Jack Summerhays came to Mount Pleasant like a bombshell. He was handsome, very bright, and he taught music like a master.
People were fascinated by him. He had an interesting personality and soon became friendly with the people in Mount Pleasant. The only thing was, he couldn’t find a place to live, and above all, he wanted a place with a modern bathroom. Few homes in Mount Pleasant had such luxury. He wanted a bathroom because he was a great bather! He finally found a house and was able to live with Mr. and Mrs. Auer Proctor in the east part of town. The house had a nice bathroom with a narrow, high window at the west side that really enchanted him. The word got around that he bathed in the night.
This was an interesting item for some of the teenage girls in Mount Pleasant, so one night a group of four or five of them got a ladder and decided to watch Jack at his bath. They had barely started up the ladder when someone made a noise and Jack heard it. Guessing that someone was eavesdropping, he called, “Come in girls, the water’s fine.” The girls were upset and quickly hurried down the ladder and away.
Although he left Mount Pleasant at the end of the summer, the story of Jack’s bath always brought a laugh. How do we know this story is true? The 91-year-old writer was one of the young girls!'
Jack was the son of Joseph William Summerhays, who crossed the plains in 1866 by covered wagon, and Mary Melissa Parker, who came to the Salt Lake Valley as a young child with one of the handcart companies.
This family established the well-known Summerhays Music Company.
(The above information came from Carol Jean Summerhays, a longtime music teacher in the Salt Lake City schools. Jack was her father’s uncle. Carol Jean remembers Jack as a fun-loving, rather dashing person. On his 95th birthday he sang for his guests in his still beautiful tenor voice.)
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The following photos were found on Family Search and added by Kathy Hafen
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