I’m so proud to introduce you to our mom tonight! To tell you some of the unique things about Noreen Siddoway that make her special. Why we think you mad an excellent decision by choosing her.

Our Mom! Her story began on a Monday in May of 1931 when she was born to Ted and Jeneal Rasmussen. We always loved listening to the stories about mom’s life. About her childhood — how she was raised in Kilgore on a dairy farm by her dad who was tall and handsome and soft-spoken, a little on the shy side, and her mom, who was short and beautiful and full of fun and a little bit sassy.

Mom worked hard! She always said her mother was so clean she was surprised there was any paint left on the wall. Grandpa always had hired men so there were always big meals to fix. No running water, use the hand pump, no hot water, use the hand pump, fill the reservoir on the wood cook stove, keep firewood on hand to keep the stove going and the house heated. Time for a bath? Use the hand pump. Laundry day? Use the hand pump! Time to clean the outhouse, mop the floors, wash the windows? Use the hand pump!

Mom attended school, grades one through eight, in a one-room schoolhouse in Kilgore. Her Aunt Betty was her teacher and made learning magical for mom. Mom always loved her, and I believe she has always been one of mom’s heroes!

Our mom loved her life! She loved her friends; she loved the picnics in the mountains; she loved the dances at Medicine Lodge; she loved the horseback rides, and she loved the people who always dropped in at her family’s home. She loved (occasionally) the sleigh rides to school. Mom loved the quiet, serene life that she had come to know and love! But most importantly she loved that her dad was always good for his word, that her mother would always drop what she was doing to help a neighbor, a friend or even a stranger. She was taught the value of hard work and good deeds by honest, hardworking people.

When mom had attended all the schooling she could in Clark County, she had to move to Parker to live with her grandparents so she would be able to graduate from high school. She got a little homesick. She missed the routine of her farm life, her parents, and her beautiful little sister Donna. But it was also here that she met that dashing, the handsome, the witty Harold Siddoway! He fell in love with this beautiful farm girl who could ride a horse like nobody’s business, who knew how to cook and how to work and was kind and gentle and had never had a spanking in her entire life. After a year of school at Idaho State University mom and dad were married!

And it was in Teton that she began her life as a farmer’s wife! Mom had never lived in “a town” before. Everyone knew dad — he was Hud — she was the new kid on the block! But with that Kilgore grit and determination she dove into her new life! Dad had a lot of friends. They moved into a little home where the Teton church is now, and the first time they started a fire those “friends” had filled the stovepipe, and the whole house filled with smoke! Not a great first impression! But mom was determined, and it wasn’t long until she learned to love dad’s friends!

When mom and dad decided to start a family they were surprised when Thane decided to come so quickly after Tauna! But they were even more surprised when Grandpa and Grandma Rasmussen announced that they were expecting, too! Along came Trena, mom’s youngest sister. Mom thought it was quite fun to be pregnant with her own mom! Thane and I thought it was kind of odd we had an aunt that was younger than us — so we have never called her Aunt Trena! Trena has always been more like our sister, and lots of our most precious memories are with her! We have been blessed beyond measure to know and love and spend time with our remarkable grandparents. They were always a part of every single thing we did, and now, as we’ve gotten older, we understand even more why our parents are so amazing!

So after Tauna came Thane, and after Thane came Max! (My theory at this point was that they should have stopped at one) But then we got a little blonde sister, Shelley, and then came our youngest sister, Jody. And the girls outnumbered the boys, and I was happy!

One of the first memories we had as kids was that we ate every meal together, and the table was always set, and it always looked nice! We also remembered that Max couldn’t crack his boiled egg by himself, so mom did it for him. That lasted until Max got married, and now Brenda does it!

I think if there’s one thing that stands out in our memories the most as Harold and Noreen’s kids is that everyone was welcome in our home! There were very few mornings in our house when there weren’t guys sitting having coffee while we ate our breakfast. We learned some pretty crazy things during those discussions, but we learned one thing for sure, and that was our mom and dad saw good in everyone! It didn’t matter who they were, everybody was welcome in our home. Our parents raised us on this belief and made sure we lived by it: “You’re just as good as everyone else, but you’re not any better!” Our parents never treated anyone with disrespect, and they expected us to do the same!

Mom always had a job, though we never looked at it that way! She ironed, she mended, she took her turn at PTA, she raised a garden, she raised five kids, she ran to town for parts, she made her own lye soap, she was my Grandpa Siddoway’s right-hand man when dad was gone, and grandpa counted on mom for lots of things! There was more than one time grandpa or dad would bring newborn calves into the utility room in the house to save them from freezing, and mom would rub them and rub them til the warmth came back into them. Grandpa had a deep love and respect for mom because she was always, always willing to help! I think he always loved that she was so sweet and she was an important part of his family. And when dad was out in the fields and it was lunchtime, mom would go out on the back step and wave a dishtowel so he’d know there was a meal waiting for him and it was time to come in! She has always valued the fact that dad was such a hard worker and a good provider!

Mom and dad’s dreams came true when they were able to buy a place in Kilgore. It became known as “the red house!” Dad was able to take some of his cattle out there, and I’m sure that may have been one of the happiest days of our mom’s life! She was in a place she loved, where she knew who lived where, and guess what? “The stagecoach stop used to be at my grandmother’s house.” And she’d say “When I was a little girl the Indians used to come here to dig Camas root,” and “Have I ever shown you before where my grandpa’s sawmill was?” Our mom knows the names of almost every wildflower that grows on The Loop in Kilgore. She can tell how she and Donna used to rake hay and ride horses; how her mom and dad always respected and loved each other and the land they live on!

But as far as we’re concerned, the kids and the grandkids got the best deal! We love to go to grandma and grandpa’s house. Number one, Trena was there; two, Trena had toys; three, grandma was the funnest, the coolest, the best grandma in the whole world; four, grandpa loved to spoil us and he didn’t believe in spanking; five, they deeply loved our mom and dad. We all, from the oldest to the youngest, have a love of that land, that place, that is almost sacred because of the heritage our grandparents and parents have provided for us! Our mother has a heart so large everyone benefits from it! Her grandkids are her delight, and she truly, deeply loves every single one of them! Each one of them believes that they are Nana’s favorite — and they are! She still mixes bread about once a week and gives most of it away! And though she has a hard time taking it to the door, she always finds a way to get it where it needs to be!

Why is she a great choice for this award? Because our mom is tough! Why is she tough? Because she’s always been our bridge. When we needed to get across she steadied herself just long enough for us to run across safely!

You’re our hero, mom!