Memories of Mom Walker
I have chosen to put my memories of Mom into categories. Some of my memories will include Dad and other siblings and friends as they are all intertwined.
Clothing
Some of my earliest memories of Mom relate to wanting her to sew Indian frays on the sleeves of my long sleeve green plaid shirt. She labored so hard to make it look “real”. I also had a matching pair of green Levi’s that she constantly sewed knee patches on. It was my favorite outfit. [Photo]
Along the same “Indian” theme, I remember getting a bow and arrow for one of my early birthdays. Dad really wanted a picture and wanted me to shoot the arrow. Apparently he wanted an “action shot”. In any event, I shot the arrow toward him and I came a little close to hitting him. I remember him getting a little bit angry with me. We never got the action shot, but I do have a photo holding the bow and arrow fully drawn and ready to fly. [photo] I vaguely recall Mom commenting about how Dad was the one that asked for the action shot so he shouldn’t be mad at me for almost shooting him.
My next clothing memory was during Junior High. I wanted Star, Guess, and Lawman jeans. Mom and Dad both tried to explain that for the price of one pair of Lawman jeans, I could get three or four pairs of more reasonably priced jeans. I insisted on the Lawman jeans and they acquiesced. Unfortunately those jeans did not last any longer than any other jeans, but they were cool and fashionable. Also, I grew out of them quickly because of that early developer gene.
When I was a teenager Powder Jackets were the talk of the town. They were pullovers with a front pocket. The body of the jacket was a solid color and sleeves a different solid color. We all wanted one. Mom found a pattern somewhere and worked many hours sewing Powder Jackets for many of the kids. We loved them and wore them until we grew out of them. They were sturdy.
Piano Lessons
I think Mom and Dad wanted me to play the piano, maybe like the girls. So, they put me in piano lessons with Dixie Alder. I would ride the bus to the Alder’s house and wait for my time to come up. I didn’t add up to much of piano player but I am thankful that Mom kept me in lessons for a number of years. After that was mostly a failure, they later put me in lessons with an elderly lady named June Gower (sp?). That didn’t last long and I think after that I was a lost cause for being a pianist and I turned to signing. As a side note however, while I was still in high school Dad did showed me the basics of chording on the piano. I didn’t really make anything of it until my mission but I have always been thankful for the lessons insisted on by both Mom and Dad.
Voice Lessons and Music
Most of my voice lessons came from Mom, Dad and the girls, but at one point Mom did send me to Lou Cheney and Linda Walker. Mom was always so encouraging when it came to singing. She has a beautiful singing voice. She also wrote a song for the Young Women many years ago when she was a leader over the group. That inspired me to attempt to write songs as well.
Over the years, I settled in on singing as my music outlet of choice. Mom was a wonderful singer herself and gave me appropriate and timely tips through the years. She, along with the girls, somehow arranged for many opportunities for me to sing. I really don’t know how that happened, I just know that I sang for various events or meetings over the years. Mom accompanied me when I was younger and Lara filled in when she was more accomplished. Im eternally grateful for the love Mom and Dad instilled in me. It has positively impacted my entire life.
Food
To this day, rice cereal and baking powder biscuits bring feelings of Nostalgia every time we eat them. In my world Mom invented both of them. There’s something about butter or honey or both on Mom’s biscuits along with a bowl of rice cereal. The rice cereal was not quite the same as the Danish made it but it became her own signature breakfast meal that beat the heck out of wheat cereal.
Coming home late after games and practices was always a happy time because Mom was always willing to wait up or wake up and fix hot chocolate made from Dark Cocoa, milk toast, or toast some of her delicious homemade bread. I think the Cocoa may have contributed to my occasional insomnia but I wouldn’t change those late evenings with Mom making pots of hot chocolate from scratch.
Mom’s homemade bread blessed my life on so many occasions. I remember coming home school or practice to warm loaves of homemade bread. She always seemed plan it so that a warm batch would come out right when we got home. I’m craving some while writing this…
Even up until as late as this summer, 2020, Mom was making bread and delivering it to us for a special treat or as a thank you to the boys for helping out on something. I believe making a loaf of homemade bread was her favorite way to serve others. It was her language of love and appreciation.
Homemade lunches always included homemade bread. The lunches were a hot item at school. My friends were envious of the bread. Even more lunches were needed when Brett Dille moved in with us for my sophomore through senior year of high school. And if that wasn’t enough, my senior year Matt Sanders moved into the house as well. I think I remember as many as eleven lunches made by Mom in the mornings when Kira and Kirsten started school.
I remember one time we didn’t recognize the meat on the bread. When we inquired, we found out it was bear meat from the bear Dad shot some years earlier. It was interesting.
Over the years, Mom has brought loaves of bread, pudding, sheet cake, and other delicious foods for our family to enjoy. It truly was one of her favorite ways of expressing love to her family and those around her.
Education
I remember Mom emphasizing reading and writing. I didn’t listen very well. Some of the books she made available for me to read or read to me that I remember were Mr. McBroom’s Ghost, Call of the Wild, and the scriptures.
The most important memory of her helping me with school work was my research paper. Probably as a Junior in High School. She typed the entire paper for me. I remember her typing and fixing mistakes with white out as we worked together to make it perfect. She stayed up very late into the night to help get it done on time.
Mom and Dad of course supported me through college and law school. They were always there for the important milestones.
Having said that, school attendance was not the most important thing to Dad, and I think Mom acquiesced in allowing us to miss as many as nine days per semester and 18 days per year. I remember one time reading a letter from the school district about me missing too many days per semester and per year. I’m not sure how they defended our position or exactly what happened, but somehow we were able to pass the various grade levels throughout the years. I don’t recall exactly what we missed school for but it was not from illness. It was mostly likely to go to Boulder Creek, work on the farm, or on some family vacation.
