Ewing, New Jersey

When I got engaged to Jerry, a place of residence hadn't been determined. He owned a home in Lincoln, Nebraska, and his employer Gallup had a base of operation there. All the Gallup poll calls you are getting, in fact, originate in Lincoln. It seemed a natural choice. But it wasn't too long before he had been offered a position in Princeton, NJ, Gallup headquarters. He situated himself there after returning from China. A month after our wedding, I arrived in Newark via a Greyhound bus, and we stayed temporarily in a furnished apartment in Plainsboro until we found our home.

I had mixed feelings about returning to New Jersey. We had not parted on good terms. But this tour of duty in the Garden State proved to be the BEST and HAPPIEST of my entire story to date. Jerry and I still lament about the "Jersey Days". We remember them as "practically perfect in ev-er-y way."

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We happily situated Shelly and Taggart on missions in Japan and Finland and reluctantly planted 16 year old Thomas with Rod and Peggy in Montpelier. That was a difficult decision but one that bore out wise on our part as the years progressed. We settled into our home on the banks of the Delaware River in Ewing, did a little remodeling, and purchased a little Toyota for me to putz around in. Jerry drove 20 minutes into Princeton. I rustled up a half-time K-2 media specialist job at Antheil Elementary in Ewing. We were newlyweds. We were delighted to find ourselves in a positive healthy marriage. I don't think either of us took that blessing for granted. We STILL don't. New Jersey was no longer an adversary. Now she was a generous benefactress FAIRY! I apologized for all the snarky things I had said about her, and we kissed and made up.

That fall we took weekends to explore. With the bikes on the bike rack we took off for Valley Forge, Rickets Glen in Pennsylvania, hiking in state parks and biking up and down the towpath on the Delaware Raritan Canal which was a few dozen yards from our home. We buzzed down to DC, wandered in New York, and explored Philadelphia--a mere 25 minutes away on U.S. 95. I was intoxicated. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the missionary letters started to roll in. And company would be coming for Christmas!!

About six months later, Jerry was asked to go to New York City to help open a Gallup Manhattan office which was located kitty corner from Radio City Music Hall just a whistle away from Rockefeller Center. Now he was a commuter--auto, New Jersey Transit commuter train, and foot. He spent nearly four hours a day coming and going to his job. This was his reality for nearly five years-- a downside for sure, but one that we learned to adapt to. Working in Manhattan carried some snazzy perks--especially office parties during the holidays! We dined exquisitely and enjoy a few Broadway plays courtesy of Gallup. Thanks, Big G! I needed little urging to join Jerry in the city. We attended a couple of black tie events at some posh hotels. My friend Karen and I discovered a thrift shop over the border in Yardley that sold evening wear, so I outfitted myself for a pittance and swooshed my way into those events surprisingly respectably attired. I remember one such occasion I was headed to. The elevator going up off the train track at Penn Station was stalled. I, and a few others, decided to go UP the DOWN escalator. I had to hike up my skirt to do it! I'm sure the look was incongruent.

The job was stimulating for Jerry, and he excelled. His strengths were all being maximized! He won awards, was compensated monetarily very generously, and our ship just kept rolling and rolling in. We were truly in "Those Canaan Days"...

The years that followed read like a page I might have written out of a wishlist book. We were graced with dozens of visitors--some stayed for a week or two or three, others for a few days, and one for nearly three months! Thomas came for Christmases and entire summers. Shelly stayed for about six months after her mission and Taggart for only a few brief days after his. Aunt Norma came three times, my sisters and brother and families visited, BLHS students (Phillip, Matt, Sarah, Marti) visited, Belnaps came, Chris stayed overnight one Christmas, Tricia came, Mary and Jeff. We fed dozens of missionaries here and hosted showers and holiday parties. Lots of gaiety. My new husband surprised me with a Valentine of a week in Paris and another spontaneous gift of a week in London. I made at least three trips a year back east.

I took the train into the city at least two or three times a month, and in the summer I went nearly weekly. I spent a lot of time walking there, visiting museums, sampling food, pushing my toes into the grass of Central Park and mostly accompanying all of our guests to the landmarks. At the end of the second year I had made at least six trips to the Statue of Liberty, so I swore it off and haven't been since. I was happy to lead all kinds of visitors there and safely put them on the ferry, but that was where my hospitality ended! Broadway was another story. I went to each and every play anyone wanted to ANY time with no questions asked. Broadway became my FAVORITE place to hang out. It still is.

My job at the school turned into full-time in about four months. It was challenging and difficult and then it got manageable and wonderful and then it became PERFECT. I am reserving all of my teaching days stories for a separate volume. You can read about Antheil there. But let me just say, that I grew to love that job with my full heart and soul. The teachers, students, and parents were some of the kindest and most focused people I have ever met. I learned that in New Jersey you are often guilty until proven innocent, but once you have been admitted into that camp, YOUR BACK IS COVERED! You are family, truly. I pulled out every creative stop I had, dedicated myself, and the results were very very fulfilling and gratifying. I spent some sleepless nights getting to that point, but I figured it out.

(annual Christmas Day re-enactment of Washington

Crossing the Delaware--two miles from our home)

(Washington Square, NYC on their way to STOMP!))

(Momboo. He'll get his own chapter

in the next book.)

(Washington DC--Williams' visit)

A majority of the joy we experienced in New Jersey was felt in the Princeton 1st ward. It challenged us, kept us on our toes, tried us a little, and was ever a source of interest and delight. Our boundaries spread far and wide, but we all made regular pilgrimages to meet in each others' homes for gatherings and celebrations. The spirit in this ward was so so strong. So much cultural and economic diversity existed--countless opportunities to serve each other. I taught the gospel doctrine class for several years, and Jerry was in the bishopric. I also served in a stake Relief Society presidency which was a great calling. In the ward we met Mary Jane, Edna, Betsy, Diane, the Carters, the Johnsons, the Arnolds, the Devonases, the Leonards, the Penrys, the Chandlers, the Grames, the Pinters, the Powandras, the Frosts, the Eagers, the Barrs, Wendy and Gonzalo, the Marshes and all the Princeton students to name a few. I began knitting once again and knitted sweaters for all the new babies. Together we worshiped, studied, and celebrated life. It was a wonderful wonderful experience. I hold such warmth for them all.

I met Mary Jane about two months into the experience. She had just retired from a long and industrious career teaching. Mary Jane was quirky, fun, and loveable. She was also a hoarder. She was an avid naturalist and specialized in birds. Her picture is blown up to fit a wall in the Merck Pharmaceutical Headquarters in New Jersey. In it she is taking water samples with her fourth graders. She sewed, knitted, quilted, painted, and read prolifically. Together we took long walks and bike rides. We haunted Rice's Market and never missed the Princeton Christmas Fair. She introduced me to the wonders of Vermont; we went there as often as we could and stayed in her family's cabin on a lake. Mary Jane had a friend base as wide as the ocean. One summer after we had moved, a group of us rented one of her friend's houses in Stonington, Maine! Mary Jane had a failing body. She was always having surgeries. She had heavy heavy baggage from her childhood. It hurt like the dickens to tell her we were moving. She came to Omaha twice. She had plans to come and live out the rest of her life here on our farm. Then one day she called and said she had stomach cancer. I made two more trips out to see her in the next six months. Two weeks before she passed, we took her to Cape May and pushed her in a special wheelchair designed for beaches. She passed away. I made another trip out to help empty her house. Little bits of Mary Jane float through my life every day. Sometimes when I am in a beautiful nature setting I feel her.

Other friends that I still talk to and write remain in my close friend base. I have taken several trips with some of them since. Cathie, Karen, Eileen. Still dear and still in close touch. New Jersey was a pure gift sent straight from God--perhaps some sort of balancing token sent by God to reaffirm that He IS aware and kind and very very thorough in our lives. I am so glad I gave New Jersey another chance to write a chapter.