Home and Heritage

A few days ago Savy told me out of the blue how much she loved our home and how grateful she was for it. I have heard similar things from my other children too. Since she said that I have thought a lot about home and what home means.
I have 2 places that have ever really felt like home to me. The home that I grew up in all of my life and this home that we live in now. We have lived here for more than 7 years and I can't imagine ever living anywhere else. I often tell people that I will die in this house. I LOVE my home and community. It is not fancy and certainly not new. It was built in the 1950's and has only had 3 owner's including me...Which is pretty amazing to me considering how old the home is.

My dad has often said that of all of his children, I have recreated as best I can my childhood home.

I often say that I am "West Side, White Trash" and Dang proud of it!
My roots and ancestors are all from the West side since there was a West side.
My Great Great Grandfather James Bertoch left Italy in the 1850's 1 of only 72 Italian Mormon converts that Came to Utah. He was 15 when he left Italy.
He landed in New Orleans and came across the plains in the handcart companies with his 4 siblings. His dad stayed in Italy to help with the new church there. He came later but died before he made it to America. Only 3 of the Bertoch Children survived and made it to Utah...3 of the first Italians in Utah.

When James Bertoch my Great Grandfather got here he worked on Antelope Island taking care of Brigham Young's Cattle. In the spring of 1858 He moved to the West Mountains, known then as Pleasant Green. (Now Magna). He married my Great, Great Grandmother Ann Cutcliffe on May 10, 1866 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake. They continued to live in Pleasant Green and had 13 children. He was ordained a member of the Seventy, served missions and was a farmer.

There is a Monument out West that honors the settlers of Pleasant Green, It says in part..... In the 1860s, settlers from Salt Lake City were attracted to the fertile soil in this part of the valley, and the farming community of Pleasant Green grew up on the two-square-mile area north of Coonville. Early family names in Pleasant Green included Spencer, Reid, Taylor, Cockrell, Jacobs, Lecheminant, Breeze, Perkins, Sutton, Mellen, Hirst, Brown, Bouck, Bertoch, Hartley, Lambert, Whipple, Shields, Adamson, Drury, Featherstone, and Wolstenholme.

From the year 1872, my great, great grandfather and grandmother Bertoch first took up their homestead farm in Pleasant Green, until the year 1905, they developed this land into a splendid farm, with an orchard and a nice home. In 1905 the family history says this....They then moved to Hunter, building a good and comfortable home on thirty-third South Street, just East and across the street from the Hunter Ward Meeting house.

Here they raised their children. My Great Grandfather being one of them, He also raised my Grandfather on this farm, who then raised my dad on this farm and I was raised on this same land and farm.

What an amazing blessing this is and was to me. What a WONDERFUL heritage to come from. I am so proud of where I was raised and of my family. I was fortunate to grow up with all of my grandfather's siblings and their descendant's within walking distance. I LOVED this. I got to go to school and church with so many cousins. I truly thought all families were this close. I even had my Great, Great Uncle Hiram on the same street until he passed away when I was 6 or so.

The house that I grew up in was again nothing fancy. My parents built the house in the middle of the farm. It was down a 1/2 mile dirt lane that I hated when I was younger because I didn't like driving up it or walking anywhere because it was long! Now I have a picture looking up the lane as my background on my phone and my computer. I wish I could go back. My older sister would sneak out when we were teenagers and I remember thinking and still do that she was INSANE to walk up the lane in the dark. I would have no sooner walked up that lane in the dark than fly to the moon. There were ditches on both sides of the lane for irrigating. I love when I am driving now and see open ditches because I loved watering with the irrigation and playing in the ditches growing up. It sounds gross now but it was so much fun!

The house was red brick, it had 2 levels, no basement and sat dead center in the middle of 110 acres, with barns just down below the house.

Right after my parents finished building the home

The front yard..when I was in High School

Looking up the lane towards 3500 S

Looking down the lane towards the house

Another front picture of the house from when I was in High School

A picture of the farm from on top of the barn.

Another picture of the lane from the house towards 3500 S

Down below the barns

Looking up the lane towards 3500 S

Our fields

The back of the house and some of the fields from on top of the barn

From on top of one of the barns to the feeding stalls of the other barns.

From on top of one of the barns

Our front yard

We had to work on the farm with the animals, in the orchard or the garden and I can honestly say that I can't imagine a better childhood. The conversations that I had with my family during this hard work are just priceless.

We had almost every animal that you can think of, my favorites were the peacocks though...I hear from people that our Peacocks are still out there in Hunter which makes me smile.

My parents bought a few peacocks when I was really young and we always had at least 30 peacocks. We had white ones and the typical ones that you always see. Every time I see or hear a peacock now it makes me think of home.

We also had the handcarts that my Great, Great Grandfather used to come across the plains in our barn.

There were some times that living on the farm really stunk because everyone else lived in a neighborhood where they would just walk out and hang out with each other, but to hang out with me they had to make a phone call and we had to get our parents to drive us. This resulted in being left out often.

Other times it was fun because everyone wanted to be at my house because of the animals and there was always something to do.

We never locked our doors and I never felt scared ever!

I went to the same elementary school as my Great Grandfather, My Grandfather and my Dad and my Mom...Which I didn't know.(see her comment below)

Whittier Elementary, It had changed a bit by the time I got there but not much. It was 2 stories and a basement. My brothers kids now go there.

All of my siblings except Karrie and myself live within 10 minutes of my parents and grandparents.

We have almost 3 acres now. I feel really fortunate to have this much land since we are on Main St in Farmington. Even though there isn't the same heritage here that I had/have on the farm that I grew up on. I think my children feel very similar to how I feel about my childhood home.

My parents sold the farm along with the rest of the family that owned property there about 13 years ago. My parents though will never move from Hunter/West Valley City...They built a home in my Grandpa's horse pasture when they sold the farm so now their yard connects with 2 of my dad's cousins, my Grandma's and my brothers.

When I was growing up I could walk along 3500 S from about 5600 W to 6300 W and most of the houses were related to me and along 6000 W from 3500 S to 4100 S again most of the homes were relatives. I don't remember a day of my life that I didn't see my grandparents and several family members.

I agree with most people when they say that the area I grew up in is vastly different and not the same, not as safe as it used to be. BUT in my mind it is the most wonderful place on earth and I am so proud that I am from there. I am proud to go back. I think the most wonderful people in the world come from there and are still out there.

I LOVE going to my parents ward when I get the chance. There are still several of my YW leaders, Primary teachers, Sunday school teachers and such that are there.

I am still close friends with the kids that were in my ward from my youth. There are several families that I can't imagine my childhood without. I love that my kids are friends with the kids of my childhood friends.

We went out to my parents house today to visit all but one of my siblings were there with their families. I feel overwhelmed by how blessed I am to be a Bertoch and from this incredible family and heritage. I was so proud to have my daughters there with me. As we were driving home Cassidy said to me "Mom I love our family, we are so lucky to have them. I wish we lived right by them"

I too wish that I had my family surrounding me like I did when I was growing up.

There is a cemetery out as far west as you can go in Magna up on the mountain where most of my ancestors are buried. I took Cassi out there a month or so ago and was surprised at the emotion I felt as I showed her around the cemetery and told her about all of them. My brother now runs the cemetery out there, which is pretty cool!

When Kailee died I was given a tree which I kept in the container on my front porch of my house in South Farmington because it wasn't home, I wanted to wait to plant the tree until we found a house that we considered home.

I bought our house here and within a month planted the tree in the back yard. This is home to me as much as the home that I grew up in.

I think that a house becomes home because of the memories and love that you share in it and the people that surround you as neighbors and friends.

I LOVE the people the live around me, what an amazing community I live in. This was shown so amazingly when we had the big wind storm in December. I have rarely seen a community come together like that to take care of each other. No one had to be asked or thanked. It just was what we all needed and wanted to do.

I am so grateful that I have been lucky enough to find HOME 2 times in my life and grateful that my children will benefit from both of these homes. I am who I am because of my childhood home and I am grateful beyond words.

I am proud to say that is where I come from!!!!!!!