1. Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel
2. Bennie & the Jets by Elton John
3. Haven't Got Time for the Pain by Carly Simon
4. Beth by KISS
5. Don't Go Breakin' My Heart by Elton John
6. If You Leave Me Now by Chicago
7. Mandy by Barry Manilow
8. Come and Get Your Love by Redbone
9. Lady by Styx
10. She's Gone by Daryl Hall & John Oates
11. Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack
I decided that Youth Conference and Snow Conference needed an entry of their own.
Youth Conferrence was the BIG event of the year! We held fund raisers and saved up our personal money so that we could go each year. It was always held on a college campus in the general vicinity of where we lived. They needed a place with lots of rooms as this included all youth ages 14-18 from the states all around us. My first year they used Kent State University but my personal favorite campus that was used was Slippery Rock State College.
Youth Conference lasted about three or four days as I remember. During the days we would choose from classes with all sorts of different topics. There were spiritual, of course, but also practical ones about dating and career planning, health and beauty, sports, dancing. I can't remember them all but they had top-notch teachers for every single one and I looked forward to the classes as much as the activities. We stayed in the dorm rooms and shared with the other girls in our branch. We always had wonderful youth leaders in our branch and often they would go with us as chaperones for the trip but sometimes they had to recruit other people from the branch to go as well. I'll always remember Sister Karen Hohmann going with us. She and her husband were new members in our branch and they were a newly married young couple. Sister Hohmann was so pretty and so young looking. She came with us as chaperone on my last year. The rules of the conference were that after 10 pm, all youth had to be in their dorms and could not be out on the campus unless escorted by a chaperone. Well, we all got a bug to wander over to some building for a snack one night so Sister Hohmann agreed to take us. On our way we got stopped by one of the "patrol" leaders and asked what we were doing out so late without a chaperone. We pointed at Sister Hohmann and told them that she was our leader. They said, "Yeah, right! Nice try, kids! Now off you go back to your room. We are going to have to have a talk with your leader." Sister Hohmann said, "Well, go ahead and talk because I AM their leader!" We ended up having to walk back to the dorms so one of the other, older looking leaders could vouch for her. Sister Hohmann was our hero. We loved her even more after that!
The highlight of Youth Conference was the dance on the final night. There was a more informal one on another night, but it was usually so soon after we got there that nobody had had a chance to meet any one new and make friends so you basically just hung out with the kids you came with. All around the room there were mini branch and ward dances going on inside the one big dance. But after a few days of being able to mingle with other groups, the final dance was the one everyone looked forward to. That dance was usually formal and, looking back on it, the preparation for it was where most of the excitement of the night happened. Picture a dorm room setting, tons of girls doing each other's hair and makeup, hairspray flying - estrogen city! Every now and then the phone would ring and there would be anticipation as to which guy would be calling which girl to ask them to accompany them to the dance! (cue the squeals) There were the girls who pretended not to care about the dance - those not yet 16 and able to have a "date" anyway - they usually hung out by the window which afforded the best view to see the boys approaching from the men's dorm. Alerts would be sent out to the appropriate girl if her "date" was spied on his way. My girls will probably roll their eyes at this account - but it was as close as my life got to that of a typical teenage girl and I relish it even today.
My last year I finally had a date. It was a guy from my district. He was a year younger and a mile taller, but we were buddies - nothing more. It was fun to go to the dance and not feel the pressure of a girlfriend/boyfriend situation. We walked in to the ballroom and the first number they played was a polka! Well, being a good little German girl, I had been taught on the feet of my Grandpa and uncles how to do the polka. I was thrilled when Cliff, a good little German boy with equal training in the dance, swooped me into his arms and literally swung me out and around the dance floor! I didn't have to do a thing but fly as pretty as I could! We laughed and giggled and it was a great night!
2. Bennie & the Jets by Elton John
3. Haven't Got Time for the Pain by Carly Simon
4. Beth by KISS
5. Don't Go Breakin' My Heart by Elton John
6. If You Leave Me Now by Chicago
7. Mandy by Barry Manilow
8. Come and Get Your Love by Redbone
9. Lady by Styx
10. She's Gone by Daryl Hall & John Oates
11. Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack
I decided that Youth Conference and Snow Conference needed an entry of their own.
Youth Conferrence was the BIG event of the year! We held fund raisers and saved up our personal money so that we could go each year. It was always held on a college campus in the general vicinity of where we lived. They needed a place with lots of rooms as this included all youth ages 14-18 from the states all around us. My first year they used Kent State University but my personal favorite campus that was used was Slippery Rock State College.
Youth Conference lasted about three or four days as I remember. During the days we would choose from classes with all sorts of different topics. There were spiritual, of course, but also practical ones about dating and career planning, health and beauty, sports, dancing. I can't remember them all but they had top-notch teachers for every single one and I looked forward to the classes as much as the activities. We stayed in the dorm rooms and shared with the other girls in our branch. We always had wonderful youth leaders in our branch and often they would go with us as chaperones for the trip but sometimes they had to recruit other people from the branch to go as well. I'll always remember Sister Karen Hohmann going with us. She and her husband were new members in our branch and they were a newly married young couple. Sister Hohmann was so pretty and so young looking. She came with us as chaperone on my last year. The rules of the conference were that after 10 pm, all youth had to be in their dorms and could not be out on the campus unless escorted by a chaperone. Well, we all got a bug to wander over to some building for a snack one night so Sister Hohmann agreed to take us. On our way we got stopped by one of the "patrol" leaders and asked what we were doing out so late without a chaperone. We pointed at Sister Hohmann and told them that she was our leader. They said, "Yeah, right! Nice try, kids! Now off you go back to your room. We are going to have to have a talk with your leader." Sister Hohmann said, "Well, go ahead and talk because I AM their leader!" We ended up having to walk back to the dorms so one of the other, older looking leaders could vouch for her. Sister Hohmann was our hero. We loved her even more after that!
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| Sister Karen Hohmann |
My last year I finally had a date. It was a guy from my district. He was a year younger and a mile taller, but we were buddies - nothing more. It was fun to go to the dance and not feel the pressure of a girlfriend/boyfriend situation. We walked in to the ballroom and the first number they played was a polka! Well, being a good little German girl, I had been taught on the feet of my Grandpa and uncles how to do the polka. I was thrilled when Cliff, a good little German boy with equal training in the dance, swooped me into his arms and literally swung me out and around the dance floor! I didn't have to do a thing but fly as pretty as I could! We laughed and giggled and it was a great night!
Even though I only had a date that last year, I usually did get asked to dance at youth conference anyway. There were a couple guys who continued to remember me from my very first year. I'm pretty sure it had a lot to do with the fact that I was one of the kids from our district who performed in the talent show the first night of conference - my very first conference ever. Wow - every time I recall that night I have so many mixed emotions. How is it that I ended up sitting myself down to a piano in front of hundreds and hundreds of kids my age and, accompanying myself, belting out "Killing Me Softly" by Roberta Flack? This is how! We heard before conference that there was going to be a talent show and each district should provide a few entries for it. Everyone in our district knew about our family band because we usually played for the Gold and Green Ball every year. They asked if I would be one of the talents. I was really nervous. I had never been to the youth conference before and had no idea what to expect. I asked all sorts of questions with the most pressing on my mind being - how many kids would there be? They all hem-hawed around and just assured me it wouldn't be any more than what I was used to singing in front of with my family band. But that was the clincher. With my family band, I had the support of my family around me - my father, my mentor, literally right by my side! I had never sat down and accompanied myself except for at home in our living room while practicing or monkeying around. It would be just me, the piano, and a microphone. I reluctantly agreed and went about trying to decide on a song. I had it narrowed down to two songs - "Haven't Got Time For the Pain" by Carly Simon and "Killing Me Softly." Dad stepped in and made the final decision of the Roberta Flack number, saying it laid better for my voice. So off we go to Youth Conference and when we got there and I saw how many kids there were I just about went nuts! I wanted to back out so badly! And I almost did but my leaders talked me into being brave and assured me all would be fine. My heart was pounding and I could hardly breathe. My legs could barely carry me out to the piano. Singing was one thing but I have NEVER felt comfortable playing the piano in front of people. What have I gotten myself in to??!! The first few notes were shaky but as I continued it all just sort of came out and the next thing I knew I was done and they actually clapped - with a few whistles thrown in here and there! Well, because I DID do it, it put me out there where I was seen and then remembered later that week at the dance - and even a few years later. So maybe it was worth it, eh?
Towards the end of my years in MIA they started having these mini-conferences in the winter called "Snow Conference." We'd use a lodge of some sort and it was usually just district level. These were also times of great fun. I don't remember dances being associated with these conferences. I remember the fun the girls would have up in our one big bunk room. We just hung out with each other. The last one I attended (1978) was my most memorable. I had met the man of my dreams and had just returned from meeting his family for the first time over Christmas break. He had asked me to marry him and I had said "Yes!" But more about that later. Being engaged kind of made me an odd entity in MIA. But I was in the process of planning a temple marriage and the girls were curious and happy and hopeful that they would be able to find someone like that someday, too. The red-striped footie pjs I'm wearing in this photo were a gift from him!
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| Me and Shayla B. |
On this playlist are a few songs that have such a strong connection to this entry. Of course, the songs I practiced for my Youth Conference performance. But I need to point out the Billy Joel connection. His hit, Just the Way You Are, was big right at the time of that last Snow Conference. Somebody brought a Billy Joel album to conference and we played that over and over. I love the words to that song and it's exactly how I felt - that somebody loved me just the way I was. That struck a deep chord in me. I had to include some Hall & Oates because, to this day, I swear it was them playing on the Slippery Rock campus one year. We were walking through the student center building and there was this little concert going on and the crowd just grew and grew. We joined them and I loved their sound. Not much later, I heard Hall & Oates on the radio and I started yelling, "These are those guys that were at Slippery Rock!" Any Hall & Oates song slams me right inside of that Slippery Rock building - whether it truly was them or not. They ARE from Philly, you know!
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