Purple Petunias

When I was growing up we went to theThe Lost River Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Our building was in the middle of our valley and it was surrounded by farms.  It was a mile to the church if we went on the road, but as the crow flys it was less than that.  This is a picture of our family taken the summer I was 8 years old.  The church is in the back ground.

We had a custodian named Courtliegh Toombs that I could write a few stories about.  My brother Kirby has told me some great stories also.  Let me just say that when I was growing up he was a very very old man, probably in his early 50's.  He and his wife Josephine never had any children, so they were an anomaly to us.  They seemed a little strange, but as I look back on it, they were doing everything they could do to be a viable part of our congregation.

Courtliegh had a green thumb among his many talents.  He grew bedding plants in a hot house and he planted beautiful flower beds at the church.  One of my favorite things that he planted was purple petunias.  On a warm Sunday we could smell their sweet fragrance as we were walking into the church. There were times when the air was just right that I could smell them all the way to our house.

I grew up loving the smell of Purple Petunias!  Other petunias don't have a very strong fragrance. When I smell purple petunias now, it takes me right back to my childhood.  I had a very happy childhood, so that is a good thing!

The back row: my mom and my little brother Kirby and  my dad.
Next row: Me, Joe Sylvia, Gwen
The little girl in front is Laura.

This must be one of my fondest memories...I made a similar post back on July 17, 2011