I regret very, very little about the time that I spent visiting with and helping my grandma over the past year. But the one thing that I do regret was not asking her more questions (or recording the answers to the questions I did have). We talked a lot, but I was always wary of coming across like "Grandma- please tell me about this because you won't be here to tell me about it soon." It felt weird and forced. But now I wish I had tried harder to find ways to ask questions that didn't feel forced because I feel the weight of all the lost stories and memories.
However, one of my favorite stories that I heard my grandma tell was how she met my grandpa and how they got engaged. I've never written it down, although I've kept the notes I took on a spare napkin in my scriptures until I had the time to write it down. Here it is:
Stories from the Ranch: Ramon and Verla Meet and Get Engaged
Verla (Grandma) was working at the Little America as a waitress in the restaurant while on break from BYU. Ramon (Grandpa) had recently returned from serving in the army and was also at Little America working as a car mechanic. They met when Grandpa came into the restaurant to eat and started talking to her. They kept talking on and off whenever he would come in to get something to eat. Then Grandpa asked her to attend the Thanksgiving Dance with him. They went to the dance and had a great time and they started spending more time together.
One morning, Ramon asked Verla if she wanted to go "to town", meaning driving the 2.5 hours to Ogden, with him because he had some things he needed to pick up. They had both just gotten off a graveyard shift, but of course she said yes. He dropped her off at some stores in Odgen and she had a nice time walking around and doing a little shopping of her own. He picked her up, and they spent some time together before heading back home. As they were coming out of the mouth of Weber Canyon, Grandpa leaned over, opened the jockey box, and said "Here, open this." Inside was a ring box! Immediately Grandma started yelling with happiness. She grabbed the box, looked at the ring, and as Grandpa kept driving down the road she was hugging and kissing him.
Grandma had promised her parents that she would go back to school, so she did for one quarter. But she couldn't stand to be away, so she returned home and married Ellis Ramon Walker on June 7, 1957 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
Ramon had saved up enough money to buy a little white house on a plot of land that he wanted to ranch and they moved there as soon as they were married. They lived there until Grandpa built a new red-brick house (with indoor plumbing) right next door. For the rest of their lives, they called this little plot of land their home.
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I think that my grandparents marriage is a perfect example of why marriage and that family relationship is so important. They went through hard times. Temporal/physical hard times: No indoor plumbing when they first got married, the hard work that comes with working in the mines and running a ranch, raising four kids, helping with aging parents. They also went through spiritual hard times. I know that my grandparents relationship wasn't always sunny and roses and that they struggled quite a bit at times. But they didn't give up. They stuck through the thick and the thin, and they lived a good life and left an incredible legacy. I just think - what if my grandparents had given up and separated. Who would have taken care of my grandmother when she needed so much love and attention? The fact that my grandfather was there and that he loved her so much speaks a million times over how important their relationship was. Their lives weren't always easy - but together they created the most beautiful life and legacy.
One morning, Ramon asked Verla if she wanted to go "to town", meaning driving the 2.5 hours to Ogden, with him because he had some things he needed to pick up. They had both just gotten off a graveyard shift, but of course she said yes. He dropped her off at some stores in Odgen and she had a nice time walking around and doing a little shopping of her own. He picked her up, and they spent some time together before heading back home. As they were coming out of the mouth of Weber Canyon, Grandpa leaned over, opened the jockey box, and said "Here, open this." Inside was a ring box! Immediately Grandma started yelling with happiness. She grabbed the box, looked at the ring, and as Grandpa kept driving down the road she was hugging and kissing him.
Grandma had promised her parents that she would go back to school, so she did for one quarter. But she couldn't stand to be away, so she returned home and married Ellis Ramon Walker on June 7, 1957 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple.
Ramon had saved up enough money to buy a little white house on a plot of land that he wanted to ranch and they moved there as soon as they were married. They lived there until Grandpa built a new red-brick house (with indoor plumbing) right next door. For the rest of their lives, they called this little plot of land their home.
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I think that my grandparents marriage is a perfect example of why marriage and that family relationship is so important. They went through hard times. Temporal/physical hard times: No indoor plumbing when they first got married, the hard work that comes with working in the mines and running a ranch, raising four kids, helping with aging parents. They also went through spiritual hard times. I know that my grandparents relationship wasn't always sunny and roses and that they struggled quite a bit at times. But they didn't give up. They stuck through the thick and the thin, and they lived a good life and left an incredible legacy. I just think - what if my grandparents had given up and separated. Who would have taken care of my grandmother when she needed so much love and attention? The fact that my grandfather was there and that he loved her so much speaks a million times over how important their relationship was. Their lives weren't always easy - but together they created the most beautiful life and legacy.
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