When I was a young girl, one of my favorite things to look forward to in the summer was spending a week with my cousin at our grandparents’ house in Nephi, Utah. Their house was so different than living in the city. They had a large plot of land with a barn, chickens, a cow, horses, and a huge garden. They grew all kinds of flowers, vegetables and fruit trees. Grandma Vi would send us out to the garden in the morning to pick raspberries. Then she made waffles for us smothered with the fresh raspberries and whipped cream! For us, city girls, it was what memories were made of.

After my grandparents passed away, my brother-in-law had the presence of mind to harvest some of those raspberry canes before the property was sold and brought them back “to the city.” He offered to share the canes with us which we happily planted in our own yard. Each spring we prune the canes and remove the old ones that bore fruit the year before. Along about the end of June or early July, I go out to the garden and, once again, harvest those beautiful raspberries that I did as a child. Nearly every time, it reminds me of my beloved grandparents and the times we spent in their home as children. Happy, cherished memories.

Spring will soon come! One way of keeping our family history alive is planting something in honor of our ancestors. The same grandparents also had a lovely garden of irises. My maternal grandparents grew peonies, which the same brother-in-law rescued starts for, as well.

When our little grandchildren come to our house in the summer and pick (or can I say raid!) our raspberry patch, I remind them every year where those raspberries came from so they will know my grandparents, too. Such a wonderful way to remember those who have gone before and blessed our lives! Thank you Grandpa and Grandma…

-Janet Helland, Temple and Family History Consultant, Granite FamilySearch Center