Sunday, July 13, 2025

Cracking the cost of living: Saving money is easy for a dozen Eggs (plus one)


The Theron Egg family Theron and his wife and Brian, Steven, David, Benny, 
Aaron, Heidi, Darlene, Carolyn and Jay.


Friday, January 23, 1981 HODGE – By sharing tasks and shaving costs, the 13 members of the Theron Egg family are cutting the cost of living in half on their desert farm near Barstow.

“Somehow manage, but it’s still hard to make ends meet,” said 37-year-old Carol Egg, who cans home-grown vegetables and fruits and sews most of the clothing her children wear.

Her husband, Theron, 43, an English teacher at Barstow High School, has converted the former square dance hall that adjoins their modest home into five bedrooms for their nine children.

He now is building a still to help cut fuel costs by converting corn into alcohol to power the family automobile.

The children help with the tasks at home and earn some money working on odd jobs. They raised seven pigs for Hinkley 4-H Club projects last year, earning up to $160 that went mostly for clothing.

Mrs. Egg said the family trims costs by buying a lot of their food in bulk, including flour, sugar, oats and wheat. She said she grinds oats into cereal, and wheat for the bread she bakes.

They also trim expenses by gathering firewood for the Franklin stove that warms the main house, and by heating water during the summer with a solar heating system on the roof.

Ashes from the fireplace, along with manure from the chicken yard, help fertilize the sideyard garden, Egg said.

The half-acre plot produces tomatoes, corn, squash, eggplant, radishes, onions, green pepper and pumpkins.

And a nearby orchard supplies apples, pears, plums, peaches and apricots.

Mrs. Egg cans the vegetables and fruits to fill the family larder for the winter, and dries Thompson seedless grapes from vines to make raisins.

Chickens laid from one to two dozen eggs daily last summer to supplement oatmeal at the breakfast table, she said. A new brood lays fewer now, but is expected to increase production soon.

“In a lot of ways, we’re self-sufficient,” Egg said. “You might say we’ve gone back to the earth since moving here from Barstow in 1973.”

The family moved to the 11½-acre site, once occupied by the Slow Pokes Square Dance Hall, from an overcrowded home in Barstow.

“We not only wanted a larger place so we could share it with Grandpa (93-year-old Andrew Iverson) and my mother-in-law, Stella Egg, but also wanted to be as self-reliant as possible,” Mrs. Egg said.

Their farm on National Trails Highway, 13 miles west of Barstow, contains two houses, storage buildings and three wells amid the cottonwoods and fruitless mulberry trees.

The garden is west of the house, and the orchard and still lies at the edge of desert hills beyond the backyard.

With the help of sons Jay, 16; Brian, 14; David, 13, and Steven, 11, Theron Egg partitioned the old square dance hall into separate bedrooms and a library.

Jay and David share one bedroom, and Brian and Steven have their own.

Darlene, 10; Carolyn, 8 and Heidi, 7, share a large bedroom, and Aaron, 6, and Benjamin, 4, share another.

When the family garden is green during the summer, the Eggs save from $50 to $100 monthly. “Carol canned tons of tomatoes last summer, made pickles from cucumbers and froze green peas that Grandma (Stella) shelled,” Egg recalled.

“We also had honeydew melon and watermelon, cantaloupes and pumpkins.”

Mrs. Egg estimated she canned 200 quarts of fruits and garden vegetables last year, and 100 this year. Meanwhile, the family harvested “loads of apples and lots of plums and pears,” she recalled. They made applesauce, and fruit leather (dried sheets of fruit) from apricots, plums and peaches.

“We don’t buy prepared foods, and seldom buy canned goods,” Mrs. Egg said.

“We spend about $175 to $200 a month for groceries, and $50 for toiletries, soap and medications,” Egg estimated.

“That’s about $250 for everything, except mortgage (an additional $250) and taxes and insurance (about $1,000 a year).”

His wife quickly added: “The $250 each month also includes the $10 to $20 spent for material for clothes.”

She said her and free trof pants for the boys this school year, and five corduroy Material and thread makes the cost about $3 per pair compared to an average $15 for store-bought trousers. She estimates the family saves about $25 a month by sewing its own clothes.

Darlene helps with some sewing.

“I’ve sewed a blouse and skirt, but the material was old and fell apart,” she admitted.

Jay, who earns $3.75 an hour as a cook at the Harvey House Restaurant near Lenwood, buys his own clothes.

Brian and David earned $25 each by helping a neighbor change the transmission on his car, and spent the money on clothing.

The average $142 cost of raising a pig was offset by the sales. Darlene sold hers for $304 – a gain of $162. Steven earned $100 with his.

A major family saving comes from careful shopping, Theron Egg said.

“We eat three to four loaves of bread a day,” he estimated. “Carol bakes some of it, but we buy a lot at the discount store in Barstow.

“We buy five loaves, sometimes even 10, for $1. At 60 cents for an average loaf, we save $300 a year buying it this way or baking it.”

The family drinks about 1½ gallons of milk daily, and by buying powdered milk they save about 18 cents per quart, Egg estimated. That means a saving of about $350 a year.

“We buy peanut butter, honey, eggs and fresh vegetables in the winter. Once a week we’ll buy boxed cereal – the rest I make by grinding oats and wheat.”

“We also buy 25 pound bags of flour and beans, and get oranges in 40-pound bags from our Latter-day Saints (Mormon) farm near Riverside.” During summer months here, members of the local church exchange vegetables at church bazaars.

Electricity is a major expense. Egg estimated it costs about $130 a month to operate lights, pumps, refrigerator, stove, and heater. Brian and Steven cut firewood from the nearby Mojave River bottoms to feed a fire in the Franklin stove that warms the living room and kitchen.

Egg said the family saves $60 to $75 a month on butane by using firewood. Gas is used only for heating hot water and a clothes dryer, which Egg estimated at $50 a month.

“Up until last year, we put rocks (and sometimes newspapers) on top of the stove, wrapped them in towels and took them to bed to help warm us,” Brian and Steven recalled.

Since then, the family bought electric blankets for all the children at a total cost of $200.

Gasoline is expensive for the Eggs. It costs $4 for the 26-mile roundtrip to Barstow.

But Egg hopes the alcohol still, using corn raised on the farm, will cut their fuel costs by half. Meanwhile, Jay saves gasoline by riding a motorcycle to work.

“And everybody turns off the lights,” Egg added. “Everything we save will go into a family fund for a trip together next summer.”

 Reprinted from the Sun Telegram (circa Friday, January 23, 1981):



Monday, May 26, 2025

Remembering David Egg: A Seabee's Sacrifice




David John Egg, 1967-2011




Monday, May 26th, 2025

This Memorial Day, I want to share the story of our younger brother, David Egg, a proud US Navy Seabee who gave so much in service to our country.

David with Alex 


While serving in the Navy's construction corps, David worked on electrical transformers in Puerto Rico. Some of these units resemble large containers, sometimes described as "big gray buckets." Inside these transformers is a critical component: dielectric fluid. This fluid acts as an insulator, preventing electrical arcing (sparks) between the internal energized components, including the coils, and also helps to cool the equipment. Transformers manage voltage, whether stepping it up or down, and this fluid is essential for their safe operation.

1989 image of David (far right) with Mom, Dad, & 8 Siblings

In a situation driven by the scarcity of replacement units, David was tasked by a supervisor with repairing a transformer rather than replacing it. Crucially, many transformers from that era contained dielectric fluids formulated with Polychlorinated Biphenyls, or PCBs. We now know that PCBs are recognized as probable human carcinogens and their manufacture was banned in the U.S. in 1977 due to these health risks.

David's Children, Alex and Megan Egg


To perform the necessary repairs, David had to directly interact with this fluid, immersing his arms significantly into it. This direct contact allowed the PCBs to be absorbed into his system. Tragically, years later, this exposure is understood to have led to a devastating cancer diagnosis. The cancer severely affected his digestive tract, necessitating the removal of parts of it, including his colon, and he lived with a colostomy bag for the remainder of his life, enduring significant pain and suffering.

David, 3rd from left. We were at younger brother, Aaron's funeral in 2002

The military acknowledged his sacrifice, providing him with full benefits and honoring him with a hero's funeral. David honorably served our nation, and his death was a direct result of injuries sustained during that service.

It's so important to remember the depth of his suffering, which he bore with incredible nobility. He left behind a great legacy, and his children, Alex and Megan, honor his memory in their lives.

Jay David, and Brian Egg is 1969


This Memorial Day, as we enjoy the freedoms we hold dear, I hope we all take a moment to remember those, like David, who gave their lives and their health in service to our country.

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Kristy Egg Update - November 2023

Kristy's Office at Arizona Department of Health Services

Update on Kristy Egg: After 5 years healing from brain surgery undertaken for aneurysms, and 3 years of working with Matrix Engineering, Kristy has moved back into her chosen field as a medical professional. She is a registered nurse with a bachelor's degree in public health and epidemiology. The latter she earned taking college courses during covid. Kristy has taken a position with the Arizona Department of Health Services as a Supervisor for the Bureau of Medical Facilities Licensing. Basically, she is where the “buck stops” on keeping hospice and home health medical facilities in compliance. Kristy has four field agents for which she is responsible. 

Kristy has a lovely and functional office in downtown Phoenix and is prospering at her efforts as a supervisor in the medical facilities. I got to meet several of the office staff on Tuesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, 2023 as I whisked her away for Thanksgiving Day weekend at her sister's house in Southern California. 

I continue to work is president of Egg Geo, LLC, a St Petersburg-based Corporation that has four sister companies and a holding company that oversees our efforts. Our senior partner, Stan Newton, is a big part of the reason that Kristy has come so far. He supported employing her as the Director of Marketing and by her own description, the “chief cat herder” for our scientists and engineers in the geothermal energy sector. During the 3 years we've worked together, Kristy has done incalculable good and left lasting impressions that will remain for decades to come. Thank you, Kristy, for this wonderful experience of working together. 

Now, 

If I may be so bold, I would like to give a personal observation to those reading this update. 

When Kristy came out of surgery on October 16, 2017, she had a very long road ahead of her. The surgery caused epilepsy, and Kristy was not fully functional for years. She was declared 100% disabled by the US government, which put her on disability. The story is here: https://bit.ly/2HexynH  

I began traveling with her on business in 2018. While she was with me, she did not participate in business activities. Kristy was simply my wonderful companion enjoying the sights and sounds. 

Something in her started to change at the beginning of the covid epidemic. She began by gaining certifications as a Legionella specialist and entered the University to study public health and epidemiology, a degree that she earned from BYU in 2021. The point at which she became fully engaged and started traveling with me and became an industry professional in the geothermal energy sector until September 2023. 

You can say that my sweetheart is all grown up once again, and she is the lady that is both feared and revered by medical facilities. I would call her a medical facilities forensics specialist because she drills down so deep into various problems and finds the causes of facility deficiencies to help these facilities solve the problems and come back into compliance. 

And there you have it. we are up to date and more in love than ever!

Grandma Kristy walking on the Beach with one of her grandchildren


Monday, April 3, 2023

Happy 80th Birthday, Carol Egg!

Carol Egg, 21st Birthday in 1965

This is a tribute to our mom, Carol Egg. She was married to Theron Egg at 20 years of age. I was born the next year, 1964. Over the next 11 years, Mom would give birth to my 8 younger brothers and sisters.


(CW from top left) Mom and Dad, Carol & Theron, Jay, Brian, David, Steven, Carolyn, Darlene, Heidi, Aaron and Ben

As the oldest of nine children, what I remember about my mom is her wisdom, her love, and her desire to have a home filled with peace and harmony amidst all of the craziness that accompanies such a large household.


Because we were such a large family, the most common breakfast food was cracked wheat, boiled and topped with brown sugar and milk. We could hear the wheat grinder running just about every morning. It was a high-fiber start to the day, and we were a family with very clean insides as a result!


As of the day of this writing, my mom has been widowed for 11 years, has served faithfully as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the genealogy library in Salt Lake City, and has continued to lead this family in truth and light. She is now 80 years of age.

Carol Egg with Jay, visiting mom during her mission in Salt Lake City

A recent photo of our beautiful mom in Manti, Utah. Isn't she so radiant?


Mom, you're truly an angel mother. I have trouble keeping track of how many descendants you have so far; it’s 9 children, 25 grandchildren, and about 19 great- grandchildren, right? Hannah just had Darwin in (March 2021), and many of her cousins have had babies also! My count is well over 50 descendants; wow! 


Happy birthday Mom. It's so fitting that it's also the Easter and general Conference season. If ever there was someone that fit the description of the beauty of the Easter celebration, it's you.


We love you!



CW from top left: Steven, Darlene, Brian, Jay, David, Carolyn, Ben, Mom-Carol, Aaron, Dad-Theron, Heidi
















 






Sunday, June 19, 2022

Theron Jay Egg, Sr - Happy Father's Day

 June 19th, 2022

It's Father's Day.  


An updated tribute for our late dad (and our sweet and vibrant mom) https://bit.ly/TheronEgg2022 

Mom & Dad (Circa June 1963)


HOW IS IT THAT I'M 58 YEARS OLD this year, and I’m still just beginning to realize just how amazing my dad is?


My heart is filled with reverence for the labors and example of my dad. I revere him.  Memories of his example are etched deep into the fabric of my very being.  Any goodness in me can be traced back to his teachings and example.

I realize more all the time the impact of seemingly simple experiences with my dad that have impacted me.  One comes to memory from the fall of 1980.

Jay Egg Heading Out For a Date in the 1964 Dodge
I had a date with Susan Canazoles, and dad told me that I could take the 1964 Dodge Station Wagon. It had a push button transmission and no seat belts. People weren’t really taking the seat belt law serious anyway back in 1980.

I’m sure the date went well, and I returned home a little later than I had promised.  I seem to remember being pleased that it was not quite midnight when I walked into the well-lit (meaning dad was waiting up) living room of our ranch style home outside Barstow, Ca. I could see dad sitting back looking calm and content, even before the music registered in my ears.

Dad Was Playing "Van Halen" When I Came Home
“Van-Halen II” was playing on the brand new home stereo that dad had just purchased and set up.  Registering all of this in my mind, I grabbed the other recliner and enjoyed the lead guitar solo, pleased that my father was enjoying some of “my” music.  I wasn’t fooled for a minute. I knew this was his way of bonding, and I loved it. He listened to the entire album that night with me. We talked about the band’s impressive skills and the stories behind some of the songs; sometimes they were my stories and memories relating to the music. This was all about me, and I loved it. I remember it as an ever present experience, even closer than breathing; like he’s here right now.

Is it any wonder that I never complained once as I drove my kids to seminary and listened to hundreds of hours of the newest releases of their favorite music? What is amazing is that until this moment, I thought that I was pretty amazing for doing that with my kids. Pretty silly huh? …just when I think I’m “all-that”, I remember that my dad did it first. Chalk another one up for dad.  Oh, how I love him.

He’s with Father in Heaven now, which means that I have two “Fathers in Heaven”.  Their influence and imprint on what I have become is sweet and rich. No wonder, that Father in Heaven wants us “boys” to experience fatherhood. We begin to understand why it is that He (God, our Father) is so amazing as we pass our love forward to our families.

It’s times like these that I begin to understand the plan of happiness for us here.  I want to pass it forward with all my heart.  I want my family, and all with whom I come into contact to know what remarkable fathers I have.

Watch This Awesome Video for Dad (Thanks Alexi Gonzalez!)

Egg Family Circa 1982



Egg Family Circa 1989 (Jay's "beard" phase!)

*The meaning of Theron is 'hunter'. It is a gender-neutral name and is of Greek origin. The name derives from the Greek word 'therao', meaning 'to hunt'


I'd like to share a little about my late Father, Theron Jay Egg, Sr.

His grandson and namesake, Theron Egg III is on a mission.  His Cousin (my sister Carolyn's Son), Hunter Gonzales, is serving in Chile.  Did you know that "Theron" is greek for "Hunter"*? Hmmm. Coincidence?  I think not! 

 

Hunter and Theron in 2011, and Hunter as a Missionary


I've seen much of dad's characteristics in the younger Theron and other grandchildren; it's remarkable, and a wonderful way to remember Theron Jay Egg, Sr, who would be 85 today - Read on...

(Updated on January 25, 2022)


Quick Facts About Theron Egg, Sr




Name                   Theron Jay Egg, Sr
Spouse                 Carol Lucille Anderson
Children              9 (6 boys, 3 girls)
Occupation          Teacher
Born                     January 25, 1937
Home                   January 2, 2012 
























Theron Egg Sr and wife Carol Egg cut the wedding cake; Theron Egg III and mom Kristy Egg, sending off on a mission.

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Egg Family & Ortiz Family; One Year Update



One Year Update: October 17, 2021

After One Year, Aly and Darwin Get Together!

We got to have dinner with Bryttni and Aki on Friday.  Hannah and Devin brought Darwin, and Kristy's parents, Kathy and Kevin Richards were there. We had the most wonderful reunion.  The last time these two babies were in the same room was December of 2020, when they were still in the womb.

Since then, and up until the last two weeks, Aly has been in the hospital. What a miracle it is to have her here now. Here are some images from our get-together;


Devin, Hannah, Darwin, Aki, Bryttni, Aly - at their first meeting on October 15, 2021

First hellos
  
Aly and Darwin hit it off just fine!




Bryttni Ortiz with Baby Aly
...and Jay Egg at a prep-op visit in mid 2021

Sometimes, it's good to just be grateful, and reach out to someone else in need. It helps me to remember all the blessings I have.


The image above is Little Aly Ortiz. She was born just after Darwin Jay De Priest, in April.  Her mother Bryttni was on a mission in Venice when we lived there 10 years ago. Almost as soon as Kristy I moved to Arizona in November, Hannah was contacted by Bryttni to get together, and we heard about her pregnancy difficulties. Devin and I gave her a blessing, and later that month, Bryttni, Aki, Hannah, and Devin all came to church to hear mom and I speak in sacrament meeting. We got together for lunch after that.


The Story Gets Better


Aki & Bryttni, Bryttin's Mom, Kristy and Jay at Aki's Baptism in May, 2021


We were able to attend the baptism of Aki Ortiz in May 2021. It is so wonderful to watch a man in the middle of the greatest difficulties he may face, choose to enter the waters of baptism. He has done so well.



The Back Story


Jordan & Hannah Egg with Sister Brytnni Fox in 2011

Bryttni & Hannah expecting in November 2020

Hannah, Kristy, Devin, Jay, Aki, and Bryntti just before Christmas, 2020
Hannah & Bryttni are both pregnant here

It's now the middle of July, and baby-Aly has spent only a few days outside of the hospital. She has had two heart surgeries, and they almost lost her last week.  During the course of her short life, her dad, Aki was baptized. We're grateful that we were able to attend that baptism and see their hope and faith. I even had the privilege to go to the hospital one time to give little Aly a blessing recently.


Bryttni & Aki's patience, love, and faith have been amazing.  They have asked us if we can do something for little Aly. She wants us to write get well cards. She plans to post them up all over the room. If you have a moment today, would you write a get-well card? You can post a picture of it right here on Facebook, an we'll print them out and get them to Bryttni.

Aly after her 2nd heart surgery

Keeling Aly in our thoughts and prayers

Everyone of us has had our share of difficulties in our lives. I think the best medicine is to reach out to someone else and share our love and concern.  It's always good to reach out together on these things. We have so much for which to be grateful!


Will you write some nice thoughts down on a note, take a picture of it, and post it here in the comments? We will get them all over to Aly so Bryttni can put them taped-up and they see some of our love for Aly on the walls in her hospital room.

 

Many people answered the call to send letter,
which Bryttni put up as a show of faith and support!
 



Sunday, March 7, 2021

Welcome Darwin Jay De Priest, Grand-Baby #6!

Hannah & Darwin
An Exhausted Mommy and Baby


Our youngest daughter, Hannah and her husband, Devin now have an 8 lb, 13 Oz baby boy named Darwin, He is 21 in long, born on the 6th of March 2021. Hannah had a very long labor, which finally ended with an emergency cesarean section early yesterday afternoon. We are so grateful for all your thoughts and prayers for them. Our family chat was filled with love, and we are so  delighted to see siblings and extended family supporting each other with such deep devotion.
Devin, Darwin and Hannah; first family photo!

We join with all of you, including Devin's parents, Carol and Derek De Priest in this wonderful celebration of a new grandchild in our midst. It is ironic that this is the first grandchild which we've had the privilege to be near during birth, but because of COVID, we were remanded to electronic communication. We're so grateful that new-daddy-Devin was able to be there the whole time. Because of the C-section, they will likely be coming home on Kristy's birthday, March 9th. I think that's a fitting birthday present!  Whatever day Grandma Kristy gets to hold Baby Darwin will be perfect.


Baby Darwin-A Big Boy!

Over the years, we've had the privilege of spending quality time with the five older grandchildren:  Rebecca's daughter Cameryn, Katie's daughter Jamisyn, and Erial's children,  Ellie, Malachi, and one-year-old Evelyn. What a great group of cousins! With our 6 children, and now a total of 6 grandbabies, we finally have our dozen family descendants!


Successful families are founded on  forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, wholesome recreational activities, and a nice, healthy dose of faith and prayers that everything will work out for the best.


-Kristy & Jay Egg


Grandma-Kristy gets her first chat with Hannah
after the birth of Darwin last evening, 03/06/21