Unconventional Wisdom! STORIES OF A FEW OF OUR MEMBERS HERITAGE SUNDAY JULY 16, 2000 - 141 YEARS!

An important service of the caregiving side of Golden First UMC's Outreach Ministries is to take time to visit and listen to members of our congregation and community- especially the elderly and those who are physically challenged.	By Stephen Mitchell
Outreach Commission members have been extremely blessed to listen and learn from their experiences. Please take a few minutes here to read a portion of the stories of these members of our congregation and community:

Did you know Lyrah Pace is the oldest of 15 children? She grew up in a Kansas farm setting where she often had to work in the field while keeping an eye on three or four siblings playing at the edge of the field. She got so good at field work (that) her Dad once told her she was better than any of the hired men he'd taken on. Growing up Lyrah shared a bed with two other sisters, and she talks about learning to live with little in the way of personal possessions.

Helen Braun is a coal miner's daughter who grew up near Leyden. Tragedy came early in Helen's life. Her younger brother liked to spend time near the bunkhouse where most of the miners lived, and he died in a fire when the bunkhouse burned. Later her father would die in one of the mines when it flooded. At sixteen, Helen's father decided she was old enough to make it on her own. Helen packed a suitcase and her father drove her to downtown Denver where he dropped her off. She had that one suitcase- and a dime! Think about that!	Helen Braun
Helen survived, though, by cleaning houses and serving meals to the well-to-do! She eventually married, raised her own family, and prospered. And when she became able to acquire the 'finer' things they meant a lot to her- certainly more than if she'd grown up in the lap of luxury. The day we visited Helen served us hot tea- using her finest china!

Footnote: Helen Braun passed away on April 5, 2002. Our thoughts and prayers are with Helen's family.

John and Evie Hampton are Golden natives. John grew up on the north side of Clear Creek, in what was known as 'Dogtown', while Evie grew up on the south. Golden wasn't exactly a large town then but they still never met until high school. When they did meet there was a slight problem- John was from a family which was poor while Evie was the daughter of a dentist, and she was dating a boy from another influential family in town. His name happened to be Adolph Coors!
Still, true love always wins, and John and Evie have been together ever since. June 29th 2000 marked sixty-three years of marriage! When they were engaged the only thing John, an avid outdoorsman, insisted upon was that Evie learn to fish! Well, she learned to fish- and to fish very well! Evie delighted in the times when she would land the bigger catch!	Evie and John Hampton
Today Evie reminds us of Katherine Hepburn in "On Golden Pond"- gracious and wise! Eyes that sparkle! As do John's. A nicer, more caring gentleman none of us will ever meet. They've lived full lives. While their pace has slowed, as the twilight approaches they continue to charge on. Remarkable people.

Footnote: John Hampton passed away on February 15, 2002. Our thoughts and prayers are with Evie and the Hampton family.

There's Aubrey Hipp, who at 93 cherishes the days spent in the hot sun as a sugar beet farmer in the San Luis and Arkansas River Valleys, and especially his days on the mound as a pitcher playing baseball in high school and later for the Pueblo town team. The latter was the equivalent of playing AA ball back then. Aubrey was too old at the time to have a chance to get to the major leagues- but much too valuable not to have on the team. Aubrey would roam centerfield whenever he wasn't on the mound. He wasn't afraid to chase down the long fly ball, even if there was a barbed wire fence rather than a warning-track awaiting him. And you have to wonder if Larry Walker and today's other stars would be the players that they are if they occasionally encountered rattlesnakes in the outfield. But pitching was Aubrey's true love. He can still demonstrate the wrist motion and describe how the ball rolls off the fingers in throwing a curve ball!

Footnote: Aubrey Hipp passed away on November 15, 2000. Our thoughts and prayers are with Aubrey's family.

And Ruby Gausman, who grew up near Craig, was a horsewoman. Ruby has a photo album which includes many pictures of a log cabin in the mountains- likely the Flattops- which her family would frequent in the summer! Ruby was as "at-home" in the wilderness on horseback as any of the sheep-herders and cattlemen who rode the area! Later, her love of life and of the outdoors would manifest itself in her "green thumb"! Her Golden home is always surrounded by flowers!

Footnote: Ruby Gausman passed away on September 22, 2000. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ruby's family.

Unconventional Wisdom is knowledge gained through non-standard often extraordinary means. Unconventional wisdom applies to the above-mentioned portion of Golden First UMC's congregation. Their life experiences- often hardy and difficult- are hard to relate to for those of us who are younger, especially in light of the ease and comforts of our "modern" lives. Interestingly, the stories above are but the "tip of the iceberg". There are many others we've been fortunate to hear. There are many others yet waiting to be told. There's so much unconventional wisdom yet to be gleaned from the experiences of this portion of our congregation and community. Their heritage is great and their stories are fascinating. Perhaps you owe it to yourself to find out? You'll not only learn a lot, but in giving Christian love and care to our elderly and aging, you'll be rewarded in ways we can't even begin to explain. Christian caregiving at Golden First UMC is always in need of compassionate and loving listeners! If you think you would be interested in participating in this ministry please pray about it -- and then contact Jenny Mitchell via email [ click ] for information concerning Golden First UMC's Caregiving Ministries..

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