When I first met Jeff, one of the earliest dates I remember him taking me to, was to a cook out at Haws Park. I thought it was "literally" a park, like a city park. I lived in Eagar my whole life, but thought Jeff had just nicknamed one of the city parks Haws Park. I can't say at 17 years old I was the sharpest pencil in the box. Anyway I dressed up in one of my cutest outfits, spent hours doing my hair and makeup in anticipation of our date. I was indeed surprised to discover that Haws Park was a meadow with a white, wooden fence surrounding the property. All there was then, was an old tire swing, a firepit and a couple of old tables with two chairs and a rustic outhouse directly from the House on the Prairie. All of Jeff's family were there, including gazillions of cousins from the Slade, Bloomfield, Haws families,and scores of children running around playing games in the grass and swinging on the old swing. The matrons of the families, Aunt Sara, Aunt Dorothy, Annamarie, and Kathy were all forming biscuits from dough, while Buzz, Uncle Rudy, and Uncle Harvey were cooking up some hamburger in the dutch ovens. Everyone was so friendly, and made me feel like I was already part of the family. I had so much fun, and was so impressed with how close this family was I knew I wanted to be part of it. My cutest clothes inevitably stained from the dirt and grass,and my hair smelled like smoke, but it was one of the best dates I had ever been on.
After Jeff and I got married the cookouts at Haws park continued for awhile. Danielle learned to help my sweet mother-in-law make biscuits, and hamburger patties, and Keldon learned how to cook in a dutch oven because of those outings. They were also provided social occasions to bring new friends, and I learned that I wasn't "special" and everyone visting was treated the same welcoming way as I had been that first night. We enjoyed many summer outings to our special place nestled at the base of Water Canyon enveloped by tall trees. Those family outings will always be embedded in my memory. Now many of those wonderful people of the first generation I knew and loved so much have passed on. Their families have grown and are less connected as expected in the course of life, but the park is still there and we had the opportunity to go to a cookout while visiting this last weekend. It was a great experience to be able to relive and share an historic part of our lives with our friends.
