 |
 |
 |
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
History of the Church of the Firstborn in Jackson, WY In 1982 Cliff and Merl, (Loretta's brother) were working for a man named Ken in Norman, Oklahoma. Ken had some property in Jackson Hole and wanted Merl to build him a vacation home on it. Merl and his family came out in the summer of 1982 and started the house. They returned home in the fall. Cliff came in February of of 1983 to help for a couple of months and measure for cabinets. In the summer of 1983 Cliff loaded a Ryder truck and U-haul trailer packed as full as possible with cabinets, tools and various other things needed for the new house and we struck out for Jackson Hole. It would be Loretta's first time to see Jackson Hole. We only had Kenneth, Craig and Jonathan then. I can still remember them in our living room on Pinedale Street in Norman, OK, dressed only in Cliff's T-shirts because their pajamas were buried somewhere in the Ryder or U-haul, going through the box of goodies Aunt Clois had packed for them. I think they were almost as excited about the trip as they were about the box of goodies. I can remember getting the last things squeezed in in the wee hours of the morning, the tearful goodbyes to Aunt Clois and us getting into our vehicles to leave our little home behind. It was exciting and sad at the same time. Cliff was driving the Ryder truck and pulling the U-haul. I followed him in our little S-10 pickup. We had a camper shell on it, a bed made across the back of it and a slider window the boys crawled back and forth through. (Yes, three little ones and no car seats.) We stayed in Jackson Hole in the little town of Wilson for five months, living in the caretakers apartment of the house. I could see that Cliff loved it here. I felt like if I did not take the kids and go home that we would be here forever. I wasn't ready for that. I did not want to live so far away from any assembly! I prayed that God would not let Cliff move us up here. Another family was to move into the apartment we were living in, so instead of us moving into a travel trailer, I took the kids and flew back home. Cliff moved into the little travel trailer and I flew back juust before Thanksgiving and drove home with him. By now, I was about 5 months pregnant with Keri. We made a few quick stops on the way home. We got home just in time for Thanksgiving dinner at Parkland, Oklahoma with the Herrmanns. Ken decided to stay in Jackson Hole and bulild some more homes, so in 1984 we came back with another set of cabinets for another house. This time we only stayed two months. Cliff was still very much in love with Jackson Hole and I was still praying for him not to move us out here. In 1985 Cliff built still another set of cabinets for a third house, but sent them out, instead of us going out. In July of 1986 with work slow in Oklahoma, we came to build two more houses. David was now six months old. This time we drove our van and pulling a trailer. I was driving S-10 pickup. We had our five children and Timothy, Bro. Wendall and Sis. Donna McCrakens son. When we drove over the rim into the valley, I felt like we were coming home. I didn't say a word to Cliff because I still wasn't willing to move here. We moved into a condo with bedroom and a loft. (That's another story of God working things out.) |
|
Brethren | Church Camp | Ski Weekend | Directory of Churches | History |
|
To send us an e-mail, click this link: cliffandloretta@bresnan.net |