Larry Calder McDonald plays the bagpipes and preached the Gospel in Edinburgh. He wears plaid shirts and cooks haggis. Larry's grandfather, Rebeau Calder, was a brother of my grandfather, Hyrum Calder. Larry met my cousin, Sally Joyce, as they worked together in the Oquirrh Temple, and the two of them planned a meeting of our clans.
On January 21, the two branches of Calder cousins met at Larry's house in West Valley for dinner.
Larry served us haggis, cooked in a baking bag rather than a sheep stomach, but otherwise "totally authentic, down to the mix of different sheep meats".
He served us Scottish short bread.
After dinner, we gathered in Larry's living room and told stories about Vernal and Calder's Park. Calder's Park was founded in the 1860s by our common great-grandfather, George Calder, and was the first amusement park west of the Mississippi.
My cousin, Kreg Calder, wore a kilt, just as he did to the 100th birthday party I threw for Grandpa Calder (in absentia) in August 2009.
Rebeau's grandson, Doug, is in the Salt Lake Temple presidency. Doug and his wife love my father because "he was so good to Zula" (now I need to find out who Zula was). When Doug and his wife saw their first baby, they exclaimed, "She looks just like Grant!" because the baby had such a round face.
I learned many new tales about Grandpa Calder for my biography of him, including the time his father dangled him down a well as discipline for bad behavior, and the baby lambs that were brought inside his Grandma Mary Calder's house, after she moved to Vernal in 1905, to stay warm by the pot-bellied stove. Larry told us how, as a missionary in Scotland, he claimed to be "all Scottish." When he told members he was a Campbell on his mom's side and a McDonald on his dad's, they objected, "Naaah, that makes you a half-breed." Campbells and McDonalds were pertpetually warring clans. Spendlove kids, with Calder/Campbell blood on my side and McDonald blood on your dad's, you are also "half-breeds." Larry welcomed us with a bagpipe solo and serenaded us good night by playing "Amazing Grace". We agreed to get back together for a summer picnic.
Larry Calder McDonald plays the bagpipes and preached the Gospel in Edinburgh. He wears plaid shirts and cooks haggis. Larry's grandfather, Rebeau Calder, was a brother of my grandfather, Hyrum Calder. Larry met my cousin, Sally Joyce, as they worked together in the Oquirrh Temple, and the two of them planned a meeting of our clans.
On January 21, the two branches of Calder cousins met at Larry's house in West Valley for dinner.
Larry served us haggis, cooked in a baking bag rather than a sheep stomach, but otherwise "totally authentic, down to the mix of different sheep meats".
He served us Scottish short bread.
After dinner, we gathered in Larry's living room and told stories about Vernal and Calder's Park. Calder's Park was founded in the 1860s by our common great-grandfather, George Calder, and was the first amusement park west of the Mississippi.
My cousin, Kreg Calder, wore a kilt, just as he did to the 100th birthday party I threw for Grandpa Calder (in absentia) in August 2009.
Rebeau's grandson, Doug, is in the Salt Lake Temple presidency. Doug and his wife love my father because "he was so good to Zula" (now I need to find out who Zula was). When Doug and his wife saw their first baby, they exclaimed, "She looks just like Grant!" because the baby had such a round face.
I learned many new tales about Grandpa Calder for my biography of him, including the time his father dangled him down a well as discipline for bad behavior, and the baby lambs that were brought inside his Grandma Mary Calder's house, after she moved to Vernal in 1905, to stay warm by the pot-bellied stove. Larry told us how, as a missionary in Scotland, he claimed to be "all Scottish." When he told members he was a Campbell on his mom's side and a McDonald on his dad's, they objected, "Naaah, that makes you a half-breed." Campbells and McDonalds were pertpetually warring clans. Spendlove kids, with Calder/Campbell blood on my side and McDonald blood on your dad's, you are also "half-breeds." Larry welcomed us with a bagpipe solo and serenaded us good night by playing "Amazing Grace". We agreed to get back together for a summer picnic.
1 comment:
I love all of these new family stories that we have been learning! Thank you for educating all of us about our family. It has been so much fun to teach the stories to my children.
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