Beach Haven

Week of 8 Aug 1983

A big storm blew through that week. It was a welcome relief from the heat, and the pasture really needed the water. Dad and Crystal visited the book mobile, a regular thing in the small town of Honeyville back in those days. I’m not sure if that is still true. It was Dan’s birthday that week, and Mom and Dad’s 21st wedding anniversary. Dan’s big surprise was a motorbike! Mom wrote, “It’s an old one, but it runs good.”

That weekend Dan got stopped by a cop. Not on the motorcycle, but while driving a truck. He took some of his buddies on a ride up to a mountain hideaway known as “Doc’s Flats” above the town of Mantua. On the way, one of his friends was goofing off by standing up in the back of the pickup truck. Dan got a ticket. I wonder if his friend offered to pay for it. This ticket came at a bad time for Dan. As Mom puts it, “He just barely got his permit on Thursday.” Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?...

​Mom and “the kids” (I assume that means Crystal and Dan), helped Lisa lay some carpet in her Salt Lake apartment. Dad put a crib together for her.

Week of 1 Aug 1983

At this early point in the year, Mom already started making Christmas plans.

Dad, Mom and Crystal went fishing. Not something I would picture her doing. On the way home the truck died. It’s not clear where they were, but she said they tried to push the truck to no avail. Brother Argyl came and pulled them home with his vehicle. Turns out an alternator wire had become disconnected and drained the battery power.

That Saturday she went to yard sales with Alma Thrash and Crystal. It was a hot day. She said it was 115 degrees that day. On Sunday she went to the Honeyville 2nd Ward “to see Jesse blessed.” There is no note about who Jesse is.
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Week of 25 July 1983

There was a Primary Pioneer Picnic that Monday in Honeyville. Lisa was visiting that weekend and Mom took her back to Salt Lake City after the picnic. It must have been picnic week, because the next day was a softball league picnic. She was in a cleaning up mode. After listing a bunch of tasks knocked out, as usual, she mentions going through some of Crystal’s clothes and a box of letters from Mike.

Lisa got word that her soon-to-be ex was in a ‘mental institution’ for three weeks. She, Lisa, was torn on what to do.

​Mom was looking ahead to Christmas already, because that’s just how she would think. She reached out to friends Don and Alma Thrash to start building a dollhouse for Crystal. She went to help Lisa in SLC and while there “bought a small family” for the dollhouse. On Saturday she bought some contact paper for the dollhouse walls, then found some material for bedspreads, curtains, and rugs.
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Week of 18 July 1983

Aside from the normal list of things done during the week, There were three unique notes she shares. First, Dad hurt his wrist at work and when to the hospital. Nothing was broken. He recuperated throughout the week, but still went to work. Dan had been riding his bike to school regularly, but apparently some kids had been taking it apart while he was in class. He started to bring the bike into school. 

Despite the bad wrist, Dad had some positive news this week. He was informed that he made Chief Petty Officer in the Navy Reserve! They celebrated with a cake. Dad became BMC Beach. BMC stands for Bos'n's Mate Chief. 

Week of 27 June 1983

This week continued with crochet work on an afghan. Looks like she did complete the one she had been working on the past few weeks. Crystal had a game and a loss. This seems to have been a pattern for her team, at least has Mom documented things. Dan killed some cat that was after one of Dad’s ducks. At least one of the ducks had disappeared, and Dad was upset because these particular ducks had been expensive to buy. A box arrived from me (Mike) in Spain with a birthday present for Crystal. It was a small statue of Flamenco dancers.

Mom was preparing for an upcoming vacation, including training another secretary at work how to do her tasks. There was a long list of preparatory home tasks as well. Lisa came up by bus to spend the weekend. On Saturday Mom picked up extended family members Martin and Barbara at the airport. It's not clear if Dad was with them. Maybe that will be more explicit in the next week's entries. The group visited a few local northern Utah sites like the Osmond studio, then began their first southward drive-leg of the trip that would last through the next week. I can get into the trip notes next time, but it will come as no surprise to anyone who knew her that there is an extensive detailed itinerary and cost estimate document taped to a page of the journal. She also documented over several pages all the individual expenses of the trip as they happened. That's so Mom.

Week of 20 June 1983

Mom had been crocheting a baby afghan which she decided to pull apart and start over. Sound familiar Michelle Beach? She went to another of Crystal’s ball games. I’m not sure I understand this entry on 24 June (Friday). She says she got a terrarium “from everybody at work”. She and Crystal took it to Larry Dodd’s house. Whoever Larry is, he must have been recovering from something as Mom notes, “He is anxious to get back to work.”

On Saturday, Mom took the kids to Lagoon for Thiokol Day. Dad had worked all night so he stayed home. Crystal had been sick for a day or so, but refused to stay home. After getting them to Lagoon she left Lisa in charge of them and returned home. After Dad had gotten some sleep the two of them went on a long motorcycle ride. They got home about 10:30pm, and the kids got back from Lagoon about 11:30pm. Mom notes that she got a sunburn.

Crystal was feeling somewhat better on Sunday.

Week of 13 June 1983

Most of Mom’s weekly chore list seemed to be around deep cleaning; walls, curtains, ceilings, carpets, couches, throw pillows, afghans. She also, of course, baked a cake for somebody that week. While moving the piano (yes, the piano!) she ran it over two of toes and cut them up. She also picked up some ducks to give to Dad for Father’s Day.

She did some yard sale visiting to help gather items for Lisa’s baby on the way, a jacket for Crystal, and red light bulbs for Dan. She didn’t mention what Dan needed red light bulbs for exactly, but noted “he was thrilled when he put them in his room.”

Dad worked overtime that week… again. That Sunday, Mom and Dan visited Lisa in Salt Lake City and enjoyed dinner with her. After dinner they walked around Temple Square and had some ice cream. She noted that she “brought Crystal home and left Dan,” so it sounds like the siblings took turns hanging out at Lisa’s apartment.
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Week of 6 June 1983

Crystal had several ball games in this early summer time frame. So far whenever Mom mentions a game they seem to come out on the losing end, but with fun times nonetheless. This week was no exception. Several of Crys’ friends stayed over-night at the house, Stacy and Kristina. At least I assume they were friends of Crys. Lisa checked in, seems she was staying with our friends the Barlows temporarily. Mom notes time with Lisa shopping for furniture and housewares to get her started. Mom spent time going on walks with Irene Richan. She went on a diet and marked some of her weight-loss progress. This week, as always, contained a long list of inside and outside chores.

Dad had a Navy Reserve weekend that week which was followed by starting a round of graveyard shift that Sunday night. Mom spent Sunday at church, choir, doing genealogy, making supper, and watching a little TV. Looking over all Mom and Dad did on any given week I have to say I get exhausted just reading about it. On another day she mentions going for a brisk walk after some gardening, then stopping to visit with ‘Mary’ and another day visiting with Nedra. Someone else reading this will likely know who Mary is. I believe Nedra would be Nedra Green. This combination of working for a living, doing chores to make home-life better, then checking in on others is a pattern that will seem familiar to all of us who knows Mom. She has always been this way. We would do well to try to emulate her.
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Let us also not forget Dad who was handling work and chores as well. He put in extra work when he could to bring in a few overtime dollars. The way Thiokol handled things back then was through rotating shifts. Dad would work a month on days, a month on swing, and then a month on graveyard. This rotation went on for him for several decades. On top of that work he served in the Navy Reserve to bring in a few more bucks, and still managed to find some time for us in the family now and then. My time with Dad was usually associated with one work or church project or another. When I was younger  in Pennsylvania he would include me going fishing or hunting, though a busy work schedule kept him from that more than he wished. When I was older and we were in Utah I let myself get too distracted with my own life and didn’t go on those excursions like I should have. Missed opportunity.

Week of 23 May 1983

​Every week I have reviewed from her journal so far, Mom finds a day here and there to share a long list of chores that got done that particular day. The list usually includes a mix of shopping, house cleaning, church tasks, and running someone somewhere in the car. This will come as no surprise to anyone who knew her, but after making that sort of list one day this week, she notes how she finished the day at 11pm, “Tired but happy.” Right after noting that, she adds that Cris and Melody set up a Kool-Aid stand by Frank’s Gas Station. She says they “made a dollar and something in about 1 hour. They had fun.”

Lisa found an apartment in Salt Lake City and was excited. Mom was worried because the other apartments in the building were empty. Later in the week they loaded some of Lisa’s stuff in the car and drove it down to her. Over the weekend Mom and Lisa drove to Indiana to get what was left there of her things.

Several extended family from PA checked in with her as they were planning some vacation together in CA. One of those travelers was someone named Mary who was disappointed when Mom had to tell her they couldn’t afford to bring Cris along. Cris had a ball game (likely softball) in Corinne, UT this journal week. Mom drove and enjoyed watching, but lamented that Cris didn’t get to bat.
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Dan shocked her on Wednesday. When she got home from work, he had already prepared dinner and it was waiting on her. He must have been motivated because after dinner he went outside and did a bunch of unsolicited yard work. A group of women from town were out walking that evening and asked Mom to join them. They went about 3 miles.

Week of 16 May 1983

It’s Mike again, continuing with journal updates from Mom.

Although summer was just around the corner, Mom continually notes cold temperatures, typically with lows in the 30’s. They had planted some corn earlier and it was lost. Dad needed to replant the garden. Her carpool fellows were all on vacation this week and she had to go solo. Lisa called to let her know she liked her new job in Salt Lake City, but she was feeling under the weather. Mom finished up making a sweater, booties, and a hat for Lisa’s baby on the way.

This week was Cris’ birthday. Of course Mom went all out making a cake. Cris got a clock radio, two dolls, and a book of poetry. Dad was working swing shift that week so they got him out of bed before everyone else had to leave for the day so they could all sing Happy Birthday to Cris. Because Dad was on swing shift, Dan took Cris that week to the Primary Daddy-Daughter activity at the church. That week Cris sang at a school event for the long-time janitor and a teacher who were both retiring.

​Over the weekend Mom took Cris to a park in Brigham City so she could have a picnic birthday party with some of her friends. Afterwards, she went with Dan to Ogden where they joined others from the German club and put flyers on cars to raise money for a trip.

That Sunday, Mom and Dad went on a nice motorcycle ride after church. Later that day they visited with their friends, Dave and Mary, over hamburgers.