Henry Hansen Story
We enjoyed some great holidays with Jan and Bill Hall. Bill was a good organizer and planned ahead and took us places we hadn't seen before. On one Montana trip we found a camping spot that wasn't so great and had to send for water quite a distance. Hank was the one who was always willing to go--gave him an excuse to get acquainted all over camp. As Bill and Jan and I watched him coming back I made the comment that he would be able to tell us exactly who in that camp ground had LDS Church connections. And so he did! We never ceased to marvel at how quickly he could establish his own beliefs and uncover any possible connection or interest, in any and all strangers. After Jackie came into our family, the same was true of anyone who happened to be riding a motorcycle. They learned very quickly who owned Langlitz Leathers. One of our excursions with the Halls was to South Dakota and as it so happened, the same week as the Harley Davidson rally in Sturgis. We were on the road and in the company of thousands and thousands of Harleys. What an opportunity for Hank! I do think he stressed 'Langlitz' connections that week and not his beloved church.
In later years he found a lot of Asians living in the area and he was quick to begin conversations and invite people in to meet me (always encouraging me to have them over for dinner). This was most interesting to me, since he had a real hearing loss and was rather hard to communicate with--in English. Goodness knows those Asians barely spoke our language and I, who had great hearing, couldn't understand them at all! It was embarrassing and I finally asked him to stop bringing them into our home. I was usually busy or not feeling well and it was difficult to make sense of what they were saying. It didn't do any good--he brought them anyway. One day he was away and the doorbell rang and there was a family (Asian) outside and they had one spokesperson. She knew a few English words, so with gestures and bows she said "Grandfather San and blackberries and wine and goodbye" and handed me a bottle of homemade blackberry wine. I knew he had helped some berry pickers to find the good places to pick and this was their hard earned result. Apparently they were leaving the city and wanted to thank him. Not knowing what else to do and not wanting to insult them, I took it and have it still! A reminder of friendships that knew no racial barriers and where language wasn't very important.
At Church he made many young friends, high school age kids--it would be difficult to name them all. But this story wouldn't be compete without mention of the Roberts family. Paul and Bev were dear and special friends for many years and as their children came along Hank did try to be a good home teacher. Paul was made Bishop and for years had to sit on the stand while Bev struggled with little boys and a new baby (Ronnie). Hank always arranged seating by Bev so he could help her. He taught all the boys to drive (and also Shari) a stick-shift except Ronnie, who was a bit young. And to ride his Honda, tractor, mower, and whatever shop work he could. One of my pleasant memories of those years was the day he and Shari spent the day riding motorbikes on the mountains in Yamhill while I waited at the truck with a book and the picnic lunch.
And Jeff Bailey, who after his mission was speaking in Church and wept over the "loss of his best friend" while he was gone. He hunted with Jeff and Brian and Mark and Jeff (Roberts) and Ronnie. His last trip with Mark was just to Yamhill and Hank was too weak to drive the truck. Mark had barely earned his driving license but he did all the driving--mountains and all--and got his deer! Which caused his parents a great deal of distress. They had let him go off hunting with Hank happily knowing Hank's (recent) record in bagging a deer they weren't worried! A bloody dead deer was a real problem but Hank and Mark were happy and satisfied.
He loved young people and they seemed to know it. We were on a trip to the San Juan Islands one summer, just the two of us which was most unusual. I was so very tired and not well at all so was looking forward to a peace-filled few days. I've always liked to be alone, some of the time at least, while Hank never did--nor did he understand my feelings about it. So going onto the ferry I asked him to not introduce me to anybody. That didn't last long. Pretty soon here he came with a cute young man, Stephone, who was a sailor in the Canadian Navy. Stephone needed grandparents that day I guess--he stuck to us like glue. He really was a darling boy and we enjoyed him very much. He finally left us promising to come and visit us one day. And maybe he will yet--but what tickled me the most was the minute Hank and I were alone he said "I couldn't help it--he followed me!" And indeed I'm sure he did.
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Too bad I don't have a computer (and knew how to use it). This account has wandered in and out over the years and I've left out so much already. No story about Hank and his family would be complete without the telling of the window in his new truck which Dean took a hammer to. Dean was just 3 or 4 but he took that hammer and struck the back window about 5 times. Nor the time that Barbara was learning to drive the dune buggy and her foot missed the brake somehow and she broke the gas pump right off the base. When Dean, as a toddler, "drove" the pickup across the parking lot and into a telephone booth. Or another truck and trailer tore a gas pump apart on a day the temp was about 100 and the gas made a geyser all over the station (and closed it down). All funny--or so it seemed. He never got too upset. I did, since I knew who was paying but somehow everyone laughed, and laughed--well maybe not about that gas station. That was scary.
Early in our raising of our family I remember worrying about how they would be as adults. And realizing that the most important part of their lives would be their choice of marriage partners. As the years went by we began to think they weren't going to marry at all. David want to England to serve a mission in the Midlands after a year at Oregon State. Then Barbara announced that she wanted to go on a mission and thrill of all thrills, was called to her beloved France (the French-Switzerland Mission). She spoke the language fluently before she was called. Then when Dean turned 19 he surprised us, and himself I think, by going to Columbus, Ohio to serve his mission. David was a reluctant 'dater'--or he kept us from knowing who he did date. But Barbara had all kinds of young men around and while we expected her to marry at age 13, the older she got, the less she seemed to care. Finally at age 24 she was back at school (BYU) having completed her mission and was visited by Brian Jones who was David's good friend. Suddenly he was Barbara's best friend and still is! They were married in November 1976 at Manti, Utah (because that was the Temple of her choice). And then Susan, who was just 20, and also attending BYU met Don We1ch at the young adult gatherings here at home. It was soon clear to all of us that she had found her eternal mate and they were married in May, 1980. It was about that time that David brought a friend home who was a girl (finally) and surprised everybody by marrying Jackie Langlitz in February, 1981. He was 33 years old by then and we had about given up. Hank used to offer his red Dodge charger to the cute young girls in the Ward if they would marry his son! At the same time David would introduce his sister (Barbara) to his male friends with the notation that she was available! Which she hated.
January 22, 1997
My guilty conscience has won over--put this away for so long it was easy to forget. Partly because I've not felt well and partly because Hank's last years were too painful to remember and to write about. I'd rather recall the healthy years. I had assumed that when (or if) he ever retired, we would have fun 'golden' years with mission or travel and grandkids and lots of fun. It wasn't to be.
After our children all married (Dean married Kari Johnson which was short-lived--then Lori Long, which didn't last much longer), the grandchildren finally came. First Bonnie. We were 50 years old by then and more than ready for grand babies to love. And they were so darling--every one. Bonnie, Dan, Jeff, Alison, Kristin, Nicholas, Jessie, Ross and Judy. 9 all together. We had about given up hope of David and Jackie having any. They were almost 40 years old when those sweet babies came. And Susan's didn't come to her easily either. Medical Science helped her. Hank didn't get to spend the time with any of them that he would have liked. He did have a couple of fun trips with Jeff. So far I've not mentioned the "wagon train" and it was a big part of his life for several years. He had always had an interest in anything western--and when he discovered the wagon train sponsored by Washington County 4-H organization, he was more than excited! They needed men with trucks who had the time to help out. He hauled hay and supplies, portable toilets or whatever else they needed. And found a whole new group of friends and completely enjoyed three trips in various parts of Oregon. I believe it was 3, as I've written this I can hear him saying no-no-no to lots of my facts. But since he left it to me to do, I get the last say. He took along his pinochle cards and found lots of those old timers who loved to play as much as he did. By the second year he had organized quite a group of card players. I suspect that this wasn't in keeping with the program because I've learned since that with his absence the pinochle was dropped.
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