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Ralph, My Dad's Special Name Sake

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The June Solstice was no ordinary day in the life of Ruth and Owen Poulsen because this was the day their first child of ten arrived, on Friday, June 21, 1940, in the rural town of Logan, Utah. The child was a son and he was my dad.  My grandpa Owen named my dad in honor of a man named Ralph who gave him a break when life was harder than normal and was an epic event in history. Now, grandpa Owen lived during the Great Depression, when times were tough and jobs were scarce. Grandpa Owen must've been a good guy because the grace of God was shining on him during the depression when a man named Ralph Falkner gave him a job at his gas station. Grandpa Owen was so grateful for this opportunity during hard times that later in life when his first son arrived he named him after this man.  My dad was so impressed by the story of how he got his name that later in his life, my dad tried to locate this man he was named after by going to the location of the gas station to try and find and meet h
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How JoAnn Came to Be

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Friday, August the 13th, 1943, was no regular day nor was it a frightening occasion, because somewhere in Seattle, Washington, my mom entered this earthly world.  Now, upon my mom's arrival, her mom, Helen, named her Iola Fay, which was her mom's given name before her mom was adopted. So, my grandmother on my mom's side was named at birth Iola Fay. When she was adopted, her adopting mother changed her name to Helen Alice, which was her adopting mother's name. So, my grandmother, to honor original name's sake, she named my mom Iola Fay. I had no clue she had the name of Iola Fay until I was an adult and found out from her.  After all the hoopla surrounding my mom's name, her father, Wesley, wasn't even home when she was born or was named, he was off in the Navy fighting in World War II. When he did arrive home from the war he said, her name is JoAnn. So, that's how my mom ended up with the legal name of Iola Fay but goes by JoAnn.    My mom was often call
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The Third Daughter

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The "Chronicles of My Mom and Dad" is an epic journey of memories written by their third daughter, me, Yvonne Poulsen. I am the third of six daughters (nope, no sons) of Ralph Merrell and JoAnn Poulsen. This journey will begin with my mom and will continue with several tales about both my mom and dad. These tales will portray their memories intermingled with my thoughts and feelings about the memories. So, readers get ready for some interesting memoirs and enjoy yourself because I can't wait to begin this journey.  
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