Saving Italy

 I'm sure that many of you have seen the movie "The Monuments Men."  I found it so intriguing that there had been men trained in the arts who risked life and limb to save the great art of the world during war time.  I was soon placing a hold (number 34 in line) at the library for the book "The Monuments Men" by Robert M. Edsel.  I noticed that Edsel had written other books including his newest, "Saving Italy."  It was marked available and I was soon on my way to the library.

Now for my funny story.  I made my way upstairs to the non-fiction section and then to the 940's shelves where war related books are shelved.  I was carefully making my way along the shelf when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a man had turned the corner and was perusing the shelf from the other direction.  Then there is was, "Saving Italy" on the very top shelf and it was in my hand.  The man's face fell.  I asked, "Were you looking for 'Saving Italy'?"

Indeed he was and he had already been to two other libraries in his search.  He agreed that, yes, I had been there first and, yes, my hand had reached it first.  Honestly, I have never had someone looking for the same book at the same time before.  Have you?  And then being my generous self, I mentioned that he could put a hold on the book.  That ended up costing me some money because I was on my way to Arizona and because of the hold couldn't renew the book online so had overdue fines.  End of story.

 

Back to the book.  It is an amazing book and if you have ever been to Florence or Rome (that would not be me but I did take Art History I and II in college) you will be forever grateful to the Monuments Men in Italy who fought for and hid and risked their lives on mountain roads in left over Army issued jeeps.  Lucky 13 became the name of one such jeep.  Not only will you be grateful to these men, you will also be so impressed at the amount of research the author has done to bring you a detailed story.  You will be thrilled with the letters including artful drawings sent home by a father (middle of the above photo) to his son which make all the men seem more human.

The photo was taken on the day that the large horse statue was returned to Florence from its hiding place.  Several of the marble statues of Florence were encased in brick pillars for protection.  The Vatican became a storage place for the treasures of Rome.  How do you fight a brutal war (over 50,000 soldiers died just trying to capture Rome) in a country overflowing with a wealth of art treasures beloved to the whole world?  The United States decided to do so as carefully as possible.

If you enjoyed the movie, "Monuments Men" which addressed the fight for art in France, Belgium, and Germany, you would probably enjoy this book about the fight for art on another war front.  I certainly did.

Ola Jenson and Anna Carlsson

Ola Jenson was born on November 2, 1839 in Vittskolve, Kristianstadt, Sweden to Jens Svenson and Kjersty Trulson.  On November 30, 1866 he was married to Anna Carlsson.  Anna was born to Carl Svensson and Hanna Mansson on February 22, 1842 in Langarod, Malmohas, Sweden.  Ola and Anna were also married in Langarod. They were baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints October 11, 1868, by 0. N. Bergen.  Crops in most of Sweden failed in 1868 and by 1869 there was a great famine and the people were starving.

A Mr. Ola Olssen was appointed president of a company that sailed from Copenhagen on July 10, 1869. They were bound for Utah and arrived in Hull, England on July 14.  Then is was on to Liverpool by railway where they arrived on July 15.  Here they transferred to a steamer, the "Minnesota" and sat sail later on the same day.  There were about 1200 passengers and 125 members of the crew on board.  After 13 days at sea, they arrived in New York on July 28, 1869 without incident.  The following day they left by train for the west and arrived at Taylor's Switch near Ogden, Utah.  They were the first Scandinavian Company to travel from New York to Utah by train.  Their entire journey only took 27 days.  They were taken to Salt Lake City by teams as the railroad had not been laid yet. They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on August 1, 1869. When the Jenson family arrived in Utah, they were advised by President Brigham Young to go to the higher valleys where there was plenty of water, good soil, timber for building homes and fire wood, and good pastures for livestock. The Jenson family settled in Peoa which is near present day Park City and Deer Valley.

The following account was written by Ola Jenson’s daughter, Emma Christine Jenson: “Ola and Anna Carlson Jenson settled in Peoa. Their first home was a one room log cabin. They arrived in Peoa without any means of transportation or animals to work with. Father walked to Salt Lake City, where he got work. He walked back to Peoa on Saturday nights to spend Sunday with his family. Many times he would carry a sack of flour on his back. He walked back to Salt Lake to go to work on Monday.  Father built a good five room log house with logs from the canyons. It was hard work. He supplied his family with a good living in Peoa. Their first baby girl, Anna, was born in Sweden. She died when she was two and one-half years old (on September 4, 1869, not long after arriving in Utah). Five boys were born in Peoa - Joseph, Nelse, Swen Albert, James William and Carl. Carl died as a child. In 1875, Father returned to Sweden for his parents, but his mother died in Omaha, Nebraska, and is buried there. His father settled in the Sugarhouse district and made his home there. Anna Carlson Jenson died giving birth to a baby girl who also died. Anna was a good woman and a hard worker, taking good care of her family. She was very sincere in her religious belief."

Anna and her baby girl died on October 7, 1879 and were buried near her first daughter, Anna, in the Peoa Cemetary. 

Ola remarried on October 27, 1881.  He married Christena Peterson, also from Sweden.  She had three young boys, had lost her husband, and had moved to Peoa to live with an aunt.  She and Ola joined their families and went on to have six more children.

This was his official missionary portrait.

In 1890, Ola returned to Sweden as a missionary where he served for two years returning in 1892.

A closeup of his face from the above portrait with his sons.

Ola's oldest son with Anna Carlsson, Ola Joseph Jenson would marry Nancy Morrell and their oldest son would be George Lawrence Jenson.  George Jenson was Glen's grandfather and husband to Della Maretta Clement.

Ola Jenson died on August 9, 1921 of bronchial pneumonia at 82 years of age in Peoa, Utah.

He is buried in the Peoa Cemetery.

More quilty fun

One month away from the dream machine meant there was some catching up to do on my sew along projects.  I've been sewing with Lori Holt's Quilty Fun Sew Along group.  I made the flowers the first week back so that I would also be eligible for the prize drawing.  Didn't win, but it was fun to do the current blocks first.

Then I cut and sewed the other three weeks' projects which included spools, butterflies, and mittens.

This week was the grand finale.  A great big bee block with embroidery.  All that color surrounding it in the border was created during the beginning of the sew along.

Doing the embroidery made me remember how much I enjoy it!  Next week we will be given all the finishing directions for a very cute sampler quilt made mostly from fabric I already had on hand.  I admit to buying a bit of Lori's Bake Sale line for parts of the quilt.

Once Quilty Fun sewing was caught up, I paid for and downloaded from Craftsy the cutting and sewing directions for the third month of 10 blocks from the Farmer's Wife Quilt Revival. Simplified cutting and piecing methods are used to construct the blocks rather than using templates.  I managed to finish all 10 before the end of the month.  The next batch of 10 went up on Craftsy today but I'm going to take a breather.  It has been fun to cut into this stack of fabric that I purchased so long ago.

The Muddy Mission and Logandale Historical Center

After a great four weeks in Arizona, it was time to head back to Utah to take care of my hubby.  He had made the drive south to see his new grandson so I had canceled my flight.  We decided to drive back north through Overton and Logandale, Nevada before it was hot summer time.  We had ancestors who had first settled this area, then called the Muddy Mission, and had noticed the old school house now historical center and museum on the side of the highway on another drive this way.  I knew that the Foote Family had prepared a plaque to be presented to the Logandale Historical Center.

We found it in the main lobby.  Warren Foote (for which the new grandson was named) and his wives were framed along with a short history of their time in this area along the Virgin River before it reached the Colorado River.

If you click on the picture, you should be able to read what is printed.

Artemisia, who went by her middle name, Sidnie, was my great great grandmother.

Warren Foote kept a great and detailed journal of his life which includes his ramble through Mormon church history which for him was just his life.  His journal entries are often found in footnotes in books on church history.  He eventually ended up in Glendale, Utah where he and Sidnie are buried.

This is Warren's second wife whom he married when the church leadership encouraged additional wives.  Glen and I attended a planning meeting last Saturday for a Foote Family National Association gathering to be held in Salt Lake City in the summer of 2015.  This will be the first time that it will be held out west.  It was at this meeting that we met a great grandson of Eliza Maria.

This same plaque is found on the grave markers of both Warren and Sidnie in Glendale.  Warren was a captain of one hundred Mormon pioneers who crossed the plains of the United States from Iowa to the Salt Lake Valley.  Glen's great great grandfather was Darius Salem Clement.  Darius was the nephew of Warren Foote.  Warren's older sister, Betsy, was Darius' mother.  Darius Clement was also one of those who was part of the Muddy Mission.  He, too, kept a journal and wrote about it.

The museum was a city center as well as an exhibition museum.  This handcart was in the large gymnasium with stage.

I loved, loved this old antique quilt covering the cart.

I took close ups of the blocks in case I ever wanted to attempt this pattern.

If you look closely, you can see that the border is made up of flying geese.  My guess is that there has been a great deal of fading and that at one time there was more contrast in the fabrics making up the geese.

Very simple hand quilting.

Really, isn't it just lovely?

This one time school reminded me so much of my elementary school in Idaho which was also one story and had hallways with classrooms surrounding a center gymnasium with stage.

It is a busy place as it is used for dance classes, art guild meetings, concerts, and other city events.

I love it when older structures are re purposed and loved again.  Before we left Logandale, we stopped in and visited with Glen's cousin, Jason, his wife, Heidi, and their eight beautiful children.  I admire and respect Jason and Heidi so much.  They had three boys and decided that would not be the end of their family and proceeded to adopt three little girls.  When that last little girl was just a baby, Heidi's step sister passed away leaving behind a little girl and a little boy.  Once again, Jason and Heidi opened their hearts and their home and immediately had a set of 1 year old and 3 year twins.  Heidi is the only person I know who owns a stroller for four.  As those little ones played around Glen and I, we were in awe at their beautiful faces and loving natures.

Heidi, I borrowed a picture from your blog because I just had to share.  Thank you for letting us visit for awhile.  We felt so much love and goodness in your home.  Let the snowball fight begin!

(a little inside joke :)

Clothes for the dolls

While in Arizona, I didn't have access to my new Bernina so no quilting.  But I did have my knitting needles and old Bernina which is great for doll clothes sewing.  I learned the importance of paying attention to "the gauge" instructions on knitting patterns.  On the previous trip to Arizona I knitted and sewed for the other family with girls and posted about it here.

 

The first knitted outfit was a bit big for American Girl size dolls.  This time I used Lion Brand Bonbons as suggested in the book.  These are tiny skeins of fine weight yarn packaged 8 different colors to a package.  I, of course, just grabbed my size 3 needles and started knitting.  About three fourths through the project, I realized that this little sweater dress was not going to be an American Girl doll size.  I soldiered on thinking it would probably work as an outfit for their Heart for Heart dolls.  We had to roll up sleeves but it did work for Ruby's doll.  The girls considered it a happy accident and Sadie requested that I make the same mistake for her doll.

So I preceded as before but with less success.  This little sweater coat was a bit big and I could not block it straight.  Those little skeins of yarn have to be rewound into a ball to be used.  I don't know if that caused the yarn or what, but the pieces could not be blocked straight before sewing them together.  I think I owe Sadie a redo.  I also think I have learned the value of knitting a sample swatch to check for the correct gauge.

I did sew for Miss Mae.  I used the same doll pattern I had used for her cousin Julianna, but used a different colorway of the same fabric.

She especially liked the hat.  The most productive thing we did on this last little visit before heading north was to plant a little garden.  Since I am in Arizona so little, we moved six of my garden grow boxes to their yard.  Dave and his girls followed my instructions (based on several years of experience) and planted some tomatoes, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, and strawberries.  Ruby was particularly excited about this project (she loves fresh picked tomatoes) and Mae has claimed complete ownership of the cucumbers.  Sadie is looking forward to strawberries.  I also passed on some sugar snap pea seeds.  Sadie and Ruby had gone shopping with me earlier in the week to pick out plants.  I sure hope they have success.  I'll check on them next visit.

The Cat in the Hat comes back

It was Spring Break time for the grand kids in Arizona, so we had to have an overnight at grandma's and grandpa's house especially once grandpa was back in town.  The grand girls stayed over on a Friday night and their brothers stayed over on Saturday night.  The boys brought their church clothes with them and then Glen and I drove them back to their chapel on Sunday morning where we went to church with Eric's family.  Grandpa provided the pizza for dinner and grandma made ebelskivers with strawberries for breakfast. Do you see that stainless steel powdered sugar shaker?  The girls made good use of it.

Saturday afternoon, Susan joined us for an outing to the Tempe Center for the Arts.  Toby tagged along as well.  We walked out onto the new foot bridge which hangs above the new dams which were installed to reform Tempe Town Lake after the original inflatable dams collapsed a few years back.

 

The sign said no motorized vehicles allowed on the bridge.  That didn't stop about 30 segways from zooming by.  There were also lots of bicyclists so our little group didn't stay on the bridge too long.  Please notice the book that Sadie is holding.

 

Do they look like they are standing on water?  That is what they hoped it looked like.  There was a little platform behind the ledge of the negative edge fountain.  The bridge we were on is in the background.  Toby was such a good sport to hang out with all us girls.

We were there for Childsplay's presentation of the play, "The Cat in the Hat."

Everyone wanted to be the cat.

The cat in the hat.

Yes, that tall cat.

Who wears a hat.

We were in our seats early, but not too early.  It gave them time to share the book and to study the program.  It was pretty entertaining.  Julianna's laughter could be heard throughout the play and Mabel was a great play viewer although she did tell me that, "That was a really long show."

I now have had the privilege of seeing "The Cat in the Hat" twice, December in Salt Lake City and March by Childsplay in Arizona.  I thought that maybe the great set and prop decorations first used in Seattle and then used in Salt Lake City might be making a tour.  It was not so.  Childsplay's props and set decorations were not nearly as great as those I saw in Salt Lake.  The actors in Salt Lake were also much younger, many being drama students from the University of Utah.  Childsplay has been known as a premier company for the younger set, but I know that many of the actors have been with them for a long time.  I give the Salt Lake version 5 stars and Childsplay 3 stars, as if my opinion matters.

Gilbert Temple Dedication

The day of the big storm was also the day for the Saturday Youth Celebration before the temple dedication on Sunday.  There was worry about the rain but also thanksgiving because Arizonans are always grateful for rain.  I found this picture which shows the Discovery Park just northwest of the temple.

That park is where 12,000 youth sang and danced their hearts out in the rain.  My sweet and very pregnant (although she never looks as pregnant as the rest of us do or did) was there on the hillside wearing a poncho watching the youth that she had been practicing with and encouraging for weeks.

The dedication would be repeated three times on Sunday and would replace all church services that Sunday.  It was broadcast to all large stake centers throughout Arizona.  President of the Church, Thomas S. Monson was present for all three dedication sessions.  The rain had passed and it was a beautiful, cleansed, and blue sky but cloud scudded kind of day.

The dedication was for those eight years of age and older and so this is who I spent my Sunday with, my younger grand daughters.  (Note: they selected their own snacks from the pantry :)  We had a great time together.

This was something new at the house.  That used to be an opening the looked out over the entrance hall and living room.  Now is is a series of display racks so the books can face out.  It made my grandma and old librarian heart glad.

I also snapped a picture of the coming baby's nursery.  Yup, that sweet daughter-in-law who showed her support in the rain birthed a beautiful baby boy two days later on the day the dedicated temple was first open for sacred ordinances.  This beautiful temple will be a blessing in the lives of many.

Note:  The three temple related photos were borrowed from google images.