Jim and I were driving last night and I started remembering names of people in Yerington for some reason. It was an interesting process since we haven't lived in Yerington for over 35 years and when we lived there it was only for about 1 1/2 years. Even so, we made some amazing relationships there. We lived in a little house to begin with which had linoleum through out and we rented it from the people across the street. It had a front yard that was surrounded by chain link fence and had a patio. Jim and John would play in that front yard much of the day since we lived there during the summer months from May to I think November. Jim was about 2 1/2 and John was 10 months when we moved in and Peter was born that next October.
Memories I have of Yerington are wonderful. The ward was truly our family. They made us feel welcomed from the beginning. We were raising money for an addition and so we had monthly dinners for the town. We got to know so many people well... and as I was going through names, I realized that I had been in and visiting in every home.
Ted and Elaine had a ranch just out of town and had bought some buildings in town which housed a laundromat in one. They had a couple who worked for them and we got to know them well - Brian and Shirley Millard. They had just joined the church and had two little boys at the time. We ate at their home several times and I remember they harvested wild asparagus out of their irrigation ditches by the home where they lived.
Jim was the Venturer (I believe) leader and he made a movie with those boys during the second summer we were there. The boys included a couple of Beutlers, Cal Archer, Norman & Greg Rempp and brothers, Stanley Moyle, Glade Barton. They went to the mines and other places out of town and had the best time.
I was the Mother Education teacher and also the Primary President. Jim also served as a Seventy which at that time was the missionary arm and I believe he was very involved in the Stake. We were busy and besides being busy in the church we had a baby, Peter, and moved and Jim changed jobs 3 or 4 times. He also broke "off" his ankle playing baseball the second summer and was in a full cast from toe to hip for a number of weeks after having surgery.
It was special to remember the name of so many friends: Phil and Nancy Turner, the Talbots, Bill and Pat Green (our Bishop), Janice Tamagnis, Arch and Edwina Archer, the Beutlers, the Bartons, George Bowman and Marla, Robin?(still working on this one), Celia and Maury Moyle, Ted & Yvonne Rempp, John and Lee Reed, Larry Sargent ..
We attended a monthly study group with many of these people, we went to dinner at a lot of these homes; we baby sat some of their kids, they babysat ours; Jim played ball on the ward team. Their kids would just take our little boys and play with them. I barely knew them but they made us feel apart of their lives from the beginning. It was an incredible experience and when we left, they made a King size quilt for us with squares from many of the families that lived there.
Jim mentioned as we were reminiscing that it was a time that he will never forget... nor I. We thought we had some challenges when we lived there - I think we have gone on to find that life had many more and tougher challenges that we have faced since but we learned so much and loved the opportunity to share with people we have not yet forgotten....
