Thanksgiving

Wednesday, Nov 29, 2023

This year we spent thanksgiving in Arizona with Kira’s family. It is the first time one of our kids hosted thanksgiving dinner for us. Ben and his family spent Thanksgiving in St George so Alycia was able to see him. They had to be back in Mesa on Saturday so we were able to see him then.

We left San Diego Wednesday morning and spent the evening with Kira’s kids. 

Kira and Justin had visitiors in town and were with them at a Lindsey Stirling concert in Tucson. I made my pie and we played games with the kids.

Thursday morning we got the Turkey in the oven and then went for a two mile family run. Some ran, some walked and some rode bikes. 

Towards the end of the run Kira and I ended up running together with the dogs. I’m not a fan of running with dogs because they are always trying to cut in front of you and trip you, but Loki and Frida loved running side by side.

After the run we got dinner on the table and enjoyed some great food.

Later in the evening we went to some park and enjoyed a nice stroll around the lake.

Friday we had a relaxed morning and for lunch Kira made some meals that some of us remember as cheap and simple meals that we love to eat today because of the memories they bring us. It was fun.

After lunch we visited an old folks home that Justin and Ben bought together. Kira brought her menagerie of animals for the residents to enjoy. That included her birds, dog, cat and she would have brought the lizard except he is currently hibernating, or what ever they call it for a reptile. It was fun, but would have been more fun if more than just two people had been awake.

Friday evening we walked around the Mesa temple and enjoyed the lights. 

They were beautiful and all along the walkway they had scenes from the birth of Christ depicted, such as the stable,

shepherds in their fields, the wise men and even Isaiah as he writes about his vision of Christs birth.

Saturday morning Lisa, Kira, Justin and I did a session in the Gilbert Temple. After the session we snuck into someone elses sealing session and did one sealing that was about to expire.

In the afternoon we headed out to the Mesa Market to see Stacy Waltons booth. They are from Canada and are setting up their electrical business here in the States. They have a booth advertizing and selling “Gem Lights”. Their booth was very well done. Ben and the kids met up with us at the Mesa Market and hung with us the rest of the day.

Ever since the church announced them, Lisa has wanted to donate to a “Giving Machine”. You can, of course, donate online but she wanted to use a vending machine. They don’t have them in San Diego yet but they did have one in Gilbert. 

We decided to bring running water to a maternity ward to help mothers deliver babies more safely. It was pretty cool.

While in Gilbert we had a very delicious burrito at Topo. It was delicous.

We did have planned to do baptisms with Landon and Even Saturday evening but their high school football team was in the State semi finals and Landons band needed to play at the football game so we decided to go and watch him play. We were able to get seats right next to where Landon was sitting. Sadly, Basha High School lost even though they played a great game. They also had great music.

Sunday morning we went to Kira’s ward for church. Ben and Sharley came by after church and we visited for a bit, ate left overs and then headed home. It was a great week.

--------------------trivia--------------------

If you eat a polar bear liver, you will die.

Humans can't handle that much vitamin A.

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(11)

Tuesday, Nov 28, 2023

Where did you go on your most memorable vacation with your family?

Other than a few trips to Salt Lake City to visit my uncle Merlin and one or two trips to Moses Lake to visit Grandpa and Grandma Lybbert, I don’t remember any trips that we did as a family. I enjoyed all of them but none are really memorable.

The most memorable thing about all those trips is that I would get horribly car sick and barfed on pretty much every trip. Especially going through the mountains on the windy roads.

Did you ever travel abroad with your family?

Until my mission I’d never been in an airplane and I’d only ever been in Alberta, British Columbia, Washington, Idaho and Utah.

Where were your family’s regular vacation destinations?

We didn’t have regular vacations. We had a few trips to Utah and a couple of trips to Moses Lake.

Anything special or unique you remember about your parents or your siblings you want to share?

I don’t remember anything special or unique, but I will give you my first thoughts about each of them.

  Dad hardworking, kind and intelligent
  Mom loving, giving and always willing to help someone in need.
  Greg smart and fun to talk to. Not scared of trying something new.
  Fara quiet and extremely kind. A little bit gullible.
  Dixie loud and always looking for a party. Very beautiful in an eligant kind of way.
  Jackie quiet, a wonderful mother, caring and tender. Very beautiful in a sweet kind of way. 

  Lester loyal and always has my back.

--------------------trivia-------------------

A strawberry isn’t a berry but a banana is. 

So are avocados and watermelon.

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(10)

Friday, Nov 17, 2023

How did your family celebrate Thanksgiving?

We celebrated Thanksgiving pretty much like everyone else in North America does. We roasted a turkey, made several pies and potatoes and gravy. As a young child and teenager growing up, Thanksgiving and Christmas were pretty much the only days that I could eat until I truly felt full and I loved it. We would then sit around all day and be lazy until we felt we’d digested enough food that we could have left overs.

We didn’t have any specific activities that were associated with Thanksgiving, just family and food. Sometimes grandpa and grandma Leavitt would be there and sometimes they wouldn’t. I seem to remember that on occasion we’d have Thanksgiving dinner at and some Aunt & Uncle’s house but it was usually at our own house.

What are some of the things your family would to celebrate Christmas?

Christmas was pretty much another Thanksgiving with huge turkey dinners, but now we’d have a couple of weeks off school. As a younger child we’d play in the snow with friends building snow forts and caves and a ton of other fun things.

The family all got together and we opened presents in the morning and we ate a lot of food. One tradition that I have very fond memories of are the nuts.

Beginning around December first mom would put out a couple of bowls of mixed nuts and a nut cracker. These were generally a mix of Brazil nuts, Walnuts, Almonds, Hazel nuts and sometimes Pecans. She would let me eat all the nuts I wanted and I lovd mixed nuts. The only requirement she had was that I had to crack her a brazil nut every once in a while. I was happy to do it. It was always my goal to break out the brazil nut in one piece. I got pretty good at it.

Mom would always buy a box of mandrin oranges that we loved. For some reason we called them Japanese oranges

Our tree was always decorated with no theme in mind and lots of tinsel. I would say about half of the ornaments were ones that us kids had made in school or church. We had a single string of out door lights on the house but no other decorations outside.

As we got older and could drive we would often go skiing either at Fernie or Banff.

What are your siblings names and how much older/younger are they?

Alfred Gregory Leavitt February 6, 1950
Fara Rose Leavitt June 2, 1951
Dixie Marie Leavitt September 20, 1953
Jackie Marlene Leavitt February 24, 1955
Frederick Arlen Leavitt August 12, 1958
Lester James Leavitt October 29, 1959

I knew that we were all born pretty close together but looking at that list, my mom had a baby pretty much every year in the 1950’s. Her only real break was between Jackie and I.

Share one memory of each of your siblings.

Wow, I don’t know if I can do this. Oh well, here goes.

For a while, after he was married, Greg and Gaylia lived in Lethbridge and he worked at a sports store. Some how he got a gig teaching cross country ski lessons. He offered Lester and I jobs to help him teach. I knew nothing about cross country skiing (but neither did Greg) so we got together one weekend and he taught us all how to put a pine tar base on our skis, how to wax them for different types of snow and how to actually ski. We then taught this class for several weekends. It was a wonderful time. After that we used to go cross country skiing all the time. Even Dad and Ross and Jackie got into it.

Fara was always the calm and peaceful one. I could talk to her quite easily about anything. She was a lot like me in that she was shy and reserved and not very popular and she never really had any boyfriends. I do remember one time that she had a boyfriend one summer in Waterton and he drove a convertible. They took Lester and I for a ride in his convertible and we would sit up on the back of the back seats (this was before seatbelts) and we would enjoy the wind in our hair (this was when I still had hair).

My most vivid memory of Dixie was one time at dinner I was doing something that got Dixie mad at me. I don’t remember what it was but it escalated to the point that she chased me. I ran as fast as I could, but Dixie has very long legs and was gaining on me. I knew if I didn’t do something that I was in for some real pain. I remembered that the back ally behind the motel had a gravel road with chipped gravel on it. Not just regular gravel but broken rocks with sharp edges. Dixie was in bare feet and I was sure she wouldn’t be able to run on the gravel. Well she rain on the gravel just fine but at one point I veered off of the road and under a close line in a neighbors backyard. In addition to long legs Dixie was also six feet tall and the close line caught her around the neck and saved my life.

I have more memories of Jackie because she was the closest sister to my age. Jackie is the one who introduced me to William Shatner and she also took me on adventures with her boyfriends. As an adult, Jackie lived in Cardston so when we made trips with my young family back to Cardston, we often stayed at her house. Jackie is also the one who would lay my head in her lap and put makeup on my face. I’m prety sure it was with Jackie and her boyfriend at the time that we would climb in the back of his pickup truck and go hunt bears with a massive flashlight that plugged into his cigarette lighter.

I could write a book on some of the adventures that Lester and I did. Just to pick one randomly, in Waterton near the lake and adjacent to the hiking trail to Bertha Falls was an amphitheater where rangers would give a presentation on the park every night during the summer. Lester and I thought we were pretty sneaky and we would crawl through the brush and “spy” on the park ranger and all the tourists. One night when we thought we safely hidden away in the brush, the ranger stopped talking and pointed in our direction and told the audience, “now don’t anyone panic or do anything sudden, but I think there is a bear in the brush over there”. My heart did a double take because I thought there was a bear behind us but then I realized that he thought we were the bear.

--------------------trivia--------------------

The world's largest living organism is one huge mushroom 

that lives underground somewhere in North America.

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(9)

Monday, Nov 21, 2023

What would you like others to know about your dad?

I guess, in his younger years, my dad had quite a temper. I seem to remember that I was told that one time he got in a horrible fight and severely injured another man. It bothered him so deeply that he decided to get control of his temper right then and there. I only remember my dad as a quite and patient man. I have never seen him lose his temper and very rarely has he raised his voice. He has never raised his voice at me and we all know that I am probably the biggest test of anyones patience.

I would want people know that my dad was a kind, wise, gentle, caring and loving man.

Did either of your parents serve in the miitary? If so, which branch?

My gandparents were farmers in southern Alberta during world war 2 and so were exempt from sending any of their sons to war. Never the less, my Dad felt compelled to serve, so he dropped out of school, lied about his age (he was seventeen) and joined the airforce. He was a mechanic and worked on tank engines.

Dad was training in the eastern provinces somewhere and was just weeks away from shipping overseas when the war ended. Dad was a bit upset that he never got to fight but I’m pretty sure his parents were thrilled.

What is the best advice your parents ever gave you?

My mom was not much for giving speaches or advice but Dad was full of little sayings. I have forgotten most of them but one that stands out is, “A half assed job is always a half assed job.” I guess in normal english that would mean, “If your going to do it, do it right”.

What was the best part of growing up with or without siblings?

There are six kids in my family and while I never thought about it at the time, I loved being part of a large family.

I guess the best part is that you are never alone. You always have a cheer leader and someone always has your back. Even though all of my older siblings were gone by the time I left the house I still felt their presence.

It was quite an adjustment for me when I left home and I was quite home sick for several months.

Of course, there is a downside (which I guess is also an upside) to having a large family and that is we could get in some really big fights. I remember one time that Jackie and Dixie were in a huge fight about something and of course Lester and I had to join in. I sided with Dixie and Lester sided with Jackie and away we went. There was yelling and screaming and hitting and throwing things. It was really weird.

I don’t remember many fights, but being part of alarge family teaches you early on how to get along with other people.

How is your family different from other families? Why?

This is a tough one to answer because I don’t think our family was all that much different than other famililes I knew growing up. Cardston was a small town full of people of similar faith and ideals. Most of them had large families (I never thought our family was large until I left Cardston) and they were close, just as we were.

The stark difference was my friend Tom Crooks. His dad was a blue collar worker who went out and drank with his friends all the time and there was only him and his sister Kathy. That family was very different than mine.

Now that I am sixty five and looking back there are few families who have six kids and who always ate dinner together and really talked at dinner time.

How were birthdays celebrated in your family?

This is a weird one for me. I have never thought of it before but I don’t ever remember celebrating any birthdays in my home. It could just be a faulty memory (I need to ask some of my siblings) but the best I remember is that we would have a normal meal and have birthday cake at the end and open gifts.

What were some of your favorite Halloween costumes you and siblings wore?

Growing up on the farm we never did Halloween and by the time we moved into town we were reaching the age that I felt I was too old to go trick or treating. I don’t remember any of my siblings costumes and I only remember one of mine. I wore a sheet over my head with holes cut out for my eyes and I was a ghost.

--------------------trivia--------------------

The world’s oldest trees are more than 4,600 years old.

That means that tree was just a sapling when humans were first creaating a written language.

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(8)

Friday, Nov 17, 2023

Today I’m supposed to fill out a chart showing the first four generations of myfamily tree. I copied this from Ancestry.


I am then asked for the names and birthdates for my parents and siblings.



It makes me very sad to look at that family information and see that one of my siblings has a death date.

Were You Raised In A Household With Both Of Your Biological Parents?

Yes, I am very blessed with two loving parents who were faithful and close to their Lord.

What Is An Essential Life Skill Our Parents Taught You?

My parents taught me how to work and to get the job done. Even when it gets miserable, through fatigue or just boredom, you finish the job.

Have You Ever Visited The Home Where Your Mom Or Dad Lived As A Child?

I have returned to our old farm a few times and we drive by it everytime we go to Waterton but I’ve never able to go inside the house.

After my parents died, my sister bought the house in town and I have been back to that home many times. Even after Fara sold the house I was able to return once with most of my kids. We were driving through town on our way to Waterton one time and I drove by the house just to take a look at it. It looked like it was empty so I tried the doors and they were unlocked.

I took Lisa and the kids all through the house showing them my lab downstairs and my bedroom and everything. It was rather fun.

Where Did Your Mom Grow Up?

My mom grew up in Glenwood but for a few years their family moved to Cold Lake to try and homestead. Things weren’t working out there so they moved back to Glenwood.

Glenwood is about twenty miles northwest of Cardston. They have an elementary school there but the older kids bus into Cardston.

Where Was Your Mom’s Childhood Home?

I never knew where my mom lived in Glenwood until a few years ago. I had my cousin show me where it was. The house is gone now but I was able to look at the foundation that still remains. I felt like an archeologist. I brought home a piece of the foundation but who knows where it is now.

As best as I can remember, their house was about where the ‘x’ is on the map. I could have it on the wrong road but that is close.

Was Your Mom A Homemaker, Or Did She Work Outside The Home?

Up until I was an older teenager my mom was a homemaker and I loved it. I loved coming home to the smell of cookies baking or of home made bread.

For about a year in High School she took a job working in a store downtown. I hated it but I would go down to the store quite often just to see her.

After the kids were all gone, she worked in the Steadmans store that we bought for Fara and Curtis to work in but since they couldn’t make a go of it, mom ran the store for a year or two before they sold it.

What Was Your Mom’s Occupation?

My mom did what ever had to be done and she did it well. She was a famer, a sheep rancher, a homemaker, a hotel manager, a sales clerk, a store manager and later towards the end of her life, an apartment building manager.

What Do You Remember Most About Your Mom?

This may sound weird but what I remember most about my mom is leaning against her. Even though mom was slim as a young woman, I always remember her as being on the pudgy side. If I was sitting next to her at church or at home I would lean into her and snuggle a little bit. I found her soft body very comforting.

Where Did Your Dad Grow Up?

My dad grew up in Leavitt. I’m a little confused exactly where but one of my sisters told me that he grew up in the same house as I did on the farm. It may also have been in the farm where my Uncle Devere lived.

Where Was Your Dad’s Childhood Home?

See above

What was your dad’s occupation?

Just like my mom, my dad did what he had to do and did it well. As a newly wed man he was a farmer and sheep rancher. He later managed the bulk Esso Oil dealership in Cardston, but he always found odd jobs for carpentry work. He built and managed the Motels in Waterton and then he built and sold houses. He bought stores and managed them and then they moved to Edmonton where him and mom manged apartment buildings. Even in Edmonton he found a shop that he rented and continued to do carpentry work.

After mom died, he married Maurine Williamson and ended his life as a farmer and rancher.

The one theme through his entire life was carpentry. He always had a shop where he did carpenty and he always upgraded what ever home he lived in.

--------------------trivia--------------------

In 1961 we spent $2,800 (adjusted for inflation) per student and had an average of 27 students per class, in 2011 we spend $10,000 per student and we have an average of 16 students per class. Arguably, the education system isn't that much better. 

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Turkey Attack

Thursday, Nov 16, 2023

For mutual this week it was a combined activity and we attacked the doors of seventeen people in our ward. We made hundreds of turkeys using your hands like you used to do back in preschool and stuck them on the doors of single members and empty nestors. Each turkey had a love note signed, “from the RPQ Ward youth”. I was lucky enough to drive one of the cars. Here is a note from one of the doors we did.

Hi Fred! Last night, I opened my front door to find out the youth had "heart attacked" me!! What a surprise. And...since I didn't know who was there, I looked at my Ring video, and lo and behold, there you were, taking pictures of the culprits!!! You were obviously the ringleader!!!

I was so touched by the kind gesture. Please thank the youth for me--from the bottom of my heart! And, thank you, too, Fred!!

I responded..

I was an accomplice, but I wasn't the ringleader. It was a youth activity. They did 17 houses, and I got to drive the vehicle that did your house. We wanted to show you how much we love you.

--------------------trivia-------------------

In 2018 a micrometeor punched through the space station leaving a 2mm hole. One of the astronauts pluggd the hole with his finger while the rest of the crew figured out the best way to fix it. It is the first time any human being has "touched" space.

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(7)

Tuesday, Nov 14, 2023

How Old Were You When You Moved Out Of Your Parents Home?

I don’t ever remember wanting to go to any University other than BYU. It is the only school I applied to and in my mind there was no doubt that I would be accepted. I left home in late August, just after my eighteenth birthday, and that is basically the day I left home. I returned home from school in April, applied for my mission, and left on my mission August 18th (I believe). From that time, any time I came home it was a visit, I no longer lived there.

After my mission I returned home in late August, reported my mission in Cardston 1st Ward the first Sunday and the next Sunday in Leavitt Ward and then I left for Edmonton (to meet my future wife).

What Is A Food You Hated As A Child, And How Do You Feel About It Now?

There is only one food that I have ever hated. Actually, hated isn’t the right word for it, I don’t hate it but I get no pleasure out of eating it and that is green beans.

And then one day on my mission, while serving in Turnhout, we came home for the one meal a day we were allowed to eat and it was the other companionships turn to cook. They had very little food and I was starved. To my dismay, the vegetable they had was green beans. They had a huge bowl of green beans and I was so hungry that I ate my fill of green beans and I enjoyed it.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but my mom always froze her beans and even to this day frozen green beans are dissappointing to me. Canned green beans, however, may actually be my favorite vegetable. In our food storage we have more cans of green beans that of anything else. I think we must have close to a hundred cans of green beans.

I guess I do have to admit that I still think bread and milk is disgusting.

Which Is Your Favorite Holiday And Why?

I think my favorite holiday is Thansgiving because it is a time when family comes together and visits and plays and eats but it doesn’t have all the commercialization that Christmas has. If it wasn’t so commerciallized then Christmas would probably be my favorite holiday.

If we are only talking about the meaning of the holiday, then I would have to say Easter because we are celebrating the resurrection of Christ and his atonement for us.

In reality, anything that can bring my kids home, is my favorite holiday.

Were You Naughty Or Well Behaved?

This is a tough one to answer. I was always obedient and rarely disobeyed a direct request. I probably argued and whined, and did my best to change my parents mind on requests that I didn’t want to do but I was obedient.

At the same time, I did many things that anyone would considered naughty. My parents just didn’t know about them. I have a book full of things that I did that were “naughty”, but I will only list a few examples here.

- threw rocks and broke street lights and birds
- released pigions and sparrows in the high school gymnaseum
- stole strawberries from the neighbors garden
- put touch powder in peoples lockers
- set off firecrackers in a campground in the middle of the night

What Mischievous Act Did You Do When Young?

See above

Did You Have A Favorite Toy?

Other than my bike, which may not actually be considered a toy, I have the fondest memories of “Billy Blastoff”. Billy was a little astronaught and you put batteries in him and he would power any vehicle you put him in. I think this picture may be exactly what I had.

He had a little car that could drive around or you could put him in his crawler that could go over rough terrain. He even had a little laser gun that would light up when you plugged it into him.

In addition to Billy Blastoff I also had several Tonka Trucks that I drove into the ground.

When You Were Young, Were You Shy Or Outgoing, Popular Of Average?

When I was young I was deathly shy and I was far less than average in popularity. I rarely dwelt on it however and I was more than happy to just do my own thing.

What Scared You As A Child?

I don’t remember being scare of anything as a child. Sometimes when I had to go downstairs I would imagine what nasty things might be down there. The light switch to turn on the light was downstairs so you had to go down in the dark and find the switch to turn it on.

I would imagine a burgler or maybe even a dead body but it didn’t really scare me and I knew in my head that it wasn’t possible. They were just weird thoughts that would go through my young mind and I would never hesitate to go downstairs because of them.

Who Were Your Childhood Heros?

I was going to say that I had no childhood heros. I wasn’t into sports or movies of any of that stuff but as I thought about it I guess “James Tiberius Kirk” would have to be my childhood hero. He may even be my adult hero.

What Is Your Most Embarrassing Moment As A Child?

Do I really have to answer this question? Fine, for the sake of my posterity I will do it but please be kind.

I was six years old, in first grade and riding a bus to school because we still lived on the farm. As I mentioned above, I was less than average popularity but on this bus I was the youngest kid there and often teased. One day on our way home from school I really had to go to the bathroom. This wasn’t just urinate but I had to deficate badly. I held it in as best as I could but finally I pooped my pants.

We were almost home so gratefully I had a good chance of getting off the bus before anyone noticed. I got up to get off the bus and to my horror I saw my poop fall out the bottom of my pant leg. I quickly kicked it under a bench and rushed off the bus. Nobody ever said anything so I hope nobody ever noticed it. Even to this day when I think of this experience my face flushes.

Since we’re talking about this bus, let me tell you another embarassing story but one that makes me smile when I think back on it. I was sitting on a bench next to an older girl. I picture her in my head as an older girl but she was probably in second or third grade. The big nasty boys (probably fifth graders) where taunting me telling me to give her a kiss. Finally (I really don’t know why) I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She didn’t seem to mind.

What Is One Of The Most Significant Hardships You Had To Endure As A Child?

I can’t remember anything from my youth that I would consider a hardship.

Anything Special Or Unique You Remember From Your Childhood That You Want To Share? 

I have so many stories that I could share but I have shared all of them in my earlier journals so I won’t repeat them here.

--------------------trivia--------------------

More than 7,000 people die annually 

due to their doctors bad hand writing.

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(6)

Wednesday, Nov 8, 2023

Did You Ever Have A Babysitter Or Nanny?

Since I was the fifth of six children and I had three older sisters I don’t ever remember having a babysitter. I do know that I was occassionally left with my Aunt Margrete but I was very young. I probably would have forgotten those times but I think Aunt Margrete and Uncle Devere developed a special relationship with me because of it and every single time they saw me they would talk about the times they used to watch me. I think my memories of being there, are more memories of the stories they told me than actual memories.

I have to share one story that Aunt Margrete has told me many times. Apparantly Uncle Devere had been tarring the roof and he left his work for a bit. Meanwhile I climbed the ladder (I would have only been two or three) and was playing on the roof. At one point I got into the tar and had it on my hands. When Aunt Margrete finally noticed I was missing she came looking for me and saw me standing on the roof. When I saw her I held up my tar covered hands and said, “dirty”.

What Childhood Activity Did You Enjoy That Kids Do Not Seem To Enjoy Today?

I think kids today would enjoy any of the games I played as a child but the games seemed to have morfed into different versions of the games. My all time favorite activity as a kid was “kick the can”. We played a version of this game with the family at the last reunion in Waterton at Justins cabin.

You place a can in the middle of a large open area and one person starts out as “it”. He wanders around the agreed upon area looking for everyone else. When he finds someone it is a race to the can. If the person who is “it’ kicks the can first then the person he found is a prisoner. If the person who was hiding kicks the can first then everyone who was a prisoner goes free.

Another game I remember playing was “Red Rover” where you have two teams in a line facing each other from about 30 feet away. One team calls out “Red Rover, Red Rover, send (someones name) over”. The person who was called out, runs to the other line and trys to break through the line who is all holding hands. If he breaks through he goes back to his line, if he can’t break through then he becomes a part of that line.

I also remember playing “Fox and Geese” where you would make a simple maze in the snow and one person is a Fox and the rest are geese. Everyone has to stay on the path and the Fox tries to catch geese who then become Fox’s.

What Did You Do When You Were Home Alone?

I was never really alone because it was always me and Lester. While Lester and I were always close, we had very different interest. When Greg went on his mission in 1969 I would have been ten years old, I inherited is laboratory. Dad was hired to year down the old Leavitt School House and he kept everything in the science lab for Greg. Greg comandeered the storage room in the basement and set up his lab. Mostly he had a bunch of chemicals and glass ware but I rapidly expanded that to include much more. Every spare minute I could, I spent in the lab.

Some of my additions included chemicals I “borrowed” from school or bought at the drug store (which you can’t buy now), a steam engine, 12VDC power and a high voltage (30,000 volt) transformer. There are many stories (that I have already shared) of some of the things I did in that lab.

Is There Something From Your Childhood You Wish Was Still Popular Today?

I can’t think of any activity I did as a child that I wish was still popular, but there are changes in society that I think are causing kids today to miss out on important things.

First, because of the risk of pedofiles, drugs and kidnappers, children today have little freedom when playing outside. I used to ride my bike all over town and the only rule I had was that I had to be home before dark. I lived in a small town and everyone knew me and even though my parents had no idea where I was or what I was doing, I was completely safe.

Second, I think organized sports keep kids so busy that they don’t have any time to just play outside. They have outdoor activities but they are all organized. I know my kids spent a lot of time in the surrounding canyons but much of their time was taken up by practices.

Third, electronics now keep many kids (especially boys) indoors and alone. Many kids spend every spare minute on a phone or computer, alone and indoors. I think that is very harmful for kids and especially boys who are geared to play rough and hard. I don’t know the answer to that problem, but I’m glad I raised my kids before electronic devices became so prolific.

I love technology but it can be a curse.

Did You Ever Sneak Out Of The House When You Weren’t Supposed To? Where Did You Go?

There was one time in waterton when I did sneak out in the middle of the night. I didn’t have anything specific in mind, I just wanted the thrill of doing something forbidden. Lester and I got up around 2:00am and wandered around Waterton at night. It was quite surreal wandering around a completely abandoned town. It was interesing and I love the memory of doing it but I then decided that I’d rather sleep instead of wander around a ghost town.

One other experience I had in Junior High School is when Lester, Tom and I (and maybe Rick Cahoon) played hooky. We road our bikes out to the St Mary’s bridge on Highway 5 a few miles north of town. We played in the river and had a great day. No one ever questioned where we were and why were weren’t at school. I never played hooky again either because I didn’t want to miss too much school.

What Was The Most Significant Problem You Worried About When You Were Young?

I had a carefee youth and I don’t remember stressing about anything. I only had a couple of close friends and at times I wondered why I didn’t have more friends but I never lost any sleep over that.

If there was anything I worried about it was because I wanted to have a girlfriend and I didn’t know why I had no friends who were girls.

Looking back on that I now realize that I just didn’t know how to talk to a girl. In fact I really didn’t know how to talk to anyone, but being terrified to talk to a girl made that all worse. I had zero social skills. My social skills aren’t a whole better even now but at least I’m aware of that and I can try and talk to people with a bit more grace and be less offensive.

At the same time, I say that I wanted a girl friend but in reality, I don’t think that was all that important to me.

Who Did You Look Up To As A Child And Why?

The person I most wanted to be like was my older brother Greg. He was everything I wanted to be, he was confident, smart and he loved science and technology just like I did. As I got older I also realized that my dad was a very good man and I wanted to be as good a person as he was.

 Do You Still Admire Them Today?

I still admire my father to this day and I do still want to be like him in every way. While I do still admire my brother, his life took a very different direction when he got married. Even still, Greg is a good person, has a strong testimony and would do anything for me if I needed help.

What Did You Want To Be When You Grew Up?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved technology. In elementary school my favorite subject was always science and then in sixth grade, when we broke into different classes and I had an entire class just for science I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I knew right then in sixth grade that I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up.

In high school I took every science class offered, Biology, Chemistry, Physics. I took automechanics and drafting. I loved them all. I wanted to take wood shop but I couldn’t fit it into my schedule.

Once I knew the difference between Engineers and pure scientists, I realized that Engineering was for me. Engineers take the knowledge gained by the scientists and make it into practical items. I am less worried about how and why something happens and more worried about what I can do with that knowledge. I’d rather make a rocket engine than I would like to understand the chemical reactions that take place in the rocket nozzle. Of course, I love it all but I want to make things.

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Frogs don't drink, they absorb water through their skin.

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(5)

Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023

Were You Taught To Pay Cash For Things Or Borrow For Your Needs?

The idea of owning a credit card never entered my mind until Lisa and I were actually married. I had always paid cash for things and even to this day I incur debt very reluctantly.

Share One Of Your Early Birthday Memories You Had With Your Family.

Our family never made a big deal about birthdays, I don’t remember ever having a birthday party, either with friends or with my family. We would have a special meal (what ever mom decided, I don’t remember getting to pick my own meal) and afterward I would open my gifts. It is funny, but I don’t remember a single birthday gift that I received or ever doing anything special on my birthday. That probably has more to do with my memory than to do with my birthdays.

Did You Share A Bedrooom With A Sibling?

I have had my own bedroom for less than a year or two of my entire 65 years on this earth. When I was born I may have slept in my own room or maybe I was in with my parents. I don’t remember that, but as soon as Lester was born fourteen months later, we shared a room until I went to college.

At BYU I had shared a room with a room mate and then after my first year at college in April I had my own room until August when I went on my mission.

I obvioiusly had a room mate for my entire mission. After my mission from Aug 1979 until July 1981 I had my own room. When I got married I have shared a bedroom with Lisa until today.

What Kind Of Chores Did You Have To Do As A Kid?

While at the time I thought I was the most hard done by kid, when it came to chores I really didn’t have it too hard. For some reason mom thought I should be the one to vacuum the floors. All of our rooms were carpets and I had to vacuum them all nearly every single day. I hate vacuuming even today. I’d much rather sweep a floor.

Mom always had a garden and she was never satisfied with a small garden but it was always huge. Our garden was probably as big (or bigger) than our entire yard in our house here in San Diego. The garden on the farm was much bigger. All of us kids were sent out to weed that garden. That was bad enough when everyone else was home but by the time I was fifteen, there was only Lester and myself left to weed it. That was not fun.

During the winters when there was no garden, there was snow. I never did mind shovelling snow. For some reason there is some satisfaction in clearing off a side walk. I think I may have been a bit OCD when it came to shovelling the walk. I had to remove every bit of snow and make the edges of the sidewalk as straight as possible. As an adult I would even shovel our neighbors walks. Unfortunately, Lisa also enjoys soveling snow so the walks were usually already shoveled when I would get home from work.

Other than those jobs I did of course have to do dishes, set the table, clean my room and pick up the house and other normal jobs.

How Were You Punished If You Misbehaved?

It may seem weird but I don’t ever remember being punished. I don’t ever remember being spanked or grounded or given a time out. Nothing. I did have rules and was not always allowed to do what I wanted, but rarely did I disobey those rules.

I don’t ever remember throwing a temper tantrum or talking back or saying mean things to my parents. I would argue and pout, and sometimes yell but that was about it.

I guess the closest thing I remember to being punished (but it isn’t really punishment) is that we had to have our jobs done before we could go anywhere. If I was told to clean my room and I didn’t, then I wasn’t allowed to go play until I did clean my room. Is that punishment or just consequences?

Who Did Most Of The Cooking In Your Home?

Mom did pretty much all of the cooking but my sisters also cooked some. My dad and us boys never cooked a single meal that I can remember. As an older teenage, I did start making pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Did You Eat Together As A Family?

We always ate dinner together. Breakfasts and lunches were sporadic but dinner was always eaten as a family. I remember we had good conversations at the dinner table.

When I was younger I remember that we had the big meal during the day. We even called it dinner. Dad and Greg would come in from the fields and I even remember sometimes hired hands would come in and we would have roast beef potatoes and gravy at noon.

We would have breakfast, dinner and supper. That all changed during the winter and once most of us kids were in school.

Even today I will often find myself referring to lunch as dinner.

What Is A Food You Loved As A Child And Still Enjoy Today?

Roast beef, potatoes and gravey always has been and always will be my favorite meal.

I also have very fond memories of fried bread. I don’t eat it as often as I would like, but I think maybe I need to change that.

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The measurement of time, the second, is called that 

because it's the second division of the hour. 

(Why aren't minutes "first's?)

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(4)

Monday, Nov 6, 2023

Was Your Life Financially Comfortable, Or Did Your Family Struggle To Have Enough Money?

While our family was never rich, we always had enough money for the necessities and a few luxuries. Until I was eight we lived on a farm and dad raised sheep. At the same time, my dad managed the Esso Oil bulk dealership in Cardston.

When we moved into town he continued to managed the Esso dealership. They would deliver gas and Diesel to all the farmers who had tanks on their farms for their farm vehicles. At the same time he would pick up random carpenter jobs where ever he could. Dad was a finish carpentor and built cabinets for peoples houses. Unfortunately, I was then at the perfect age where I could help on those jobs. While I hated it at the time, they are now some of my fondest memories.

At some point in the early 70’s dad quit the job at Esso and bought property in Waterton to build a motel. I don’t think he made a ton of money doing that but the point was to keep his kids occupied. It was a total success in that respect and some of the best years of my life.

Once us kids were all grown, he sold the Motels and bought a store in town (Steadmans), built two houses and sold them and then later on he started a reupholstery buisness with Ross and Jackie. I could tell even then that he was trying to set his kids up in businesses.

Fara and Curtis were managing the Steadmans store, Greg (and me) built and sold the houses and Ross and Jackie managed the upholstery business. Unfortunately, Curtis totally mismanaged Steadmans and Mom finally took over running it and Greg for some reason left Cardston after the houses were built. Jackie and Ross ran the upholstery business for years until they moved to the states.

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Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks;

otherwise it will digest itself.

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(3)

Friday, Nov 3, 2023

How Much Was Your Allowance?

My parents never gave any of us kids an allowance but when I was about twelve years old we built a Motel in Waterton Park. Every summer every one of us kids worked in the Motel and Mom and Dad paid us very well. My Dad told me that he figured that if they paid us wages it was a tax deduction for him and a way that he could give us the money we needed for school, missions etc.

If I remember correctly, he paid me $12/hour when the minimum wage at the time was $2 to $3/hr. That high wage however meant that I had to buy everything for myself. If I wanted to go to a movie, I paid my own ticket. If I needed new clothes I bought them myself.

I do remember that if it was up to me, I wouldn’t have bought new clothes until my old ones were falling off, but Mom would take Lester and I to “Progress Clothing” in Lethbridge. Amazingly enough, I just googled it and the store is still there. It still looks the same as it did back in the 1970’s.

What Did You Spend Your Allowance On Most Often?

I was a very cheap child, (frugal?) and bought almost nothing. I bought a new bike and went to the occassional movie with my friends but that is about all. I figured I had enough money to pay for my mission but when I went to BYU for a year before my mission my dad told me to buy my own tuition and if I came up short for my mission he would cover the difference. I figure I paid for BYU and about half of my mission. I then came home broke and got a student loan for school.

Did You Have Any Pets?

I remember we had a small yellow dog on the farm and I think his name was Sandy. We pretended it was a family dog but it was unquestionably Gregs dog. Sandy came to Cardston with us but we never did get another dog. On the farm we didn’t have a house cat but we had a whole colony of barn cats. People from town would get rid of unwanted cats by dropping them off on the side of the road near farm houses. Because we were so close to town, and on a major highway, I think we got more than our fair share of cats.

In town we did have a white cat but I can’t remember his name. I think it might have Snow Ball or something similar. I remember one time I was in the back yard and that white cat attempted a jump from the roof of the house to a branch of the nearby willow tree. He never made it and broke his back.

The white cat was replaced by another cat that was gray and white. I don’t remembert his name either but I do remember that he died from blood cancer not long after I accidentally electrocuted him (and myself) with 30,000 volts of electricity.

I think that was the end of our pets.

What Were Your Favorite Dishes Your Family Liked To Prepare?

Pretty much every Sunday for dinner we had roast beef, potatoes and gravy. It was my favorite meal then and remains my favorite meal now. While I’m sure we had many traditional meals there are only a few that stand out to me now.

One of my favorites is fried bread. When ever mom baked bread she always kept back some of the dough and she would fry it in hot oil. We would eat that with lots of butter and honey. I loved it.

Another staple of my family was every Sunday evening they would break bread into small chunks into a bowl and pour milk on it. They would then eat it with sugar and cinamon. I thought that was disgusting. The thought of that soggy bread about makes me gag. I would make myself a peanut butter and honey sandwich and eat it with a glass of milk.

Mom would often have a batch of cookies in the oven when we arrived home from school. Mom loved cookies and cakes (much like Lisa) but I love pie. I kept begging her to make pie and then one day she brought home a cook book for me and told me to make my own pie. I’ve been making apple pie ever since. This is a picture of that cookbook and you can see it has been well used.

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The toy Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

Woody's full name is Woody Pride.

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Dad, Tell Me About The Time…(2)

Thursday, Nov 2, 2023

In A Few Words, Describe Your Childhood Home.

I don’t remember many details about our house on the farm. The house was set back a couple of hundred yards from the highway and about a hundred yards behind the house was a big old barn. The typical kind you see in all the movies. We used to play in that barn all the time. We especially loved to play in the hay loft.

Our house was a split level home.You’d walk in the front door and the living room would be to the right and the kitchen to the left. From the kitchen you would go up a half flight of stairs to three or four bedrooms, or you could go down a half flight of stairs to the basement where we had a play area and where Gregs bedroom was. Mine and Lesters bedroom was at the top of the stairs on the left, mom and dads was straight ahead and the girls bedrooms were to the right along with the bathroom.

Our home in Cardston changed over the years as Dad added more and more onto the house. It was a big two story house and Dad added a garage to the right of the home, a solarium to the back and an extra guest room upstairs with a balcony overlooking the solarium.

When we first moved in, Lester and I had a bedroom in the front, and the girls were upstairs. Our bedroom eventually got added into the living room and we went upstairs. Some of the girls went downstairs and I think Greg and Fara were gone by this time.

How Many Phones Did Your Home Have?

I remember our phone on the farm very well. It was one of those old wooden boxes where you cranked a handle to make a call.

When you cranked the handle it rang every phone on the party line and each person had a different code. I think our code was a long ring, a short ring and then two long rings. I remember mom and dad would honk the car horn with that code when they wanted us to come home. The way I remember it, our phone looked exactly like this.

In town we had a single phone with a very long coiled wire that could reach just about any place in the house. It was wall mounted and looked like this.

Did Your Home Have Indoor Plumbing?

As long as I can remember we have had indoor plumbing but we got our water from an artisian well and we had a septic tank for the sewage. From what I understand, we did have an outhouse not long before I came along.

How Many Bathrooms Were There?

We only had one bathroom on the farm and only one bathroom in town. With three older sisters it was sometimes difficult to get time in the bathroom but I had never even imagined that a house would have more that one bathroom.

What Is Your Earliest Memory?

My earliest memory is rather bizarre. We were at my great grandmothers house but I don’t remember her, I remember that Lester got bit in the ear by a dog. There was blood all over and I was rather tramatized.

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From when it was discovered to when it was declassified as a planet, 

Pluto did not make a full orbit around the sun.

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Dad, Tell Me About the Time…(1)

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Last August on my birthday, Kira’s family gave me a booklet called, “Dad, Tell Me About The Time…”. It asks little questions that should take me less than five minutes to answer. I will try and write answers to these questions in the booklet, but for now I’m going to answer a few of these questions in my journal and post them in the blog so all of my kids can see my answers. The sentences in bold are the prompts followed by my response.

Once I was a child

Full name: Frederick Arlen Leavitt
Birthdate: August 12, 1958 ~3:00AM
Birthplace: Cardston, Alberta, Canada

Were you born in a hospital, at home, or elsewhere?

This question has an interesting answer. I was born in the Indian Hospital. They called in the Indian Hospital because at the time I was born, it was the main hospital and it was located Northwest of the corner where Highway 5 meets with Main St. Also, it is where highway 5 joins Highway 2.

When they built the new hosptial, they donated the old hospital to the Blood Indian Reserve so as I was growing up it was referred to as the Indian Hospital. I think the word “Indian” has become a banned word in Canada so I have no idea what they call it now. It has been 65 years, so the place probably doesn’t even exist now.

How much did you weigh when you were born?

I don’t rember exactly but I seem to remember mom telling me I was 8lb 10oz.

Do you have a unique or special birth story?

It was a special day for me and my mother but nothing unique or special about my birth beyond that. I was the fifth of six kids. Greg was the oldest and then there were three girls so I’m pretty sure he was glad to have a little brother after having three sisters.

Were you named after anyone?

I was named after Christian Frederick Bernard Lybbert who was the first member of the Lybbert line to join the church. He often went by CFB Lybbert or maybe that is just what we call him now. He was born on the 6th of November 1834, in Flade, Frederikshavn, Horns, Hjørring, Denmark.

My middle name is Arlen after my father.

How Did Your Parents Come Up With Your Name?

I don’t remember any stories about how they came up with my name.

Did They Agree On A Name Right Away?

I have never heard any stories about any difficulty deciding what they should call me.

Did You Have A Nickname Growing Up?

I do know that my mom called me Freddie when I was little but I don’t ever remember being called Freddie. My entire life I have been called Fred. Although, if my mom was mad at me she would call me “Frederick Arlen Leavitt” in a very loud voice.

How Did You Get That Nickname?

Frederick is a mouthfull. Fred is a whole lot easier to say.

Where Did You Grow Up?

We lived on a farm five miles west of cardston that was right on Highway 5. When I was almost eight we moved into town.

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There is actually a surgery where an Ophthalmologist will put one of your teeth in your eye and it will help you see! It’s called Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis (OOKP) also known as “Tooth in Eye” Surgery. Sounds strange, right? It really works for patients with corneal issues or disease.

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Trunk or Treat

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Thursday Alex and Lisa and their two beautiful children headed north. They spent the night with Alycia’s family and then were home on Friday.

Saturday I was able to do some more work in the yard and then Saturday evening was trunk or treat for the ward. We were actually combined with the Black Mountain Ward.

A few weeks back I told Lisa that I was going to wear my Fred Flintsone costume so she decided to dress as Wilma and we could be a couple. It turned out really well. What is funny is that a LOT of people at the party didn’t even recognize Lisa if she wasn’t standing next to me.

We had dinner and several activites for the kids and then the kids all paraded around the parking lot to collect candy being handed out by the many cars. Because we had two wards combined there were a ton of kids.

Todays trivia was probably written before Coviid.

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Double dipping at a party is harmless. 

There are already so many bacteria in the our food 

that a few more will make no difference. 

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All You Can Eat Lobster

 Monday, October 30, 2023

Wednesday we cooked up the catch. Alex wasn’t excited about taking the smelly animals home where they would sit for two days and Ben and Justin were going to Knotts Berry Farm Wednesday night and they were worried about them sitting in a cooler in a hot car and then taking them on a plane so the plan was to eat them on Wednesday.

I worked in the morning until every one was up and about, and then the production started. About 11:00 we executed the first lobster and then it was quite the production line until we had all eaten our fill by 2:00. Because we wanted to be able to say we had “Surf & Turf” Justin went and bought some high end stakes and Ben fried them up in butter, rosemary and tyme. It was all very delicious. 

In the end Ben decided to pack up one lobster that had been gutted and cleaned and took it home in a small cooler. We also kept back two lobsters for Lisa and Angelina. They also turned out great.

In the end, Lisa and Angelina couldn’t eat all the lobster and there were many crabs left over. I figured I would at least save the crab legs but after cracking a few open, I decided it wasn’t worth it. We kept the left over lobster and threw out the left over crabs. It was a waste but I just know we won’t be eating them.

The only problem is that now the garbage can really stinks, it assaults you when you go out the back door. I moved it to the side of the house but now the odor drifts to the front of the house and gets you when you walk to the car. The garbage goes out tomorrow after which I will be washing down the garbage can.

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The human nose can detect more than 1 trillion smells.

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