Small Hometown Life by Wendy Lindsey

Hello!  We’re the Lindsey family and we’ve recently (last August) moved back to St. Johns from Queen Creek.  Both Tony and I were raised here; Tony’s parents are Tony and Yolanda Lindsey, and my parents are Ted and Julie Raban.  We have 7 children with 3 left at home, a son attending ASU, a son serving a mission in Brazil, and our 2 oldest children are married and have blessed us with 4 grandchildren!  Tony has been in IT most of his life and currently manages the IT department at Navopache.  I have been fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom most of our married life. 

It’s a wonderful thing how life slows down in a small town and priorities are realized.  One of the many things we truly love about being home is living near family and being reunited with old friends (many we’ve grown up with) who truly love and care for each other.  There are many larger-than-life individuals (past and present) in this community that we will always look up to who have helped shape our characters.  It’s important to us that our children have the same opportunities to learn and glean from those wisdoms, too.  

We’ve always felt a draw to move home and raise our children in this environment.  We have also had the desire to live near our parents as they are growing older, so when an opening became available at Navopache, Tony applied, and we were blessed to get the job!  Over the years we have wanted our children to enjoy the same experiences and traditions that were afforded to us growing up here, so when it came time to choose where we would live, we had no intention on living anywhere but SJ!  There’s a sense of security, belonging, heritage, and purpose that can pull hometown folks to their roots.  We could not deny that pull and have long felt a responsibility to our family and our community.  We’ve been fortunate to live in many wonderful places such as Utah, Texas, Georgia, etc., but at the end of the day, this is home and “There’s no place like home.”  We’re so happy to be here! 

You're Home by Eva Hinds

The names that adorn my family tree also decorate many others in the town of friendly neighbors: Tanner, Parkinson, Overson, Oveson, Jarvis, Christensen, Morgan, and Linton. Even though I did not grow up in St. Johns, I have very fond memories of spending part of the summers here, and it is always a welcomed surprise to figure out how familiar faces are related to me. 

I am named after my great-grandmother Eva (Overson) Tanner, the daughter of Henry and Margaret (Jarvis) Overson. She was the eldest of nine children—and the only girl. Many will remember my grandparents, Wallace and Maxine Tanner. It was their family reunions that had my family coming to St. Johns. I have always felt that St. Johns was home. Every time I return, a thought comes to my mind: “Take a deep breath. You’re home now.”

After my mission, I had the opportunity to move here. Hearing stories of the past and becoming aware of those around me who are woven into that history has been wonderful. Several times I have had people approach me and tell me how much I look like someone they once knew. When asked, it turned out that the person was one of my immediate relatives.

Even if I didn’t have these family connections (and I am still finding out about new ones), I believe I would still feel at home here. St. Johns allows anyone seeking family to find it. It is the simple every day actions of the town: the quiet acts of service, a warm greeting, the rallying behind a cause, a smile or a hug in passing, the fanfare for victories, and the comfort when mourning. I’m thankful to have the opportunity to live in such a place that also has family history and memories. 

Eva Overson Tanner (author's namesake)

Eva Tanner watching the St. Johns Pioneer Day parade in 1989

Maxine and Wallace Tanner (author's grandparents)

Hinds Family

Sydney and Eva Tanner, St. Johns 1989 for Tanner family reunion

The Lasting Effects of Positive Influences by Brent Overson

The other night, as I was sitting on a bleacher watching my son play in a little league baseball game, a familiar voice said to me, “Does this bring back memories, Brent?” As I looked over my shoulder and saw Gerald Romero, my little league all-star coach, sitting there with that familiar smile – mostly in his eyes – memories indeed came flooding, but I was surprised by what those memories were. I didn’t remember who or where we played, or how far we went in the tournament. I didn’t remember our fancy uniforms or any parties after the games. What I did remember was being a younger kid on the team and being afraid of a few of my teammates, but always feeling safe with Coach Romero around. I remembered practice – where he spent so much time hitting us balls until we felt like we kind of knew what we were doing out there. I remembered him running out onto the field and meeting me around second base, giving me a big hug and shaking me up and down a few times after I made a catch in center field to end a game and seal a victory. As I sat there on those bleachers with him, I could still remember the look on his face. What I thought was just pride and joy was probably more surprise and amazement that God had seen fit to answer his quick prayer with the ball in the air. Most of all, I remembered him making me feel like a million bucks - not just at that moment, but all the time. It’s amazing how vivid those feelings still are even as I type these words. I’m surprised by the warmth and love I feel towards that man now, 33 years later. I guess knowing what I know, having raised a couple of kids and experienced a lot of the ups and downs that life has to offer, I have a greater appreciation now for who he was then. I understand more the value of a good man. I was blessed to have been mentored by Coach Romero and so many others as I grew up here in this little town I call home. The names are many – of teachers, coaches, family, and friends – which come attached with these warm feelings because of the great qualities they exhibited to me in my youth. Most of all, I knew that they cared about me. As we raise our family here now, we are so grateful to the good, loving people who care enough to have a positive influence on our kids. I know, personally, how sweet and long lasting that influence can be. 

Kindness vs. Love by Tobie Overson

Last week in our fast and testimony meeting, Sister Jackie Lee stood and bore her testimony and some things that she said have really influenced my thoughts this week.  She was talking about her feelings of the Savior and a specific experience she had where she had the opportunity to feel some of Christ’s feelings.  This is not a direct quote from her, but this is what I got from what she shared.  Christ is very kind and His kindness is way beyond any kindness we can feel on this earth, but He is also VERY loving and His love even surpasses His kindness.  For instance, the money changers in the temple probably didn’t think Christ was being very kind when he rebuked them and overturned their tables; nevertheless, He acted out of love and He loved them (and His Father) enough to correct their behavior.  The young lawyer didn’t perceive the Savior as being kind when He told him to go and sell all that he had and follow Him, yet what better thing could he have done?  Because of the stage of life I am in, when I heard Sister Lee’s words, I thought about them in terms of being a mother. A couple of things in particular came to mind.

First, when our children are little, they would be tickled to eat candy and junk food all the time if we would let them.  (At least this has been the case with my kids!)  It may seem kind to give them what they want, but it would definitely not be loving.  Their health and teeth would obviously suffer as a result of being “kind” in this instance. Our children may currently think otherwise, but they’lllater realize that every time I made them eat what was on their plate or nothing at all, I was acting out of complete love for them.  I have even had the blessing of having older children thank me for making them eat their veggies and that gives me the courage to continue my fight with the younger ones.

Second, our teenagers love to see what they can get away with. It is hard to be a “popular” parent with thembecause when we correct their course we are often met with the words, “This is not fair!” or, “Why are you so mean?”  As parents of teenagers, it is not our job to always do what they believe is “kind” but to do what is most loving, always having in mind their eternal future and how their current decisions will affect that.  It takes a great deal of perspective to be able to do this consistently and it is something that I pray for daily.

Lastly, our loving Heavenly Father sent us to this earth without the memory of what we experienced before we came.  Each of us has been sent to different homes with lots of different situations and trials to deal with, sometimes making it very difficult to choose the right way.  Some may look at that and think it is “unkind” or “unfair” of God to do that.  But if we take a closer look, we see that He is showing complete love for us.  He knows that we only grow and become like Him when we are stretched, so He allows us to have trials and difficulties in our lives that will get us back to Him because He loves us so perfectly.

Thank you, Sister Lee, for your precious testimony. I want to be kind as the Savior is kind and to love as the Savior loves.