PETER AZEL PEEL FAMILY

 

Peter Azel Peel was born September 12, 1881 west of Mt. Pleasant, Utah in the bottoms--- as it was called.  He was the son of Christian Fredrick Peel and Mary Miranda Seely.  He attended elementary school that was also located in the bottoms.


Azel had three brothers and two sisters. They were Justus Wellington, Theressa, Orange Frederick, John Henry Lemuel and Jennie Eunice.  When Justus Wellington and Theressa were small children, they became ill with diptheria, and within a week's time of each other, both lost their lives.  They had nothing to give them to check the disease at the time.

In 1894, when Azel was twelve, his father died of rheumatic heart condition.  This was very hard on the family.  Being the oldest son, he took over many responsibilities for a boy of his age.  His mother and all worked very hard to sustain a living on one farm.  Later they  moved to Mary Miranda's mother's home on 5th West and Main Street.

  P.A. Peel is the second from the left on the back row.  
Missionaries to Southern States Mission

Peter Azel attended Snow College for a short time, and then he was called on a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints --- to the Southern States.  He left for the mission on November 5, 1902.  After serving an honorable mission, he returned home in March of 1905.

Peel Homestead 

On March 18, 1908, he married Mary Margaret Ericksen in the Manti Temple.  They moved down to the farm and were very happy down there, but Mary Margaret's grandmother Morrison was very ill and she was needed to help take care of her.  So they moved to town before their first daughter, Margaret, was born, February 15, 1909.  They had three other girls.  Alice, Lois and Barbara.

In 1916 they bought 10 acres west of Mt. Pleasant, and they moved down there.  There was only a one-room frame building on the lot.  It was used for their bedroom, kitchen and living room  Mary Margaret's father was wanting to build a bigger barn; the one he had was too small, so he gave it to Azel if he could move it.  He moved it by team to their ten acres, putting it nest to the one room.  He built a platform that served between both barn and kitchen.  Azel put planks on half of the barn for a floor, and Mary Margaret covered it with home-made carpet, and that made their bedroom.  The barn was 30 ft by 20 ft.  It was very cold sleeping in the winter, but they all managed to get along.


In the spring and summer of 1923 Peter Azel and a neighbor , Charlie Peterson, Alice and Lois made twenty thousand adobes.  Then Azel dug a basement and made a foundation.  That fall he moved the barn onto the foundation.  He sold ten thousand of the adobes and made enough money for a mason to line the house with the remaining ten thousand adobes.  By winter they were in their new home, and what a happy day it was.


Pete Azel trained oxen to pull a wagon, and he would drive them in the 24th of July parade.  He tanned many different kinds of hides; he used the leather to repair harnesses, braid whip, and make many useful articles.


He purchased his first sheep dog directly from Scotland. He named Scottie.  He proved to be as useful as an extra farmhand.


Azel was also a butcher for Ericksen Meat and Grocery for many years; he also did butchering for many townspeople.  He raised bees; he kept about 20 hives.  He extracted the honey and sold it to help out with their meager living.


He was an assessor for Mt. Pleasant for many years.  He was ward clerk for four different bishops in the Mt. Pleasant North Ward.  He was bookkeeper for Farmer's Equity, the building where he worked was just west of the old D&RG Depot.  He kept beautiful books, he was a very good penman.

Peter Azel loved his fellow men.  He was never too busy to stop his work and help someone who needed something done.  H was always happy; he always looked on the bright side of life.  His nieces and nephews said he was a peacemaker.  He made the remark one time that he had heaven here on earth.  He loved to hunt and fish whenever he had any spare time. 

On February 14, 1954, at age 73, he died of a heart condition.  How we all loved him and revere his name.  (by Alice Hafen, a daughter)

Missionary Log Book  

If this book is lost, holder will please mail to Elder P.A. Peel, Mt Pleasant, Sanpete Co., Utah   For it is of value..

SKYLINE DRIVE, SNOW COLLEGE and MINIATURE GOLF ~~~ ALL AVAILABLE TO DO THIS SUMMER IN SANPETE

 

MOUNT PLEASANT PIONEER DAY 1985 ~~~ Taken from Louise Johansen's ScrapBook

 

Random 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. 

Former Utah Jazz owner, Larry Miller
Speaking about entrepreneurship
at Snow College.  ~~~ 1994
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

L to R:
Amanda Shelley, Dana Arnoldsen, Malissa Jensen
Charity Palmer, Sheron ???
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Albert Antrei gives a historical perspective of GBEEC 
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
Senator Orrin Hatch watches from behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kimberly Perkins
KTVX 4 News Anchorwoman
Speaker for Snow College Baccalaureate Services
1993

L to R:
Kendra Jenson
Kami Jenson, 
Milinda Morley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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


Lida Jensen 
80th Birthday 

 

Boyd Reid Beck ~~~ PhD Chemistry ~~~ Snow College Professor

Boyd Reid Beck died peacefully on August 31, 2022, at his home in Spring City after a well-fought, life-long battle with kidney and heart disease.

He was preceded in death by his parents Osmer Hayes and Sarah Phyllis Sorensen; by his son Robert Dennis; his brothers Richard and DeVon; his sisters, Phyllis and Lois; and his prized pet sheep Billy. He is survived by his wife Sandra Aiken; his children, Sherene (Kerry) VanDyke, Anna (Jeff) Adams, Amy (Chad) Thompson, and Russell (Kacy) Beck; his sisters Neva, and ReNee; and no less than fourteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Boyd was born on July 22, 1945, in his parents’ home in Spring City. He had a good childhood—filled with picnics, microscopes, and pets—but after getting sick at a young age, Boyd realized he wouldn’t be able to carry on the family profession of raising sheep. So, he dedicated himself to studying instead. In his own words he “decided to live like [he] was going to die next year, but learn like [he] was going to live forever.”

Under doctor’s orders, he was asked to rest for half of seventh grade. His mother said that he had to always keep one foot in bed, and he did—technically. Whether or not he actually got much rest is up for debate. Boyd learned to develop film under his covers that year, and managed to play with his nieces and nephews despite bed rest. His illness flared up again at fourteen, and he was again asked to stay in bed. This time he found a tutor. His uncle Boyd Blain took it upon himself to educate his nephew. Boyd Beck often credited Boyd Blain, an English teacher, for instilling in him a hunger for learning that simply never waned.

Boyd served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in California, Arizona, and Nevada, which was the first time he left Utah. He adored his mission—especially because he had thought his health would prevent him from being able to serve. Later in life he would go on to hold various church callings including service in the Manti Temple and some stake callings at Snow College. Boyd graduated four times—from North Sanpete High School, Snow College, Brigham Young University, and finally the University of Utah, with a PhD in Chemistry—and it seems that he didn’t know how to graduate from somewhere without being at the top of his class. During the summers, to help pay for school, Boyd was a sheep herder up on the mountain. He filled his sheep camp with mutton, textbooks, and sourdough.

He was equally accomplished at work. As a chemist Boyd worked for 3M, Albion Labs, sBioMed and Harris Research (among other places). He held several U.S. and foreign patents, including such useful products as carpet cleaners that can lift stubborn red Kool-Aid and anti-fog solutions that can be rubbed on glasses or mirrors. But his real vocational pride was the work he did as a teacher.

For over 31 years Dr. Beck taught chemistry to thousands of students at Snow College. He had a goal to learn all his student’s names by the third day of class—which, by all accounts, he achieved. He personally helped hundreds of students go onto successful careers, including many pharmacists, doctors, and scientists. Dr. Beck loved his students; he often had a line out his office door that never seemed to diminish. He would individually tutor any student who asked for it, no matter how long it took. He was an exceptionally gifted teacher and mentor. His family has long forgiven him for setting such an excessive precedent for personal and professional success.

In 1999 Boyd received a kidney from his son Russell. He often credited that generous donation for tacking on twenty extra years to his life. His children attribute his longevity to the tireless, loving support of his wife of 53 years, Sandra. The fact that Boyd lived to 77 years is because he and Sandra were simply too stubborn to let him die. He would always thank the medical professionals who offered him care over the years, many of whom commented on his positive attitude despite his awful health.

Looking back at his life, Boyd was a man filled with contradictions. He was chronically ill from a young age, but optimistic almost to a fault. He nearly failed out of elementary school only to go on to be the valedictorian of every school he graduated from. He was a sheep herder and a chemist. He was consistently kind, even when life wasn’t kind to him. He was the smartest person in every room he entered, but he would never let anyone know that. All the people who got to know Boyd will miss him—whether they met him clad in a white lab coat in a classroom, or on the mountain smelling of campfire smoke, or dressed in a suit behind a lectern.

The family would like to thank our friends, Anita Johansen, the dedicated hospice team, and the many doctors who helped Boyd during these last years of his life. If you would honor Boyd’s memory, we ask that you reflect on how many lives he managed to change for the better—through service, through teaching, through chemistry—despite so many odds stacked against him. Boyd’s life reminds us that we should never despair, that despite our burdens we, too, can persevere.

There will be a funeral service held on Saturday, September 10, 2022, at 11am in the Spring City 2nd Ward Chapel (150 South Main). Viewings will be held Friday, September 9, 2022, at Rasmussen Mortuary (96 N 100 W, Mt. Pleasant) from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. prior to services at the church. Interment will be held in the Spring City Cemetery. In lieu of a donation, consider learning something new, taking a drive up the canyon, holding a baby, or petting a dog.

The recordings will be available for 60 days from 9/10/2022

Click Here to watch recorded Funeral Service.

BLACKHAWK VETERENS MEET AT SNOW COLLEGE ~~~ "JOE small potatoes"

 

Snow College Faculty ~ 1943

Snow College Faculty ~ 1958

Where Was The Principal - What Was He About- Where Was The Faculty- When The School Was Out?

This Photo is from the Relic Home Collection.

If you double click and zoom in you will see the drum is from Snow College.

What was the Occasion? We Do Not Know.

The writing on the bottom is original to the picture.

Blacksmith Class From Snow College Traditional Building Skills Institute

The Snow College Traditional Building Skills Institute Basic Blacksmith Class visited our Blacksmith Shop today. Gerald Cooper, Instructor wanted the members of the class to see a working pioneer blacksmith shop. He also demonstrated the coking of coal at the shop. See more about coking coal here: http://www.beautifuliron.com/thefire.htm