Happy PIONEER DAY

Here's my fan chart of my many 13 pioneer 2nd great grandparents

Click to enlarge!

Maybe you are a pioneer in your family-first one to attend college or ?

It's my BIRTHDAY #83

At LONGHORN STEAKHOUSE with hubby for lunch

Celebrating my birthday again-it seems to come around FASTER each year. Life is slowing down for me as my recliner's calls me daily for a nap or two or three,  BUT I still have INTERESTS to develop like:

1. My 6 am GOSPEL prayer and study with links on our RS FACEBOOK page, then a BULLETIN BOARD of new sisters moving in our ward with a photo and brief history to spotlight them, 

2. Activities with DIXIE POETS as their president (see http://dixiepoets.blogspot.com for our activities, 

3. DUP-DAUGHTERS OF UTAH PIONEERS Registrar and also created their blog see https://dup-atkinville.blogspot.com/ of our activities, 

4. Then there's my GENEALOGY started to collect when I was 20 years old and have preserved on http://familysearch.org with about 1000 family photos I've uploaded of my ancestors and my husband's ancestors plus many family histories I've written over the years about those ancestors and my family which includes a history of my life, my husband Allen, my parents, my grandparents on both sides, etc.

5. I even started a COUSIN'S NEWSLETTER for my grandkids from my different husbands for them to get better acquainted with each other which helped me to get to know them better also. 

FAMILY is what it's all about and developing your talents, knowledge and for me serving in the CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST of LATTER-DAY SAINTS has filled my life. One of these years it will be time to visit my family on the other side of the veil and get acquainted with my father who died when I was only five years old. THE ULTIMATE GRADUATION!

July 1st and I'm FAMOUS

This is the email below my son Jeff Karlsson sent me that he received last year from you Shawn-then lost on his computer. So fun to read this and feel famous after all these years-LOL. I didn’t send in the letter mentioned to the SL Tribune, but someone in my family did-don’t remember who after all these years.  

Mr. Karlsson,  I hope you won't mind my contacting you on regards to my search for Lin Vernon Floyd. I was not able to find any contact information for her online. I am the editor of 15 Bytes, an online magazine devoted to Utah's art community.

Working on some research, I came across a letter that Lin wrote to the Salt Lake Tribune when she was 9, living in Eureka. It was kind of a critique on modern art, the "my kid could do that argument." She sent in one of her own works. The Trib took It in a fun spirit, and provided an analysis of the work. That spurred me to try to track her down, maybe see how she feels about modern art now ;)  I realize Lin is now in her eighties and I hope she is well. If you think it would be appropriate to send this on to her, I would appreciate it.

Shawn Rossiter editor@artistsofutah.org  801.707.3845

HERE'S MY RESPONSE: I moved from Eureka, Utah to Los Angeles, California when I was 10 years old. While there I started ballet lessons and though I enjoyed art it took a back seat as I danced professionally with the Los Angeles City Ballet then returned to Utah to BYU to graduate with a bachelors and masters degree in Dance, teaching dance at BYU, Wisconsin State University and then Cal State Fullerton. Later I returned to college for a year to gain an Elementary Teaching Credential and finished my teaching years in 1st grade then as a school librarian.

I’ve always enjoyed art and find now in my retirement years I love to create book covers, blogs, etc. But abstract art didn’t happen for me. I think all the arts are intertwined. Thanks for your email and the trip back in time. I’m celebrating 83 this month and still have a clipping from the paper in my files.   Lin Vernon Floyd