Weldon started working at IBM on Friday, December 30, 1983. (His manager insisted that he start in 1983 in order to accumulate one year toward his future vacations by working only one day. Thank you, IBM!)
1984
Our first home at 1950 NW 43rd Street, Rochester, MN. When we moved in at the end of January 1984, the house was dark brown. This shows the house after we repainted it. (Obviously, it wasn’t during January; otherwise it would have been surrounded by by snow.)The deck in the back of our first house in Rochester. (This photo was taken July 13, 1987.)John’s kindergarten picture, 1984, age 5.
Melissa Ann “Missy” Whipple on her birthday, September 14, 1984. Photo taken at the Rochester Methodist Hospital, Rochester, MN.
Barbara’s mother, Donnette Smith, arrived at the Rochester, MN, airport on September 16, two day’s after Missy’s birth. This photo was taken that day, on the deck behind the house. L–R: Anthea, John, Donnette holding Missy, Nicky.The whole family, Sunday, September 16, on the deck behind the home in Rochester. L–R: Nick, Weldon, Anthea holding Missy, Barbara, John.Melissa joined the family in September. Here is Missy with brother Nicholas “Nicky”
Two-week-old Melissa Ann Whipple, September 30, 1984.
Siblings on September 30, 1984—Missy’s blessing day—Rochester, MN. L–R: John, Missy, Anthea, Nicky.Nicholas Whipple, 1950 NW 43rd Street, Rochester, MN, September 30, 1984.Anthea Whipple, Rochester, MN, September 30, 1984John with Taz (Tasmanian Devil), Rochester, MN, September 30, 1984The whole family, September 30, 1984, Rochester, MN. L–R: John, Melissa, Barbara, Anthea, Weldon, Nicholas.The family with Grandma and Grandpa Smith, September 30, 1984, Rochester, MN. L–R: John, Donnette (Stringham) Smith, Melissa, Barbara, Anthea, Weldon, J. Richard Smith, Nicholas.Mom and children, October 4, 1984, Rochester, MN. L–R: Anthea, Missy, John, Nick, Barbara.Barbara’s 34th birthday party, Rochester, MN. L–R: Nicky, Anthea, Barbara, John.John’s 1st grade picture, 1984-85, Rochester, Minnesota.Barbara’s family, taken at the time of Stuart and Mary’s wedding in December 1984. Standing, L–R: Rebecca, Stuart, Cynthia, David, Barbara. Sitting: Donnette, J. Richard Smith.Our first video game console: Atari 2600, Christmas 1984, Rochester, MN. L–R: Nicky, John.
1985
Missy Whipple, early 1985.
Barbara holding Melissa in the back yard of our home at 1950 NW 43rd St. in Rochester Minnesota, 1985. Melissa’s smocked dress was handmade by her grandmother Donnette Smith.Anthea wearing her smocked dress handmade by her grandmother, Donnette Smith, 1985All three women of the family, 1985. In the back yard at 1950 NW 43rd St., Rochester. Standing in front of the new fence. L–R: Anthea “Katie,” Barbara holding Missy.Weldon, John, and Nicholas “Nicky” in the back yard, 1950 NW 43rd Street, Rochester, MN, 1985. Can you believe Weldon word a suit as a programmer at IBM?Anthea’s friend, Kerri Peterson, with Anthea in the backyard, Rochester, MN, 1985.L–R: Nicholas, Anthea, Melissa, John, on the floor in the living room, 1950 NW 43rd Street, Rochester, MN, 1985Anthea, John, and Nicky at Oxbox Park, Rochester, MN, summer 1985Picnicking at Oxbow Park, summer 1985. L–R: Anthea, Barbara, Nick, John. Missy standing in front.Melissa playing at the doll cradle made by her great grandfather Dewey A. Whipple, Rochester, MN, 1985.A visit from Grandpa and Grandma Whipple. L–R: Walt Whipple, John, Nick, Anthea, Erline Whipple.Traveling from Rochester, MN to the Chicago Temple Openhouse, August 1985. Top, L–R: John, Nick. Standing, L–R: Anthea with Melissa, Barbara.Nick, John, and Anthea at the Chicago Temple openhouse, August 1985.A visit from uncles Walter (from Rockford, IL) and Wes (from Madison, WI) and families. Back row, L–R: Nick, Barbara, Weldon, Wes, Ryan. Front row, L–R: John, Mary with Elisabeth, Anthea, Lisa with Aaron. In Rochester, MN, 1985.Seven-year-old John Whipple, second grade, 1985.
John Whipple, March 1986, at home in Rochester, Minnesota.
Nick, all set to brave the Rochester, Minnesota, winter weather, March, 1986. Almost age 6.
The family, May 19, 1986, Rochester, MN. L–R: John, Nick, Weldon, Barbara, Missy, Anthea.Missy playing the piano, May 19, 1986, Rochester, MN.Anthea on the patio with basketball, May 22, 1986, Rochester, MN. Note that the house on 1950 NW 43rd Street was still dark brown at this time.Anthea holding Missy, May 22, 1986, Rochester, MN.Missy at 20 months, wearing a dress smocked by her grandmother Donnette Smith. May 22, 1986, Rochester, MN.Grandmother Donnette Smith (visiting from Idaho Falls), and Missy Whipple, May 22, 1986, Rochester, MN.Grandfather J. Richard Smith (visiting from Idaho Falls) and Missy Whipple, May 22, 1986, Rochester, MN.Barbara and Weldon at home in Rochester, MN, May 23, 1986.Anthea (right) reading to Missy (left), Rochester, MN, May 23, 1986.Bedtime, May 23, 1986, Rochester, MN. L–R: John, Nick, Missy, Anthea.John’s baptism day, Rochester, MN, June 8, 1986. L–R: Anthea, John, Nick, Missy.John in his T-ball uniform, Rochester, MN, 1986.Opening Anthea’s birthday presents on Mom and Dad’s waterbed, July 2, 1986, Rochester, MN.Visiting Oxbow County Park (10 miles west of Rochester, MN), July 1986. L–R: Anthea, John, Nick, Melissa.Nick and Missy at Oxbow Park, July 1986. “Ni-Missy”Nick at Wall Drug, South Dakota, July 1986.John at Wall Drug, South Dakota, July 1986.At Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, July 1986. L–R: Nick, John, Missy (in stroller), Barbara, Anthea.Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, July 1986. L–R: Anthea, Barbara, Missy, Nick (in shadow), John.L–R: Missy, Barbara, Nick, Anthea, John. Yellowstone Park, Summer 1986.Yellowstone Park, July 1986. L–R: Weldon, Anthea with Missy in front Nick, John.Old Faithful, Yellowstone Park, August 1986.With our Clawson friends from Lincoln, August 1986. Visiting in Shelley, ID. Back, L–R: Bonnie Clawson, Rebecca Clawson, Kirk Clawson Daniel Clawson, Barbara, John, Anthea. Front, L–R: Rachael, Clawson, Jacob Clawson, Missy, Nick.L–R: John, Missy, Weldon, Anthea “Katie,” Nick, Barbara; David Smith (Barbara’s brother), Bryant, Kirsten, Sharon, and Scott Smith; Cynthia Siple (Barbara’s sister), Michelle, Kelly, and Kimberly Siple. August 1986, photographed in Idaho Falls.Cousins in Grandpa and Grandma Smith’s backyard, 854 Claire View Lane, Idaho Falls, August 1986. L–R: Scott Smith, John Whipple, Bryant Smith, Nicholas Whipple, Anthea Whipple.Whipple relatives at 1015 N. Blvd, Idaho Falls, August 1986. L–R front: Melissa, Walter LeGrand (grandpa) Whipple, Amanda, Nicky, Maryann, Derek, Emily. Middle: Barbara, John, Anthea, Margaret “Meg”. Back: Graham, Erline (grandma), Earl Joseph Atkinson (great grandpa), Heather, Ian. Very back: Quinn, Bill.Missy and her great grandfather Earl Joseph Atkinson (Missy’s father’s mother’s father), 1015 N. Blvd., Idaho Falls, August 1986.Visiting the Experimental Breeder Reactor One (EBR-1) at the National Reactor Testing Station west of Idaho Falls, August 1986. From the back L–R: Anthea, Cynthia, David, Scott, Sharon, KirstenCraters of the Moon, west of Idaho Falls, August 1986. L–R: Bryant Smith, Kelly Siple, Kimberly Siple, John Whipple, Nicholas Whipple.Smith cousins with Grandma Donnette Smith, 1986. L–R back row: John Whipple, Anthea Whipple, Bryant Smith, Donnette Smith, Kimberly Siple, Kelly Siple. Front row: Nick Whipple, Melissa Whipple, Scott Smith, Kirsten Smith, Michelle Siple.Family photo, August 1986, Idaho Falls. L–R back row: Weldon, Barbara, Anthea. Front row: John, Nick, Missy.Whipples launching rockets at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Labor Day 1986. L–R: Walter, Mary, Lisa, Anthea, Elisabeth (in front), Nick, John, Wes (in front), Tim, Aaron.Launching rockets is fun. Nick in the park at Madison, WI, Labor Day, September 1, 1986.Missy at the same Labor Day rocket launching event, September 1, 1986. Just a few days short of two years old.
Eight-year-old John, 3rd Grade, fall 1986.
Two-year-old Missy, fall, 1986.
Nick’s Tee-Ball team (Rochester Youth Baseball Association), 1986. Nick is on the front row, second from the right.
Nick’s Rochester Youth Football team, fall 1986. Nick is on the front row, second from the right.
John’s 9th birthday party, June 5, 1987, Rochester, Minnesota. John is 3rd from the left, his brother Nick is second from the left.
Welcoming Grandpa and Grandma Smith at the Rochester, MN, Airport, July 8, 1987. L–R: Missy, Barbara, John, Nick, Richard Smith, Donnette Smith.Nick (left) and John (right) playing in the IBM Park July 10, 1987, Rochester, MN.“Ready or not, here I come!” Missy at the same IBM Park in Rochester, MN, July 10, 1987.Missy practicing Suzuki (“Twinkle”?). July 13, 1983, Rochester, MN.John played Rochester Youth Soccer. July 1987.Anthea, Nick, and John at the zoo in Madison, WI, Labor Day, 1987.Nick and two goats, Madison Zoo, Labor Day, 1987.Aunts, uncles, and cousins at the Madison Zoo, Labor Day 1987. L–R: Missy and Barbara, Tim (Walter’s), Walter, Anthea, Lisa, Wes, John, Aaron (Wes’), Nick, Mary, Ryan (Wes’)Launching rockets became a tradition in Madison, WI. This was on Labor Day, 1987. L–R: Walter, Barbara, Lisa, Nick, John, Mary with Elisabeth, Missy, Anthea, Tim, Wes.
Nine-year-old John’s 4th grade photo, fall 1987, Rochester, Minnesota.
Thanksgiving 1987 with Wes and Lisa’s family visiting Rochester, MN, from Madison, WI. L–R: Missy, Wes, Lisa, Nick, Ryan, John, Aaron.At the Minnesota Zoo with Wes’ family, Thanksgiving 1987. L–R in front: Aaron, Nick, Ryan, Anthea, John. In back: Wes.
IBM sent Weldon on a business trip to Fujisawa, Japan (southwest of Tokyo and Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture. Weldon was able to look up a good friend, Minoru Kamada, in Tokyo. During the period from October 1970 to March 1971, they talked and visited almost daily in Wakayama Japan. Shown here are Minoru (left) and Weldon, probably December 12, 1987, in Tokyo.
It turned out that Heisuke Wada (with whom Weldon had opened the city of Wakayama, Japan, to missionary work in October 1970) was living in Fujisawa with his wife and daughters. Here are Heisuke Wada (right) and his wife, in their home in Fujisawa, about December 12, 1987.
Nick (left) and John on the trampoline at the fathers and sons outing near Rochester, MN, 1988.
Now it’s eight-year-old Nick’s turn on the trampoline at the fathers-and-sons outing, 1988, Minnesota.
Visiting Bryce Canyon National Park, summer 1988. L–R: Missy, John, Nick, Anthea, Barbara.Missy and a chipmunk, Bryce Canyon, summer 1988.Visiting the Whipple grandparents in Idaho Falls, July 1988. L–R, front row: John Missy, Nick, Anthea. Back row: Barbara, Weldon.John with cousins on the Ferris Wheel at Tautphaus Park, Idaho Falls, July 1988. L–R: Bryant Smith, Scott Smith, John.All dressed up at Grandpa and Grandpa Smith’s house in Idaho Falls, July 1988. L–R: Nick (front), John (back), Barbara, Missy (front), Anthea (back), Weldon.
Possibly John’s 5th grade photo, fall 1988, Rochester, Minnesota. (Note that he is wearing the same shirt as in the 1986 photo?)
Eight-year-old Nick’s 3rd grade photo, 1988.
Four-year-old Missy Whipple, fall 1988.
Eight-year-old Nick’s soccer team, 1988. Nick is in the front row at the center.
Nick and John, Christmas 1988, Rochester, MN.
1989
Our family got its first dog—Samantha “Sam”—in 1989. It started with us caring for an AKC-registered Miniature Schnauzer puppy for the breeder, Wendell Amstutz. He ended up giving her to us as time went on.
Anthea and Sam, April 1989, Rochester, MinnesotaJohn and his buddy, Sam, April 1989.Nick and Sam, April 1989, Rochester, Minnesota. Everyone loved Sam.Missy and Sam, April 1989, Rochester, Minnesota.
In 1989 IBM sent Weldon on a second trip to Japan—to their Tokyo Software Evaluation Lab (TSEL). The trip lasted three weeks. Barbara joined him halfway through the three weeks. Weldon is pictured here on the way to Tokyo’s Asakusa. Note his beard and mustache. Photo taken May 1, 1989.
Weldon (left of center, with goatee and mustache), in front of Asakusa’s Kaminari-mon (Thunder Gate). (The two characters on the large red paper lantern read Kaminari-mon = 雷門) Photo taken May 1, 1989.
Barbara at Heian Shrine (平安神宮), Kyoto, May 2, 1989
Weldon and Barbara in Nara, Japan, May 5, 1989. Here they are standing outside the South Octagonal Hall (Nan’endō), the 9th of 33 Buddhist temples located throughout the Kansai region of Japan.
Barbara at the Five-story pagoda at Kōfuku-ji, in Nara, Japan, May 5, 1989.
Weldon in Deer Park, Nara, Japan, May 5, 1989.
Good to be home! Family photo taken in Rochester upon Weldon and Barbara’s return from Japan, May 8, 1989. L–R: Nick, John, Barbara, Weldon, Missy, Anthea.
Melissa at the piano, Rochester, Minnesota, May 18 1989.John, age 11, about 1989, Rochester, MN
John (left) and his cousin Nathan Whipple, August 13, 1989. Photo taken at 1015 N. Blvd., Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Eleven-year-old John Weldon Whipple’s 6th grade photo taken at Gage Elementary School, Rochester, Minnesota.
Nine-year-old Nicholas Whipple, grade 4, school photo taken at Gage Elementary School, November 1989.
Five-year-old Melissa Whipple, fall, 1989.
1990
L–R: Missy, Nick, John. Camel riding, probably at the Minnesota Zoo, 1990.
Twelve-year-old John Whipple’s 7th grade photo, taken at John Adams Jr. High, Rochester, Minnesota, fall 1990.
Ten-year-old Nicholas Whipple, fall 1990. Nick was attending 5th Grade at Washington Elementary School in Rochester, Minnesota.
Philip Day, perhaps Nick’s best friend. Photo taken fall 1990 in Rochester, Minnesota.
Hoo You You, befriended by Nick in the 5th grade. To Nick he wrote: “You are my best friend.” A full page article in the September 7, 1994, issue of the Rochester Post-Bulletin was dedicated to Hao, who later excelled in figure skating, after having fled his native Cambodia. During his eight years in Rochester, he developed a passion for figure skating. A resident of California in 1994, Hao won a first-place medal at the 1994 Star of the North Games.
1991
L-R: Barbara, Anthea, Melissa, Weldon, John, Nicholas in the family room of our second home in Rochester Minnesota. April 21, 1991
L-R: Missy, Nick, John, Anthea, April 21, 1991, Rochester, Minnesota
Nick with his Rochester Youth Soccer Timberwolves team, 1991.
Nick with his Rochester Youth Soccer ball, 1991.
Thirteen-year-old John Weldon Whipple’s 8th grade photo, taken at John Adams Jr. High School, fall 1991.
Eleven-year-old Nicholas Whipple, fall 1991. Nick was in 6th grade at Washington Elementary School, Rochester, Minnesota.
Seven-year-old first grader Melissa Whipple, 1991.
1992
Anthea Catherine “Katie” Whipple, April 1992.Scott Cook, Bernie Allen, and John resting at Isle Royale National Park, July 1992.
