There is a story of a small round 50ish Swiss woman who tried to pick cherries from her tree and fell.  Her backside became lodged in the tree with her legs and arms pointing upward.  No one could get her out so they called the fire dept.  She apparently cried and yelled in Switzer-Deutch the whole time.

Going to college in 1966 and walking past the abandoned house that Heinrich/Henry and Lena Moser had lived in.  The evergreen trees were huge.  It was scary.

The only part of me that is noticeably Swiss is that I don't pronounce the 1st letter "H", exp. Human pronounce yuman.

Pam

Christmas Clothing Memories

Robin: One Christmas Dad had been in Los Angeles and he brought home some presents.  Mom had Pam and I blindfolded while she tried some shoes on us to see if they were the right size.

We knew they were shoes, so that was no surprise, but what color were they?  What were they made of?  I'll let Pam answer those questions. 

Pam: I have no memory of shoes, but Robin says I peeked. She will need to explain my devious nature.

Robin:  I'm surprised that Pam doesn't remember this.  It's very vivid in my memory.  Pam tried on the shoes first while I waited in the bedroom.  When it was my turn, I dutifully put on the blindfold and closed my eyes tightly.  The shoes were snug.

What I didn't find out till later was that Pam was peeking around the corner of the room and saw exactly what color the shoes were and what they were made of.  No secret or surprise there.  We were receiving black velveteen shoes - kinda classy.

Pam: Ahhh, I do remember velveteen shoes, but not trying them on. We wore them to Grandma Keller Manning's house in Clearfield, Utah on Christmas day along with black velvet pants and sweaters with angora trim. Mom wanted us to look swanky, but I was extremely uncomfortable because I had been warned not to crush the velvet or spill on it.

We are wearing the sweaters in this picture.  I am in the turquoise one sitting next to Aunt Faye and Tamara.  Pam is on the floor in the burnt orange sweater sitting next to a scowling Glenn and Uncle Reg.  Valerie is in front in orange (doesn't she look cute?) and Grandma Keller (Manning) is next to new husband Roy Manning in back.

10 Pets we have known and not always loved or cared for well.

We didn't try to kill Pit-A-Pat, or lose Dilly, or steal Roover, or pour guppies down the garbage disposal, or let someone run over Ming, or break Tina's leg, or abandon Heidi, or let Tootsie wander off, or give Mom a dog she didn't want, or neglect Ginger.

We actually all liked and were good to Molly.

Here we go:

1.  Pit-A-Pat
     We lived in Reseda, California when I was four years old, and I was given a black and white kitten. Oh, joy! Then, she mistakenly fell asleep on top of a warm car engine - with fatal results.
A tragic and tearful end for my cute little fluff ball. Pam  Being only one, I don't remember a thing.  Robin
2.  Dilly
     Dilly was a blue parakeet.  His name came from the song "Lavender Blue, Dilly Dilly."  Mom used to sing that song to us.  We loved Dilly until one day when I opened the back door while he was out of his cage, and he quickly darted out to the freedom of the backyard.  I was only four years old, but I was devastated!  Pam and I spent a long afternoon shaking little brown bags with birdseed inside to lure Dilly back.  I remember the long shadows trailing across our backyard lawn from the trees at sunset. Robin  Dad told us that the bag-and-birdseed trick would work. Pam
3.  Roover
     And now a tale of misguided youth: I guess I must have wanted a dog because I lured a stray Golden Retriever into the furnace room of our duplex on 5th North in Logan. Several times that day I stealthily sneaked food into the basement door at the back of the house. It was not a fated companionship, even though Roover wagged his tail and never barked, because the neighbors across the street found their missing dog the next day. I can't even imagine what Mom and Dad said to the owners. By the way, I did confess when I was asked if I'd seen a large, gold dog. Pam
4.  Ming Toy
     I think my cat's name was Ming Foo, but Pam insists not.  It doesn't matter at this point.  She was a Siamese kitten.  We only had her for three short months one summer until she hid on the top of a car tire and was run over when the car backed out of the driveway.  She was a very vocal kitten, annoyingly so.  We have since found out that the Siamese breed is natually vocal.  Robin  Who would name a female cat "Foo" anyway? Pam  It was the 60's  - who knew what Foo meant? Robin

That's Ming up on the top of the car.  Mom is doing her usual pose with something in front of her face (she hated having her picture taken).  Aunt Joanie is in the passenger seat and Dad can be seen reflected in the window lower right.

 
5.  Heidi
     We got a Dachshund named Heidi on Christmas morning.  Pam and I went to Salt Lake to visit Aunt Joanie during the Christmas break. When we got home, Mom had given Heidi to Uncle Ken and Aunt Pauline.  She had piddled once too many. Robin  I hadn't had time to bond with Heidi, but I was surprised to learn that she was gone. What I want to know is: Who kept thinking it was a good idea to introduce animals into our family? Pam  

Aunt Pauline later became my primary teacher.  One week Heidi got into the box of primary stuff and chewed a section of one of the bandalos.  Wouldn't you know it - it was mine. Robin

Looks pretty good for being 53 yrs old.

6.  Tina
     Tina was a delight.  We went to Ogden and bought her from the pet department of a hardware store.  She had been named Trudie, but I wanted to name her my absolute favorite name: Tina.  She was a sweet, fawn colored Chihuahua, but she wasn't easy to house train.  She loved to sit between the curtains and the sliding glass door in the early morning sun, and she also hopped up into Mom's bed in the evening and get warm in the curve of Mom's body.  Tina followed me out the front door one afternoon as I was hurrying to leave.  The screen door flipped closed behind me and it broke her leg.
     I loved being greeted by her sweet little self when I would come home from my Sophomore year of high school  One day I came home to find out that Tina had been run over by a red Mustang (car).  I shed a lot of tears that day.  Robin  Tina was Robin's dog. I spent most of my time attending classes at USU, working, or studying on campus. Our bedrooms were on opposite ends of the house on different floors. No one told me that Tina had died. I guess I was self-absorbed then, but I was sad to eventually hear the news because I liked little Tina. Pam

Sweet little Tina

7.  Ginger
     I didn't like Ginger.  There, I said it.  She would spend the night on the service porch so I was the first one to greet her in the morning as I came up from my room downstairs.  She was always happy to see me and her sloppy, drooly, puppy-self would try to jump up on me for attention.  The only attention she received was a quick shove out of the way with my foot before she put a run in my nylons. Poor Ginger. Robin  It troubles me to report that I don't even remember Ginger, especially in light of what I wrote about Tina. There may be an explanation, though. I lived with my best friend, Cindy Harris, during one quarter in a funny apartment around the corner from the Capitol Theater (now Eccles). I postulate that Ginger came and went during that time. Pam  Mark says if he is holding a dog it must be Ginger.

L-R Cowboy on black horse, Mark, Ginger? Todd Datwyler, Cowboy on Palomino horse

8.  Molly
     She was such a pretty Shetland Sheepdog, and I remember that she had "papers." Mark named his dog Molly, so her name was entered as Mark's Molly. She had natural herding instincts, proved when she managed to escape the house in the morning and attempt to herd the children walking to school. Molly loved peanut butter, and we laughed at her efforts to lick it from the roof of her mouth. She wasn't supposed to venture beyond the line where the kitchen linoleum met the carpeted part of the house, but what dog has ever obeyed that rule? When caught, she ran like mad back to the kitchen where her toenails propelled her in a skid well beyond the mark. One time she even piled up against the wall in the service porch.
     I moved to Wyoming for my first year of teaching in August of 1969, and the rest of the family moved to Las Vegas. Somehow, I thought Molly was moving with them, but she was given to a family who lived in a rural part of Cache Valley. Once again, there was an unexpected parting, and I sincerely grieved. Pam  My memories of Molly are few.  She was a soft little bundle to have on my lap.  She greeted me when I came home from high school but I was so wrapped up in my busy life that Molly didn't play a big role in it.  Maybe that's why she stayed healthy and uninjured. Robin
9.  Charo
    She was a Chihuahua given to Mom for her birthday. This was in Las Vegas, so I'll let my siblings talk about her. Oh, one thing I remember was Mom putting Charo in Mark's old playpen when she was being house trained. Pam  Charo barked a lot.  Yes, I know she was a chihuahua but I guess I had been spoiled by the quieter Tina.  She didn't like the grandkids as they arrived one by one and was always put out in the backyard when we came to visit.  She aggressively barked at the children through the window.  One day when Mom thought to let her back inside, she wasn't there.  She had gotten out somehow and was never seen again.  Robin

10. Tootsie
     A desert tortoise who didn't know he/she was a pet. My recollection is that she was part of the desert upon which Mom and Dad's home had been built; she just hibernated in the backyard. . . or something. Pam  Mark had much more interaction with Tootsie than I did.  I know she hibernated in the circle of sand that was inside the barbecue pit.  She had belonged to our neighbors, the Temples, across the street.  They had two tortoises and the dominate one kept pushing Tootsie into the swimming pool.  So Temples gave Tootsie to Mark.  Robin

     And about those Guppies: I was only three, and I don't remember why I thought pushing that chair up to the sink was a good idea. Pam

We have all since had pets with good experiences to relate.  We aren't perfect as demonstrated above but we learned from our mistakes and our subsequent pets benefited greatly.  (Sorry Amy and Peppy)

Happy 30th Birthday, Grandpa Fiscus! (February 29, 1894)

WWI photo of Charles Brewer (C.B.) Fiscus and brother Adam Edward Fiscus

    PAM:  Grandpa was born on a leap year, which must have given him secret pleasure. (Apparently, he was a joker and a trickster.) He chose March 1st as his legal birthday, but he didn't celebrate it with a party or gifts. He said he was a Quaker.
     The Quaker story confused our mother when she was trying to find our father's ancestors until she decided to research grandpa's story. Low and behold, grandpa's mother, Emma Jewell Lamb, was descended from a whole slew of birthright Quakers!
     Grandpa died when I was 10-years-old, and our visits to Los Angeles were infrequent, so I don't remember talking or listening to him. I remember that he visited Logan when we lived in Dahle's duplex on 5th North while he was overseeing the beginning construction of our new home. He wore a plaid shirt, suspenders, and a hat and had the smell of pipe smoke. My other strong memory is of visiting him in the Veteran's Hospital in L.A. after his lower leg was removed because of diabetes.


A short history of Charles Brewer Fiscus written by his son William James Fiscus
     Born in a cabin northwest of North Salem, Indiana.  cabin had a dirt floor.  Was an average student until the 11 grade at which time showed a talent for math.  His teacher did not know or had not the training to teach the higher math so C. B. took it upon himself to teach what he knew.  This was to follow him throughout his life up to and including the last trip to the Veterans Hospital in 1959.
     He put himself through Central Normal School in Danville, Indiana by cutting meat in his own butcher shop at night and his father sold it while C. B. was attending school during the day.
     During his youth he wanted to learn the violin but could not afford one so he made one using a cherry bedside and carving the fiddle with a sharpened spoon.  He made six violins in his life time, three are in the possession of his older son.  He played well enough to play at barn dances and was always asked to play when he moved to the Dakotas and Montana where he taught school after graduating from C. N. C.
     He and his sister Marie went to North Dakota and taught school during the period of 1913 - 1919.
     During the year of 1915 a younger brother joined them and the three (C. B., Adam, & Marie) went to Montana and homesteaded in Fergus County.  C. B. and Marie taught school while Adam worked the ranch.  In 1917 the boys went in to the army.  Adam was in the Field Artillery and C. B. was in the Signal Corps.  He became a sergeant gunner flying De Havellin 4's . 



 The DH-4, a two-seat bomber that first flew in August 1916. Highly manoeuvrable and with a top speed of 143 miles per hour (230 km per hour), it could outfly most fighters. In 1917, when the United States entered the war, officials in Washington selected it for production and built nearly 5,000 of them.

     An accident caused him to be grounded because of an injury to his left leg and a plate in his forehead.  He was discharged with a shorter leg and a built up shoe.  The leg later grew out to normal length.
     Adam was injured in France and carried a pinched nerve in his shoulder all the rest of his life.  Both men returned to the ranch but could not work it.  Adam married Grace Pearson and move to Bozeman using the G. I. Bill for school and became a Mechanical Engineer in 1922.
     C. B. stayed on at the ranch and taught school.  He married Hilda Marie Davidson from North Salem on Dec. 5, 1920 and tried to live on the ranch during the year 1921.  A summer hail storm convinced them that they would also go to school in Bozeman.  He became a Civil Engineer in 1923. and got a Electrical Engineering degree in 1925.  
     C. B. worked for the City of Los Angeles in street design work as a civil Engineer and the job of Associate Engineer at retirement on 1954.  He was a structural adviser on the Hoover Dam during it's construction.  In 1933 he became a Doctor of Civil Engineering eared at Montana State College.  Also that year he began teaching Adult Education for the City of Los Angeles, teaching math three nights a week.
Added by Robin

Happy, Happy Birthday, Marky Baby!

February 25, 1959! Oh, joy of joys! My baby brother is born!!!

I have forgotten some of the circumstances of that momentous day, but I do remember the moment Dad arrived home to announce Mark's birth. He powered in the driveway, and Robin and I flew out of our neighbor's house to meet a very excited father. I was in the 5th grade at Adams Annex, and it was exhilarating to report the birth of my baby brother to my class.

As you can see by the photos, he was a very sweet boy. Love you, bro!  Pam

I remember waking up one morning and having to go down to the apartment beneath us to have Cheryl (pronounced chair-ul) comb my hair for school.  I was in the 2nd grade.  Every morning at school a student would recite a poem before beginning the class day.  On the day Mark was born Mrs. Paul picked out a poem about a baby to be read.    Robin

Happy Birthday most illustrious master of SILLY

Mark about 4 mos. with Robin 7

Mark's first Easter with Pam on  left and Robin on right

Another Easter with Mark- before the window was torn out and replaced by a sliding glass door.

Mark 10 recently arrived in Las Vegas

More coral news, etc.

The inside of the plastered garage was painted a pale coral. I believe that Grandpa (C.B.) Fiscus chose the brick and many of the features of our house. He did enlarge many of the rooms before submitting the building plans to the city, which accounts for the enormous living room but small kitchen. Robin remembers watching our dad trace the outside trim pattern from the headboard of my bed.