My Family HERstory: Conversations with Arda Jean Christensen

Summer, 1955. It's hot, it's humid, she can't understand the locals, and she's pregnant. Arda Jean tells about the touching and often humorous story of becoming a new mother on an army base in South Carolina. She talks about the things in her life that changed, and the things that didn't. She shares some touching stories, funny stories, and incredibly wise advice. 

"'He asked me 'Is there anything about that girl you don't like?' and I said 'No.'" - Don Christensen

Grandma recounts what it was like to serve as a sister missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Called in 1950 to the Pacific Northwest States mission, she shares what the mission home was like, how her companions were, how the people were, and even a chance encounter with the prophet! She shares her love of the Restored Gospel she taught, and advice for all prospective and returned missionaries.

Grandma shares her college experience, beginning with a few stories from her K-12 days, but mostly about her time attending Brigham Young University from the late 40s to the early 50s. Moving from rural Sigurd to *more* developed Provo, classes she loved, friends she made and still speaks with today, and the feeling of joy that accompanied the era after the war as she looked forward into a more hopeful future.

Grandma talks about what it was like to be a Junior High to High School aged kid in wartime America. Rationing, school, and leisure are talked about, as well as experiences with German POWs employed in Southern Utah, and experiences with Japanese Americans interned and free in Southern Utah.

Our first episode ever! Grandma Arda Jean and Grandson Jonathan have a conversation about what it was like to grow up in the 1930s. Grandma tells stories of her own grandparents, farm life, getting electricity and indoor plumbing, and how different, yet similar, life was 90 years ago.