My Birth Analysis. Many years ago I went to see a lady in Ogden named Algie Herbert to have my Horoscope read. She only ask for date, place and time of birth. According to that information,she analyzed exactly where the planets, etc, all lined up at that moment in time.
Date of Birth 4-16-1950, Place of Birth Salt Lake City, Utah, Time of Birth 5:27 pm. This reads much like that song Aquarius by the 5th Dimension.
The sun was in the 10th House, Moon in the 10th House, Mercury in the 9th House, Venus in the 9th House, Mars in the 3rd House, Jupiter in the 8th House, Saturn in the 9th House, Pisces rising, Uranus in the 3rd House, Neptune in the 12th House, Pluto in the 4th House.
Conjunctions: SUN-MOON – Emphasizes the sun-sign of Aries, Career interests are of great importance, does not listen to advice, does not fare well with discipline.
MOON-SATURN – Self denial & thriftiness are common, ability to work very hard, liking for people, some lack of self confidence.
VENUS-SATURN – Marriage is not enjoyable the person you are with lacks a sense of fun, allowing minor faults to become major problems is common, kind and charitable.
MARS-URANUS – No liking for routine, nervous strain & tension can easily occur, discipline proves difficult to accept, totally ruled by emotions..
URANUS-PLUTO – Ability to direct powerful energy in a dynamic & impressive way, sudden emotional outbursts due to inner tensions.
And there you have it folks the dawning of the age of Kristine.
Having three brothers meant at one time or another we would most likely be at war with each other. Our biggest battles were always fought at “The Fort”.
My older brother Steven convinced my dad as a matter of National Security he needed to build a fort. The sight Steven chose was located in our huge back yard, which up to that point wasn’t being used for anything except growing some of the tallest and most beautiful weeds in all of Kaysville.
Steven began his military operation by calling on his troops. The neighborhood kids would volunteer as soldiers. The roster of inductees went somewhat as follows: General and Chief Commanding Officer, Steven J. Murdock, Enlisted men: Kenny Hansen, Lynn Blood, Robin Webb, Gordon Cottrell and Russell Moore.
Plans for “The Fort” soon began. Trails were mapped out. Trenches were dug. The main part was excavated deep enough to crawl in and sit down. Boards were placed over the top and dirt was piled on top of the boards. A hatch was made so the troops could climb in and out easily.
Dad went to the old Smith and Edwards Surplus store to buy gear for the military operation. He purchased helmets, nap sacks, canteens, mess kits, and most importantly rifles. The rifles were actually old wooden gun stocks with no real killing power.
After “The Fort” was completed, it was time to wage war on the enemy. Girls and little brothers were Enemy Number One, with German’s and Japanese next in line. Whenever Vicky Lynn and I tried to approach “The Fort” we were bombarded with grenades. (dirt clods). When the grenades failed to stop us, the sound of bullets from the wooden rifle stocks would whiz past our heads. My little brothers enjoyed being shot at, and played numerous academy award winning death scenes
It wasn’t long before Steven joined the ranks known as teenagers. He and his buddies were about to embark on an entirely new battlefront. Waging the war on “pimples”. They turned their old army gear in for Clearasil, Rock and Roll music, Friday night movies, Transistor radios and girls.
It didn’t take long for us little kids to take over “The Fort”, New officers were elected. Brent was now Commander in Chief. Vicky Lynn and I were allowed to be Army nurses. Other soldiers included Ronnie Crouch, George A. Bremer, Dean and Dana Hales,Corey Bailey and our baby brother Alan. We added on, we hollowed out spaces and brought in candles. We found old hollow weeds, took them underground in “The Fort” and “smoked” them.(guessing my parents didn’t know we played with matches) We built booby traps on the trail. I once fell in and twisted my ankle. I blamed Brent and much to my delight he got in trouble.
We all gathered down in “The Fort” sometimes just to talk and make plans, draw maps, and come up with new strategies. We opened up to one another, told our deepest, darkest secrets and dreams about our lives and our futures. There were many great conversations held within those old dirt walls.
Years went by, the weeds began to grow tall again around “The Fort”. All that remained was a large hole in the ground and a few boards scattered about. Dad yelled at us for years to fill in the hole. We never listened to him of course. I don’t think it was because we wanted to make him angry or defy him in any way, I think it just hurt too much to admit we had outgrown “The Fort”. After all this was a place where many battles were fought and won not only with the enemy, but within ourselves.
Heber & Effie Murdock my grandparents – taken from Memories of the farm Heber, Utah 1916-1930. My Aunt Mary Murdock Stroud describes the sewing machine.
“She had an old sewing machine and Grandfather Murdock could find anything in the trash pile, anything and he found an old machine that had been in a fire and she’d be sewing along and the bobbin would pop out and she’s have to work around and get the bobbin to go back in and sew a little bit more. One day a salesman came by and he was selling Singer sewing machines. She decided that she was going to have a new sewing machine. So she got enough money together and the man let her have the sewing machine on time and then she had a real hard time to get enough money to pay for that machine, but she was enjoying it all the time and sewing all kinds of clothes on it for us kids. She said one time the man came to collect and she thought she’d hide in the bedroom and she wouldn’t let him know she was there. But we were kinda lucky, we had a dog named Old Prong. Old Prong saw this man coming and he started sneaking up on him like he did, crawling on his stomach ready to nip his heels and he climbed up on the fence. He didn’t dare come down, I can’t remember now if Mother finally came out and saved him and told him she didn’t have the money or just how it ended.”
Our parents weren’t home that fateful evening. Big brother Steven was the designated baby sitter. Our eyes were glued to the the old black and white TV set watching Shirley Temple’s Storybook. Shirley Temple, the narrator, told different fairy tales each week.
This particular evening Beauty and The Beast was the featured show. Steven transformed himself into “The Beast” and started chasing us around the house. We commenced to yelling and running having a great time.
In our attempt to hide from “The Beast”, we dove under my bed. For reasons unknown Brent had managed to wedge his arm between the mattress and the bed frame. “The Beast” jumped onto the bed and crack went Brent’s right arm. Needless to say the fun came to a screeching halt. We seemed to have a knack for things going bad when our parents were away. We had to come up with a plan pronto.
Brent showing off his cast and bragging 1960
Steven tried to calm us down, being a newly appointed Boy Scout he said he knew how to deal with this. He got the first aid kit and began wrapping Brent’s arm in white gauze. It was a feeble attempt at best and looked more like part of an unraveled mummy than an emergency procedure.
Time was running out, we heard the car door slam on our old black Dodge. One thing was for sure we were all equally guilty and we would all receive punishment. We looked to big brother Steven for guidance. He told us we should tell the truth. What a concept !! They bought it hook, line and sinker. Brent was whisked away into the night to be taken to the hospital.
We sat silently waiting on the sofa. They were home, the familiar sound of dad swearing as he walked up the driveway. We looked out the window to see Brent emerge from the car proudly holding up a cast that went clear up around his elbow.
He couldn’t wait to go to school to show off to all his friends and have them sign his cast. He got out of doing a lot of chores for the next few weeks. I think we were all a bit jealous of the special attention he was getting. We always wanted what the other one had, even if it happened to be a broken arm.
Rena and I met at Kaysville Elementary, 1956. We were in Mrs. Blood’s first grade class. We had lots in common. We both loved cats, riding bicycles, acting silly and laughing. We both hated boys and school lunch.
Our favorite subject was recess. We tried to be the first ones on the playground. So much fun to choose from hopscotch, tether ball, 4 square, jump rope and monkey bars. The 5th and 6th graders ruled the school. They “spoke” the best stuff swings, slide, and see saw.
Rena & Kristine 1958
Back in those days we had to wear dresses to school. It never failed, every time we turned somersaults on the monkey bars some of the boys would begin to chant “I see London, I see France, I see Kristine’s underpants”. Rena and I would yell back “Liar, Liar pants on fire, hanging on the telephone wire”. In reality we knew exactly what they had seen. I’d like to see you twirl around or pick up your hoppy taw without showing the world your cute little flowered panties.
Rena could be entertained and fascinated by the simplest of things. She was so spontaneous and genuinely funny. The more ridiculous the better. She didn’t need expensive toys or anything to have fun.To her the world was a wonderful adventure and she was there to enjoy it.
It was a snowy morning in 1959. My baby brother Alan ran out to the living room to see what Santa had brought him. Now what to his wondering eyes should appear? – why it’s better than Santa and eight tiny reindeer, it’s a 3 foot Robot named Big Loo. None of us could believe it. Had Santa really brought this creature from another planet on his sleigh? And how on earth (or his planet) did he fit it down our chimney? Was he really our friend from the moon like it said on the box? Or is he here to destroy earth as we know it?
Alan was beside himself with delight. After Big Loo was out of his box it was time to evaluate all the wonderful things this toy of the “future” could do. He could talk – with a little help from some batteries and wind up handle located in the back of his head. Lou really didn’t have much to say, his vocabulary was extremely limited. His chosen words were “I’m Big Loo, I will fight for you, I Am your friend, I can pick things up.”These commands could be repeated until the batteries wore down or your arm became too tired to crank the handle.
Lou had bright red eyes which sparkled when he talked (ok so they were tiny red light bulbs also running on batteries). HIs eyes grew bright or dim depending on how fast you were willing to wind his handle. The robot had a water squirter, a whistle, a compass and other assorted gadgets. Loo had a great disposition always smiling, I guess that’s because it was painted on.
Not quite sure how to say this tactfully, but Big Loo had the most amazing nipples. They were actually strategically placed rubber darts. When you pulled the lever in the back, his nipples took off like rockets. They were usually aimed at me, and after being assaulted by the beastly breast of Big Loo, I would “boob” until my dad demanded to know what the hell was going on. Much to my delight Alan would get in trouble and Big Loo was put in time out.
One of Loo’s hands was outstretched and opened and closed (with a little help of course). There was a weird plastic thing, an alien bomb of some sort that he could throw across the room. Loo picked up things. You had to be patient with him, it took him about an hour and Alan thought it was worth the wait. His other hand pointed straight out and had a big hole in the top. This was so you could place his 6 red balls into the shoulder (6 balls?, oh well after all he is from the moon). Another lever would release Big Loo’s balls into the air and fling them aimlessly. Alan expected us to pick them up for him. No way it was his robot and wasn’t Big Loo suppose to, in his own words “pick up things”?
Big Loo had amazing feet. He was on rollers so he could glide around with ease. Instead of toes like humans, he was equipped with rockets that could be launched with menacing force. It seemed like there was no end to the talents of this wonderful 3 foot robot from the moon.
After years of playing with Big Loo, time began to take it’s toll. Parts of him began to break off and deteriorate. Yes it looks as though the robot from the moon, will be living out the rest of his years on earth. And so it is. Big Loo is retired and living the good life with Alan in New York.
Heber & Effie Murdock my grandparents Taken from Memories Of The Farm Heber, Utah 1916-1930. My dad John H. Murdock recalls:
“it was a real neat cupboard, stained a brown colored wood. It had kind of a roll top deal and it had where this kind of a thing came down and kept the flour in there and like a sieve in the bottom of it and you could turn that thing and the flour would come down into your pan you was cooking in that there cupboard was something different.
The washing machine had what they called a reservoir. It had to be pushed back in the bedroom so you could get in and out. This old washer had a copper bottom to it and I liked to watch it, it had an arm that moved back and forth you know on the motor and this here thing had a rack and pinion gear in the center and as that thing would go back and forth it had ringers on it too, it was an old Maytag, it was a good washer for it’s day, hell Mother had that when they moved into town, she used it for years.”
Heber & Effie Murdock my grandparents -Taken from Memories of the farm in Heber, Utah 1916-1930 My dad John Murdock recalls:
“Mother would make a cake every chance she got. Some of them she covered with coconut. It was a yellow cake inside and nice frosting. She used straight cream for everything. We had cream. She would make her homemade bread and we’d dip it in the cream and sprinkle sugar on it and I’d go around eating that, it sure tasted good.”
Heber & Effie Murdock, my grandparents – Taken from Memories of the Farm in Heber, Utah 1916-1930 – Uncle Mort Murdock’s recollection about Money:
“Things were pretty rough, there was never any ready cash. We ate like kings, but no cash. Dad would take his wheat and hay and that to the exchange and what they’d do is they had this little book and they’d say you tear out you know, it equaled so many dollars and cents, just like a little book, you would hand that to the clerk and he’d tear it out and you had to take it the the Exchange, that’s how the exchange got it’s name. This was known as the Heber Mercantile. “
Davis Drive In 1334 North Main, Layton, Utah (area currently Kohl’s Department Store)
Article – Deseret News November 28, 2015
Remembering the Davis Drive-In
If you lived in the Mala, Green Leaf or other Layton subdivisions just west of I-15, it was common 25 or more years ago after dusk to hear faint, almost ghost-like conversations outside, or through the window. That was one of the effects of the former Davis Drive-In movie theater, as the soundtrack noise fanned out.
Today the theater is gone, having had almost a 50-year-run, but going the way of many such outdoor theaters. Modern audiences favor the air-conditioned indoor theaters. Kohl’s Department store and other modern development now sits where the drive-in used to be.
The Davis Drive-In had opened in 1945, as World War II had just ended. It was the only drive-in found in north Davis County.
Charlie McElyea, Layton, had worked as a part or full-time employee at the Davis Drive-In for some 35 years, including 25 years as the manager. Back in its early years, the drive-in was the only business around, with open fields everywhere, McElyea once told the Deseret News.
Another Layton resident, the late Gail Strasburg, also worked many years in his youth at the Davis Drive-In. He once said he really enjoyed working there and that it was a tradition for many area families to go there – not just for the movies, but to be out in the evening air, socialize and be much more active/loud than indoor theater goers can be today.
In March 1958 the Davis Drive-In was the first theater bought by Tony Rudman, Sr., who later helped found the Trolley Theatres and Westates Theatres chains.
Two months after his father bought the Davis Drive-In, Tony Rudman Jr. was born. As a boy, TJ’s job was to patrol the drive-in. “Sneaky teens clambering out of car trunks would freeze in the beam from Tony’s flashlight,” Tony Rudman, Jr. recalled.
On the Fourth of July the Rudmans would also entertain audiences at the Davis Drive-In with fireworks. “We’d shoot ’em into an alfalfa field,” Tony Rudman, Jr. said. “We’d always set it on fire, and always had the fire department there to put it out. It was a great way to grow up.”
The prime years from the Davis Drive-In were probably from 1968-1980. During that 12-year span, Layton City didn’t have an indoor theater – the Davis Drive-In was supreme.
Soon the Davis Drive-In was located just across I-15 from the popular Layton Hills Mall, which opened in 1980 and also included an adjacent indoor move theater. That nearby movie complex expanded even more in 1990.
“Drive-ins are just a thing of the past,” McElyea had told the Deseret News. “Indoor movie attendance, dollar houses and videos are raising heck … Drive-ins are a lot more expensive to operate.”
The advent of video rentals in the 1980s also put pressure on Drive-In attendance.
While indoor theaters could gain considerable profit from selling concessions, there’s no way to stop drive-in patrons from bringing in their own food at a drive-in. In fact, that uniqueness became the trademark of a drive-in.
The Davis Drive-In used old carbon-type projectors, that would one day be very expensive to replace. A theater’s movie rentals also became particularly expensive. By the late 1980s, theaters had to turn over about 80 percent of their gate profits back to the movie distributors on first-run movies. For second-run flicks, the figure was 50 percent, but such films attracted a lot fewer patrons.
In the 1950s, McElyea had said he could rent a new movie for only $150 a week. Vandalism and theft also plagued drive-ins — a stolen or broken car speaker costs more than $30 to replace.
The Davis Drive-In employed as many as 16 people in its heyday, with two screens, with a capacity of 800 to 900 cars each.
Some drive-ins started having expanded operations to include weekly swap meets, in order to make ends meet – and that was briefly tried at the Davis Drive-In. However, it didn’t work well and was not financially practical.
In the spring of 1991 the Davis Drive-In opened for its final season. Believing that the 23-acre site was worth more as prime commercial property than as a drive-in, the Rudmans put the theater up for sale. In November of 1992 developers demolished the Davis Drive-In to make the site more attractive to a potential buyer.
However, Kohl’s didn’t open until 2004 on the former drive-in’s site. Today, the Motor-Vu Drive-In in Riverdale, some 9 miles distant is the closest outdoor theater to Layton. Only a handful of drive-ins remain in Utah today.
SOURCES: Deseret News Archives, personal interviews.
Aerial View of Davis Drive In
The First Movies shown at Davis Drive In April 21, 1950
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