MOM’S MEMOIRS – IRENE LOUISE (NEE KUCKKAN) MUELLER
(Continued)
Mom’s Autobiography – Chapter 44 – In Book, Page 106
Visited Hilda Kretzmann in Rocky Ford, Colorado, Travis’ Confirmation, Birth of Emma Marie Wilson, Confirmation of Rebecca Lynn Weiland, Sammy’s Eighth Birthday, Steph and Jeff’s Fifteenth Wedding Anniversary, Mom and Dad’s Forty-Seventh Wedding Anniversary, Sammy in School Play, Steph and Travis in Washington, D.C., We Visit Laramie, Wyoming, Travel to Jeff and Steph’s Property, Relay for Life, Tour of Warren Air Force Base
OFF ON A TANGENT TO VISIT HILDA KRETZMANN, ROCKY FORD, COLORADO
Hilda and her husband, Theodore (Ted) had been missionaries in Africa with us, so she asked us to come and visit her, too, when we came to visit our loved ones in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Ted had gone to his home in heaven, but we had kept on a regular correspondence with Hilda for many years. We decided to do that before Travis’s Confirmation.
We drove from Cheyenne to Colorado – Briggsdale, Brush, Last Chance, Limon, Punkin Center, and then Rocky Ford. The road we took is in the middle of nowhere as the name “Last Chance” intimates. It was like being in Africa again; nothing for miles. We found Hilda’s home, and there she was with her smiling face to greet us. What a blessed visit we had with her! She had written to us about her greenhouse which Ted had built. She had many flowers in it, among them beautiful orchids. She wanted to take us to Bent’s Old Fort and asked Dick to drive her car (she doesn’t drive). Wow! To see a real western fort was a great treat. We went to see the beautiful quaint old St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rocky Ford where Ted had been the pastor during his life (after he and Hilda had returned from Africa), and where Hilda still is a member. Pastor John Kurth was the pastor at that time, and he was there at the church to greet us. The knotty pine walls were decorated with beautiful religious banners. We also saw the parsonage next door where Hilda and Ted had lived.
One more thing Hilda “insisted” we see was the Rocky Ford cemetery – and we could see why. It was full of fantastic beautiful peonies – all colors! They were in full bloom at the time, and the cemetery was immaculately kept up. We had never seen anything like it.
BACK TO CHEYENNE FOR TRAVIS’ CONFIRMATION ON MAY 21, 2000
Shy (a Sheltie), the Heitsch family dog, gleefully came to meet us on our return from Rocky Ford (I loved that dog). On Sunday at Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Travis was confirmed in his faith with two other children. Travis looked so handsome in his suit, as well as Jeff, our son-in-law, and Mitch, Trav’s brother. Of course, our daughter, Steph, and Sammy, our granddaughter, looked absolutely beautiful and radiant. A wooden cross decorated with a satin white cloth draped over it, and beautiful lilies and greenery also decorated it. Jeff’s parents, John and Carla Heitsch from Tarpon Springs, and also Tom, Tracy, and their little girl from Rapid City, South Dakota, were there. All of us enjoyed a very delicious cake on top of which were written: “God bless Trav” (and his Confirmation verse) – “John 15:5: I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing – May 21, 2000”. What a blessed day it was!
ALSO A BLESSED DAY BECAUSE OF THE BIRTH OF EMMA MARIE WILSON
MAY 21, 2000
Our grandson, David, and his wife, Ann, were blessed with a baby girl.. She was born at 11:28 p.m., weight: 7 lbs. l oz., length: 20 inches. And we were blessed with another beautiful great-granddaughter. Our hearts sing praises to God.
AND – ALSO A BLESSED DAY BECAUSE OF THE CONFIRMATION OF REBECCA LYNN WEILAND – MAY 21, 2000
Our granddaughter, “Becky”, was confirmed in her faith in a service conducted at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Merrill, Wisconsin. Again, we wished that we could be in more than one place at the same time. We have a wonderful picture of Sue and Jim with Becky, and another wonderful picture of Debbie, Glen, and Steve with Becky – all with happy smiling faces!
ANOTHER BLESSED DAY – SAMMY’S 8TH BIRTHDAY- MAY 22, 2000
Besides celebrating Travis’s Confirmation, we celebrated his sister, Sammy’s, 8th birthday. It was hard to believe that she was eight years old. Sammy is such a pretty girl, and looks so much like Steph. Steph baked a beautiful scrumptious-tasting cake decorated with colored candies and candles for her which we enjoyed eating. We have great cooks in our family.
TWO ANNIVERSARIES CELEBRATED – MAY 25 AND JUNE 7, 2000
Steph and Jeff celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary on May 25th and Dick and I celebrated our 47th anniversary on June 7th. We went out to the Red Lobster to eat delicious meals. How fast the time flies by! It seems only yesterday when Dick and I, and Steph and Jeff, were married in St. Mark’s church.
While in Cheyenne we were happy to see a talent show in which Sammy participated at her school. She and another girl held circles of bright colors and twirled them around. Sammy also was in “Alice in Wonderland”, a school play. It was fun watching her – so cute with a flowered wreath on her head. There were a lot of people in attendance at both events.
STEPH AND TRAVIS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. FOR CURE FOR DIABETES EVENT
Steph and Travis had gotten the required signatures from relatives (including us) and friends to be able to do this. They were excited to meet Nicole Johnson, Miss America of 1999, and had their picture taken with her. She was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 19 and wears a pump, like our Sammy does. Besides attending the Cure for Diabetes event, Steph and Trav did do some sightseeing in Washington, D. C., visiting all the famous monuments.
While they were away, Dick and I did a bit of sightseeing in Cheyenne and Laramie. We went to the Frontier Days stadium and took pictures of some of the sculptures in front of it, of men riding bucking broncos and bulls. One of the sculptures is dedicated to a bull rider who was gored and lost his life. Along the way to Laramie we saw the huge Ames Monument, a 60 foot high granite pyramid built by the Union Pacific Railroad Company completed in 1882. We went to a museum and saw gigantic dinosaur and mammoth skeletons in Laramie. Once known as a gunslinger’s town, it is now the home of the University of Wyoming, founded in 1886. Little did we know when we were there in the year 2000 that Steph and Jeff’s two sons, Travis and Mitchell, would be attending it in the year 2009! Also, our son-in-law, Jeff, travels to Laramie to conduct Lutheran church services with a dedicated group there, hoping to establish a congregation. He travels there every two weeks to serve them,
(How good and gracious is our loving Lord. Every night before I go to sleep, I thank God for all the blessings He heaps upon me. I hope and pray I am like the tax collector who stood at a distance and said, “God have mercy on me, a sinner” – Luke 18:13)
Steph, Jeff, Trav, Mitch, and Sammy took us out to a lot they had bought We traveled through Chugwater and Wheatland, and then went west to their lot. They had started building a log home there, and had laid the floor. Dick helped lay some logs and pound some nails. I explored the back of the lot where there were some trees in a hollow. The lot was near the famous Oregon Trail (since then they have sold their log cabin because they just didn’t have time to go that far for relaxation, have bought a lot in Cheyenne and are building a house on it).
JUNE 16 & 17. 2000 – LARAMIE COUNTY RELAY FOR LIFE – A TEAM TO FIGHT CANCER
Steph, Jeff, Travis, Mitchell, and Samantha not only worked for a cure for Diabetes, but also for a cure for Cancer. All of us went to a track where we walked, and walked around the track. There was a parade around the track too. There was even an old Scotsman dressed to the hilt in a kilt, and carrying a walking stick. One of the signs said: “Don’t be a dummy & risk becoming a mummy, join the FIGHT TO PREVENT CANCER. All of us wore hats, and our picture was taken with the “team to fight cancer”.
They also took us to Warren Air Force Base right in Cheyenne. The Cheyenne area is one of the most important intercontinental locations in the world. Atlas and Minuteman ballistic missile sites have been established near the city. One of the members of Jeff’s church, Good Shepherd, took us through the missile museum and showed us a map where missiles are buried.. There were also old uniforms, trunks, furniture, pictures, medals, etc. of people who had lived and worked at the air force base years ago. All of it was very interesting.