My Portfolio

Ruth's grandmother, Hilje Mulder Folkers, had a favorite recipe of hers that Ruth loved with kale and potatoes, rather than sauerkraut (zuurkool).  This is a quick and easy recipe for cold winter months. Instructions:  Use equal parts of sauerkraut and potatoes boiled separately.  Drain potatoes and mash.  Drain sauerkraut and combine...

This recipe was contributed by Gloria Schneider (Ruth's youngest daughter) for THE THIESSENS FAMILY REUNION COOKBOOK - 2000.  She writes "This recipe is one that my mother - Ruth Meacham - often made for Thanksgiving and Christmas when we were growing up.  I can't help but think of the good memories...

  "Keep the faith.  The most amazing things in life tend to happen right at the moment when you are about to give up hope".   My life has not always been easy.  It has been better than some and worse than others.  I has been up and down and pretty...

It is not happy people who are thankful, It is thankful people who are happy.   Now that my 31 days of writing is over, I thought that I would get back on track with some of the things that I normally write about.  Today, I wanted to share what Thanksgiving...

Grant and Virginia Moore have been married for 28 years.  They were married April 4, 1986. Grant was born in Payson, Utah February 14, 1923.  He grew up on a farm in West Mountain.  He graduated from Payson High School in May, 1941.  Jobs were scarce so he and his friend,...

Trick or . . . . trick Halloween in the late 20 th, Early 21 st Century is a "holiday" that has completely metamorphosed from the form it had at mid-20 th Century. If a teen-aged boy of those days were somehow magically time-traveled to Halloween night 2014 and saw little...

On the road… again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   From Cabo Verde To Coraopolis By no means has the Footloose Forester been designated to be the family historian, thus his chronicles about family members have been spotty and more happenstance than deliberate and planned. ...

    The Pirate and The Poet He was twelve years older than me and cut from an entirely different cloth. He was my brother, and although we both felt fraternal love we had little in common other than genes and parents. He was first-born. I was last. He was born...

When it comes to binding the generations of the family, heartstrings are stronger than purse strings.      I had the opportunity to meet Dennis Stack, one of the co-founders of  LegacyStories.Org  at our Tri-Annual Retreat in Phoenix. Formed in 2008, Legacy Stories provides values-based legacy education to consumers and professionals....

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On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Making Marmalade   At three o’clock the Bengal Tiger noticed that the wild grapes in the vacant lot next door were fully ripe and ready for harvest.  By four o’clock, or maybe 4:15, those grapes were...

Written by W.A. Adams (William Albert) When every pool in Eden was a mirror Which unto Eve her dainty charms proclaimed She went undraped without a single fear, or Thought that she had cause to be ashamed.   'Twas after she had eaten of the apple Her eyes were opened and...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, yet an image doesn’t always tell the whole truth, does it? What better way to right the record than in the voice of the one who knows it best?  One might look at this photograph and see an ordinary stoop and never...

On the road...again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   This Was Home For More Than 55 Years A picture can prompt 10,000 words this photo was rejected for inclusion in a book of memoirs because of presumed copyright law violation   At first glance,  the...

We had been in Columbus, Ohio a year where my husband was enjoying his new job with Battelle Memorial Institute.  We had bought our first home, a split level, in a neighborhood near the school where our young sons attended.  We had very little furniture at this point in our married life - no couch...

In a Debate, Make Distinctions About Opinions, Evidence, Data, Facts and Proof [RE-PRINTED FROM A CAREER DAY HANDOUT] West Allegheny Senior High School, Imperial, Pennsylvania   Whether talking about politics, the state of the American economy, or global warming, it is imperative that we distinguish between our personal opinions and the...

  On the road...again!!! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Dolie and Her Adventures   There is no getting around the fact that the pets in the life of the Footloose Forester provided thousands of pleasant memories. Some people say that you can love a...

Ask any neighbor and they will say it is a joy to have Verna Taylor for a neighbor.  She was born in Spring Lake, Utah and has lived in Payson, Springville and Salem.  She comes from a family of nine chidren--three sisters and five brothers.  She is 85 years old and...

On the road...again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   An Old Photo From Home Ask who? what? where? when? why? and how? ...and a story starts to develop   The photo above was put into the hands of the Footloose Forester only a couple of...

  On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek   Whiskey Creek Brush Camp: Getting Around Idaho   Part III   Weekends were always different.  As a practicing Catholic, the Footloose Forester tried to keep his obligation to attend Mass on Sunday.  In order to...