Monday, July 5, 2010

Our Memorial Day!

I know that this should be our 4th of July post, due to the fact the 4th of July was over the weekend but I am a little behind. I wanted to post about our Memorial Day. Every year around Memorial Day, me, my mom and my sister, Marion all take a drive up to Brigham City to see my mother's parent's graves. Their story is very tragic. They died at a very young age.

My grandpa, Ruel at 28 and my grandma, Betty at 26.

My grandparents were very in love. They loved to go do things together. One October day, they decided to go hunting for the day. It was warmer during the day so they didn't dress warm. While they were hunting up Spanish Fork Canyon (in a totally different location then they told people they would be) a blizzard struck. Their truck got stuck and couldn't get it out. My grandpa thought he knew the direction to town and so they set out on foot. Like I said, it was warmer that day and they were not dressed warm. Because the blizzard was so bad, they got lost and both died of hypothermia. My grandmother, Betty died first and my grandpa, Ruel carried her for quite some time before burying her with pine boughs under a tree. He still tried to get out of the canyon but he too died. When he passed, he fell face down in the snow without a struggle. They left four children behind including my mother.


I can't believe how much my sister, Marion looks like our grandma Betty!


This picture was taken a little over a year before they passed.
My mom was a daddy's girl! She is the one in her father's arms. My grandma at this time was pregnant with their 4th child, my uncle, Ruel.


Here are the 4 children at the time of their passing.
LtoR: Kathy age 8, Shirley age 7, Ruel age 6 months and Christine age 4. Christine is my mother. She goes by Chris.

Back when my grandparents were dating and were first married, they loved to hang out at a cafe called Idles Isles Cafe. I also found out from reading my great grandfather's history, he took my great grandmother there on their first date.

That Cafe is still around up in Brigham City.
We love to go and have lunch there and go to all the grandparent's graves at the cemetery there. It is our Memorial Day tradition. We usually go there the day after Memorial Day. And that is what we did this year.

This is what the cafe looked liked from the outside when our grandparents used to hang out there.


This is what it looks like today!


It has been there since 1921.

The coolest thing is that the inside pretty much looks the same as when it opened.

This is what it looks like when you first come in.
It has the original walls, ceiling, benches and counters.


Here is the waiting bench.
Same bench they had back then.


Here is the original espresso machine put in a case.


You can see the old Coke machines they use to use in this picture.


They also have other dinning rooms too. So cute!


Here is Ayla running to our seats!


We like to sit in the original booths there.
We like to think about how we could be sitting wear our grandparents had sat before. In my mother's case her parents. It helps her feel close to them.


And of course one of me with Ayla!


Ayla got to color!


My mom with the menu.


Here is the story about Idles Isles.
You might need to click on the picture to read it.

We not only love to eat there because it is the place our grandparents and parents hung out at but the food is very yummy! It is all made from scratch. They have yummy rolls with homemade apricot jam.

After lunch, we headed to the cemetery.

They are buried at the Brigham City Cemetery.


Here is my grandparent's - Ruel and Betty.
We always leave roses on their graves.


This is my great grandparent's who went to Idles Isles on their first date.
They are Ruel's parents. Their names are Truman and Winnifred. I loved my great grandpa, Truman. He was the only real grandparent I knew growing up. My dad's parents were both gone too. Though I do have a great aunt named Marion. She was the closest thing to a mother my mom had growing up. That is who my sister is named after. I call her my grandma, Marion. She has always been my grandmother.


Here are Truman's parents.


This is my great uncle Bruce, my grandpa, Rule's brother. He died at the age of 23.
He was in the Air Force and was in Korea around highly radioactive equipment. A plane blew up one day upon landing, and Bruce was blown through a corrugated wall of a quarantined building. His body was full of fine particles of metal that for months kept working out to the surface of his skin. My Grandpa Truman would pull the pieces out with sliver pullers. Bruce later developed cancer and the doctors theorized that it was from that accident he had and the radiation he had been exposed to. The cancer developed in his lymph nodes and spread. It then struck his liver which eventually took his life.


Here is my mom looking at their graves.


And of course Ayla was trying to play with every thing on all the graves there. I had to share the picture of Ayla with the flag!

We had a great Memorial Day experience. It always is when we do this. We look forward to doing it every year. This experience helps us feel close to my grandparents. We love them so much!

8 comments:

The Wonderful World of Wampler said...

I've never noticed, but Marion kind of looks like your Grandma. You kind of do too. That picture of her standing behind all of her children.....she kind of looks like you.

That is the saddest story EVER. I always cry when I hear it. I love that you take time to go visit them. (their graves) It shows you have a lot of love and respect for them.

I am happy you got to do your Memorial Day tradition this year. :) Ayla is so cute!! I love the picture of her with the American flag.....DARLING.

((HUGS))

Ann Marie said...

Oh my word.. that story just broke my heart. Seriously.
Who took the kids? ~ And how ol was your Mom when they died? I had never heard this story.. and I am so grateful you shared it.. and showed the pictures!

Marion DOES look like her.. and that little resteraunt is just darling. I would LOVE to go up there some time.


Hope all is well with you.. Love ya lots...

CB said...

Heather that really is such a tragic story. What a horrible way to die and the poor kids - it really tugs at the heart.
That is a neat tradition you have of going to honor them and see their graves. The little cafe is SO cute and holds so much history for your family.
Glad you were able to catch up and share your story!

Have a GREAT day!

Cherie

Christy said...

What a sweet post Heather. Super Sad story about your grandparents. It is amazing that you can go to that diner where they ate. What a fun memory to remember your loved ones by.

Heather said...

I guess I should have written that my great grandpa, Truman and his wife Winnifred took my mom and her siblings in. My mom was raised partly from them and partly from my great uncle, Paul and his wife, Marion. Paul is Truman's son.

Connie said...

What a tragic, sad, love story! How good of their parents and siblings to take care of the kids.

I've eaten at the Idle Isle before. It's good, down home cooking! I think your sister does look like your grandmother!

Suzanne said...

This was a really great post. A very sweet tribute to a very sad love story. So sad!

I just wanted to pop in and say that I was thinking of you and I hope your day is going great! -Suzanne

LKP said...

i LOVE idle isles!!! both the candy AND the cafe!!! my mom's family are from SLC originally, but during her childhood they moved to brigham city before setlling permanently in washington state. our family had a friend who worked in the cafe & candy shop who shared the signature idle isle candy recipe with us. we make them every year for the holidays. i love that tradition...and the cafe's pretty darned yummy! =)