"Proud of You", by Minnie K. Stratton

Poem written by Minnie K. Stratton (Irene Flake's mother) to her grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren:

                          PROUD OF YOU

I love my grandchildren each and every one,
My great-grandchildren, too, for things they've done,
The great-great-grandchildren are precious to me,
I'm proud of a most wonderful posterity.

For so many kindnesses you have done each day
To help make easier and happier my way
For your cards, and letters, and flowers and love,
I'm grateful for you to our Father above.

I'm proud of the lives you are living, that show
Your desire to choose the right as you go.
I'm grateful for your love and for each family tie
That has brought happiness to me as each year
  has gone by.

I'm proud of the girls and the things they know,
For learning to teach and to cook and to sew,
You've made homes full of joy for your families
  here,
Which will bring great blessings to you every
  year.

I'm proud of the boys for their schooling and
  work,
For doing their duty without trying to shirk,
For the teachings you've had to help you live right,
To make for you and your families a future bright.

I'm proud of the missions that the boys and girls
  too have filled
Going to work wherever our Father in Heaven willed,
I'm grateful that each of you has done your part
To help take the gospel to the honest in heart.

My prayers are for you each and every day,
May you be blessed all along your way.
Please know as you count your blessings in store,
You could never have a grandmother who could
  love you more.
                                             --May 1965

"Fond Memories" by Minnie K. Stratton

                          FOND MEMORIES

There's a little town of Snowflake that's very dear to my heart,
And a big house on the corner that of me is a part.
There's many a memory that clings around that home,
Every room I love dearly from cellar to dome.

With its heavy brick walls that stand two stories high,
It's a precious old building that reaches toward the sky.
With its many big windows for sunlight and fresh air.
We love it and many happy hours were spent there.

When we moved in that house we had two little girls.
We were happy and quite content and they were our pearls.
We decided to move in the house before it was done,
And had lived there three weeks when we had a new son.

We lived in three rooms and worked hard all the while
To finish the others all up in grand style.
We had carpenters, plasterers. and painters, too,
Worked hard all spring, there was so much to do.

It was clean and new; we thought it was swell,
But the next thing was furnishing to make it look well,
And so we bought furniture, curtains, carpets and all.
We were quite proud to have our friends call.

As time went on our children came along one by one,
And to our family there came another lovely son,
Making for us two little girls so sweet,
Then two nice boys to make our circle quite complete.

Then when our baby was eight months old,
He was very ill and the Father in Heaven called him home.
A year after that another little girl was sent
To comfort our hearts and make us more content.
To acknowledge God's hand for his blessings so dear,
May we gladly serve him while we are here.

Other children were added as time went on,
And each day brought us work which we did with a song.
We were thankful to our Heavenly Father so kind;
If we were all well, we didn't mind.

Then in three years more our Father sent us two little
   girls so sweet,
We were so happy; they made our family complete.
We cared for them tenderly, although it was work,
We never complained and never shirked.

Then one day our Daddy was called on a mission
   to go,
It seemed a long time, two years move so slow.
Just a month after he left the angel of death came
  one day,
Called and took one of our darlings away.

It was a hard trial for me to bear all alone,
Also hard for him when so far from home,
But we trusted in God to comfort and bless,
We prayed him to help us to see it was best.

After two long years, his stay at an end,
He came home in honor the truth to defend.
Then later two sons filled missions so fine,
And came home with a testimony to all mankind.

We had 13 children to bear our name too,
And have tried to set examples good and true,
Sickness and death took five of them away
So we just have eight living now today.

We celebrated our fiftieth wedding, had such a
  wonderful time,
With our children and grandchildren all down the
  line.
He and I spent five years in temple work
Which to us was wonderful and grand.

Saviours on Mount Zion, we tried with our might
To help those in prison to see the light.
Then Daddy was so feeble and weak; he felt he
  had done his part,
His old home in Snowflake was dear to his heart.

We cared for him tenderly, he was quite content,
He said he was thankful he owed no man a cent.
One night he took a bad pain in his chest,
I got the doctor; he did what he thought best
But all to no avail; our Heavenly Father called him
  home in peace and joy to rest.

Daddy loved his family and held each one very dear.
He wanted each to have a home to live real near.
Said if he had his way of what he thought right
He would know where each one was every day and
  night.

It has been ten years and I am left here to still
  carry on,
And wait my time to go; be it short or long.
Although at times I feel lonely, sad and blue,
My children are each thoughtful, kind and true.

I have just celebrated my 80th birthday, so grand,
The family all here; no finer in the land.
We had a lovely program that was fine indeed
And a lovely dinner with eighty mouths to feed.

With seven children here to celebrate, it's fine,
Their children, which numbered forty-nine,
Great grand-children which numbered sixty-two,
Great-great, I think there were eight, this is really
  all true.

We invited our friends and neighbors; they seemed
  to be happy too,
With greeting cards and presents and loving words
  so good and true,
A time to be remembered by each and every one,
I'll live it over and over until my work is done.
                           --December 28, 1950

William Ellis and Minnie Katchner Stratton

"The kind of mother I want to be", by Minnie K. Stratton

Minnie K. Stratton (mother of Lavona's mother Irene) was a very righteous woman and a very good poet.  We have a book filled with her poetry.  Here's one of them:

THE KIND OF MOTHER I WANT TO BE

I want to be the kind of a mother
My children can love and adore.
I want to be a sweetheart and pal,
All this and a little bit more.

I want to live worthy of the name of Mother;
All their sorrows and joys to share.
I want to teach, by example, the best.
I want them to feel that I care.

I hope my children will find in my life
Some good noble deeds so true,
That they will be ready and willing to say
Your teachings have helped me through.

I want to be gentle, loving and kind
To friends and neighbors all.
I want to be the kind of a friend,
One who they would love to call.

I want to forgive each one their faults
As I would have them forgive mine.
Oh, may I not look for the faults in others
But correct the ones in myself I find.

I want to love my neighbors as myself
And bless them with kind word and deed.
I want comforting service to give
To the sorrowing and those in need.

I pray that my Father in Heaven,
All this He will help me to do,
That when my work on earth is complete,
I'll be found with the faithful and true.
             --Minnie K. Stratton

Our Flake family heritage

 We went to the Snowflake Cemetery where so many family members are buried.  This is the marker for my parents.

                        My name is listed at the back of the monument as one of the children.

                          My little brother Layne Kent died when he was just ten days old.

                                                 I was blessed to have great parents.

                                    My children were blessed to have wonderful grandparents. 

                                    My grandparents on my father's side are buried here.

 Also at the Snowflake Cemetery my grandparents on my mother's side are buried.

              My children remember visiting Grandma Stratton every Sunday.

                                      We were able to visit the graves of many of our ancestors.

                        My great grandfather settled Snowflake.  Snowflake is named for him.

We have a great Pioneer heritage.

                                         My daughter's remember their Grandma Stratton.

                                    Ray hurt his ankle so he walked around on crutches.

 Another great grandfather Jesse N. Smith was the first Stake President in Snowflake.

                                                    His family is buried around him.

 We were able to visit the graves of many of our ancestors buried in the Snowflake Cemetery.

                                                           They left us all a great heritage.

It is up to us to continue to keep the chain strong.  This was a great trip with my children to remember our roots

Strattons/Flake home

 The William and Minnie Stratton family (Grandmother Flake's parents).  Picture to the far right (back row) is Irene Stratton Flake (Grandma Richardson's mother)

 Bruce and Irene Flake in front of the Flake home (where Grandma Richardson grew up)

Another picture of the Flake home.

MY Snowflake Home, by Minnie Stratton

MY SNOWFLAKE HOME

Oh, home beloved where'ere you wander,
On foreign land or distant sea,
As time rolls by, my heart grows fonder
And yearns more lovingly for thee,
Thou fair be nature's scenes around me,
And friends are ever kind and true,
Thou joyous mirth and song surround me,
My heart, my soul still yearns for you.

Ye valleys fair and snowcapped mountains,
Ye peaceful hamlet mid the trees,
Ye murmuring streams and crystal fountains,
Kissed by the cool, soft balmy breeze.
Words cannot tell how well I love thee
Nor speak my longing when I roam.
My heart alone can cry to heaven,
God bless my own dear Snowflake home.
                 --1953 by Minnie K. Stratton, paraphrased from "God
                 Bless Our Mountain Home"

Keep Faith--by Minnie Kartchner Stratton

KEEP FAITH
Keep your faith in the God above,
And faith in His righteous truth,
'Twill bring you back to your absent love
And the joys of a vanished youth.

You'll smile once more when your tears are shed,
Meet trouble and swiftly rout it,
For faith is the strength of the soul inside,
And lost is the man without it.

May we have increased faith and trust in
the Lord and in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
                    --Minnie K. Stratton, Dec. 27, 1941

Minnie K. Stratton: poetry

Minnie K. Stratton was Irene Flake's mother!  (Grandma Richardson's grandma) I have memories of a very sweet loving great-grandmother who we used to visit often when I was young.  She was a great poet and here's a couple of her poems:

91st Birthday:
Another year has passed and gone
And I am still trying to carry on,
To live a life pleasing to thee
So we can meet in eternity.
             --January 28, 1953

Our Reunions:
(tune: Improve the Shining Moments)
Grandfather loved his family,
He gathered them around,
Each year all came together
From where they could be found.
Reunions thus were started
To strengthen family ties,
To know each other better
And to enrich our lives.

We love to have reunions
Where we can meet our kids,
Have program and entertainments,
And food fit for a king.
If we had no relations
How lonely we would be,
Our lives would be so empty
If our folds we could not see.

We all have fun together,
Do honor to our name,
And vow again this year
To glorify the same.
It makes us all much better
For our attendance here,
So let's all make an effort
To attend again next year.

Snowflake Census of 1880

A page from the Snowflake census of 1880, listing William Decatur Kartchner and his two wives including Elizabeth Gale Kartchner, and their 9-year old daughter Minnie, who later became the mother of Irene Stratton Flake.