Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
"VILLAGE BLACKSMITH" made into prose by Anthon Wm Madsen ~ Johannah Madsen Hafen Collection
Mount Pleasant
“The Village
Blacksmith”
Sanpete County, Utah
January 20,
1886
The village
smithy stands under a spreading chestnut tree.
Smith a
mighty man, has sinewy hands
And the large
muscles of his brawny arms are as strong as iron.
His face is
like the tan, his hair is long and black, and brittle.
His work is hard and his brow is wet with
sweat.
He earns not
much. He looks the world in the face;
For he is
not in debt to any man.
You can hear
his instrument blow from week to week,
from morn
til night.And he swings his heavy sledge
with time
and slow like, the ringing of the village bell.
The children
coming home from school look inside the door,
They like to
catch the burning sparks.
He goes to
church on Sunday and sits among his companions.
He listens and hears the Parson pray and
preach.
In the
village choir he hears his daughter singing,
It sounds to
him as his wife singing in heaven.
He thinks
once more how she lies in her grave.
He wipes a
tear from his eyes with his rough hand.
Onward
through life he goes toiling, rejoicing.
Every
day he has a task before him and at
Night he
sees that it is done,
and when the
day has passed away,
he has
earned his might’s repose and he thanks them for
the lesson
they have taught.
Anthon Wm. Madsen
“The Village Blacksmith” made into
prose.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Lee and Beth Reminisce ~
The following is taken from Lee R. Christensen's Book: "You Knew Me As Buddy"; a collection of letters he wrote to friends who grew up in Mt. Pleasant. Beth is Beth Lund.
February 9, 1997
February 9, 1997
Dear
Beth,
Raymond
Larsen, Miriam’s new husband? What do you know about him? A Sanpeter? Has
the
name. I had a letter from Miriam early January. No hint of a remarriage. I won’t
know
how
to address her unless she lets me know.
Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream.
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest,
And the grave is not its goal.
Dust thou art, to dust returneth,
Was not spoken of the soul.
—Longfellow - A Psalm of Life
Back
in our grade school recital days - remember when we all had to memorize - was
it two
or
three poems for Verl Johansen - sixth grade - and then the reciting competition
in junior
high
- this poem was a standard. I think Fern Olson gave it in grade school and
maybe
some
others. I was 2nd in the junior high competition with “Vive La France.”
Probably
because
I recited in French. I think Evelyn won. Was her poem the “Highwayman”? The
wind
was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees, the moon was a ghostly galleon
tossed
upon cloudy seas. Think Billy Beck recited “Invictus”: Out of the night that
covers
me,
black as a pit from pole to pole. I don’t think we had this competition when we
were
in
eighth grade.
“Count
your many blessings?” - is that from William Clayton. No -I just checked with
his
great
granddaughter. She says, “No.” His was “God Wants Me For a Sunbeam.”
The
horses are healthy. We’ve had a mild (temperature wise) winter. Much snow - two
big,
big storms. About two feet each time, but very little sub-zero temperatures.
Horses
hate
deep snow, but it does not stress them like very cold weather does. In our
area, domestic
animals
surviving. Wild animals, deer especially, very high winter kill.
My
birds are doing very well. They are now into their second hundred pounds of
sunflower
and
wild birdseed. Even the stray cat I feed - 2-3 cans a day - appears to be
healthy. In six
weeks,
we will be well into spring. The worst is over.
And
I’m thinking spring baseball camp in Arizona. Remember when Fremont Draper went
to
spring baseball training. He was the only man of our generation to try out for
the professional
leagues.
He was a very good first baseman. Did not make it. As they say these days
-
he was good field - no hit.
I
always thought I grew up with some great athletes, but only one or two made it
at the college
level.
Bob Wing, Betty’s brother, was a three sports letterman at Arizona State. Steve
Keusseff
was 2nd string football at Stanford. Blain Hansen, Whiff, Dewey Fillis, and
Ralph
Ashton never made the teams in college. Whiff and Dewey in college - other than
Snow,
only a semester or two. Whiff, I think, had an athletic scholarship to the
University
of
Utah.
And
our musicians - did any go on to a big orchestra? Many, I think, did play in
college
bands.
Did any of our group sing in the Tabernacle Choir? Surely Wayne could have. A
few
years after our class, Fairview had a male singer that made the big time. Did
you ever
hear
him? Was it Glade Petersen? Was Tommy Brunger good enough to have gone big
time?
How about all those country and western singers around the valley. Any of them
make
Nashville? And didn’t Fairview have a champion yodeller?
And
movies - did any of our group star or sub-star in a movie? I think - may be way
off
-
that Jay Madsen had a sister married to a Walt Disney illustrator. How come Mt.
Pleasant
never
had a Lorraine Day who was from Roosevelt? I can remember thinking as I sat
chatting
with Nancy Regan that in my high school class were a dozen girls more
attractive
than
she. But, none of us boys may have been as good looking as Ronnie. Maybe Boone.
L.R
Friday, November 23, 2012
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Wasatch Academy-Princeton Connection ~ by Donna Glidewell
Wasatch Academy News
History: The Wasatch Academy-Princeton Connection
Byline: Donna Glidewell
Posted: October 31, 2012
Last Updated: October 31, 2012
Campus News Alumni News
Have you ever wondered who determined the layout of the Wasatch Academy campus, where the Orange and Black color scheme originated and what prompted the Tiger as the Wasatch Academy mascot? The simple answer is Princeton University.
The more complex answer is that Sheldon Jackson, who was Superintendent of Presbyterian Missions in the West and a close friend of our founder, Duncan J. McMillan, attended Princeton Theological Seminary.
The two schools were distantly connected and, apparently, Sheldon Jackson was a great fan of Princeton University. He suggested the layout of the Wasatch Academy campus that corresponds to Princeton. The colors and the tiger mascot are also products of Princeton heritage. It seems appropriate that an eastern university with Presbyterian roots be connected to Wasatch Academy.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Creamed Tongue Recipe
As I was growing up, my parents had a few sheep, their own cow and also calves.
Often times I would open the refrigerator door and
see a beef tongue staring at me.
I don't ever remembering eating any tongue, but someone must have or they
wouldn't have saved it in the refrigerator.
From my Grandmother Rigby's Recipe book I found a recipe for
Tongue with Cream Sauce.
Here it is:
Use canned tongue which comes in glass jars and heat it in a cream sauce.
Make cream sauce by thickening two cupfuls milk with 4 tablespoons full of
flour and seasoning with 1 1/2 teaspoons full of salt and 3 tablespoons full of
butter or butter substitute.
"Bon Apetite"
Saturday, November 17, 2012
From Hilda's Own Photo Album ~ Johanna Madsen Hafen Collection
Annie Madsen Pearson and her husband, Andrew Pearson
and Hilda Madsen ( as a child)
Anthone and Neil Madsen as youngsters
(their children are listed below the names)
a George Edward Anderson Photograph
Friday, November 16, 2012
Photos from the Johanna Madsen Hafen Collection
Neil Madsen and Friend
Two unknown girls
Annie W. Madsen and Mrs. Wood
with fish catch
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Remember Pioneer Day March 25, 1989
In the Coach: Esther Rasmussen Christensen on the right, Louise Frandsen Seely on the left
Riding high: Neil Hafen, upper left, Bert Ruesch, upper right.
This stagecoach representation was built by Monsen Family and used several years as an entry for various parades. The upper faux stage has been removed and the wagon now sits in front of our Relic Home.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. In proclaiming the holiday, he said
"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."
The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting that President Calvin Coolidge issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies.A Congressional Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U.S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday: "a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'."
In 1945, WWII veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who died in World War I. Weeks led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day. Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947 in Alabama and annually until his death in 1985. President Reagan honored Weeks at the White House with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982 as the driving force for the national holiday. Elizabeth Dole, who prepared the briefing for President Reagan, determined Weeks as the "Father of Veterans Day."
U.S. Representative Ed Rees from Emporia, Kansas, presented a bill establishing the holiday through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower, also from Kansas, signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954.
Congress amended this act on June 1, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with "Veterans," and it has been known as Veterans Day since.
The National Veterans Award, created in 1954, also started in Birmingham. Congressman Rees of Kansas was honored in Alabama as the first recipient of the award for his support offering legislation to make Veterans Day a federal holiday, which marked nine years of effort by Raymond Weeks. Weeks conceived the idea in 1945, petitioned Gen. Eisenhower in 1946, and led the first Veterans Day celebration in 1947 (keeping the official name Armistice Day until Veterans Day was legal in 1954).
Although originally scheduled for celebration on November 11 of every year, starting in 1971 in accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October. In 1978, it was moved back to its original celebration on November 11.
source: Wikipedia
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Andrew Madsen Home Has Been Newly Painted ~ Hilda's House
Picture taken October 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Mt. Pleasant City Hall Has A New Look
Now, City Hall has been painted and has a new look. The color is a little too dark for my taste. But as I examine it, and compare it to the earlier photo, I must admit it looks much better.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Grandma Rigby's Clipped Recipes ~~~~~ Pasted Into a Studebaker Catalog
My Grandmother Sarah Pritchett Rigby of Fairview was born in Fairview in 1884 . Her mother died when Grandma was only seven years old. She married Charles Martin Rigby and gave birth to seven children. In 1920, her husband Charles Martin was in an accident in the coal mine. He was crushed against the wall of the mine by a train car. He was taken to Salt Lake in a horse and buggy, where he died. Grandma Rigby seen many hard times in her life. I found this scrapbook among her things. She had pasted recipes clipped out of newspapers and pasted them into a catalog of Studebaker motor vehicles.
The recipes represent that time period (about 1928), But also, the way she had chosen to save them was ingenious and very resourceful. Perhaps it was nothing out of the ordinary for that time period.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Mormon Hobbles
From The Forge: Mormon Hobbles Forged By Dennis Manning
http://www.americanfarriers.com/pages/AF...
These hobbles were used by Mormon travellers on their way to Utah to prevent their horses from being stolen.
DESCRIPTION
Mormon Puzzle Hobbles were iron hobbles connected by a chain and used to hobble horses or other livestock so that they would not wander off when not otherwise constrained such as by fences.
The unique feature of these hobbles was a chain mechanism that could be easily put on or removed if you knew how to do it. But if you did not know the trick, it was almost impossible to remove. This prevented the theft of animals by native Americans or other uninitiated.
HISTORY
These hobbles were developed my Mormon blacksmiths and were used by pioneers crossing the plains as well as by settlers in the intermountain west.
At least two pairs of these antique Mormon Hobbles exist in Washington County. One is at the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum in St. George and the other is at the Jacob Hamblin Home in Santa Clara.
WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
Sunday, November 4, 2012
James Hansen and John Waldemar - - - Short Story by Hanna Neiborg, St. Anthony, Idaho - 1965
This story is one of my favorites .
It was the year 1880, Mt. Pleasant saints were having the greatest 24th of July celebrathion they had ever had. It was to be held in the bowery with songs, recitation and orations. But the crowning glory and most exciting part of the program was a contest between Mt. Pleasant's two musicians playing violins. John Waldemar and James Hansen were the contestants. John was also a well-trained and outstanding violinist.
John lived with his family on his farm several miles north of Mt. Pleasant city limits. James lived with his family in the large home on Main Street. He was a very serious man, but he could be jolly. This mood came to him only when he did the thing he loved best and which he could do best--his music, more especially his violin. John made his brags to James. He had new music that he was perfecting for the contest. This was depressing to James. New music for this frontier country was unheard of. He had used all the music and melodies that he had brought with him from the old country.
Then an idea struck this Danish musician. It was a long way to the Waldemar farm, but that would not stop him. On the evening when James felt that John's farm work was finished and he would be practicing, he rode his horse to the Waldemar farm. He crawled close to the open window where he could hear the beautiful violin music filling the air. Intently he listened until he heard John close his violin case.
Upon returning to his own home, his remarkable ear and memory let him play John's beautiful new tune.
To make himself sure, he returned several nights. Soon he knew he could play the melody better than John could. He then went to work on John's music. He used his Danish training until his piece was presentable.
With much excitement the great day arrived. Everyone in the hamlet attended. Everyone was excited about the contest. The audience's applause would declare the winner. The violinist's drew cuts who should be first. It was John. Before the tense crowd, standing erect, John Waldemar began to play. His beautiful new music filled the bowery. Women used their handkerchiefs as the melody flowed on. How could any music excel John's!
James Hansen stepped to the platform. Silence filled the bowery. He lifted the instrument to his shoulder. With his right arm outstretched, he clutched the bow with his beautiful white hand. deftly he let it slide over the strings while the long fingers of his left hand precisely pressed them. What music! It was John's melody only in a haunting minor key enhanced by the vibrato of James' left hand. Then the mood changed. It was John's melody in a vivacious Danish polka, so rhythmical it was hard for the saints to keep their feet from stamping. After retruning to John's theme, James turned the music into a scherzo, a waltz with a brilliant pizzicato, finishing with a Danish mazurka.
The bowery rang with applause. There were whoops and hollers, with hats flying in the air, to the very hills. James had won the day! His innate ability, coupled with the training acquired in Denmark, won for him the coveted prize- - - - the esteem of his fellow saints.
The friendship of the two musicians was not changed, but never again did John Waldemar make brags before James Hansen.
Sent in by Evelyn Ireland
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Henning Pedersen Peel ~ Pioneer of the Month ~ November 2012
House Research done by Tudy Barentsen Standlee
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