What Is An American?

After looking thoroughly through my mother's book of remembrance, I found a copy of my mother's “What Is An American?” essay, which she wrote in 1971!  It was the essay that she received the George Washington Honor Medal Award at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.  It was buried beneath other documents in her plastic sheets in her book of remembrance.  I was so thrilled to read it and felt her American patriotism.  

My Mother at Otis Air Force Base 

July 4, 1971

Ambassadors of World Affairs

Neighbors of the World

Dear Neighbors,

Our country began with 101 passengers and a crew of 48 on a ship called the "Mayflower" which landed on Cape Cod, Massachusetts in November 1620.

They came here searching for religious freedom from their native country England and found it.  Ever since that day a lot of you have come here to live.  People from France, Spain, Italy, Japan, South America, and Africa came to find a welcome mat.

Each of us came here for happiness, freedom, and believing that all men were created equal.  For many years, we tested ourselves in these beliefs and battled till one day we became an independent nation.

Even today we are tempted by war, witnessing freedom by bitter peace, and bearing many burdens as any nation would.  We have a choice in who is to represent us in the government called a Democracy.  It is not always perfect as we would like it to be, but we have more than one choice. Our greatest enemy is the wars we fight in ourselves.  We do not have confidence in ourselves unless we have faith in the wisdom of those who lead us.

This country is of law and order.  We help make the laws since they protect us from those who want our freedom as well as their own.  I want to be your friend and everyone's friend.  We like to help those who need us. Many of you suffer from hunger, misfortunes, and are battling for your own freedoms.  Many lives have been sacrificed on this land and at work already with hope to make this a world of peace for us all.

We've earned this heritage, learning from hardships, and having faith even though it asks more of us than we can get in return.  Our courage, tolerance, and vision is for progress.  We work hard and try to be compassionate to those who do not feel the same as us.

Everyday I see the eternal peace in my heart as I salute the flag of this continent. Its red, white, and blue colors waving in the breeze mean so many things to me.

People respect my opinion.  Someone may judge me, but I'm not guilty till they prove it.  Every Sunday I can worship God as I please.

I can always find a friend.  I never cry for long, never go to bed hungry, and someone will miss me when I die.  There are as many different people here as in the tribes of Israel.  Out of all of us, we become one in judgment of God.

At night I can sleep and awake to bells ringing.  I think those bells are called, "Bells of Freedom." In gratitude I say, I'm glad to be an American.

Yours Sincerely, An American

Sergeant Jill Dawn Killitz,  United States Air Force

Cape Cod 2006 Memories and Seascape Artist Vernon H. Coleman

Karen, Nate, and Jennifer (Me)

Gramps and Grams Coleman

Cape Cod Massachusetts is my heritage and birthplace.  We moved to Utah in 1981 and I have never understood why my parents left the Cape in the first place other than wanting to be among other Latter Day Saint Mormons. My brother Nate, sister Karen, and I went to Cape Cod in July 2006 to see our Grandfather Vernon Ellsworth Coleman and step Grandmother Gloria Coleman of Marston Mills. We had a fantastic time with him and Gloria.  My step Grandmother is a gourmet cook!  She served us some delicious food!  Since my Grandfather is a local, he recommended a perfect list of fun things to do while visiting Cape Cod.

1. Eat a lot of fresh seafood! 
 We ate fresh shrimp, lobster, crab, clam chowder, etc at any local Cape Cod seafood restaurants.  I did not have a preference on the place because generally sea food is expensive where ever you go and it ALL tastes good to me!  My favorite place to have lunch was at the Box Lunch! As for some great places for dessert, we absolutely loved the ice cream from Cape Cod Creamery and Four Seas Ice Cream.

2.  Body surf and lounge at Long Beach and Sandy Neck!
My grandfather recommended those two beaches because they are less touristy.  There are few people on them compared to the public beaches.  The big bonus was the fact that he  dropped us off instead of us having to pay for parking which is around $15.00 a day.

3. Look at beautiful lighthouses!

Chatham Light House

4.  Sightseeing and Shopping in Hyannis and Provincetown.  
  I love the vintage shops such as the 1856 Country Store in Centerville and the quaint outdoor stores on Main Street Hyannis and colorful shops on Main Street Provincetown!  I picked up some yummy salt water taffy, a rope bracelet, Cape Cod clothing, Boston Red Sox stuff, cute souvenirs such as magnets, postcards, collectibles, shells, nautical themed decorations, jewelry,etc.  We loved looking at the harbor in Hyannis and was surprised how much we we could do and see in Hyannis and Provincetown.

Hyannis Port
Ferry boats to Nantucket, whale watching, and deep sea fishing boats are usually docked here.   Many years ago, I went with my father on a boat ride to see John F. Kennedy's Home from Hyannis Port. John F. Kennedy Museum is located in Hyannis as well.

 Pilgrim Monument, Provincetown

5.  Visit Plymouth Rock and Mayflower II at Pilmoth Plantation.

6.  Take a ferry to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket.

Around August 2010, Nate and Karen took a Ferry boat ride from Hyannis Port to Nantucket.  They had a lovely time visiting the beaches, walking to the lighthouse, and eating there.

7. Go to Museums, Town Hall, etc to see my Great Grandfather's seascape paintings!

To our surprise in 2006, we planned our trip while my Great Grandfather Vernon Herbert Coleman (1898 -1978) nautical paintings were being showcased at Centerville Historical Museum.  My Great Grandfather was a well known marine seascape muralist artist.  He was also an art teacher on the Cape.  He taught junior high, high school, as well as elementary school children.  I was able to get a couple prints of his famous pieces at the art exhibit and my father has given me a couple original seascape paintings, which I have hanging up in my home.  We were thrilled to see many of his work of arts!  What an incredibly talented artist! I am so lucky to have him as my Great Grandfather!

These were found at Auctions

Hyannisport Marsh with Dunes

 Sandy Neck Cape Cod 

Rocky Coastal Scene

Cape Cod Cove

Crosby's Boat Yard

Stan Dubeck's Cabin Cruiser

My Grandfather Vernon E. Coleman found this at a yard sale.

 These are some of my favorite paintings by my Great Grandfather 

He loved painting clipper ships!

I love the sand dunes in this one!

 
My Dad owns this painting

Some of his large murals are found in Barnstable Town Hall, Pope John Paul II Catholic High School, Center for Creative Arts in Hyannis, Centerville Recreation Building Senior Home, and Osterville Historical Society Boat House.  He has hundreds of paintings that are collected by art dealers, fans of his work, family, friends, etc. 

This large mural can be found at Barnstable Town Hall.

Lastly, there are several breathtaking murals that are found at the  Centerville Recreation Building Senior Home and Pope John Paul II Catholic High School.

Spanish Ship and Clipper Ship in the High School

Captain's Wife on Widow Walk, 19th Century Sailing Vessels, Whale Tail, and Neptune

This was his last clipper painting he did which he gave to my Grandfather Vernon E. Coleman 

There are endless things to do while vacationing on Cape Cod.  My brother Nate during a trip a couple years ago went Whale Watching with my Grandfather.  You can go sailing, deep sea fishing, canoeing, kayaking, biking, exploring dunes, etc.  Cape Cod will always be "my home" as well as have a special place in my heart!  

Summer Time Recipes, 2011

Every Summer it is our family tradition to eat layered jello and pasta salads since it is too hot for baking!  The following recipes are our most favorite summer dishes, which we take to BBQ's, picnics, and so forth!

  

Ice Cream Jello 

We have done all the colors of a rainbow.  You may do a 4th of July theme of red layer, cream red layer, blue layer, cream blue layer repeating over and over.  We then put a layer of white whipping cream or Cool Whip layer on the top.  We think doing a cranberry theme with ice cream and sparkling cider would be good for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  It is really an easy recipe, just time consuming, but definitely worth it because it tastes so good!

INGREDIENTS:
Jello boxes (suggestions: strawberry, cherry, cranberry, pineapple, blueberry, grape, mango, peach, apricot, orange, lime, watermelon, raspberry, lemon, strawberry/banana, strawberry/kiwi, tropical punch and so forth)
Water and ice
Gallon of ice cream (vanilla)

DIRECTIONS:
Follow the directions on the Jello box for the first layer (adding hot and cold water).  To speed the process up, we use ice with cold water.  Make sure you measure accurately on what the directions say on the Jello box.

Next is the cream layer.  Instead of measuring cold water we substitute ice cream in its place.  The cream layers usually set up quicker than the normal layers.

Then add another regular Jello layer (hot water, cold water with ice). Carefully ladle the next layers in so that you don't put holes in the previous Jello layers.

Bow Tie Pasta Salad

We have an amazing refreshing summer pasta salad recipe. A couple years ago my brother Nate shared this recipe with me and I altered it to my liking! It is so good!

Ingredients:

1 bag of bow-tie pasta or your favorite pasta shape

1 bottle Italian dressing

1 of each green, yellow, red, and orange peppers, chopped (we used just red this time but it is good with all four peppers)

1 large tomato, chopped

1 large cucumber

1 small pkg. fresh shredded Parmesan cheese

pepperoni sliced in half (amount based on your preference)

Salad Supreme Seasoning (desired amount by taste)

Optional: Instead of pepperoni, you may grill some chicken breasts and cut them into cubes and add a can of small black olives.

Directions:

Boil pasta by following the directions on the package. In a large bowl, combine the chopped vegetables, add Italian dressing, pepperoni slices, cheese, and sprinkle your desired amount of Salad Supreme Seasoning. Mix all ingredients together well. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for a couple hours before serving. Enjoy!

Worthen Family Reunion, July 2011

On July 1-2, 2011, we attended a huge family reunion on my husband's side of the family in Beaver, Utah.  Our family was in charge of everything this year (food, games, activities, clean up assignments, etc).  There were a total of 29 Frees representing our side of the family.  That is surprisingly a small number this year; however, we enjoyed being among every single one of them as well as mingling with the extended family members!

We arrived early on Friday afternoon to set up camp and got ourselves organized.  John and I were in charge of preparing dinner that night.  So we spent a lot of time in the kitchen making frog eye salad, chopping veggies, warming chili, and later that evening John helped with frying yummy scones.

Friday Dinner Crew

Justin, Keli, John, Nita, Me, and Marilee

Friday Night Entertainment

The Friday night entertainment included the following: the Worthen siblings talking about their favorite memories growing up with Grandma and Grandpa Worthen, playing card games, getting into groups reading/doing skits about our ancestors, eating scones, while kids played on the see saw, trampoline, and playground. 

 We "roughed it" in a tent that night and slept comfortably listening to the sound of crickets in the dry desert among juniper and sage...  We woke up around 7:00 AM ready to do some service projects, eat amazing food, and play games later on!!!

Saturday Morning Service Projects

There were three service projects, which John's brother Matt set up.  John, Matt, Keli, Justin, extended cousins, and I picked the least popular one picking up garbage on the side of the road.  Our daughters helped paint a white fence with Dave, Kristin, Jessica, Madison, Jeremy, Elena, etc, while several other family members went to the rest home to perform a patriotic program (singing and musical instruments).

Fun Family Reunion Activities

My brother in-laws (Joe and Dave) thought it would be cool to engage in type of activities that were around when John's grandparents were married in 1927.  Many people played several card games, made some crafts, jump roped, played marbles, ping pong, golf, horse shoes, tether ball, had potato races, and ate cotton candy.   We had a lot of fun interacting with many cousins and doing many simple activities.

Crafts: Sling shots and Clothes Pin Dolls 

Let The Games Begin!!!

The Worthen siblings: Aunt Leola, Granny Free, Aunt Carlita, Aunt Shelia, Uncle Dick, and Uncle Claire!

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From left to right are Rich, Marilee, John, Jen, Grandpa, Matt, Grandma, Joe, Diana, Dave, and Kristin.

 

4th of July Paragonah, Utah

We decided to stay at Granny's house until 4th of July.  We spent a lot of great time with Joe and Dave's families.  There were 19 of us at Granny's small house.  We were outside in their trailer, while several bodies slept on the floor, couches, etc.  Joe set up a tent for his family in the back yard.  We went to church with all of them on Sunday.  We had a peaceful Sunday taking naps, reading scriptures, and taking a walk.  The next day a couple of us went jogging for 30 minutes (Jessica, Dave, Josh, Andrew, and myself).  I was the slowest but they were sure patient with me!  Next, we showered and ate breakfast.  Then headed over to Parowan to the 4th of July parade. It was a simple parade.  There were tons of candy tossed, loads of trackers, and farm animals.  What we liked best about the country folk parade is the fact that we were able to show up 15 minutes before it started, got great seats, and were home 10 minutes after the parade was over.  Now that is my kind of 4th of July parade! The Provo parade is over rated!!!  We left granny's house after lunch so that we could make it home in time to have a BBQ with Uncle Duane, Matt's family, Justin, and Keli.  Around this time frame, is when my dear sweet mother passed away and I was not notified until the next night.

 Although we had a wonderful 4th of July this year, this holiday will never be the same for me since my Mom passed away on Independence Day.  In the years to come, I will always remember the great memories of my mother.  May her spirit rest in peace.  I love you, Mom!  XOXOX