8/7 cont' -Dad took all of us on a brief tour of Teton Valley where he spent much of his childhood. My Grandparents (David & Awanda Hansen) owned 160 acre farm there, and my Great Grandparents owned land directly across the street from them. My father grew up in a 2 room log cabin with his parents and 5 siblings. All 4 of the boys shared one room with my Grandparents, and my dad's 2 sisters shared the front room/kitchen. The stories of my Dad's childhood are unbelievable - like stories you'd only read about or see portrayed in movies. Dad wrote some of his personal history - mostly memories from his childhood, for us to all read prior to our reunion. The grandkids LOVED hearing Grandpa tell all the stories in the exact spots where things happened - it was like Grandpa was a superstar. ( : 
Grandpa Warren (a.k.a. Dad) with his Uncle Frank (my Grandpa David's brother)
We then headed for the family farm - which is now owned by my Grandpa's brother, my Great Uncle Frank, who is still living and working the farm with his wife, Ivy and some of their children (Ron & Mark in photo to the left with Dad and
my Great Aunt Ivy). Dad's house is no longer standing - some years back they were using it for a barn of sorts - to house some calves, but it's now gone. There are some cornerstones from the old house. The only piece of Dad's original farm that is still standing is one portion of a wall that was once part of their horse barn. We spent some time listening to Dad/Grandpa Warren's stories and then got to pet the pigs, see some calves and check out the farm equipment. What a blast the kids had there. Here are some pics. 
10 of the 14 grandkids
Scot with Ethan with the pigs (Jonah's doing some mid-tour stretching)
Roy helping Regan, McKinley and Sage pet the pigs
Luke, Regan & Cade
Grandma Lydia and Joshua
Sarah and I decided to venture back to towards the old horse barn to get a photo of the only remaining wall still standing. (See the photo above...it's the very back wall that is really shaded. Because of all the shadows, you can't see much of it, but at least we have it documented). Much 
of the structure in the photo was added later. We knew there was an awful lot of manure scattered along our path, and since we were both wearing our not so farm friendly flip flops, we tried to watch our step. Sarah, as you can see, took one unlucky step and uncovered something rather fresh. With some assistance from Becky, Sarah got things cleaned up before getting back into our car.
This is a view of a small portion of Dad's farm. Their home stood on the right side of the image (at about the center of the photo) where you now see the long metal structures. They had a 2 room log cabin, a horse barn & a cow barn in this area. Across the street (on the left side of the image) is where my Great Grandparents, David and Adeline Hansen's, farm was (Frank and Ivy now live in a home on that land). The photo of the Tetons is taken from the back end of my Dad's farm. Quite a view to grow up with, huh? The nights here are incredible - you can see every star in the sky.
Scot is anxious to see if we can buy a piece of the old family farm back...for our posterity of course. ( :
My Great Grandma Adeline & Great Grandpa David Hansen are both buried in a small cemetary close to the old farm with a few of their children who died very young. The Hansen name is very well known throughout the Driggs/Tetonia area. Good roots. Thanks for the amazing glimpse of your childhood, Dad.
We ended the afternoon tour with a picnic in a canyon where one of Dad's childhood stories took place. The kids had a great time on their nature hikes & returned enthusiastic to share the new skill that Uncle Roy taught them... how to eat ants. Just for the record - Ethan was not on that particular hike. ( :
1 comment:
If I hadn't have found that manure, you probably would've. The least you could do is thank me for takin one for the team. Before it was disguised as dirt...after I stepped in it, the fresh green was a dead give away to not step there. You're welcome.;) Could've been worse and ended up on my foot. Puke. Thank heaven for thick soled flip-flops.
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