Sidney Alvarus Hanks

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For the first time this last Memorial Day I actually did what we are supposed to do on Memorial Day - I took some time to remember those who have gone before and made my life as awesome and lucky as it is. Mom Fisher wanted to go to see her parent's resting place as well as her husband's parent's resting place. Since both were conveniently located near SLC we were able to hit both in a relatively short time.

Anyway, we were in the Salt Lake City Cemetery (where several prominent church members are buried) and I felt inspired to call Mom and then Grandma to find out if we had any relatives buried there. Sure enough a Mr. Sidney Alvarus Hanks and his wife are buried there. And this is their story:

Sidney is Ephraim K's brother. There were 3 Hanks brothers who joined the church, Ephraim and (anyone know the name of the other brother) were introduced to the church by Sidney Alvarus. Anyway, Knowlton(?) was called to go on a mission to the Canary Islands but he passed away during the sea voyage to get there. SO, Sidney chose to serve in his brother's place. He went to serve and did not come home until he had been released (anyone know how long?) He passed away wrangling his cattle when a snow storm came up. Ephraim found him the next spring after the thaw which I'm sure was pleasant.

All in all, a pretty cool story - anyone care to correct my facts. I'm sure they're shoddy at best and I'm afraid I might reveal my rusty memory of Scouting for the Mormons and The Tempered Wind

A Remarkable Life

What is it that makes a life remarkable?

I was just listening to an excellent musical compilation called The Ghosts of Gardener Village and one of the lyrics goes "the tales I tell are meaningless if there's not a soul around." I began to think - what is it that makes us pass on the tales of our predecessors? And, how do we do it in a way that will continue past our children? For example, why do all Bassetts know the stories about Ephraim K. Hanks but very few even know who Archibald McPhail is? Is it because other people besides our family tell the stories of Ephraim K. Hanks or made a painting of him...or was he just that remarkable of a man?

I think there is no doubt that he was an incredible man - but somehow his stories have lived on. Why? Sure, his life had some awesome stories - like saving the Martin and Willey handcart companies with a miraculously lost buffalo or shaving his whole face upon request from Brigham Young. But, I would guess most people have at least a few such amazing tales from their lives. So, the question is what kind of stories get passed on and how do we record them? The other day I told the story about Dad feeding an Australian dog a kangaroo steak laced with M80. I also told the story of Aunt Jann almost killing off my mother (accidentally on purpose) when they were kids. These are some great stories about MY family. But, will these stories make it past me? Or will they end with my telling of them?

How do we immortalize the amazing stories of our ancestors so that our kids don’t just know where to find them but they actually know them? By telling them more often? By writing them in a book? As the last song on the Ghosts of Gardener Village goes “Don’t let them be forgotten. Don’t let their memories fade away. If we let them be forgotten we’re denying their tomorrows and our yesterdays.”