My Portfolio

When it comes to work and career, how do you define success? Success in the workplace can sometimes be measured in sales, upward mobility, specific accomplishments or a body of work. It also can be defined by the intangibles such as personal development, education or consistency and reliability. Whether your work...

It was a windy October Saturday in Chicago, 1994, and we were spending the weekend with Ed and Anna, who had just moved into their apartment near the Univ. of Chicago campus.  Ed was beginning graduate school and Anna had started a new job at the University Hospital.  We were eager to visit the big city and they were very brave to...

When I was nine years old my mother quit her job at the factory. She was pregnant.  I was very excited for another sibling.  My sister was 4 years older than I and she was way ahead of me in school and ideas. My brother was born in March of 1945, that made...

Pride - it's a sticky word... I'm not really comfortable with it. It often accompanies things like arrogance, bragging and the such.  But there is no denying the feeling of being pleased over certain accomplishments, moments, and people in life. I've tried to think of moments in my life I have felt proud...

Christmas circa 1988 or '89.  My family lived in Jackson, NH.  It's was a pretty small town back then, probably a population of 600, give or take a few.  Kids all over the wold get gifts on this magical day.  In Jackson, NH, two kids received quite a surprise under the...

FFA Motto: Learning to Do; Doing to Learn; Earning to Live; Living to Serve During my ninth grade year at Bear River Junior High School, I registered for Agricultural Science and became a member of the Future Farmers of America organization.  The four years that I participated in the program were...

In the spring of 1972, I had signed a contract with Brigham Young University Genealogical Research Center to direct American Research.  The research was done by students who were taking classes in research methodology and doing actual research on various problems that had been commissioned by individuals and family organizations.  This...

It was a weekend just before school resumed this fall and granddaughter Mia age 9 was invited for a sleepover at a special friend's house.  Her younger sister Nikki age 7 immediately began packing her 'stuff', expecting to be included.  Our Anna (their mom), sensing that Mia was needing some space from her younger sister, came up with what...

It was a sunny afternoon at the Bretton Woods Ski Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. My brothers, Jimmy and Johnny were onstage performing with me at the resort's nightclub. Performing 5,6, 7 days a week took its toll on us and after a while every venue became a blur and...

Who am I proud of in my immediate family? I guess that would be my Dad and his participation in the Army. Dad taught ROTC at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. and MIT. Dad taught weapon instruction and was very good at what he did best and that was being part...

While I was reminiscing over the years trying to figure out who impacted me the most while going to school, I remembered our librarian, Mrs. Heavner, in grade school who always celebrated St. Patricks Day in fun ways. Everything went green and the balarney stones came out. She had a whole...

  When I was in the prime of trying to raise a family, there were days when I wondered if any of my children were learning the values of honesty, integrity, hard work, service, faith in God and everything else that they would need in order be become good honorable people...

Well, I was about 6 years old and I had been riding my first bike for about a year.  We were living in a small town in N.H. called Conway.  We had a driveway that was about 100 ft. long to the main road and was two cars wide.  My younger...

When I was a boy about 12 years old I was in the band and I played the Trumpet.  I was outside one day practicing in the backyard when my brother came up from behind me and quickly jumped in front of me and intentionally whacked the front of the horn. ...

As I describe a proud moment that involved members of my  immediate family, the event I have chosen is the birth of my first child, our daughter Chantel. At the end of July and beginning of August, I was involved in teaching at the 8th Annual Genealogical Priesthood Research Seminar held on the...

My paternal grandmother, Virginia Brann Adams, was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in Tremonton, Utah during the 1940s and 1950s.  Since I had shown "promise" in oration and public speaking, I became involved in the WCTU Speech Contests during the mid 1950s at about the age of...

I guess the proudest moment I ever had with a close family member is when my Granddaughter was born. She was born March 10 1999.   Carolyn Sue Spratt First Halloween 7 Months Old In The Costume That Grandma Made   It was special but I guess what really made it...

There is so much to be proud of with my immediate family. By immediate family I mean my wife Christine and sons Justin and Tyler. For this I choose to share a story about Justin. After returning from Vietnam the climate back home was so hostile towards veterans I hid the...

  Sarah Ellen Corder When she Young   My Great grandmother name was Sarah Ellen Corder. I know everyone talks about having skeleton’s in their closets. I believe this is mine. I know time’s were different back then but still I find it hard to believe that even a woman born...

Andrew Johnson Spratt’s Father was born ( according to census’ ) about 1834 in Kentucky. I believe probably Greene County. I haven’t been able to find his father’s name but I believe it may have been Enoch Spratt. But Andrew’s father’s name was Wilson Marion Spratt. Wilson Marion Spratt   The...