A little piece of Grandview in New York City

Submitted by Elder and Sister Dalebout


Thirty-seven years ago, our little family of five moved into our home at 1559 W. 1170 N. on Grandview Hill. I remember David Dalton saying that Grandview Hill was a special place to live and that really special people moved here. We have certainly been blessed to live here and associate with very special people.

There are a couple of "first impression" memories that come to mind. Not long after we moved into our home, we went to a stake dance. It was a dance for everyone, youth, as well as older people. As we walked into the cultural hall, it was alive with people who were dancing and having a great time. The thing that impressed us was that young people were dancing with older people. Randy Stokes was a teenager at that time, and he was dancing with an older person. We had such a good impression of the stake. Also, at one of our ward parties, we remember seeing Monita Robison dancing across the stage in a tutu. (I, Evelyn, had taken a class at BYU from Clarence Robison and had heard him talk about his wife.) It was really interesting to see Monita be such a "cut up."

Our street (1170 North) was alive with children. At one point, the streets of 1170 North and 1650 West housed 80 children. As our children were growing up, it was so impressive to see how all those children played together. In the summer, there were up to forty kids playing kick ball or other street games on the street of 1170 North. High school kids were playing with kids of all ages, down to five years of age. Many of them would congregate on our front porch and watch the games. Grandview Hill was a great place to raise children.

The Wood family lived across the street from us. They had four great boys. Three of those boys married girls from our ward. Ethan Wood married Stacey Dennis, who lived across the street from him. Travis Wood married Rachel Laursen, who lived a couple of blocks away. Ryan Wood married our daughter, Jenny. And, we weren't the only family who had children marry children within the ward. Bill and Vicki Frances grew up together and married each other also.

We remember when the benches in the chapel were filled with 12 Liechtys, 12 Lunds, 10 Bensons, 10 Vellingas, 10 Francis' and many other families with just a few less than that. Our primaries were packed with children; our young men and young women program was also impressive. And, when those children grew up, there were tons of missionaries. Grandview Hill has a heritage of wonderful families, who produced really great people.

We are now serving a mission in the New York New York North Mission. It seems that when you are in the church, your world becomes very small. A few weeks ago, we attended our ward (Inwood 1st Ward). David Liechty and his wife and daughter have moved into our ward. David was a friend of our son, Scott. Suzy Liechty (David's mother) was also there to help David and his family move. Our daughter, Jennifer, and her baby were visiting us. So, Jenny, Suzy and I were sitting together. In Relief Society, a new member of the ward stood up and told us her name was Lisa Vellinga. We all looked at each other and said: "She has to be related to our Vellinga Family on Grandview Hill." After the meeting, we went over to talk to her and we found out that she is Jed Vellinga's wife. Jed grew up in our ward in Grandview, and is the son of Clarence and Annette Vellinga. So, here we are in the Inwood 1st Ward in New York City, and we have Liechtys, Vellingas and Dalebouts together!

Grandview has been our home for 37 years. We love it there and love the people who live there. We hope to be there the rest of our lives. So, even though we will miss the grand celebration, we wish you all the best. We love you.

Finding our way home

We were drawn to the Grandview area from the start. Newly married, we rented a worn one-bedroom apartment on Columbia Lane, just south of the Baptist church. Because it was often on the way to somewhere, we frequently found ourselves driving through the Grandview South neighborhood. I remember watching the Hodges’ house go up and wishing I could have a house there someday.

Within a year, Shane was called to serve at BYU, where we spent a good deal of time with Orrin and Sandy (Robison) Olsen and Mark & Jaye Lynn Robison. They were good friends and mentors to us at the time, and still are. Shortly before Luke was born, we moved to northeast Provo, but it never quite felt like home. It wasn’t long before we were led back to Grandview. Shane was hired to teach at Grandview Elementary and eventually we found ourselves purchasing our first home (a fixer-upper rumored to have once been a fruit-packing shed) on 1320 North. The (then) Grandview 5th ward members were so welcoming. They knew all our names and had us listed in the ward directory before we even closed on the house.

A few months after we’d moved back, I walked into Relief Society to see the chairs placed in a circle around a pretend campfire. It was July 24^th and, as part of the lesson, several sisters had been asked to share pioneer stories. About halfway through the meeting, Charlotte Loveless stood and told a story that was familiar to me. It was about a baby boy born on the muddy banks of the Chariton River. I approached Charlotte afterward and asked how she knew the story of the birth of my maternal great grandfather. She laughed and told me it was also the story of her great grandfather. We affectionately referred to one another as “cousin” ever since.

Some time later, my paternal grandmother gave me a beautiful pedigree chart done in calligraphy. I had the chart matted and framed and, pleased with the way it turned out, showed it off to my neighbor, Maria Lund. Maria admired the fine calligraphy, then scrutinized the names more closely, asking, “Where did you get these names?” I told her they were my father’s family. As it turns out, our respective families were practically family. As youth, my father and his siblings had often stayed the night at Maria’s house after driving to town for stake dances. Maria’s brother lived with my dad’s family and worked their ranch for a time.

The connections--perhaps reconnections--continue, even to this day, as our Elder Rowley finds himself hoping to help harvest seeds sown in the small town of Selby, England some 15 years ago by an Elder Dalebout, who grew up just a couple of blocks away. You are more than neighbors. You're family. So much so that when we outgrew our first house and the time came to move, we looked no further than across the street. We’re coming upon 20 years here now. You’ve shared in so many of our joys and our sorrows. We’ve shared in some of yours as well.

Whether for vineyards or orchards, the grafting metaphor is ripe with significance. And when I think of the Grandview community, I can’t help but feel that grafting is simply a way to place something where it was always meant to be.