CHRONICLE
August 13, 2015 I The Lovell Chronicle I 15
©
DAVID PECK
Yuri and Yuka Okamura enjoyed a visit to Lovell and North Big Horn County last week, staying with
Yuri's host mom, Mary Jane Watson.
BY DAVID PECK
Yuri Okamura enjoyed
her year in Wyoming so
much that she traveled
back to Lovell and Cow-
ley last week to visit her
host mother, Mary Jane
Watson, and several of her
classmates from Rocky
Mountain High School.
And this time she
brought her mom with
her.
Yuri and Yuka
Okamura traveled from
their home in Gumma,
Japan, arriving in Cody
Tuesday night, Aug. 4.
They spent three days
touring the area and visit-
ing with students Yuri be-
came close with when she
spent t]ae (3i -14 school
year at RMHS.
Watson hosted Yuri
through the Nacel Open
Door exchange program.
Yuri joined in many
activities while at RMHS
including volleyball, bas-
ketball, track and field,
band and the school play.
"She's four foot eight,
but her spirit is huge,"
Watson said.
Yuri said she strug-
gled with her English
classes a bit, and Watson
noted, "They're taught the
king's English, and we
murder it in America."
She played trumpet in
the band and played a pi-
rate in the school play "A
Plra e's Lit% t br Me."
She also enjoyed ex-
periencing prom with her
date, Brian Crawford.
"I was so glad she got
invited by a nice, nice
person," Watson said. "It
couldn't have been better.
I was just like any parent."
Yuri spent her sopho-
more year at RMHS, and
after a year of school back
in Japan, she has one more
year of high school to go.
"They want me to go
to Japan (for a visit), but
I have two dogs, one bird,
several fish and no mon-
ey," Watson joked. "But
the people here are so spe-
cial they came here for us."
Yuri and Yuka served
a Japanese lunch on
Wednesday, then toured
the school, meeting teach-
ers and staff members and
taking many photos. They
also toured Lovell and
were to take in the sur-
rounding area, as well.
Plans for later in the
week included going to
Powell and Cody with a
few friends on Thursday,
joining in a swim exercise
session with Mary Jane
and getting together with
some more classmates on
Friday.
It was a whirlwind trip
for Yuri and Yuka, but it
was a chance to see a place
Yuri has come to know as
her second home.
and Jordan marria
Michael and Marianne
Grant announced the up-
coming marriage of their
son Mark to Kylie Marie
Jordan on Aug. 14, in the
Billings Montana Temple.
Kylie is the daughter
of Hart and Andrea Jor-
dan of Saratoga. There will
be a reception in their hon-
or on Saturday, Aug. 15,
from 6 to 9 p.m. at the LDS
Church in Lovell.
Mark graduated from
Lovell High School in 2012.
Following graduation, he
served a two-year mission
in the Seattle area. He is
currently attending the
University of Wyoming,
majoring in accounting.
Kylie graduated from
Encampment High School
MARK GRANT AND
KYLIE JORDAN
in 2012 and is attending
the University of Wyoming,
majoring in elementary ed-
ucation. They will live in
Laramie.
PCOS awareness walk in Powell
WyoCysters is hosting
a PCOS Awareness 5k walk
on Saturday, Sept. 19, at
Homesteader Park in Pow-
ell. Registration begins at 8
a.m. The 5k walk starts at 9
a.m. There are no registra-
tion fees to participate. All
participates are required to
fill out a registration form.
Registration tables will be
set up in front of the rest
area on highway 14A in
Powell. Event T-shirts are
available to purchase. To
reserve a PCOS awareness
T-shirt, registration forms
must be turned in by Aug.
19 with payment. If no
T-shirt is wanted, registra-
tion forms will be accepted
up to the day of the event.
Forms can be downloaded
at www.wyocysters.weebly.
com or all 307- 254-2708.
"PCOS or Polycystic
Ovarian Syndrome is an
endocrine disorder that af-
fects over 7 million women.
That's more than the num-
ber of people diagnosed
with breast cancer, rheu-
matoid arthritis, multiple
sclerosis and lupus com-
bined. Symptoms include
weight gain, ovarian cysts,
irregular menstrual peri-
odiC,
hair, male balding, trou-
ble getting pregnant, acne
and pelvic pain," explained
Lacy Huhnke, President of
WyoCysters.
WyoCysters also has a
PCOS Support Group that
meets the second Tuesday
of every month from 7 - 8
p.m. in the conference room
at Powell Valley Health-
care, 777 Ave. H, Powell.
Please join others dealing
with PCOS every month.
Cowley News
Byron News
School days ahead; supply
BY PAMELA COZZENS
HOPKINSON
307-272-8979
pamhopkinson@grnail.com
We have a couple
weeks before the doors are
flung open and school is
back in session. My grand-
kids in Arizona have al-
ready been in class for a
couple weeks, maybe an es-
cape from the August heat.
Walking down the store
aisles there is no doubt it is
that time again.
I recognize the yellow
crayon boxes, packs of pen-
cils, even a few of those
pink erasers, but there are
no red Chief tablets, or am-
ber colored glue bottles
with the rubber stoppers.
The stuff of school has
changed, but the excite-
ment of getting back to the
classroom to write about
what happened over the
summer is still the same.
I remember being so anx-
ious for school to start by
the middle of August that
the last few weeks seemed
to drag on forever.
Morns have to gear up
to do school shopping. It is
always a shock that kids
outgrow everything in a
few months over the sum-
mer. Feet that have gone
without shoes now rebel at
being squeezed into shoes.
I remember that it was
standard that new shoes,
and at least one new out-
fit for the first day were
deemed absolutely neces-
sary and certainly more
important (in my mind)
than the supplies.
The needs list was
much shorter back then. A
tablet (not electronic) and
pencil were about it. Kin-
dergarten was an excep-
tion; we needed a small
blanket for "quiet time." I
grew up in pre-backpack
days. Now I see very small
children with loaded back-
packs and can't help but
think of turtles. If they
needs
did fall over, they would
be helpless little bugs with
appendages flailing, trying
to get upright again.
The sixth graders are
excited about getting their
own lockers for the first
time. It's a big step towards
being like the big kids. I've
talked to a few moms who
are having a little anxiety
about sending their kin-
dergartners off to face the
world without them. That
is a big step for moms and
kids.
My little grandson,
Harrison, is off to kinder-
garten this year. Since he
was quite young he would
eventually come to me and
say "home." He, like ET,
feels security at home that
even grandma's house can't
offer. So this grandma is
hoping that his teacher will
understand when around
midday he says, "Home."
I would imagine that for
awhile she will think, "Me,
too, buddy. Home sounds
good."
It doesn't take long
for everyone to get adjust-
ed to each other, learning
the order of the classroom
and the rules. I was bless-
ed with great teachers all
through school and I have
fond memories of my grade
school teachers as nurtur-
ing and caring helpers en-
couraging and urging on a
classroom full of little gum-
balls rolling around trying
to find their way.
In the old days, my
kindergarten class spent
a half-day with Mrs. Jones
(later Mrs. Vera Poe), a
beautiful war widow, who
all of us adored and the lit-
tle boys vowed to marry.
She was the picture of love-
liness. She had that Powel-
son look, which included
beautiful dark eyes, dark
hair and perfect skin. We
shared tables with three
others and our names were
already on the desk when
we arrived. The highlight
are different for
of the morning was snack
time with small glass milk
bottles and graham crack-
ers, followed by story time
where we listened and
napped on our blankets.
The transition was more
like preschool, which we
did not have back then. It
may sound like we were
babied, but it worked and
was what we needed before
we moved on to the hard
stuff of first grade.
Mrs. Nicholls was our
first grade teacher. She
was sterner, but still loved
her class. We learned to
read sitting in a half cir-
cle with Mrs. Nicholls at
the front. We became good
friends with Dick, Jane,
Sally and Spot.
Mrs. Cowley taught
second grade. Her name
was Lilas, which in my
young mind reminded me
of lilacs, which are pur-
ple and smell good, so how
could I not love her? Plus,
she was my neighbor.
Mrs. Blood taught
third grade. Mrs. Blood
had an interesting name
for a grade school teacher,
and I'm sure the boys had
fun with that. She pushed
us on through the harder
steps of arithmetic and got
us ready for fourth grade,
which was taught by Leo-
la Allen.
I've written of Mrs. Al-
len before. She greeted us
with a happy face and the
enthusiasm of a teacher
who loved her job. If she
needed us to have a break
from the "drudgery," a song
was on her lips. Fourth
grade was the year we
learned about the "Great
State of Wyoming." We
learned every tidbit there
was to know about our
state. We colored pictures
about it, sang about it,
drew pictures about it and
put it all together in the fa-
mous "Wyoming booklet,"
which we then entered in
the fair. This was serious
today's students
business.
Violet Mangus taught
fifth grade. I was im-
pressed that she actually
was named after a flower.
She loved poetry and beau-
tiful things. She collect-
ed antiques. Mrs. Mangus
took on the task of trying to
bring a little refinement to
us country bumpkins.
"I think that I shall
never see a poem as lovely
as a tree," she recited.
She was a teacher who
believed in field trips. We
went out and discovered
sea creature fossils; we
flew on a plane, as well as,
rode a bus and train. By
the time she was finished
with us we felt "cultured."
Mrs. Mangus turned
us over to Miss Emmett for
sixth grade. Gladys Em-
mett was the teacher sad-
dled with preparing her
class to move upstairs,
literally, to junior high
school. She was patient
with boys who were at that
age where patience wears
thin for the adults who are
anywhere near them. She
weathered the storm of
sixth grade well enough to
stay on a few more years.
My hat goes off to any-
one in the teaching pro-
fession. I have a soft spot
in my heart for those in
the younger grades, be-
cause they bridge the gap
between mom and "out
there," preparing these
young ones to stand on
their own and discover a
whole new world outside of
"home." May you keep the
flame of knowledge burn-
ing bright for your new
fledglings.
The Byron Recreation
Center is having an open
house with food and great
prizes on Thursday, Aug.
13, starting at 6 p.m. A
public meeting will be held
at 7 p.m., in the Recreation
Center auditorium, for the
council to hear public input
on the Main Street project.
BY DRUE TEBBS-MEEK
307-548-6901
This week, I'm not go-
ing to discuss the weath-
er because it just seems to
change day by day. Fortu-
nately, the warm air is cir-
culating again, and there
doesn't seem to be the ap-
pearance of fall in the air,
but who can say?
LeRose Peterson re-
turned from Portland,
Ore., after spending some
time with her siblings. Her
oldest brother Kenneth
Doty just reached the age
'of 90, so his wife Corinne
and his children, grand-
children and great-grand-
children had a family re-
union. She was thrilled to
be there with the relatives.
LeRose said that all
her siblings were in Port-
land. Her sister Nola Voss,
brother Allen Doty and Le-
Rose gathered with fami-
ly members and had a ca-
tered meal. They enjoyed
being together to catch up
with each other's lives. Af-
ter the meal, the family
celebrated with an open
house at the church ward
where Mr. Doty and his
wife are members. She
mentioned that her broth-
er Kenneth was a Patri-
arch Emeritus.
LeRose lost anoth-
er brother Oris when he
was quite young and his
wife Barbara was part of
the celebration. The time
spent with her sister and
brother and her family
members were the high-
light of her summer. She
did say that it is hard to
see the changes through-
out the years as they all
feel much younger than
they are. What a wonder-
ful trip.
LeRose's daughter
Laurel Wicke and her chil-
dren, Logan, 14, Griffin,
12, and Lincoln, 6, spent a
few weeks with her around
Pioneer Day. The family
is in the midst of a move
to Arvada, Colo., and she
has to have her children
in school by Aug. 17. Her
husband Tom has a new
job, and they are look-
ing forward to the family
move, difficult as it is.
Ken and his wife Lizzie
of St. George, Utah, were
also here for the Pioneer
Day celebration and a visit
with brothers Randy, Joel
and Ray Peterson. LeRo-
se had quite a few weeks of
family time and reunions,
which was a joy for her.
On Saturday evening,
Aug. 8, there was an Ea-
gle Scout Court of Hon-
or for Bill Despain, son of
Richard and Meredith De-
spain. Bill is leaving this
week for Lubbuck, Texas,
to serve a mission for the
LDS Church for two years.
We congratulate him for
his endeavors and his de-
sire for the mission field.
As he begins his new ad-
venture, we send our love
to him and his family. Bill
just graduated from high
school last spring and we
wish him the best.
On Sunday, Aug. 9, an-
other Court of Honor was
held for Joshua Franklin
McCracken, who through
his hard work and dedi-
cation has achieved the
rank of Eagle Scout. What
a wonderful time watch-
ing the scout leaders and
the younger scouts with
the flag and ceremony of
honor, which is just tre-
mendous to witness. Josh
is the grandson of Don and
Shelly McCracken and we
congratulate him for his
endeavors.
We're so proud of the
young men who are Boy
Scouts and achieve so
much as they grow and
participate in the scout
programs.
They learn lessons be-
yond measure and are just
the best young men, who
meet challenges and meet
them with loyalty and
hard work. The men and
women who are scout lead-
ers must be congratulat-
ed also, as they give these
boys and young men les-
sons that will make them
assets to the world.
