Erickson Family Footage 1970-1983

This is all the footage (up to 1983) the Bruce Erickson family has of past Erickson reunions. I'm still going through old videos from the 80s and 90s so I'll post more if I find anything else. I'm mailing DVDs of this to each of the 9 siblings, so if you want a copy you can either email me and I will make you one, or copy the one your parents get. The music is super random (it was all I had on my computer at the time) so please don't judge me too harshly! ;) Enjoy.

The Extended Erickson Family 1970 to 1983 from Marisa Montierth on Vimeo.

Spokane 2010

If you chance to meet a frown do not let it stay...

Pictures of Brownie and Dot

Here are some pictures for everyone to enjoy. I thought it might be fun (for those of us who blog or use Facebook) to post our favorite picture of Grandpa on our respective blogs and/or Facebook accounts on or before Wednesday.

Also, for those in the northern California area, we are planning a trip to the Citrus Heights cemetery at 5:30 pm to be followed by a celebratory dinner nearby at Dad and Mom’s favorite Chinese restaurant, the aptly named “Wonderful Chinese Restaurant” at 6 pm.

The address of the restaurant is:

7042 Sylvan Road
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
916-725-8888

It is located in the little mall at the southwest corner of Sylvan Corners just a few hundred feet from the cemetery.

We will be providing a cake with 100 candles and some ice cream for dessert.

Any member of the extended family is invited. Please let me know if you will be able to attend and how many in your family will be there (and the number of adults vs. children and babies). I need to let the restaurant know by Tuesday how many in our party. They have a separate room that can accommodate 24 to 26. If we have more than that then we will have to let them know so they can make arrangements.

Who's in? Post your response in a comment below...

Birthday Cake for Grandma

Here is how it went at the Bruce Erickson pad...



pictures to come soon!

Love,
Kambria

Happy Birthday Dot!

Tomorrow marks the 92nd anniversary of the birth of Dorothy Fern Wilson.

Coincidentally, February 8, 2010 also marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. I recall the 50th anniversary of BSA in February, 1960 when I was a 13-year old scout in Troop 356 and thinking how that organization was founded on the same day as Mom’s birth and in the same year as Dad’s. I have long thought about where I might be and what I might be doing on 2/8/10. Well, here we are.

Dauna and I have been watching the HBO production of John Adams. I really enjoyed the book by David McCollough but particularly enjoy the movie version starring Paul Giamatti as John Adams and Laura Linney as his devoted wife and equal, Abigail Adams. Last night’s episode focused on the remarkable events surrounding the Continental Congress of 1775-6 that culminated in the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 2, 1776. (That’s right, July 2nd, as Kambria will happily inform you because that is her birthday.)

During the Congress, the debate was heated between John Adams, who was a delegate from Boston, and John Dickinson, one of the delegates from Pennsylvania. Dickinson was a Quaker and was much opposed to Adam’s advocacy for a break with Great Britain and a formal declaration of independence. After arduous months of debate and resistance, Adams was ultimately able to prevail.

I marvel at the incredible wisdom and vision of John Adams. His ability to look into the unknown and imagine an exceptional future for our country was so uncommon yet so essential. He knew that what he and others reached for required a remarkable leap of faith and a willingness to sacrifice everything for their children and future generations. The risks we balk at taking today pale by comparison.

This leap of faith is of the same quality as manifest in Hebrews 11 that cites how the great persons of the Old Testament were able to accomplish such exceptional feats. That quality of faith is manifest in the exquisite commitment each delegate made (“We mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”) in affixing his signature to that remarkable document.

Two of the other delegates instrumental in the creation of the Declaration were, of course, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, and Benjamin Franklin who was a delegate from Pennsylvania, as was Dickinson. The third delegate from Pennsylvania was George Ross, a 46 year old jurist, and Mom’s 5th great grandfather. (Mom’s maternal grandmother was, of course, Arah Melissa Ross.) It is amazing to think that one of our progenitors sat in that room in Philadelphia and participated in the very events that gave birth to our Nation.

I was also profoundly touched by the great love and mutual respect that John and Abigail Adams showed for each other. Their unbounded love for their family and for their country and their willingness to sacrifice everything in such uncertain times made me reflect on how we have been infinitely blessed by their courage. Our own beloved parents were made from the same stuff as John and Abigail Adams. While their deeds were far less touted they were no less noble.

Let me close this somewhat rambling piece with an entry from Mom’s journal dated February 8, 1940, seventy years ago.

My birthday. I received an apron from my capsule friend, an apron from mom and dad and Mary had a party for me. Walt and Carl were here but Lawrence didn’t get to come down. I was terribly disappointed. Walt gave me a darling bracelet. We went to the farewell party for the Thomases at Richfield then came back to Marvelle’s and had cake, cocoa and peaches. I got home at 1:30 A.M., made two cakes.

I hope we can keep Mom (Grandma) in our thoughts on her special day. Please share any thoughts you would like about this remarkable woman.

Love,
Bruce
P.S. We will soon be sending something out soon regarding the Colorado festivities in August.

Erickson Family American River Float and Picnic

Join us this Saturday, July 11, for an American River Float and picnic. We're planning on meeting at the parking lot on the north side of the river near the Sunrise bridge (at the end of River Road in Fair Oaks) at 10:30 am. We'll then raft down the river, end at Hagan Park and have a picnic there.

I sent out an Evite to all the family members that I thought would be around. If you didn't get it, comment below or send me an e-mail (ericksonjr@gmail.com) and I'll send you the Evite and details. This will also give us an opportunity to share some ideas for next year's reunion.

Hope to see you there!

Reunion Survey

Please take a few moments to respond to this survey. I know that it seems a long way off but there are decisions that will have to be made well in advance so we need you to think this through and offer your best thoughts. Please try to get back to us (by leaving a comment or emailing your responses to brucedauna@sbcglobal.net) in the next few days.

1. Do any of the following weeks simply not work? If so, why? (Please try to be flexible.)
a. July 18-24
b. July 25-31
c. Aug. 1-7

2. What is your preference for the days of the week?
a. Sunday – Wednesday
b. Thursday – Sunday
c. Tuesday – Friday (e.g., for people who might want to use the weekends as travel dates)

3. Who of your children (and their families) do you expect will attend?

4. Do you have any plans to do a mini-reunion for your own family?

5. Who, in your respective families, will be the person responsible for planning and organizing your family’s participation in the Centennial Reunion, i.e., who will “own” it that we can work with?

6. What great ideas do you have for making this special?

Culture of Honor

I'm reading a book called "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell and I came across a passage last night that reminded me of a purpose of our upcoming reunion:

"The 'Culture of Honor' hypothesis says that it matters where you're from, not just in terms of where you grew up or where your parents grew up, but in terms of where your great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents grew up and even where your great-great-great grandparents grew up. That is a strange and powerful fact." (pg. 170)

I'm excited for next year's reunion and to visit the places where my kids' great-great-grandparents grew up. Hopefully everybody read the biography of great-grandma and grandpa Wilson that Uncle Lloyd wrote. I found it interesting when reading that to see personality traits in me and my siblings that are similar to those of our great-grandparents.

Family Reunion here we come!

Kendall and I had the opportunity in summer 2007 on our way home from Utah to Texas to go by the old homestead and see the sights of Alamosa which includes Great-Aunt Ruth Bailey. Mesa Verde National Park was awesome with all the incredible cliff dwellings. Durango was a great town to visit as well and the mountain views throughout the south were breathtaking. Grandpa Brownie & Grandma Dots house is still standing and located right beside the old railroad track. It will be a fantastic chance to see where this family all began and celebrate the wonderful people who started it (and most of us) all! Please make it a priority to come. It is well worth the sacrifice and very humbling to see where this incredible, large family began. We're in as long as it's in June! Vivre la famille Ericksons!

Centennial Celebration

Hi everyone! So, for those of you who have given input for an Erickson Reunion... thank you. With everyone's varying schedules this year, it has been pretty difficult to figure out dates, etc. for such an event for this year. But, I do think it's good that we've been at least discussing some of our options. While we (Rob and I) would still like to do something small with our family members who are interested this summer (maybe a day floating the river), we think it would be really fun to start planning something big for next summer—commemorating Grandpa's 100th birthday. My dad recently sent this email out to his siblings, and I hope you will read it and consider the ideas presented (especially those in the bolded paragraph), and give some feedback as well by leaving a comment.

"To my dear siblings,

There has been some discussion about a reunion next year to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Dad’s birth. There may already be specific initiatives underway to plan that. If so, that is great and our family would like to help however we can. In any event, I haven’t heard of any specifics lately so I thought I would try to “put a stake in the ground” to help things move forward. I am not necessarily wed to the specific idea that follows but thought it might at least spur some dialogue and help us build momentum.

My suggestion is that we plan a 3 to 4-day reunion in southern Colorado in the latter half of June, 2010 for the 9 children of Brownie and Dot, their spouses, children (and spouses), and grandchildren. We would consider a central location such as Pagosa Springs (or nearby environs), that would be a great venue for a family reunion and would be close to some terrific sites including the San Luis Valley (Alamosa, La Jara, Manassa, the Great Sand Dunes, etc.), Durango/Silverton/Ouray, Mesa Verda (Gila Cliff Dwellings), Taos, etc. We would try to find lodging/camping arrangements that could accommodate a large group and would not be tough on people’s pocketbooks. Individual families could tack on their own family reunions before or after. We could also invite family members from the San Luis Valley, New Mexico, or wherever, to join us for part of our 3 or 4-day extended family reunion. We would plan/schedule activities that would be varied and fun for all.

I am happy to take the lead on this (with the assistance of my world-class organizer partner, Dauna). Alternatively, if someone else would prefer to drive this effort, we will be happy to work with them. I know there has been significant interest on the part of the 3^rd generation (Dad’s and Mom’s grandchildren) to make this happen and it would be important to have them involved in the planning and execution.

While there have been a lot of thoughts expressed about doing something special to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Dad’s birth, time is drawing nigh. March 3, 2010 is less than 9 months away and the proposed reunion would be just one year away from today. It would require that everyone commit rather soon so that we could make the necessary reservations for whatever accommodations we will need.

I would hope that no one dismisses the idea out of hand. Without a doubt, it will require some planning and some sacrifice in order to pull this off, particularly given the travel to southern Colorado. I can think of scores of reasons why this might not work or be convenient for particular individuals. I would hope that everyone would try to set those aside and ask himself/herself, “How can I/we make this happen?” We have not had a family reunion for the family of Brownie and Dorothy Erickson since the summer of 2003 in Seaside on the Oregon Coast, which was six years ago. We are way past due. Moreover, there will not likely be a better or more convenient time to try to do this than next summer. A few years hence, and any remaining relatives, friends, or contemporaries of Dad and Mom (e.g., Earl, Ruth, Lloyd, Leon) will be gone and we will miss the opportunity to have their participation and insight in such a wonderful event. Besides, some of Dad’s and Mom’s children are getting up there as well.

Please let me know what you think. Here are some questions for consideration:

1. How does the latter part of June work for you?
2. What about the proposed length of 3 to 4 days?
3. What do you think about the proposed venue of Pagosa Springs or nearby area?
4. What kind of accommodations would you be interested in (e.g., camping, cabins, etc.)?
5. Which of your family members would be likely to attend?
6. What specific ideas, activities, etc. do you have to make the reunion fun and worthwhile?
7. How might you be able to help in the planning and execution of this reunion?
8. Any other thoughts…

As stated, I wanted to throw out a specific idea that might engender some excitement and enthusiasm for this. It will not happen without effort and sacrifice on everyone’s part, but it would create rich experiences and memories that would be well worth it—in fact, priceless.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and the thoughts of any of your family members. I hope that I have everyone’s e-mail correct. I don’t have Ruth’s and don’t know if she has an e-mail address, so will call her.

I look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

Bruce"

We're gonna do this!

Me again (Darla). I had told Marisa that we were going to be working out east this summer and couldn't do the reunion. We changed our minds on that.., so I'm thinking the last weekend in July?? If we could do it for 3 days and just have an activity planned for each day (you find a place to sleep at night) then it'd be easy and fun! Ideas of what to do each day??

Updates...

So I guess it's time that I need to do some updating with the blog. I also have a facebook group for those interested. It's Erickson Family (so original).

I know my mom has an updated list with addresses and birthdays and stuff like that but I probably should get everyone's blogs since I don't have them as of late.

If you see who I have missed regarding blogs please feel free to email me at kambriae@gmail.com.

I am looking forward to seeing most of you at the Erickson gathering this summer.

Hope all is well.

XOXO
Kambria

SUMMER 2009 Erickson Reunion

Does ANYONE read this blog anymore?? I really REALLY want us to try to get together soon, and was thinking we should just do it!! Whoever can, great. Whoever can't, maybe next time... (;
California or Bear Lake sound good to me. July-ish? What are your thoughts?

LOVE,
Darla

Weird Idea

I totally agree with you Darla....let's get movin'!
BUT the reason for this post is different.
I want to have everyone post the same type of pictures of each of the great grand kids...am I totally weird?
I think it would be really cool for all of us to see what all of our kids look like. Especially the families growing at a rapid pace. So if you guys can PLEASE put up pictures of your own families and get pictures of your family members that don't have a blog?
So I thought just a head shot of each of the kids would be cute.
It doesn't have to be urgent, but I thought it would be a really cool way to see all of the kiddos.
LOVE YOU GUYS!

Lakai 07/02/03Maddox 08/13/05 Rafe 10/14/07

Family Reunion??

Well,
I guess this proves that only Julie's capable of pulling an Erickson reunion off. It's been 5 yrs. people!! We need to figure SOMETHING out even though we're all so far apart. ):

Neal & Lauren's Blog

If any or all of you would like to look at Neal's blog---Just email him at thomson.ns@gmail.com or thomson.le@gmail.com.  He would love to hear from y'all.

Bill Wilson - Grandma Dot's Brother

Hello all,

I thought you might find an interesting connection in Elder Eyring's address in this morning's first session of General Conference just a few moments ago.

He was talking about feeling a witness and referenced two particular instances when he was a young man where he was present when stakes were created from districts. The first of those was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the second in Boston, Massachusetts (where he was attending Harvard Business School).

Elder Eyring said, "I was there when seeming ordinary men whom I knew well were called as stake presidents. I received a witness that they were called as servants and that I would be blessed by their callings. And they were lifted up to their callings."

The stake president that he referenced in Albuquerque was Bill Wilson, my mother's older brother. Uncle Bill was the first president of the Albuquerque stake. He wrote his life history which I have and tells remarkable stories about his experiences in the Church as a young missionary and in later years as a stake president. I have a copy ot that personal history. Here is an extract:

"The area made such good progress that the Brethren in Salt Lake City decided we should be made into a Stake. A conference was held in October of 1957. Brother Mark E. Petersen, Brother Delbert L. Stapley, and President Elggren came down to interview all of the people who would preside in the Stake. This would be a very large Stake, that went from Bluewater, about 110 miles West of us, to Taos, about 135 miles North, to Las Vegas, about the same distance away, and Los Alamos, about a hundred miles distant....

"The day they interviewed in Albuquerque, I was in bed with the flu. I got a telephone call from President Elggren along in the afternoon. He asked if I was able to come down to the Church for a short while, and I told him I could. I assumed from the call that they probably were going to make me a Bishop, so I didn't worry too much about the interview. I went down, was interviewed and came back home. A little later in the same afternoon the phone rang again, and they asked me if I couldcome back for another interview. I went back again. That night, I spent a very restless night, as did the rest of my family. I even woke Lu up once and told her that I dreamed I had been put in the Stake Presidency. She said, 'Oh, you just aren't feeling good. Go back to sleep.'

"About 6:00 A.M., or maybe even earlier, Rita came in (she was 13 at the time), and she woke me up and said, 'Dad, I had a dream last night, that they made you Stake President.' I told her to get back in bed and not worry about it any more, but I lay there waiting for the phone to ring, because by then I knew it was going to ring.

"About 6:45, the phone rang and it was President Elggren, and he asked if he and Brother Stapley and Brother Petersen could come up and interview my family. I told him it would be fine with me. He said they would come in about an hour. We rushed around getting the house in order for such an early visit from the General Authorities.

"First they interviewed Lu very thoroughly, then they interviewed the girls. (Uncle Bill had 3 daughters: KayLee, Rita and Ann). All the time they were inteviewing the family, Rita just sat and cried. After the interview was over, and they had asked me if I would be the new Stake President, Brother Petersen asked Rita why she had been crying, and she told him about her dream. He asked if she would in her own handwriting write down the dream exactly as she remembered it. She did this and it was sent to Salt Lake City, where it is now in the offices of the Church."

I was touched when I reread Uncle Bill's account of his calling.

There is another poignant story associated with this. Let me quote further from Uncle Bill's personal history:

"On November 10, 1980 Rita was taking Bill (her son and father's namesake) back to high school, and she had Heather with her. Heather was in the back seat of the van and Bill in the front seat. An Air Force boy ran a red light and hit Rita head on. It was a horrible wreck. It occurred about 12:30 during the day...Rita was very seriously hurt, and Bill and Heather were badly hurt, but not in critical condition."

Rita passed away 10 days later. She was 35 years old and the mother of five children. She was a devoted wife and mother and dedicated member of the Church.

The next time you run into Elder Eyring, you might ask him about Uncle Bill who apparently had an important influence on his life.

Love,
Dad/Bruce

Reunion

Hey Erickson family!

It is getting ridiculous how long it has been since we had a reunion. I think I can speak on behalf of the "younger cousin generation" when I say we all want one. It has been really fun keeping tabs on some of you via blogger, but I'm ready for some live interaction and laughs! The question is when? And where? Your comments are all appreciated. Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Aunt Renee, and also to Grandpa Brownie who would have been 98 today! Here is a video I've posted before, for anyone who hasn't seen it:

-Marisa (from the Bruce and Dauna branch, in case anyone forgot... it's been awhile!)

Shout out to Grandma!

Tonight Raquel & Lakai were in the kitchen at my mom & dad's house and Raquel said 

     "Lakai if you don't stop touching the bowl I'm going to cloud up and rain all over you."

Lakai said back totally serious...

     "Raquel I have a lot more water than you." 

 Thank you Grandma Dot.