I've Done It!

Well folks, it's done! I've typed my Grandma Clark's journal of her trip to Europe in 1958. If you want to read it click here. If you want to read what the speakers said at the London Temple dedication click here.

I've gotten to know Gma Clark through her words. The trip lasted for three months and let me know Gma's personality. What I noticed while typing at the end is how much Gma Gordon's (her daughter) handwriting and hers were alike. At one point I thought I was reading Gma Gordon's handwriting. Gma Clark was a remarkable woman and it makes me want to read the other things she wrote.

Journaling is Important

I have a journal from 1958 that belonged to my Great-Grandma Clark. As I've read her words they have allowed me to know her more than just her name and the dates when she was born, married, and died. Her journal has also let me know her character and the kind of person she was.

During that trip in 1958 she:

• Sailed from America to England on the Queen Mary
• Met some of her relatives in England
• Attended the London, England LDS Temple dedication
• Did much genealogy in England before going to the European continent
• Went to the Worlds Fair in Brussels, Belgium
• Toured the European continent (Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and France)
• Did much genealogy in England after going to the European continent
• Sailed from England back to America on the Queen Elizabeth
• Visited her brother in Cleveland, OH, USA

I am very much like Grandma Clark. We're both alike in these ways:

-Religious

-Tall

-Left-handed

-The oldest child

-Creative

-Love facts

-Love people

-Want to know about ancestors

-Independent

-Do what we want

I wouldn't have known so much about her if she hadn't kept a journal. She recorded many of the things said at the LDS Temple dedication; I know now that people say many of the same things today. I admire her tenacity because when she kept a journal she wrote every day. Sometimes she wrote just one sentence, nevertheless even that tells me something about her. She's been dead for more than 30 years, and I'm grateful to get to know her in the next best way (through her words) because she died when I was too young to appreciate her life. The things I have of hers mean more to me now because I know her better. Journaling helps me and it also helps my posterity to know me. I'll live on because of my words and truly become more than just a name on a page. UPDATE: If you want to read Grandma Clark's words see April 30th.

The Value of a Journal

1) I can record my thoughts and get them out of my head.

2) Reading what I wrote as well as considering the entire situation gives me perspective.

3) Writing it means I don't have to remember it.

4) It's like having a mute friend that let's me "talk" as much as I want.

5) I record history and things that are important to me.

6) Reading past entries causes me to learn from what I wrote. I forget current things quickly (as do most people.) When I read what I previously wrote I get to remember the thing that was important to me and learn from it again, and usually also learn other things. 

My journal helps me evolve and grow toward becoming what I want to be. When reading past entries I see patterns. Sometimes I see ways that I want to change. No matter what is going on around me, I can say honest things to my journal and never be ridiculed. There is no right or wrong way to journal, if the journal looks like a scrapbook then so what - the most important thing is that what's in there - written or otherwise - is something valued. I've included cards, notes, ticket stubs, flowers, drawings, and my words in my journals.

Some people are short and sweet; they record one sentence or maybe just one word to sum up their day. Some people are elaborate and write many words. Sometimes people record something they studied. Sometimes people do all the above. People's moods change every day: sometimes they feel like writing and sometimes they don't. Some people feel like their life is boring and they have nothing to say. Some people are private and don't want to record what they think because then the public may read it. Some people think, "No one, including me, wants to read my words." No matter what type of person someone is, there's value in journal writing.

A journal helps the person who wrote it, and when they move on to the next life a journal lets the reader know them. My Great Grandma Clark is dead but I have a few of her journals from the 1950's that tell me a lot about her. She wrote one line entries, and I give her credit because she wrote every day! I know what she valued by what she mentioned. I know what she did by what she recorded. I don't have to only rely on hearsay to know about her because I have her own words. My Grandma Gordon, who is also dead, never kept journals but I have a pocket book calendar that she probably had in her purse when she went on a trip in the 1970's. She made notes in it. Not only do I have what she said but I have her handwriting. A journal not only helps me but it will also help my posterity to know me for generations.

I don't write for future generations but for my own benefit. I've written journals since 1978 (when I was ten.) Now, the year is 2013 (35 years later) and I still and probably will always keep a journal. At times I've considered my journal "cheap therapy" as I've recorded my honest feelings and worked through hard things. There's no way I would have remembered a lot of things I recorded because so much time has gone by. It's fun to go back and read what I thought was important then. If I'd never kept a journal I'd tell myself that it's never too late to start.

My Gratitude for Grandma Clark

After preparing to go visiting teaching this coming Mon & Tues (something the ladies in my church do,) I decided to read some of my Great-Grandma Clark's journals. My mom had given me the journals (which had belonged to Grandma Gordon-Gma Clark's daughter.) One journal (in 1958) documented her trip to Europe where she sailed on the Queen Mary, attended the London, England temple dedication (where she saw and heard President David O. Makay,) went to the World's Fair in Belgium, toured Europe, and sailed home on the Queen Elizabeth. The entire trip took three months. She saw the Statue of Liberty in NY (from the Queen Elizabeth) before flying to Cleveland, Ohio from LaGuardia airport. She wrote much of the things said at the Tempe Dedication, visited English relatives, and did a lot of genealogy.

I'm very grateful for the history and example of my grandma. She was a remarkable woman. Perhaps I inherited my desire for knowledge from her. She wrote many facts, and I love that - facts are fascinating to me. I want to type what she wrote and share it with my relatives, that way I'm not the only one who'll have the information. I look forward to knowing her better on the other side of the veil.

Proud of My Heritage

Recently I made a graphic of our family tree - so that I would know who to focus on when doing genealogy. Seeing the names of my ancestors made me feel proud of my heritage. I have six nationalities - Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, and English. I thought I was mostly Hawaiian (on my dad's side,) but I'm mostly Chinese too. I have three ancestors who were from China, three from Hawaii, and two from Portugal.

The most interesting person to me was on my dad's side. She was my dad's grandmother - Sarah Kinney. Her parents never married (even though they had a child together.) She's interesting to me because she was an illegitimate child (a person nonetheless) and she was my great-grandmother. It wasn't her fault that her parent's never married! I want to know more about her and the kind of person she was.

I want to know about all my ancestors - especially my fourth generation because I never knew them. Their names are Nettie Christine Andersen, Marten Niclas Hansson Boberg, Mary Rebecca Bolton, John Henry Gordon, Emma Maria Farrer, John Gideon Clark, William Kendall (Parshall) Hatfield, Catherine Ansell, Maria de Sousa, Francisco Perreira, Genevieve Aki Akana, Chang Cho Sing, Puaokina, Kihapiilani William Kinney, See Yeun and Wong Yee Chu.

Each one of them was a person who had a story. They had reasons why they did things and I want to know what they were. They are truly more than just names and dates to me.

I appreciate my Great-Grandma Clark's genealogy work. She did a lot of research that has been very helpful to me. I love her for many reasons and her genealogy work is one of them. But the work she did is for only part of my family tree - actually, a small part. I also want to know about the Gordon's and the Chu's - and Per's family history.

I have two children and when they begin their genealogy work, my third generation will become their fourth generation. They will say they never knew those people, but I knew some. I hope my knowledge will be helpful to them.