Friday, September 18, 2020
Rasmus Clausen
Thursday, September 17, 2020
LaRue Johnson Beck Stewart Has Passed ON
LaRue Johnson Beck Stewart
5/24/1927 ~ 9/8/2020

Mt. Pleasant — LaRue Johnson Beck Stewart, 93, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and great great grandmother returned home to parents, siblings, husbands, son, granddaughter, grandson & great grandson in Orem, Utah (on her son, Stephen Kelly Beck’s birthday). She was born in Fairview to Myron Levi Johnson and Margaret Luella Terry Johnson on May 24, 1927. She was the youngest of seven children. She attended grade school and middle school in Fairview and graduated from North Sanpete High School in 1945. LaRue was selected as Miss Liberty (Miss Fairview) the year after she graduated from high school. She worked as a bookkeeper for Bradshaw Auto Parts after graduating. While working she met Delmar Jacob Beck and was married April 2, 1947 in the Manti Temple. Starting in 1963 Mom worked as a manager of the school lunch program for North Sanpete High School and Mt. Pleasant Elementary. She then worked as the North Sanpete District School Lunch Supervisor over the seven schools in the district for 10 1/2 years. During this tenure, LaRue had the privilege of working on the State School Lunch Association Committee for several years. She was the first certified chairman over getting all school lunch workers certified in Utah. This gave LaRue many opportunities to visit other districts, lunch programs and conventions.
Mother was a member of the Laicos Club since 1955 and enjoyed socializing with the many friends she made during this time.
She and Daddy loved to dance and taught dancing for years. Our parents were devoted to serving the Lord and teaching their children the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were married for 40 wonderful years and were given the opportunity to serve as ordinance workers in the Manti LDS Temple. After Delmar passed away August 29, 1987, she met Leo Lavern Stewart and they were married in the Manti Temple on July 11, 1988. Leo and LaRue were selected as the Sweetheart Couple for Snow College Institute, which was a great privilege in February 2000. Momma loved to travel and she and Leo had the blessing of traveling to many countries. She felt she was very fortunate to travel to Israel where the Savior lived, walked, taught, blessed and died. Each member of LaRue’s family were very dear to her and she shared her love with each of them.
She held many church callings and enjoyed them all. When she was in the Stake Primary Presidency, they arranged to attend General Conference and stayed at the Hotel Utah. Throughout Mother’s life she met each challenge, and there were many, with a positive attitude and knew they would pass and be for her best good – always relying on the Savior.
Mom and Delmar were blessed with four children: J. Dee (Linda), Stephen Kelly deceased (Vicki), Susan Lynnette (Brent) and Lizetta. Leo’s children are Leonard Earl (LaWauna), Donna Marie (Ed), and Kenneth Lee (Karen). She had 31 grandchildren, 88 great-grandchildren, and 32 great-great-grandchildren.
Graveside service was held Monday, at 11:00 at Fairview City Cemetery under the care of Rasmussen Mortuary. Viewings will be held Sunday, September 13, from 6-8 p.m. and Monday from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. prior to services at Rasmussen Mortuary, Mt. Pleasant, UT.
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
MEMORIES OF SANPETE Ruby F. Thomas
I was born in “our new house” in Mount Pleasant, Utah. Papa had built it himself, mostly, of cream-colored brick. And there was a porch all across the front, with a porch swing, And room for rocking chair and other chairs beside, To sit on a warm summer day.
Grandma Sanderson came from Fairview, for a visit and held me on her lap, As she rocked on the porch when I was just a baby way back in nineteen hundred and fourteen. Mama and Papa and my sister Crystal stood nearby. And we had a picture taken.
Papa was born in Mt. Pleasant and Mama in Fairview, So, of course, the Mt. Pleasant boys thought Fairview girls were prettier, and vice versa.
Papa was part owner of a confectionary called Crystal ice Cream, And that’s where my sister got her name. They name me Ruby because it seemed to go well with Crystal. She was blond and I was sort of dark, always the heart wants to return home Until the circle is completed. For this we all yearn. But some of me will remain until I’ve tasted more beneficence, More appreciation, and can discern. When sorrow has sculptured all the hollows of my heart. When history of all my own I’ve prepared and know, I shall answer then, (Across the silent deep.) But reluctantly I’ll go.
And our 4th of July dresses were generally blue for Crystal And red for me. After we moved to the City, we usually went back to Sanpetefor the 4th of July and to visit Grandma Sanderson in Fairview And Grandma Fechser in Mt. Pleasant. There was the patriotic meeting in the church house, and the parade down the street, with the band playing, And Crystal and I each had our own little flags to wave. There was the Rodeo, and an afternoon dance for children, And a night dance for grownups and even Grandma went to watch. And babies were put on benches to sleep. And when we walked down Main Street, in our new dresses, Those who sat and watched speculated as to who we were and we felt important. When we drove up to Grandma’s house, She was always sitting by the window watching for us. And Mama said, “Now run inside And give Grandma a big kiss.”
I sat on her lap and marveled at the big wrinkles In her face and hands. I told her a nursery rhyme once about Little Joan who said when nobody’s with me I’m always alone, And Grandma laughed so hard the tears rolled down her cheeks. She went out in the back yard and caught a chicken and chopped off its head, and we watched it flopping around, and making clucking noises without any head. Grandma talked a lot about dying, And once when someone was fixing the wall of her house, she said, “Now don’t you boys fix that too good, Or I won’t want to die.”
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Sanpete Honors Forgotten Souls
Memorial is dedicated to 'Poor Farm' inhabitants
By Deseret News May 28, 2001, 10:40am MDT
Carma Wadley senior writer
https://www.deseret.com/2001/5/28/19588594/sanpete-honors-forgotten-souls
William Ditmer was a blind shoemaker who lived and worked in Fairview. At the end of his life, he went to live at the "Poor Farm," as the Sanpete County Infirmary was called in those days. When he died in 1916, Ditmer was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave.
Legacy's a quirky thing. Those who try to manufacture it are not always successful. Those who never give it a thought are often the ones who have untold impact.
When William Ditmer lived out his quiet, useful life in Fairview, he probably had no idea that all these years later people would be remembering him. Or that because of him, others whose only claim to fame might be that they did the best they could would be honored.
This Memorial Day, the town of Fairview is dedicating a monument to all those who lived and died at the Infirmary. They need to be remembered in a positive way, said Norma Vance, who has spearheaded the the memorial project. "At the time, there was a bit of a stigma attached to going to the Poor Farm. Maybe this will help to exonerate them."
Many of them were immigrants, far from their families. But to come here showed such faith and courage, she said. And many were simply caught by circumstance. "When age came upon them, some fell victim to ill health and could no longer do for themselves."
The story of the monument actually began on a wintry day in 1992. A former resident of Fairview came to the home of Norma and Herald Vance with an old clarinet. It had belonged to William Ditmer, the man said, and it should go in the Fairview Museum.
"I had read a little about Ditmer, but when I actually saw and touched his clarinet, he seemed so real, and I wanted to know more about him," Norma said.
She thought about him from time to time. But it wasn't until 1998, when she and Herald were asked to speak at Fairview's Patriotic Program, that she did more research. "I knew I wanted to talk about William Ditmer."
He had been born in Denmark in 1857, she found. As a small boy he had contracted the measles, which had taken his sight. He learned the shoemaker trade at a school for the blind in Denmark. He joined the LDS Church and came to Fairview in 1886.
Golden Sanderson, one of Fairview's long-time residents, remembered Ditmer in his life story. "He did his shoe repairing mostly by feel," Sanderson wrote, "and could always pick up the right tool or tacks. . . . He lived an isolated life and barely lived off his trade. My parents often helped him with a bowl of soup or other food."
But Ditmer was also a skilled musician. "When darkness came with only the flicker of the kerosene lamp, it was comforting to hear strains of music coming from the old man's house," wrote Sanderson. "It was Ditmer who started some students out on reed instruments until finally a band was organized."
That's what struck her about Ditmer, says Norma. Here he was, blind and barely getting by, "but he gave something back to the community."
Norma went to the Fairview sexton's office to get Ditmer's exact birth and death dates, and that's when she found out that he had gone to live at the Poor Farm. "And I was shocked to see so many more names on the sexton's records of people who had died there."
At least 34 other men and women had died at the Infirmary during its years of operation, and many had been buried in unmarked graves at the Fairview Cemetery, she found.
After the talk at the Patriotic Program, one of the audience members commented on the need for a monument, and that kept nagging at the Vances, who finally took the matter to the City Council in September 1999.
The council agreed, but it has taken awhile to get it all put together. And it has become a community project.
"The Poor Farm was a special spot. Everyone knew where it was, and that's what everyone called it," says Margaret Bench, chaplain of the North Bench Camp of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, which has been involved.
"One of our DUP themes is that our heritage binds us together," adds DUP secretary Becky Roberts. "And this is our heritage."
The infirmary was built in 1895. At that time, not only was the county's population increasing, but the economic depression of 1893 had created a growing number of indigents, and county commissioners looked for ways to support them.
"They settled upon the idea of purchasing a farm where able-bodied indigents could work," Norma said. A two-story building was constructed, with separate wings for the men and women. At any one time, it could accommodate between 16-20 men and eight women.
It operated until the early 1930s. The abandoned building was finally torn down in 1980.
Nowadays, you probably couldn't get away with calling it the Poor Farm, but it was an important part of Fairview history, Mayor Ron Giles said.
The granite marker has been created by Leon Monk, who owns a monument shop in Mt. Pleasant. The marker features a drawing of the building on one side, and a tribute to those who lived and died there on the other. They decided not to list individual names, Monk said, because there were some discrepancies in names and dates and they weren't sure they even had all of them.
It's been quite a project, but he's been glad to be involved, said Monk, who has donated all his labor in creating the monument. "Those people had tough lives. But we need to remember them."
Remembering, after all, is what this day is all about.
But it is not just for their sake that we remember the William Ditmers of the world, Norma said, it is also for our own. The very act of remembering can make us more aware, more appreciative, more connected to each other.
And that, as much as anything, may be the legacy of the blind shoemaker of Fairview.
Monday, September 14, 2020
Sunday, September 13, 2020
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Friday, September 11, 2020
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Wanted ~~~~ Renewed Interest ~~~~ James Burns ~~~ Pioneer of the Month ~~~ December 2008


James Christopher Burns was the son of John and Lydia Ann Porter Burns. He was born in Linden-Rock Port, Atchison Missouri in September of 1849. His parents were headed for California in the Great Gold Rush of 1849.
At the place known as “the Last Crossing of the Sweetwater”, in the State of Wyoming, two-month-old baby James Burns was found by a company of other travelers. He was lying at his mother’s breast. Both parents lay cold in the embrace of death. They had succumbed to the deadly disease of cholera. Deadly cholera is a very contagious disease. One brave soul from the company by the name of Milton Dailey risked his life to save the baby, if possible. The kind-hearted people of the wagon train did what they could for the baby, and they put forth efforts to find any relatives.
Arriving in Salt Lake City, they found the Saints gathering for the conference, and Milton Dailey gave the baby to Brigham Young who held him in his arms before the conference gathering, told of his parents' tragic death, and asked for information. The baby’s aunt, his mother’s sister, was among the saints and claimed the child.
He was then taken to the home of his grandmother at Provo, Utah. His early boyhood and manhood were spent in Mt. Pleasant, where he was educated and grew to the type of man that earned the love and respect of all who came in contact with him.
He fell in love with Matilda Josephine Anderson. It was thought by many to be “love at first sight”. James Burns often remarked that when he gazed into Matilda’s eyes of blue, he knew she was the one being in the world to make him happy. They were married on the 22nd March 1869.
After the Blackhawk War, he made friends with the red men, allowing his children to play with them, learn the Indian songs and dances, and many of their phrases.
James Burns prospered and progressed and became the Sheriff of Mt. Pleasant, and later served the people of Sanpete County in the same capacity.
Then on the 24th of September 1894, he received a telegraph notice from Scott Bruno, asking him to meet him in the morning at Moroni, as there had been a sheep-stealing case.
The following is taken from the writings of Niels Heber Anderson:
‘Bill Brewer, Scott Bruno, Niels Heber Anderson, and Sheriff James Burns confronted sheep rustlers at Reader’s Ridgeback of the Horseshoe Mountain. Evidence of the changing of the earmarks and brands made it quite clear that certain sheep had been stolen.
Sheriff Burns made an attempt to place the rustlers under arrest without first disarming them. As he approached them, they shot and killed the sheriff, then warned the other men that if they did not stay out of the affair, they would receive the same treatment as had been given the sheriff.
Bill Brewer and Anderson brought the news to Spring City and Mt. Pleasant. Thomas Braby, with the Mt. Pleasant Militia, was soon on the scene of the shooting, and the body of James C. Burns was taken to Mt. Pleasant. Although the Militia searched and guarded for a couple of weeks in the ledges and dense timber, the murderers were never apprehended.
“James Burns’ life was short but some there are who do not have to live long to accomplish big things. He was killed in the performance of his duty.” Olivia Burns – daughter in law and author of James Burns History
![]() |
| Niels Heber Anderson |
![]() |
| Niels Heber Anderson |
Apparently some sheep stealing had been going on in Sanpete County. Bill Brewer of Mt. Pleasant, Scott Bruno and my father, Niels Heber Anderson, of Moroni, on the 26th day of November, 1894, in company with Sheriff James Burns, came upon Moan Kofford and Jim Mickle at Reader's Ridge, back of the Horse Shoe Mountain.
Evidence of the changing of the ear marks in sheep and brands made it quite clear that certain sheep had been stolen. Sheriff Burns made an attempt to place Moan Kofford and Jim Mickle under arrest without first disarming them. As he approached them they shot and killed the sheriff, then warned the other men that if they did not stay out of the affair they would receive the same treatment as had been given the sheriff.
Hilda Madsen Longsdorf, in her book entitled Mount Pleasant, recorded the incident as follows: "November 26, 1894, Sheriff James Burns, while attempting to place Moan Kofford and Jim Mickle under arrest for stealing sheep, was shot and killed by them, several shots entering his body. The shooting took place on Reader's Ridge, back of the Horse Shoe Mountains, also called Orson Hyde's Arm Chair, or the Bishop's Chair. Bill Brewer, Heber Anderson and Scott Bruno witnessed the shooting. Bill Brewer and Anderson brought the news to Spring City. Thomas Braby, with the militia of Mt. Pleasant, was soon on the scene of the shooting, and the body was taken to Mt. Pleasant.
Although the Militia searched and guarded for a couple of weeks in the ledges and dense timber, the murderers were never apprehended." (Mount Pleasant, 1859-1930, Hilda Madsen Longsdorf, Stevens and Wallacis, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 175)
Father was nervous about the threat Kofford and Mickle had given him and the two other men and shortly after the incident, purchased a "six shooter" which he carried for several years thereafter. He told me that he had decided to sell his life as dearly as possible if ever he met Kofford or Mickle and the occasion might require it.
Many years after the shooting of Sheriff Burns took place, Father was asked to accompany the Sanpete County law officials into Idaho. A certain man, while drinking in a bar boasted of having killed Sheriff James Burns in Sanpete County, Utah. He claimed to be Moan Kofford. He was arrested and was being held in jail until the matter could be investigated. Bill Brewer and Scott Bruno were deceased and father was the only living witness to the shooting.
Father was well acquainted with Moan Kofford and as he entered the jail, he could hear a man singing and this was something he had never known Kofford to have ever done; but to be positive of his identification, he asked the man to walk down the hallway. As he did so, Father was positive that he was not Moan Kofford because Kofford had a peculiar gait as he walked.
Father said that he had seen Moan Kofford only once after the shooting. Kofford was driving a freight wagon near Levan and as their eyes met, Kofford pulled his hat down so as to cover his face and at the same time put the whip to the team.
| Sheriff James Burns |

Niels Heber Anderson

Niels Heber Anderson
Father lived in a most exciting period of the earth's history. He drove oxen and lived to see
automobiles and the airplane.
Apparently some sheep stealing had been going on in Sanpete
County. Bill Brewer of Mt. Pleasant, Scott Bruno and my father, Niels Heber Anderson, of
Moroni, on the 26th day of November, 1894, in company with Sheriff James Burns, came upon
Moan Kofford and Jim Mickle at Reader's Ridge, back of the Horse Shoe Mountain.
Evidence of
the changing of the ear marks in sheep and brands made it quite clear that certain sheep had been
stolen.
Sheriff Burns made an attempt to place Moan Kofford and Jim Mickle under arrest without
first disarming them. As he approached them they shot and killed the sheriff, then warned the
other men that if they did not stay out of the affair they would receive the same treatment as had
been given the sheriff.
Hilda Madsen Longsdorf, in her book entitled Mount Pleasant, recorded
the incident as follows: "November 26, 1894, Sheriff James Burns, while attempting to place
Moan Kofford and Jim Mickle under arrest for stealing sheep, was shot and killed by them,
several shots entering his body. The shooting took place on Reader's Ridge, back of the Horse
Shoe Mountains, also called Orson Hyde's Arm Chair, or the Bishop's Chair. Bill Brewer, Heber
Anderson and Scott Bruno witnessed the shooting. Bill Brewer and Anderson brought the news
to Spring City. Thomas Braby, with the militia of Mt. Pleasant, was soon on the scene of the
shooting, and the body was taken to Mt. Pleasant.
Although the Militia searched and guarded for
a couple of weeks in the ledges and dense timber, the murderers were never
apprehended." (Mount Pleasant, 1859-1930, Hilda Madsen Longsdorf, Stevens and Wallacis,
Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 175)
Father was nervous about the threat Kofford and Mickle had given him and the two other men
and shortly after the incident, purchased a "six shooter" which he carried for several years
thereafter. He told me that he had decided to sell his life as dearly as possible if ever he met
Kofford or Mickle and the occasion might require it.
Many years after the shooting of Sheriff Burns took place, Father was asked to accompany the
Sanpete County law officials into Idaho. A certain man, while drinking in a bar boasted of
having killed Sheriff James Burns in Sanpete County, Utah. He claimed to be Moan Kofford. He
was arrested and was being held in jail until the matter could be investigated. Bill Brewer and
Scott Bruno were deceased and father was the only living witness to the shooting.
Father was well acquainted with Moan Kofford and as he entered the jail, he could hear a man
singing and this was something he had never known Kofford to have ever done; but to be
positive of his identification, he asked the man to walk down the hallway. As he did so, Father
was positive that he was not Moan Kofford because Kofford had a peculiar gait as he walked.
Father said that he had seen Moan Kofford only once after the shooting. Kofford was driving
a freight wagon near Levan and as their eyes met, Kofford pulled his hat down so as to cover his
face and at the same time put the whip to the team.
Only speculation.
I'm also interested in why it was appended they were apprehended. What info was given and by whom to make the change?
James Christopher Burns is one of my ancestors! I would like to link these photos and this story to his page on FamilySearch.org. Would that be alright?Saturday, 03 August, 2013
James Christopher Burns is my ancestor! I would like to upload these pictures and this story to his page on FamilySearch.org. Would that be alright?Saturday, 03 August, 2013
Yes, You May !Saturday, 03 August, 2013
Kofford and the other guy were never apprehended. Not heard from again.
Only speculation.Saturday, 07 December, 2019
I'll send in the wanted poster from the event as these were my ancestors and it looks like some of my family has been reading this story too.
I'm also interested in why it was appended they were apprehended. What info was given and by whom to make the change?Thursday, 16 July, 2020
Provo Dispatch | 1895-08-06 | Handy with a Pistol
James Christopher Burns is one of my ancestors! I would like to link these photos and this story to his page on FamilySearch.org. Would that be alright?Saturday, 03 August, 2013
James Christopher Burns is my ancestor! I would like to upload these pictures and this story to his page on FamilySearch.org. Would that be alright?Saturday, 03 August, 2013
Yes, You May !Saturday, 03 August, 2013
Kofford and the other guy were never apprehended. Not heard from again.
Only speculation.Saturday, 07 December, 2019
I'll send in the wanted poster from the event as these were my ancestors and it looks like some of my family has been reading this story too.
I'm also interested in why it was appended they were apprehended. What info was given and by whom to make the change?Thursday, 16 July, 2020
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Cougars In The Neighborhood
Just one year ago our son Jon took a picture of this cougar on top of the storage sheds that are located just a half-mile from our home. There is an increase in these animals lurking everywhere. As the deer population is now moving down from the mountains and the hills, these wild animals are regularly seen in town. Sometimes they are traveling up and down Pleasant Creek. One was seen snoozing on a neighbor's porch. A more frightening event was when a girl that worked at a cafe here in town went out to take the trash. As she opened the lid on the dumpster, out jumped a cougar.
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
WOODRING FAMILY RESEARCH
Monday, September 7, 2020
Sunday, September 6, 2020
VIRTUAL BOOK FESTIVAL
| ||||||
|
|

























Lily Alavi, Professor of Literature at University of Utah, will discuss the heritage of Persian literature with a focus on women authors and poets. A Q&A will follow.
Join us for a conversation on Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country. Deep Creek is a love letter to the earth, animals, and the best of humanity. By the legendary author of Cowboys are My Weakness, Pam Houston.
Join us for a conversation and booksigning with Julia Corbett, author of Out of the Woods: Seeing Nature in the Everyday, a book full of wonderful turns and explorations about how our human lives entangle and enmesh with all that nonhuman life surrounding us.
A panel discussion on the role of women, both as creators and stars, in science fiction in the past and at present, including a look at the rise of women of color in the genre