My grandparents were Herbert Spencer Heslop and Leila Ida Chugg (Mom's parents) and Alexander Hunter and Nora Smout (Dad's). I knew my maternal grandma and grandpa well and loved them dearly. My paternal grandparents died just before and just after I was born, but I love them in principle and for producing my father, whom I happen to think I resemble in form, feature and funniness.
The Heslops and Chuggs came from northern England, the Smouts from near Birmingham and the Hunters from Scotland. Of the many other family names that make up my great grandparnets and great greats, most came from Great Britain, and many joined the LDS church in the 1850s and emigrated to Utah, where my own parents were born and raised.
Since my parents left Utah for Oregon and then Idaho, it's fair to say that my ancestry is from Great Britain, but more recently, from West Weber and Slaterville, Utah. Even my two older brothers were born in Utah. I was the first one who was actually born in Idaho.
I willingly claim my British ancestry (see last blog), but I wonder if I'm more hesitant to claim my Utah roots. I visited Utah throughout my childhood, went to college in Utah(BYU), and regularly visit dear friends and my own children in Utah (BYU!). Rarely, however, would I say I'm from Utah, although I've been known to boast that I'm from Great Britain (I almost always admit it's a few generations removed).
Summer introspection has required me to consider and confess the influence that Utah has had on who I am today:
1. I loved canning fruit with my mother.
2. I love quilts--especially my grandmother's double wedding ring quilt with pink and green corner squares.
3. I love family history. Thanks, Grandma Heslop.
4. I love lace curtains--wait, I think that's from England.
5. I love Utah mountains more than Idaho foothills. (Yes, I know Idaho has mountains, but Utah's are right there in front of you!)
6. I love that the Church is everywhere. Ignored at times, taken for granted by some, and used for shady business deals by others, but always there. Chapels and Temples dot the hillsides and it's nice to know that you have a million or so brothers and sisters who know they're your brothers and sisters. And mostly I'm grateful that Utah became the gathering place for converts so that I could be born with the rich pioneer heritage that I have.
Still, I'd rather live in Idaho and holiday in Scotland !!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Places I'm From
I waited 50 years to go back to England and when I say back, I mean for the first time. What anyone who knows me understands, however, is that I was always from England. How can you explain the absolute evidence of my junior high insistence on spelling everything the British way. "Pamela, color is not spelled with a 'u'." "It is in England."
I was only 10 years old in 1964 when the Beatles arrived, but Elvis could never have made me feel the way that Paul McCartney did. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was my favourite show. When the Monkees came along, Davy was the only one I liked.
My ancestry (both my parents lines trace from Scotland and England) was also reflected in my choice of literature. In junior high, I read Tolkien, Bronte, and Austen. I also loved Milne, Dahl and James Herriott. I loved Screwtape Letters before I knew about Chronicles of Narnia and I memorized Woodsworth's poem about daffodils. Embarrassingly enough, I didn't know they were all British back then, so it's not as if I was deliberately doing the wanna be Brit thing. After college, I started reading Agatha Cristie and someone told me to read Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. I still would rather read a British cozy than almost anything else. (Unless it's J.K. Rowling, Eva Ibbotsen, or a handful of other Brits writing for children and young adults.) Even my TV viewing is proof. I don't fight it anymore. I love Jeeves and Wooster, MI V, Dr. Who, and almost anything else BBC sends PBS.
So naturally, when my nephew Dave chose a beautiful girl from England to marry, I was thrilled to get an invitation and even more thrilled when my son and I figured out a way to attend. Two years later, I fulfilled part two of my dream and went back, alone this time and for 3 weeks, adding a week in Scotland, where the Hunter side of my ancestry is recorded.
I decided then, two years ago now, that if I could spend July in Great Britain for the rest of my life, I would ask for no other travel luxury. This July would have fit in with the every other year, but I'm thinking Christmas time might be nice as well. And even if I have to delay the trip for another year or two, I know that I will go back. It may not be in my blood (that sounds creepy), but it's definitely in my heart.
I was only 10 years old in 1964 when the Beatles arrived, but Elvis could never have made me feel the way that Paul McCartney did. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was my favourite show. When the Monkees came along, Davy was the only one I liked.
My ancestry (both my parents lines trace from Scotland and England) was also reflected in my choice of literature. In junior high, I read Tolkien, Bronte, and Austen. I also loved Milne, Dahl and James Herriott. I loved Screwtape Letters before I knew about Chronicles of Narnia and I memorized Woodsworth's poem about daffodils. Embarrassingly enough, I didn't know they were all British back then, so it's not as if I was deliberately doing the wanna be Brit thing. After college, I started reading Agatha Cristie and someone told me to read Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh. I still would rather read a British cozy than almost anything else. (Unless it's J.K. Rowling, Eva Ibbotsen, or a handful of other Brits writing for children and young adults.) Even my TV viewing is proof. I don't fight it anymore. I love Jeeves and Wooster, MI V, Dr. Who, and almost anything else BBC sends PBS.
So naturally, when my nephew Dave chose a beautiful girl from England to marry, I was thrilled to get an invitation and even more thrilled when my son and I figured out a way to attend. Two years later, I fulfilled part two of my dream and went back, alone this time and for 3 weeks, adding a week in Scotland, where the Hunter side of my ancestry is recorded.
I decided then, two years ago now, that if I could spend July in Great Britain for the rest of my life, I would ask for no other travel luxury. This July would have fit in with the every other year, but I'm thinking Christmas time might be nice as well. And even if I have to delay the trip for another year or two, I know that I will go back. It may not be in my blood (that sounds creepy), but it's definitely in my heart.
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