This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Student’s Video Project Honors Local Veterans Will be shown
at July 4th Celebration

“I had no idea how many wonderful, interesting people we have living here,” Blackham says. “They all have so much love for their country and have such incredible stories to tell. Listening to what they have to say has made me want to be a better person, to be more patriotic.”

The video will be premiered July 4 during a Freedom Rally at North Sanpete High School. The 7 p.m. event is intended to bolster local patriotic pride and participation.

Blackham started making the video as a service project after being crowned Miss Mt. Pleasant in April. “I wanted to do something people would remember,” she says. Working with Central Utah Filmmaking, she interviewed more than a dozen veterans and families of veterans for the 15-minute video. Any proceeds from sales will go toward the restoration of the Veterans Memorial in downtown Mt. Pleasant.

Blackham, who will head to Snow College in the fall, says the best thing about the project was getting to meet veterans and their families. “As soon as they started talking, they would remember things, and then they would just keep talking and talking. It was a wonderful experience.”

One interview was particularly meaningful. A veteran talked about how wonderful it was so see people being more patriotic nowadays. “But he said that not too long ago, things were very different. He said that when the flag went past in a parade or something, only about one-third of the people would stand up or put their hands over their hearts. That made me more aware that we need to be patriotic all of the time, not just when there is a war.”

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Kids Raise Funds For Veterans Memorial

The memorial, which honors local veterans who served in the Black hawk War, Spanish American War, World War I and World War II, th Korean War and the Vietnam War, has been in a state of disrepair for years.

While doing his student teaching in Mt. Pleasant, Wright noticed that the names of the veterans were missing from the memorial and decided to make it his community service project. “He came in and told the students that the names were falling off and said “we should do something to put them back on.” The kids were all for helping out,” Larsen says.

The fifth grade social studies curriculum is based on U.S. history. Students have been studying American wars and veterans visited their classes as guest speakers, Larsen says. “There has also been a lot of talk about the war that is ongoing. The students are very into loyalty ‘both to the flag and to their country’ so this was something they were very interested in doing.”

The teachers took the initiative to the city council, which has had an ongoing effort to restore the memorial, and received an enthusiastic go-ahead. The fifth graders wrote letters to local merchants asking for donations of candy. They also solicited help from Wal-Mart and the company agreed to match the student-raised funds. Far West Bank also heard about the initiative and sent $200 in support.

“Everyone was very helpful, all of the students and teachers in the school supported our candy store,” Larsen says. “Our goal was to raise $1,200 and we made it! The kids are very proud of themselves.” The students were recently recognized by Mt. Pleasant’s mayor and city council.

The restoration project is being overseen by a citizen’s group, as well as the city council, Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council, the Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance and local members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The preservation effort includes restoring the names of veterans currently listed, adding more names and searching for names that were lost due to deterioration or were removed over the years. There are also plans to add the names of local residents who served in the war in Iraq.

In addition to the students’ gift, the restoration project recently received a $500 anonymous donation and the city and county are applying for grants to help finance the rest of the $50,000 project. The county and city are supporting the project because it’s an important historical site and because it is a way to acknowledge the important role veterans played in the development of the region. The Mt. Pleasant newspaper, The Pyramid, has also been providing assistance by running enlarged photos of names on the monument in hopes of tracking down family members. Community members have also been asked to come forward with names of people they may know who are missing from the monument.

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

New Historical Museum Opens, First Exhibit Honors Veterans

Monte Bona
Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council
(435) 462-2502

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

‘Heritage’ Culinary Arts School to Open Along U.S. Highway 89

Monte Bona
Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council
(435) 462-2502

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Rhubarb Festival set for May 22

The daylong festival will include cheese and wine tasting plus a variety of foods and drinks made from rhubarb. There will be contests for rhubarb eating and rhubarb pie baking and awards for the best food products in a variety of categories, judged by a panel of “food experts.”

The celebration also will include an ugly truck parade, soap box derby, ugly truck contest, vendors, sidewalk sales, live music and street dancing are all part of the day long activities. The “Rhubarb Queen” and “Defender of the Rhubarb” will also be crowned.

The festival, which was started several years ago by Native Wines owners Winnie Wood and Bob Sorenson, attracts crowds of visitors to the region each year. Native Wines uses locally grown and gathered fruit from heirloom trees, gardens and the countryside in its products.

For more information, phone Native Wines at (435) 462-9261.

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Conference Will Focus on Scandinavian Influence in West

Ephraim s Snow College was founded in 1888 by the Scandinavian pioneers that settled in the Sanpete Valley, which makes Snow College the perfect place to host a conference on Scandinavian Heritage, he adds.

The second-annual conference features keynote presentations by Lynn Poulson, a Professor of Family Studies at Snow College; Brad Taggart, an Instructor of Art at Snow College; and noted lecturer and author Paul Turner. There will also be concurrent workshops and a musical presentation of “Saints on the Sea.” The conference will be held in the historic Noyes Building’s Founders Hall at Snow College.

Poulson will speak at 9:15 a.m. Thursday on early Scandinavian families and families today. Taggart, a professor of art, will talk at 1:30 p.m. about renowned Danish-born painter C.C.A. Christensen, who converted to Mormonism and settled in Sanpete County. Christensen was best known for his paintings of pioneers and his Mormon Panorama, a monumental narrative that tells the history of the LDS Church. He was also a promoter of Scandinavian culture and taught Danish as well as drawing at Sanpete Stake Academy (later Snow College) in Ephraim.

Turner will give the keynote presentation on Friday at 11 a.m. on “Outlaws Along U.S. Highway 89.”

Conference registration begins at 8 a.m. Thursday. The cost is $20 in advance and $25 the day of the event. Cost includes a continental breakfast on Thursday. For more information contact Kim Cragun at (435) 283-4747 or Kim.Cragun@Snow.Edu.

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Scandinavian Festival a Celebration of History, Heritage

The festival is also an opportunity to experience art and culture and authentic cuisine, Crane says. Highlights include a Scandinavian history conference at Snow College (see related story), booths, displays, food vendors, a 5K run, softball tournament, and activities such as rock climbing and pony rides.

Display booths will line College Avenue (100 North) between 100 and 300 East starting at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 28 through 6 p.m. Saturday. There will be “Old World Craft Booths,” which are educational exhibits of crafts dating back to Ephraim’s Scandinavian ancestors. This includes blacksmithing, woodcarving, pottery making, rug weaving, bobbin lace making and more. There will be demonstrations of Old World crafts from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

There will also be contemporary craft booths featuring items such as rustic birdhouses, crocheted items, quilts, fabric bags, artwork, jewelry, T-shirts, yo-yo balloons, aromatherapy products, candles and wood yard art. “Many of the Old World Craft and craft booth people tell me that this is their favorite festival,” says Crane, who has helped line up the booths for years. “They love coming to Ephraim, and they enjoy the friendly atmosphere of this community.”

Other highlights include a bread baking contest, with entries accepted from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Ephraim Senior Citizen’s Center. Participants can enter in one or all of the four categories: white, wheat, sourdough/French or variety/specialty. There will also be a children’s troll parade, clown shows and a Scandinavian Storytelling Festival, which will feature talks on stories of Hans Christian Andersen and other storytellers. The storytelling begins Saturday at noon.

There will also be numerous opportunities to sample heritage cooking, including the “Little Denmark Supper” on Friday night, the traditional smorgasbord buffet on Saturday and the Food Fair in front of the Science Building on Snow Campus on Friday and Saturday that will feature traditional Western foods with a Scandinavian flair.

Scandinavian Festival and Conference – Schedule of Events

Thursday, May 27

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Scandinavian Heritage Conference Founders Hall, Snow College

Friday, May 28

Entertainment Throughout the Day, Snow College Lawn

9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Scandinavian Heritage Conference Founders Hall, Snow College

12 p.m. Craft Booths and Food Booths, Snow College

2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Bread Baking Contest Senior Citizens Center

5 p.m. Little Denmark Supper Greenwood Center – Snow College

Saturday, May 29

Entertainment all day, Main Street, Snow College Lawn

7 a.m. 5-K Registration, Ephraim Co-op

8 a.m. 5-K Run, Ephraim Co-op Lions Club Scandinavian Breakfast, Snow College

9 a.m. Old World, Craft and Food Booths Open, Snow College Art Displays, Central Utah Art Center

10 a.m. Quilt Expo, Ephraim Co-op Upper Floor

11 a.m. Scandinavian Parade Ephraim City Library fundraiser, City Library

11:30 a.m. Dedication of new Ephraim City Building

12 p.m. Noyes Building Tours, Steps of Noyes Building – Snow College Ugly Troll Contest, Snow College Family History Center, open 12- 4 p.m. Smorgasbord Lunch, Greenwood Center Storytelling Festival, Greenwood Center Willie the Clown, Snow College Lawn

1 p.m. Historical Bus Tours, 1st North and 1st East (every hour until 3 p.m.) Horseshoe Tournament, Snow College Sports Complex (300 North)

5 p.m. Sage Brush Square Dancers

Monday, May 31

Memorial Day Service, Ephraim City Cemetery

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Soap Box Derby Returns to Mt. Pleasant

Monte Bona
Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council
(435) 462-2502

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

TBSI Has “Fairy Tale” Experience, Helps Restore Castle in Wales

What makes the tale so compelling is that it is true, and it has also become the real-life adventures of Kathryn and Brian Pritchard Gibson, of Wales. Now, Snow College’s Traditional Building Skills Institute (TBSI) is part of the story.

The first chapter involving TBSI began this spring when director Russ Mendenhall and 10 others associated with the institute spent three days working on the “castle.” Mendenhall heard about the house through John Lambert, owner of Abstract Historic Masonry in Salt Lake City, who found out about it on the Internet. Eventually, Mendenhall and Lambert contacted the couple and the group was on their way to Wales.

Mendenhall says he didn’t know anything about Pritchard Gibson’s before meeting them at their farm in Wales, and the couple didn t know anything about him or TBSI. “Our only contact had been through the Internet, so we didn t know what to expect when we got there,” he says.

“It turned out to be one of the most delightful experiences any of us had ever had…right away, we could tell we were working on a building that is 600 years old at least.”

The group focussed on a 12 foot- by-12-foot section of the home, removing old cement and mortar and restoring it back to the historical lyme putty-type mortar and doing other repairs. It was the oldest structure we have ever worked on, Mendenhall says.

TBSI, which aims to further the art of traditional building skills and educate people on how to use such skills in preserving historic buildings and in new construction, holds hands-on workshops throughout the year in Utah. But its students often travel to work on restoration projects like the one in Wales.

The entire group stayed with a host family in the town of Rhyl at a former bed & breakfast. They also travelled a bit around Wales and England. “It was wonderful. Kathryn, who is a historian, was able to tell us all about the area and about the house, so we got to see and do so much more than you would as a typical tourist,” Mendenhall said.

After the Pritchard Gibson’s moved into the farm house in 1992, they started discovering secret rooms and hidden stairways. Kathryn Pritchard Gibson started researching the house and found letters and documents in archives throughout Wales that provided clues about the home.

Locals had long called the home “Llewelyn’s Tower” but no one knew why. Turned out that Llewelyn the Last, the last prince of Wales, had lived in there with his baby daughter, Gwenllian. The prince was killed in a skirmish that was the result of a long-time feud involving King Edward I of England (the title Prince of Wales eventually went to Edward’ son, Edward II). King Edward ordered the baby princess abducted and she was sent to a convent.

Seeing and working on the home was like living history, Mendenhall says. “Kathryn took us up to the house’s tower, and you could see all the way across the land and to the sea,” he says. “It must have been a very strategic spot for watching out for the enemy, you would be able to see them coming quite a ways away by ship and be prepared for battle.” Next to the home there are several other smaller stone structures, including a building that use to be a chapel. “Rumour is that Llewelyn could be buried under the floor,” he says.

Mendenhall will be taking another TBSI group back next spring. “We had an incredible time and there is still a lot of work to be done.”

For more information, contact Mendenhall at (435) 283-7575.

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

World’s “Best Talkers” Came to Sanpete as Competitors, Left as Friends

In the end, it was the Canadians who walked away with top honors, nabbing six of the top-10 placements, including the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, won by Sarah Mortazavi and Sarah Sahagian. “The girls ruled,” Packard-Bird said.

South Africa and the United States also had students among the top finishers. Wasatch Academy’s own Josh Nowitz placed 28th out of 52 contenders after the “grand finals” at the State Capitol Sunday. His classmate Jason Mischel was 39th.

But when all was said and done, the competitors didn’t really care that much about the final marks, Packard-Bird says. What ended up being more important was doing their best, learning a lot about themselves and making friends with people who live half way around the world. “There was a lot of camaraderie. The students were here competing against one another, and ended up being great friends.”

The four-day event started with competitions held at Wasatch Academy last Thursday and Friday. It was the first time a U.S. school has been awarded the prestigious honor of hosting the competition, which is sponsored by the Independent public Speaking Association. In order to take part, invited participants must have already won qualifying tournaments in their own countries or regions. One country could send a maximum of five students. Previously, the competition has been held in the United Kingdom, Argentina and Cyprus.

Joe Loftin, director of Wasatch Academy, and debate coach Tass Bey said the 129-year-old private school was a good choice to host the annual event. The academy has about 150 students from 21 states and 14 countries. The competition was also a perfect opportunity to share a bit of Sanpete County’s history and traditions with the world, says Monte Bona, a member of the Mt. Pleasant City Council and Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council.

Competitors stayed in Wasatch’s dormitories and ate in the school’s cafeteria. “They loved it and basically took over the campus,” Packard-Bird said with a laugh. “The coolest thing was that all of the kids got to experience every bit of Utah weather while they were here: there was warm sun, wind, rain and snow. We had kids leaving the cafeteria on Friday because it was snowing, and they had never seen snow before,” she says.

There were also a lot of activities in addition to debate and speaking, including a trip to Arches National Park and Moab, a Native American dance performance by Wasatch Academy student Ali Denny, and a turkey barbecue and performance by a Western entertainment group sponsored by Mt. Pleasant. “The city put on an incredible event, the performers were amazing,” Packard-Bird says.

On Saturday, the students went to Salt Lake City to attend a Jazz game and stay over at Little America, with the hotel helping sponsor the trip. Following the final competition rounds Sunday, there was a dinner at the Hard Rock Cafi. “The kids were dancing and singing in the aisles at the top of their lungs,” Packard-Bird says. “They were entertaining the entire restaurant. We had to drag them back on to the bus to go up to the Capitol to pick up their awards.”

Michael D. Zimmerman, former justice on the Utah Supreme Court, handed out the awards. Trophies were awarded to the top four finishers in debate and the top two competitors in the other events, as well as to the top over-all competitors, which took into account scores from all events.

Winners are:

Overall: Sarah Mortazavi, Canada, and Sarah Sahagian, CanadaDebate: Adam Zelmer, Canada; Michael Shapiro, United States; Chris Ryall, South Africa; Sarah Mortazavi, Canada

Interpretive Reading: Natasha Mavronicola, Cyprus; Sarah Sahagian, Canada

Persuasive Speaking Chris Ryall, South Africa; Sean Burnstein, Canada

After-dinner speaking Zahid Sunderani, Canada; Christina Meng, Canada

Impromptu speaking Sarah Mortazavi,Canada; Sarah Sahagian, Canada

“When it was all over, it was so cool to watch all of the kids hugging and kissing farewell and exchanging email address,” Packard-Bird says. “The students kept lingering, they just didn’t want to leave.”

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Manti Open House will Honor Memory of “Big Daddy” Roth

“When Ed passed away, he had all these memorabilia in boxes, so I decided that I needed to show it.” So Ilene Roth built an addition on to her Manti home that serves as a museum of sorts for Ed Roth’s creations. “We have his art work framed and hanging on the walls, and other memorabilia on display.” The museum is open to the public year-round by appointment.

Ilene Roth also decided to hold an open house so that people could visit the museum and honor her late husband’s memory. “Last year was the first time that we had the open house, and we had about 250 people there, including visitors from Japan,” she says.

After that experience, Ilene Roth decided to make it an annual event, holding the open house each year around the date her husband passed away. “Trixie’s Second Annual Open House” will run Friday, April 2, from 4 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, April 3, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at her home in Manti, 404 East 300 North.

“I am expecting about 700 to 800 people this year,” Ilene Roth says.

The event will include musical performances by the band Ridge Runner and displays of show cars. There will also be pin striping by “stripers.” “They will work on anything people bring in: tool boxes, cell phones, cameras, toilet seats, boats and cars,” Ilene Roth says.

Ilene Roth met her husband after he moved to Manti from California in 1987. An avid hotrod enthusiast from the age of 12, Ed Roth started out by fixing up old cars in his garage. He then moved on to building cars from scratch and quickly became known as an artist rather than a mechanic, with his creations earning the title “sculptures on wheels.”

He financed his passion by making cartoons and T-shirts, including drawings of cars and monsters driving cars. His most famous cartoon character was a rodent named Rat Fink, which became very popular in the 1960s and was featured on posters, T-shirts and more.

“The purpose of the open house is for people who admired Ed’s work to get together, remember him, and enjoy doing what he loved,” Ilene Roth says.

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

New Legislation Strengthens State’s Push
for National Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area.

Monte Bona
Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council
(435) 462-2502

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Utah’s Best Drinking Water Found in Mt. Pleasant

The city beat out 40 other entries in a statewide “taste test” of rural Utah’s drinking water. Water was judged for taste, clarity and smell by a panel. Mt. Pleasant will now compete for the title of best drinking water in the country at the National Rural Water Association’s annual meeting in the spring.

The first-place finish was both an unexpected and expected outcome for Richard Brotherson, Mt. Pleasant City’s Public Works Supervisor. “I was surprised to hear that we had won, but not surprised that they thought our water was the best. We have great water,” he says.

Just what makes the city’s water so incredible tasting? “It’s all spring water, all well water,” Brotherson explains. “We don’t chlorinate it. We don’t touch it. It never sees the light of day until it comes out of your tap.”

Mt. Pleasant City Councilor Monte Bona, who attended the annual conference with Brotherson, doesn’t have to be told how good the city’s water is he has been boasting about it for years.

A frequent traveler throughout the Western United States, Bona and his wife, Jackie, make sure they never leave home without their beloved water. “We take gallon jugs of it everywhere we go to California, New Mexico, Arizona, Oregon. We even take water with us when we go to Salt Lake,” he says.

Bona, who moved to Mt. Pleasant in 1994, says he became hooked on the local water the first time he tasted it. “Now we’re spoiled, we can’t stand to drink any other city’s water.”

Bona is also extensively involved in the state and national Main Street Program and the U.S. Highway 89 Alliance. He says that Mt. Pleasant’s water is another draw for people who come to Sanpete County and travel along U.S. Highway 89 in search of heritage experiences.

“What could be more authentic than pure, delicious well water? The only difference between the water now and the water that was here 100 years ago is now it comes out of the tap in your home.”

Bona says he plans to help the city look into the feasibility of bottling its water under a “Mt. Pleasant Main Street” label. The city is part the National Main Street Center of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which works with cities to revitalize their historic or traditional commercial areas and to save historic commercial architecture and the fabric of American communities.

Bona plans to take samples of Mt. Pleasant’s water to the annual Main Street meeting in New Mexico in May to see what others think of the award-winning water.

By then, Mt. Pleasant just may have earned another accolade. Brotherson will be attending the National Rural Water Association’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., in April. The city’s water will go up against the “best of the best,” competing against other state winners in a national taste test.

Brotherson, a 26-year veteran of Mt. Pleasant’s Public Works department, isn’t daunted by the thought of a national competition. “I will be hard to beat us. I don’t think there is better tasting water anywhere.”

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Where the Buffalo Roamed….
Discovery of Skull Opens New Chapter in Utah History

“It’s quite a thing when you think about it, something was living right here that many years ago and I just happened to find out about it.”

Rasmussen came across the skull in 1978 when he was building a road for the Red Creek Mine up Salina Canyon. “We had dug down about five feet in one area when we spotted something that looked like the brain cavity of skull. I got down into the hole and scrapped it out, and it turned out to be a skull. It was a miracle that we found it, if we would have dug about an inch lower or an inch higher, we never would have seen it.”

After showing it to few friends and trying to guess what kind of animal it was (he thought it might be a bull), Rasmussen simply added the skull to his personal “collection.” “I’ve found and kept a lot of things as I’ve gone through life “rocks and such,” he says. “I just thought that this was something else to keep.”

The skull might have remained part of Rasmussen’s collection forever had it not been for Bob Leonard, an archeologist for Fishlake National Forest. About sevenyears after Rasmussen found the skull, the two men, who are both from Salina, were discussing the interesting things that have been uncovered in Salina Canyon and Rasmussen mentioned his find.

“Bob came out and looked at it and got very excited,” Rasmussen says. “He said it was a buffalo skull and that it might be the only proof in 400 years that buffalo were in this part of Utah.”

Leonard says it was obvious at first sight that the skull from a buffalo. “You didn’t have to be forensic scientist to figure it out the skull was complete, it had horns and everything.”

The skull ended up being donated to BYU, where it has been in storage for several years. “We simply never had the money to send it away to be analyzed.” Leonard says. “But just recently, the office at BYU came up with the funding to get it dated and got the entire process moving.”

Leonard says the test results are “amazing.” “It’s very exciting news. On a scale of 1 to 10, I put it at a 10. It opens up a whole new mystery.”

Most interesting, he says, is the fact that buffalo remains have never been found in the “trash piles” left behind by the Fremont people, who lived in Salina Canyon hundreds of years ago. Their villages and artifacts have been uncovered and documented. The remains of other animals, including rabbits, deer, antelope and sheep, have been found among the Fremont ruins. But no buffalo. “If the buffalo were here, why didn’t the Fremont people utilize this resource?” Leonard asks.

“That is why this is so intriguing. We thought that we knew everything there is to know about the Fremont people, obviously, we didn’t know everything.”

Rasmussen, a life-long resident of Salina (his grandfather, Neils C. Rasmussen, founded the town), adds that he is elated that he uncovered a interesting part of Utah’s history. “But the skull is just one part of it. There are a lot more stories to be told in that area.”

Indeed, the buffalo skull just one of the many interesting items that have been found in Salina Canyon. It’s also home to, among other things, Fremont villages, shelters built by the earlier “hunter and gatherer” native people, and pictographs. “It’s a fascinating area,” says Leonard, who hopes to lead a volunteer excavation in the canyon this summer.

In addition to the Freemont sites, the canyon is rich in history, Leonard says. It was the site of the violent incident between two settlers and a band of Ute Indians that started the Black Hawk War; had a railroad and a prosperous coal mine built in it; and was used by Walkara, a man known as the “greatest horse thief in the West.” “He would drive horses and stolen stock through the canyon,” Leonard says.

The canyon also includes several valleys that were probably once lush with grass, he says. Leonard speculates that this is where the buffalo lived. “They probably didn’t roam the land freely in huge herds,” he says.

More than likely, they lived in the valleys in small herds. But the important fact is that they were here.”

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Not a Carnegie, But…. Gunnison Proud of Civic Library

Last year, the Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council wrote articles publicizing the fact that the county is home to three of Utah’s remaining 17 Carnegie Libraries in Mt. Pleasant, Ephraim and Manti. All of the libraries were constructed early in the 20th Century as part of a nationwide and even worldwide effort by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to establish public libraries.

After the articles were published, Young and other members of the Gunnison City Council decided they wanted to draw attention to their library ” Carnegie or not ” that was established in 1943 thanks to a grass-roots community effort. “The citizens of the area got together and said “we need a library” and made it happen,” Young says. In 1979, the library was moved to its present home at 38 W. Center Street, one of the city’s oldest buildings that also houses the city courts, police station and senior citizens center.

The 2,445-square-foot library serves the city of Gunnison, along with the communities of Fayette, Mayfield and Centerville. “We have meetings there, weekly story hours for children and many other activities, along with computers and reading areas,” says Young. “A lot of the high school students come to the library to work, it’s always quite busy.” The library also has a book-sharing program that allows patrons to borrow materials from other libraries in Utah and the United States.

The Gunnison Civic Library has one full-time librarian, Stephanie Prisbrey, along with a nine-member library board. During the winter months, it s hour of operation are Monday-Thursday, 2 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. During the summer months, it’s open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The Library may be reached at (435) 528-3104 or online at gunnlibrary@gunnisoncity.org.

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

World’s “Best Talkers” to Gather in Sanpete County;
 Competing in debate championships at Wasatch Academy

The debating championships will attract close to 100 award-winning student debaters from more than 20 countries around the globe. Previously, the annual event has been held in the United Kingdom, Argentina and Cyprus.

The competition is a perfect opportunity to share a bit of Sanpete County’s history and traditions with the world, says Monte Bona, a member of the Mt. Pleasant City Council and Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council.

“We are working closely with Joe and with debate coach Tass Bey in welcoming people from all over the world to our town,” Bona says. “We will be introducing them to our rich heritage and emphasizing the wonderful educational opportunities that are available here, as well as the cultural diversity that exists in the proposed Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area.”

For his part, Loftin says he hopes the event will help put the respected boarding school “on the map.”

Competitors all will take part in four events: debate, impromptu speaking, interpretive speaking and persuasive or after-dinner speaking. The championships are sponsored by the Independent public Speaking Association, a group of private schools located primarily in the Eastern United States and in England.

In order to take part in the competition, invited participants must have already won qualifying tournaments in their own countries or regions. One country may send a maximum of five students.

Last year, Wasatch Academy student Eli King qualified to take part in the world championships that were held in London, England. This year, Joshua Nowitz qualified to participate in the tournament. Born in South Africa and raised in Houston, Texas, Nowitz received accolades from the city of Houston for his accomplishment, along with a “Shining Star of Texas” award from Governor Rick Perry.

In addition to the debate competition, Bey has arranged for participants to learn about “play theory” from some of the nation’s foremost experts. The theory holds that learning is most effective when melded with play activities. Competitors will also take part in recreational activities, including a field trip to Arches National Park.

Wasatch Academy has only had a debate program for about two years. Bey, who moved to Mt. Pleasant from Canada in 2001, launched the forensics program when he arrived.

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Elk Are Back At Wind Walker Guest Ranch

Elk watching is one of the ranch owners’ favorite wintertime activities, and one she loves to share with guests who visit Wind Walker, located on 994 acres of land at the 6000 foot level of Manti-Lasal National Forest s hills. But after a deprivation hunt that lasted from mid-November through December, Johnson was worried that there may not be as many elk, especially males, around this year.

“During the hunt, I would go outside and tell the elk to stay among the juniper trees,” she says with a laugh. “I was afraid they weren’t listening. But last night, as I was coming home, there was a six-point buck standing right at the end of the driveway. I was so happy.”

Johnson loves to take her guests out elk watching at night, when the animals come down from the mountains to eat hay in the fields and sharpen their horns on the trees. For many people, creeping out on a moonlit winter night and crouching down among the trees to watch elk make their way down from the mountains is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, she says. “It’s dark outside, the snow is bright and fresh, it’s just beautiful.”

During the winter months, people often come to the ranch to escape the inversions and just “get out of the city,” Johnson says. For other winter guests, just being around snow is something new. “We had two families her over the weekend from Jacksonville, Florida. They just came up to play in the snow and see winter in Utah. They all had a great time. They just sent me an email that said “we’re back home now, and it’s 74 degrees.”

In addition to elk watching, Johnson keeps her wintertime guests entertained with activities such as ice skating on outdoor ponds, cross-country skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, wagon rides and other snow-related games and activities. “It really is a winter wonderland,” Johnson says. “Sometimes we will take guests out snowmobiling and build a fire right in a snow mound and roast marshmallows and hot dogs.”

She also plans special events, such as an upcoming Murder Mystery weekend, where guests use role-playing and clues to figure out “who shot the sheriff.” “Everybody plays a part and people seem to have a great time,” Johnson says. She also hosts singles weekends, which attract people from all around the state, along with “Pack and Pamper” specials that include a day of roughing it camping in the mountains, followed by a day of being pampered with massages, facials and yoga.

During the summer, Wind Walkers’ horse back riding program is a big attraction, along with fishing and hiking. The ranch is also the home of a special children’s camp, which Johnson founded after her then nine-year-old daughter was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. It includes a number of special programs for children that incorporate play and activities with learning and therapy.

For additional information about elk watching and the Wind Walker Guest Ranch, contact Loretta Johnson at (435)462-0282.

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This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Snowmobilers Gearing Up for New Season

Economic development officials say snowmobiling is a huge benefit for the county. Visitors eat in local restaurants, stay in local hotels and bed and breakfasts, and visit stores and shops. “We have a tremendous opportunity down here for snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, snowboarders, snow-shoers, all kind of winter sports,” Sally East, the county’s economic development director has said. “Our goal is to get the word out to people all across the state.”

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

“Mermaids in the Desert” Promote Arts, Healing

They are writers, poets, jewelry makers, painters and crafts makers who share a fondness for small Utah towns, their Danish heritage, the arts AND large bodies of water. “We are all so taken with the ocean, it means so much to us, and here we all are, so far inland,” laughs Doreen Christensen, one of the group’s founding members.

The women have been working together to promote their artistic creations for a few years, but they reinvented themselves after Christensen developed a book and game with a mermaid theme. “All of us really are mermaids out here in the desert, trying to swim our way out of poverty and away from medical challenges and other personal situations,” Christensen says. “We all are trying to find ways to be able to spend more time on our art, and ways to use our art to help other people.”

Christensen’s created her book and game, Mermaid Meditations, out of a need to find relief in her own life. Once paralyzed from the waist down, she is now able to walk, but still undergoes therapy. A certified clinical hypnotherapist, Christensen spends much of her time working with people with disabilities.

“I noticed that I started to have this heaviness about me, this feeling of anxiety that I needed to do more to help them,” she says. “So I came up with this game, which is centered around the idea that even though your body may not be capable of taking you places, the spirit can go wherever it wants to.”

The game, which is centered around a mystery story Christensen wrote about mermaids, includes 25 sea shells, sand and 25 separate meditations. It can be played individually or in small or large groups. “Each person reads a meditation and write what it means to them and later shares that with the group,” Christensen says.

Once Christensen showed the book and game to the other women in her artists group, they began creating accessories to accompany Mermaid Meditations. “It just sort of evolved into a collection of all kind of things that we have made that have a mermaid theme “and we became Mermaids in the Desert,” she says. For example, one artist made a special pouch to hold the sea shells, another has created jewelry and another came up with Native American meditations.

The group has published a small number of the books available for sale and a web site is under development to promote the book, game, and jewelry and other accessories.

Mermaids in the Desert has also been holding private sessions for groups around the state who have heard about the game. “We have done sessions for groups of women, and for groups of men and women,” Christensen says. “The most surprising thing is how receptive men are when they play the game.”

For more information about Mermaids in the Desert or Mermaid Meditations, contact Christensen at (435)527-4039 or by email: mermaidmeditations@yahoo.com.

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Gingerbread Houses Built by Elementary School Children on Display

The annual gingerbread house competition has become one of the most beloved “newer” Christmas traditions in the area. “There is just something about a gingerbread house and Christmas,” says Christy Johansen, of Mt. Pleasant’s Main Street Program, who is coordinating this year’s event. “People are excited to come by and see what the children made. The houses are always amazing. It s fun to get the children involved this way, and to see what themes the children pick every year,” she said.

In past years, entries have included castles built out of graham crackers, houses built from homemade gingerbread, horses made from gum drops and pretzels, people skiing down candy mountains and even Harry Potter themes, Johansen said. “We’ve had brothers and sisters work together on houses and entries built by two and three children, and they are all very creative.”

The gingerbread houses were made by children from elementary schools in Fountain Green, Mt. Pleasant, Fairview and Spring City. Those on display were chosen as the best houses from each school in two categories: kindergarten through grade 3, and grades 4-6. “We try to have about four houses from each school. Sometimes the judges have a hard time making up their minds so we have a few more,” Johansen said. “Every year, support for the program increases. The schools have been incredible, and we’ve had so many children interested in taking part.”

The houses on display will be judged by a committee of five people on Dec. 16, and prizes awarded Dec. 20. There will be a first, second and third-place awards in each division, with $70 awarded for first place, $35 for second place and $20 for third place. In addition, the elementary schools that produced the first-place winners each receive $50 for use in the school.

“The judges are looking for creativity, originality, and most importantly, for houses that were worked on entirely by children, without any help from mom or dad,” Johansen said. “That is always part of the criteria: did the child do this on his or her own?”

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Film Festival To Highlight Mormon Film Making

Monte Bona
Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council
(435) 462-2502

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Monte Bona
Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council
(435) 462-2502

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Girls in Ephraim “Tying On” Holiday Cheer

So when the 10 girls currently living at YWEC were presented with a holiday project that gave them a chance to help children and youth in need, they embraced the opportunity. But this time, they were doing something most of them had never done in their young lives: quilting.

“They definitely didn’t know anything about quilting,” says Marilyn Jensen, one of six partners who operate the center. It provides a temporary home for girls who are underprivileged or have faced difficult challenges.

Jensen laughs as she recalls the first few times the girls worked on the project. There was a lot to learn, she says. “We’ve always done a lot of community service, but this is the first time we’ve ever done something as “domestic” as this.”

The girls hope to tie 70 quilts, which range in size from twin to queen, by Dec. 5. They will be distributed by the Shriner’s Hospital and the Masonic order to children and youth in need. Some of the quilts will also be provided to police agencies to hand out to the homeless.

“The girls are so motivated to meet that goal,” Jensen says. “They have it all figured out, how many they have to tie in one day to make it to 70. They work on the quilts in their free time and on weekends.”

Part of their motivation lies in the fact that they can relate to the people who will be receiving the quilts, Jensen adds. “Many of these girls grew up knowing what it’s like to go to bed without a quilt, they know what it feels like not to have anything. It also gives them a sense of accomplishment and responsibility, they like knowing that they can do things.”

That is the exact purpose of the project, says Ken Bona, who helped organize the effort as part of his role as chairman of three organizations with Christmas charities: the Paternal Order of the Eagles, the Masonic Orders and the Oddfellows. Members of those groups supplied the materials, including fabric, batting and yarn for the project.

“It’s a win-win situation,” he says. “It’s a wonderful program for the girls. It lets them give back to the community, and I understand that they are loving it. It also provides a much-needed service to people in need.”

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

HISTORICAL SEMINARS, RELATED TOURS AIM TO SPARK INTEREST IN HERITAGE HIGHWAY

The first series of seminars will be held Nov. 15 at Gardner Village, “Gathering Place,” 7800 S. 1100 West in Salt Lake City. Three different seminars will be held at 10 a.m., noon, and 1 p.m. People may sign up for any of the three seminars in advance for a cost of $2 each, or attend all three for $5. Tickets will also be sold at the door at a cost of $4 per seminar. The theme of the seminars is “North American Setting for the Book of Mormon.”

The 10 a.m. seminar is on Ancient American archaeology and will feature Wayne May of Ancient American Magazine talking about evidence of civilizations in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan that pre-date Christ. He will discuss how the findings are a good case for Book of Mormon archaeology in North America.

At noon, Brigham Young University professor emeritus James Harris, who retired from the school s Department of Ancient Scriptures, will share his findings of hundreds of rock art panels in Utah and the southwest United States that appear similar and identical to inscriptions located in and near Jerusalem that date to 600 B.C.

At 1 p.m., Duane Erickson, from the Book of Mormon Students Foundation, will discuss Ancient American geography. He will identify a North American setting for “The Promised Land” in a substantial hypothesis developed through significant geographical evidence.

Seats are still available for the seminars, although they may be limited. “We’ve already had more than 200 people pre-register,” Clawson says, adding they are only charging enough to cover the cost of the room rental and equipment.

“We want as many people as possible to come and hear the seminars. We hope that they give people a whole new reason to take a tour down the highway, and while they are there, take part in all there is to see and do.” For more information, contact Clawson Shields Tours at (801) 583-4038 or 1-800-6334-4928. Information is also available online at: www.clawsonshields.com.

This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Travel & Heritage Council Collecting Piano Histories

Monte Bona
Sanpete County Travel and Heritage Council
(435) 462-2502