A Not So Ancient History

This is Mel and Kathi Gulbranson…

You know them as Grandma and Grandpa Gulbranson.

Together, these two have taught me more than anyone else. I can confidently say that most of what I am today I owe to these two. Therefore, if you want to understand more about me and more about yourself, you need to know about their story.

Grandpa Gulbranson has lived one of the most unique lives out of anyone I know.  After living a good portion of his childhood in Minnesota, his family was compelled to move to Utah when his father became seriously ill. No longer employed, Orin Gulbranson (your great grandpa) gathered their meager belongings and loaded them into a horse-drawn wagon. You read that correctly… a wagon. When Orin suggested that the horses had to be sold, the kids begged him to keep them. He joked that they would have to ride the horses to Utah instead. The family called his bluff and they set off on the nearly 1,300 mile trip. The experience resulted in many miraculous and amazing stories that have forever bonded his family together.

After some time in Utah, the family again had to move and choose to relocate to a tiny Canadian town. They originally hoped to be involved in farming, but there were more opportunities at the local lumber mill. From this point, your Grandpa became a successful entrepreneur and started a family logging company that has grown impressively in spite of his limited education. To this day, Grandpa Gulbranson keeps working. It seems sometimes that he will never fully retire. He just enjoys being busy and won’t slow down. At times, this has driven my siblings and me crazy because he always had us working on something with him. Yet, we are thankful for him teaching us to work hard.

These days you will find him doing all sorts of stuff. He has many hobbies including hunting, trapping, farming, fishing, and working. I am not kidding when I say work is his hobby. There is no real way to explain his drive to work other than he finds it fun. I hope you get to work for him someday. He has a knack for getting on your case about ruining a piece of expensive farm equipment, then later that same day destroying equipment of equal or more value. His favorite tool of destruction: Fire! Few things make me smile more than watching him try to fix a piece of farm equipment. 

He is crazy about his grandchildren. It is not uncommon to see a mass of kids surround him at church waiting to get a mint from him. He will eat strange stuff some of us will never dream of touching. Pickled pig’s feet are just one of his favorite snacks. He is a devout Rook player; almost too devout. To this day I hate everything to do with Rook because of it. He likes most games, except the ones he is not good at. Overall, he is an enjoyable person to be around and a good honest man.

One of them has a reputation for being stubborn... the other has perfected the art itself

He also has a thing for hats

All that's missing is the Duck Dynasty beard

Grandma Gulbranson has an equally interesting history. She was born in the state of Wyoming, but due to her father’s career she moved all over the United States and parts of Europe. Her family moved to Canada too and there she met Grandpa Gulbranson. They got married and started their life off in very humble circumstances. Together with Grandpa they lived in a small wood cabin with very few possessions. They worked tirelessly together doing butcher work to make ends meat (hehe). Little by little they worked towards improving their lot in life. She selflessly put aside many of her interests and desires in order to help out her growing family, which concluded with a total of nine kids. She has been a great example of sacrifice in my life.

Grandma Gulbranson has very different interests than Grandpa. First and foremost, Grandma loves American history. Her office is loaded with books about the American Revolution, the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and many other historical topics. Along with Grandpa, she has visited Israel, Egypt, Guatemala, and many of the Eastern United States. As a result, she is a very knowledgeable and intelligent woman. My own interest in history and politics is a result of her passion. I love to hear what she shares about history.

She adores her grandchildren! She maintains a tradition of taking them out to movies and buying first-day-of-school shirts. She is always sympathetic towards them, which makes us sibling slightly jealous since we rarely received such sympathy in our youth. In fact, most of my friends that know her always would say, “your mom is so nice!” or “Aunt Kathi is the best!”… (That was a simpler time when all you needed to win over the hearts of teenagers was a dozen fresh glazed donuts). My teenage eyes didn’t notice at the time, but she is indeed one of the nicest people you could meet.

Talented

Beautiful

She has it all!

I am sure we drive her crazy from time to time. We are a sarcastic and ridiculing bunch of brothers and sisters. Yet, she taught us the importance of being respectful, clean, and well mannered. She did a good job of it for the most part. At least publicly we are considered normal human beings. Anyone who can accomplish that and not check themselves into a mental institution deserves great respect.

I have the utmost respect for my parents. I am humbled by the lessons they have taught me as I have grown. One of the biggest lessons I learnt from them was not given to me with a routine lecture or a creative discipline. What I have learned resulted from years of silent observation. Whether they realized it or not, they taught me more through example than with words. By observing them I have learned this one simple, yet powerful truth:

There is no trial too great, nor struggle too hard that can prevent you from accomplishing big things.

You see, Grandma and Grandpa have had a plethora of opportunities to give in and let bad fortune or harrowing trials stop them. If you were to ask them, they could tell you dozens of stories about when it would have been easiest to settle for mediocrity, or let disappointment interfere with their goals. It would have been so easy to place blame and find fault elsewhere. However, they never balked at an opportunity to put that all aside and do what they could for the sake of our family. I believe this shared trait has made them as successful as they are.

I am grateful for wonderful parents who pushed me in the right direction. They are now some of my closest friends and I am happy they did so much for our family. I hope you take the time to get to know them. You can learn a lot from their experiences. I know that I already have, and I continue to draw strength from their examples as well.