Found On The Interwebs - Gift Givers

Sometimes -- and especially during the holiday season -- I am at a loss for choosing just the right gift. Grandma and Grandpa do not have this problem. They are great gift givers!

One of the most memorable gifts they gave me for Christmas was a pencil. It was just one pencil, and not even a new one -- an odd gift at first glimpse. But it got me thinking. How had they used that pencil? Perhaps it was used for writing family history, paying bills, recording phone numbers and addresses, or making shopping lists. How could I use that pencil? Probably for the same sorts of things.

The pencil is long gone, but its utility remains, although in many cases I have replaced its graphite with electronic 1s and 0s. I write family history online, on this very blog. I pay my bills through bank transfers. I keep my phone numbers and addresses stored in a word processor, in an e-mail program, in an Amazon.com account, and in a dozen other places. I still use pencils for shopping lists, and now they also serve a newer, more important purpose: I use them to help my children with their homework.

Of course, Grandma and Grandpa gave me many, more important gifts. Their love led to seven children, one of them my father, without whom I would not be here. Their love was shared with an extended family who I still call, e-mail, and chat with on Facebook, even though I have not seen some of them in years. They gave me stories about the past, wisdom for the future, and a piece of Earth -- the Stutz farm -- on which they allowed me to create my own stories and gain my own wisdom during life's brief journey.

The importance of the Stutz farm cannot be overstated. I have traveled around the world with the comfort of knowing that Grandma and Grandpa's farm remains just a visit away. And I have loved the visits! Reunions in the picnic area. Ice cream on the back porch. The river on a hot day. Pipes to move, grass to cut, orchards to flood, cows to shepherd. An old barn full of weird tools and dusty relics. Trees of all types, one with an impossibly long rope and an old tire for a swing. Fond memories, all. The best times always involved lots of family.

The farm is a gift of Christmas past, present, and future because Grandma and Grandpa have ensured that, someday, the Stutz farm will become the Stutz Park. I will visit with my children and my children's children. We will eat a picnic lunch, splash in the river, run through the trees. We will laugh, live, and love. I will tell them stories about the past and watch as they create their own stories and gain their own wisdom. I will confess to my son Boyd that my cousin Boyd and I rode the tractor faster than we should have, but don't tell Grandma and Grandpa.

I could go on, of course, and I probably will one day. But, today is my day to give thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the gifts they have given me. Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for everything. I look forward to seeing you this summer and to letting my children explore your farm.

"Provo looks to buy land for new park." Provo Daily Herald (April 7, 2002).

The park site is perfect, Mayor Lewis K. Billings said. "It's a magical, wonderful piece of ground," Billings said. Amenities of the land include its proximity to the river, there is a well for irrigation, it's a good size and there isn't another park nearby. "It's a beautiful, needed location right along the river," said Max Mitchell, assistant parks director. "The view from the site is spectacular," said City Parks and Recreation Director Roger Thomas. And the city definitely won't have to plant any new trees on the land." Howard Stutz has already created an arboretum around his home," Thomas said.

"Couple looks back on memories of land." Provo Daily Herald (April 7, 2002).

Stutz likes to caress the soft green boughs of the bristlecone pine. Or brush the feathery leaves of the dawn redwood. And then there is the hidden tree fort. "It's a secret tree place," he says. "Every child discovers it and thinks they're the only one who knows about it," Mildred Stutz says.

"What a steal for a Provo park." Deseret News (April 10, 2002).

"It's hard to describe what I feel in nature," Stutz says. "I guess it's an emotion of peace and tranquility." It's an emotion he felt as a boy hiking in his hometown of Cardston, Canada. His wonder of nature never left him, and now that his hair has turned white and his gait slowed, it is the legacy he wants to leave for his family, friends and city.

"Park coming to Riverbottoms." Provo Daily Herald (April 18, 2002).

"I'm delighted, of course," Howard Stutz said. He is a retired BYU botany professor who has planted 40 species of trees on his land and wanted to leave his legacy as open space. "If the council wouldn't have approved it, we wouldn't have gotten our dream," Mildred Stutz said.