Caryn
My grand niece, Aleesia Spethman is a very busy girl, with many interests. She has three older brothers, Xander, Zack, and Isaac, all of whom are in football, but lets face it, football is just not for Aleesia. Aleesia is in gymnastics, and really enjoys it. There are a number of family members who have taken gymnastics, so I think Aleesia comes by her talents honestly. In the summer, Aleesia love to so swimming, especially if a water slide is involved. Her parents, Steve and Jenny Spethman try to take the kids to Rapid City to the water park at least once a year.
Since Covid-19 closed the schools 2½ months early this year, Aleesia found herself in the same boat as so any other students…home schooling. Aleesia did not enjoy home schooling. She thought it was very boring sitting in 
front of a computer at the dining room table. I think many of the students felt that way, but then home schooling was not what anyone had planned for this school year, and to have it happen 2½ months before school was supposed to get out, threw everyone into a bit of a tailspin. While Aleesia did not like home schooling, she did like having the extra time with her brothers. It was a rare treat for Aleesia to get to spend so much extra time with her brothers.
This year has been different for Aleesia in a number of ways. Because her mom got a part-time job, Aleesia went to camp. She went to camp, because daycare is for babies, as we all know. That was a little hard on both Aleesia and Jenny, because they are best friends. They love doing things together. It doesn’t matter what they are doing, 
shopping, taking a walk, playing, or just watching television.
Aleesia got to have a birthday party with her friends this year, and that is unusual for her, because having her birthday in the summer often prohibits the friend birthday party that so many people get. The lack of travel this year kept many people at home and that made all the difference. I’m very happy for her. Today is Aleesia’s 8th birthday Happy birthday Aleesia!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
People aren’t usually evil. Nor are the easily accepting of evil. Usually, in order to get people to accept evil, it has to be hidden in a way. It has to be slipped in when they aren’t looking…slowly, so that it is accepted as normal…or a new normal. When Hitler ordered the systematic murder of the mentally ill and handicapped people in 1939, the people of Germany were outraged. Never before had any leader made such a boldly, callous move. Like throwing a frog in a pot of boiling water, they jumped…fought back.
Hitler moved too fast, and the people rebelled. The program, known as Hitler’s Euthanasia Department that began in 1939, came under the heading of unhidden evil. Hitler misjudged his people. He thought they would follow blindly along. When they began complaining about the T.4 program, which began as the systematic killing of children deemed “mentally defective,” Hitler had to act. He had been transporting children from all over Germany to a Special Psychiatric Youth Department and killing them. Later, certain criteria were established for non-Jewish children. They had to be “certified” mentally ill, schizophrenic, or incapable of working for one reason or another. Jewish children already in mental hospitals, whatever the reason or whatever the prognosis, were automatically to be subject to the program. The victims were either injected with lethal substances or were led to “showers” where the children sat as gas flooded the room through water pipes. The program was then expanded to adults. The program was heinous in every way.
Before long the outraged protests began mounting within Germany, especially by doctors and clergy. Some of them even dared to write to Hitler directly and describe the T.4 program as “barbaric.” Others circulated their opinions more discreetly. Heinrich Himmler, was the head of the SS then, and the man who would direct the systematic extermination of European Jewry. Himmler had only one regret…that the SS had not been put in charge of the T.4 program. He says of the protesting, “We know how to deal with it correctly, without causing useless uproar among the people.” Finally, in 1941, Bishop Count Clemens von Galen denounced the euthanasia 
program from his pulpit. Hitler was concerned that other nations would get involved with such publicity about his program. He ordered the program suspended on August 18, 1941…at least in Germany. But 50,000 people had already fallen victim to it.
Hitler was not to be deterred. He now knew that he had to keep his programs hidden, if he was going to be able to carry out his plans. So, he revived the program in occupied Poland. The people there already had no say in the matter, and he hoped that it would be far enough from Germany so that the German people would not know what was going on. It worked for a time, but in the end, the world would know about the evil he tried so hard to keep hidden, and in the end the number of murder victims was far more than a mere 50,000…it was more like 11 million people.
Spandau Prison was located on Wilhelmstraße in the borough of Spandau in western Berlin. It was constructed in 1876. It initially served as a military detention center. From 1919 it was also used for civilian inmates. It held up to 600 inmates at that time.
Rudolf Walter Richard Heß was born on April 26, 1894 in Ibrahimieh, a suburb of Alexandria, Egypt, which was at that time under British occupation, even though it was a part of the Ottoman Empire. Heß was born into a wealthy German family. His parents were Johann Fritz Heß and Klara Munch Heß. He was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Heß was appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, and served in that position until 1941, when he flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate peace with the United Kingdom during World War II. He was taken prisoner and eventually convicted of crimes against peace, serving a life sentence. I’m not sure what he thought he was going to accomplish, going in there by himself, or if he later thought he could get back in Hitler’s “good graces,” but the attempt ended his freedom for the rest of his life.
Heß joined the Nazi Party on July 1, 1920 and was at Hitler’s side on November 8, 1923 for the Beer Hall Putsch, a failed Nazi attempt to seize control of the government of Bavaria. While serving time in jail for this attempted coup, he assisted Hitler with his book, “Mein Kampf,” which became a foundation of the political platform of the Nazi Party. Hitler decreed on the outbreak of war on September 1, 1939 that Hermann Göring was his official successor, and named Heß as next in line. In addition to appearing on Hitler’s behalf at speaking engagements and rallies, Heß signed into law much of the government’s legislation, including the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, which stripped the Jews of Germany of their rights in the lead-up to the Holocaust.
When Heß made his solo flight to Scotland on May 10, 1941, it would appear he was willingly committing treason against his government, but that did not impress the British government, who probably thought it was all a ploy…and maybe it was. Most of us will never know. Heß was arrested and finished out the war in a British prison camp. When the war ended, he was returned to Germany to stand trial in the Nuremberg Trials of major war-criminals in 1946. During much of the trial, he claimed to be suffering from amnesia, but he later admitted this was a ruse. The Court convicted him of crimes against peace and of conspiracy with other German leaders to commit crimes. He was to served a life sentence in Spandau Prison…the Soviet Union blocked repeated attempts by family members and prominent politicians to win his early release.
During the time Heß was at Spandau Prison, there were only seven prisoners there. Konstantin von Neurath, Erich Raeder, Karl Dönitz, Walther Funk, Albert Speer, Baldur von Schirach, and Heß. The men all arrived at Spandau from Nuremberg on July 18, 1947. Of the seven, three were released after serving their full sentences, while three others, including Raeder and Funk, who were given life sentences, were released earlier due to ill health. Between 1966 and 1987, Rudolf Hess was the only inmate in the prison and his only companion was the warden, Eugene K Bird, who became a close friend. Bird wrote a book about Hess’s imprisonment titled The Loneliest Man in the World. In his book he claims to have been told what Heß’s intentions were during his ill-fated attempt at peace talks in 1941.
I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be the only prisoner in a prison that once held 600 men. My guess is that it was lonely for the warden too, although he could leave when he wanted to, and Heß could not. The men did develop a friendship, but that cannon really change the feel of emptiness that persisted over the prison for 21 long years of virtual emptiness. While Heß lived a long life, the isolation finally got the better of him, and he hanged himself on August 17, 1987. He was 93 years old. Following his death, the prison was demolished, because the authorities did not want it to become a neo-Nazi shrine. The site was later rebuilt as a shopping center for the British forces stationed in Germany.
I never had the opportunity to get to know my Grandpa Allen Luther Spencer, because he passed away before my parents were married, and 4½ years before I was born. Life was not always easy for my grandfather. His first marriage ended in divorce, following the death of his daughter, Dorothy, which was quickly followed by the birth of his son, Norman. The loss of a child can be so devastating, that many people never recover, and many marriages fail. It was a dark time for him, until he met my grandmother.
After their marriage and four more children, Laura in 1912, Bill in 1922, Allen (my dad) in 1924, and Ruth in 1925, it looked like his life was on the right track again. Of course, like many other people, this good period was followed by the Great Depression. Thankfully, my grandfather was a carpenter (mostly for the Great Northern Railway), and as near as I can tell, had a job throughout the Great Depression. Still, times were tough, and I’m sure the wages were not what a family of six really needed to live. Most people struggled during the Great Depression.
My grandfather was a product of his circumstances, and the times he lived in, and the two things together created a stressful life for him and his second family. Much more was expected of the two older children, and feelings were raw at times. The younger two children really never remember his being so hard on them. Grandpa had specific ideas of things the children should learn and do. All of the children learned to play the violin and some learned the guitar. My Aunt Laura never really liked learning to play the violin, but the rest of the children did…or at least they did later. Grandpa Spencer may not have been an easy teacher, or maybe it’s just hard to learn from your dad.
No matter what kind of a man my grandfather was, and whether circumstances led to his troubles, his children loved him very much. Like any family, kids and parents “lock horns” sometimes. That doesn’t mean you don’t love them. When my grandfather was dying, my dad drove from Casper, Wyoming to Superior, Wisconsin, 980 
miles, in 17 hours. That might not seem like a big deal these days, but cars didn’t do what they can do now, and speeds were different then too. Needless to say, my dad made it home to see his dad before he passed away, and he was always thankful that he made the trip, and always thankful that he saw his dad one more time. I only wish I could have met him and gotten to know him too. I feel like I missed out, on my grandfather and my Grandma Spencer, who passed away when I was 2½ months old. Happy birthday in Heaven Grandpa Spencer. I look forward to meeting you someday soon.
When we think of 2020 and the Covid-19 Pandemic, our thoughts often go to the schools, students, and especially the seniors. For them, graduation became vastly different, or non-existent. They may have simply received their diploma and a possibly a letter stating that the school system regrets the lack of ceremony, and they hope the student has a good life. That is sad, but sometimes we forget about another important group of students…the juniors in high school. That is where my grand niece, Jala Satterwhite enters the mix.
Jala was looking forward to so many things during her junior year. She had purchased her beautiful prom dress, only to have prom cancelled. She was very disappointed, but when summer arrived, and the time for her senior pictures arrived, Jala picked up the pieces of her junior year, and decided that the dress needed to be worn…somewhere. In the end, Jala decided to wear the dress for her senior pictures, possibly a way of transforming shattered dreams into hopes for the future. I especially liked the the water pictures, because it reminded me of water under the bridge. The picture on the horse however, sneaks a peek at the equestrian that is Jala.
Jala loves horses, and when she saw the 307 Renegade Riders at the Cody Stampede rodeo last year she knew she wanted to be a part of the group. We went to a meeting in January and she got in. Practice started in April for the rodeo that started late this year in June because of Covid-19. As the new girl, she does the sponsor flags at most rodeos. Occasionally she will do the drill with the team, if they are short handed. Her mother, Susan Griffith says, “It’s quite the rush to watch her, knowing if one move is wrong she could end up on the ground, and hopefully not get stepped on.” Jala was in a couple parades this year with Lily, her paint horse. She does the Cody night rodeo 1 or 2 nights a week. The other nights she’s been working.
While Jala’s parents are sure she was born to live in the mountains, she hasn’t gotten to go much this year because of the rodeo sponsor flags, drill team, and her job. Hopefully she’ll get to go soon, because she is so happy when she can ride her horse on the trails in the mountains, or pack in to the back country with Josh Griffith, her step-dad. Jala is Josh’s horse riding buddy. Her mom and sister, Kaytlyn have gotten to the point that they aren’t into the horse rides as much as Josh and Jala are. They are planning to take the horses hunting this year. It takes a lot of riding to get the horses ready for hunting. Jala’s horse will be in shape, since she rides her so much, but the other horses still need to get in shape, so they will be working to get them ready.
Susan tells me that she totally can’t believe Jala is 18! Jala is looking to the future, and her dream of becoming 
a professional horse trainer. Susan is hoping she stays home after graduation and goes to school at Northwest College in Powell. She may not be home a lot because of her schedule and work, but the family would miss her terrible. Powell is the perfect part of the country for her live her dream, and she can go to school for it there too. Today is Jala’s 18th birthday, and her mom wishes time would slow down a bit. Happy birthday Jala!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
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When we think of war, we think mostly of battle, but we should also think of the spies that gather intel. Most often, spies are men and women who have been carefully trained to avoid the enemy, and very possibly to live among the enemy without being detected, so they can hear the plans of the enemy and pass the information to the intelligence community, so it can be used against the enemy so as to win the war. There is, however, another kind of spy that has long been used in war, and was used especially during World War I and World War II…the pigeon. Now this is a spy I would have never have imagined.
The reason pigeons caught the attention of the military was that they were trained to fly home…from wherever they were dropped off. I have no idea how they can do that, but they can and do. The spy pigeons went in as Operation Columba, during some of the bloodiest years of World War II. The idea was to drop cages attached to parachutes into the occupied areas of France, with the hope that the people and resistance members, as well as soldiers could attach messages with critical intel on the enemy locations to the pigeons, who would then be sent back to their home base. There, soldiers would be 
waiting to get the messages to the intelligence community. The plan was perfect, but very risky for the pigeons. So many dangers awaited them…the guns of the enemy, not being found and dying in the cage, and one most of us wouldn’t think of…hungry people. The operation, on its face, was deceptively simple. The British planes dropped 16,000 homing pigeons over occupied Europe during the course of the war, parachuted in small baskets with rice paper, containing a list of questions to be answered by civilians who found them, tucked into canisters tied to their legs. Then the pigeons were to be sent home. Many were lost to the perils in their way, but there were a good number who made it back. A some were decorated with the Dickin Medal for their service…32 pigeons in all were awarded the medal. Pigeon Soldiers like “Winkie” (1943), “Commando” (1944), “Paddy” (1944), “William of Orange” (1944), Mary of Exeter (1945), “G.I. Joe” (1946), Gustav (1944), and Beach Comber (1944), just to name a few. The homing pigeons were donated by their owners…no small sacrifice when you consider that so many lost their lives during the operation. Still, like their human counterparts, the pigeons did their duty, and made their owners proud.
The pigeons did other work, besides just delivering messages. The military equipped some with tiny cameras and they pigeons took reconnaissance photos as they flew back to their home base. The military didn’t have drones in those days, and planes flying “low and slow” would surly be shot down, so the pigeons served as 
drones in their day too. Most of us think of homing pigeons as being a hobby, and I suppose it started out as that for most of the handlers, but then they grew to love their pigeons…just like family. Each loss was felt deeply, and each successful return met with great relief. They were proud of their very special soldiers, and we as a nation should be too. It gives me a whole new view of pigeons, which I have always enjoyed watching whenever I am in downtown Casper, where we have a beautiful flock of them that grace the skies above town…dipping and soaring high above the buildings, as if in play, but we should remember that at any time, they could be called upon to serve in a different capacity, if the need arose.
My niece, Dustie Masterson, like most mothers of mostly girls, and one boy, says that her “Bubba,” as she calls her son, Matthew befuddles her quite often with his “boy” ways. While I had two daughters, I had three grandsons and one granddaughter, all of who I was very involved with, so I can totally relate to Dustie’s dilemma with Matt. Dustie’s befuddlement comes from not being raised with a man in the house, so I’m sure that my nephew, her husband, Rob adds to that befuddlement too. He certainly did for me when he was a kid. As to Matt, he loves to “torture” his sisters, Raelynn and Anna, with whom he is the middle child. Boy torture can be enough to make the sisters want to “sell” their brother, as my granddaughter spent years wanting to do with her brother. Matt does torture his sisters, but if anyone outside of their family even thinks about even slightly upsetting the girls…look out!! Matt will take them out…seriously!! When he isn’t “torturing” his sisters, Matt is very into online gaming, and seriously competes with his buddies. He likes it so much, that he asked his Uncle Dave Balcerzak…our family computer guru, to build him a gaming computer. Dave did a great job, and Dustie tells me “That thing is awesome.”
Dustie and Rob really count on Matthew for a lot. The family recently got a kitten named Pita. Pita is very small and got under Rob’s foot while he was getting ready for work. He stepped on her very badly. Rob had to go to work, but Pita needed to get to their vet in Glenrock, it was an emergency. Dustie ran downstairs and woke Matthew up, saying, “We gotta go now.” He didn’t argue, but got right up and they left to make the 20 minute drive. When they arrived, Dustie realized two things. She had forgotten shoes, and Matt, remembering his shoes, forgot his shirt. She borrowed his shoes, and they went in. Matt had held the kitten the entire way, keeping both the kitten and his mom calm, praying and telling his mom that Pita would be ok. By God’s grace Pita lived through the ordeal.
Matt loves to cook. Dustie is going to have to go to Rock Springs to help with another store for a few days, and Matt is going to do all the cooking. He already has the entire menu planned out. Since schools closed because of Covid-19 Matt walks to Dustie’s work just about everyday. The girls at work love seeing him (and so does his mom). Matt loves to experiment with wild hair colors, and the girls at Dustie’s work love to see what color it is now. Dustie says that Matt is very particular about his appearance. He likes the name brands and when we go clothing shopping, while he gets the same amount as the girls for shopping, he always chooses to spend it on a 
few items. As Matt grow up, he has also become very protective toward his mom. If he thinks something is heavy, he carries it. If she is headed out after dark, he goes with her. He has grown up to be quite like his dad…protective over those he cares about. Dustie is having to fight the urge to always shield him and allow him learn to shield those around him. He is becoming quite a young man. Today is Matt’s 15th birthday. Happy birthday Matt!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My great grand-niece, Alice Green is the sweet little bonus baby that my grand-nephew Jake Harman got when he married her mother, Melanie. Alice is a wonderful little girl, and I loved her immediately. She is always happy and wants to make sure that those around her are happy too, and all it takes is one smile from her, and you are happy too.
Alice was 2 years old when her mom met her step-dad. She loved having a dad in the house again, and they were best friends, but there was something that was missing…siblings. Alice didn’t have siblings, and she really wanted them. She knew that other kids had them, and it was hard for her to understand why she didn’t, but for Alice, it wasn’t going to be that way for long. By the time Alice was 3 years old, her little sister, Izabella came along, and then when she was 5 years old, her little brother, Jaxx was added to the family. She suddenly felt like she was the most blessed little girl in the world. She loved being the big sister.
Alice is 7 years old now, and growing up fast, but she still loves her siblings very much. She may get tired of 
their little kid ways when she is a teenager, but for now they are her best friends. More so than ever this year, because school was cut short, and friends were set aside for the Covid-19 Pandemic. She got to spend the whole day with them, like it was summer for 5½ months instead of 3 months. It was the longest summer, and the best summer. I don’t know if all the parents thought it was a great thing, but for the kids it was the best thing to happen since sliced bread. With school starting soon, I’m sure the kids will miss it now that it’s over. Today is Alice’s 7th birthday. Happy birthday Alice!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When Dave Balcerzak married my niece, Chantel, he brought to the marriage two children, Keifer and Katy. Chantel also brought to the marriage two children, Jake and Siara. When they got married in 2002, the children were between the ages of 14 and 7 years. They instantly became a blended family, and they all got along very well. Dave really loves kids, and he was an excellent dad to Chantel’s kids, as well as to his own. It isn’t easy to raise kids, especially during the teenaged years, and it’s even harder to raise someone else’s kids, but Dave took it all in stride, and Chantel’s kids love him very much. They consider him really more their dad, than their own dad is.
One of the blessings of having children, is the entrance of the next generation…grandchildren. In a blended family, the grandchildren are also blended. The first grandchild to come along, was a bonus baby names Alice Green. She joined Chantel’s son Jake Harman’s family when he married Alice’s mom, Melanie. Alice took to Dave almost instantly. She adored him. Alice was soon joined by sister, Izabella Harman and brother, Jaxx Harman. Dave was relishing in grandfatherhood. Then, Dave’s son, Keifer and his wife, Katie welcomed their daughter, Reece Balcerzak. Reece gave the family a bit of a scare, by arriving quite early, but she was a fighter, and all went well. Chantel’s daughter, Siara and her husband, Nick Olsen gave birth to Alec Olsen, who after 3 months, went to live in Heaven, breaking the hearts of all of his family, who miss him very much. Finally, Dave’s daughter, Katy Balcerzak and her fiancé, Dylan Herr, gave birth to their son, Max. Dave and Chantel’s blended family is going through more blending, as the new grandchildren have arrived. Life is so sweet, when grandchildren are involved. I know that the future will bring more grandchildren, and great happiness to this wonderful blended family that Dave and Chantel have so lovingly created.
Dave has been a wonderful addition to our family. He has a heart of gold, and the capacity to love everyone, a trait that has endeared him to all of us. It’s not every parent who has the ability to love their step-children as much as their own children, but for Dave they are all his children, and he will give the best of himself for all of them, and the blessing he has been to them, is now being returned to him, many times over. Today is Dave’s birthday. Happy birthday Dave!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My nephew, JD Parmely is a hard-working man. He is a mechanic at Ken’s Auto Repair. Like most mechanics shops, there are busy days, and slower days, but there is almost never a dead day. People’s cars have to be maintained. We all have places we need to be, and if our cars don’t run well, we have a problem. That is where the mechanics of this world really shine. JD comes from a long line of mechanics, including his dad, Keith Parmely; grandpa, Walt Schulenberg; uncles, Bob and Ron Schulenberg; brothers, Barry Schulenberg and Eric Parmely. Together these men have helped each other with more vehicles than any of them could ever count. There is never a problem that one might have that one of the others doesn’t know how to fix. It is a blessing that mechanics share.
JD works long hours at his job, and then goes home, eats dinner, and…you got it, works on his own cars in his garage, or helps our his uncles or brothers on their projects, or works on cars for friends. Sometimes, he doesn’t quit until late in the evening…when he finally wears himself out. Then he goes to bed, so he’s ready to start all over again the next day. JD really is a 24-7 Mechanic. It’s my guess that he even dreams about working on one of the vehicles he has lined out to work on next…planning just what he needs to do on it. Still, JD is so dedicated that if someone called him in the middle of the night, JD would go and see what he could do to help. It’s just his nature.
There is one other thing that JD is all about, however, and in reality his 3 nieces, Reagan, Hattie, and Maeve Parmely, and his nephew, Bowen Parmely are at the top of his list of priorities. JD loves being and uncle, and playing with the kids. He sees them as much as he can. He really enjoys playing with the kids, and they think he’s great too. When JD is around, the kids have a great time, because JD like many men, is a big kid at heart. Today is JD’s birthday. Happy birthday JD!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
