Harold&Verla

Some of my clients

2011-11-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

I have been keeping busy lately with aircraft maintenance work at Spanish Fork airport. One of my clients is Utah Helicopter. These photos show a Robinson R22 helicopter we are overhauling. These photos were taken several weeks ago when it was in the disassembly process. It is now being reassembled and one of the pilots is doing a time lapse collection of photos to show it going back together. I'll get a copy and post it when we are finished.

Another client is Mountain Country Foods. They operate a King Air 300.

And last but not least is my own airplane. I decided to make it into a Flying Tiger for Halloween!

Circle K Family Reunion

2011-07-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

Verla's dad owned a commercial guest ranch in southwest Colorado in the 60's and
70's. In keeping with their King surname, the ranch was called Circle K (the brand was a circle with a K in the middle) Although Dad King sold the ranch years ago, the King family have been having biennial family reunions at a campsite on the Dolores River near the original ranch for the last ten years. This summer marked the 50th anniversary of the start of Circle K so this reunion held special significance. It was held over the 4th of July weekend and Verla's brothers arranged for the family to march in the 4th of July parade at nearby Rico. Here are some pictures of that fun event.

Our grandkids had lots of fun at a place they called the nature center. Eden was "in charge" with Tyler as her back up leader. Funny how kids establish authority figures even when they are playing.
Here are Eden and Owen keeping an eye on camp.

Four Funerals and a Wedding

2011-03-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

In the mid 90's there was a movie with Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell called "Four Weddings & a Funeral." It was a british film about a group of friends attending a series of weddings and finally the funeral of one of their middle aged friends. It was reflective of the worlds' view of marriage and death as shown in this excerpt from a speech given by the main character at the funeral as he quotes W.H. Auden, "Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let the aeroplanes circle, moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is Dead'. Put crepe bows 'round the white necks of the public doves, Let traffic policemen wear black, cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East, and West. My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good."

In January and February I attended Four Funerals and a Wedding with stark contrast to the worlds' view of marriage and death. The funerals were four people of a variety of ages. Mark Ricks was 100, Clarence Jackson was 96, Brad Ford was 28, and Joaquin Ruiz was 6. All died of natural causes except Brad Ford who died in a powered parachute accident. All were members of the LDS faith and all these funerals relected the faith of Job when he asked retorically, If a man die, will he live again? His answer shouts his faith when he says, "For I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."

Mark Ricks was the father of Stephen Ricks who lives in our ward. He lived with Stephen and Shirley until the last few months of his life. Clarence Jackson was my uncle - my dad's brother who was 2 years, 2 months, and 2 days younger than him. Both of these men had lived good long lives and accomplished much good and left an abundant righteous posterity. But even young Joaquin accomplished much good in his short life. He was born with a genetic defect that hindered his physical body. Yet his spirit and love for his family was evident at the funeral and to all who knew him. Perhaps the most tragic was Brad Ford who died flying his powered parachute. He left behind a beautiful wife and daughter. Yet even his funeral emphasized the blessings of eternal families.

In the movie I mentioned above, Hugh Grant is delivering a speech as "best man" at one of the weddings and referring to his previous experience as "best man" for another marriage that lasted only two days! The wedding party bursts out laughing. Now contrast that with the wedding reception I attended for Marcus Forbes, son of our good friends from Fairfield, CA who now live in Highland, UT. Marcus and his bride were married in the temple for time and All Eternity. I am so glad I can be a part of an Eternal Family!

Future 49er

2011-01-02T21:45:00.001-08:00

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a 49er football fan. Yes, I know they haven't done much in recent years but in the 80's and 90's they were awesome. Lisa even drew a crayola masterpiece for me, depicting the 49ers winning their third Super Bowl in 1989 over the Cincinnati Bengals. It was so cute because she labeled the Cincinnati team the "Bangals". So I was delighted when our grandson George received a 49er jersey from Aunt Shirley for christmas. He wore the jersey tonight when Stephanie and Carlos came for dinner. George likes to play with the football I have in my office. Here are a few pix of him practicing his kicking game.

Get ready 49ers! George will be ready to join your team in another 20+ years.

Love is in the Air

2011-01-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

On December 1st I took a young man and his girl friend for a ride in my airplane. It was a nice clear evening and the sun had already set as we took off from Spanish Fork airport. We flew north up Utah valley and flew over and around the Timpanogos temple. Then we flew back towards Spanish Fork. When we were over south Provo, I made a circle over a warehouse. There were some lights on the roof that seemed to spell something. As we got closer, we could see clearly the words "Marry Me?" written in Christmas lights on the top of the warehouse. The young lady looked at them and started screaming, "Oh my gosh, yes, yes, oh my gosh" (kiss, kiss) The young man worked at this warehouse and got permission from his boss to put these Christmas lights on the roof as a unique way of proposing to his girlfriend. He conveniently had a ring in his pocket that he slipped on her finger when she said yes. "How did I meet this young man, you ask?" I saw his ad on KSL.com looking for an airplane ride. Isn't the internet just grand?

Trip to Arizona

2010-11-21T14:48:00.000-08:00

In June Verla and I made a trip to Arizona in the Mooney. It was bitter-sweet since it was for Verla's Uncle Ned Merrell's funeral in Duncan. Ned was Verla's mother's youngest brother. After the funeral and luncheon they had family pictures taken. This one is of Verla's brothers and sisters with their spouses. (Editor's note: please disregard the erroneous dates. Bad settings in the camera I guess)

Here is another photo of the King brothers and sisters. Sharon & Val(deceased) are not in the picture.

Verla & her brother Bruce stopped at their parents headstone in the Virden cemetery.

There is also a road named after the Merrell family.

On our flight back to Utah the weather was little unsettled so we stopped in Northern Arizona and spent the night with Verla's niece Lynette and her husband Lance and their family. I took Lance and his daughter on a flight over meteor crater.

Cowgirl Verla

2010-05-26T20:44:00.001-07:00

March 7, 2010

Yesterday was our ward talent show. There were static displays of peoples' talents and there were performers. The static displays included crafts that people had done as hobbies. The largest of these was a canoe that Brother Callahan had built from strips of cedar wood glued together.

The performing talents were mostly musical in nature. Some were singing solos or quartets and there were some instrumental music like trumpets and violins. Verla's performance was different. She did her trick roping on stage and even jumped through the loop as she was twirling it. She was the hit of the show!

Afterward, some of the youth were overheard saying to their parents, "The ward talent show was the same as last year - except for Sister Jackson"

The photo shown above was taken in Colorado in the summer of 1972. I am trying to find a photo from the ward talent show that I can post. Stay tuned, sports fans.

Deseret News Column about Dad

2010-02-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

This is an article that was written by Lee Benson, a columnist for the Deseret News. Lee and his twin brother Dee were in my BYU ward when I came back from my mission in 1970. When we moved to Utah in 2001 I noticed his column in the paper. So when I saw him in front of us in the security line at the airport when Dad and I were going to Alaska, I just had to say hi to him and renew our acquaintance. I emailed him a couple of weeks ago and mentioned Dad's death and I was surprised when he emailed back and remembered our conversation in the airport. Here is his column.

'Ordinary hero' led a life of service
By Lee Benson
Deseret News
Published: Friday, Feb. 26, 2010 12:05 a.m. MST

I met him a year ago, when he was 96. It was one of those modern introductions. We were waiting in a security line at the airport.
Actually, it was his son I met first, Harold Jackson, who jogged my memory that we were once classmates in college.
But even before Harold spoke up, I'd been studying him and the older man next to him.
My guesses are often wrong, but this one was right: a son taking his dad on a trip. And not because he had to. Because he wanted to.
Because the dad had done so much for him and this was a way to say thanks.
"Dad always wanted to see Alaska," Harold said that day. "So I called him and said, 'Pack your bag; we're going.' "
Then he slung V. Rex Jackson's bag onto the security belt.
I forgot about that encounter until I opened an e-mail this week. It was from Harold Jackson.
"I thought you'd like to know that Dad passed away," he wrote. "Alaska was his last vacation trip."
"He was an ordinary hero," he added, and then, for enlightenment, he included a few details of two heroic occasions in his father's life.
One was in June 1944, D-Day, when he stormed the beach at Normandy.
It happened to be Utah Beach — an appropriate destination for a young man who had been born in Randolph, Utah.He was with a U.S. Army engineer regiment whose job was to lay down matting so the trucks, tractors and tanks waiting to come ashore could have traction in making it to higher ground.
Pvt. Jackson was among the first Allied troops to set foot on French soil. He almost drowned getting there. Then he had to help haul in bodies of soldiers who did drown.
Several weeks later, he marched into Paris. Several months after that, still unhurt, he was in Germany when the war he helped win ended. He had survived four invasions and came home with seven battle stars.
The other hero moment for V. Rex Jackson came nearly 50 years later, in February 1993, when he stormed the stage at the Marriott Center.
OK, storming it is overstating it. He was 80 at the time and had come to the Marriott Center to listen to Howard W. Hunter, then an LDS apostle and soon to be LDS Church president, give a speech to 17,000 BYU students and faculty.
The peaceful nature of the occasion was shattered when a 27-year-old man named Cody Judy jumped onto the stage, said he had a bomb and demanded that Hunter read a three-page statement.
Security rushed to the edge of the stage but was held at bay by the alleged bomb (which later proved to be bogus).
A tense standoff ensued until Jackson, who had arrived late and was sitting in back of the stage, walked up behind Judy and said in an even voice, "What's going on?"The would-be terrorist turned and knocked Jackson down, allowing security to swoop in. Judy went to jail. Jackson, unhurt, went home.
"He told us he'd been in the Army and through foreign invasions, and he didn't think that guy had a bomb," Harold said, remembering his father's explanation to the family. "He said he wasn't afraid."
Rex Jackson didn't get any publicity for what he did — due possibly to the fact that it wasn't exactly by the book.
"That's just speculation on our part," Harold said. "But it's part of our family lore that our dad was the hero who helped save President Hunter."
It was in between and around those two flashes of headline heroism, however, that V. Rex Jackson did his real heroics — the years he spent as a builder: at work as a carpenter and at home as a husband and father who raised six adoring children.
I saw that adoration firsthand. It was a year ago, when Rex was 96, and his son took him to Alaska, and the only reason was because he'd always wanted to go.
Lee Benson's column runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com

My Dad is Gone but not Forgotten

2010-01-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

My dad Victor Rex Jackson died Sunday night. I have mixed feelings for this event - joy and happiness! But of course I will miss him, but I am so happy he has moved on so he can be with my Mom again. He was so looking forward to that event.

His funeral is planned for Saturday at our Stake Center and his obituary is on his blog (vrjackson.blogspot.com) So long, old soldier. America is free because of what you and your generation did.

April Getaway

2009-09-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

When Spring storms dump on you, there is only one thing to do - Get Away to Hawaii!

So that is what we did in the fourth week of April last Spring. Our good friends, Richard & Lenore Snyder who live just down the street were on the Big Island for a month and invited us to spend some time with them and their cute twin grand daughters Naomi & Alexandra.

The botanical gardens were a real paradise of color.

Can't wait to go back again!

The Big Green Truck

2009-03-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

In the process of cleaning up the yard at Dad's house in Springville last year, it came time to dispose of the Big Green Truck. It was a 1951 International Harvester Model R-152 truck that held lots of memories for our Dad but had not run in probably 15 years. It just sat in Dad's backyard and collected snow and ice and leaves and cherries falling from the tree above it. Andrew and I toyed with the idea of restoring it but we both realized we would never get around to it. So I put an ad on Craig's list and sold it for $300 (a little more than scrap metal price)

The fellow who bought it came and took it away on a flatbed towtruck. It was kind of sad to see it go with so many memories tied up with it. Maybe you have to be a "truck guy" to understand. But Mom understood. She wrote a little book called "Harold and the Big Green Truck" and gave it to me for my birthday one year. Maybe someday I'll have it published.

More Morris's!

2008-12-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Madelyn Morris was born yesterday December 6th at 10:30 a.m. She weighed 8lbs. 3 oz. and measured 19 inches long and has dark hair like her momma Shirley. Verla and I paid a visit to them this morning and took this picture. Watch for more postings on the Munchkins r-Us blog.

Halloween in Nashville

2008-11-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

We spent last week in Tennessee. Verla flew to Nashville Sat. Oct. 25th and spent the weekend with Lisa and Will. Then Tuesday Andrew & Linda picked her up and drove to Knoxville where I met them for a visit to Dollywood. We had a great time enjoying the Southern Gospel music and Harvest Festival at Dollywood on Wednesday. Thursday Andrew and I laid ceramic tile in the kitchen of their rental house in Estill Springs. Then Friday they drove us to Nashville and we enjoyed Halloween with Lisa and Will. We went to a party at their friends Amy and James house. Rex dressed as a Fireman and Ruth as a Pink Pony. Lisa was That Seventies Groovy Girl and Will was Dracula. Verla was Ceasar's wife and I was Bob the Builder.

And Now There Are Twelve

2008-11-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, another Jackson grandchild. Evelyn Grace Jackson was born October 12, 2008 to Glenn & Sara Jackson in Columbia, Missouri. We're waiting to get more pictures of her, hopefully with her eyes open.

And then there were Eleven

2008-09-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

The day after my 59th birthday we welcomed our 11th grandchild. George Harold Bassett was born on September 3, 2008 to Stephanie and Carlos Bassett. He weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and stood 20 inches tall. OK he's not quite standing yet but he is mighty cute don't ya think!

The Joys of Grandparenting

2008-08-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

Owen & Clara love watching "Follow That Bird" from Becca's bed.

Grandma loves playing games with the grandkids!

Emmaline loves to dance. See those teasing eyes!

Lunch time

2008-08-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

Owen & Clara love to eat Grandma's treats

Snakes!

2008-07-14T20:53:00.001-07:00

Ruth found a garter snake in our back yard!

Rex wanted to have a look too.

Snake!

2008-07-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

We have a resident garter snake in our garden. Actually there may be more than one. Verla took these pictures when Lisa was here with Ruth and Rex in May.

The Little White house in Springville

2008-01-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

Dad's little white house at 133E. 700S., Springville, Utah isn't white anymore. The thought of painting the house and then repainting in another ten years just didn't seem cost effective. In addition the 60 year old windows were beginning to fall out of their wooden frames. So with some spare time on my hands and some help from Rachel's friend Nefi Acosta, I started on the residing project in August.
First the old siding was stripped off and hauled to the dump. (see photos)
Next, we removed some sheathing to add some wiring for additional outlets needed in the living room, kitchen and bedroom. Then we blew some cellulose insulation in the side walls. While blowing the insulation at the back of the house, I blew out my knee. I was stepping off the ladder and stepped in a low spot on the flagstone patio and hyper-extended my left knee. It was then that Paul Jackson, my nephew came to the rescue. He worked with Nefi for the rest of the Fall and completed the vinyl siding project. Shown below are photos of the project in progress.