The Luke Family Home Movies
Now, More Ways to Watch
!Recently Updated!
It is hoped that the additional context added by the narration will help the children and grandchildren of those depicted better understand the background of what’s happening in each of the scenes. I’ve strived to help viewers to better appreciate “Our Springboard to a Great Life” our parents provided for us and instilling an appreciation for the loving family which gave us such a fantastic start in life. As stated above
“Our Springboard to a Great Life!”
(1:44) Just the Intro
(2:37) Dad, Mom, Randy & Kevin
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Full Narrated Home Movies
Movies with Background Music
Family Home Movies Introduction: Understand the difficulties of filming in the 50’s and just how they were enjoyed.
Narration Added Since the movies have no sound, originally background music was added before uploading. Now narration has been added along with the choice to listen to my voice, over and over again, or just the first time. Subsequent viewings can be done with only the background music, which has been upgraded since the movies original uploading
Memorial Video Segment Both our parents are now gone as are two of our brothers. This touching memorial segment remembers them through the scenes in these home movies. It is accompanied by “Over the Rainbow”
Home Movies Introduction: Understand the difficulties of filming in the 50’s and just how they were enjoyed
Narration Added Since the movies have no sound, originally background music was added before uploading. Now narration has been added along with the choice to listen to my voice, over and over again, or just the first time. Subsequent viewings can be done with just the background music, which also has been upgraded since the movies original uploading
Memorial Video Segment Both our parents are now gone as are two of our brothers. This touching memorial segment remembers them through the scenes in these home movies. It is accompanied by “Over the Rainbow”
Luke Family Home Movies With Narration (49:44) Here I explain to you what’s happening, where and when. I spent a considerable amount of time researching the year and location of most of the video segments and add background information that can be useful. This narration is especially meaningful if your a child, grandchild, or great-grandchild of one of the five kids depicted in these home movies
The background music is still there but turned down to emphasize the narration track.
Corrections: If you find an error in the narration, use the comments at the bottom of the page to let me know. I’ve already made one correction.
Luke Family Home Movies With Music Only: (49:44) If you want to watch the movies again but are tired of hearing my voice, this version is exactly the same full home movies except that the background music track volume is turned up a bit and the narration track is turned off.
The Introduction: (1:44) Added just recently, this short segment at the beginning will help viewers understand the difficulties of filming in the ’50s and early ’60s. No battery in the camera, just wind it up and film until you need to rewind again (not very long). The projection of the film was later a special family event, which is described in this introduction, from the projector to the refreshments. See how popcorn was popped in the ’50s before microwaves.
Memorial: (2:37) Only three of our original family of seven remain. Mom and Dad have passed and recently Kevin (’24) and Randy (early in ’26). Using the video segments that feature each of these four, we are reminded why we miss them all so much.
No words are spoken. It is accompanied by the touching 2011 rendition of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ sung by that big guy Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwoʻole.
Click to to enlarge: ESC to return
(pinch-out on phone)
Coming Soon! (0:42) Dogs & Falling Water: Hiking to various Waterfalls in Utah with my dogs:
-Horsetail Falls (shown here)
(Alpine, UT)
-Battle Creek Falls
(Pleasant Grove, UT)
-Neffs Canyon Falls
(SLC, UT)
-Hidden Haven Falls
(Parowan, UT)
Watch this short, unedited and unnarrated video as a place holder until the full video is completed.
Coming even later: Dogs and High Places (peaks and overlooks)
Film Segments per Individual member of the “Gang of Five”
Choose the ‘kid’ to watch:
Individual Focus
Don’t want to watch the full 48 mins?
Two ways to watch in shorter segments:
Here, by watching videos that each showcase just one of the five kids, or
Scroll further down where you can watch by an ‘era’: Pre-Kevin, Pre-Stacie, Stacie Era, The 60s
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The Gang of Five
The Gang of Five
Stacie
Kevin
Terry
Randy
David
Watch Shorter Film Segments based on the Era
Choose the Era to watch:
“We should not be afraid to go into a new era, to leave the old beyond”
— Zach Wamp
Tennessee Congressman
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
— Dr. Seuss
Pre-Kevin Era: Kansas City, MO. fun & football at home and in the park with 7 yr old David, 4 yr old Randy & 1 yr old Terry. Easter outfits in 1952
Pre-Stacie Era: 1956-57: Kevin first appears (4 yrs old). Local park in Burley, ID, Yellowstone Park with G & G Luke, Several Easters & Christmas’s
Stacie Era: 1958 Stacie’s born and becomes the center of attention. Learning to walk, more Christmas, lots of G & G Lewis
The 60’s: More Christmas, Stacie’s 2nd birthday, she’s still the center of attention, boys & baseball, backyard pool and more.
Stacie Era
Pre-Kevin Era
Pre-Kevin Era: You’ll see all three boys playing football, most likely because Dad loved sports. Randy would later develop into a good athlete, while David and I (Terry) would lose interest in team sports as we grew up.
I surmise the film here was taken with a borrowed 8mm film camera. All the scenes are in Kansas City, at our home and in a local park. No additional filming happened for four years. I’m guessing mom and dad finally bought their own camera before our visit to Yellowstone.(see Pre-Stacie Era)
Pre-Stacie Era
The 60’s Era
… and a Special Bonus
Rare footage of Grandma and Grandpa Luke
— single short segment in Yellowstone
… and our Arizona cousins: Marc and Clare
—more footage was taken of them
(also included in the full version of home movies above)
Grandma & Grandpa Luke: See them on vacation with us in Yellowstone Park in 1956. That’s back in the day when bears were not only seen in the park, they came right up to your car, as you’ll see in this video
Marc & Clare: 1957-58: We have more footage of our cousins than our grandparents. Scenes include both in Arizona as we visited them, and in Salt Lake as they visited us at our home on Stratford Ave. Un-retouched versions of these scenes are included in the full home movies above, but here an attempt has been made to correct for the very poor low-light filming capabilities of the 8mm Kodak camera. Success was limited. ☹️