THE BIG PIONEER STORE ~~~ Written by Pearl Madsen Olsen ~~~ (from our archves)

 

 These coins were used by early pioneers at the ZCMI.  Donated to us by Dick and Peggy Ruiz. 

   

 

 

WILFORD FRANKLIN HAFEN AND WIFE CARRIE NIELSON HAFEN

WILFORD HAFEN  ~~~~~~~~~~CARRIE NIELSON HAFEN

 

Wilford Hafen

Contributed By

Wilford Hafen was the youngest child and only son that survived in his large family. Several male siblings died in infancy. Wilford was born June 12, 1883 to Jacob Hafen and Anna Katherina Naef. He was a farmer. He died at age 38 years, 5 months, 7 days (Utah Death Certificate), on 19 Nov 1921 in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete, Utah. He was married (Carrie Nielson, Oct 19, 1907). Cause of death was cerebral hemmorrhage and a fractured skull caused by a fall from a horse. He was buried Nov 22, 1921 in Mount Pleasant.

 

HOW COULD IT BE? ~~~ BACK IN 1949 4 SETS OF TWINS BORN IN A SMALL TOWN OF MT. PLEASANT

 Dean Corcoran and Dan Corcoran

Peter Simpson and Paula Simpson

Linda Ream and Lary Ream 

Ervin Shelley and Ivan Shelley 

Must have been in the water?

SANDRA LEE BIGLER ~~~ FORMER MAYOR ~~~ GOOD FRIEND

 

Sandra Lee Bigler 

Sandra Lee Bigler

March 22, 1945 — September 12, 2025

Mount Pleasant

Listen to Obituary

 Sandra Lee Seeley Bigler, our beloved mother, grandmother, passed away on September 12, 2025, surrounded by her family who loved her dearly. She was born on March 22, 1945, in Mount Pleasant, Utah, to Hyrum Carlton and Elverda Elizabeth Seeley, the third of their children and certainly the one who kept everyone on their toes.

On June 10, 1963, Sandra married the love of her life, John Arnold Bigler. Together, they raised a family, worked hard, laughed often, and weren’t afraid to take risks. From selling snowmobiles and tires to opening Big Pine Sports in Fairview, they were true partners in business and life. Sandra’s contagious laugh could fill a room, and even if you didn’t know what the joke was—you’d find yourself laughing right along with her.

Sandra was a force in her community. She served as Mayor of Mt. Pleasant City, sat on the City Council, and for many years worked as sexton of the cemetery. She had the entire cemetery memorized, a fact she was fiercely proud of, and one we’re all still in awe of. Her knowledge and devotion to that sacred ground will never be matched—though we’re certain she’ll be keeping tabs from above to make sure it’s still done right.

She had more friends than she probably admitted, and if you ever ate at her table, you knew you were in for a treat. Sandra could whip up food better than any restaurant in town, though she’d roll her eyes if you dared tell her that. Whether it was a big family dinner or a quick bite, she always made sure bellies were full and hearts were warm.

Sandra is survived by her children JoAnn (Ted) Mollinet and Tammy (Mark) Jorgensen; her grandchildren Natalie (Garrett) Crosby, Jammie (Rusty) Hansen, Michelle (Devin) Mackey, Kolton (Alex) Jorgensen, Kaden (Meagan) Jorgensen, and Keisha (Conner) Christensen; and 23 great-grandchildren who adored their spunky grandma and great-grandma.

She was preceded in death by her husband, John A. Bigler; daughters Jody, Amy, and Jamie; brother Hal Seeley; sisters Carma Stockton and Kenna Nielsen; and her parents, Hyrum Carlton and Elverda Elizabeth Seeley.

A viewing will be held on Sunday, September 21, from 5:00–7:00 p.m. at the North Stake Center, 461 N 300 W, Mount Pleasant. Friends may also call at the church on Monday, September 22, from 9:00–10:30 a.m., prior to the 11:00 a.m. funeral.. Interment will follow at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. 

To Watach Funeral Services Live, Click Here. The Live Zoom Link will Activate at 10:45 a.m. MST prior to services. 

PROVOCATIVE PEEK !!! BY OWEN SANDERS

 

EVER-READY DRY CLEANER ~~~ O.D. YOUNG (BOB YOUNG) Operated the busainess ~~~(from our archves)

 

O.D (aka Bob Young) operated the business.  Peter (my husband) remembers it being in business in the 1940s.  It was located  on the north side of Pleasant Creek and 1st west, on the west side of the road.  It was just across the road from Ursenbach (now Rasmussen) Mortuary.  Later on, Eldon Beck had an appliance repair business located in the same building.  The building is still there and has become a housing unit.

The building address is 100 W, and across the creek from the Post Office. 

HOME OF ISAAC THOMAS IVIE AND WIFE ELIZABETH EVANS ~~~ Researched and Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 

ANDREW C. HANSEN AND MAREN LARSON HANSEN

 

OLD PHOTOS FROM THE MT. PLEASANT PYRAMID

When the Mt. Pleasant Pyramid Office was moved

to Springville these photos were given to us to

share at the Relic Home.  Some do not have names 

or descriptions.  Let us know if you can add

any details. 

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE MOUNT PLEASANT FORT 1859 ~~~ ANDREW MADSEN JOURNAL

This sketch was found at the Fairview Museum.  It's authenticity is unknown.

Notice the N on the top and S on the bottom noting North and South.

 

July 1859

The following statement is made in Andrew Madsen's Journal:


"During the month of June, we were kept very busy in attending to our crops and the building of the large fort wall." July 10th, Apostle George A. Smith and Amasa Lyman visited the settlement, after giving much good instruction and advice to the people, proceeded to organize the Saints on Pleasant Creek into an ecclesiastical ward. William Stuart Seeley was chosen and ordained Bishop with Harvey Tidwell as first counselor and Peter Yorgen Jensen as second counselor. The office of president was thereby vacated, and Brother James R. Ivie felt very much pleased when released from the responsibility that had been placed upon him, in the establishment of the colony for which he had worked so hard. As it was a very pleasant place in which to live, the name Mount Pleasant Branch was adopted for the colony, giving credit to its pleasant location, beautiful mountains, fields and surroundings.






Work continued on the fort wall until July 18th, when it was completed, and had the distinction of being the finest fort in Sanpete County. Following is the summary of descriptions of the fort, given by Andrew Madsen, Peter Monsen, R. N. Bennett, and Peter Gottfredson. "It enclosed the block later known as the Tithing Yard. 26 rods by 26 rods, enclosing about five and one-half acres of ground, between Main Street and First North, and State Street and First East." "It was made according to instructions and was built of native rock, taken from the surface or dug out of the ground." "It was laid with mud mortar." "The wall was 12 feet high, four feet wide at the bottom, tapering to about two feet at the top.






This wall, in order that the maneuvers of the Indians could be watched from the inside, was built with port holes every 16 feet. about seven feet from the ground. The holes were about two feet wide on the inside, and about four inches on the outside, and about 18 inches high." "Later the inside of the wall was utilized for one wall in the erection of houses, 16 feet square, with one port hole in the middle of the one wall of each house." "There was a flat roofed house in the northwest corner of the fort upon which guards could stand and view the country."






"There were two large gates, one in the center of the north wall, and one in the center of the south wall, with a small gate adjoining it, giving a thoroughfare in passing. These openings had heavy wooden gates. Small entrances were in the east and in the west walls, which made it convenient, as they were not always obliged to use the same entrance." "The water supply was obtained from Pleasant Creek, which passed almost parallel east and west through the center of the fort. A large bridge was erected over the stream." "All corrals for the cattle were built to the north, just outside the fort, leaving a road-way between." At this time Mount Pleasant was a thriving community of about eight hundred inhabitants, with about 1200 acres of ground under cultivation.

MT. PLEASANT ELEMENTARY FIRST GRADE ~~~ 1952-53

RURAL MAIL DELIVERY

Rural mail delivery 1930 in Maine. 
Courtesy of National Archives History Office 

Here in Mt. Pleasant, we didn't have mail delivery until the new Neighborhood Box Units went in circa 1980.

In 1898 a fire destroyed the post office on Main Street owned by John N. Ericksen: 

Those who sustained losses were: Dr. S. H. Allen, store build­ing; M. G. Rolph, building and cigar factory; Dr. A. Lundberg, building, household furniture, dentist and jewelry tools; M. C. Kroll, store and bakery; Maiben & Aldrich, drug store; New York Cash store, merchandise; Equitable Co-op Store, building; Victor Nielson and Olaf Olson, Shoe Company; Kofford & Johnson, building and stock. The Post office, owned by John N. Ericksen; C. E. Hampshire, barber shop; Dr. C. McGoughan, office furniture; Dr. H. P. Morrey, office fixtures; J. C. Barton, barber shop and fixtures; Carl Kroll and Hyrum Hansen, each shoemaker fixtures. The Odd Fellows, Masonic, Workman and Woodmen lodges, their hall and furniture. Some were partly insured. The fire being checked by an adobe wall in the Lundberg building, saved the Con­solidated Furniture Company, W. O. Ash & Company, and a frame building built by Nils Rosenlof, later owned by Rasmus Anderson. A year later, this frame building was also destroyed by fire.

 

JOSEPH AND AMY URSENBACH

j~~~~~~~

and another news item: 

 

HOME OF ANDREW EMIL SORENSEN and wife ELLA NINETTA FECHSER ~~~ Researched and Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 

 

 

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR ANNIE WILCOX MADSEN ~~~December 3, 1965 ~~~ (from our archives)

 

You may wonder how the entire funeral was recorded.  Annie's daughter Alice Panier was a court reporter and took the entire funeral down in shorthand.

  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzoP3qZgzktb5QVa6o6GFwF_j680Q5qUeIpYMwUBs6hgPQGS5X0RnDk_uZGJuIGMiypdzdSp7dfjjT0fIqApSMZjwP6c0gEFJsMAwZLI_GmFu1IrG7mHbRxJLG_3TTke7okMZxymWZiwM/s1600/Panier,+Alice+reporter.jpg

HOME OF SOREN JACOBSEN and WIFE MAREN JENSEN ~~~ Researched and compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

 

FRIENDS OF 222D FIELD ARTILLERY ~~~MAY 22, 1941

 

Local Military Men WW11

Our friend Lee writes: Peter and Kathy: Trooper on left unknown and by name and face the next four, Charles Wright, Bennett Madsen, Bert Hafen and Burt Ruesch>. Looks like they are just going on or coming off guard duty>. Late Spring 1941,,San Luis Obispo, Calif>. There are three old troopers there in Mt Pleasant, Burt Ruesch, Lynn Poulsen or Dean Staker that have better eyes for faces than I do>. You'll find all three at the "pool hall " keeping their eyes sharp and their hands steady>.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

double click to enlarge

Sadly, Frank Ruesch and Joe Matson were killed and did not return home.

JAMES WALKER AND PARLEY FULLMER ~~~ PHOTO BY GEORGE EDWARD ANDERSON

 

The print features James Walker as the barber and Parley Fullmer as his client who were both Mt. Pleasant residents.  The photo was taken inside George Edward Anderson's tent studio.  Notice that the barber chair is wooden.  It is believed that James Walker was an early-day barber in Mt. Pleasant 

We have had a small copy of this print in our collection, however Darlene Frandsen Blackham recently donated a 11x16 copy.

This photo was taken by George Edward Anderson. 

George Edward Anderson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and apprenticed as a teenager under renowned photographer, Charles Roscoe Savage.^[1] At Savage’s Temple Bazaar, Anderson became friends with fellow apprentices John Hafen and John F. Bennett. Hafen later become an accomplished artist and Bennett was instrumental in preserving Anderson’s glass plate negatives.

At seventeen, Anderson established his photography studio in Salt Lake City with his brothers, Stanley and Adam. He established a studio in Manti, Utah in 1886 and moved his studio to Springville, Utah with his bride, Olive Lowry in 1888.

Anderson is best known for his traveling tent studio, set up in small towns throughout central, eastern, and southern Utah, that he used to document the lives of residents in the years 1884 to 1907.

Although known as a portrait photographer, Anderson's studio portraits are complemented by thousands of documentary portraits taken near homes, barns, and businesses. These photos document families, small town Utah history, railroad history, mining history (including the Scofield mine disaster), and the building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temples. Pure landscape photography was not Anderson's main interest, but his photographs of Church sites are important documents of LDS history. He photographed these sites while traveling across the country to begin his LDS Church mission in England from 1909-1911. The Deseret Sunday School Union of the Church published some of the views, as Anderson called them, in a booklet entitled The Birth of Mormonism in Picture. (The above information was taken from Wikipedia)

The original can be found at this link:http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/GEA/id/1511/rec/25George Edward Anderson

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CLASS OF 1899 ~~~ GEORGE CHRISTENSN ~~~ PRINCIPAL

 

 

George Christensen 

Dorthea Mogensen Christensen
George's First Wife
Died in 1899

Francis Ellison Christensen
George's second wife