We don't do normal: Matheson Thanksgiving 2014

I mean, we all know that, but I thought it made an appropriate title, both considering the Thanksgiving details I highlight below, and what we learned about our ancestors, who possessed some abnormally high levels of gumption. 

Who would have believed it possible to have an outdoor Thanksgiving dinner in Enoch, Utah? That’s right folks, global warming did us good this year (I’m putting in a politically sensitive topic so people will comment with their disputes haha).

We had a mid-honeymoon visit from the our Italian lovebirds, Matthew Christiansen and his new wife Heather- she jumped right in to our shenanigans!

While most people nap and watch football as the tryptophan from the turkey sets in post-Thanksgiving dinner, what did we do? Help Matthew Matheson with his cool Eagle Scout Project of restoring an old Enoch historical sign that was originally installed by Grandpa’s scout troop decades ago (and we have the picture to prove it)! Here we are:

Our fearless leader, Matthew, directing traffic. Rich is realizing he should have been a dentist as he went to town on that sign with... pretty sure it was a tooth drill.

Many hands at work.

Gaylen and Amy did a fun Thanksgiving Quiz, which included some really cool unknown facts about our fambam going back in time. So we thought we’d share some of these on here. Some highlights:

The making of the Matheson dairy:

•       Before Enoch was called Enoch, it was called both “Elk Horn Springs” and “Fort Johnson.” There were 6 Native American boys who were friends of the original settlers, named Squint, Curly Jim, Merricats, Captain Pete, Tomat, and Comanche.
•       Grandpa’s father, Owen Evan Matheson “homesteaded” the square mile of land that Grandma and Grandpa Matheson’s and Gaylen and Amy’s homes are on in 1910. According to the source of all truth (Wikipedia), historical homesteading is defined as:

“Historically, homesteading has been used by governmental entities (engaged in national expansion) to help populate and make habitable what were previously little-desired areas; … in order to drive the populating of specific, national areas; with most being discontinued after a set time-frame or goal were achieved.”

• The Matheson dairy was started in 1952, and our Grandpa Gaylen settled the spot of land in October of 1964.

     Grandma Gay Matheson's birth: she was said to have been born "under the dump for a bucket of coal." "Under the dump" denotes where they were living, Tropic, Uth, which was known as being the place where commuters would dump their trash. The midwife was literally paid a bucket of coal. We like to say that with all of the heat and pressure of her life, she's turned diamonds!
    
     Great-grandma Alice Johnson had some pretty great sayings she would commonly use (I think mostly to whiney children): 

•       "Oh my finger, oh my thumb, oh my belly, oh my bum!"
•       "As a rule a man's a fool, when its hot he want it cool. And when its cool, he wants it hot. He always wants what it is not."
• 
  

     Joel Hills Johnson (Grandpa’s great-grandfather): we are pretty familiar with the fact that he wrote “High on the Mountain Top” in the LDS hymnbook, and let people know it! But, come to find out, his goal was to write over 1,000 songs, and in his lifetime he exceeded that, writing around 1,200 songs and poems.

   

     And I saved the best for last! Again, another doosy story that I can’t believe I didn’t know before! So Grandpa’s Great-grandfather, Alexander Matheson, and his family were one of several families called to move from their home in Parowan, over the mountain to Panguitch, Utah in 1863. They planted crops, but the growing season was abnormally short and they had an early winter with deep snow. They were quickly running out of supplies, but travel in the deep snow was nearly impossible. However, Alexander and 9 other men set out to save their families from starvation. The snow was waist-high, so moving was incredibly slow and difficult. They soon abandoned their oxcart and set out on foot. At one point, they laid a quilt out on the snow, and all knelt to pray for help. Upon finishing the prayer, they mused how kneeling on top of the quilt kept them from sinking into the snow. An idea struck them, and they used their two quilts to lay a path for themselves by stepping on one, then moving the quilt from the back to the front, stepping on it, and so on. They did this for the entire journey to Parowan, and again to return carrying the supplies by hand.

Alexander is quoted as saying:

"We decided that if we had faith as big as a mustard seed, we could make it and bring flour to our starving families.  So we began the quilt-laying in prayerful earnestness.  The return trip was harder with the weight of the flour, but we finally made it to our wagon and oxen and on home with thankfulness to the Lord for his goodness.  The whole settlement welcomed us,  because we had been gone longer expected.  There had been prayers, tears, and fears which turned to rejoicing and cheers."

THIS is our legacy! Some pretty good blood running through these veins, folks. Let's make em proud.