, I went to the missionary school in Den Haag to learn more Dutch. That was at the church there, Loosduinsekade 11. That was a regular church building, and is likely still there. 

After that, I had assignments in Arnhem, by the German border, and then back to Den Haag, and then to the town of Ijmuiden, which was in the Amsterdam district. It was a town of over 100,000 but hadn’t had missionaries in over 30 years. We organized our own meetings in Ijmuiden, above a bar. We had other meetings in the nearby city of Haarlem. 

Then I returned to Den Haag, now as the missionary teacher. After that I served in Zwolle, and then Rotterdam North. 

I never did get to serve in the northern provinces of The Netherlands, Friesland and Groningen. My grandfather (Ate Westra) was born in Friesland and my grandmother (Geeske Egberts de Haan) was born in Groningen. They married in Groningen in 1902 and came to Utah in 1907. My father (Joseph Ate Westra) was born in SLC in 1911. 

After my mission ended, in May 1960, I spent about three weeks in Friesland, doing some genealogical research. Then we traveled through Europe and took a ship home, the SS United States, four days. Two of the five missionaries traveling together had purchased Volkswagons, so we traveled in those, through Europe, and put them on the ship, and drove them to Utah. 

In 1960, near the end of my mission, they were preparing to make the first Stake in The Netherlands. It was actually the first non-English speaking stake in the world. I don’t know for sure if there are now more than one Stake in The Netherlands. You can use your Dutch and ask when you go to church there. There is now one temple in The Netherlands. One of the missionaries serving with me, Elder Springer, went back to the Netherlands to help build the Temple. He is a builder and used to live in our ward in Timmerman’s house. He recently died.

You mentioned you stayed away from the shady areas of Amsterdam. We would sometimes go down to the Red Light District and call the young women working there to repentance. One of my companions actually did talk to one of the girls. Many of them were just teenagers. They would sit in a showroom behind a big window, in their pretty formal dresses. Back then, you could tell the location of the Red Light District, by the big Catholic Church, with a huge red cross on top. I think maybe the popes have since then stopped that display of obvious connection between the Catholic Church and the Red Light District. 

I’m glad you know what unsafe areas to stay away from----visitors often don’t know that. Wendy didn’t know on her mission, and was in a bad part and the buses had quit for the night. A policeman stopped and told them they needed to get out of that dangerous area. They called their zone leaders to come get them. When Janika went to Atlanta this past summer to be an EFY counselor, she met some people that had known Wendy on her mission!

The churches in the northern part of Holland were mostly Dutch Reformed, John Calvin, and the churches in the southern provinces of Holland were mostly Catholic. 

Let me know more of how your church meetings went,

Dad

From Shane: Thanks for the info, Dad, that is really cool to hear!  Weteringschans 101 is very close by where I'm staying, so I'll pass by there to see what is is now. I went to the Van Gogh museum today, it is right in between the Rijks museum and the Concert building, and I walked around part of the Rijks museum afterwards -- its a really cool building. I might go into that museum tomorrow.  I looked it up, and the Den Haag Ward is still at that same address. There are currently 3 stakes in the Netherlands; Apeldoorn, Rotterdam, and The Hague (which includes Amsterdam).  Very cool to hear about your experiences, and to be where you were 59.5 years ago!

From Mom/Margie: Dad said Amsterdam is probably 4 or more times larger than Salt Lake City, which makes it even more amazing that Shane is staying close enough to walk to where Dad lived 60 years ago, out of the entire huge city.

Check out another one of Shane's trips to Holland a little later in 2018 where he visited the city of Groningen where Dad/Lamar's grandfather lived/married/worked and returned to for a mission after immigrating to the United States. Historic Homes in Holland ~ Shane's Trip.  Shane was able to locate a number of residences and church buildings from our family history!

Father's Day 2020 - Memories of Dad

As for Mother's Day 2020, Chris wanted to put together a collection of memories, from each of the Westra siblings about Dad ...
here they are in the order received:

From Wendy~ 

• I am grateful that I could grow up with the priesthood in my home and that I could receive Father’s blessings from my dad through the years! It was clear that both Mom and Dad had strong testimonies of the gospel and I learned so much from both of them! Recently Rick recorded a podcast (an audio interview) of Mom and Dad and I loved learning new things I hadn’t heard before and received advice and “words of wisdom!” 
• Dad helped me to gain a love of sports -- basketball, softball, soccer, tennis, and hiking! We would often play basketball in our driveway, or play catch or soccer in our yard or at the park. When I was a teenager (or young adult) Dad and I joined the Stake tennis tournament playing doubles as a Daddy-Daughter team. We actually did pretty well!!
• Dad challenged the grand-kids to tennis matches, telling them that they could win $100.00 if they beat him in a tennis match. One such match was with our son, Jase, when he was staying with Mom and Dad while going to a Math camp at the University of Utah. Dad went into Cardiac Arrest and was rushed to the hospital. It was touch and go there for a while and so scary for all of us! There were many tender mercies during this time and we were SO grateful that Dad pulled through!! How fitting that he was released from the hospital on Father’s Day (five years ago) and that we could all join together that night to celebrate Dad and also the miracle of his recovery! 
• Dad always had lots of little songs and sayings. I remember Dad singing to us and later to our children…. “Pretty baby, pretty baby, how I love my pretty baby, how I love my pretty girl, pretty baby, pretty baby…” (I sung that to my babies too!) Whenever we passed by a sewer grate Dad would say, There are “Heffalumps and Woozles down there!” 
• I remember Dad chanting, “Rootie toot toot, rootie toot toot, we’re the boys from the Institute. We don’t smoke and we don’t chew and we don’t go with girls who do!!” Later on I heard this saying from President Hinckley in a General Conference talk but I had already heard it long before that from my Dad!! I also remember the little Dutch Christmas song, “SinterKlass Kapoentje” that he often sang to all of us!
• I look a lot like my dad and we are similar in temperament. Both Mom and Dad helped me to gain a testimony and love of the gospel. Other LOVES I received from my dad are: Love of naps! I also gained a love of sports, the outdoors, singing, journal writing, and more recently family history!! I am so grateful for Dad and for the legacy he has given to us! Thank you Dad, I love you!  (Wendy also wrote a list of memories for Dad in 2003).

From Scott ~

• I am grateful for the example my dad set for me. Dad and I are very different from the personality profile perspective. I am Type A, flaming Red, ears glowing with passion and emotion whereas dad is the peacemaker, calming color code white person.
• I appreciate him giving me advice. It came very infrequently which made it so much more potent. Some of that advice came at critical junctures in my life and changed the direction on my progression – always for the better.
• I am grateful that he was able to ordain me to the priesthood and be an example of the proper use of its power.
• I am grateful that he didn’t correct me even when I was obviously wrong and he knew clearly knew it. He just let me keep saying the same stupid thing until I figured it out myself.
• I enjoyed being with him fishing, hiking, camping and working in the house and yard. I am grateful that I learned how to install and repair sprinkler systems, fix walls, repair plumbing and electrical, plant a garden and a hundred other things that have been useful in my life.
• I love his passion for family history and I am grateful for the legacy of my ancestors.
• I remember the terror of finding out mom was going fishing with grandma and grandpa and knowing that we would have to live on graham crackers with butter and peanut butter in between them or maybe toast if we were lucky until she got back.
• Dad was not an exemplary mechanic. I remember learning how to check a cars oil in 10th grade auto shop and coming home to check our cars oil. With horror, I discovered the dipstick for the Impala station wagon barely registered any oil and what was there looked and felt like tar. My exasperation only grew when I checked the 1977 Honda Civic and the dipstick registered no oil at all. When I (with great despair) ask my dad why he had not changed the oil, he replied: “Why would I want to change the oil?’
• I remember him killing a rattlesnake when we were hiking on the Grandeur peak trail. I understand now that that wasn’t the best course of action but I thought he was a hero for protecting the world from a great threat.
• I remember dad being made the Scout Transportation Coordination when I turned 12, by virtue of him purchasing a station wagon. His first experience was taking about nine scouts to the Bear Lake camp. On the way, one of the boys suggested we stop at a firework stand in Evanston. My dad failed to see any problem with this and we left a few minutes later with enough fire power to take over a small country. When we arrived at the camp, the leaders were stopping every car and checking for fireworks. They asked my dad if he had any fireworks and since my dad had personally made no purchases, he looked the 16-year old straight in the eye and said: “Absolutely not.” We then proceeded to terrorize the camp, dropping smoke bombs and M80s into latrines and firing bottle rockets over the camp. My dad (the only adult leader for several days) knew nothing of this as he brought his fishing gear and was gone before sunrise and didn’t return until late after dark.
• I admire his frugality. Even with more money than he could spend in his life, he wears two button-down shirts, one purchased from a store in Richland Washington that went out of business in 1970 and another that I handed down to him 23 years ago when it was too old for me to wear any more. I know that the lives of his children and grandchildren have been and will be greatly blessed by the lifetime of saving, canning, drying fruit, couponing, refunding and scrimping both our parents did since they were married.
• I am grateful for all he did to support his family and to raise them in the gospel. There is no question that our parents fully fulfilled their sacred obligation and duty to teach us truth and light and provide us with all we needed to govern ourselves. They should be proud of their tireless efforts.

From Derek ~

I feel so grateful for my Dad. I even wrote a little article about him as one of my personal "heroes" a while back. https://medium.com/@derekwestra/trading-card-heroes-7cf8e822199d

There are so many LaMar-isms that I find myself remembering, or thinking, or even saying as a Dad myself. Here are a few: 

• Calling all kids George and Henry (irrespective of gender) :)
• Calling all kids Mr. Jones (also irrespective of gender)
• Whenever seeing a hole or grate or sewer, saying "there are Heffelumps and Woozels down there!" T
• elling all male kids/grandkids that girls were "nothing but trouble," and telling the girls the same about boys :)
• Saying "Good morning!" when Dad got home from work
• Dad singing "Oh What a Beautiful Morning!" or "On Moonlight Bay" 
• Dad using Dutch words exclusively for "green beans" "shoes" and other things
• Dad teaching us all the "sinterklaas kapoentje" song at Christmas, and what it meant
• If a kid is doing anything remotely dangerous: "you'll break your bones Mr. Jones!"
• If a kid has in fact hurt some body part "it's okay - you've got another one!

Dad was always soft-spoken. I don't remember him ever raising his voice or yelling (I wish my kids could say the same for their Dad). He was not over-corrective and let his kids figure things out. I remember once being bored as a 13-year-old kid during Summer break and pulling out an old golf-caddy (a three-wheeled device that held your golf-bag). I asked Dad "can I get an old lawn-mower motor and make that thing into a go-cart?" Dad certainly knew that I entirely lacked all the skills to do such a thing, but said, "Sure." I think he was genuinely entertained at what I might do. When I was 16, I asked Mom and Dad if I could get a motorcycle. I remember being VERY surprised that they were somewhat supportive. Dad helped me look in the classified ads in the newspaper for motorcycles in my price range ($650). We found one (I remember it was on Wayne's World Drive in Draper) and Dad drove me out there to see it. I had never ridden a motorcycle with a clutch before, but I managed to test-drive the bike without killing myself (although it was really scary). Dad wisely told me to sleep on the decision and we could come back the next night to buy it. The next day, I was so excited to get it, but in my excitement, I pulled the car out of the driveway without checking my blindspot and hit Shane's Mazda 626. I was very upset, but Dad wasn't, and said "these things happen." The cost to fix it was $650, so my motorcycle never made it home. I remember Dad letting me learn in my own way. 

Dad was my soccer and tennis coach growing up. He taught us all to kick with the side of our foot for control, and to pass the ball in triangles. As I got older and played competitive and High-School soccer and tennis, Dad would come to my games and matches. He even drove clear out to Davis High and other further away schools and watched. I remember him pacing back and forth and licking his lips nervously (which I only remember him doing when watching his kids play sports). He was invested in my athletics. I recall one time really wanting this Adidas soccer jumpsuit and telling him "Dad! I NEED it!" I recall him explaining to me the difference between wants and needs. I've thought about that conversation hundreds of times since then. 

I remember being bored as a kid in the Summertime, and Dad was out working in the yard. I would say "Hey Dad, want to play tennis?" Almost every time, Dad would say "I'm working on this or that so I can't right now." Somehow, Mom was always watching, and I would see her come out and talk to Dad. A few minutes later Dad would come find me and say, "Want to go play tennis?" Haha. :) Not sure what Mom would say to Dad, but I'm guessing that it was some combination of "this is your last kid and you're missing key father/son moments!" and other "Cats in the Cradle" lyrics. But I always appreciated Dad's willingness to listen to Mom and to do what she asked. I see that now with Mom's generous financial offers and incentives, and other things that I'm sure she's talking Dad into. I like that he thinks about it, and supports his wife's desires. 

I am so grateful for things that Dad taught me. How to respect women. How to find answers to my own questions. How to fish. How to work hard. How to be loyal to a calling or an assignment even when it wasn't convenient or even wanted. How to love the outdoors, and love hiking and tennis and soccer. One lesson that I think we've all mentioned is how to live within our means. Mom and Dad were very frugal, and taught us how to take care of money. Dad epitomized the "waste not, want not" mentality of his generation, and I wish my generation were better at this. 

Things I don't share with Dad? His body type, his hair, and his love of digging. ;) 

From Jeni~ 

• Others have mentioned some of the “Dad-isms” … not sure if I’d seen mentioned how he calls parmesan cheese “parameciam” cheese, and butterflies “flutterbyes” and would often say “I just ate a bar of soap”. We WERE seriously considering using “Jones” and a middle name for one of the kids so that Dad would actually be correct when he called that particular child xxxxxx Jones (we didn’t end up doing that, but joked about it!)
• I remember him taking me “stream fishing” up the mountains. It was a tiny little stream, not even a foot wide, not fast-moving at all. There were fish in there? I recall expressing my doubts “Dad, there’s no way there are fish in here LOOK A FISH!” and I think we proceed to catch it (or try to) with our bare hands.
• I remember going up the canyons to help gather rocks for all the various projects, from the fireplace/planter downstairs, to the little pond and stairs in the backyard, the trail around the side of the house and all over the flowerbeds. Once we stuck closer to home (the old orchard) and tried to get a big piece of concrete (used for the base of one of said projects). Hitting it with a sledgehammer, disturbing a wasps nest and everyone except me got stung multiple times.
• Playing tennis, while he likely WAS taking it easy on me, it didn’t feel like it. He’d come up and play the net and run me back and forth. It was exhausting! I had to learn to lob the ball to the back of the court in defense. I remember once when he came to watch me play soccer, he seemed a little shocked that his “little girl” was so mean out there on the field.
• Dad was always working outside. I remember him cutting “snakes” along the edge of the grass to clean it up. He was supportive of me planting pumpkins and replanting the “chickens and hens” in little pots, and then I’d sell both there by the side of the road. I remember him putting us in the wheelbarrow and running us around the yard.
• I did NOT appreciate him tricking me into turning on the freeway when I was learning how to drive.
• The talk of building an underground racquetball court … we did get a cave! The little unique things added to the homes … in the Hermitage house, the “high bed” and the food storage underneath it (accessed from the food room) and the extra closet behind Wendy’s closet. In the Havenhill house ... the high bed again, and the little door storing toilet paper in the bathroom.
• Hiding jellybeans in the little lava holes of the black fireplace at Easter … and also up inside the fireplace on the little ledge there.
• Always giving  Mom and hello/goodbye kiss.
• Asking him for the date when a couple of our ancestors came to Utah (school assignment for Colton), and him coming back with a complete list of ALL the ancestors and writeups of their experiences. I told Colton he should see if he could get extra credit because it was so above and beyond what had been asked (and it's on the blog and in Dropbox if any of the other grandkids need that info!)
• After we'd gotten married and moved away, we'd get Christmas "gifts" of random stuff we'd left behind.
• Sleeping in a sunbeam … my cats, and Grandpa.
• I think Keaton gets the juggling gene from Grandpa. 

From Chris ~ 

• I remember when I did the Heber Triathlon when I was only 15 or so. I wasn’t even allowed to register, but I did it anyway. Dad took me up there for the race. It was an incredible time commitment - one mile swim in Deer Creek, 112 mile bike ride, and then a half marathon! It took me ten hours and he just stayed there all day, helping me with the transitions.Thanks!
• I remember one time in college when I called home and had a long conversation (with Mom, of course). Dad never has long phone conversations. However, just before hanging up, as Mom said goodbye - I heard Dad say goodbye also, and I knew that he had been listening the whole time. 
• Dad taught me how to do rock work (just much later in life - but I’m catching up). I also love all types of yard work as he does. I’ve also enjoyed delving into family history lately and he has taught me a lot of that also. Spending much of my time with yard work and family history suits me just fine.
• I’m glad he taught me how to treat a woman with respect, and Kim appreciates that also! 
• My kids comment that I’m starting to look like Dad as I work around the yard with my hat and long sleeved button down shirt for sun protection. I’m the only child so far who has been able (so far) to follow his Grandpa example. Dad will tend lots of grandkids, but they will be involved in the projects he is doing (for the most part).
• That’s what I do with Integrity - sure I’ll read a bunch of books and dance with her, but much of the time I’m simply involving her in the yard projects I’m doing anyway (and she loves it). And yes, I call her Integrity Jones. And she says, “Nooo”.

From Shane ~

These are all great! With me going last (my fault), I have fewer unique things to add, but I'll add a "plus 1" to a few things as well.

• I remember Dad being so dedicated to his calling. All growing up, he was in the Bishopric, which I only realized later how big of a commitment that was.
• Dad was (is) an excellent singer, a trait that I didn't inherit at all. I loved how he would sing the hymns, usually switching between tenor and bass parts on each verse. 
• Dad was willing to try new things, even rollerblading. Which he did fine until the day he fell and broke his wrist. I remember when that happened (picnic up the canyon), he still hadn't eaten dinner yet...so he wanted to eat first, then go to the doctor/hospital to get his wrist fixed. He ended up getting external pins in his arm, with this big metal thing that was very inconvenient. So with his right arm out of commission, he couldn't shift the stick-shift very well, so when driving places I would shift for him. He would put the clutch in and say "shift!" and then I'd put it into the correct gear (I was not even near driving age yet). 
• Even with Dad's right arm not working, he'd play tennis. He'd play all left-handed, and still beat me easily. 
• Because Dad was in the bishopric, and he liked hiking, camping, and fishing, it seemed like he was the dedicated bishopric member for ALL hikes and campouts. Dad would take me along well before I was a Boy Scout, and I loved it. I've been passionate about hiking and camping ever since. 
• Dad was so calm and patient -- even when I crashed the car into the garage, he handled it in a very kind and understanding manner. 
• Dad taught me sports -- how to drop-kick a soccer ball sky-high, how to do an under-the-leg layup in basketball (a great shot when playing "Horse"), and how to throw and catch a baseball. 
• Frugality. Dad taught me how to hammer nails back into shape and re-use them, how to fix hoses and extension cords, and do all sorts of home improvement projects. Besides just being frugal, he taught me how to be grateful for what I had. 
• Dad always treated Mom so well, and would be so supportive of what Mom wanted. I remember being so shocked at some of the arguments/fights my friend's parents had, because I had never really witnessed that before. 
• I loved making creations out of random things in the "Dingwidgets" and "Doogoogalies" boxes. 
• Dad was both quiet and non-controversial, and so discussing "the birds and the bees" was not his thing. But I think Mom made him agree that he would have "the talk" with me. So on the day that the elementary school had the maturation program, during the drive to the school, Dad said to me "So...you've raised hamsters. You know how all that stuff works?". I replied, "Yep". He simply said "Okay, good."

Funny sayings: 

• "Peas, cheese, and chocolate pudding"
• "Hello, toast!" when the toast pops up (we say this in our family now)
• "Faster than a terd of hurdles"
• (While moving the limbs of a baby), "Exercises, exercises!" 
• Calling everybody "George" or "Henry", or <fill in the blank> Jones. Once I went out with a girl named Jessica Jones, and he said "I don't know much about her, but I love her name!" 

We love you Dad! Have a super Father’s Day!

Now DAD and GRANDPA can be completely different ...

We'll have to get some memories from the grandkids! I asked Keaton what Grandpa Memories he had and he said "Tennis, PingPong, swimming with a hat on and tossing tennis balls, the pond and the cave in the backyard, sleeping in a sunbeam" ...

Home Snapshots Before Hermitage ...

A look back at some of the places the Westra's called home before Hermitage & Havenmoor

Memories from Mom: This is me in front of mine and Dad's first apt. in the upstairs corner of an 8-plex. We moved to Richland one year later, so this is probably 1962 after we were married on June 29, 1962 or possibly before we moved in June 1963, when I was 3 months pregnant with Scott. On McClelland St. (about 10th East, I think and north of 21st South, in Sugarhouse, east side of the street). Warm weather.

Dad wrote up some recollections earlier, and Wendy included them in the 50th wedding anniversary book she made. Here's a peek ...

Then the move to Washington, and the addition of kids!

Rainer Street in Richland Washington

in Spring

... and in snow.

In 2018 ... Derek and Danielle went to Washington for a wedding. While there, they tracked down these two homes and took pictures. "We found some time to go as a family over to Richland to drive by the two houses that Mom and Dad and the first four kids lived in in WA. Both houses have changed a lot. The red one has a new, pitched roof, but the brick and front of the house are the same. See the photos attached. The other house has been doubled in size since you rented it. I know, because I had this idea to be "hilarious" and to recreate the photo of Chris standing in the window as a toddler (with me as a grown adult) so I knocked on the door and the owner was happy to let me stand there like a baby against the glass - but the glass was too reflective so the photo didn't turn out. :) The new owner had lived there for 50 years and was very excited that someone was taking an interest in his house. He showed me all around and wanted to tell me about all the additions and improvements he had made. :)"

Check out "Home Sweet Norman Home" for Grandma Zada and Grandpa Rex's homes (which includes Mom/Margie's childhood home). A post about the Hermitage and Havenhill homes will be coming as well.

Dutch Christmas Song: SinterKlaas Kapoentje

When we were kids Dad often had little songs and sayings that he would share with us. One of these was a little Dutch Christmas Song called "SinterKlaas Kapoentje." I asked Dad to share the lyrics of this song (with the correct spelling) and he sent me this information:

Here is the little song they sing in Holland on Zinterklaas Dag, which is on the 5th of December.  

This is how it is spelled in Dutch (Nederlands).

SinterKlaas Kapoentje

Gooij wat in mijn schoentje

Gooij wat in mijn larsje

Dank ja SinterKlarsje 

Here is how we might pronounce it in some kind of phonetic way. 

SinterKlaas Kapoontcha

Go-ee vat in mine schoontcha

Go-ee vat in mine larssha

Dank ya SinterKlarsha

Here is a translation in English.  

SinterKlaas You little elf

Throw something in my little shoe                  

Throw something in my little boot

Thank you little SinterKlaas

Gooij = throw

Wat = something

Schoentje = little shoe

Larsje = little boot

Rick recently did a podcast of both Mom and Dad and Dad actually sang THIS SONG in his podcast! Dad starts to explain the background of this song around (9 minutes and 40 seconds into the podcast and then sings it! ) I think most of the Westra kids have this song memorized!  

My Dad has some wooden shoes from his mission that we would often use for Show and Tell at school. Jeni is wearing them in this picture at our Girl Scout Cultural Night:

 I think this picture was taken on Dad's mission. It shows the Dutch people wearing wooden shoes.  

Perhaps we were celebrating Netherland traditions with my primary class in 1975 when we placed all of our shoes outside the classroom and then later found them filled with treats!

1975: Wendy's Primary Class in the Cottonwood 11th Ward (Teacher DeLora Gould)

(Back Row) 

Tally Lloyd, Robbie Lindsey, KirkWahlen, Tanji Anderson, Julie Monson, Michael Richards 

(Front Row)

 Joey Orvin, Wendy Westra, Anna Marie Tims, Wendy Woodbury

The History of Joseph Lamar Westra

Birth and growing up years, 1937-1949, Ages 0-12. 

I arrived into this wonderful world 28 May 1937, the first child of Joseph Ate Westra and Lucille Erskine. I was born in Salt Lake City, and spent most of my early childhood in the South Salt Lake area, where we attended the old Haven Ward, just a block west of State Street about 2300 South. Our family grew to include two sisters and one brother. The old Haven Ward must have been torn down after we left the area. 

 We lived at 246 East 21st South. 

 

My father’s parents were both born in the Netherlands, so my father was 100% Dutch, making me 50% Dutch, with ancestor surnames such as: de Haan, Bangma, Scheeringa, Posthumus, Snip, Ploeg, Hofstra, Wijnalda etc. My mother’s ancestry was mostly English and Scottish with ancestor surnames such as: Erskine, Cushing, Roberts, McFarlane, Peat, Bird, etc. 

One of my early memories, when I was a small boy, was when I set fire to the field behind our house. My mother had always said how she liked a nice bonfire, so I lit the fire for her. She wasn’t pleased. I think my fire almost burned up a cow that was in the field. 

I attended Madison Elementary on State Street about 2400 South: kindergarten through 6th grade. Some of my friends during my elementary school days were Boyd Parry, Fred Dalton, Gary Royce and Norman Middleton (see more about friends from Madison and the neighborhood, including a first girlfriend). There was an initiation into the 6th grade that all the lower grades would dread. It involved harassment by the outgoing 6th graders, and eating grasshoppers. 

I remember having a thriving nightcrawler business. My dad and I would go out at night and gather nightcrawlers from golf courses around the valley: Nibley, Forest Dale, and Bonneville, and Fairmount and Liberty Parks. I would store the nightcrawlers in my basement in large flat wooden boxes, spread with damp gunny sacks, and feed them Cream of Wheat until we sold them. I would take orders in advance, so often we would have to make special night excursions to fill orders of 10-12 dozen nightcrawlers. I charged 15 cents a dozen, or two dozen for 25 cents. My sister Sharon would be my helper and help customers if I wasn’t home. We even put electrical rods in our back lawn to bring the night crawlers out. It worked pretty well, but the worms became a little woozy. 

I got my dad to take me fishing. We would go down to Spring Run on 9th East about 50th South. It was the final point of one of our bike trips. One time, when I was about 10 years old, my dad and I were fishing in Mill Creek, near Granite High. The water was very deep there, and I caught a whopper. I pulled it out and it came flying out of the water up on the bank, and the hook came out. It was about to flop back into the water when my dad grabbed it and tossed it up on higher ground. It was a 21 ½ inch rainbow trout. We took it home, and somehow the newspaper got word of it, and my picture appeared in the newspaper, with this big trout hanging over my shoulder, and hanging almost down to my waist. It would be about 16 years later, after I had married, and we had moved to Richland, Washington, when Margie’s dad called us and told us that my name was on the big yellow Dees cup for being the record holder in Utah for the largest rainbow trout. It was listed on the cup as a 21 ½ pound rainbow trout, caught in Millcreek Reservoir. That record actually stood up for many years. It was the listed record until they built the Flaming Gorge reservoir, and grew rainbow trout bigger than 21 ½ pounds. 

My father was a returned missionary, having served in the Southern States Mission under President LeGrande Richards. But during my growing up years, he was not too active in the church. My mother would attend church with us children. My father was very often playing golf each Sunday. He was a pretty good amateur golfer, and had lots of golfing trophies. But when I was 12 years old, I was given the Aaronic Priesthood and ordained to the office of Deacon by my father. I was also ordained to the office of Teacher by my father, but I was ordained to the office of Priest by someone else: Melvin Brain. My father later ordained me to the office of Elder. 

Grandview Circle Years - 1949-1957 Ages 12-20

When I was 12 years old, our family moved into a new home South and East of Sugarhouse, at 2740 South Grandview Circle (about 1700 East).  See the neighborhood around Grandview Circle.  I remember working with my dad doing cleanup during the construction: sweeping, straightening nails, etc.  We lived in the Wilford Stake and attended the Grandview Ward on 20^th East, about 2900 South.  I attended Roosevelt Junior High, which is now Rowland Hall, a private school.  It was located west and down the hill from East High School.  We were bussed to Roosevelt.  I remember some of the teachers at Roosevelt: Mr. Kartchner for PE, Justin Tolman for math, Buttermilk Bertha Rappoport for type.  I wrestled for Mr. Kartchner.  Mr. Tolman would tell us how he taught the young man who invented Television, Philo Farnsworth.  He said he had long discussions up in schools in Idahowith Philo, who would explain his theories, and fill the blackboard with complex equations.  Buttermilk Bertha Rappoport gave me the only D I ever got on a report card.  Then the next semester she gave me an A.  My mom told me she had Bertha Rappoport for type when she was in Roosevelt Junior High.  Buttermilk Bertha got her knick name for sitting outside her classroom on a garbage can and drinking buttermilk. 

Then I attended SouthHigh School which is now part of the Salt Lake Community College and Grand Theatre.   Having all three of my old school buildings no longer operating as public school buildings makes me feel somewhat of an outcast.  At South High, one of my favorite teachers was Rocky Schroeder for math.  Mrs. Schroeder was a diminutive little lady, probably less than 5 feet in height.   Another favorite teacher was Mr. Armont Willardsen, for acapella choir.  I tried out for the choir as a Junior and got in as a baritone.  So I was in the choir for two years.  We would go around to different wards in the area to sing in sacrament meetings.  We put on the whole program, including speakers and 8-10 musical numbers.  One of our favorite closing numbers was Battle Hymn of the Republic.  I can still sing the baritone part today.  We sang almost every Sunday.  I remember singing also at locations in downtown SLC, the Hotel Utah and the Congregational Church, and for the big Baptist church on 13^thEast just north of East High School.  The pastor there, Fenwick Fowler, knew that most of the members of the choir were Mormons, so he always planned on a baptism as a part of the service.  The baptism was done in a font, high above the pulpit, complete with mirrors so the audience could see the baptism being performed.   The pastor always had a fiery sermon prepared for us.

Chemistry teacher got me to major in Chemistry at the U. 

I was also enrolled in early morning seminary.  We had a carpool, mainly driven by Don Phippen.  My sister Sharon and I were in the carpool together.  She was one year behind me at South High.  Others in the carpool were my sister’s friends: Joyce Keiser and Eileen.  We would be in a big hurry every morning, and would very often arrive late.    

Some of my friends from the ward were: Frank Willardsen, Tim Maxwell, Mike Dixon, and John Dunn.  Tim had lots of exotic birds: pheasants, etc.   Tim’s dad was our scoutmaster, and each year, our ward would take a trip to Moabto camp and hike n the Arches.  Some of the friends I met in High School were Jim Peterson and Dick Van Wagenen.  I would play lots of basketball with Jim, down on Ashton Avenue, and ping pong with Dick down in his basement. Dick lived on Parkway.

On Sundays, we had a big group of boys who played football, at the Stratford Park church, just south of the Crystal Heights ward building. I played on our ward young men’s teams: basketball, and softball(Libby EdwardsSchool). My sister Sharon didn’t have many friends in our Grandview ward, so she attended the Crystal Heightswardin the next Stake to the North, where she had lots of friends: Steve Stutz, her old boyfriend, JoyceKeizer, and Eileen. Don Phippen also lived in that ward. I think that Don and Joyce were cousins. When Sharon eventually married, she had her reception in the Crystal Heights ward.

I worked each summer for the Granite School District, starting about age 14.  My dad was the purchasing agent.  The main offices were in a small two story building on State Street just north of 33^rd South.  My dad knew everyone at the school district, and got me jobs, first in the Cannery at about 25 cents per hour, and then on the cleaning crew.  The crew was made up of 5-6 teachers, and 5-6 young guys like me.  We would travel from school to school and clean rest rooms and dough clean walls and ceilings with wallpaper cleaner: soft pink stuff you would wipe over the surface and it would clean the dirt off.  We would build scaffolding to get to the ceilings.  It got quite precarious in rooms like the Granite High School auditorium.  We would be way up there on the scaffold, walking a thin 2 by 8 plank, swinging our arm wildly from side to side.  Then we would throw the dough at each other.  Then I got jobs on the plumbing crew, installing and repairing sprinkler systems.  The last jobs I had were watering new lawns as they were planted.  They planted seed, which needed watering every day.  I brought up new lawns at Granger High, and several elementary schools: Eastwood, East Mill Creek, etc.  I would also catch gophers when they made mounds in my new grass, by inserting gopher trips in the holes.  My main boss for all of this work was Lee Davey. 

After my graduation from high school in 1955, I attended the University of Utah for two years, majoring in Chemistry.  I spent much of my free time at the LDS Institute of Religion.  A big group of South High graduates met there.  We played a lot of ping pong, and took institute classes, and ate our lunch, and joined Delta Chapter, one of the four men’s chapters of Lambda Delta Sigma, the LDS fraternity/sorority at the U of U.  I met lots more friends there.  Many of our girlfriends were from Sigma chapter, the woman’s chapter that met the same night we did, on Wednesday evenings.  We dated lots of different girls, but many of them were set up dates between our Delta chapter and one of the seven woman’s chapters.   

Some of the group went on a river trip down the Colorado, with the Socotwa River Rats.  We had four Deltas on our boat, and three Sigmas.  The Deltas were Steve Carr, Tim Maxwell, Don Phippen and I.  Steve was there with his girlfriend, Annette Thorpe.  We got in the Colorado near Moab, and floated down through Cataract Canyon until the convergence with the Green River, in what is now Canyonlands National Park, and then to the convergence with the Yampa River.  We met with others in our company who were floating down the other rivers.  We were on the river 10 days, clear down past the Glen Canyon Dam being built.  We could see some of the construction high up on the canyon walls.  We hiked up some of the side canyons that are now covered by Lake Powell, including Hole in the Rock and Rainbow Bridge.  In some of the side canyons, we would hike up a narrow canyon, and then encounter a section of water, where we would have to swim or wade.  We got to one canyon with a fantastic waterfall.  Some of our group actually dove from the top of the waterfall down into the deep pool in which it was falling.  We continued our floating, past the Arizonaborder. 

Some of us had a last fling before our missions.  We went on a trip to California with Jim Peterson and ….  Ray ….  ….. Marlo Gwynn

Mission Years (1957-1960)

  

I was called to the Netherlands Mission: 1957-1960.  I was pleased to receive a call to the land of half of my ancestors, and to be able to learn the Dutch language. 

I was 20 ½ when I was called.  I attended the old Missionary School in downtown SLC, 20-31 August, near where the LDS Conference Center is now.  Dick Van Wagenen and I were there together.  Dick had been called to the Northern States Mission.  We skipped out to visit our girlfriends: Joann Despain and Sylvia (Saliva) Wheelwright.

My mission is pretty much described in my Missionary journal, including the trip over to the Netherlands, with my traveling companion, Elder Ronald Whiting, of Firth, Idaho,  via train to Chicago, where we had to change trains, and train stations, and New York, where we stayed two days, and were able to visit Niagara Falls, and New York City, Central Park, Empire State Building, Radio City, show, the Pajama Game, and the boat trip on the SS Maasdam, 5-14 September.    

We made a stop in Southampton, England, and LeHavre, France, and got to Rotterdam on 14 September.  We were met by Elder Russell and Elder Teerlink, and went to The Hague in President Sperry’s car.  We stayed in The Hague for three days, and then were transferred.  I went on 17 September to Amsterdam, with a trainer, Elder Robert J. de Bry, who was the District President in Amsterdam. 

Usually, when new missionaries arrive in the Netherlands, they go straight to the mission home in The Hague to the mission school.  However, since there were just the two of us, me and Elder Whiting, they decided to have us wait for the school, until three other missionaries would be arriving. 

So I spent my first month in Amsterdam with Elder de Bry.  We made trips to Haarlem and other places. 

I got back to The Hague to attend the mission school, 19 October to 8 November.  Our school teacher was Elder Schetselaar, and the missionary presidents for the Sunday School and Mutual (OOV) were living there also, Elder Shupe and Elder Lemon.   Some of the others attending the mission school, were Elder van Boerum, Elder Whiting.     

I was transferred to my next assignment, in Arnhem, 9 November.   My companion was the Branch President in Arnhem, Elder Butler, and then Elder Sieverts, and finally, Elder Ladle.  We were in a foursome, living above the church in Arnhem.  The other two missionaries were the District President, Elder Stewart, and his companion, Elder Stuart Poelman.   

I was in Arnhem for about 7 months. 

I was transferred to my next assignment, back to The Hague, 26 May 1958.  My companion was Elder Leon de Vries.

After I was released as a missionary, I went up to the Northern two provinces of the Netherlands, Groningen and Friesland, and did family history work in Friesland the archives in Leeuwarden, and visited the villages where some of my ancestors had lived.  I stayed up there for two weeks, waiting for the release of three more missionaries. 

We toured, with five missionaries and two Volkswagons, through Germany and Austria and Italy and France and Belgium.  We had tents and camped out, or stayed in youth hostels along the way,  We went to England to do more touring, and to board the SS United States for our return to the US.  We toured New York and Washington DC and traveled west to Dayton, Ohioto meet with my uncle Harold Erskine.  We continued our trip west in our Volkswagons to SLC.  My mom was not aware of where we were until we knocked on her front door.    

Post Mission Years (1960-1963)

After my mission, I returned to the U of U, where I continued my chosen major of Chemistry.  I got into summer school when I got back home, to avoid being drafted.  I took 20 hours during summer quarter, 4 five hour classes, all relatively easy: German 1, Music 1, Statistics, Econ 1.  Our teacher in Econ 1 was a young bearded fellow, who taught with a cigarette in one hand, and a piece of chalk in the other.  He would sometimes forget which was which.  I remember one of our texts for Econ 1 was The Communist Manifesto.  I graduated in 1962, and spent an additional year of post graduate study, changing my emphasis from Chemistry to Math and Computers.

At the U, I was actively involved in Lambda Delta Sigma, the church sponsored fraternity/sorority group.  I was elected an inter-chapter officer, Treasurer.  It was there I met the love of my life, Margie Norman.  She didn’t attend the UofU.  She went to Heneger’s business college.  A group of Henegers students created another chapter of Lambda Delta Sigma, the Omicron chapter.  We would have conjoints, or parties between one men’s chapter and one women’s chapter.  The first conjoint between the Delta chapter and the Omicron chapter resulted in 5 or 6 marriages.  Margie and I were married 29 June 1962 in the Salt Lake Temple.   

We moved into our first apartment, an 8 plex on McClelland Avenuein Sugar House, and went on our honeymoon to Las Vegas, with a stop at Bryce Canyon.  Margie showed her prowess as a gambler by winning several big returns on her slot machine.  We took in a few shows in Las Vegas: PillowTalk, and

We paid $80 per month for our apartment, and it was the only one of the 8 that did not have a carport and storage unit.  The builder promised one, and when it didn’t happen quickly, we paid only $75 per month.   t ….  Address ….   We stayed in the apartment for one year, while I did a year of graduate study.  Margie had her job at the Huntsman Cancer research center, and I had an assistantship where they paid a stipend for teaching lab and research classes in Chemistry. 

In the summer of 1963, I went on two interview trips.  One was by myself, flying to Denver, Colorado to interview Marathon Oil, and then Margie and I drove to San Franciscoto interview Shell Oil Company.  Then we accepted a job offer from General Electric in Richland, Washington, one of the three cities making up the Tri Cities.

Richland, Washington Years (1963-1972)

In the summer of 1963, I went on two interview trips.  One was by myself, flying to Denver, Colorado to interview Marathon Oil, and then Margie and I drove to San Franciscoto interview Shell Oil Company.  Then we accepted a job offer from General Electric in Richland, Washington, one of the three cities making up the Tri Cities.  I was hired as a chemist, but never did any work in chemistry.  I was assigned to work in computer programming, and spent the next 40 years as a computer programmer/systems analyst.  We had planned to stay in Richland about two years, and get some work experience, and then return to Salt Lake City.  Those goals didn’t work out quite as planned.  We lived in Richland for nine years, in two homes.  Our first home was a small house in what was called Richland Village, at 2031 Raineer Street, on the corner.  We paid rent: $79 per month.  The house had a garage and a basement.  We made acquaintance with two of our neighbors.  Elwyn and Marilyn Shimoda lived in the house just west of ours, and Gil and Eileen Litchfield on the next street.  They each had one child.  Eileen served as a surrogate mother for Margie, since her own mother was so far away.  

We had our first child 16 Dec 1963.  Scottie was born in Kadlec Memorial Hospital, which had been built years before by the government.  The whole city of Richland was built by the government to support building the atom bomb.  A lot of people were hired to work in Richlandin the years before 1945.  Most of the people who worked there didn’t know they were working on a project to build the atomic bomb. 

After the first two atomic bombs were exploded in Japan, the local RichlandHigh School changed their mascot name to the Richlandbombers. 

In Richland, General Electric was a sub contractor for the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), and was operating the Hanford nuclear reactor plant on the Columbia River.  I started with GE in the tech grad program.  There they had new employees take 3-4 three month assignments with different groups.  Then when the employee and the group manager come to a mutual agreement, the employee is assigned to that group.  I had one assignment out in the labs, a 20 minute bus ride west to the lab area, and another assignment in downtown Richland.  I accepted the second assignment, working in the Richland Federal Buildingfor Glenn Otterbein, doing computer work, mostly in Fortran.  After working there for just a year or so, GE’s contract expired, and the contract was divided into 5-6 different groups.  Other subcontractors won the contract with the AEC.  I sat at the same desk, but was now working for Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC).

My father died in May 1965. We returned for his funeral.

We had our second child, Christopher, 5 Sep 1966.

Moved to a new house, 726 Saint Street.   Nov 1967 …    Richland 1^st Ward.   Richland Stake new StakeCenter …  included wards in Kennewickand Walla Walla.   Neighbors Roy and Sharon Kent on one side and Jean and Dick Turley on the other side …..   

Served in Family History, starting the Richland Family History Centerin our new stake house.   Served as a stake missionary …   adult Aaronic replacing Dick Turley …

Graduate Classes at the Richland Centerfor Graduate study …….   Classes in Math, Advanced Calculus, Advanced differential equations, linear algebra, etc.  The RichlandCenter would contract with professors from Washington State, U of Washington and Oregon State to fly in to teach the classes.    

Wendy was born 29 Apr 1968. 

 In the summer of 1969, CSC moved us to Los Angeles for three months, along with 8 or 9 other families, to develop software at the main CSCheadquarters in El Segundo.   

Back in Richland: One time I was working out in the yard and supposedly tending the kids.  I didn’t notice, but Wendy wandered off.  One of the neighbors way up the hill saw her and brought her back home, clutching an all-day sucker.  I hadn’t even missed her.  The neighbor said they knew her from church, with those beautiful blue eyes. 

Jenny was born 10 Nov 1970. 

I taught early-morning Seminary (9th grade) for a year before we moved back to Salt Lake.

 Hermitage Circle Years (1972-1994)

   

We finally returned to Salt Lake City in August 1972, along with our first four children, ages 1-8.  We moved into a new split entry home in the Jamestownsubdivision, 1677 East Hermitage Circle.  The Jamestown area was part of the home show in the year before.  We attended a number of Cottonwood Wards in the Cottonwood Stake.  We were first in the Cottonwood9^th Ward, meeting in the ward house on Highland Drive.  A few weeks later, the new Cottonwood Stake Center on 1830 East 6400 South was finished.  We were assigned to the Cottonwood 11^th Ward meeting in the Stake Center.  …Bishop Harry Peckham . 

  

In our move to Salt Lake City, I was hired as a computer programmer by the Sperry Corporation, who ran a plant out by the Salt Lake airport.  They eventually merged with other companies and became the Unisys Corporation. 

In my first assignment there, I worked with David Powell and Franci de Long.  Our boss was Wayne Slagle.  I worked as a computer programmer or analyst.  During my work there, I took many trips: many to Roseville, Minnesota and many others to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.  I took another trip to New Orleans, and another to Miami to attend conferences of some kind or another.  Other bosses were: Wayne Ivie, Glenn Johnson, John Burns, Franci de Long.  I worked on many projects. 

Church callings – Family History, FREP, Church, FH Center …..membership clerk, teach ….  Varsity Scouts ….. 

  

3 May 1976      Birth of Shane Michael Westra

Ward split, 13^th Ward …Bishop Robin Egan, with counselors Lane Summerhays and Steve Woolston.   Margie was the first RS president.   We were a very small ward ….  After two years, Steve had to be released: working for the church, too much travel, South America.  I was called to replace him as 2^ndCounselor.

17 Apr 1979     Birth of Kellie Sue Westra.  Our little girl had a heart defect and died at the age of 8 days.

22 Jan 1980     Death of Margie’s grandmother, Louella McGee Norman

5 Nov 1980     Birth of Cory Matthew Westra.  He was a full-term stillborn little boy.

5 May 1982     Birth of Derek Alan Westra. I was almost 45 years of age.

26 Dec 1982     LaMar - called to serve in the Bishopric of the Cottonwood 13^th Ward, with Bishop Robin Egan and Lane Summerhays.  LaMar replaced Steve Woolston who was doing a lot of traveling for the church. 

Budd Ferre was later called as a counselor to Bishop Egan, and when Bishop Egan was released, Budd was called to be the new bishop.  I served as a counselor to Budd also.  I served for almost 7 years as counselor. 

26 May 1983    Scott was called as a missionary to the Tampa Floridamission.  He departed 26 May 1983.  The missionary system had been recently changed, with new missionaries called for a period of just 18 months.  Scott returned 30 Nov 1984.   After Scott’s return, the missionary system was changed back again, with new missionaries again called for a period of two years.    

• 31 Mar 1986 Death of Herbert LaVar Norman
• 13 Oct 1986 Death of Hannah Lucinda Hurst Howell Bohne
• 21 Oct 1987 Chris departed as a missionary in the Columbus, Ohio mission. Chris returned 6 Oct 1989. 
• 5 July 1989 Wendy departed as a missionary in the Atlanta, Georgia ASL, American Sign Language. Wendy returned 24 Jan 1991.
• 26 Nov 1989 Release from Bishopric after serving almost seven years in the Bishopric 
• 29 Aug 1990 Death of Lucille Erskine Westra Burgener
• 15 July 1991 Marriage of Chris and Casandra Mueller
• 20 Mar 1992 Marriage of Scott and Amy Whiting. They moved into a house in Cottonwood Heights, 2256 East 6630 South, 84121.
• 13 May 1992 Birth of our first grandchild, Conner Joseph Westra 
• 22 July 1992 Marriage of Jennifer and Grayson Blackham. 
• 23 Feb 1993 Birth of our second grandchild, McKenna Nicole Westra 
• 15 Jan 1994 Death of Victor Alma Burgener
• 12 Mar 1994 Move Chris and Sandy to Fayette
• 2 June 1994 Birth of our third grandchild, Kadan Christopher Westra 
• 28 July 1994 Marriage of Wendy and Rick Jensen. 

We lived in the Hermitage home for over 22 years, and then built a new home, just east of our old home, in a new subdivision called New Haven.  12 Nov 1994     Move to 6176 South Haven Moor Circle. We have now been in our current home for over 10 years.      

Haven Moor Circle Years 1994-Present

• 12 Nov 1994 We moved into our new home: 6176 South Haven Moor Circle
• 15 Feb 1995 Birth of our 4th grandchild, Alyssa Blair Westra
• 19 July1995 Departure of Shane for his mission in Brazil. Shane returned 25 June 1997. 
• 7 Sep 1995 Birth of our 5th grandchild, Landon Gordon Blackham
• 8 Dec 1995 Birth of our 6th grandchild, Janika Carol Jensen
• 16 Dec 1995 Move Scott and Amy, and McKenna and Alyssa, to Draper, 404 East Rosewood Park Lane. 
• 16 Oct 1996 Birth of our 7th grandchild, Kellen Scott Westra
• 12 Dec 1996 Move Jen and Gray, and Landon, to West Jordan, 3692 West 8070 South, 84088
• 6 June 1997 Birth of our 8th grandchild, Corin Benjamin Westra
• 28 June 1997 Move Rick and Wendy, and Janika, to Ivins, 582 North 300 West, 84738
• 8 July 1997 Install new computer
• 2 Dec 1997 Birth of our 9th grandchild, Jase Rick Jensen
• 5 Aug 1998 Birth of our 10th grandchild, Kemery Chase Westra
• 21 Feb 1999 Birth of our 11th grandchild, Callahan Joseph Blackham

1 Jan 2000   One of the last projects I worked on at Unisys was the Y2K project.  In Jan 2000 all the programs that relied on a two digit year would be compromised, because the year 00 was then 1900.  The Y2K project has us go through all our programs and see which ones needed to be changed, so that on 1 Jan 2000, they would not all become obsolete.

•  8 Mar 2000     Birth of our 12^th grandchild, Jared Daniel Jensen
• 31 Aug 2000     Birth of our 13^th grandchild, Keaton Glen Blackham
• 9 May 2001     Marriage of Shane and Alicia Marie Green.  
• 3 July 2001     Departure of Derek for his mission in Campinas, Brazil.  Derek returned 2 July 2003 
• 4 Oct 2001     Move Chris and Sandy, and  their three boys to Gunnison, 711 East 300 South, 84634.  Chris had purchased the property, and built the house there. 
• 1 Jan 2002     LaMar retired from Unisys, after working there for 30 years. 
• 27 Apr 2002   Birth of our 14^th grandchild, Camden Jacob Westra
• 20 June 2002   Departure of Merrill and Lorrie to be the Mission President in New Jersey.  They returned June 2005.
• 12 Aug 2002   Start of LaMar’s Family History Mission.
• 14 Oct 2002    Birth of our 15^th grandchild, Janelle Marjorie Jensen
• 27 Aug 2003    Birth of our 16^th grandchild, Taylee Grace Westra
• 28 Aug 2003    Birth of our 17^th grandchild, Cooper Grayson Blackham
• Oct 2003          Margie and LaMar called as Area Family History Advisors
• 1 Nov 2003      Move Shane and Alicia to Sandy, 9704 South 1700 East
• 3 Mar 2004      Move Rick and Wendy, and their 4 kids, to Santa Clara
• 31 May 2004    Birth of our 18^th grandchild, Jaiden Wendy Jensen
• 2 Nov 2004     Birth of our 19^th grandchild, Adria Elisabeth Westra
• 12 Feb 2005     Move Scott and Amy, and their 5 kids, to 936 East Old English Road

This was the start of a 9 month period where we had four grandchildren born.

• 20 Dec 2005     Birth of our 20^th grandchild, Colton Jensen Blackham.  
• 16 Apr 2006     Birth of our 21^st grandchild, Joshua Joseph Jensen
• 22 May 2006     Birth of our 22^nd grandchild, Cayson Michael Westra
• 23 Aug 2006     Birth of our 23^rd grandchild, Mirella Marie Westra

•  4 Nov 2006       Marriage of Derek and Danielle Taylor.  
• 13Jan 2007       Move Shane and Alicia and their two girls to Lindon, 967 East 300 North
• 17Aug 2007      Move Derek and Danielle to Hawaii, 2065 Lanihuli Drive, Honolulu
• 27Jan 2008       Death of President Gordon B. Hinckley

I have always been an avid genealogist, especially on my Dutch lineage.  After being released from my mission in the Netherlands, I spent two weeks doing research in some of the old archives in the Netherlands.  In Richland, I worked with others in starting up the Tri Cities Family History center. 

I have held a number of church callings.  I was in a Bishopric in our current ward for 7 years (serving under two Bishops), and also served as membership clerk and then in Family History work as the Stake Family Records Extraction Director.  I worked with others in our stake to establish a Family History Center, and worked as Stake FHC Director for a number of years.