Pioneers

Okay, so I don't know if this is too long for a post or....... anyway, it was mentioned by more than one person that I should post the talk I gave last week at Church and since this is a site for Gramma and Grampa (Mom and Dad, AKA: Al and Adina) Well, here it is;

The Pioneers in My Life

In April, 1951 a very significant event happened. It wasn’t the end of a world war or a beginning of another. It wasn’t the invention of a revolutionary technological device that would change how we do things nor was it a cataclysmic event as devastating as to change the world as we knew it. You may not have heard about it, only a few people witnessed it. It was a humble and very important event that only a few people attended, it was the baptism of a Mother and her 15 year old son.

What was a 15 year old young man doing talking to a couple of missionaries instead of chasing girls or going out with his buddies to see what kind of mischief they could get into? I don’t know about you, but when a teenager stops long enough to listen to some missionaries explaining the gospel and teaching of the strict adherence to the Word of Wisdom or the strict moral conduct that is expected from a member of the LDS church, it impresses me that he would consider joining himself to that religion.  Ok, so why is it such a significant event? People get baptized all the time! That’s true! But the 15 year old became my father and she, of course, became my Grandmother.  

I was asked to speak on OUR PIONEER HERITAGE. After deciding how to approach this subject I found an article that will help explain why I am talking on THE PIONEERS IN MY LIFE.

Sister Sydney Smith Reynolds said in the June 1989 Liahona titled “They Belong To Us All”.

“Many converts have found that joining the church means “adopting” the Churches Pioneer Heritage of sacrifice, courage, commitment, cooperation and endurance”. Although more than half of all current Church members have no connection with the pioneers who traveled to Utah in the nineteenth century…… they (the Pioneers) offer us a multitude of lessons of provident living, about sacrificing for the building up of Zion and about creating beauty and peace wherever we may live. To many, the story of the pioneers is not just a story of people migrating to Utah. It is also the story of the gospel and the growth of the kingdom of God throughout the world. Many members of the Church are their own pioneers – the first in their family to accept the gospel, or some of the first members to help build up the Church in a particular area of the world.

We all have pioneers in our families. Someone in your family became the first one to join the church or go on a mission or to give great sacrifice to your family and the Lord.

In order to tell you about the Pioneers in My Life, namely my Mother and Father, I must first go back to the early 1900’s. My Grandpa Hahn was born in 1905 in the province of Wolinia, Russia. He was of German descent. When he was approximately 20 years old, he was allowed to immigrate to Canada with his Mother, two sisters and two brothers. His older brother, Ferdinand, was not allowed. They arrived in Canada with 6 dollars in their pockets and settled in the Edmonton area where he met and married a German immigrant named Emilie. They were pioneers in their own right. Julius and Emilie had five children, my mother, Adina, was the second youngest.

Adina was raised Lutheran but at a young age they had stopped going to church. Previous to that her Father had been actively involved with their church and was known to quote scripture. He knew the Bible quite well. Sundays were a time to gather around the pump organ to sing Hymns and read the scriptures. Aunty Erna was able to play by ear and was a self taught pianist. My Mother remembers my Grandma Hahn hanging laundry on the clothesline and singing at the top of her lungs in German “What a Friend I have in Jesus”. My mother gained a testimony of the Savior from these experiences! She remembers at age 5 when her Grandfather passed away, the grandchildren were discussing where they thought he had gone; she would wonder the same thing later when my Grandma Hahn passed away age 49 in a vehicle accident. Adina was only 20.

My Grandpa Hudkins was born in 1900 in Charlevoix, Michigan. He was of English descent. He immigrated with his parents and siblings to Alberta. My Grandmother was of Scottish descent and had no children. Attempts to have children resulted in stillborns and crib deaths (possibly due to health problems related to diabetes).  In 1935 they adopted my father, Allen, at 6 months old. Although my father was not raised in a religious setting, he got involved with the United Church on his own accord. He participated in summer camps, youth groups and Sunday meetings due to the influence of his friends. At age 13 he and his mother had their first contact with the LDS Missionaries while living in Edmonton. After almost two years of visiting with them they accepted the challenge of baptism, being the first to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their family. Occasionally Allen went to the newly organized Edmonton Branch with his Mother, the first Branch President being N. Eldon Tanner, who was soon to be called to the apostleship. Allen was asked by a Brother Harbut to help at the building site of the White Avenue Chapel and he did so numerous times. It was at this time that the lives of Adina and Allen crossed paths. Mom made sure that it was no mistake that they met while he deposited garbage in the bins in the alley. They lived across from each other.

On their second date he asked her to go to church with him and his Mother. (No idea what the first date was, but it was a step up from taking garbage to the alley, such a romantic!) A couple of years later they were married; this meant that Allen had to buy his way out of a five year contract with the RCMP. Six months later Adina’s Mother died, which reminded her of many unanswered questions about life and death. At about this time she was introduced to the missionaries while they lived in Winnipeg and three months later Adina was baptized. She was the first and only person to accept the gospel in her family, so far. Grandpa Hahn did not like the fact that my mother had joined the church.

Adina was kept busy with callings and learned the Gospel through teaching Primary and Allen went to church when he was able, due to shift work. Allen and Adina’s testimonies were not very strong and in my Mothers words “grew bit by bit” and “little by little”. They moved back to Edmonton and started a family. Allen had medical problems and the medical bills were more than people paid for mortgages at that time. After six years with the Edmonton city police; He took four years of University to study Social Work, while they raised four kids. He worked in the evenings to help pay for expenses. Adina had to work outside the home as well. During this time attendance at church was intermittent for our family. Upon completing university Allen was offered a job in Fort McMurray. We had just got active in the past year or so before moving.

In 1970, Fort McMurray had less than 5,000 people. We didn’t know if other members were here or if we would slip into obscurity and inactivity so far as membership in the church was concerned. What a surprise when two missionaries knocked on our door. Mom said “Am I ever Glad to see you guys!” Those missionaries must have thought “WOW, A Golden Contact”! By the end of the day all of the branch members had either called or visited us. The branch consisted of only 3-4 young families and they were also as inexperienced in the Gospel as ours. Both of my parents have said “Moving to McMurray was the best thing that happened to our Family”! We became more involved with church activities and became more committed to the gospel.

One week after we arrived, the Lalonde family of six was baptized in the community center in a homemade baptismal font made of sheet metal and wood with plastic draped in it. It was emptied by hand. Together our two families (total of 12) almost doubled the membership of the Fort McMurray Branch. All the families grew spiritually and matured in the Gospel together. Holding services in a community center after cleaning and gathering the beer bottles was the norm.

Adina remembers being asked to teach the YW but there were no manuals. So the next time we traveled to Edmonton, which took at least five hours along that narrow, dusty, gravel highway, we brought back some old teaching manuals we got from one of the wards in Edmonton. We traveled numerous times a year for many years down to Edmonton for Leadership meetings, Stake Conference and Youth Conferences. Sometimes we held services in homes, in offices above stores and then in the Dr. Clark School Gym. We had two apple boxes we would bring with us to church, one with hymn books and one with sacrament trays and cloths. A homemade pulpit was also carted around from place to place. The baptismal font ended up in our basement for a while. Sometimes gravity can be your friend, thank goodness for siphoning. Dad also taught Seminary in our basement before I turned 14. I remember listening to the seminary lessons on the other side of a tarp that was hung for a wall of my bedroom I shared with my brothers.

Allen worked evening jobs to pay for student loans and medical expenses incurred while in Edmonton. As the Branch grew we developed camaraderie and worked hard to raise money for the first stage of the church building. Many fundraising events took place such as bottle drives, bake sales and catering as well as some personal financial sacrifice. During the 70’s we moved out of McMurray twice, once to Calgary and then Barrhead. While in Barrhead we were also involved in raising money for Barrhead's building which was not built until after we moved back to McMurray. While in Barrhead the 1^st and 2^nd stage of the Fort McMurray building that we worked so hard for was built in 1978.

In the early to mid 80’s Grandpa Hahn was in the hospital in Edmonton for a few months before his death. When my father massaged him from head to toe he said “that boy has healing in his hands”. He was right; Allen gave many blessings because he was a faithful priesthood holder. My mother was at his bedside before he passed away and in a conversation with him, he thought he saw his wife in the room. Mom said to him “she will meet you at the veil” and he acknowledged that he knew he would be with his wife.

For most of the 41 years since 1970, Fort McMurray was the place to be for employment. As the town boomed, first in the 70’s and then in the 80’s, members came and went. The branch slowly grew until we achieved Ward status in 1985.  Many baptisms were performed but ultimately, most moved elsewhere. McMurray was a major exporter of good quality members. Once in a while some dedicated Pioneer members stayed and made Fort McMurray their home. By the time Roxanne and I moved back in 1991 with our three sons, it was a small thriving city of approximately 35,000 and a healthy, active ward. Adina and Allen stayed here until approximately 2000 serving in many callings and then left for a mission to B.C. They were the first ones to serve a mission for the Church from our family and the second couple to serve from the Fort McMurray ward. The Mission President that they served with was Elder Haight’s son. Since 1991 the Ward continued to grow and more Pioneer members have stayed in Fort McMurray.

So, what happened with Grandma (Christina) Hudkins? She had a son that survived birth who is currently living in Red Deer. After 29 years of living with an LDS member and driving his wife to church every Sunday, Grandpa (Royal) Hudkins was baptized and sealed to Grandma three years before his death in 1984. Grandma passed away five years later while living with Adina and Allen in Fort McMurray; still active and serving the Lord. In my Grandmothers Patriarchal blessing, she was promised that the Priesthood would not be lost in her posterity. A testament to Grandma Hudkins Patriarchal blessing was just witnessed in June. Some of our family met in Rocky Mountain House to see a nephew off to serve a Mission in Chile. He is the first Young Man to serve a mission from the Hudkins family. My Dad, my two brothers and I were asked to participate in his setting apart with a Counselor from the Red Deer Stake. When asked to produce temple recommends we were able to do so. What a blessing it is to be able to be involved in a special event like that.

My sister, Charlene, has always been active and dedicated to the Lord. She is an inspiration to me. Although my brothers and I were inactive at times, all of us are active now, with strong testimonies and all four of us children hold temple recommends. My parents now have 18 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Some are active, some are not.

At present Adina and Allen serve in the Edmonton Temple; Dad is a sealer. Our family is able to enjoy the Blessings of the Gospel because of the faith and example of our parents. Although they did not pull handcarts across the prairies or flee mobs or persecution, they became fiercely dedicated to the Lord and sacrificed their time and substance for the kingdom of God and their family. Our pioneer story is still being written.

Amen

P.S. I hope this wasn't too long winded. I hope you have enjoyed it. Mikel had mentioned that he didn't know that "Grampa" was adopted. If anyone is curious; I had my DNA tested and the Y-DNA shows that we are of English/Irish descent (Allens birth fathers ancestry/race). We know that his birth Mother is Norwegian. This does not minimize the fact that his adopted parents did a great job of teaching "Grampa" and raising him in a loving and good home. They deserve alot of credit for the job they did and the great people they are! After writing this talk I have recommitted myself to write a memoir/autobiography so that some stories will be preserved for my children and grandchildren. In fact I challenge all of you to write down all (if possible) your memoirs/history for future generations.

Uncle Brent