John Brewer's Caves

https://www.facebook.com/thebrewercave/videos/1036263703135729/

From Our Archives ~~~ Mayor Justus Seely Kills Bear

https://tudystandlee.blogspot.com/2011/04/mayor-justus-seely-kills-bear-with.htmlhttps://tudystandlee.blogspot.com/2011/04/mayor-justus-seely-kills-bear-with.html

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES FROM THE PAST

In about 1885, Grandpa Ericksen (Henry Ericksen) and his brother Allif started a meat and grocery store in Mt. Pleasant. Grandpa managed the store while Alif ran the farm and livestock; buying, feeding and slaughtering for the store. They would notify the townspeople that on a certain day they were going to kill a beef in the evening and bring it to the store the next morning, so that people could get a "hunk" of meat.

There were steaks, roasts, boils, stews or hamburger - just a chunk of meat. They would start cutting just back of the ears and end at the hind shank. all the cuts sold for the same price per pound; whether it was the neck or the porter house. Then, to carry it home, the customer whittled a sharp stick, jabbed it in the piece of meat and went home to mama, to have it prepared for the family dinner. There was no paper, twine or plastic to wrap the piece of meat in.

In 1893, they built their store on Main Street and took in another partner; brother-in-law, Judge Ferdinand Ericksen. The store was incorporated as the Ericksen Meat and Grocery Co. Their store was in a two story brick building with a full basement. It was considered one of the finest institutions in the community.

Ferdinand Ericksen was a lawyer and occupied three rooms on the second floor for his law practice. The town doctor, Dr. W.W. Woodring, occupied the other two rooms on the second floor.

In 1920, Soren M. Nielson and Uncle Harry, Henry's son, bought the store. Then in 1925, Uncle Harry, bought Nielson's half interest and owned and managed the business alone. Uncle Harry put in about forty five years operating the store. They did their own slaughtering and feed their own livestock such as hogs, lambs and cattle. Before the meat packers came into the state, they shipped out daily loads of dressed meat to Salt Lake City, Bingham, Eureka and also Carbon County.

During those first twenty years of operation they started to make their own lunch meats, bologna, minced ham, corned beef, head cheese, hamburger and sausage. But when the big packers came into the state that phase of manufacturing was discontinued. Until 1925 they handled the livestock with a first class saddle horse. After that, motor trucks and trailers were used to move the livestock between range, feed lot and slaughter house.

Ice was used in the store coolers until 1915, when modern refrigeration was installed. Before that, ice blocks were stored in the ice house under sawdust, and used to refill the store's ice about once a week. With the advent of electric home refrigerators, the store discontinued using their own ice supply.

After Uncle Harry sold the store, there has been several companies using the Main Street building, including Al and Naomi Berti's Red and White store, Terrel's Red and White Store.
The Ericksen Meat and Grocery Co. had a lot of competitors come and go, but operated for over sixty two years. And since 1986 it has been the home of the Mt. Pleasant Pyramid, the local newspaper. And now is the Gun Shop. 

Vintage Christmas Postcards Sent to Maggie Ericksen 1890s

Home of Peter Christian Miller ans wife Mary Frederiksen ~~~ Researched and Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

1949-1950 Kindergarten

Green Tambourine ~ Submitted by Michael V. Porter

LIGHT BROUGHT TO SWEDEN

Spring City residents donated their $500 annual Christmas party fund to Quarters for Christmas today. KSL spent the day in Spring City along with FM100.3, 103.5 The Arrow, and Santa and Mrs. Claus to thank them for all of their generous donations. All together they raised $1,343.26 to help Utah kids in need. A great big THANK YOU to #SpringCity. #KSLQuarters

See Video below:
https://www.facebook.com/ksltv/videos/10156301584223676/

Family Group Sheet of Napoleon Bonaparte Pritchett and Olive Loretta Sanders Pritchett

Elisha Wilcox and Anna Pickle Wilcox ~~~ Pioneers of the Month December 2017

 The Wilcox  family came to Great Salt Lake, Deseret with the EzraT. Benson Company in 1849.  They departed on 15 July 1849 from the outfitting post at Kanesville, Iowa.  They traveled close together with the George A. Smith Company as they crossed the plains. Their family consisted of his father, Elisha, age 39; his mother Anna Pickle, age 34; Miner, age 14; Polly, age 12; Francis, age 10; Margaret, age 8;Sally, age 4; Joseph. age 1; and Hyrum, an infant. 

             When they got to the Elkhorn River they found two large companies on the bank of the river.  They had not been able to cross the river, because the ferry had been left on the other side, and a heavy rainstorm in the upper country had swollen the stream to the height of twelve feet.  Canute Peterson and Ira Sabe volunteered to swim across and reach the ferry. When they got about a third of the way across, Ira began to give out.  Canute knew he had to reach the ferry so he exerted himself to the utmost to reach the ferry, which he did.  He pulled Ira after he got there.  They got the ferry boat in operation and before evening had quite a number of the wagons across. 

             They had a few stampedes on the road, one on the Elk Horn River, but there were no damages until they arrived at Williow Springs which was east of Sweetwater.  Here they encountered a severe snow storm, freezing 17 head of cattle and one horse during the night.  Snow fell nearly to the top of their wagon covers and they had to dig their way out. The storm lasted about forty hours. 

            The cattle had wondered off but they found the majority of the in quite good condition.  There was an abundance of large willows in an area that served as both food and shelter.  They had to camp there for three days.  They were about 80 head short so they yoked up any animal that could do any work. They traveled about ten miles and came out of the snow to bare ground again and traveled on reaching the valley on 25 October 1849. 

 The above is taken from of

BIOGRAPHY OF LUCINDA ADALINE OLIVER WILCOX a daughter-in-law.

Home of Christian N. Ericksen and wife Annie Christianna Jensen ~~~ Researched and Compiled by Tudy Barentsen Standlee

SANPETE CREEPER

THE SANPETE CREEPER

*(An article by the Editor, Hal Edwards in the Richfield Reaper, tells us about the train that serviced Mt. Pleasant, and other towns in Sanpete and Sevier Counties.) “It was affectionately known as “The Sevier Valley Creeper. Unless you lived in Sanpete County. There it was the “Sanpete Creeper.”
The “It” was the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad which linked the outside world to Sanpete and Sevier counties when the Marysvale Branch line was completed into Gunnison and Salina in 1890, later into Richfield in 1896.
The passenger train operated daily to Richfield, making a round trip back to Salt Lake City via Sanpete County and joined the Rio Grande’s main east-west line from Salt Lake City to Denver in Thistle.
But in 1949, after two years of substantial revenue loss, the passenger train was discontinued, bringing an end to an era which was one of the most significant breakthroughs in the history of southern Utah. ...However, freight trains continued to operate into the area regularly until April, 1983, when a giant mudslide near the town of Thistle covered the tracks.
But for nearly 90 years the small but important branch line, which provided this area’s only railroad service, was a major part of southern Utah’s economic development.The railroad actually brought service into Gunnison before 1890, providing service to the Sanpete County communities of Mt. Pleasant, Ephraim, Manti and Gunnison. 
...The story is told of the engineer, James M. Bolitho, who, when pulling into the depot, shouted to the crowd, “Git out of the way, I’m going to turn her around.” While most didn’t realize that was impossible, they scurried out of the way, expecting to see some kind of miracle!
The same story is told of Mr. Bolitho when he took the first train into Marysvale, Sept. 9, 1900. A historical account of that situation stated a panic, occurred in which two women were knocked down by the crowd, another fainted and a wagon driver who had contracted to haul mail to the south got so excited he drove his shiny new rig into a ditch and broke a wheel.
Perhaps the only reminder of what was once this area’s most important transportation mode will be remembered in Haywire Mack’s legendary song, [sang by Burl Ives], “The Big Rock Candy Mountain,” a song of the Rio Grande Railroad in southern Utah.”