Monthly Archives: February 2024
When you only get a birthday every four years, you realize just how special a birthday is. Most people get a birthday every year. It’s just expected, but when your birthday falls on Leap Day, things are different. Nevertheless, most people who have a Leap Day birthday really like it. I suppose that technically they have as many years behind them as the rest of us, but the reality is that their birthday is absolutely missing three years out of four.
As a little girl, my granddaughter, Shai Royce wasn’t sure she liked her day, or actually it was her brother Caalab Royce, and cousins, Chris and Josh Petersen telling her that they were older than her, when the only one who truly was older was Chris and that by only one day, which in her mind didn’t really make him “that much older!!” Now, I think she thought totally embraces the day, and on the off years, she celebrates for two days…the February 28th and March 1st. This year, she actually got to do a little celebrating all month long!! Shai’s friend Tia gave her a small gift for each day. Each gift was well thought out and it was obvious that Tia put a lot of 
thought into each gift, making them very personalized. It made Shai feel so special. Another thing that makes Shai feel special, is the dogs she takes care of for some of her friends. She loves the dogs she watches…and boy, do they love her. They have definitely stolen her heart.
So, for her birthday, Shai; her mom, Amy Royce; and brother, Caalab Royce and going to a Seattle Kraken hockey game tonight. I have been to games, but never a hockey game. I know they will have a great time, and I hope the Kraken win. I did a little research on them, and they are the newest team in the National Hockey League. It will be a great time, I’m sure. Shai is a very social person, but I never really thought of her as a big sports fan. Still, since her family moved to northern Washington, they have gone to a number of games…mostly 
local teams, but things can change quickly. Once you’ve gone to a game, most people want to go to another game.
Shai loves to go the casinos near her home. Somehow, she and her family do very well in the casinos. They come home winners quite often, and not just twenty bucks either. A few days ago, she was invited to her parents’ poker night for the first time, and to everyone’s shock, she won. Her mom doesn’t play poker, because in her own words, she has too many tells, but Shai certainly doesn’t. Like her dad, Travis Royce, she can totally keep a straight face. Some people have it and some people don’t. Today is Shai’s 7th @ 28th birthday. Happy birthday Shai!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandson, Chris Petersen was the child that made me a grandmother. As a matter of fact, he also made his mother, Corrie Petersen a mom, and his great grandmother, Joann Schulenberg a great grandmother…on her birthday. His dad, Kevin Petersen, grandpa Bob Schulenberg, and great grandpa, Walt Schulenberg also had some firsts when Chris was born. First time dad, grandpa, and great grandpa. We are all so happy to begin this new stage of our lives. Chris and our other grandchildren have been such a blessing to us.
Of course, Chris is an adult now. Why do kids have to grow up? Chris works as the store manager of Auto Zone in Casper, Wyoming. He really loves his job, which makes sense, since his favorite hobby is mechanics. Well, that and video games, but doesn’t everyone play video games. He is a great manager, and they are very happy to have him. I think he has brought with him, a 
number of new clients for Auto Zone, especially his dad and grandpa, who do a lot of business there.
The biggest part of Chris growing up, however, is that he is married to his beautiful wife, Karen Petersen. They have three beautiful children, Cambree, Caysen, and Cyler, and they are very happy and blessed. We are all very blessed, and of course, we know that if Chris had not grown up, we couldn’t have ever had these precious babies. His family is the most important part of Chris’ lives. They have totally transformed his life in every way. So, I guess we will just be happy that he did grow up, and now his family…and those babies. Chris is so settled now, and I can see that he is so very happy. Chris and Karen are a perfect match for each other. It’s definitely a match made in Heaven. They like the same things, and they are headed in the same direction. You can tell when a man is happy, when all he 
wants to do is get home to his family. As with most married men, that old lifestyle is suddenly not very important. That makes perfect sense to me.
I am so happy for Chris in his new life. I love seeing him and Karen so happy. They both have a great sense of humor, and their kids are happy and well rounded. It is such a blessing to see your kids and grandkids so happy in their lives. Today is Chris’ birthday. Happy birthday Chris!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When I met my mother-in-law, Joann Schulenberg for the first time, I wonder what she thought of me. It’s not that my mother-in-law was a snob or anything, because she certainly wasn’t. Nevertheless, I was just 17 years old, so I could have seemed like a frivolous teenager. As I got to know her better, she would say things like, “You have never canned vegetables?” or “You don’t make your own clothes?” Well, the reality was that I was a teenaged city girl, and she was a country girl. In addition, I was from a completely different generation than she was. She had lives through the depression era, when food was scarce, as were many other things. People did what they had to in order to survive. An experience like that is not something people forget easily. It wasn’t that I had never cooked or even helped make jelly, but living in town, we didn’t have the space for a garden, and so didn’t have the vegetables to can. I also knew how to sew, but I have never liked it. Hmmm…maybe I was a frivolous teenaged girl.
Nevertheless, my mother-in-law never looked down on me, but rather I think she had found a “new student” to 
teach. When I married into the family, I was introduced many new things. I learned canning, some gardening, and even raising cows for family use. Still, you really can’t take the city out of the girl, even if, for a time, you take the girl out of the city. Just like moving her to the city, didn’t take the country out of her. While I can do those things, I can’t say that I love doing those things. Sorry Mom!! Nevertheless, I loved reaping the benefits of her many talents, like knitting, crocheting, canning, baking (from scratch), sewing, and cooking.
When my mother-in-law began to develop Alzheimer’s Disease, we were all saddened. So much of who she was in the past, began to drift away. Still, some of the best memories of her life stayed with her, and for that we were blessed. True, most of the memories were from her distant past, but those were the ones that we didn’t know about. Her life as a girl, things her parents did, places she lived, horses she loved, and stories about her children’s past too. We found a new part of her and a new way to be blessed by her. Mom changed with Alzheimer’s Disease, but she did not get irritable like many people did. She was sweet and accommodating…if you didn’t ask her to get up and walk. She did require a lot of care and 
eventually we had no choice, but to place her in a nursing home. She didn’t mind. She was a “people watcher” and so it was a good fit. She didn’t walk the last 4½ years of her life, which might have contributed to her good mood. I think, in the end, she appreciated me more, because as her caregiver, I honestly did my best for her…as did our whole team. Today would have been my mother-in-law’s 93rd birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Mom. We love and miss you very much.
Following the Titanic disaster, a strange kind of job was formed…that of an iceberg mover. This was something I had never heard of, and it seems rather strange. I am aware that icebergs are chucks of ice, and obviously that they float, but to have the job of actually keeping track of an iceberg’s location so that you can go out to move it out of the shipping lanes is a really odd job, if you ask me. Still, the icebergs floating in the oceans, were a serious danger to the ships. Even if other ships were in the area and had seen the icebergs, that doesn’t mean other ships couldn’t fall prey to the icebergs. Many of those ships shut down their radios overnight…the most dangerous time for icebergs.
The job of the iceberg movers was to keep track of the icebergs and if they moved into the shipping lanes, to go in and move them to a different location. Now, that makes me wonder how heavy the icebergs were, and how hard it would be to move them. I also wonder how dangerous it would be, since icebergs have an uncanny knack for flipping over. Of course, iceberg movers are in a boat. Still, it’s hard to say what things can go wrong when an iceberg flips over. I really don’t think this would be a job I would want.
It seems like they might have had trouble hiring people to do this job, or maybe they just needed a more stable crew of men for the job. Whatever the case may be, The International Ice Patrol (IIP), was founded a year later. The IIP is operated by the US Coast Guard. The IIP tracks the location of icebergs and provides safe routes around them. If an iceberg is in a particularly unsafe area, it might become necessary to move it. Then, the iceberg will be towed out of the area. There is no way that they will be able to stop shipwrecks from 
happening, but if we can remove the dangers created by icebergs, maybe we will see a few less shipwrecks in the future. Since Titanic, there have been five ship that went down after hitting an iceberg. Lives were lost in the first two following Titanic, but in the last three, everyone was saved. The last one was in 2007.
My grandmother, Harriet “Hattie” Byer, was a tiny woman, who loved kids, and had nine of them with my grandfather, George Byer. Grandpa worked hard, and he was a soft-hearted man. I’m sure he spanked his kids, but not very much. Grandma was the disciplinarian of the family, and I’m telling you, she might have been small in stature, but my grandma was a powerhouse!! She had a heart of gold, but she just didn’t take any guff. Don’t get me wrong, my grandparents’ home was filled with love and respect. During chores, there would usually be singing and much laughter. Grandma kept the atmosphere light and happy. My aunts and uncles always knew that they were loved. They also, knew that theirs was not to interfere when Grandma was disciplining one of your siblings. She would quickly turn on the one sassing her while she disciplined their sibling.
Evenings would find the family sitting in the living room mesmerized by whatever story Grandma was reading to them that night. Grandma worked so hard, and sometimes it was hard for her to stay awake while reading the evening’s story. Every time she would doze off, the kids would wake her up with calls to read on. Sometimes she just kept on sleeping, and on those days, Grandpa just had to close the book and tell the kids they would hear more the next night. Grandma worked so hard, and for that night, she needed to sleep, and do no more reading.
Grandma was a beautiful woman. She and Grandpa made beautiful children. Every year, we are amazed at how much the family has grown. My guess would be, that Grandma and Grandpa now have over 600 descendants…and counting. When we hit 200, Grandpa said, “Look what we started, Mommy!” He was surprised then. Just imagine what he would think now. Every time I mention an aunt, uncle, or cousin, people say, “Which one?? You are related to 
half the town!!” Well…yes, that is very likely true…and I have my sweet grandparents to thank for it all. We are not only a large family…we are a very blessed family. And it all started, when my grandfather saw this beauty of a girl, and never looked back. It was love at first sight. Today is the 115th anniversary of my grandmother’s birth. Happy birthday in Heaven, Grandma Byer. We love and miss you very much.
René-Auguste Chouteau Jr, who was best known as Auguste Chouteau, was the founder of Saint Louis, Missouri. While being a founder of a city is not necessarily such a strange thing, the way in which it came about is not so common. He was the only child of Marie-Thérèse (nee Bourgeois) and René Chouteau, born in either September 7th of either 1749 or 1750. René purportedly abused Marie-Thérèse, and abandoned her and René, so she returned to her pre-matrimonial home. She later remarried. In 1764, when Auguste was still a young man of just 13 years, his stepfather, Pierre Liguest sent him up the Missouri River from Fort Chartres, Illinois. Auguste was the leader of a company of 30 men. His mission was to select a site for a trading post. His stepfather must have considered the young man to be quite intelligent to put him in charge of such an enormous undertaking. Auguste didn’t let his stepfather down either. He chose a place that was not only perfect for the trading post, but would later become a great American city…Saint Louis, Missouri. After his stepfather’s death in 1778, Auguste succeeded him in the business and later formed a partnership with John Jacob Astor. Together they formed the American Fur Company. Auguste was 29 years old.
Chouteau married Marie Therese, the daughter of Jean-Gabriel Cerré, on September 21, 1786, at the Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France, which was a vertical-log church…long since replaced with the current church on the site. The apparently happy marriage united members of the two leading Saint Louis families. They were renowned for their hospitality, which helped strengthen his political position in the city and region. Together they had seven children…Auguste Aristide, Gabriel, Marie Thérèse Eulalie, Henry, Edward, Louise, and Emilie.
Auguste was commissioned colonel of the militia in 1808. His political career began in 1815 when he was appointed one of the commissioners to make treaties with the Indians who had fought on the British side in the War of 1812. The other two commissioners were Ninian Edwards and William Clark. I don’t suppose this would be a big step into politics, but it was an office, and the field of politics seems to take off from a smaller office. 
In Saint Louis, he served as Justice of the Peace and as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was also the first president of the Bank of Missouri, as well as several other important positions. Auguste made it his policy when dealing with the Indians, to treat them fairly. Because of that, he enjoyed their confidence and friendship until his death, which occurred on February 24, 1829.
My grandniece, Christina Masterson is my nephew, Rob Masterson’s daughter from his first marriage. She lives in Colorado, but the whole time she lived in Wyoming, she and my granddaughter, Shai Royce were best friends. The girls were born five days apart, with my grandson, Chris Petersen in the middle four days after Christina. They were basically the triplet cousins, because they were born so close together. Of course, Chris had different interests, so the girls were friends…or more so than Christina was with Chris. Now the girls live too far apart to see each other much, but they try to stay in touch by texting, facetiming, and calling, and occasional trips to see each other.
For a number of years, Christina worked in a dental office, but then Covid hit, a lot of things changed. People were almost not allowed to go to the dentist, and in fact many dental workers had to go get other jobs. Christina worked from home for a while, and she might still…I forgot to ask. Recently, however, she got into medical billing and insurance, as well as dental billing and insurance. Both of those are excellent fields to get into. There is a high demand for them, and often people can work from home in those fields too. Christina also told me that she has taken up diamond art…a hobby that her aunt, Caryl Reed also does, and I’ll bet neither of them were aware that the other one did diamond art. If you have never seen diamond art, I’m telling you that it is stunning. You should check it out. Christina has also taken up cooking as a hobby. Prior to this, she cooked like 
many people do, with out of necessity, and nothing fancy. Now, that is changing. Christina also told me that she and my granddaughter, Shai have been BFFs for 16 years now. Somehow, I thought it was much longer than that, but they have had their quarrels too.
All that is interesting, but the big news is…that Christina got engaged this year. Her fiancé is Colin Hockenbrocht. They met through, Christina’s stepfather, Brian Beck, who works with Colin. Colin is a military operations analyst. I never expected Christina to become a military wife, but you just never know. They are super excited and looking forward to the future, and we are very happy for them. Today is Christina’s birthday. Happy birthday Christina!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My brother-in-law, Ron Schulenberg is a full 14 years younger than his older brother, Bob…my husband. Oh, there were other siblings, but they were sisters, and for a little boy, that just isn’t the same as a big brother. Big sisters can be bossy, and for a little guy, four older sisters, can be overwhelming. So, having a big brother to balance all that out, is essential!! Even if they aren’t close in age. Bob was always good about taking Rob places with him, so he got to do lots of guys things from a young age. They still spend time working on this today.
When Bob and I started dating, Ron was six years old, and when we got married, he was seven. During our dating years, Ron was a regular fixture in our lives. We took 
him places with us and of course, when Bob and his dad, Walt Schulenberg were working on some vehicle, Rob was there, trying to help. I don’t know how much help he really was, but since he is a great mechanic these days, I doubt if he made any serious mistakes in the early days.
Because I seemed so much taller than Ron in those early years, he kept telling me he was going to get taller one day. Well, that was a given, because I am only 5 feet 2 inches. Still, at seven that somehow doesn’t register as being short. So, every time I saw him, he wanted to see how tall he was 
getting. When the day finally arrived, and he found himself as tall as me, it finally occurred to him that I wasn’t as tall as he thought. The look on his face was a mixture of victory and shock. Victory, because he made it, and shock, because “it” was not where he thought he would be, when he finally made it!! It was all I could do not to laugh, but I think it would have hurt his feelings too much. Nevertheless, he knew the truth, and he never brought the subject up again. Of course, he has long since passed my short stature. Today is Ron’s birthday. Happy birthday Ron!! have a great day!! We love you!!
My sister-in-law, Debbie Cook first became my friend when we both worked at Kmart in the 1970s. I worked with the handbags, gloves, and wigs. Debbie worked in the Deli. I had a glove display next to the Deli, and we became friends, which led me to meet her brother, Bob Schulenberg, who became my husband 49 years ago. Wow!! Who knew what an impact that friendship would eventually have. After Debbie married her husband, LJ Cook on June 8, 1974, and Bob and I married on March 1, 1975, and we had kids (all daughters), the girls all became good friends too. They used to spend the night together, and after Debbie and LJ moved to Thermopolis, Wyoming, they would spend a week at each house during the summer. Those days are so sweet to reminisce about now. Kids grow up so fast, and the girls are all long-since married with children (and some grandchildren) of their own.
Debbie and LJ moved to Powell, Wyoming quite a number of years ago, and now they are both retired and enjoying their free time to do whatever they choose to. They have both have some health issues in the past but in many ways, they are in the best health they have been in a long time. Their daughters, Machelle Moore and Susan Griffith both live in the Powell area too, so it’s really nice for everyone in the family. Debbie and LJ have four grandchildren, Weston Moore, Jala Satterwhite, Easton Moore, and Kaytlyn Griffith. They live in Powell too, except for Weston, who lives in Montana now.
Debbie has always liked crafting, making crossed stitch items, and more recently, quilts. I never really had a knack for that kind of thing, except the crossed stitch stuff, occasionally. Debbie has always done a lot of sewing too, making clothes for her family and such. Debbie even made her daughter, Machelle’s wedding dresses, and the other dresses for the wedding. That takes skill. They were beautiful. Debbie is a woman of 
many talents, and her family has benefitted greatly from that. She loves her family very much, and now, watching her grandchildren grow into adulthood is one of her greatest joys. The grandkids try to go see their grandchildren as much as possible, but as we all know, the older our kids and grandkids get, the busier they become. The same applies to our kids, but the girls try to get together as often as possible too. In all, Debbie has a blessed life. Today is Debbie’s birthday. Happy birthday Debbie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
With every passing year, I find myself wondering how it could have been nine years since my mom, Collene Spencer, left us to go to Heaven. Like she lived her life, my mom went out in her own time, and in her own way…on her own terms. I’m sure that you have heard about having a bucket list. Well, my mom had her own kind of bucket list. After my dad, Allen Spencer graduated to Heaven on December 12, 2007, Mom told us that she was going to stay. I don’t know if she thought we thought she would just give up, and maybe we did to a degree, but she told us that she missed Dad very much, but she felt that she had more to give and that there was more life for her to live.
She talked about the things she wanted to do. Her bucket list was filled with simple things really. She wanted to travel to Washington to visit family up there. My Aunt Ruth and Uncle Jim were gone, but their kids, Shirley Cameron and Terry Wolfe were still there, as were their families. She wanted to see them again, so Mom, my sister, Cheryl Masterson and I went in 2013. It was a good trip, even if part of it included my Uncle Jim’s funeral. The next year, we took her to Wisconsin to she family up in the Superior, Wisconsin area. We reconnected with so many people, and had a lovely time, making lasting cousin friendships. Mom got to reconnect her brother-in-law, Bill Spencer, her sister-in-law, Doris Spencer, as well and good cousin friends, Les 
and Bev Schumacher, Carol Carlson, Bernice Hutchison, and several of their family members. Mom was so happy to see her relatives on that side of the family, who had become her close friends too.
Mom had always said that she wouldn’t mind going to Heaven straight from church, and she almost did. On Thursday of that last week, we took Mom to dinner at Red Lobster (one of her favorite places). Then, on Sunday, we all went to church, as we always did, but this day was to be different. Mom’s sister, Evelyn Hushman was in the hospital. She had terminal Breast Cancer, and Mom wanted to get all of her remaining siblings to meet at the hospital to have lunch with Aunt Evelyn. They were all able to make it, except Aunt Dixie Richards. They all had a lovely lunch, and really enjoyed the visit. That night, Mom and my sister, Cheryl had a nice dinner and watched a movie. At 10:00pm, Mom said she was going to bed. Cheryl loaded the dishwasher and went in to take Mom her pills, but Mom would no longer be needing those pills, or any other pills. She was lying on the floor, peacefully. She had not fallen, because nothing was disturbed. She could not have laid down 
there by herself, because her knees would never have allowed that without disturbing everything in the room. You can say what you will, but we know that the angels carefully laid our mom down there on the floor, when they took her spirit to Heaven, because Mom was ready to go. She had been talking about it for weeks, if not months. I think she might have left during church, had it not been for the chance to say goodbye to her siblings. What a blessed way for a blessing of a lady to graduate to Heaven!! We love and miss you so much, Mom. Tell Dad we love and miss him too. You are in our future now, and we will see you both again someday.
