REMEMBRANCES OF MY GRANDPARENTS
by Berneice Robbins
(Anderson Family Reunion - August 16, 1975)

The thing I remember most about Grandma, when we lived in Ogden and in Salt
Lake and we'd go up to visit Grandma and Grandpa, Grandma was always standing at the
door waiting for us; no matter what time of the day we got there and she always had her
arms out and would say, "I knew you were coming, I told Grandpa this morning, I knew
you were coming.  And you know, she just knew it.  She always expected us and she was
always standing waiting for us.
Some of the things I remember, when I was younger, when we lived in Logan, was
Grandma going to the Temple every morning.  And I think of Grandma walking up the
hill, Temple Hill, and she'd always stop at our place on the way just to rest and to have
Mother comb her hair.  And she would stop and visit with us for a little while to get her
hair combed and then she'd go up the hill.  And I thought, oh, how does she ever make it
going up that big steep hill and back every night.  And I think about it now, I still wonder,
How did she ever make it.  But she faithfully went up Temple Hill every single morning to
perform her work in the Temple.  I've never seen anyone quite so faithful and I wonder
how many of her kin could possibly ever do anything so wonderful as that.  For 18 years
she did it, Mother says, and she just never missed.  It was just a miracle and a wonder to
see her go up Temple Hill to do her ordinance work, to help others.  She was a wonderful
wonderful lady.
And Grandma always had a wonderful cookie jar, and oh, made such good
cookies.  She was the most wonderful cook on earth.  And I know when I went to see
Grandma I said,  "Oh please Grandma, show me how to make soup." And she did.  But
she was such a wonderful cook and I think it runs in the family - Mother, and Marie, and
Luella and all of her children are just as wonderful a cook.  She told me every step she
took and just how to make her soup and my Mother tells me that I can make soup like
Grandma did.
And I remember Grandpa, I remember way back when I was a little girl, Grandpa
going to work, to the bank, on his bicycle; and that's a long time ago.  But he was so
young and so active and he went to work on his bicycle.  I can remember when he finally
got a car and I can remember going down to Grandma's in the winter time and looking in
the garage window and he had his car up on blocks in the winter.  They didn't use it in the
winter.  That's something new and different.  But he did drive it in the summer.
And I can remember going up the canyon with Grandpa and going on fishing trips. 
Oh my he was a wonderful fisherman.  I guess you all know that and remember it.  But I
remember as a little girl, I remember when he would go up on the Madison fishing.  And
he would come home with so many fish and he'd put them in great big washtubs out on the
porch and they would be full of fish.  To a little girl it was real surprising.  And then he'd
take these lovely big fish out and send them around to the neighbors, to the different
places, and the neighbors so they all got some fish.  He was so generous with them and so
wonderful sending his fish around.
When I was just a young girl taking music lessons, everytime I would go to my
music lesson once a week, down to Sister Fogelburgs to take my music lesson, I always
had to stop at Grandma's for a piece of bread and butter and chokecherry jelly.  I just
couldn't have made it if I couldn't have stopped there and had bread and butter and
chokecherry jelly.  And you know, everytime I went to my music lesson, that just
happened to be the day that Grandma made bread.  And she always had a little loaf for me. 
And Mother used to say she could always depend on having plenty of bread for dinner on
the days that I took my music lesson because I would come home with my little loaf of
bread from Grandma.
There are so many wonderful things that we can all remember about Grandma and
Grandpa, I can just go on, and on, and on because the more I think about it the more
things come back to me that I remember about her and Grandpa.  They did such
wonderful things.
I can remember Grandpa reading the Bible and explaining things to us.  I can
remember when Marie and I went to the hospital to see Grandpa before he died, and
Grandpa asked us to read the Bible to him and we read Acts.  And you know, ever since
then, I think I have read Acts more, and with more understanding because Grandpa liked it
so well, and I wanted to know what he found in it that was so wonderful.  And of course,
now we're studying it in going to be studying it in our Sunday School lessons right away. 
And I hope that we'll all get as much out of it as Grandpa did, but that's expecting a lot. 
But when Grandpa used to read the Bible, and he would tell us stories from the Bible and
about the different things in the Bible and it was so wonderful to talk to us and have him
tell us these things.  He had such a wonderful way of explaining it.  And we've got such a
wonderful heritage, all of us.

Remembrances of Grandparents
by Bernice Larsen Robbins 

     I always remember going to see them when we were young.
Grandpa would fix wonderful meals and tell us stories. We'd gather
around the fire and he'd tell us some stories. And he'd have such an
interesting way of telling them. He always had wonderful stories to
tell. And when we'd go to the canyon, and after he'd been fishing, we'd
play games -Melvin, Merrill, Marie, and Woody. Grandpa would build
up a fire. Grandpa and Grandma would bring out dishes and the food.
Grandpa would begin cooking - we always had wonderful pork chops
and fried potatoes. Grandma always had lovely cookies. We'd sit
around the fire and sing songs. It was so fun.
     Once when Grandpa was very sick and in the Logan Hospital.
Marie and I went up to see him. He asked Marie to read the Bible to
him. She asked, "What shall I read? " And he said, "read Acts." He
said, "There is so much to read in there and so much to pattern your
life after." I can remember when Grandpa and Grandma said it was so
wonderful to have us visit with them. Grandpa said it was just like
having Charlotte grow up again, that I was just like her.
     On 21st March, my birthday, we'd been up to Grandma and
Grandpa's for dinner. And Phil came up to be with us - I was going
with Phil then. He said he had a wonderful surprise for me. He had a
beautiful diamond ring for me, and I said I wouldn't accept it until he
asked my father for my hand in marriage. So he went to my Dad to ask
him, and Grandpa was sitting there, and so Phil asked Daddy and got
his permission, then he asked Grandpa Anderson, too. It made it a
really special occasion. They both told Phil that he was getting a very
special prize. Phil then asked me if I could now take the ring. And I
got my diamond, and it was all very exciting.
     I remember Grandma having us for dinner. She would call the
store, 245 (editor's note: 861 was the home phone number), to order
groceries and ask if Grandpa was still at the store, and to have him
bring them home, riding his bike. He was very efficient. He would
bring the groceries in the basket and arrive home in time for dinner.
     I'd go down to the store to see Grandpa. He'd always ask me if I'd
like some cheese - they had the big round cheese - and he'd slice off
some for me. They always had a yummy cookie or rolls behind the
counter.
     Grandma always would call for her purse. She had a pretty beaded
bag, a big fat one -
hand-beaded. Marie or Geneva would go to get her bag. When we
were getting ready to leave for home, she'd say she had something for
each one of us. The purse was endless - there was always something
for each of us. It was always something  just special for ourselves. She
would reach down in her bag and pull out 50 cent pieces, or $1 bills,
or 2 quarters. She was not stingy - there were always 2 or 3 coins for
each. We always felt so rewarded. Her purse was always full and ready
to give to someone. It was a blue beaded bag. I had it for a long time.
From little children to big ones, if any one got hurt, stumbled, she
always had something in her bag to help.
     Grandpa would go fishing for the weekend, and he'd come back
with great big containers of water filled with fish and put them out on
the lawn. Grandma would spread paper on the lawn. Grandpa would
pick up a fish and say, "This one I'll sent over to Brother Hansen, and
this one for Sister Sorensen." He was always generous with his fish -
fresh and beautiful because he kept them in cold water.  There were
always some for all the neighbors.  I would watch him clean the fish.

     Grandma would wrap up for whoever. We lived close, so we always
had a package of the trout and Mother and Grandma fixed them in a 
frying pan, with fresh cream. Lovely! We'd go up and she'd be sitting on
the porch in her swing looking at every car that went
by. Grandma would say, "I knew you were coming, I just felt it." We hadn't
told her we were coming. She always bugged us.
     I remember the dinners - our family would go down. They always had
the adults sit up first, and the children would wait for the second time around.
Aunt Geneva would tell stories and play games with us while we waited. 
The grownups finished, they would clear away the table, and reset the table 
for the children. We'd sit up - it was exciting.