"Come wearing your old, funky momentos from the 2002 Olympics," Dave and I urged our ward members, as we advertised our February 26 Olympics party. And they did. The Garzas had the best outfits, including "silver medals" made from shiny CDs hung around their necks on striped ribbons.One of our favorite oldsters, Senja from Finland (who describes herself as "finnished"), wore an Olympic hat and vest.
Karen Derrick and Nancy Monson wore the bright yellow parkas they received as volunteers at the SLC Olympics.
Roger and Skip Young wore their collection of 2002 team and I.D. tags.
Darrell Moench wore his red Olympic tie.
We said we'd celebrate ward members' great athletic moments, so Pam and Wynn Johnson came to the party in biking gear, which they'd worn last summer to bike from village to village along the Danube.
We ate potluck chili of all varieties, including Jody Moench Kennedy's vegetarian chili, with chunks of squash mixed in! I painted murals of interlocking rings and the Vancouver logo on bright butcher paper around the walls. Gail Miller brought the 12 ft. banners that draped the Delta Center during the ice skating programs at the 2002 Olympics, and she also brought the two Olympic torches and racing suits she and Larry used as Olympic torch bearers.
The program was real-time Olympic events beamed into the ward cultural hall on a huge screen hanging from the ceiling, and a power point presentation I assembled of ward members' great athletic moments.
Some highlights were Darrell Moench and Wynn Johnson playing ward ball many, many years ago and Dave running a 3:06 St. George Marathon...
Dave and I hiking the New Zealand Routebourne trek during 1985..
Jody Moench Kennedy as a West High cheerleader...
Pam and Wynn Johnson on their bike trip...
and Josh Kennedy bouldering.
There was Nancy Moench water skiing in the summer....
and in the winter.
Tracey Cannon was a track star who was so fast that she set the pace for the boys' cross country team, with the whole crowd of boys chasing after her across the Pocatello golf course.
I showed a photo of Bishop Seedall riding the sailboat that was the subject of so many stories during Gospel Doctrine class...
Annie and Ron Poelman on horseback near Santa Fe...
and Bishop Edwards whizzing down a slope as a 17-year-old on the U of U ski team.
There was even Jim Derrick dragging a Suburban across a parking lot during an Iron Man contest.
And there were great pictures of Lindsay McSweeney taking state in swimming and our home teacher, David Rae, lettering in three sports at West High.
We finished with the perfect picture to show that we can all be Olympians!
2 comments:
This was the Emigration 4th ward showcase in activity. Jenny and I agreed that we hope to be biking through towns on the Danube when we are Wynn and Pam Johnson's age, or riding horses around Santa Fe like Ron and Annie Poelman, or running 3:04 marathons like Dad in his 30s (we would love to be doing those things at 23 and 26!). I'm more confident that I'll be able to pull a truck with a rope in my sixties, but Jim Derrick's efforts are still admirable.
It was fun to see the photo of you guys in New Zealand with those sweaters. You look really happy there (not that you don't look happy now). Also, I wore Dad's sweater all the time when I was younger.
One last comment that you can pass along to Nancy: I actually don't ever see myself waterskiing in January.
Post a Comment