Beach Haven

Week of 21 November 1983

This entire week is summed up in a single paragraph, so I thought I’d just quote it to give you a feel for how she writes:

“Snowed hard all day - several inches on the ground – cold – Fred still on swing shift – Dan has truck & is to be at work – don’t know if he made it to work or not through the canyon – I’m worried about him – Crys is sleigh riding at the church – She gets a perm tonight at 6:30 – Lisa went back to work today – I’m all alone & it’s quiet here”

Week of 28 November 1983

Dan hit ice in the parking lot at work and slid into some lady’s parked car.  Mom took Lisa back and forth to SLC sever times this week. She attended the 50th wedding anniversary of the Halls. They are an older couple who served as missionaries in our branch back in PA when we still lived there. Thanksgiving was ‘quiet’. Then she writes “This morning I passed out – must be my sugar.” Dan and Crys had gone roller skating and Dad was at work.

Lisa had to miss work as Jessie was sick and running a fever. She worried about her ability to be supportive of Lisa as they were struggling financially themselves. Lisa decided to look for work locally and not continue in SLC. It snowed on Thursday adding six more inches on the ground, then another fifteen inches on Sunday. In the middle of the snowstorms they moved Lisa back up to Honeyville from SLC. On the weekend, Mom got in a baking mode and listed a bunch of things she baked and who she made them for. 

Week of 7 November 1983

This week is just a list of shopping that happened, and tasks Mom set up for herself. There were some visits going on. For example, Lisa took baby Jessica to visit family friends Don and Alma Thrash, and picked Crystal up from visiting the Hoffmeister family. She got a letter from me while on my church mission in Spain, fixed a jacket, and did some crocheting.

Week of 14 November 1983

Unlike the previous week, Mom wrote more specifics this week. She didn’t just talk about shopping, she included items bought for specific people. She and Lisa both got perms. “It sure feels great to look better” she notes. After a long list of chores, and extra expenses helping Lisa get back on her feet, she mentions they had their second snow storm of the year. Dan was at work with their old car. She hoped he didn’t get into an accident coming down the canyon on his commute home. As it turned out, Dan called that the canyon had been closed and he would be stay all night at ‘Sherwood Hills’. Dad managed to make it home in the Datsun truck that was not running well. He didn’t have to navigate any canyons on his route. Dan finally got home by 2p the next day (Sunday). It snowed all that day as well.
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Week of 21 October 1983

My age is showing. Last time I posted I mentioned Mom putting in something about me transferring to Seville and a 2-week medical checkup for Lisa and Jessica. These things actually happened the week of 21 Oct, not 17 Oct. In fact, I was so far off that I identified it as the week of 14 October. I guess I was losing it that week.

Week of 31 October 1983

No mention of Halloween. Dad no luck on the deer hunt this week. Dan got a job at Sherwood Hills washing dishes. The clutch went out on their truck so they bought a used truck from the Baker family in Honeyville. It was a ’66 International and only cost them $200. There was a long list of food created early for Christmas between Mom and Lisa. They attended the wedding of Dan Peterson. He’s a guy I went to high school with.

Lisa’s mother-in-law contacted her and shared her then-husband’s address. She also offered to help pay for the divorce. 
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Week of 17 October 1983

This week included a baby shower for Lisa and Jessica. That was pretty much all she said, so I’m including some info from the next week.

Week 14 October 1983

She got a letter from me on my mission in Spain. I told her of my transfer to the city of Sevilla and that I got sick from the change in water. I don’t really remember that, but she was just saying what I had written to her.

Lisa took Jessie in for her two-week checkup. All well. She mentioned that Lisa was working in one of those haunted houses. Mom and Dad took ‘the kids’ (I assume that means Dan and Crystal) to dinner in Salt Lake City and to a professional wrestling match at the Salt Palace. It was a free-for-all that included twenty wrestlers going at each other all at once. It seems the kids had been wanting to see it so the trip was a pleasant surprise. She said the “kids really enjoyed it.”
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Week of 26 September 1983

Monday was a vacation day for both Mom and Dad. They “spent half the day in bed enjoying each other.” TMI! They took a 5-hour motorcycle ride later.

​That day and throughout the week there are more notes related to Mom and Crystal selling ‘paper’. I still don’t know what that means or what it was for, but it seems like she was selling it to make money to cover Christmas present costs because this particular week she put some financials in her writing. “Made $210 profit. Sold $700 including tax. Owe Crystal $25 for helping. Still have $185 towards Christmas. I’m still selling. Hope to pay for Christmas with paper money.”

She was anxious as three weeks had passed without a letter from me (Mike) on my mission in Spain. There’s a reason why it’s call ‘snail mail’. International is even worse. I assure you a letter went out every week. She bought a kerosene heater and some bar stools.

That Saturday she went to visit Lisa. It was Lisa’s due date for the baby. Watching General Conference at home on Sunday, an electric fuse blew at the house. By the time they got it fixed they had missed part of Conference. She finishes Sunday noting, “Still no baby.”
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Week of 19 September 1983

Mom and Crystal were selling ‘paper’. It’s not clear to me what that means, but between them they sold $510 worth. Dad installed the new wood-burning stove. Lisa came out of the hospital early in the week.

There was some sort of work party that Mom took a car-full of food into work for. Dad went to San Francisco that weekend on a Navy trip. Mom and Vangee both visited Lisa in Salt Lake City that same weekend. Lisa felt a lot of pain and started having contractions. Mom took her to the hospital and the contractions stopped. The hospital sent Lisa home. She was mad at Mom for making her go to the hospital. Mom called it ‘false labor’.

Week of 12 September 1983

Lisa was suffering from toxemia, and the family truck broke down. That was a bad start to the week. Lisa lost work time, and so did Mom as she went to Salt Lake City to help take care of her for a few days. Mom visited the temple and did some shopping. She picked up a prescription from Lisa’s doctor.

Mom was back at work on Thursday. She wrote four letters (she doesn’t say to whom). She notes, “Dan finally passed his driver's test.” On that Friday their new fireplace was delivered. I assume she means a newer wood-burning stove in the living room. Dad had his Navy Chief’s initiation that week, and Mom was up with him the night before making sure his 'uniform' was all perfect and ready. She said, “He’s a nervous wreck, but cute in his dress and wig (blue).” Yes, that's really what she meant. As one might guess, an initiation in the Navy is all about humiliation. I had a similar get-up when I crossed the equator on the USS Duluth years after this.
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She had to work with the bank to straighten out “check protection”. I’m sure there is a story behind that, but she doesn’t share it. Lisa wasn’t getting any better, so the doctor put her in the hospital. Mom and Dad spent some time on Saturday looking for a new truck. By the time she got back down to Salt Lake City on Sunday, Lisa was doing much better.

Week of 5 September 1983

Don and Alma Thrash joined Mom, Dan and Crystal to the park for a picnic. Dad had to get three teeth filled that week. Dan applied for a social security number this week. There was a good harvest of tomatoes so plenty of canning to do (53 quarts of juice to be precise). Mom notes “ordered a helmet from Sears” but never mentions what sort of helmet or who it was for.

There was a Friday night trip to Salt Lake to see the Ice Capades. It was ‘Smurfs’ oriented. Saturday was filled with annual Peach Days activities. Lisa got sick and was not able to drive back to Salt Lake on Sunday.
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Week of 29 August 1983


Despite taking off work a few days this week because of being sick, she still managed to work on a doll and a quilt she was making for somebody. She still struggled this week over some of Dad’s choices. She saw the situation as having to look the other way or break up. She pleads, “God give me peace.”

That week Dan took his driver test for the second time. He was using a manual transmission car and had trouble with clutching so had to take it a third time. Maybe next try will be with an automatic? That weekend the daughter of a long-time family friend got married. She was a teen and pregnant. Crystal helped as a server at the wedding.

Seems I called from Spain that Saturday looking for the contact information of our stake president. About this time the mission president was beginning to make arrangements for my district’s return home at the end of the year. He needed to start communicating with the stake president. 

Week of 22 Aug 1983

Mom notes that Dad and Crystal picked and shelled 50 ears of corn. Mom froze some, and also dried some along with a bunch of grapes. Later when Crystal was at a neighbor’s house, Mom performed surgery on a doll she was making for Crystal. At least that’s how it reads. She wrote, “got the head and body together and stuffed.” Maybe it was less surgery and more taxidermy?

The fair was happening that week and they took 10 chickens to show at the fair. She notes that collectively they brought home 8 blue ribbons and 2 red. She hadn’t gotten a letter from me on my mission in three weeks and she was worried. (Mike’s note: For you youngsters, that’s just how international snail mail works. It’s inefficient, but it’s what we had. I would make the argument that getting a physical letter might be more appealing than email or texts, and as such is worth the waiting.)
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Lisa broke her finger, and Mom took her to the hospital. Dad and Mom were fighting over more signs of his bad decisions. This was a difficult time for her between that and Lisa beginning divorce papers. She was clearly discouraged.