The old Sinclair station and cleared land to the South, now free from debris and personal items.
|
Volunteer firefighters manage the controlled burn just outside of Bear River City.
|
Site of fatal fire gets new life with controlled burn and city purchase
June 12, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
(Updated June 12 at 4:45 to correct the misspelling of Julie Mattson.)
A controlled burn took place last week to clear the lot at 6400 North Hwy 13, in Bear River City, following a fire that left a scar on the property which was riddled with remnants of the lost life of Gene Bunderson who was killed in the trailer fire. Just outside of the City limits, the lot is across from the northernmost welcome sign to Bear River City. The lot is also home to the former Sinclair station which has become a landmark for residents since it was built in the 50s, the future of that building is uncertain and up to the determination of Bear River City who have recently acquired the property.
Before the burn took place, Bear River City residents began to talk, as they had noticed the efforts of an unknown person who had taken it upon herself to begin to clear debris from the plot of land. Most assumed it was a family member, only when the land was nearly all cleared for the burn did one Richmond woman’s efforts come to be public knowledge.
That woman, Julie Mattson, was raised in Bear River City from the time that she was four years old, although she no longer calls the city home her heart still takes pride in the welcoming nature of the community. Mattson is a critical care tech in the Neonatal Care Unit at Logan Regional hospital, and a mother of five. But her passion for creating order out of chaos drove her to tackle this project.
In July of 2018, Mattson began to research what could be done to clear the property so that it would be more aesthetically pleasing. She found out that the lot is technically county property, so her first stop was speaking with County Commissioner Stan Summers. His idea for remedying the land would be to perform a controlled burn, in which case the county could provide dumpsters for remaining debris. The effort would need to be coordinated with County Fire Marshal Corey Barton. But, before any of that could take place, permission would be required by the landowners.
“I was so pleasantly surprised with [Summer’s] response time, he got back with me right away every time I needed to talk to him. I just thought that is pretty amazing that he takes a personal touch to everything that he does,” said Mattson.
Armed with only an address of the deceased occupants’ daughter and a desire to do the work to improve the property, Mattson approached April Campbell with the idea of clearing the property.
Campbell questioned why Mattson would want to take on her family’s burden, Mattson said she responded, “Because I love outdoor clean up and want it to be a happy place.”
Campbell had been overwhelmed by the state of the lot, but also by the generosity of the offer to perform the hard labor required. She granted permission for Mattson to begin working on the property.
“It started out as something that I could do for the town, because I really love the town.” said Mattson, “And as I got to know April and learn her dad’s story, it became more about helping April.”
Mattson felt good about helping Campbell get some closure on the loss of her father, and would make weekly visits to Bear River City to work on the lot, and also to visit her own parents, Hal and Claudia Jeffs, who still reside there. Starting in August, she tackled the project mainly as a solo effort. However, some specific tasks required more manpower where she recruited her husband, Stan, and her father. A family friend, Tyler Hansen, also was recruited to cut trees and drag them to the burn pile.
The space had the burned trailer, additional camp trailers as well as countless piles of stuff that needed to be sorted through and disposed of properly. In her sorting, Mattson was able to return objects of sentimental value, like a 12th grade report card to the family. She also was able to salvage items of monetary value, as well. “It’s the best therapy there is, to give of yourself,” said Mattson.
The change became noticeable and residents began to make guesses as to who was completing the work. “It was fun because I flew under the radar the whole time, no one really knew who was making the efforts to clean up,” said Mattson.
As the cleanup effort progressed Campbell realized that there would be the opportunity to sell the land. Campbell put it on the market and worked out a contract with the city. Bear River City purchased the lot with the intent of building a new fire station, just another aspect that brings this project full circle.
Mattson had completed much of the work, but with a particularly long winter the burn had to wait. She said, “[Barton] and his guys were able to get the dead trees mounded up and prepared for the burn, they had to wait for the air quality to improve.”
On May 28, the conditions were clear and there were enough volunteers available to perform the the controlled burn with support of the Honeyville Fire Department.
“After the burn my husband and my dad cut out the metal frames of the mobile homes and camp trailers,” said Mattson, they were able to remove the metal for recycling.
Carol Stokes, sister of Bunderson, expressed how grateful she was when she found out how the firefighters had created a circle and paid respect to her brother when his body was found in the trailer.
Stokes was able to attend the controlled burn and was able to get some closure after the loss of her brother, and she expressed appreciation for the way that the lot will be put into use in a way that could prevent tragedies like that her family experienced.
The Pursuit of Beauty
Acceptance of personal beauty has mental health benefits
June 5, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
There are mental health advantages to the act of purifying, and cleaning skin, a link between psychodermatology and psychoneuroimmunology: the interplay between the mind, skin, and our immune system. When depression sets in, there is often relief found in hot water. There are effective therapeutic techniques that utilize picturing washing away sorrows and pains during the physical act of showering. Applying heat and moisture is ultimately the root of spa treatments from saunas to facials. The addition of scents that trigger relaxation adds to the ambiance.
On days when depression hits hard, mental health providers recommend getting up and washing your face to signal an act of self-care and a fresh start.
A Business Insider article discussed the benefits of using make up to improve mental health. “I encourage clients to find meaning in makeup. Perhaps a bold lip color represents how powerful your words and thoughts can be. Or maybe concealer is less about concealing oneself, and more about being mindful that some people will see all of you, and others might not.” said Temimah Zucker, LMSW, “By cultivating different looks, blending, mixing, and experimenting, you can practice creativity and art, which are often much-needed and encouraged past-times for those struggling with mental health.”
The discussion of beauty is commonplace, although there is a commonly accepted standard of beauty in Western civilization that glorifies bronzed skin, large eyes with long eyelashes, full lips and curvaceous—yet slim bodies for women. The accepted standard for men tends to have more variety in what is considered attractive, but the old saying “tall, dark and handsome.” Although the standards may be different, the pressure to maintain appearance can be taxing, as well.
According to Bradley University, in contexts where women are valued mainly for their fertility—their ability to bear and nurture children—often full-bodied women with broad hips and ample breasts are considered the most beautiful. In societies such as Fiji, large bodies are a symbol of one’s status and power. It is not surprising, therefore, that individuals who would be classified as obese in the US are considered the most attractive and desirable members of this culture.
In recent years there has been a conscious commercial inclusion of body types, particularly with the use of plus size models, a wider range of skin tones and non-traditional genders in advertising. This seemingly shows more support for those who fall outside of the box when for beauty standards.
One of the pioneers in the commercial accessibility of “real life” models is Dove brand, who have been leaders in analyzing beauty-related pressures. “The Real Truth About Beauty” global research found that only 4% of women around the world considered themselves beautiful, and only 11% feel comfortable with the descriptor “beautiful” in regard to themselves.
While 80% of women agree that every woman has something that would be identified as beautiful, although clearly most do not see it in their own image.
A survey done by the Renfrew Center Foundation, an eating disorder treatment center, asked 1,292 women questions about their use of makeup. Nearly half the women reported having negative feelings if seen in public without makeup. Of the total surveyed, 44% of women surveyed suffer from negative emotions when they go natural; broken down that 16% of women felt unattractive, 14% felt self-conscious, and 14% felt like without wearing makeup they were “naked/as though something is missing.”
The same survey also found that 48% of women choose to wear make up because they like the way they look when they wear it, and 32% went as far as to say that it makes them feel good to wear makeup. Which goes to show that makeup can have impact on overall body image and acceptance. The more people see themselves as vibrant, confident and successful the easier it is to become exactly those things.
June 5, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
There are mental health advantages to the act of purifying, and cleaning skin, a link between psychodermatology and psychoneuroimmunology: the interplay between the mind, skin, and our immune system. When depression sets in, there is often relief found in hot water. There are effective therapeutic techniques that utilize picturing washing away sorrows and pains during the physical act of showering. Applying heat and moisture is ultimately the root of spa treatments from saunas to facials. The addition of scents that trigger relaxation adds to the ambiance.
On days when depression hits hard, mental health providers recommend getting up and washing your face to signal an act of self-care and a fresh start.
A Business Insider article discussed the benefits of using make up to improve mental health. “I encourage clients to find meaning in makeup. Perhaps a bold lip color represents how powerful your words and thoughts can be. Or maybe concealer is less about concealing oneself, and more about being mindful that some people will see all of you, and others might not.” said Temimah Zucker, LMSW, “By cultivating different looks, blending, mixing, and experimenting, you can practice creativity and art, which are often much-needed and encouraged past-times for those struggling with mental health.”
The discussion of beauty is commonplace, although there is a commonly accepted standard of beauty in Western civilization that glorifies bronzed skin, large eyes with long eyelashes, full lips and curvaceous—yet slim bodies for women. The accepted standard for men tends to have more variety in what is considered attractive, but the old saying “tall, dark and handsome.” Although the standards may be different, the pressure to maintain appearance can be taxing, as well.
According to Bradley University, in contexts where women are valued mainly for their fertility—their ability to bear and nurture children—often full-bodied women with broad hips and ample breasts are considered the most beautiful. In societies such as Fiji, large bodies are a symbol of one’s status and power. It is not surprising, therefore, that individuals who would be classified as obese in the US are considered the most attractive and desirable members of this culture.
In recent years there has been a conscious commercial inclusion of body types, particularly with the use of plus size models, a wider range of skin tones and non-traditional genders in advertising. This seemingly shows more support for those who fall outside of the box when for beauty standards.
One of the pioneers in the commercial accessibility of “real life” models is Dove brand, who have been leaders in analyzing beauty-related pressures. “The Real Truth About Beauty” global research found that only 4% of women around the world considered themselves beautiful, and only 11% feel comfortable with the descriptor “beautiful” in regard to themselves.
While 80% of women agree that every woman has something that would be identified as beautiful, although clearly most do not see it in their own image.
A survey done by the Renfrew Center Foundation, an eating disorder treatment center, asked 1,292 women questions about their use of makeup. Nearly half the women reported having negative feelings if seen in public without makeup. Of the total surveyed, 44% of women surveyed suffer from negative emotions when they go natural; broken down that 16% of women felt unattractive, 14% felt self-conscious, and 14% felt like without wearing makeup they were “naked/as though something is missing.”
The same survey also found that 48% of women choose to wear make up because they like the way they look when they wear it, and 32% went as far as to say that it makes them feel good to wear makeup. Which goes to show that makeup can have impact on overall body image and acceptance. The more people see themselves as vibrant, confident and successful the easier it is to become exactly those things.
Box Elder County residents address their commitment to beauty
Editor’s note: In a survey on the Box Elder News Journal Facebook page the question was asked whether our readers perceived themselves as high maintenance or low maintenance, the poll received 309 votes over a 24 hour period resulting in a response of 18% high maintenance, and 82% low maintenance.
From those responses, comments and additional interviews we sought answers about what beauty products and efforts were most valuable to the respondents the following overview of current beauty industry procedures and products are gaining popularity in Box Elder County.
Based on this informal survey, it was also determined that mascara is the most beloved cosmetic product.
June 5, 2019 • Loni Newby and Hailey Hendricks • Staff writers
Hair and Nails
Whether it’s a cut, color, perm, etc. everyone gets their hair done at some time or another, but
how often is based on an individual matter. Some people like their hair done more often, while others
can go a little longer without going in to a salon or barber.
Shaylynn Glenn said she’s known for healthy hair and part of that is due to how often she gets her hair done.
“For a while I was getting my hair dyed about every six weeks which would cost me anywhere from $50 to $70,” Glenn said. “I was trying to establish a nice base for an ashy toned balayage. Now since I’ve done that, I get it trimmed about every two months for about $15,” Glenn said.
Kyra Martinez, the founder/owner of Kyra’s Beauty Korner, said she recommends her clients get their hair trimmed and/or color touch ups about every six to eight weeks.
Martinez said the cost of a hair appointment varies based on what is being done but an average women’s cut costs $20 to $30 and takes about an hour.
While Martinez does cuts and color, she also does nails. Whether doing hair or nails, she finds her job to be valuable because what she does makes people happy.
“When my clients feel good, I feel good,” Martinez said. “It’s not about being vain but about taking care of yourself, and feeling your best self. I believe that when you feel good, and feel that you look good, then you will do good.”
Martinez said nails also vary in price based on what is being done but average about $30 to $45 and takes an hour. She recommends people get their nails done every two to three and a half weeks.
As a cosmetologist, Martinez said she believes doing someone’s hair and nails enhances their life because it makes them feel happy and put together.
“It makes them feel good about who they are and how they look, which in turn makes them have a better attitude about life,” Martinez said. “It’s a chain reaction kind of thing where one good thing brings about other good things.”
To schedule an appointment at Kyra’s Beauty Korner, contact Kyra on Ins
tagram @kyrasbeautykorner or text/call at 435-237-7129. She has locations in Perry and Ogden.
Skin Care
The range and quality of skin cleansing and toning products ranges greatly, but the overall end product tends to be the same for all purchasers: diminish perceived flaws, whether they be wrinkles, age spots or a variety of other conditions.
Former teacher, turned Rodan and Fields consultant Lyndsi Frandsen never intended for the career change, “Skin care is something that unexpectedly fell in to my lap, but having had a prior skin cancer diagnosis at 22, and being very passionate about the need for people to feel confident in their own skin, it was something I was drawn to.”
What began as a side job has now allowed Frandsen the opportunity to stay home with her children while also helping her clients find the products that will help ease their skin difficulties.
“There is a lack of education when it comes to skincare. It’s just not something we grow up learning, and that translates in to adulthood. Consequently, more people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year than all other cancers combined. So to be able to help educate others on how to properly care for their skin, and provide them with the products to address their concerns, is very fulfilling.”
Frandsen said that her favorite part is receiving the feedback from teens and parents of teens. Just this week she received a message from a mom who wanted to let me know that her teenage son who has battled acne, is finally feeling comfortable in his own skin.
Even with all the advancements
in skin care, some folks rely on traditional drug store products that have been around for decades. Kathy Crozier said, “I’m old school I wash my face every night with Noxzema and every morning with Noxzema I put moisturizer factor 30 on my face if I’m going outside every once in awhile I’ll throw on eye makeup that’s it I have no wrinkles I don’t look my age, it’s my daily routine.”
For more information about Rodan and Fields Frandsen is available on Facebook @lfrandsenrandf.
Makeup
Makeup runs the pricing gauntlet from inexpensive imported products to no animal testing, vegan-friendly made in American products. The testing standards for cosmetics vary widely internationally.
For women like Nancy Ashcroft she seeks a natural looking result by using high end products to enhance the features that are desired to accentuate.
Ashcroft said, “I do feel like any higher quality makeup applies better. I feel like I am middle ground. I love makeup, but the more I look around and see how fake everyone is looking, the more natural I want my makeup to look. Enhance what you have, don’t mask it.”
Deedre Peterson only spends about $20 per month on makeup, all from big box stores. She uses eyeliner, mascara, moisturizer, powder, foundation and a little lipstick. A larger part of her beauty budget is spent on high-end hair products more than makeup. Peterson said, “I’ve found my favorite products and stick with them.”
Bambi Slater has no shame about the amount of time and money she spends on her makeup efforts. “[I wear] full makeup everyday! I definitely classify myself as high maintenance. There is nothing wrong in taking a little pride in my appearance for my husband.”
Some women have learned to love their natural appearance and don’t bother with makeup. Janis Stanger recited an old German saying, “Only old houses need painting” which influenced her decision to use minimal makeup in her youth.
“Now that I’m an “old house” I’m comfortable the way I’ve always been,” Stanger said.
Eyelash extensions
Applying mascara on every day requires time and patience, but an increasingly popular trend among women is getting eyelash extensions to eliminate the time spent on trying to obtain voluminous, long lashes.
Esthetician Shaylee Quayle offers eyelash extensions at Studio 360 in Brigham City and at her place in West Haven.
Quayle said a classic full set of eyelashes costs $110, and refills are $50. For a full volume set, it costs $125 and refills are $65.
Applying a full set takes about an hour and a half to three hours and fills take about one to two hours – requiring a client to come back every two to three weeks based on a person’s natural eyelash growth.
While this beauty practice does require a set amount of time every few weeks, some women say it’s worth it, even for those who have little interest in other cosmetic enhancements.
“They are my must have” wrote Facebook user Christi Anderson. “No makeup, just lashes.”
“I don’t wear any makeup but I cannot live without my fake eyelashes,” wrote Lisa Estrada Fonseca. “I get a fill every three weeks for $60. Before my lashes I used to spend gobs and gobs of money on makeup. Now that I have lashes, I feel like I don’t have to wear any makeup.”
Being in the beauty industry, Quayle said she’s passionate about what she does, but what she loves most is seeing her clients’ reactions.
“I love making women feel beautiful in their own skin and seeing their excitement when they see their eyelash extensions,” Quayle said.
To schedule an appointment with Quayle, contact her through her Instagram, @shaeleequayle.esthetics; Facebook, @Shaelee Quayle Esthetics; or text/call at 435-210-0801.
Tanning
Another often sought form of societal beauty is being bronzed. Options for sun avoidance while maintaining a glow can be done by using a bed which uses ultraviolet lights which can take a few trips to build up color, or spray tanning which gives nearly instantaneous results
Bed tanning prices vary based on the level as well as if a person buys a single tan or a package deal. Prices range from $5 to $12 for a single tan and $20 to $125 for a package deal. The amount of time a person will spend in a bed is anywhere from 12 to 20 minutes.
Spray tans cost $25 for a single tan and range from $60 to $80 for a package deal; it takes about 10 minutes.
When asked how bed tanning can enhance a person’s life, Amy Larsen, Sublime Tanning’s manager said everyone is different, however, some find it beneficial for medical use, to boost their energy levels or before going on vacation.
“Medically it has value in my opinion,” said Larsen. “I know a lot of people don’t like it because obviously skin cancer is the number one thing people worry about. I feel like people feel better when they have some color…It boosts people’s morale and feelings. And sometimes they tell me they feel like a million bucks.”
Not using the tanning bed all year round, Jessi Reber said she only goes a few months out of the year and when she does, she feels good.
“I generally tan in March to get a good base tan,” said Reber. “Or before a trip or wedding. I definitely feel better with a tan. Not as pasty and hides some imperfections.”
Lisa Barela Nelson said she hasn’t used a tanning bed in a few years because her friend was diagnosed with skin cancer due to tanning.
“Now I do spray tans,” said Nelson. “But I’ve done them [bed tanning] before weddings and any trips where I’m out in the sun and in a bathing suit.”
While some people are more cautious like Nelson, Larsen said spray tans are highly popular for specific events.
“Something where they don’t have to spend a lot of time in a bed to get the color and they can get it instantly and it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t last a long time,” said Larsen.
Sublime Tanning is located at 2360 S. Highway 89, Perry. To schedule an appointment, call
435-723-7444.
Injectables and Lasers
A relatively new trend is using injections to plump and firm skin which can combat wrinkles, add fullness to lips and some injections like Botox can actually serve beyond cosmetic purposes and has been found to aid with reducing migraines. Botox injections have been around since the 1980s and many see the minimally invasive cosmetic procedure as a way to aesthetically cheat the aging process. While Botox is not a magical potion that relieves anti-aging forever, it does however, relieve aging for a period of time.
Tamara Madsen has experience with three separate injectables, Juvaderm, Botox and Restalyne. “I just had my first experience with Botox in March. I would recommend all three for women or men who would like to target certain areas that they may have lost volume in. I used Restylane first on my lips to get rid of fine lines and loved the results. I went back to get them touched up once my body started to metabolize the [Hyarulonic Acid] that is used in the injection.”
She next tried Juvederm, which is about $150 cheaper than Restalyne. “I was hooked. Fuller lips, minimal pain and zero downtime! It was instant self esteem for me.”
Madsen has also used the advancements of lasers in her routine over the past two years. She has tried laser hair removal, hydro-facials and skin treatments.
“I think it is totally worth the investment in yourself and as women, we need to build each other up and support each other. I have had some in my family criticize my decisions to do injections however once they see the simple changes that make a big difference, they agree and want to ask more questions,” said Madsen.
Not every process has had instant success, when Madsen used Botox to combat a smile line above her eye that had bothered her for years, at the recommendation of her injector. “[Botox] did help so that the muscle above my eye didn’t move when I smiled. It took about 3 days for it to kick in all the way and so far I have liked the outcome. I had 30 units injected mainly above my right eye and it fixed it. This was back in April. I don’t know if I will continue this procedure however it does work.”
According to utahfacialplastics.com, it is $11 per unit for Botox. The unit is measured based off of the injection site and how many injections will most likely be needed. Results are often seen at about three to ten days and will last about three to five months.
Other advancements using lasers include the popular vision correction service Lasik, and the recently FDA approved process of laser teeth whitening, which is now available through individual certified providers outside of traditional dental offices.
Tattoos
There has been a movement toward tattoo acceptance in the workplace which has led to a wider array of people seeking to express themselves through ink.
A study entitled, “Tattoos, gender and well-being among American college students,” published in The Social Science Journal in 2016, found that women who have multiple tattoos reported higher levels of self-esteem than anyone else in his study.
Tony Blankeship, owner of Ink Syndicate Tattoo Parlor, 137 W. Main, Tremonton, has seen the impact that using skin as a canvas for artistic expression can improve self-confidence.
While clients regularly give positive feedback, Blankenship said those that express the most appreciation are those who have cover up work done. “The clients that seem to be the most positive are the ones that get a cover up of an old tattoo that they are embarrassed to show in public, and the ones that have stretch marks or scars. The first reaction, usually from women is, now I can go out this summer and not have to cover up,” said Blankenship.
Blankenship said that although first timers are typically the most outwardly enthusiastic after following through with getting it done, the newness of each piece thereafter can continue. He said, “The people that collect tattoos are more excited about the about the new piece of art that they received, but the excitement of having a new tattoo is always the same in both cases. I’ve had people tell me that they are only getting one tattoo, but it never ends with just one. They always get more.”
Ink Syndicate has been steadily gaining a strong reputation and acquiring local clientele, with advance appointments required since its opening. The business owners had to demonstrate good business ethic and a history of reputable shop cleanliness to receive business license and zoning approval in Tremonton.
At Ink Syndicate, Blankenship charges by the piece instead of an hourly rate. Blankenship said that this benefits the customer when he needs to take his time and move slower the client isn’t getting charged more if his pace as an artist slows.
Surgical procedures
The options for going under the knife to improve aspects of a body has become more commonplace as medical technological advancements have fine-tuned procedures which used to carry far more risks.
Facelifts, liposuction, breast augmentation and fat injections to enhance areas like the buttocks are highly popular procedures, particularly in Utah. In 2007, Forbes ranked Salt Lake City as the “Vainest City in America” based upon the 45 practicing plastic surgeons in the greater Salt Lake area.
A drive down I-15 particularly in Salt Lake City and Utah Valley billboards line the freeway encouraging those curious about surgical cosmetic procedures to contact the providers.
There is a marketed packaging of surgical procedures done in a single setting called the “Mommy makeover” which often includes liposuction, tummy tuck and breast lift and/or augmentation. While pricey, several local women have shared their experiences about the boost in confidence once they had healed from the procedures. Although, more than half of the women who confided in having the surgery said that the recovery was far more difficult than anticipated.
While the price tag for a multi-procedure surgical enhancement can run between $10,000-$20,000 according to rates published by the University of Utah Hospital. Some local women have ventured over the United States border to achieve the body of their dreams, and/or memories.
Medical tourism is growing in popularity, and with the accessibility of watchdog review sites many have found it worth the gamble to have their procedures performed outside of the country.
Gastric bypass and Gastric sleeves have gained in popularity for men and women experiencing obesity that affects their overall health. One Box Elder County resident who prefers to remain anonymous said that the choice to go out of the country added a sense of adventure. “It wasn’t that much more money than going on a cruise, but I was able to kickstart my goal to lose weight, too.”
The appeal of medical tourism centers like the one she used, “A Lighter Me” in Tijuana, Mexico, is that they cost includes travel for the patient and caregiver, lodging and even sightseeing before the procedure. The cost is a fraction of what is expected in the United States, starting under $5,000 for a vertical gastric sleeve procedure. There are many risks associated with traveling while recovering and the surgical standards may vary from those found in the U.S. Research is essential for those considering any non-essential surgical procedures.
Editor’s note: In a survey on the Box Elder News Journal Facebook page the question was asked whether our readers perceived themselves as high maintenance or low maintenance, the poll received 309 votes over a 24 hour period resulting in a response of 18% high maintenance, and 82% low maintenance.
From those responses, comments and additional interviews we sought answers about what beauty products and efforts were most valuable to the respondents the following overview of current beauty industry procedures and products are gaining popularity in Box Elder County.
Based on this informal survey, it was also determined that mascara is the most beloved cosmetic product.
June 5, 2019 • Loni Newby and Hailey Hendricks • Staff writers
Hair and Nails
Whether it’s a cut, color, perm, etc. everyone gets their hair done at some time or another, but
how often is based on an individual matter. Some people like their hair done more often, while others
can go a little longer without going in to a salon or barber.
Shaylynn Glenn said she’s known for healthy hair and part of that is due to how often she gets her hair done.
“For a while I was getting my hair dyed about every six weeks which would cost me anywhere from $50 to $70,” Glenn said. “I was trying to establish a nice base for an ashy toned balayage. Now since I’ve done that, I get it trimmed about every two months for about $15,” Glenn said.
Kyra Martinez, the founder/owner of Kyra’s Beauty Korner, said she recommends her clients get their hair trimmed and/or color touch ups about every six to eight weeks.
Martinez said the cost of a hair appointment varies based on what is being done but an average women’s cut costs $20 to $30 and takes about an hour.
While Martinez does cuts and color, she also does nails. Whether doing hair or nails, she finds her job to be valuable because what she does makes people happy.
“When my clients feel good, I feel good,” Martinez said. “It’s not about being vain but about taking care of yourself, and feeling your best self. I believe that when you feel good, and feel that you look good, then you will do good.”
Martinez said nails also vary in price based on what is being done but average about $30 to $45 and takes an hour. She recommends people get their nails done every two to three and a half weeks.
As a cosmetologist, Martinez said she believes doing someone’s hair and nails enhances their life because it makes them feel happy and put together.
“It makes them feel good about who they are and how they look, which in turn makes them have a better attitude about life,” Martinez said. “It’s a chain reaction kind of thing where one good thing brings about other good things.”
To schedule an appointment at Kyra’s Beauty Korner, contact Kyra on Ins
tagram @kyrasbeautykorner or text/call at 435-237-7129. She has locations in Perry and Ogden.
Skin Care
The range and quality of skin cleansing and toning products ranges greatly, but the overall end product tends to be the same for all purchasers: diminish perceived flaws, whether they be wrinkles, age spots or a variety of other conditions.
Former teacher, turned Rodan and Fields consultant Lyndsi Frandsen never intended for the career change, “Skin care is something that unexpectedly fell in to my lap, but having had a prior skin cancer diagnosis at 22, and being very passionate about the need for people to feel confident in their own skin, it was something I was drawn to.”
What began as a side job has now allowed Frandsen the opportunity to stay home with her children while also helping her clients find the products that will help ease their skin difficulties.
“There is a lack of education when it comes to skincare. It’s just not something we grow up learning, and that translates in to adulthood. Consequently, more people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year than all other cancers combined. So to be able to help educate others on how to properly care for their skin, and provide them with the products to address their concerns, is very fulfilling.”
Frandsen said that her favorite part is receiving the feedback from teens and parents of teens. Just this week she received a message from a mom who wanted to let me know that her teenage son who has battled acne, is finally feeling comfortable in his own skin.
Even with all the advancements
in skin care, some folks rely on traditional drug store products that have been around for decades. Kathy Crozier said, “I’m old school I wash my face every night with Noxzema and every morning with Noxzema I put moisturizer factor 30 on my face if I’m going outside every once in awhile I’ll throw on eye makeup that’s it I have no wrinkles I don’t look my age, it’s my daily routine.”
For more information about Rodan and Fields Frandsen is available on Facebook @lfrandsenrandf.
Makeup
Makeup runs the pricing gauntlet from inexpensive imported products to no animal testing, vegan-friendly made in American products. The testing standards for cosmetics vary widely internationally.
For women like Nancy Ashcroft she seeks a natural looking result by using high end products to enhance the features that are desired to accentuate.
Ashcroft said, “I do feel like any higher quality makeup applies better. I feel like I am middle ground. I love makeup, but the more I look around and see how fake everyone is looking, the more natural I want my makeup to look. Enhance what you have, don’t mask it.”
Deedre Peterson only spends about $20 per month on makeup, all from big box stores. She uses eyeliner, mascara, moisturizer, powder, foundation and a little lipstick. A larger part of her beauty budget is spent on high-end hair products more than makeup. Peterson said, “I’ve found my favorite products and stick with them.”
Bambi Slater has no shame about the amount of time and money she spends on her makeup efforts. “[I wear] full makeup everyday! I definitely classify myself as high maintenance. There is nothing wrong in taking a little pride in my appearance for my husband.”
Some women have learned to love their natural appearance and don’t bother with makeup. Janis Stanger recited an old German saying, “Only old houses need painting” which influenced her decision to use minimal makeup in her youth.
“Now that I’m an “old house” I’m comfortable the way I’ve always been,” Stanger said.
Eyelash extensions
Applying mascara on every day requires time and patience, but an increasingly popular trend among women is getting eyelash extensions to eliminate the time spent on trying to obtain voluminous, long lashes.
Esthetician Shaylee Quayle offers eyelash extensions at Studio 360 in Brigham City and at her place in West Haven.
Quayle said a classic full set of eyelashes costs $110, and refills are $50. For a full volume set, it costs $125 and refills are $65.
Applying a full set takes about an hour and a half to three hours and fills take about one to two hours – requiring a client to come back every two to three weeks based on a person’s natural eyelash growth.
While this beauty practice does require a set amount of time every few weeks, some women say it’s worth it, even for those who have little interest in other cosmetic enhancements.
“They are my must have” wrote Facebook user Christi Anderson. “No makeup, just lashes.”
“I don’t wear any makeup but I cannot live without my fake eyelashes,” wrote Lisa Estrada Fonseca. “I get a fill every three weeks for $60. Before my lashes I used to spend gobs and gobs of money on makeup. Now that I have lashes, I feel like I don’t have to wear any makeup.”
Being in the beauty industry, Quayle said she’s passionate about what she does, but what she loves most is seeing her clients’ reactions.
“I love making women feel beautiful in their own skin and seeing their excitement when they see their eyelash extensions,” Quayle said.
To schedule an appointment with Quayle, contact her through her Instagram, @shaeleequayle.esthetics; Facebook, @Shaelee Quayle Esthetics; or text/call at 435-210-0801.
Tanning
Another often sought form of societal beauty is being bronzed. Options for sun avoidance while maintaining a glow can be done by using a bed which uses ultraviolet lights which can take a few trips to build up color, or spray tanning which gives nearly instantaneous results
Bed tanning prices vary based on the level as well as if a person buys a single tan or a package deal. Prices range from $5 to $12 for a single tan and $20 to $125 for a package deal. The amount of time a person will spend in a bed is anywhere from 12 to 20 minutes.
Spray tans cost $25 for a single tan and range from $60 to $80 for a package deal; it takes about 10 minutes.
When asked how bed tanning can enhance a person’s life, Amy Larsen, Sublime Tanning’s manager said everyone is different, however, some find it beneficial for medical use, to boost their energy levels or before going on vacation.
“Medically it has value in my opinion,” said Larsen. “I know a lot of people don’t like it because obviously skin cancer is the number one thing people worry about. I feel like people feel better when they have some color…It boosts people’s morale and feelings. And sometimes they tell me they feel like a million bucks.”
Not using the tanning bed all year round, Jessi Reber said she only goes a few months out of the year and when she does, she feels good.
“I generally tan in March to get a good base tan,” said Reber. “Or before a trip or wedding. I definitely feel better with a tan. Not as pasty and hides some imperfections.”
Lisa Barela Nelson said she hasn’t used a tanning bed in a few years because her friend was diagnosed with skin cancer due to tanning.
“Now I do spray tans,” said Nelson. “But I’ve done them [bed tanning] before weddings and any trips where I’m out in the sun and in a bathing suit.”
While some people are more cautious like Nelson, Larsen said spray tans are highly popular for specific events.
“Something where they don’t have to spend a lot of time in a bed to get the color and they can get it instantly and it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t last a long time,” said Larsen.
Sublime Tanning is located at 2360 S. Highway 89, Perry. To schedule an appointment, call
435-723-7444.
Injectables and Lasers
A relatively new trend is using injections to plump and firm skin which can combat wrinkles, add fullness to lips and some injections like Botox can actually serve beyond cosmetic purposes and has been found to aid with reducing migraines. Botox injections have been around since the 1980s and many see the minimally invasive cosmetic procedure as a way to aesthetically cheat the aging process. While Botox is not a magical potion that relieves anti-aging forever, it does however, relieve aging for a period of time.
Tamara Madsen has experience with three separate injectables, Juvaderm, Botox and Restalyne. “I just had my first experience with Botox in March. I would recommend all three for women or men who would like to target certain areas that they may have lost volume in. I used Restylane first on my lips to get rid of fine lines and loved the results. I went back to get them touched up once my body started to metabolize the [Hyarulonic Acid] that is used in the injection.”
She next tried Juvederm, which is about $150 cheaper than Restalyne. “I was hooked. Fuller lips, minimal pain and zero downtime! It was instant self esteem for me.”
Madsen has also used the advancements of lasers in her routine over the past two years. She has tried laser hair removal, hydro-facials and skin treatments.
“I think it is totally worth the investment in yourself and as women, we need to build each other up and support each other. I have had some in my family criticize my decisions to do injections however once they see the simple changes that make a big difference, they agree and want to ask more questions,” said Madsen.
Not every process has had instant success, when Madsen used Botox to combat a smile line above her eye that had bothered her for years, at the recommendation of her injector. “[Botox] did help so that the muscle above my eye didn’t move when I smiled. It took about 3 days for it to kick in all the way and so far I have liked the outcome. I had 30 units injected mainly above my right eye and it fixed it. This was back in April. I don’t know if I will continue this procedure however it does work.”
According to utahfacialplastics.com, it is $11 per unit for Botox. The unit is measured based off of the injection site and how many injections will most likely be needed. Results are often seen at about three to ten days and will last about three to five months.
Other advancements using lasers include the popular vision correction service Lasik, and the recently FDA approved process of laser teeth whitening, which is now available through individual certified providers outside of traditional dental offices.
Tattoos
There has been a movement toward tattoo acceptance in the workplace which has led to a wider array of people seeking to express themselves through ink.
A study entitled, “Tattoos, gender and well-being among American college students,” published in The Social Science Journal in 2016, found that women who have multiple tattoos reported higher levels of self-esteem than anyone else in his study.
Tony Blankeship, owner of Ink Syndicate Tattoo Parlor, 137 W. Main, Tremonton, has seen the impact that using skin as a canvas for artistic expression can improve self-confidence.
While clients regularly give positive feedback, Blankenship said those that express the most appreciation are those who have cover up work done. “The clients that seem to be the most positive are the ones that get a cover up of an old tattoo that they are embarrassed to show in public, and the ones that have stretch marks or scars. The first reaction, usually from women is, now I can go out this summer and not have to cover up,” said Blankenship.
Blankenship said that although first timers are typically the most outwardly enthusiastic after following through with getting it done, the newness of each piece thereafter can continue. He said, “The people that collect tattoos are more excited about the about the new piece of art that they received, but the excitement of having a new tattoo is always the same in both cases. I’ve had people tell me that they are only getting one tattoo, but it never ends with just one. They always get more.”
Ink Syndicate has been steadily gaining a strong reputation and acquiring local clientele, with advance appointments required since its opening. The business owners had to demonstrate good business ethic and a history of reputable shop cleanliness to receive business license and zoning approval in Tremonton.
At Ink Syndicate, Blankenship charges by the piece instead of an hourly rate. Blankenship said that this benefits the customer when he needs to take his time and move slower the client isn’t getting charged more if his pace as an artist slows.
Surgical procedures
The options for going under the knife to improve aspects of a body has become more commonplace as medical technological advancements have fine-tuned procedures which used to carry far more risks.
Facelifts, liposuction, breast augmentation and fat injections to enhance areas like the buttocks are highly popular procedures, particularly in Utah. In 2007, Forbes ranked Salt Lake City as the “Vainest City in America” based upon the 45 practicing plastic surgeons in the greater Salt Lake area.
A drive down I-15 particularly in Salt Lake City and Utah Valley billboards line the freeway encouraging those curious about surgical cosmetic procedures to contact the providers.
There is a marketed packaging of surgical procedures done in a single setting called the “Mommy makeover” which often includes liposuction, tummy tuck and breast lift and/or augmentation. While pricey, several local women have shared their experiences about the boost in confidence once they had healed from the procedures. Although, more than half of the women who confided in having the surgery said that the recovery was far more difficult than anticipated.
While the price tag for a multi-procedure surgical enhancement can run between $10,000-$20,000 according to rates published by the University of Utah Hospital. Some local women have ventured over the United States border to achieve the body of their dreams, and/or memories.
Medical tourism is growing in popularity, and with the accessibility of watchdog review sites many have found it worth the gamble to have their procedures performed outside of the country.
Gastric bypass and Gastric sleeves have gained in popularity for men and women experiencing obesity that affects their overall health. One Box Elder County resident who prefers to remain anonymous said that the choice to go out of the country added a sense of adventure. “It wasn’t that much more money than going on a cruise, but I was able to kickstart my goal to lose weight, too.”
The appeal of medical tourism centers like the one she used, “A Lighter Me” in Tijuana, Mexico, is that they cost includes travel for the patient and caregiver, lodging and even sightseeing before the procedure. The cost is a fraction of what is expected in the United States, starting under $5,000 for a vertical gastric sleeve procedure. There are many risks associated with traveling while recovering and the surgical standards may vary from those found in the U.S. Research is essential for those considering any non-essential surgical procedures.
Getting personal about beauty efforts
Editor’s Note: When researching the topic of beauty we felt it only fair for the contributors to assess their own levels of indulgence in the beauty industry. Images used are those selected by the writers for their personal social media accounts.
Editor’s Note: When researching the topic of beauty we felt it only fair for the contributors to assess their own levels of indulgence in the beauty industry. Images used are those selected by the writers for their personal social media accounts.
• Considers herself to be high maintenance • Total cost if all currently used beauty products had to be replaced: $625.79 • Average expenditure for replenishing current beauty product collection every six to eight weeks: $104.68 • Biggest expenditure: makeup June 5, 2019 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer I began dancing from the age of three until my early teen years and I can fondly remember the countless dance competitions and performances where my mom would put on blush, mascara and lipstick to enhance my features and facial expressions under harsh stage lights. While getting “all prettied up” was only for special occasions, my mom didn’t allow me to begin wearing makeup on a day-to-day basis until age 12 – and even then, I was only allowed to wear mascara. Every year after that, I was allowed to add one more beauty product until I had all the beauty essentials I wanted to wear by high school. As I’m reflecting on why I wear makeup, it’s really making me think and dig deep inside myself because when I haven’t struggled with acne, I feel confident in my natural complexion, but yet I still won’t step foot outside my house without at least foundation on. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that I’m OK going certain places and seeing certain people while wearing less makeup, however, I feel more put together and ready for my day when I wear a full face of makeup. While Loni is recognized for her beautiful long red hair, I find that many of the compliments I receive from others are about my well-defined eyes with long eyelashes and thick eyebrows – thus, investing more on high-end makeup rather than hair essentials. Inside my makeup bag you’ll find: face primer, foundation, setting powder, blush, eye shadow primer, multiple eye shadow palettes, eye shadow shimmering powder, eyeliner, mascara, a variety of lipsticks, makeup sealer and tweezers. Over the years I’ve tested a variety of drugstore and name-brand beauty store products and I’ve found that the makeup I buy from Sephora tends to have longer lasting coverage than drugstore products; with the exception of my mascara and blush. While I consider myself to be high maintenance, I find myself to be more relaxed when it comes to my hair and other body maintenance essentials – spending less time and money here. On a day-to-day basis, I spend about 25 minutes putting on makeup and 5-10 minutes on hair. For special occasions, I tend to take about 35 minutes on makeup and 20 minutes on hair. As I’ve been analyzing the amount of time and money I spend on beauty products, I’ve noticed that I spend more time on myself when I’m single and less time when I’m in a relationship. While my time spent on makeup changes based on my relationship status, the cost of makeup stays the same. In a survey on the Box Elder News Journal Facebook page the question was asked whether our readers perceived themselves as high maintenance or low maintenance. The poll received 309 votes over a 24 hour period. 18% high maintenance 82% low maintenance |
• Considers herself to be low maintenance • Total cost if all currently used beauty products had to be replaced: $414 • Average expenditure for replenishing current beauty product collection every six to eight weeks: $36 • Biggest expenditure: hair color upkeep June 5, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor The evolution of learning to accept my own personal beauty was a rocky road. I grew up slightly overweight, abundantly freckled and often hiding under an uncooperative mane of somewhat snarly hair. If I was known for my looks, it was not in a positive light. As I’ve aged I am now frequently recognized for my hair, which I enhance my natural auburn with bolder reds and often highlights and has reached “mermaid” status in length. Because of the length and thickness, my hair is by far my largest expenditure toward beauty efforts for routine upkeep and using color depositing and color protecting shampoo and conditioners. My skin is extremely fair, so I use a high s.p.f. sunscreen daily, and the majority of my make up products already contain low s.p.f. but the extra coverage is necessary for someone who can get sunburned by driving with the window down. I opt for minimal coverage foundation because I like my freckles to show through—they were something that I was teased about relentlessly as a child, so it is very empowering to really own them and want to showcase them now. But, the vast majority of my cosmetics are drug store variety. If I could only keep two beauty products the choice would be simple: mascara, because my eyelashes are quite light and tend to disappear without darkening; and lip color. Although, I would try to bend the rules to include multiple colors since I mix two to three shades together to create a custom lip color each day. This is a process I’ve done for a year, and has become something that I look forward to daily. I enjoy the creative expression and appreciate knowing that I am wearing something unique. I tend to be a frugal person, and I do a lot of product research online for most purchases. There are websites that highlight drug store “dupes” or comparable quality merchandise that is more budget friendly. The areas where I don’t cut corners are with the coloring and upkeep of my hair. I’m also particular with hair removal products. I’ve used razors, waxing, epilating and am now on to laser treatment. I recently purchased an at-home laser hair treatment product. With all that said, I still consider myself low maintenance because I sleep in until the last possible minute, and have been known to sport second-day makeup or no makeup at all in a pinch. On a daily basis, my make up routine is pretty quick, it takes 20 minutes or less for daily use: primer, foundation, curl eyelashes, mascara, eyeliner, brow liner and lips. I will either straighten my hair or leave it as it naturally dried typically overnight. If I’m feeling fancy I will throw in some braids as embellishment. If I’m going out on a date or to a concert or to a fancy event, I typically schedule 30 minutes for make up, but a full hour for hair. Curling my hair takes a long time. In general, I focus more on my personal appearance when I am single or when my weight fluctuates, but even so, the difference in expenditure of time and money is minimal. I research new procedures and products often, but I’m a hesitant implementer. I wait until reviews come in over an extended period of time before I get on board. Microblading is something I’ve considered but ultimately ruled out for myself. I love the look of eyelash extensions, but the practicality and cost wasn’t conducive to my allotted beauty funds. |
A renovation project currently underway will change the look of the Brigham City Fine Arts Center in major way. The addition of a tower to the northeast corner will elevate the electronic screens on the building and become the main entrance to the theater. A box office ticket booth will also be included. Also, entryway awnings will be added on both the east and west sides. Those significant changes will be accompanied by the replacement of the building’s 42-year old plywood siding with a stucco finish and fluttering ribbon accent. Upgrades to the building over the years—which was once a drapery warehouse and later an Elks Lodge—include re-roofing and new air conditioning. The current renovation project is fully funded through private donations. The long-term financial viability of the center revolves around creating a substantial endowment fund through relationships with family charitable foundations.
Fine Arts Center updates exterior for ease of access after 20 years of serving community
May 29, 2019 • By Richard Carr • Staff writer
Brigham City Fine Arts Center will take on a new look this summer with a complete renovation of the facility’s exterior that is currently underway.
In its 20th year of serving as a non-profit community arts center, the building will receive a major face lift. A tower-like structural element will be added to the northeast corner of the building that will elevate the electronic marquees currently in use and become the main entrance to the theater. A box office ticket booth will also be added, as will a new concrete entry ramp and railings, and entryway awnings will be added on both the east and west sides.
President of the Center’s board of directors, Jennifer Delaney, noted that the building’s 42-year old plywood siding will be replaced by a unique stucco finish. Local artists and board members Jeff and Linda Lowe proposed the colors and selected the “fluttering ribbon” theme that will adorn each of the building’s four sides.
“We are really excited to see the finished product take shape and look forward to the facility and its programs continuing for many years as valuable assets for the community,” said Delaney. She added “The mission of the Fine Arts Center is Empowering Lives Through the Arts and we believe that good arts experiences can build self-esteem, respect for others, and a healthy appreciation for community.” Board member Annette Macfarlane added that “Having a dedicated arts-conducive facility in Brigham City has been a big part of making this all possible.”
Renovation is expected to be completed by fall, in time for the new concert and theater season.
The project is the first substantial structural improvement since the Fine Arts Center began occupying the building in 1999 as a bigger and better location for the Brigham City Puppetry Club and the Box Elder High School Palace Playhouse. Since then, the organization has continued to grow, offering year round classes, summer day camps, and other art programs for youth and adults. The Center continues to see increased interest among teenagers in more social activity and artistic opportunities, as well as the addition of live concerts and theater productions, among other things. Over the years the number of clients using the Center has grown to 10,600 annually.
The building now occupied by Fine Arts Center was built in 1977 as a drapery warehouse and later operated as the Elks Lodge from 1979-1999. The Fine Arts Center/Brigham City Fine Arts Council was initiated as a grassroots nonprofit arts center in May 1999 by a group of artists, puppeteers, and theater teachers wanting to provide more arts opportunities for area youth. In 2000 the World of Puppetry Museum was established. Long-standing events at the Center include Open Mic Night (16 years) and the Music in the City concert series (11 years).
Fine Arts Center updates exterior for ease of access after 20 years of serving community
May 29, 2019 • By Richard Carr • Staff writer
Brigham City Fine Arts Center will take on a new look this summer with a complete renovation of the facility’s exterior that is currently underway.
In its 20th year of serving as a non-profit community arts center, the building will receive a major face lift. A tower-like structural element will be added to the northeast corner of the building that will elevate the electronic marquees currently in use and become the main entrance to the theater. A box office ticket booth will also be added, as will a new concrete entry ramp and railings, and entryway awnings will be added on both the east and west sides.
President of the Center’s board of directors, Jennifer Delaney, noted that the building’s 42-year old plywood siding will be replaced by a unique stucco finish. Local artists and board members Jeff and Linda Lowe proposed the colors and selected the “fluttering ribbon” theme that will adorn each of the building’s four sides.
“We are really excited to see the finished product take shape and look forward to the facility and its programs continuing for many years as valuable assets for the community,” said Delaney. She added “The mission of the Fine Arts Center is Empowering Lives Through the Arts and we believe that good arts experiences can build self-esteem, respect for others, and a healthy appreciation for community.” Board member Annette Macfarlane added that “Having a dedicated arts-conducive facility in Brigham City has been a big part of making this all possible.”
Renovation is expected to be completed by fall, in time for the new concert and theater season.
The project is the first substantial structural improvement since the Fine Arts Center began occupying the building in 1999 as a bigger and better location for the Brigham City Puppetry Club and the Box Elder High School Palace Playhouse. Since then, the organization has continued to grow, offering year round classes, summer day camps, and other art programs for youth and adults. The Center continues to see increased interest among teenagers in more social activity and artistic opportunities, as well as the addition of live concerts and theater productions, among other things. Over the years the number of clients using the Center has grown to 10,600 annually.
The building now occupied by Fine Arts Center was built in 1977 as a drapery warehouse and later operated as the Elks Lodge from 1979-1999. The Fine Arts Center/Brigham City Fine Arts Council was initiated as a grassroots nonprofit arts center in May 1999 by a group of artists, puppeteers, and theater teachers wanting to provide more arts opportunities for area youth. In 2000 the World of Puppetry Museum was established. Long-standing events at the Center include Open Mic Night (16 years) and the Music in the City concert series (11 years).
Liz Baumgartner and Ice practice climbing a ladder as part of the agility portion of the test he is required to pass in order to become a part of FEMA.
BC search dog and handler get FEMA certified
May 29, 2019 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
A Brigham City border collie has completed his training and is ready to search for human remains in any kind of natural disaster or emergency situation.
Ice and his owner/trainer Liz Baumgartner, of Brigham City, have spent the last two years training and preparing to take the tests required to become certified to be a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Ice completed the last of the seven-part test on Tuesday, May 21, in Las Vegas, where he had to conduct an independent search through a pile of rubble and find human-like scents.
“He has to go on there, do his thing, and I can’t see him or he can’t see me until he actually finds it [a scent],” said Baumgartner of Ice’s test. “Then he stays there and barks. Then I can go and see where he’s barking.”
Baumgartner said human remains search dogs have only been a part of the FEMA system for the last five years. Ice is the fourth dog to be certified in the state of Utah and is one of about 100 dogs in the United States.
“There are only 28 teams in the nation that support these dogs,” said Baumgartner. “So not even every state has a team.”
No matter the emergency situation or natural disaster, Baumgartner said if it overwhelms the local resources, that’s when the Utah team can get called in.
Since Ice and Baumgartner spend countless hours training every week, Baumgartner said she and Ice are a package deal when called on searches.
“When we go out the door, we go out the door together,” Baumgartner said. “If I don’t have a certified dog, I don’t go out the door.”
Since Ice just completed his certification as a human remains search dog, Baumgartner said they have not gone on a search yet. However, the trainings and certification are structured similar to what a disaster and/or emergency situation could be like.
When on the scene of calamity, Baumgartner said she will let Ice go on an independent search for any scents and if he can’t seem to find where a body may be, that’s when Baumgartner steps in to help.
“At certain points I have to tell people what’s happening with my dog – this is why he’s reacting this way,” Baumgartner said. “We’re a team. He may not bark at some place, but he may do some body language that tells me there’s odor in the area but he can’t quite nail it.”
Baumgartner has been training Ice for the last two years and even though he’s now certified, training doesn’t stop.
“It’s just like a firefighter,” Baumgartner said. “You know, they train to put out fires, but you hope nobody’s house burns down, but you’re ready just in case. You practice every event you can think of and that’s what we do with our dogs.”
Part of training and being certified requires Ice to pass tests that include: non-aggression, agility, off-leash obedience, direction control, five-minute out-of-sight long down and independent searching.
Baumgartner has been training dogs to help in emergency situations for 21 years. Of her five dogs, Ice is her fourth that has been FEMA certified; one other is wilderness search and rescue trained but not FEMA certified.
BC search dog and handler get FEMA certified
May 29, 2019 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
A Brigham City border collie has completed his training and is ready to search for human remains in any kind of natural disaster or emergency situation.
Ice and his owner/trainer Liz Baumgartner, of Brigham City, have spent the last two years training and preparing to take the tests required to become certified to be a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Ice completed the last of the seven-part test on Tuesday, May 21, in Las Vegas, where he had to conduct an independent search through a pile of rubble and find human-like scents.
“He has to go on there, do his thing, and I can’t see him or he can’t see me until he actually finds it [a scent],” said Baumgartner of Ice’s test. “Then he stays there and barks. Then I can go and see where he’s barking.”
Baumgartner said human remains search dogs have only been a part of the FEMA system for the last five years. Ice is the fourth dog to be certified in the state of Utah and is one of about 100 dogs in the United States.
“There are only 28 teams in the nation that support these dogs,” said Baumgartner. “So not even every state has a team.”
No matter the emergency situation or natural disaster, Baumgartner said if it overwhelms the local resources, that’s when the Utah team can get called in.
Since Ice and Baumgartner spend countless hours training every week, Baumgartner said she and Ice are a package deal when called on searches.
“When we go out the door, we go out the door together,” Baumgartner said. “If I don’t have a certified dog, I don’t go out the door.”
Since Ice just completed his certification as a human remains search dog, Baumgartner said they have not gone on a search yet. However, the trainings and certification are structured similar to what a disaster and/or emergency situation could be like.
When on the scene of calamity, Baumgartner said she will let Ice go on an independent search for any scents and if he can’t seem to find where a body may be, that’s when Baumgartner steps in to help.
“At certain points I have to tell people what’s happening with my dog – this is why he’s reacting this way,” Baumgartner said. “We’re a team. He may not bark at some place, but he may do some body language that tells me there’s odor in the area but he can’t quite nail it.”
Baumgartner has been training Ice for the last two years and even though he’s now certified, training doesn’t stop.
“It’s just like a firefighter,” Baumgartner said. “You know, they train to put out fires, but you hope nobody’s house burns down, but you’re ready just in case. You practice every event you can think of and that’s what we do with our dogs.”
Part of training and being certified requires Ice to pass tests that include: non-aggression, agility, off-leash obedience, direction control, five-minute out-of-sight long down and independent searching.
Baumgartner has been training dogs to help in emergency situations for 21 years. Of her five dogs, Ice is her fourth that has been FEMA certified; one other is wilderness search and rescue trained but not FEMA certified.
Ticket sales don’t match buzz for Brigham City Summer Music Festival
May 22, 2019 • Sean Hales • Managing Editor
Plans and preparations for the first Brigham City Summer Music Festival are nearly complete, with a full line-up of musical acts, food trucks, and vendors ready to the June 15 event.
Unfortunately, early ticket sales have not matched efforts made to bring the festival to Brigham City despite buzz about the event, according to organizer Bob Cosgrove, who has been working since last October to make the festival a reality.
“When we started this the excitement level was huge, but we haven’t seen it in ticket sales yet,” Cosgrove said. He added that this could be just the beginning, with bigger acts, such as Styx, Kansas, America, and maybe Journey or Donnie and Marie Osmond, waiting to see how this first event goes.
“But if nobody comes, it dies right here,” Cosgrove said.
General admission ticket prices recently dropped from $48 to $35 to help accelerate sales, but the experts at Smithtix, say that sales for outdoor venues tend to lag until the last couple of weeks, when people have a better idea of what the weather will be.
Tickets for the VIP area, in which seats are provided, have been better. As of Friday, there were only 80 of the $65 tickets left.
Cosgrove said the magic number 3,000; if they can sell that many tickets, bigger-name acts are likely to jump on board.
“We think it’s possible,” Cosgrove said. “Not only do we want this for Brigham City residents, but we also have people traveling from out of state for this” including “a ton” of people from Salt Lake City and Provo, and from as far away as Gilbert, Arizona, and places in Idaho.
While people might be expecting a small-town concert experience, Cosgrove said the production requirements placed by the management agency for the headlining Little River Band are quite significant.
“This is going to be the same concert experience they’d see if they go out of town,” Cosgrove said, including a top-notch sound system and full concert stage lighting.
The festival will begin at 10 a.m. at Watkins Park, 600 West Forest Street.
There will be approximately 15 food trucks, with no two serving the same type of food. There will be trucks that are in high-demand such as Sgt. Peppers Fat Burrito, Marquesas Corndogs, Haute Burgers, Fry Me to the Moon, Toasted Cheeser, and Taste of Louisiana. There will also be commercial vendors on site.
There were plans to let attendees take a run in one of Brigham Heating and Cooling’s Soap Dish Derby cars, but liability concerns forced organizers to simply display them.
There is also plans for a 5k race beginning at 9 a.m., pending the receipt of all necessary permits and approvals, which Cosgrove expects will happen.
And all that is in addition to the music line-up that begins at 10 a.m. (see box for schedule).
To purchase tickets, visit www.smithtix.com.
May 22, 2019 • Sean Hales • Managing Editor
Plans and preparations for the first Brigham City Summer Music Festival are nearly complete, with a full line-up of musical acts, food trucks, and vendors ready to the June 15 event.
Unfortunately, early ticket sales have not matched efforts made to bring the festival to Brigham City despite buzz about the event, according to organizer Bob Cosgrove, who has been working since last October to make the festival a reality.
“When we started this the excitement level was huge, but we haven’t seen it in ticket sales yet,” Cosgrove said. He added that this could be just the beginning, with bigger acts, such as Styx, Kansas, America, and maybe Journey or Donnie and Marie Osmond, waiting to see how this first event goes.
“But if nobody comes, it dies right here,” Cosgrove said.
General admission ticket prices recently dropped from $48 to $35 to help accelerate sales, but the experts at Smithtix, say that sales for outdoor venues tend to lag until the last couple of weeks, when people have a better idea of what the weather will be.
Tickets for the VIP area, in which seats are provided, have been better. As of Friday, there were only 80 of the $65 tickets left.
Cosgrove said the magic number 3,000; if they can sell that many tickets, bigger-name acts are likely to jump on board.
“We think it’s possible,” Cosgrove said. “Not only do we want this for Brigham City residents, but we also have people traveling from out of state for this” including “a ton” of people from Salt Lake City and Provo, and from as far away as Gilbert, Arizona, and places in Idaho.
While people might be expecting a small-town concert experience, Cosgrove said the production requirements placed by the management agency for the headlining Little River Band are quite significant.
“This is going to be the same concert experience they’d see if they go out of town,” Cosgrove said, including a top-notch sound system and full concert stage lighting.
The festival will begin at 10 a.m. at Watkins Park, 600 West Forest Street.
There will be approximately 15 food trucks, with no two serving the same type of food. There will be trucks that are in high-demand such as Sgt. Peppers Fat Burrito, Marquesas Corndogs, Haute Burgers, Fry Me to the Moon, Toasted Cheeser, and Taste of Louisiana. There will also be commercial vendors on site.
There were plans to let attendees take a run in one of Brigham Heating and Cooling’s Soap Dish Derby cars, but liability concerns forced organizers to simply display them.
There is also plans for a 5k race beginning at 9 a.m., pending the receipt of all necessary permits and approvals, which Cosgrove expects will happen.
And all that is in addition to the music line-up that begins at 10 a.m. (see box for schedule).
To purchase tickets, visit www.smithtix.com.
One last trip to the railroad to embrace the past
Brian Broom-Peltz, friend; Bryan Lang, son; Mark Kiraly, friend, Gilbert Lang M.D. and Caryl McNeilly, a family member all visited Golden Spike National Historical Park.
“This was to the 19th century was what the moon landing was to us. ...Utah, and this area, are so entwined with transportation revolutions that changed America and changed life as we know it” |
May 15, 2019 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
A California man was among one of 20,000 people in attendance at the 150-year anniversary of the First Transcontinental Railroad on Friday, May 10. The difference between him and many spectators: this was his third time attending a milestone celebration in a 50-year time span. Gilbert Lang, M.D., of Granite Bay, Calif., is fascinated by trains, the Transcontinental Railroad, and the people who devoted their lives to building the historic rail line that reshaped the American landscape in 1869, and over the course of the last 150 years. Because of his love for the history of the railroad, Lang has attended the 100, 125, and now, 150-year milestone celebrations held in Promontory, Utah. “The emotions are the same every time I’ve come,” said Lang about the three times he’s been to the celebration. “But each time has been inspiring.” Inspiring in a way that he gets to spend time with his son and to teach him about the railroad, as well as being able to be at Promontory Summit, where the last spike was driven. “This is still a pivotal part of U.S. History,” said Lang. “To study and see where it was, knowing about the incredible tasks of the lives lost and multiple people working together...and learning and appreciating what was done. “It was very worthwhile and it’s nice to meet people you read about,” Lang said. “It was definitely a different experience than I expected, but that enhanced it and gave me an experience that I hadn’t had before.” Lang said this will be his last time at the event due to rising health issues, but the memories he has made with his son and his son’s two friends have been nothing short of memorable. “I won’t have many more days like this, and so it’s just a real neat topper,” Lang said. |
Descendants embrace legacy at historical site
May 15, 2019 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
After the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, Chinese railroad workers were left to find new jobs, while also facing a rise in anti-Chinese discrimination acts in the United States. While many people were anti-Chinese, there were some who wanted to help the immigrants.
Captain John A. McNear went to California in the 1850s and purchased 2,000 acres of land in Marin County (north of San Francisco). Wanting to help the Chinese workers after the railroad’s completion, McNear offered 500 Chinese immigrants refuge on his private property, while giving them jobs in the dried shrimp industry, exporting three million pounds of dried shrimp to China each year.
McNear’s private property is now known as China Camp State Park, but then, was a place where men had a safe place to live as well as a job. Later on, McNear extended an invitation to have the men invite their families to come to California to live on the property.
Even though many people were angry at McNear for allowing the Chinese immigrants a chance for new life, McNear’s great-great-granddaughter, Heidi Kuhn, said he “stood against the tide of modern times and stood for dignity and respect for all people.”
Attending the 150-year Transcontinental Railroad celebration, Kuhn said she is proud to be attending the event as she’s getting a chance to glimpse into the past, learning more about the accomplishments made by man.
“I just salute the people of Utah for taking this moment in history to pause and reflect on our great country,” Kuhn said. “Let’s use the next 150 years to go forward to build upon this connection from the heart of Utah to the world.”
Kuhn said while attending the milestone celebration, she “couldn’t be a prouder American at this moment” as the event was an opportunity “to link our country back together from one coast to another.”
With roughly 37,000 people visiting the Golden Spike National Historic Park from Friday, May 10 – Sunday, May 12, people came from around the world to take part in an event that appealed to all walks of life.
Some were curious about better understanding their own personal ties to ancestors who worked on the railroad, while others were interested in the history.
“I really don’t know too much,” said Jonathan Leong, of San Francisco, speaking of his great-grandfather. “He’s on my mother’s side and I hardly know my grandfather because he died when I was a teenager, so I can’t tell you much.”
“You look at the history and the Chinese workers were forgotten through the whole thing, it wasn’t even in history books,” said Raymond Hom, of San Francisco. “So this is to try to put it back in the history books.”
Visiting the Golden Spike for the first time, Leong and Hom both agreed that their experience at Promontory Summit was ‘great.’
Kenny Yee, of Los Angeles, was also visiting the Golden Spike for the first time. Except his reason for coming was to show support for his relative, Margaret Yee, the chairwoman of the Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association, and to escort 30 or 40 family members from all around the country to the event.
Promoting culture and heritage is important to Yee’s family as it’s their duty to make sure every generation knows where they came from.
“For kids who are born here, it’s to help them understand where their grandfather or great-grandfather or maybe even their dad came from; and the journey and difficulty getting here and why they came and why they took advantage of the opportunity they did.”
Yee admits he only knows ‘bits and pieces’ about his Chinese immigrant ancestors who worked on the railroad, but said he’s working with family members, like Margaret Yee, to find some of the stories lost in time and is trying to document it.
“A lot of them don’t talk in detail about these things,” Yee said. “First, it’s kinda an ugly time or they didn’t see the value in it [sharing stories], in the sense that they were doing meager work, trying to survive.”
Droughts and political upheaval in Southern China played a major role in some of Yee’s ancestors making the decision to come to America. Yee said by coming to the U.S., it was an opportunity for work and freedom.
Following the completion of the railroad, Yee said much of his ancestors spread throughout the state of California, but some settled in the Barstow, Calif., area – and those people are the ones he knows a little more about.
“I owe everything I have to my dad, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather who worked like that,” Yee said. “Circling back to coming here, it’s starting to make the stories and the suffrage I heard more real now.”
After the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, Chinese railroad workers were left to find new jobs, while also facing a rise in anti-Chinese discrimination acts in the United States. While many people were anti-Chinese, there were some who wanted to help the immigrants.
Captain John A. McNear went to California in the 1850s and purchased 2,000 acres of land in Marin County (north of San Francisco). Wanting to help the Chinese workers after the railroad’s completion, McNear offered 500 Chinese immigrants refuge on his private property, while giving them jobs in the dried shrimp industry, exporting three million pounds of dried shrimp to China each year.
McNear’s private property is now known as China Camp State Park, but then, was a place where men had a safe place to live as well as a job. Later on, McNear extended an invitation to have the men invite their families to come to California to live on the property.
Even though many people were angry at McNear for allowing the Chinese immigrants a chance for new life, McNear’s great-great-granddaughter, Heidi Kuhn, said he “stood against the tide of modern times and stood for dignity and respect for all people.”
Attending the 150-year Transcontinental Railroad celebration, Kuhn said she is proud to be attending the event as she’s getting a chance to glimpse into the past, learning more about the accomplishments made by man.
“I just salute the people of Utah for taking this moment in history to pause and reflect on our great country,” Kuhn said. “Let’s use the next 150 years to go forward to build upon this connection from the heart of Utah to the world.”
Kuhn said while attending the milestone celebration, she “couldn’t be a prouder American at this moment” as the event was an opportunity “to link our country back together from one coast to another.”
With roughly 37,000 people visiting the Golden Spike National Historic Park from Friday, May 10 – Sunday, May 12, people came from around the world to take part in an event that appealed to all walks of life.
Some were curious about better understanding their own personal ties to ancestors who worked on the railroad, while others were interested in the history.
“I really don’t know too much,” said Jonathan Leong, of San Francisco, speaking of his great-grandfather. “He’s on my mother’s side and I hardly know my grandfather because he died when I was a teenager, so I can’t tell you much.”
“You look at the history and the Chinese workers were forgotten through the whole thing, it wasn’t even in history books,” said Raymond Hom, of San Francisco. “So this is to try to put it back in the history books.”
Visiting the Golden Spike for the first time, Leong and Hom both agreed that their experience at Promontory Summit was ‘great.’
Kenny Yee, of Los Angeles, was also visiting the Golden Spike for the first time. Except his reason for coming was to show support for his relative, Margaret Yee, the chairwoman of the Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association, and to escort 30 or 40 family members from all around the country to the event.
Promoting culture and heritage is important to Yee’s family as it’s their duty to make sure every generation knows where they came from.
“For kids who are born here, it’s to help them understand where their grandfather or great-grandfather or maybe even their dad came from; and the journey and difficulty getting here and why they came and why they took advantage of the opportunity they did.”
Yee admits he only knows ‘bits and pieces’ about his Chinese immigrant ancestors who worked on the railroad, but said he’s working with family members, like Margaret Yee, to find some of the stories lost in time and is trying to document it.
“A lot of them don’t talk in detail about these things,” Yee said. “First, it’s kinda an ugly time or they didn’t see the value in it [sharing stories], in the sense that they were doing meager work, trying to survive.”
Droughts and political upheaval in Southern China played a major role in some of Yee’s ancestors making the decision to come to America. Yee said by coming to the U.S., it was an opportunity for work and freedom.
Following the completion of the railroad, Yee said much of his ancestors spread throughout the state of California, but some settled in the Barstow, Calif., area – and those people are the ones he knows a little more about.
“I owe everything I have to my dad, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather who worked like that,” Yee said. “Circling back to coming here, it’s starting to make the stories and the suffrage I heard more real now.”
|
Garden Club sets annual plant sale set May 8, 2019 • Sarah Yates • Editor emeritus Spade & Hope Garden Club will hold its annual spring Plant Sale on Saturday, May 11, opening at 8 a.m. on the City Hall plaza. It’s an event with almost 50 years of history, with the double purpose of a fundraiser and an effort to help local homeowners and gardeners beautify the community. Members grow and donate seedlings, annuals, perennials, ground covers, shrubs and other plants from their gardens, which are made available to the public at low prices. This year there will be a special feature, with a hardy hibiscus plant given as a free gift with a $10 purchase, one to a customer. |
Austin Weyand Group to close out Music in the City series on May 17.
Austin Weyand Group set to close out Music in the City Concert Series in BC
May 8, 2019 • Richard Carr • Staff writer
A world-renown finger-style guitarist who calls Box Elder County home, accompanied by other notable local musicians, will play the season’s final show of the Brigham City Fine Arts Center’s Music in the City concert series on Friday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m.
The Austin Weyand Group will present finger-style guitar, neoclassical and flamenco virtuoso pieces, as well as music by current modern guitar composers. Joining guitarist and vocalist Austin Weyand, from Honeyville, will be Mike Reeder on saxophone, clarinet, and flute; Kelin Gibbons on the mandolin and banjo; and Salt Lake City musicians Alicia Wrigley on upright bass and Steve Keen on accordion.
Weyand keeps the show fun and lively with audience interaction. “I’m excited about this year’s show; we have a good time playing together,” Weyand said. He is enthusiastic about the group’s repertoire of music, which includes classical, jazz, folk, and Celtic. The audience can anticipate familiar tunes as well as some of Weyand’s original compositions.
The music will reflect some of the most influential contemporary acoustic guitarists and groups of our time; the Nashville sound of Chet Atkins, the classical strains of Andres Segovia, the pop/rock tunes of Lindsey Buckingham, the Flamenco snap of Rodrigo y Gabriela, and the gypsy jazz beat of Django Reinhart, among others.
Weyand, who holds a master’s degree in guitar from Northern Illinois University and a baccalaureate degree in guitar performance from Utah State University, is sought after as a performer, composer, arranger, and educator. He has run the gamut of performing situations from playing classical guitar concertos with symphony orchestras; jazz jam sessions in Chicago; bluegrass on a tour through Europe; Celtic with a list of accomplished fiddlers; rock/pop throughout the inter-mountain west; Spanish flamenco for an eight-week run of the U.S. Premiere of Zorro the Musical; and as guitarist for Grammy award winning songwriters Monty Powell and Anna Wilson in their project “Troubadour 77.” He is the 2014 Wyoming finger-style guitar champion and captured that title for Utah the same year.
Weyand’s new CD is entitled “They Call me Dad” with songs for his three young daughters. It contains songs such as “Carry Me,” “Kiki’s Smile,” and “Crawling” that were written specifically for each daughter as well as covers of songs that have special meaning to his girls. Composing music about his daughters, wife, and mom give his pieces meaning and a style all his own. In his guitar performances he expresses pieces of his life story.
The concert is presented in partnership with Excellence in the Community, and will be open to the public with no admission fee. Excellence in the Community is a non-profit organization in Salt Lake City that works to create performance opportunities for Utah musicians. They have presented many musical events throughout the state and since 2012 all of their events have been offered to the public at no charge. The concert is also sponsored in part by the Box Elder County Tourism Tax Board, KSM Music, UAMPS, and Cover Up.
Austin Weyand Group set to close out Music in the City Concert Series in BC
May 8, 2019 • Richard Carr • Staff writer
A world-renown finger-style guitarist who calls Box Elder County home, accompanied by other notable local musicians, will play the season’s final show of the Brigham City Fine Arts Center’s Music in the City concert series on Friday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m.
The Austin Weyand Group will present finger-style guitar, neoclassical and flamenco virtuoso pieces, as well as music by current modern guitar composers. Joining guitarist and vocalist Austin Weyand, from Honeyville, will be Mike Reeder on saxophone, clarinet, and flute; Kelin Gibbons on the mandolin and banjo; and Salt Lake City musicians Alicia Wrigley on upright bass and Steve Keen on accordion.
Weyand keeps the show fun and lively with audience interaction. “I’m excited about this year’s show; we have a good time playing together,” Weyand said. He is enthusiastic about the group’s repertoire of music, which includes classical, jazz, folk, and Celtic. The audience can anticipate familiar tunes as well as some of Weyand’s original compositions.
The music will reflect some of the most influential contemporary acoustic guitarists and groups of our time; the Nashville sound of Chet Atkins, the classical strains of Andres Segovia, the pop/rock tunes of Lindsey Buckingham, the Flamenco snap of Rodrigo y Gabriela, and the gypsy jazz beat of Django Reinhart, among others.
Weyand, who holds a master’s degree in guitar from Northern Illinois University and a baccalaureate degree in guitar performance from Utah State University, is sought after as a performer, composer, arranger, and educator. He has run the gamut of performing situations from playing classical guitar concertos with symphony orchestras; jazz jam sessions in Chicago; bluegrass on a tour through Europe; Celtic with a list of accomplished fiddlers; rock/pop throughout the inter-mountain west; Spanish flamenco for an eight-week run of the U.S. Premiere of Zorro the Musical; and as guitarist for Grammy award winning songwriters Monty Powell and Anna Wilson in their project “Troubadour 77.” He is the 2014 Wyoming finger-style guitar champion and captured that title for Utah the same year.
Weyand’s new CD is entitled “They Call me Dad” with songs for his three young daughters. It contains songs such as “Carry Me,” “Kiki’s Smile,” and “Crawling” that were written specifically for each daughter as well as covers of songs that have special meaning to his girls. Composing music about his daughters, wife, and mom give his pieces meaning and a style all his own. In his guitar performances he expresses pieces of his life story.
The concert is presented in partnership with Excellence in the Community, and will be open to the public with no admission fee. Excellence in the Community is a non-profit organization in Salt Lake City that works to create performance opportunities for Utah musicians. They have presented many musical events throughout the state and since 2012 all of their events have been offered to the public at no charge. The concert is also sponsored in part by the Box Elder County Tourism Tax Board, KSM Music, UAMPS, and Cover Up.
|
“As you can imagine, sexual assault is a huge trauma. It takes a lot for someone to have to come in for that exam, and then for them to have to wait for a period of time for the nurses to get there is kind of difficult, or at times victims have been asked to go to Ogden for the exams.” |
Box Elder SANE program pieces come together to serve victims
April 24, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
Sexual assault victims will soon have a faster, more localized response when they are at their most vulnerable, immediately following an incident. New Hope Crisis Center is working in conjunction with a local nurse practitioner as coordinator to implement a SANE (Sexual assault nurse examiners) program for Box Elder County.
For more than a decade sexual assault victims in Box Elder County have relied upon the response of registered nurses specifically trained to be a sexual assault nurse examiner to arrive from Weber or even Davis County. That wait time is critical and can lead to retractions or walking away from pursuing criminal charges entirely, at times the victims have been asked to transport themselves to a location in Weber County to undergo examination or have been required to wait several hours for the arrival of a nurse certified in sexual assault response.
The Box Elder SANE program which is officially launching this summer to offer a more comprehensive, more trauma-informed experience. Box Elder SANE combines the services of nurses, victims advocates, police officers and the team at New Hope to provide a connected experience with open communication between all legal, health and mental wellness aspects that a sexual assault victim may face.
Penny Evans, executive director of the New Hope Crisis Center, speaks highly of the current program in place, but is excited to offer more comprehensive services locally. “As you can imagine, sexual assault is a huge trauma. It takes a lot for someone to have to come in for that exam, and then for them to have to wait for a period of time for the nurses to get there is kind of difficult, or at times victims have been asked to go to Ogden for the exams,” Evans said, “As an agency we wanted to look at our response and improve our response to sexual assault, and make it more intentional. We were kind of making those changes already.”
Evans was approached by Nurse Practitioner Kelsey Bywater, who has taken the lead on creating a SANE program to serve Box Elder County and has partnered with New Hope Crisis Center to create an environment conducive to these exams.
Evans said, “There’s often an overlap between victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. I mean probably more often than not, if a relationship isn’t healthy then probably there’s going to be some sexual violence components in it as well.”
Bywater first began working with New Hope to try to raise awareness about domestic violence after she lost her sister, who had also been a nurse, at the hands of her brother-in-law. Bywater simply wanted to try to prevent another family from suffering the type of loss her own had experienced. She and her sister had plans to work together in the medical field, and because the abuse was known to the family they were working together to create an escape plan which unfortunately never came to fruition.
“Working with New Hope Crisis Center I was looking for a way to offer my professional services to women affected by domestic violence. I have a great interest in public health. At the time New Hope and the local law enforcement agencies were looking for solutions to better provide services to sexual assault victims. I jumped at the opportunity to help.” said Bywater, “I had some experience in assisting with sexual assault examinations working in Brigham City ER. So I took the SANE class. I then started graduate school one year after my sister passed away”
“I dedicated all of my time and projects throughout school to the memory of my sister. My final scholarly project for my doctorate degree was to develop an educational program to train providers on screening for domestic violence in their clinics. I presented this project at the Utah Public health conference as well as the National Coalition against Domestic Violence conference on health in San Francisco.” said Bywater, “Domestic violence and sexual assault sometimes go hand in hand. I saw a need for a SANE program in our county, the need for a team of skilled nurses that can respond quickly and are able to provide the compassionate care sexual assault victims need.”
“I also saw the importance of having victim advocates present to provide resources and answer questions,” said Bywater, who worked as a registered nurse for 18 years before graduating from the University of Utah with a Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2017. She has since been working as a Nurse Practitioner.
“My plan is to have our team up and running by July 1st.” Bywater said of Box Elder SANE, which currently consists of a team of five nurses who will rotate through an on-call schedule which will provide coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, “I know that I can use my knowledge and skills to help others. Hopefully I can help to ease their pain in some small way, at least let them know that someone out there cares about them.”
Evans said, “Part of our sexual [assault] response that we want to see happen in our community is the medical, law enforcement and our victim advocates as well. Our victim advocates are all trained in sexual assault response, they have all gone through a 40 hour training as well as yearly training we all have.”
The program is designed to be empathetic, thoughtful and thorough, Evans said, “When a victim goes in, most times the clothing they are wearing gets taken so we have clothing here, bras, underwear and something to wear home if all of their clothes are taken into evidence.”
The portrayal of a medical examination following an assault is a common theme portrayed in media, but one area that is often misrepresented is in the relationship between victim and perpetrator.
The concept of stranger rapes occurring where the perpetrator is virtually unknown to the victim is more of a Hollywood myth than a reality. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center 51.1 percent of female victims report being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8 percent by an acquaintance.
“I can tell you what I’ve seen through the years, from what I’ve seen doing this work for twenty years, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one single stranger rape. Every single sexual assault I’ve seen—it’s usually someone they know,” said Evans, “There’s a huge intersection between domestic violence and intimate partner assault. More likely than not, it is someone they know.”
Evans would like to make sure that the community knows that services at New Hope are available without charge, “Everything is free, and confidential. It is important to know it is not the victim’s fault. It doesn’t matter where she was, or what she was wearing, or if she was having a drink, it’s not her fault. It doesn’t matter if she was in a sexual relationship with that person, if in that moment she does not give consent—it is assault.”
According to NSVRC Rape is the most under-reported crime; 63% of sexual assaults are not reported to police. Approximately 91 percent of victims of rape and other forms of sexual assault are female, whereas nine percent are male. In Utah it is estimated that one in three women will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime.
Evans said that according to New Hope’s records, in 2018, there were 46 adult victims of sexual assault, and 45 child victims of sexual abuse that received assistance from New Hope Crisis Center. Already in the 2019, calendar year there have been 15 victims of sexual assault who have received help from New Hope.
Emily Young has been specifically designated the point person for sexual assault victims at New Hope. She has created the “Expressions of Healing Group” which is a support group for survivors of any type of sexual abuse. The support group is open to all genders age 18 and up, the group will use focused forms of expression and art as a processing and healing tool to work through trauma. The group meets Wednesdays at 4 p.m. at New Hope.
Young was unavailable for comment as she is currently at the End Violence Against Women International conference in San Diego, California, to complete additional training for this role. Additionally, each law enforcement agency in Box Elder County also has their own sexual assault investigator who will work alongside the BE SANE team. There are two victim advocates who work within the District Court system who will work alongside victims
Sexual assault victims will soon have a faster, more localized response when they are at their most vulnerable, immediately following an incident. New Hope Crisis Center is working in conjunction with a local nurse practitioner as coordinator to implement a SANE (Sexual assault nurse examiners) program for Box Elder County.
For more than a decade sexual assault victims in Box Elder County have relied upon the response of registered nurses specifically trained to be a sexual assault nurse examiner to arrive from Weber or even Davis County. That wait time is critical and can lead to retractions or walking away from pursuing criminal charges entirely, at times the victims have been asked to transport themselves to a location in Weber County to undergo examination or have been required to wait several hours for the arrival of a nurse certified in sexual assault response.
The Box Elder SANE program which is officially launching this summer to offer a more comprehensive, more trauma-informed experience. Box Elder SANE combines the services of nurses, victims advocates, police officers and the team at New Hope to provide a connected experience with open communication between all legal, health and mental wellness aspects that a sexual assault victim may face.
Penny Evans, executive director of the New Hope Crisis Center, speaks highly of the current program in place, but is excited to offer more comprehensive services locally. “As you can imagine, sexual assault is a huge trauma. It takes a lot for someone to have to come in for that exam, and then for them to have to wait for a period of time for the nurses to get there is kind of difficult, or at times victims have been asked to go to Ogden for the exams,” Evans said, “As an agency we wanted to look at our response and improve our response to sexual assault, and make it more intentional. We were kind of making those changes already.”
Evans was approached by Nurse Practitioner Kelsey Bywater, who has taken the lead on creating a SANE program to serve Box Elder County and has partnered with New Hope Crisis Center to create an environment conducive to these exams.
Evans said, “There’s often an overlap between victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. I mean probably more often than not, if a relationship isn’t healthy then probably there’s going to be some sexual violence components in it as well.”
Bywater first began working with New Hope to try to raise awareness about domestic violence after she lost her sister, who had also been a nurse, at the hands of her brother-in-law. Bywater simply wanted to try to prevent another family from suffering the type of loss her own had experienced. She and her sister had plans to work together in the medical field, and because the abuse was known to the family they were working together to create an escape plan which unfortunately never came to fruition.
“Working with New Hope Crisis Center I was looking for a way to offer my professional services to women affected by domestic violence. I have a great interest in public health. At the time New Hope and the local law enforcement agencies were looking for solutions to better provide services to sexual assault victims. I jumped at the opportunity to help.” said Bywater, “I had some experience in assisting with sexual assault examinations working in Brigham City ER. So I took the SANE class. I then started graduate school one year after my sister passed away”
“I dedicated all of my time and projects throughout school to the memory of my sister. My final scholarly project for my doctorate degree was to develop an educational program to train providers on screening for domestic violence in their clinics. I presented this project at the Utah Public health conference as well as the National Coalition against Domestic Violence conference on health in San Francisco.” said Bywater, “Domestic violence and sexual assault sometimes go hand in hand. I saw a need for a SANE program in our county, the need for a team of skilled nurses that can respond quickly and are able to provide the compassionate care sexual assault victims need.”
“I also saw the importance of having victim advocates present to provide resources and answer questions,” said Bywater, who worked as a registered nurse for 18 years before graduating from the University of Utah with a Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2017. She has since been working as a Nurse Practitioner.
“My plan is to have our team up and running by July 1st.” Bywater said of Box Elder SANE, which currently consists of a team of five nurses who will rotate through an on-call schedule which will provide coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, “I know that I can use my knowledge and skills to help others. Hopefully I can help to ease their pain in some small way, at least let them know that someone out there cares about them.”
Evans said, “Part of our sexual [assault] response that we want to see happen in our community is the medical, law enforcement and our victim advocates as well. Our victim advocates are all trained in sexual assault response, they have all gone through a 40 hour training as well as yearly training we all have.”
The program is designed to be empathetic, thoughtful and thorough, Evans said, “When a victim goes in, most times the clothing they are wearing gets taken so we have clothing here, bras, underwear and something to wear home if all of their clothes are taken into evidence.”
The portrayal of a medical examination following an assault is a common theme portrayed in media, but one area that is often misrepresented is in the relationship between victim and perpetrator.
The concept of stranger rapes occurring where the perpetrator is virtually unknown to the victim is more of a Hollywood myth than a reality. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center 51.1 percent of female victims report being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8 percent by an acquaintance.
“I can tell you what I’ve seen through the years, from what I’ve seen doing this work for twenty years, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one single stranger rape. Every single sexual assault I’ve seen—it’s usually someone they know,” said Evans, “There’s a huge intersection between domestic violence and intimate partner assault. More likely than not, it is someone they know.”
Evans would like to make sure that the community knows that services at New Hope are available without charge, “Everything is free, and confidential. It is important to know it is not the victim’s fault. It doesn’t matter where she was, or what she was wearing, or if she was having a drink, it’s not her fault. It doesn’t matter if she was in a sexual relationship with that person, if in that moment she does not give consent—it is assault.”
According to NSVRC Rape is the most under-reported crime; 63% of sexual assaults are not reported to police. Approximately 91 percent of victims of rape and other forms of sexual assault are female, whereas nine percent are male. In Utah it is estimated that one in three women will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime.
Evans said that according to New Hope’s records, in 2018, there were 46 adult victims of sexual assault, and 45 child victims of sexual abuse that received assistance from New Hope Crisis Center. Already in the 2019, calendar year there have been 15 victims of sexual assault who have received help from New Hope.
Emily Young has been specifically designated the point person for sexual assault victims at New Hope. She has created the “Expressions of Healing Group” which is a support group for survivors of any type of sexual abuse. The support group is open to all genders age 18 and up, the group will use focused forms of expression and art as a processing and healing tool to work through trauma. The group meets Wednesdays at 4 p.m. at New Hope.
Young was unavailable for comment as she is currently at the End Violence Against Women International conference in San Diego, California, to complete additional training for this role. Additionally, each law enforcement agency in Box Elder County also has their own sexual assault investigator who will work alongside the BE SANE team. There are two victim advocates who work within the District Court system who will work alongside victims
Ashley Tolman sings a solo at Carnegie Hall, in New York City, while accompanied by pianist Kellice Bradley.
Former BC woman lives dream on renowned New York City stage
April 17, 2019 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
What was once a childhood dream to sing at a famous concert hall in New York City has turned into a rare opportunity, one former Brigham City woman won’t forget anytime soon.
It was October 2018 when Ashley Tolman learned she took second place in the American Protégé’s International Competition of Romantic Music, resulting in the opportunity to perform at a winner’s recital at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Tolman said she doesn’t know how many people she competed against since the competition was by digital submission, but said there were ‘at least several thousand’ because people from 56 countries were competing.
On March 31, Tolman, along with 31 other singers, performed their pieces at the prestigious performance hall known for its ‘musical excellence as the aspirational destination for the world’s finest artists.’
“It was wonderful and amazing,” Tolman said. “It was honestly one of those rare musical experiences where you feel all the energy in the air just line up for you. I feel like I opened my mouth and it just came out of me as part of the hall.”
Tolman’s performance piece was “Ich liebe dich” by Grieg.
Dreaming of singing at Carnegie Hall has been a goal of Tolman’s since she was six years old.
“I heard a recording of Ella Fitzgerald singing there and I loved it and thought, ‘I’m going to do that someday,’” Tolman said.
She said she was born with a natural gift to sing, but it wasn’t easy to get here and required “singing every day and performing as much as I can” to achieve her dreams.
Given the honor to sing at Carnegie Hall, Tolman said it wouldn’t have been possible without her pianist, Kellice Bradley.
“One of the great things about singing with her [Bradley] in the hall is it was like we could breathe together in making music,” Tolman said. “She would breathe at the same time with her fingers, the same time as I was making sound.”
Tolman said she’s grateful for the opportunity to have performed at Carnegie Hall because most music competitions won’t allow persons to apply if they don’t have a degree in music.
“While I believe that I have been blessed with incredible talents and have worked hard to perform my whole life, in many ways I have restricted myself by not having a degree,” Tolman said.
Tolman received her bachelor’s degree from Utah State University in broadcast journalism with a minor in music.
Even though Tolman just returned from Carnegie Hall and does have restrictions against her, she said she’s not going to let that stop her and has aspirations to go back one day. And until then, she will keep practicing and working toward obtaining that goal.
And no matter where Tolman’s musical talents take her, she will always have support from her friends and family; as some people took to Facebook to share congratulatory messages of Tolman’s accomplishment.
“Congratulations on performing in the great Carnegie Hall, Ashley,” wrote Theodore Clark. “I can only imagine how beautiful you looked and sounded in that awesome place.”
“I am so proud of you, Ashley,” Alissa Meservy Bott said. “Your voice is so special. The world needs to be a part of your special gift!”
Former BC woman lives dream on renowned New York City stage
April 17, 2019 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
What was once a childhood dream to sing at a famous concert hall in New York City has turned into a rare opportunity, one former Brigham City woman won’t forget anytime soon.
It was October 2018 when Ashley Tolman learned she took second place in the American Protégé’s International Competition of Romantic Music, resulting in the opportunity to perform at a winner’s recital at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Tolman said she doesn’t know how many people she competed against since the competition was by digital submission, but said there were ‘at least several thousand’ because people from 56 countries were competing.
On March 31, Tolman, along with 31 other singers, performed their pieces at the prestigious performance hall known for its ‘musical excellence as the aspirational destination for the world’s finest artists.’
“It was wonderful and amazing,” Tolman said. “It was honestly one of those rare musical experiences where you feel all the energy in the air just line up for you. I feel like I opened my mouth and it just came out of me as part of the hall.”
Tolman’s performance piece was “Ich liebe dich” by Grieg.
Dreaming of singing at Carnegie Hall has been a goal of Tolman’s since she was six years old.
“I heard a recording of Ella Fitzgerald singing there and I loved it and thought, ‘I’m going to do that someday,’” Tolman said.
She said she was born with a natural gift to sing, but it wasn’t easy to get here and required “singing every day and performing as much as I can” to achieve her dreams.
Given the honor to sing at Carnegie Hall, Tolman said it wouldn’t have been possible without her pianist, Kellice Bradley.
“One of the great things about singing with her [Bradley] in the hall is it was like we could breathe together in making music,” Tolman said. “She would breathe at the same time with her fingers, the same time as I was making sound.”
Tolman said she’s grateful for the opportunity to have performed at Carnegie Hall because most music competitions won’t allow persons to apply if they don’t have a degree in music.
“While I believe that I have been blessed with incredible talents and have worked hard to perform my whole life, in many ways I have restricted myself by not having a degree,” Tolman said.
Tolman received her bachelor’s degree from Utah State University in broadcast journalism with a minor in music.
Even though Tolman just returned from Carnegie Hall and does have restrictions against her, she said she’s not going to let that stop her and has aspirations to go back one day. And until then, she will keep practicing and working toward obtaining that goal.
And no matter where Tolman’s musical talents take her, she will always have support from her friends and family; as some people took to Facebook to share congratulatory messages of Tolman’s accomplishment.
“Congratulations on performing in the great Carnegie Hall, Ashley,” wrote Theodore Clark. “I can only imagine how beautiful you looked and sounded in that awesome place.”
“I am so proud of you, Ashley,” Alissa Meservy Bott said. “Your voice is so special. The world needs to be a part of your special gift!”
|
Box Elder County Child Protective Services cases: 203 cases closed in 2018. 48 of those closed cases were supported for sexual abuse. 50% of those sexual abuse cases the perpetrator was not a relative, parent or guardian to the child. 3 cases involved a romantic partner/paramour. 24 had cases familial ties to the victim. |
Pictured is a pinwheel for awareness
of Child Abuse Prevention month, these pinwheels are located outside the
Family Support Center in Brigham City.
|
Local resources work together to raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention
April 10, 2019 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
Educating, engaging and empowering Utah children and adults is the goal of child abuse prevention teams throughout the state and locally.
The Children’s Justice Center – Box Elder is working to better open the lines of communication between adults and children when it comes to talking about subjects like child abuse, by donating educational books to the Brigham City Public Library and the Tremonton Municipal Library.
The age-appropriate books are in English and Spanish, focusing on body safety education and to provide a way for parents to create the necessary conversations about abuse with their kids.
“We need to give parents more resources so they can talk about it,” said Sterling Marx, the Justice Center’s program coordinator for Box Elder. “It’s not a fun topic and it’s not comfortable, but it needs to happen.”
With the Justice Center providing educational books to the Brigham City Library, Diana Huffman, the reference librarian fornon-fiction, said she believes the books will be a good way for parents to facilitate those discussions.
“It’s kinda cliché, but knowledge is power,” Huffman said. “If it’s just a part of the conversation, it doesn’t have to be taboo or something only talked about at D.A.R.E. or during promotional months.”
Huffman said she hopes with children having access to the books, that they will use the knowledge they get to help them in any kind of situation.
Utah Code 62A-4a-401 describes abuse as, “Causing harm or threatened harm to a child’s health or welfare through neglect or abuse, including non-accidental physical or mental injury, incest, sexual abuse/exploitation, molestation, or repeated negligent treatment.”
DCFS – First responders to reports of abuse
When the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is called into a home because of abuse or neglect, a report is taken, and that information is later collected into a fiscal year report.
In 2018, DCFS reports, in Utah, the number of supported child prevention service (CPS) cases that closed, totaled 7,618. In Box Elder County the number of supported CPS cases that closed totaled 203.
Among some of those closed cases are reports of sexual abuse. In Utah, there were 1,926 cases supported for sexual abuse. In Box Elder County, there were 48.
Sarah Houser, a DCFS program administrator for child preventative services said the state of Utah has a mandatory reporting law, which requires the public to report if they “believe that a child has been subjected to abuse, neglect or dependency.”
Once a report is made, DCFS decides whether they will form a case or just keep a report on file. If a case is formed, DCFS will step in and take the necessary steps to getting a child and their families the help they need.
“Often times we’re seen as the bad guy,” said Houser. “Families find what we do to be intimidating and scary. But the message we want to send is that we just want to help and support families and to keep kids in their home.”
Houser said it’s not always possible to keep kids in a home due to certain circumstances, but she said they do their best to help families be reunited.
The Children’s Justice Center – Box Elder support victims of abuse
The Children’s Justice Center – Box Elder is a place of neutrality, safety and support for children and their families who are dealing with DCFS or law enforcement on a case of abuse, said Sterling Marx, the Justice Center’s program coordinator for Box Elder.
It’s a traumatizing experience to be a victim of abuse, Marx said, but he reassures that the Justice Center provides a safe place where children can feel more comfortable while law enforcement or DCFS come in and conduct interviews.
Marx said the center also offers services with contracted, local therapists to help children and families learn how to cope and continue moving forward.
“Therapy is a huge piece for a child’s recovery,” Marx said. “It [therapy] isn’t just for the child that’s traumatized, it’s also for the secondary victim, which can be the parents.”
While the Justice Center only helps with victims of abuse and their families, Marx said they are working with the Box Elder School District and the public to bring awareness to the subject of abuse, so children can learn what’s OK and what’s not, when it comes to body safety, and for victims to be able to come forward and get the help they need.
“If you give them [kids] education, it gives them power,” said Marx. “Understanding body safety education empowers kids so that they can say no. And that goes a long way for a child.”
Family Support Center of Box Elder County provides strength and education for families
With a focus on management, family life education, and family therapy, the Family Support Center of Box Elder offers free services to all Box Elder County residents that include a crisis/respite nursery, family life education and therapy. The purpose of the Center is to prevent child abuse, reduce family crisis and conflict and to strengthen families.
Katy Bonds, the Center’s therapist and director said she hopes that parents will bring their children to the Center when their home is a battle zone, if abuse is likely to happen in a situation, or simply if a parent needs a break from parenting.
“By bringing your kids to a safe place, we’re avoiding these adverse experiences in kids,” Bonds said.
Looking at the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, Bonds said early childhood is a time that children are developing most, and when adverse experiences happen during this period of time, research has found that’s when children can become impaired for a lifetime.
Those impairments in early life can lead to social, emotional and cognitive impairment; adoption of health-risk behaviors; disease disability; and even early death.
While traumatic abuse experiences can cause impairment for a child, Bonds said education and therapy can help to give a child the necessary tools to learn how to move forward in a positive and healthy way.
“Education really needs to come out more than us trying to fix people,” Bonds said. “They fix themselves through their own experiences.”
Bonds said it’s also important for children to gain education on body safety and abuse prevention before it happens, but it’s also important for parents to be on the lookout.
“In terms of preventing sexual abuse, in addition to conditioning a child to tell adults if something happens, it is also very important that adults supervise children and keep them in a line of sight at all times,” Bonds said.
Bonds said communication is key between parents and children and between partners, in order to feel safe and supported in the home.
Area residents lined the street in Corinne to welcome home Kelton Bronson after his second liver transplant surgery and extended stay at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. He received a police escort to his home.
Liver transplant patient returns home to warm community welcome
April 3, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
On Wednesday, Mar. 27, residents of Corinne and neighboring communities joined together lining the sides of the streets with little planning and notice as a humble, impromptu parade to welcome home Kelton Bronson. The Corinne man, who is known for service as a Box Elder County Sheriff’s Deputy following his second liver transplant surgery.
Members of the Corinne emergency services departments, youth members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their leaders stepped out from their scheduled activities, along with friends, family and neighbors to wave as the law enforcement escorted the Bronson family to their home after Kelton spent weeks in the hospital.
There is still a long path toward recovery, but stabilizing Kelton to the point that he could return home has been a major milestone. Kelsee said, “We have only been home a couple days and the roller coaster has already begun Dr. Campson said he was here for us every step of the way and he is so excited to see Kelton continue to heal and live for many more decades.”
Kelton was visibly touched by the show of support in his driveway where many people gathered near signs and flags. His jovial personality showed through as he joked with sheriff’s deputies and family about feeling like a kid without his watch. In a quiet moment, Kelton’s father wrapped his arm around him and the moment overwhelmed Kelton with emotion. This was quickly remedied by the warm greeting of his family dog.
Getting back to a sense of normality has been an adjustment for their two young sons. Kelsee said, “It’s been so great having him home. I can’t wait till he heals even more and can play more actively with them. They are pretty cautious around him, but I can tell by their attitudes they are glad he’s home!”
Although, this life saving surgery was the only way to extend Kelton’s life it was not without risk and there have been several physical complications that have come along with it. The first was simply keeping Kelton alive until there was a donor liver match, once he had been placed on the transplant list on February, 13.
The concern grew as Kelton’s health continued failing with a nonfunctioning liver until Sunday, Mar. 3, when the family was notified that a donor liver was on its way to Utah and Kelton Bronson was the intended recipient. At the University of Utah Hospital the Bronson family spent time with elder Gerritt W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve, as well as with a social media personality “Officer Daniels,” these moments kept them afloat as they prepared for the transplant.
The overnight surgery took far longer than anticipated nearing 10 hours, with bleeding complications that resulted in 67 liters of blood being infused throughout the surgery, and a loss of 10 liters.
Sister Kylie Bronson documented the surgery for his blog, “The surgeon said it was very difficult and the anesthesiologist said ‘it was a God thing’ that the surgery actually went the way it did. She had never seen so much bleeding and she recognized the miracle that they slowed the bleeding and Kelton was okay.”
The surgery was completed at approximately 6 a.m. and Kelton was placed in the intensive care unit to recover. That day he opened his eyes briefly and gave a thumbs up to his father. Within two days the sedations were turned off and Kelton could communicate more readily with close family who came to see him.
The recovery wasn’t as smooth as they had hoped, as he was still bleeding more than expected. Upon further investigation his labs reflected that his spleen had become problematic, stealing blood away from the liver. On Mar. 12, Kelton underwent a second surgery to remove his spleen.
Since that point his labs have improved but there are still concerns which is to be expected, said Kelsee, “Some of his kidney numbers are ok, but not great. So they are being extra cautious right now. The surgeon mention to us that the next six months are crucial and don’t be surprised if he ended up in the hospital again for some fine tuning.”
Additionally, his bile duct was swollen and closing which required the placement of a stint. Kelsee said, “In a couple weeks he will have to get another stint to replace that one until the duct will work on its own.”
These delays pushed back his ability to return home, but the family and doctors feel that for his mental health the best place for him to recover is home.
The next six months are critical, but even the next year will be full for the Bronsons. Kelsee said their focus will be on maintaining balance, “[There will be] Lots of blood work, medication changes, doctors appointments, physical and occupational therapy, and a lot of faith, hope and love.”
The Bronson’s have expressed their appreciation for the way that the community has stepped up and rallied on their behalf. It was touching to see the law enforcement community welcome Kelton home and encourage him to heal up quick so he can get back to it.
When asked if there was anything else the community could do to help the family, Kelsee answered, “Just pray! They have done so much for us and we are so grateful.”
There are ongoing fundraising efforts to assist the family hosted on a facebook fundraising page, “Kelton’s liver transplant Round 2!!” secured through gofundme.com.
Liver transplant patient returns home to warm community welcome
April 3, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
On Wednesday, Mar. 27, residents of Corinne and neighboring communities joined together lining the sides of the streets with little planning and notice as a humble, impromptu parade to welcome home Kelton Bronson. The Corinne man, who is known for service as a Box Elder County Sheriff’s Deputy following his second liver transplant surgery.
Members of the Corinne emergency services departments, youth members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their leaders stepped out from their scheduled activities, along with friends, family and neighbors to wave as the law enforcement escorted the Bronson family to their home after Kelton spent weeks in the hospital.
There is still a long path toward recovery, but stabilizing Kelton to the point that he could return home has been a major milestone. Kelsee said, “We have only been home a couple days and the roller coaster has already begun Dr. Campson said he was here for us every step of the way and he is so excited to see Kelton continue to heal and live for many more decades.”
Kelton was visibly touched by the show of support in his driveway where many people gathered near signs and flags. His jovial personality showed through as he joked with sheriff’s deputies and family about feeling like a kid without his watch. In a quiet moment, Kelton’s father wrapped his arm around him and the moment overwhelmed Kelton with emotion. This was quickly remedied by the warm greeting of his family dog.
Getting back to a sense of normality has been an adjustment for their two young sons. Kelsee said, “It’s been so great having him home. I can’t wait till he heals even more and can play more actively with them. They are pretty cautious around him, but I can tell by their attitudes they are glad he’s home!”
Although, this life saving surgery was the only way to extend Kelton’s life it was not without risk and there have been several physical complications that have come along with it. The first was simply keeping Kelton alive until there was a donor liver match, once he had been placed on the transplant list on February, 13.
The concern grew as Kelton’s health continued failing with a nonfunctioning liver until Sunday, Mar. 3, when the family was notified that a donor liver was on its way to Utah and Kelton Bronson was the intended recipient. At the University of Utah Hospital the Bronson family spent time with elder Gerritt W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve, as well as with a social media personality “Officer Daniels,” these moments kept them afloat as they prepared for the transplant.
The overnight surgery took far longer than anticipated nearing 10 hours, with bleeding complications that resulted in 67 liters of blood being infused throughout the surgery, and a loss of 10 liters.
Sister Kylie Bronson documented the surgery for his blog, “The surgeon said it was very difficult and the anesthesiologist said ‘it was a God thing’ that the surgery actually went the way it did. She had never seen so much bleeding and she recognized the miracle that they slowed the bleeding and Kelton was okay.”
The surgery was completed at approximately 6 a.m. and Kelton was placed in the intensive care unit to recover. That day he opened his eyes briefly and gave a thumbs up to his father. Within two days the sedations were turned off and Kelton could communicate more readily with close family who came to see him.
The recovery wasn’t as smooth as they had hoped, as he was still bleeding more than expected. Upon further investigation his labs reflected that his spleen had become problematic, stealing blood away from the liver. On Mar. 12, Kelton underwent a second surgery to remove his spleen.
Since that point his labs have improved but there are still concerns which is to be expected, said Kelsee, “Some of his kidney numbers are ok, but not great. So they are being extra cautious right now. The surgeon mention to us that the next six months are crucial and don’t be surprised if he ended up in the hospital again for some fine tuning.”
Additionally, his bile duct was swollen and closing which required the placement of a stint. Kelsee said, “In a couple weeks he will have to get another stint to replace that one until the duct will work on its own.”
These delays pushed back his ability to return home, but the family and doctors feel that for his mental health the best place for him to recover is home.
The next six months are critical, but even the next year will be full for the Bronsons. Kelsee said their focus will be on maintaining balance, “[There will be] Lots of blood work, medication changes, doctors appointments, physical and occupational therapy, and a lot of faith, hope and love.”
The Bronson’s have expressed their appreciation for the way that the community has stepped up and rallied on their behalf. It was touching to see the law enforcement community welcome Kelton home and encourage him to heal up quick so he can get back to it.
When asked if there was anything else the community could do to help the family, Kelsee answered, “Just pray! They have done so much for us and we are so grateful.”
There are ongoing fundraising efforts to assist the family hosted on a facebook fundraising page, “Kelton’s liver transplant Round 2!!” secured through gofundme.com.
Corinne marks its 150th anniversary as a town
March 27, 2019 • Nancy Browne • Staff writer
The historic City of Corinne is celebrating its 150th anniversary right alongside the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad, May 10-12.
Corinne was founded on March 25, 1869, and prospered for about a decade as the only “gentile” (non-Latter-day Saint) town in the entire Utah territory.
“We decided to run our celebration in conjunction with Spike150, but will be having our own Dutch-oven dinner for $10 on May 10 and 11 at the Masonic Lodge,” said Corinne Mayor Brett Merkley.
Both nights will include tours of the lodge at 4405 W. Montana Street. The lodge was chartered on Nov. 11, 1873, as the first Masonic Lodge north of Salt Lake City and is one of only three of the city’s original, historic buildings that are still standing.
Another is the Methodist Episcopal Church, which the city is currently trying to acquire. The church building is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
But purchasing the church is proving difficult because of improper documentation, according to Box Elder County Recorder Chad Montgomery, who said when the Methodist church parish disbanded, the property was left in a limited liability company (LLC). While the LLC that owns the building still exists, there are no actual people behind it to sign over ownership.
“State law says because there is no deed from the Methodist Episcopal Church, and that’s who would have to sign it over, without a trust agreement they can’t do it,” he said. “I gave them my opinion that they need to let a court decide who can sign the deed over to the city.”
Corinne Mayor Brett Merkley, who has been working on the acquisition for about a year, said once the city has legal title, the building will be used as a community center “where people in the community can meet and have activities.”
The mayor also said workers are installing two new signs at entrances to the city that are embossed with images of the meeting of the two railroads and the driving of the golden spike.
“Corinne is definitely an old railroad town, which makes up a lot of our history,” Merkley said, adding that he appreciates the efforts of local historians who have kept the town’s legacy alive.
One such historian recently published a 150-page book on Corinne’s history entitled “Corinne: A Unique Little Railroad Town in the West, 1969-2019.” Research for the book included more than 40 years compiling microfilms of original newspapers, books and other documents that tell the city’s story.
Corinne was founded by Salt Lake City men who were non-members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and who moved to Corinne to escape the frustrations of trying to do business with LDS church members. They had the idea that the town would be a freighting access point for both the railroad and steamboats along the Bear River.
Freighting became the main business in early Corinne, with merchandise arriving from the East by train and then freighted to Idaho and Montana.
Part of the research for the book resulted in a picture of Corinne Williamson, for whom the town was named by the Union Pacific Railroad land and lot agent General James A. Williamson for his 12-year-old daughter. A copy was provided to the Corinne City Council.
The book describes Corinne differently than the rip-roaring railroad town seen in other histories. Only four murders are documented between 1869 and 1875. Families who lived in Corinne at the time were non-LDS but were still churchgoers.
Other histories indicate that the town also housed several saloons and liquor stores to cater to the non-LDS population and the contingent of freighters, railroad workers and stagecoach drivers.
In 1877, an LDS ward was organized, but it dissolved after a few months as the population declined because of competing railroad lines and their negative impact on transporting freight by wagon. Corinne members of the LDS church began meeting in Bear River City.
It wasn’t until 1913 that an LDS ward was again established in Corinne, with the purchase of the opera house for the church building. They met there until 1943, when a meetinghouse for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was finally built.
The book describes Corinne in its hey-day hosting many travelers and merchants who found it more a more amenable place to stop than Promontory Summit, which had just a few buildings.
March 27, 2019 • Nancy Browne • Staff writer
The historic City of Corinne is celebrating its 150th anniversary right alongside the 150th anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad, May 10-12.
Corinne was founded on March 25, 1869, and prospered for about a decade as the only “gentile” (non-Latter-day Saint) town in the entire Utah territory.
“We decided to run our celebration in conjunction with Spike150, but will be having our own Dutch-oven dinner for $10 on May 10 and 11 at the Masonic Lodge,” said Corinne Mayor Brett Merkley.
Both nights will include tours of the lodge at 4405 W. Montana Street. The lodge was chartered on Nov. 11, 1873, as the first Masonic Lodge north of Salt Lake City and is one of only three of the city’s original, historic buildings that are still standing.
Another is the Methodist Episcopal Church, which the city is currently trying to acquire. The church building is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
But purchasing the church is proving difficult because of improper documentation, according to Box Elder County Recorder Chad Montgomery, who said when the Methodist church parish disbanded, the property was left in a limited liability company (LLC). While the LLC that owns the building still exists, there are no actual people behind it to sign over ownership.
“State law says because there is no deed from the Methodist Episcopal Church, and that’s who would have to sign it over, without a trust agreement they can’t do it,” he said. “I gave them my opinion that they need to let a court decide who can sign the deed over to the city.”
Corinne Mayor Brett Merkley, who has been working on the acquisition for about a year, said once the city has legal title, the building will be used as a community center “where people in the community can meet and have activities.”
The mayor also said workers are installing two new signs at entrances to the city that are embossed with images of the meeting of the two railroads and the driving of the golden spike.
“Corinne is definitely an old railroad town, which makes up a lot of our history,” Merkley said, adding that he appreciates the efforts of local historians who have kept the town’s legacy alive.
One such historian recently published a 150-page book on Corinne’s history entitled “Corinne: A Unique Little Railroad Town in the West, 1969-2019.” Research for the book included more than 40 years compiling microfilms of original newspapers, books and other documents that tell the city’s story.
Corinne was founded by Salt Lake City men who were non-members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and who moved to Corinne to escape the frustrations of trying to do business with LDS church members. They had the idea that the town would be a freighting access point for both the railroad and steamboats along the Bear River.
Freighting became the main business in early Corinne, with merchandise arriving from the East by train and then freighted to Idaho and Montana.
Part of the research for the book resulted in a picture of Corinne Williamson, for whom the town was named by the Union Pacific Railroad land and lot agent General James A. Williamson for his 12-year-old daughter. A copy was provided to the Corinne City Council.
The book describes Corinne differently than the rip-roaring railroad town seen in other histories. Only four murders are documented between 1869 and 1875. Families who lived in Corinne at the time were non-LDS but were still churchgoers.
Other histories indicate that the town also housed several saloons and liquor stores to cater to the non-LDS population and the contingent of freighters, railroad workers and stagecoach drivers.
In 1877, an LDS ward was organized, but it dissolved after a few months as the population declined because of competing railroad lines and their negative impact on transporting freight by wagon. Corinne members of the LDS church began meeting in Bear River City.
It wasn’t until 1913 that an LDS ward was again established in Corinne, with the purchase of the opera house for the church building. They met there until 1943, when a meetinghouse for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was finally built.
The book describes Corinne in its hey-day hosting many travelers and merchants who found it more a more amenable place to stop than Promontory Summit, which had just a few buildings.
Brigham City Fine Arts Center will hosts ART-TELL
March 20, 2019 • Richard Carr • Staff writer
Beginning at the end of March, activities for Brigham City Fine Arts Center’s Art-Tell competition—the center’s 12th—will get underway.
The idea behind Art-Tell is to connect visual art with the story behind its creation, and the theme for this year’s event is “On Track For Shaping The Future,” and is aligned with the Golden Spike sesquicentennial celebration. Both youth and adult artists are invited to participate.
The activities begin with a youth art contest on March 28, followed by a youth storytelling contest on March 29. Art-Tell continues with the adult art show and competition April 15-20.
“The theme is intended to guide the selection of a subject and the story behind the image,” says art center Director Susan Neidert, “and is open to interpretation by the artist.” Artists are requested to provide a brief paragraph that explains their art and its connection to the event’s theme.
All entry forms along with contest guidelines are now available from the Fine Arts Center at 58 South 100 West in Brgham City or on the Center’s website, www.bcfineartscenter.org.
Youth art and storytelling contests
Participants should pick a story and create a picture to illustrate it. The story can be imagined by the artist or selected from an actual work.
All art work must be original, not from a coloring book or cartoon. Entries are due at the Fine Arts Center on or before 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, accompanied by a completed entry form. Chosen art work will be on display at the fine arts center.
The youth storytelling contest is scheduled for Friday, March 29, at 4 p.m. at the fine arts center, and is divided into three categories: grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-9. Participants need to register on or before Wednesday, March 27, by calling the center. There is no entry fee.
A full schedule of judging criteria and guidelines is at www.bcfineartscenter.org. Winners will be invited to perform at the Center on Monday, April 15, and at a dinner celebration on Saturday, April 20.
Adult art show
The annual themed art show will be Thursday through Saturday, April 18-20. The exhibit will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. each day, with an awards program Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Original art work by those 15 years or older who reside or work in Box Elder, Cache, or Weber counties will be accepted for this juried show. Cash merit awards and other prizes will be presented to winners in both amateur and professional categories. Paintings, drawings, fiber arts, quilting, and photography will be accepted. Up to five items may be submitted per artist, with a $10 entry fee per piece. Art that has previously won at the Brigham City Museum or Box Elder County Fair will not be eligible for awards. All pieces must include a statement about the artwork in 25 words or less, and relate it to this year’s theme.
Art work must be ready to be hung or set out for exhibit, with the recommended largest size of 4 feet in any direction. Entries will be accepted at the Fine Arts Center on Tuesday, April 16, from 3-7 p.m., and Wednesday, April 17, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Call the center at 435-723-0740 on Monday, April 16, from 3 to 5 p.m. to schedule an alternative drop-off time if necessary. Entries will be judged on Thursday morning, and the exhibit will open at 2 p.m. Arts work may be picked up Saturday following the awards reception, or on Monday, April 22, from 3-5:30 p.m.
The art will be judged by a panel of local artists and on display Thursday through Saturday, April 18-20, from 2 to 8 p.m. A people’s choice award is included in this event so people of all ages are welcome to come and participate in that segment of the judging.
For more information call the center or check their website.
A dinner to celebrate the arts and support the Brigham City Fine Arts Center will be held Saturday, April 20, at 6 p.m. Winners will be announced at an awards reception at 7:30 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by several different individuals and groups from the center’s variety of programs. Reservations for the dinner, which will be catered by Iron Gate Grill are requested by Tuesday, April 17. Tickets for the dinner cost $25 and are available online or by calling the center at 435-723-0740.
As part of the weekly festivities the “Mariachi De Mi Tierra” will be performing for a Music in the City concert at the center on Friday evening, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free and available at www.bcfineartscenter.org. The center is located at 58 South 100 West in Brigham City.
March 20, 2019 • Richard Carr • Staff writer
Beginning at the end of March, activities for Brigham City Fine Arts Center’s Art-Tell competition—the center’s 12th—will get underway.
The idea behind Art-Tell is to connect visual art with the story behind its creation, and the theme for this year’s event is “On Track For Shaping The Future,” and is aligned with the Golden Spike sesquicentennial celebration. Both youth and adult artists are invited to participate.
The activities begin with a youth art contest on March 28, followed by a youth storytelling contest on March 29. Art-Tell continues with the adult art show and competition April 15-20.
“The theme is intended to guide the selection of a subject and the story behind the image,” says art center Director Susan Neidert, “and is open to interpretation by the artist.” Artists are requested to provide a brief paragraph that explains their art and its connection to the event’s theme.
All entry forms along with contest guidelines are now available from the Fine Arts Center at 58 South 100 West in Brgham City or on the Center’s website, www.bcfineartscenter.org.
Youth art and storytelling contests
Participants should pick a story and create a picture to illustrate it. The story can be imagined by the artist or selected from an actual work.
All art work must be original, not from a coloring book or cartoon. Entries are due at the Fine Arts Center on or before 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, accompanied by a completed entry form. Chosen art work will be on display at the fine arts center.
The youth storytelling contest is scheduled for Friday, March 29, at 4 p.m. at the fine arts center, and is divided into three categories: grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-9. Participants need to register on or before Wednesday, March 27, by calling the center. There is no entry fee.
A full schedule of judging criteria and guidelines is at www.bcfineartscenter.org. Winners will be invited to perform at the Center on Monday, April 15, and at a dinner celebration on Saturday, April 20.
Adult art show
The annual themed art show will be Thursday through Saturday, April 18-20. The exhibit will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. each day, with an awards program Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Original art work by those 15 years or older who reside or work in Box Elder, Cache, or Weber counties will be accepted for this juried show. Cash merit awards and other prizes will be presented to winners in both amateur and professional categories. Paintings, drawings, fiber arts, quilting, and photography will be accepted. Up to five items may be submitted per artist, with a $10 entry fee per piece. Art that has previously won at the Brigham City Museum or Box Elder County Fair will not be eligible for awards. All pieces must include a statement about the artwork in 25 words or less, and relate it to this year’s theme.
Art work must be ready to be hung or set out for exhibit, with the recommended largest size of 4 feet in any direction. Entries will be accepted at the Fine Arts Center on Tuesday, April 16, from 3-7 p.m., and Wednesday, April 17, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Call the center at 435-723-0740 on Monday, April 16, from 3 to 5 p.m. to schedule an alternative drop-off time if necessary. Entries will be judged on Thursday morning, and the exhibit will open at 2 p.m. Arts work may be picked up Saturday following the awards reception, or on Monday, April 22, from 3-5:30 p.m.
The art will be judged by a panel of local artists and on display Thursday through Saturday, April 18-20, from 2 to 8 p.m. A people’s choice award is included in this event so people of all ages are welcome to come and participate in that segment of the judging.
For more information call the center or check their website.
A dinner to celebrate the arts and support the Brigham City Fine Arts Center will be held Saturday, April 20, at 6 p.m. Winners will be announced at an awards reception at 7:30 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by several different individuals and groups from the center’s variety of programs. Reservations for the dinner, which will be catered by Iron Gate Grill are requested by Tuesday, April 17. Tickets for the dinner cost $25 and are available online or by calling the center at 435-723-0740.
As part of the weekly festivities the “Mariachi De Mi Tierra” will be performing for a Music in the City concert at the center on Friday evening, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free and available at www.bcfineartscenter.org. The center is located at 58 South 100 West in Brigham City.
Heather Karren, 16; Colton Kraus, 18; and Anni Molgard, 16, worked together to write, direct and produce “Flamboyant Occasion” at the Fine Arts Center.
Teens seek solace by bringing play to life, after loss of a close friend
March 13, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
When a group of teens faced the aftermath of the unexpected suicide of a close friend, they chose to use the opportunity to mourn and celebrate the life of their friend through the creation of a piece of theatrical art.
The teens, Colton Kraus, 18, a 2018 Box Elder High School graduate; Anni Molgard, 16, and Heather Karren, 16, both juniors at BEHS, worked together to write and direct a production called “Flamboyant Occasion” at the Brigham City Fine Arts Center, which completed its workshop run on Monday evening.
Tackling tough themes like suicide doesn’t typically have a lot of crowd appeal, and to combat a negative stigma this play was written as a tribute to a friend and fellow performer who took his own life in July.
“One day Colton came and was like, I want to write a show, and I want to write it about Jeremy,” said Molgard about their late friend Jeremy Shipp.
Kraus took the lead on the playwriting, although Karren and Molgard both played an integral role in editing and reworking concepts and ideas. All three would then work together as co-directors to bring the production to life. The trio knew early on that they didn’t want to create a piece that would dwell on the negative subject matter that often accompany the loss of life, particularly for a young person, rather they tried to approach it from a place of memorialization.
Kraus said, “I knew that something about suicide wasn’t going to be appropriate to perform at the Fine Arts Center, I knew that our manager, our producer wouldn’t necessarily want that to be performed there. So then I was like what can we do to make this show still be about Jeremy, but still really funny and still really family-friendly and fun for everyone to see.”
“We came up with the idea of glitter. Glitter is just chaotic and crazy, it gets everywhere. It was just something that even though we had kind of darker themes, someone was murdered, it’s still kind of funny he died in glitter. We were able to tone back the darker parts of it by adding the glitter and all of these funny moments into the show,” said Kraus.
Although the play’s premise does involve a murder, it is handled in a comedic manner using glitter as a symbol both figuratively and literally. The repeated theme of glitter is the opposite of the darkness that these students faced at the unexpected loss of Shipp, but also embodies the effervescent spirit he had.
“Often times in high school, guys that do theatre are seen as showy, weird, and flamboyant. I do not necessarily find that to be a bad thing.” said Kraus in a quote shared by Molgard’s father on social media.
Kraus continued, “I wanted to create a show for actors that would give them a chance to go against the status quo to show an audience that it is okay to be different. Not everything has to fit inside a little box due to other people’s standards. It should be okay to be a bit crazy now and again and show off what you got.”
“Flamboyant Occasion” was meant for a broad audience, although it may be slightly unorthodox in the liberal use of glitter. The crafter’s delight is used to demonstrate that every single person has their own personal sparkle.
The group decided to use Shipp, as a literal character to reflect his spirit, that influence has been present throughout their experience. “It’s always been there through everything that we’ve done. We have a character whose name is Jeremy and a lot of how we’ve directed the show and directed him through his character work has been based on who Jeremy was and his personality. The show really always goes back to where we started—which is him,” said Molgard.
Nearly everything about the production has had a learning curve for the young directors. The first audition notice didn’t reach enough people to fill the cast, so the directors got competitive. They made a bet that whoever got the most auditioners would receive hot chocolate from the losers.
Karren and Krause got very competitive, even potentially picking off auditionees from each other, depending on who is asked. Molgard, just planned to purchase hot chocolate regardless of turnout.
Using social media to push the poster, Kraus had friends post on their personal pages which beefed up the turnout.
Initially, there were a lot of scheduling conflicts. A month into rehearsals, two of the leads had to drop out, which can be a challenge for even the most seasoned directors. But the show must go on. “The cast we have now is the best possible cast we could have. Somehow we got all these people who are just perfect for what we were imagining.” said Molgard.
This cast with over 30 actors, was a large undertaking which has seen its share of difficulties with late cast changes and scheduling conflicts, but came together in a way in which the teens at the helm have taken great pride.
The trio credits additional staging assistance by Luke and Kimberly Brewer, who have acted as advisors for the Fine Arts Center, and are both Palace Playhouse alumni, “They kind of just sit back and let us take the reins a lot of the time. Luke has helped with blocking and staging to make sure all of the sight lines are good and he’s really helped with character development. Kimberly has helped with our jury, she helped them with characterization and costumes.”
After months of hard work and preparation the performances opened last week. The emotional weight of the production coming to fruition hit Molgard hard. About five minutes before going out to introduce the show, the emotions overtook her. The tears wouldn’t stop running, and she was trying to prepare herself to address the audience.
But, when the curtain rose the production was well-received. “We had a great opening night, way better than I thought it would go.” said Karren, “They laughed so hard, and I’m so happy.”
All three creators were pleased that the audience got the jokes. Eventually they would like to see the piece go through publication and be available for future productions. But, for now, they are hoping that it is a portal to open up conversation between their peers and the adults who love them. Because the youth suicide epidemic continues to hit too close to home for these teens.
The directors were pleased that the Shipp family was able to attend the opening night performance. They reported that the family seemed grateful for the inclusion of their son and the honoring of their unique friendships in this way.
The directors have been grateful for the support of their families, because this project has taken a lot of time and energy. They joked that they have often been called with this scene playing out on repeat:
A parent calls and asks, “Where are you?”
“At rehearsal,” they respond.
“Are we ever going to see you again?” the family asks.
Laughter is the only appropriate response for them, when they are heavily involved in the rehearsal process, because free time rarely exists. Both Karren and Molgard are actively involved in theatre at the high school, multitasking with rehearsals and preparation for region drama competition. Colton, on the other hand, reports that he enjoys the ability to nap while he can.
The teens have plans to continue their involvement with theatre on some level. Kraus is going to attend Southern Utah University to study theatre education. Molgard plans on continuing in theatre as well. Karren, however is going to pursue a career in the medical field, but feels most at home when involved in the theatre.
Teens seek solace by bringing play to life, after loss of a close friend
March 13, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
When a group of teens faced the aftermath of the unexpected suicide of a close friend, they chose to use the opportunity to mourn and celebrate the life of their friend through the creation of a piece of theatrical art.
The teens, Colton Kraus, 18, a 2018 Box Elder High School graduate; Anni Molgard, 16, and Heather Karren, 16, both juniors at BEHS, worked together to write and direct a production called “Flamboyant Occasion” at the Brigham City Fine Arts Center, which completed its workshop run on Monday evening.
Tackling tough themes like suicide doesn’t typically have a lot of crowd appeal, and to combat a negative stigma this play was written as a tribute to a friend and fellow performer who took his own life in July.
“One day Colton came and was like, I want to write a show, and I want to write it about Jeremy,” said Molgard about their late friend Jeremy Shipp.
Kraus took the lead on the playwriting, although Karren and Molgard both played an integral role in editing and reworking concepts and ideas. All three would then work together as co-directors to bring the production to life. The trio knew early on that they didn’t want to create a piece that would dwell on the negative subject matter that often accompany the loss of life, particularly for a young person, rather they tried to approach it from a place of memorialization.
Kraus said, “I knew that something about suicide wasn’t going to be appropriate to perform at the Fine Arts Center, I knew that our manager, our producer wouldn’t necessarily want that to be performed there. So then I was like what can we do to make this show still be about Jeremy, but still really funny and still really family-friendly and fun for everyone to see.”
“We came up with the idea of glitter. Glitter is just chaotic and crazy, it gets everywhere. It was just something that even though we had kind of darker themes, someone was murdered, it’s still kind of funny he died in glitter. We were able to tone back the darker parts of it by adding the glitter and all of these funny moments into the show,” said Kraus.
Although the play’s premise does involve a murder, it is handled in a comedic manner using glitter as a symbol both figuratively and literally. The repeated theme of glitter is the opposite of the darkness that these students faced at the unexpected loss of Shipp, but also embodies the effervescent spirit he had.
“Often times in high school, guys that do theatre are seen as showy, weird, and flamboyant. I do not necessarily find that to be a bad thing.” said Kraus in a quote shared by Molgard’s father on social media.
Kraus continued, “I wanted to create a show for actors that would give them a chance to go against the status quo to show an audience that it is okay to be different. Not everything has to fit inside a little box due to other people’s standards. It should be okay to be a bit crazy now and again and show off what you got.”
“Flamboyant Occasion” was meant for a broad audience, although it may be slightly unorthodox in the liberal use of glitter. The crafter’s delight is used to demonstrate that every single person has their own personal sparkle.
The group decided to use Shipp, as a literal character to reflect his spirit, that influence has been present throughout their experience. “It’s always been there through everything that we’ve done. We have a character whose name is Jeremy and a lot of how we’ve directed the show and directed him through his character work has been based on who Jeremy was and his personality. The show really always goes back to where we started—which is him,” said Molgard.
Nearly everything about the production has had a learning curve for the young directors. The first audition notice didn’t reach enough people to fill the cast, so the directors got competitive. They made a bet that whoever got the most auditioners would receive hot chocolate from the losers.
Karren and Krause got very competitive, even potentially picking off auditionees from each other, depending on who is asked. Molgard, just planned to purchase hot chocolate regardless of turnout.
Using social media to push the poster, Kraus had friends post on their personal pages which beefed up the turnout.
Initially, there were a lot of scheduling conflicts. A month into rehearsals, two of the leads had to drop out, which can be a challenge for even the most seasoned directors. But the show must go on. “The cast we have now is the best possible cast we could have. Somehow we got all these people who are just perfect for what we were imagining.” said Molgard.
This cast with over 30 actors, was a large undertaking which has seen its share of difficulties with late cast changes and scheduling conflicts, but came together in a way in which the teens at the helm have taken great pride.
The trio credits additional staging assistance by Luke and Kimberly Brewer, who have acted as advisors for the Fine Arts Center, and are both Palace Playhouse alumni, “They kind of just sit back and let us take the reins a lot of the time. Luke has helped with blocking and staging to make sure all of the sight lines are good and he’s really helped with character development. Kimberly has helped with our jury, she helped them with characterization and costumes.”
After months of hard work and preparation the performances opened last week. The emotional weight of the production coming to fruition hit Molgard hard. About five minutes before going out to introduce the show, the emotions overtook her. The tears wouldn’t stop running, and she was trying to prepare herself to address the audience.
But, when the curtain rose the production was well-received. “We had a great opening night, way better than I thought it would go.” said Karren, “They laughed so hard, and I’m so happy.”
All three creators were pleased that the audience got the jokes. Eventually they would like to see the piece go through publication and be available for future productions. But, for now, they are hoping that it is a portal to open up conversation between their peers and the adults who love them. Because the youth suicide epidemic continues to hit too close to home for these teens.
The directors were pleased that the Shipp family was able to attend the opening night performance. They reported that the family seemed grateful for the inclusion of their son and the honoring of their unique friendships in this way.
The directors have been grateful for the support of their families, because this project has taken a lot of time and energy. They joked that they have often been called with this scene playing out on repeat:
A parent calls and asks, “Where are you?”
“At rehearsal,” they respond.
“Are we ever going to see you again?” the family asks.
Laughter is the only appropriate response for them, when they are heavily involved in the rehearsal process, because free time rarely exists. Both Karren and Molgard are actively involved in theatre at the high school, multitasking with rehearsals and preparation for region drama competition. Colton, on the other hand, reports that he enjoys the ability to nap while he can.
The teens have plans to continue their involvement with theatre on some level. Kraus is going to attend Southern Utah University to study theatre education. Molgard plans on continuing in theatre as well. Karren, however is going to pursue a career in the medical field, but feels most at home when involved in the theatre.
Sheriff’s deputy needs liver second transplant, community rallies
|
|
Kelton, Kelsee, Winston and Mason Bronson spend time together when Kelton was admitted at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.
|
February 27, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
Box Elder County Sheriff’s Deputy Kelton Bronson is fighting for his life, struggling with liver failure and awaiting a transplant, for the second time in his life.
But, true to form, he is also doing his best to make light of the situation with jokes and optimistic talk, trying to keep the stress to a minimum for his wife of nearly seven years, Kelsee Bronson, as she tries to keep their young family afloat. Together they have two sons, Mason, 5 next week, and Winston, 2, who are just young enough to know something isn’t quite right, but not fully understand the gravity of their father’s illness.
This month has been challenging for the Bronson family as Kelton Bronson prepares for a second liver transplant procedure, hoping for a donor match to extend his life.
Kelton Bronson has a unique set of health circumstances, as a baby he was highly jaundiced and not responsive to the bilirubin lights that are often used to lessen that condition. It was discovered that he was suffering from Biliary atresia, a potentially fatal condition.
In 1990, at nine-months old Kelton Bronson and his mother, Yvonne, traveled to Chicago to undergo a new surgery, a partial liver transplant from his mother. It was only the third time this pediatric surgery had been performed in the United States, and Kelton Bronson was the first male recipient.
The procedure was so new that it wasn’t covered by standard medical insurance policies, and Kelton Bronson’s father Corey received generous help from his employer NucorSteel to make the surgery possible.
With the exception of a complication at the age of two, Kelton Bronson lived a relatively healthy, active life. His parents managed his medications, including the anti-rejection medication he would require for his whole life. Blood work was required, as often as weekly, to make sure that there were no signs of rejection.
Fifteen years after his initial transplant he was featured on a KSL story, as an active teenager who even competed in the Transplant Games. Even as a teen, in that interview, he joked that “chicks dig guys with scars” about his ten-inch abdominal souvenir.
The medical advancements in transplant surgeries and anti-rejection drugs have improved significantly since the original maternal donation transplant.
The first liver transplant served him well for 29 years, Kelton Bronson’s weekly routine included infusions and lab work to monitor his bilirubin. This was the standard of living that he has always known. But, last year, signs of organ failure began appearing. The surefire signal of yellowing skin began to reflect the changing numbers in his blood work. His bilirubin spiked from a 19 to a 30, indicating that there was a significant change in the liver’s ability to function. As of last week, that number had increased to 54.
Despite showing jaundice and having his weekly test results come back high for bilirubin Kelton Bronson tried to complete his scheduled shifts with the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Department, where he has spent the past three years on patrol, and two years prior to that as a corrections officer.
Concerned for his health, Kelton Bronson’s coworkers gave him a hard time about being at work, and tried to convince him to go home. But, Kelton Bronson is stubborn and completed his last shift on Sunday, Feb. 3, before his condition worsened. On Tuesday, Feb. 5, Kelton Bronson was taken to the emergency department locally. From there, he was transferred to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Kelton Bronson was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, which was shocking considering his alcohol-free/smoke-free lifestyle as well as his physical fitness. His liver is in end-stage failure, and his sole hope for survival relies on the willingness of a stranger to have their organs donated after death. A partial donation from a living donor won’t fulfill the need, this time.
The reason that the partial liver transplant was successful initially is due to the size and need in Kelton Bronson’s infancy. Height and weight play into the factors that determine whether a liver will be suitable, as an adult even of slender build it is unlikely that a portion of a liver, as given in a living donor transplant, would be able to function at the level needed for Kelton Bronson’s survival.
Kelton Bronson was accepted on the transplant list and remains at or near the top at the University of Utah Hospital, the urgency and ranking for each patient is constantly reassessed.
According to a 2017 Millman report, the national average wait for a liver transplant is 239 days. He has been placed on the list with other high risk patients at the 33 transplant centers throughout Region 5, which includes Utah, Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network there are currently 2,828 people registered on the organ transplant list for a liver in this region.
To date, there have been eight liver transplants performed in Utah in 2019.
Until an eligible liver is found, Kelton Bronson is resting at home.
Along with her normal motherly duties, Kelsee Bronson is adjusting to the rigmarole of administering daily medications for her husband, which she said is out of her wheelhouse. But, she is learning the curve in between the every-other-day visits from a home nurse, who is responsible for taking the blood work for testing.
Kelton Bronson has now added insulin to the routine because with his liver failing he has developed diabetes. He is also taking supplemental magnesium which is to help ease some of the “brain fog” that is associated with a surplus of ammonia in the brain, which happens when the liver is unable to filter the toxins from the blood. The build up of these toxins staying in the bloodstream can affect the nervous system and cause a loss of brain function, according the Medline Plus. This can lead to hepatic encephalopathy if untreated.
Initially Kelton Bronson was struggling with short-term memory loss and brain fog that made him forget entire procedures. Kelsee Bronson spoke about the day that 27 vials of blood had to be taken and Kelton Bronson had virtually no memory of the procedure.
For now, the forgetfulness has subsided. Since starting a medication his clarity has returned, but ultimately Kelton Bronson reports experiencing symptoms of fatigue including feeling chronically tired and occasionally dizzy. This is aggravated if he concentrates too much on the TV or focuses on one thing too much.
Kelton Bronson is also currently maintaining nutrition through a feeding tube, and is also reliant upon antibiotics to keep his immune system in balance.
Kelsee Bronson said that she is grateful to have Kelton Bronson home where they can live as normally as possible given the circumstances. “They felt comfortable enough that he could be in his own home, which is good,” Kelsee Bronson said, “Just managing his medications and stuff, it’s overwhelming.”
Kelton Bronson’s humor and ability to find the upside has helped keep their spirits high. Kelsee Bronson said, “Kelton’s sense of humor has really helped, it would be easy to get down and depressed. It’s hard to be down when you’re around him.”
“Even when Kelton Bronson is constantly getting pricked by needles and having procedure after procedure, he never complains. He rarely shares his pain level and still tries to make everyone around him laugh.” wrote Kylie Bronson, an older sister, on a GoFundMe page for fundraising.
Kelton Bronson has always loved to entertain and keep his friends and family laughing, he even posted silly youtube videos on his channel. He hopes that the transplant will give him the ability to be the high energy, fun-loving husband and father that he has always been.
The Bronson children seem to be enjoying visitors, and attention, but have a limited understanding of what is happening. Kelsee Bronson said, “I think they are doing alright, they are still pretty little. They know something is going on but they aren’t quite old enough to really understand it.”
The Bronsons have felt the support of friends, family and coworkers. The Sheriff’s Department has been a strong presence ever since Kelton Bronson was hospitalized. “They’ve been really great, and we have really great family support as well,” said Kelsee Bronson, who has felt overwhelmed by the support. “As days go by it’s getting easier. We have felt comfort through all of this. It’s been okay.”
The financial strain of traveling to appointments, the cost for essential medications and equipment along with Kelton Bronson being unable to work adds up quickly, while the family waits for a match. According to transplants.org the cost billed for a liver transplant is approximately $812,500, with a typical 20 percent patient co-pay of $162,500.
According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, anti-rejection medications can run thousands of dollars per month which is factored into the financial assessment which is considered for recipients, and can cause a patient to be disqualified. The purpose is to ensure the best opportunity for success for the organ, since maintenance medications are required for compatibility with sustaining life.
Several transplant recipients have contributed to the Bronson’s gofundme campaign adding comments of support with their donations, to a fellow patient in need. Many who have heard Kelton Bronson’s story have been quick to give what they can to help keep the Bronson family afloat.
There is an account set up for direct donation through Box Elder Credit Union under Kelton Bronson Medical Fund.
The gofundme page has raised over $10,290 in just 19 days, but a percentage of all funds donated are taken by the company.
There’s also a foundation set up by the hospital through the National Foundation for Transplants, give.transplants.org by searching for Kelton Bronson, tax-deductible donations can also be mailed to National Foundation for Transplants in honor of Kelton Bronson care of NFT Utah Transplant Fund, 5350 Poplar Avenue, Suite 850, Memphis, TN 38119. Write “in honor of Kelton Bronson Bronson” on the memo line.
While financial concerns may loom in the future, the current focus for all friends and family of the Bronsons is giving Kelton the best chance for a healthy life again, keeping him healthy enough to wait out a donor liver match.
A blog post tracking Kelton Bronson’s medical journey expressed clearly the desires from a family of faith, it said, “We hope everyone can continue to pray for Kelton but also the future donor. We know that the future donor will be recently deceased so we want to pray for their family during their time of [loss] when Kelton is getting another chance at life.”
Box Elder County Sheriff’s Deputy Kelton Bronson is fighting for his life, struggling with liver failure and awaiting a transplant, for the second time in his life.
But, true to form, he is also doing his best to make light of the situation with jokes and optimistic talk, trying to keep the stress to a minimum for his wife of nearly seven years, Kelsee Bronson, as she tries to keep their young family afloat. Together they have two sons, Mason, 5 next week, and Winston, 2, who are just young enough to know something isn’t quite right, but not fully understand the gravity of their father’s illness.
This month has been challenging for the Bronson family as Kelton Bronson prepares for a second liver transplant procedure, hoping for a donor match to extend his life.
Kelton Bronson has a unique set of health circumstances, as a baby he was highly jaundiced and not responsive to the bilirubin lights that are often used to lessen that condition. It was discovered that he was suffering from Biliary atresia, a potentially fatal condition.
In 1990, at nine-months old Kelton Bronson and his mother, Yvonne, traveled to Chicago to undergo a new surgery, a partial liver transplant from his mother. It was only the third time this pediatric surgery had been performed in the United States, and Kelton Bronson was the first male recipient.
The procedure was so new that it wasn’t covered by standard medical insurance policies, and Kelton Bronson’s father Corey received generous help from his employer NucorSteel to make the surgery possible.
With the exception of a complication at the age of two, Kelton Bronson lived a relatively healthy, active life. His parents managed his medications, including the anti-rejection medication he would require for his whole life. Blood work was required, as often as weekly, to make sure that there were no signs of rejection.
Fifteen years after his initial transplant he was featured on a KSL story, as an active teenager who even competed in the Transplant Games. Even as a teen, in that interview, he joked that “chicks dig guys with scars” about his ten-inch abdominal souvenir.
The medical advancements in transplant surgeries and anti-rejection drugs have improved significantly since the original maternal donation transplant.
The first liver transplant served him well for 29 years, Kelton Bronson’s weekly routine included infusions and lab work to monitor his bilirubin. This was the standard of living that he has always known. But, last year, signs of organ failure began appearing. The surefire signal of yellowing skin began to reflect the changing numbers in his blood work. His bilirubin spiked from a 19 to a 30, indicating that there was a significant change in the liver’s ability to function. As of last week, that number had increased to 54.
Despite showing jaundice and having his weekly test results come back high for bilirubin Kelton Bronson tried to complete his scheduled shifts with the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Department, where he has spent the past three years on patrol, and two years prior to that as a corrections officer.
Concerned for his health, Kelton Bronson’s coworkers gave him a hard time about being at work, and tried to convince him to go home. But, Kelton Bronson is stubborn and completed his last shift on Sunday, Feb. 3, before his condition worsened. On Tuesday, Feb. 5, Kelton Bronson was taken to the emergency department locally. From there, he was transferred to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Kelton Bronson was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, which was shocking considering his alcohol-free/smoke-free lifestyle as well as his physical fitness. His liver is in end-stage failure, and his sole hope for survival relies on the willingness of a stranger to have their organs donated after death. A partial donation from a living donor won’t fulfill the need, this time.
The reason that the partial liver transplant was successful initially is due to the size and need in Kelton Bronson’s infancy. Height and weight play into the factors that determine whether a liver will be suitable, as an adult even of slender build it is unlikely that a portion of a liver, as given in a living donor transplant, would be able to function at the level needed for Kelton Bronson’s survival.
Kelton Bronson was accepted on the transplant list and remains at or near the top at the University of Utah Hospital, the urgency and ranking for each patient is constantly reassessed.
According to a 2017 Millman report, the national average wait for a liver transplant is 239 days. He has been placed on the list with other high risk patients at the 33 transplant centers throughout Region 5, which includes Utah, Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network there are currently 2,828 people registered on the organ transplant list for a liver in this region.
To date, there have been eight liver transplants performed in Utah in 2019.
Until an eligible liver is found, Kelton Bronson is resting at home.
Along with her normal motherly duties, Kelsee Bronson is adjusting to the rigmarole of administering daily medications for her husband, which she said is out of her wheelhouse. But, she is learning the curve in between the every-other-day visits from a home nurse, who is responsible for taking the blood work for testing.
Kelton Bronson has now added insulin to the routine because with his liver failing he has developed diabetes. He is also taking supplemental magnesium which is to help ease some of the “brain fog” that is associated with a surplus of ammonia in the brain, which happens when the liver is unable to filter the toxins from the blood. The build up of these toxins staying in the bloodstream can affect the nervous system and cause a loss of brain function, according the Medline Plus. This can lead to hepatic encephalopathy if untreated.
Initially Kelton Bronson was struggling with short-term memory loss and brain fog that made him forget entire procedures. Kelsee Bronson spoke about the day that 27 vials of blood had to be taken and Kelton Bronson had virtually no memory of the procedure.
For now, the forgetfulness has subsided. Since starting a medication his clarity has returned, but ultimately Kelton Bronson reports experiencing symptoms of fatigue including feeling chronically tired and occasionally dizzy. This is aggravated if he concentrates too much on the TV or focuses on one thing too much.
Kelton Bronson is also currently maintaining nutrition through a feeding tube, and is also reliant upon antibiotics to keep his immune system in balance.
Kelsee Bronson said that she is grateful to have Kelton Bronson home where they can live as normally as possible given the circumstances. “They felt comfortable enough that he could be in his own home, which is good,” Kelsee Bronson said, “Just managing his medications and stuff, it’s overwhelming.”
Kelton Bronson’s humor and ability to find the upside has helped keep their spirits high. Kelsee Bronson said, “Kelton’s sense of humor has really helped, it would be easy to get down and depressed. It’s hard to be down when you’re around him.”
“Even when Kelton Bronson is constantly getting pricked by needles and having procedure after procedure, he never complains. He rarely shares his pain level and still tries to make everyone around him laugh.” wrote Kylie Bronson, an older sister, on a GoFundMe page for fundraising.
Kelton Bronson has always loved to entertain and keep his friends and family laughing, he even posted silly youtube videos on his channel. He hopes that the transplant will give him the ability to be the high energy, fun-loving husband and father that he has always been.
The Bronson children seem to be enjoying visitors, and attention, but have a limited understanding of what is happening. Kelsee Bronson said, “I think they are doing alright, they are still pretty little. They know something is going on but they aren’t quite old enough to really understand it.”
The Bronsons have felt the support of friends, family and coworkers. The Sheriff’s Department has been a strong presence ever since Kelton Bronson was hospitalized. “They’ve been really great, and we have really great family support as well,” said Kelsee Bronson, who has felt overwhelmed by the support. “As days go by it’s getting easier. We have felt comfort through all of this. It’s been okay.”
The financial strain of traveling to appointments, the cost for essential medications and equipment along with Kelton Bronson being unable to work adds up quickly, while the family waits for a match. According to transplants.org the cost billed for a liver transplant is approximately $812,500, with a typical 20 percent patient co-pay of $162,500.
According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, anti-rejection medications can run thousands of dollars per month which is factored into the financial assessment which is considered for recipients, and can cause a patient to be disqualified. The purpose is to ensure the best opportunity for success for the organ, since maintenance medications are required for compatibility with sustaining life.
Several transplant recipients have contributed to the Bronson’s gofundme campaign adding comments of support with their donations, to a fellow patient in need. Many who have heard Kelton Bronson’s story have been quick to give what they can to help keep the Bronson family afloat.
There is an account set up for direct donation through Box Elder Credit Union under Kelton Bronson Medical Fund.
The gofundme page has raised over $10,290 in just 19 days, but a percentage of all funds donated are taken by the company.
There’s also a foundation set up by the hospital through the National Foundation for Transplants, give.transplants.org by searching for Kelton Bronson, tax-deductible donations can also be mailed to National Foundation for Transplants in honor of Kelton Bronson care of NFT Utah Transplant Fund, 5350 Poplar Avenue, Suite 850, Memphis, TN 38119. Write “in honor of Kelton Bronson Bronson” on the memo line.
While financial concerns may loom in the future, the current focus for all friends and family of the Bronsons is giving Kelton the best chance for a healthy life again, keeping him healthy enough to wait out a donor liver match.
A blog post tracking Kelton Bronson’s medical journey expressed clearly the desires from a family of faith, it said, “We hope everyone can continue to pray for Kelton but also the future donor. We know that the future donor will be recently deceased so we want to pray for their family during their time of [loss] when Kelton is getting another chance at life.”
Upcoming activities for Transcontinental Railroad Sesquicentennial
All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. For more information detailing the events, visit www.spike150.org.
Saturday, Feb. 16
Historian set to speak on Transcontinental Railroad photograph
Martha A. Sandweiss, a professor of history at Princeton University, will discuss “Discovering History Through a Photograph” at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, at 11 a.m.
Drawing with photographs
Drawing with photographs will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City at 11:30 a.m. Limited seating, based on first come first serve.
Tuesday, Feb. 19
Lecture set to discuss Pullman Porters
In a lecture titled, “Whistle Stop Tour: Pullman Porters,” Debra Daniels and Maurice Bowens Jr. will discuss significance of the Pullman Porters, former slaves who were hired to work on the railroads’ sleeper cars, from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Weber County Library.
For more information, call 801-626-6337, or email ssingh@weber.edu.
Friday, March 1
Featured photographs
An exhibit of photographs of the 1919 Golden Spike parade in Ogden will be on display at the Weber State University Library until Tuesday, April 30, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Wednesday, March 6
Promontory perspectives discussion
A lecture titled, “Promontory Perspectives: A Faculty Conversation,” will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts at 7 p.m. University of Utah faculty will give presentations about the significance of joining the transcontinental railroad.
Thursday, March 7
“Building the Rails” lecture series continues
Utah State University Extension will host a lecture on ‘Building the Rails – Engineering and Construction’ from 7 to 8 p.m. at Utah State University-Brigham City Campus, 989 S. Main Street, in the auditorium. The event will be broadcast to the USU-Tremonton Campus, 420 W. 600 North, as well as on Aggie Cast at aggiecast.usu.edu.
For more information, visit www.brighamcity.usu.edu/goldenspike.
Monday, March 11
“Ogden Became Junction City” lecture
A lecture titled, “How Ogden Became the Junction City and Why Salt Lake never forgave us,” will be held at Weber State University’s Hurst Center for Lifelong Learning, from 7 to 9 p.m. Val Holley will provide insight into the train coming to Ogden and the impact the railroad had from 1869 to 1900.
“How Ogden became the Junction City and why Salt Lake never forgave us”
Val Holley will share stories and insight into the train coming to Ogden and the impact the railroad had from 1869 to 1900, at Weber State University’s Hurst Center for Lifelong Learning, from 7 to 9 p.m.
For more information, call 801-626-6348, or email melissasmith9@weber.edu.
Tuesday, March 12
“Ogden Became Junction City” lecture
A second lecture titled, “How Ogden Became the Junction City and Why Salt Lake never forgave us,” will be held at Southwest Branch Library in Roy, from 7 to 9 p.m. Val Holley will provide insight into the train coming to Ogden and the impact the railroad had from 1869 to 1900.
Wednesday, March 13
“Iron ladies of the American Railroad” lecture set
A lecture titled, “Iron ladies of the American Railroad,” will be held at the Weber County Library Southwest Branch at 7 p.m. Sarah Singh, Weber State University’s special collections curator, and Holly Andrew, Union Station Museum and program director, will discuss the hard-working women who entered the world of railroading as clerks, laundresses, engineers and more.
Tuesday, March 19
“Iron ladies of the American Railroad” lecture set
A lecture titled, “Iron ladies of the American Railroad” will be held at the Weber County Library Southwest Branch at 7 p.m. Sarah Singh, Weber State University’s special collections curator, and Holly Andrew, Union Station Museum and program director, will discuss the hard-working women who entered the world of railroading as clerks, laundresses, engineers and more.
Wednesday, March 20
Railroad stories: community voices and regional perspectives
A lecture titled, “Railroad Stories: Community Voices and Regional Perspectives” will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City, at 6:30 p.m. The lecture will explore the railroad’s impact on families and towns
Friday, March 22
Exhibit to feature legacy and impact of railroad
Artwork from more than 30 Utah artists will examine the legacy and impact of the Transcontinental Railroad in an exhibit at the Museums of Rio Gallery in Salt Lake City, until Friday, June 14, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Saturday, March 23
Railroad’s 150-year exhibition opens
The Brigham City Museum of Art and History, 24 N. 300 West, will feature an exhibition of the 150 years of the railroad until Saturday, June 15.
Zhi Lin: Tracing Chinese Workers’ Footsteps to Promontory Summit
The Brigham City Museum of Art and History, 24 N. 300 West, will feature an exhibition of art that explores the lost experiences of Chinese railroad workers. The exhibit will be open until Saturday, June 15.
Thursday, March 28
Discussing the train coming to Ogden
A discussion based on “The Train Comes to Ogden” will be held at the Weber County Library Ogden Valley Branch, in Huntsville, will be held at 7 p.m. Former Standard-Examiner columnist Charles Trentleman will discuss the impact of the railroad, expanding Ogden.
Wednesday, April 10
Lecture on impact of photographer for the railroad
A lecture will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City at 7 p.m. The lecture will discuss the career of photographer Charles Roscoe Savage and the global reach of the local motifs he captured.
Thursday, April 11
“Building the Rails” lecture set
Utah State University Extension will host a lecture on “Building the Rails – The People/Key Players”’ from 7 to 8 p.m. at Utah State University-Brigham City Campus, 989 S. Main Street, in the auditorium. The event will be broadcast to the USU-Tremonton Campus, 420 W. 600 North, as well as on Aggie Cast at aggiecast.usu.edu.
For more information, visit www.brighamcity.usu.edu/goldenspike.
Wednesday, April 24
Lecture on Japanese railroad workers, establishing lives in U.S.
A lecture will be held at the North Branch Library in Ogden from 7 to 9 p.m. Judge Raymond Uno and Lorraine Crouse will discuss the Japanese men who came to help build the railroad and settling in America.
Thursday, May 2
All-aboard the AgeWise Express event
All-aboard the AgeWise Express event will be held at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center in Ogden from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for senior citizens. Registration is $20.
The event will include presentations, performances and displays that will allow event-goers to learn about local railroad history, its legacy and impact on the culture and people in Utah.
For more information or to register, call 801-399-8393 or email wcofe@weberhs.org.
“Why Promontory” lecture set
Utah State University Extension will host a lecture on “Why Promontory – The Joining of the Rails” from 7 to 8 p.m. at Utah State University-Brigham City Campus, 989 S. Main Street, in the auditorium. The event will be broadcast to the USU-Tremonton Campus, 420 W. 600 North, as well as on Aggie Cast at aggiecast.usu.edu.
For more information, visit www.brighamcity.usu.edu/goldenspike.
Saturday, May 4
Golden Spike opening ceremonies
The Golden Spike Sesquicentennial opening ceremonies will be held on Brigham City Main Street from 1 to 2 p.m. and will include a horse parade and showcase authentic dresses and equipment from 1869. A hoedown will then be held at 6 p.m. at the Box Elder County Fairgrounds, 320 N. 1000 West, Tremonton.
For more information, call 435-734-3315 or email tourism@boxelder.org.
Tuesday, May 7
Lecture to discuss Chinese migrants and railroad
A lecture titled, “Chinese Migrants and the Transcontinental Railroad,” will be held at the Union Station in Ogden from 6 to 8 p.m. Shelley Fishkin, a professor of English at Stanford University, will discuss how the Chinese workers labor helped to build the railroad.
Tuesday-Thursday, 7-9
Theatre performance set
“The Crossing: Box Elder’s Golden Treasure” will be held at the Old Barn Community Theater, 3605 Bigler Road, Collinston, Utah, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7, and Wednesday, May 8, and at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 9. Tickets are not required.
The performance will highlight the history of the railroad, the crossing at Hampton Ford, Native American life, stagecoach travel and the Bushnell General Military Hospital.
Wednesday, May 8
“Working on the Railroad” lecture set
A lecture titled, “Working on the Railroad: Chinese Workers and America’s First Transcontinental Line” will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City at 7 p.m. Gordon H. Chang, a professor at Stanford University, will discuss the most documented account of the Chinese workers’ history of completing the railroad.
Thursday, May 9
Family locomotive celebration
The Treehouse Children’s Museum in Ogden will host a family locomotive celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets will be available beginning April 1, and will be $10 per person or free for Treehouse members.
For more information, call 801-394-9663 or email treehouse@treehousemuseum.org.
Friday, May 10
Celebration ceremony broadcast
The 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike will be held at the Golden Spike National Historic Site, 6200 N. 22300 Street West, Corinne, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a broadcast on KSL, channel 5.
To attend the ceremony in-person, (when made available) tickets are available at www.spike150.org.
“Rails and Ales” lecture set
A lecture titled, “Rails and Ales: Hell on Wheels” will be held at the Union Grill in Ogden from 7 to 9 p.m. The guest speaker will be Dick Kreck, the author of “Hell on Wheels: Wicked Towns along the Union Pacific Railroad.”
Friday-Sunday, May 10-11
Spike 150 sesquicentennial celebration festival
The 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike will be held at the Golden Spike National Historic Site, 6200 N. 22300 Street West, Corinne, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event will include several kinds of interactive exhibits.
Tickets can be ordered at www.spike150.org.
All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. For more information detailing the events, visit www.spike150.org.
Saturday, Feb. 16
Historian set to speak on Transcontinental Railroad photograph
Martha A. Sandweiss, a professor of history at Princeton University, will discuss “Discovering History Through a Photograph” at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, at 11 a.m.
Drawing with photographs
Drawing with photographs will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City at 11:30 a.m. Limited seating, based on first come first serve.
Tuesday, Feb. 19
Lecture set to discuss Pullman Porters
In a lecture titled, “Whistle Stop Tour: Pullman Porters,” Debra Daniels and Maurice Bowens Jr. will discuss significance of the Pullman Porters, former slaves who were hired to work on the railroads’ sleeper cars, from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Weber County Library.
For more information, call 801-626-6337, or email ssingh@weber.edu.
Friday, March 1
Featured photographs
An exhibit of photographs of the 1919 Golden Spike parade in Ogden will be on display at the Weber State University Library until Tuesday, April 30, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Wednesday, March 6
Promontory perspectives discussion
A lecture titled, “Promontory Perspectives: A Faculty Conversation,” will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts at 7 p.m. University of Utah faculty will give presentations about the significance of joining the transcontinental railroad.
Thursday, March 7
“Building the Rails” lecture series continues
Utah State University Extension will host a lecture on ‘Building the Rails – Engineering and Construction’ from 7 to 8 p.m. at Utah State University-Brigham City Campus, 989 S. Main Street, in the auditorium. The event will be broadcast to the USU-Tremonton Campus, 420 W. 600 North, as well as on Aggie Cast at aggiecast.usu.edu.
For more information, visit www.brighamcity.usu.edu/goldenspike.
Monday, March 11
“Ogden Became Junction City” lecture
A lecture titled, “How Ogden Became the Junction City and Why Salt Lake never forgave us,” will be held at Weber State University’s Hurst Center for Lifelong Learning, from 7 to 9 p.m. Val Holley will provide insight into the train coming to Ogden and the impact the railroad had from 1869 to 1900.
“How Ogden became the Junction City and why Salt Lake never forgave us”
Val Holley will share stories and insight into the train coming to Ogden and the impact the railroad had from 1869 to 1900, at Weber State University’s Hurst Center for Lifelong Learning, from 7 to 9 p.m.
For more information, call 801-626-6348, or email melissasmith9@weber.edu.
Tuesday, March 12
“Ogden Became Junction City” lecture
A second lecture titled, “How Ogden Became the Junction City and Why Salt Lake never forgave us,” will be held at Southwest Branch Library in Roy, from 7 to 9 p.m. Val Holley will provide insight into the train coming to Ogden and the impact the railroad had from 1869 to 1900.
Wednesday, March 13
“Iron ladies of the American Railroad” lecture set
A lecture titled, “Iron ladies of the American Railroad,” will be held at the Weber County Library Southwest Branch at 7 p.m. Sarah Singh, Weber State University’s special collections curator, and Holly Andrew, Union Station Museum and program director, will discuss the hard-working women who entered the world of railroading as clerks, laundresses, engineers and more.
Tuesday, March 19
“Iron ladies of the American Railroad” lecture set
A lecture titled, “Iron ladies of the American Railroad” will be held at the Weber County Library Southwest Branch at 7 p.m. Sarah Singh, Weber State University’s special collections curator, and Holly Andrew, Union Station Museum and program director, will discuss the hard-working women who entered the world of railroading as clerks, laundresses, engineers and more.
Wednesday, March 20
Railroad stories: community voices and regional perspectives
A lecture titled, “Railroad Stories: Community Voices and Regional Perspectives” will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City, at 6:30 p.m. The lecture will explore the railroad’s impact on families and towns
Friday, March 22
Exhibit to feature legacy and impact of railroad
Artwork from more than 30 Utah artists will examine the legacy and impact of the Transcontinental Railroad in an exhibit at the Museums of Rio Gallery in Salt Lake City, until Friday, June 14, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Saturday, March 23
Railroad’s 150-year exhibition opens
The Brigham City Museum of Art and History, 24 N. 300 West, will feature an exhibition of the 150 years of the railroad until Saturday, June 15.
Zhi Lin: Tracing Chinese Workers’ Footsteps to Promontory Summit
The Brigham City Museum of Art and History, 24 N. 300 West, will feature an exhibition of art that explores the lost experiences of Chinese railroad workers. The exhibit will be open until Saturday, June 15.
Thursday, March 28
Discussing the train coming to Ogden
A discussion based on “The Train Comes to Ogden” will be held at the Weber County Library Ogden Valley Branch, in Huntsville, will be held at 7 p.m. Former Standard-Examiner columnist Charles Trentleman will discuss the impact of the railroad, expanding Ogden.
Wednesday, April 10
Lecture on impact of photographer for the railroad
A lecture will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City at 7 p.m. The lecture will discuss the career of photographer Charles Roscoe Savage and the global reach of the local motifs he captured.
Thursday, April 11
“Building the Rails” lecture set
Utah State University Extension will host a lecture on “Building the Rails – The People/Key Players”’ from 7 to 8 p.m. at Utah State University-Brigham City Campus, 989 S. Main Street, in the auditorium. The event will be broadcast to the USU-Tremonton Campus, 420 W. 600 North, as well as on Aggie Cast at aggiecast.usu.edu.
For more information, visit www.brighamcity.usu.edu/goldenspike.
Wednesday, April 24
Lecture on Japanese railroad workers, establishing lives in U.S.
A lecture will be held at the North Branch Library in Ogden from 7 to 9 p.m. Judge Raymond Uno and Lorraine Crouse will discuss the Japanese men who came to help build the railroad and settling in America.
Thursday, May 2
All-aboard the AgeWise Express event
All-aboard the AgeWise Express event will be held at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center in Ogden from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for senior citizens. Registration is $20.
The event will include presentations, performances and displays that will allow event-goers to learn about local railroad history, its legacy and impact on the culture and people in Utah.
For more information or to register, call 801-399-8393 or email wcofe@weberhs.org.
“Why Promontory” lecture set
Utah State University Extension will host a lecture on “Why Promontory – The Joining of the Rails” from 7 to 8 p.m. at Utah State University-Brigham City Campus, 989 S. Main Street, in the auditorium. The event will be broadcast to the USU-Tremonton Campus, 420 W. 600 North, as well as on Aggie Cast at aggiecast.usu.edu.
For more information, visit www.brighamcity.usu.edu/goldenspike.
Saturday, May 4
Golden Spike opening ceremonies
The Golden Spike Sesquicentennial opening ceremonies will be held on Brigham City Main Street from 1 to 2 p.m. and will include a horse parade and showcase authentic dresses and equipment from 1869. A hoedown will then be held at 6 p.m. at the Box Elder County Fairgrounds, 320 N. 1000 West, Tremonton.
For more information, call 435-734-3315 or email tourism@boxelder.org.
Tuesday, May 7
Lecture to discuss Chinese migrants and railroad
A lecture titled, “Chinese Migrants and the Transcontinental Railroad,” will be held at the Union Station in Ogden from 6 to 8 p.m. Shelley Fishkin, a professor of English at Stanford University, will discuss how the Chinese workers labor helped to build the railroad.
Tuesday-Thursday, 7-9
Theatre performance set
“The Crossing: Box Elder’s Golden Treasure” will be held at the Old Barn Community Theater, 3605 Bigler Road, Collinston, Utah, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7, and Wednesday, May 8, and at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 9. Tickets are not required.
The performance will highlight the history of the railroad, the crossing at Hampton Ford, Native American life, stagecoach travel and the Bushnell General Military Hospital.
Wednesday, May 8
“Working on the Railroad” lecture set
A lecture titled, “Working on the Railroad: Chinese Workers and America’s First Transcontinental Line” will be held at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City at 7 p.m. Gordon H. Chang, a professor at Stanford University, will discuss the most documented account of the Chinese workers’ history of completing the railroad.
Thursday, May 9
Family locomotive celebration
The Treehouse Children’s Museum in Ogden will host a family locomotive celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets will be available beginning April 1, and will be $10 per person or free for Treehouse members.
For more information, call 801-394-9663 or email treehouse@treehousemuseum.org.
Friday, May 10
Celebration ceremony broadcast
The 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike will be held at the Golden Spike National Historic Site, 6200 N. 22300 Street West, Corinne, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a broadcast on KSL, channel 5.
To attend the ceremony in-person, (when made available) tickets are available at www.spike150.org.
“Rails and Ales” lecture set
A lecture titled, “Rails and Ales: Hell on Wheels” will be held at the Union Grill in Ogden from 7 to 9 p.m. The guest speaker will be Dick Kreck, the author of “Hell on Wheels: Wicked Towns along the Union Pacific Railroad.”
Friday-Sunday, May 10-11
Spike 150 sesquicentennial celebration festival
The 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike will be held at the Golden Spike National Historic Site, 6200 N. 22300 Street West, Corinne, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event will include several kinds of interactive exhibits.
Tickets can be ordered at www.spike150.org.
Dance the night away
Couples hit the dance floor at the Academy Center for the Transcontinental railroad sesquicentennial ball held on Saturday in Brigham City.
A ‘Winter Ball’ for railroad’s sesquicentennial
January 30, 2018 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
Brigham City Recreation and Box Elder County Tourism teamed up to celebrate the third annual Winter Ball along with kicking off the first of many events around the state that will focus on the 150-year anniversary of the Golden Spike.
“We wanted everything trains. Bringing in the old and the new,” said Joan Hammer, the tourism director of Box Elder County. “The glitz and the antique. Just making it fun for our community.”
With a live jazz band and party-goers dancing the night away on the dance floor, some dressed in formal ball gowns, their Sunday best and others, in vintage dresses.
Working with Mayor Vincent to promote community members to be “back in the parks and the venues,” Kristy Woolford, the city’s community activities director said events like the Winter Ball are a great way to do just that.
“I think we’ve lost track of how we view entertainment,” Woolford said. “We’re a lot more hooked to our phones and our media; and to get back in touch with social events where you can sit across a table and meet a new friend or dance with a bunch of people you haven’t met before is what we’re pushing for.”
Although ticket sales weren’t as high as Woolford has seen in previous years, she said the event turned out well and was a great way to kick-off the 150-year anniversary of the Golden Spike.
Brigham City residents and good friends, Annette and Brad Barber and Richard and Jill Grover said this was their first time attending the Ball and they enjoyed it.
“I loved the music,” Annette Barber said.
“The band was really good and just being here with friends,” Richard Grover said.
“Yeah, just being together is what made it fun,” Brad Barber said. “I think they ought to continue to do it.”
And for Jill Grover, it was more than just the music and good company, it was a feeling she couldn’t explain.
“It’s just a special feeling in here and I don’t know if it’s historic or what, but everyone’s in there on their best behavior and in their Sunday best,” Jill Grover said.
A series of events celebrating the transcontinental railroad will be held throughout the coming months in Box Elder County and around the state. A list of events will be listed in the News Journal on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
A ‘Winter Ball’ for railroad’s sesquicentennial
January 30, 2018 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
Brigham City Recreation and Box Elder County Tourism teamed up to celebrate the third annual Winter Ball along with kicking off the first of many events around the state that will focus on the 150-year anniversary of the Golden Spike.
“We wanted everything trains. Bringing in the old and the new,” said Joan Hammer, the tourism director of Box Elder County. “The glitz and the antique. Just making it fun for our community.”
With a live jazz band and party-goers dancing the night away on the dance floor, some dressed in formal ball gowns, their Sunday best and others, in vintage dresses.
Working with Mayor Vincent to promote community members to be “back in the parks and the venues,” Kristy Woolford, the city’s community activities director said events like the Winter Ball are a great way to do just that.
“I think we’ve lost track of how we view entertainment,” Woolford said. “We’re a lot more hooked to our phones and our media; and to get back in touch with social events where you can sit across a table and meet a new friend or dance with a bunch of people you haven’t met before is what we’re pushing for.”
Although ticket sales weren’t as high as Woolford has seen in previous years, she said the event turned out well and was a great way to kick-off the 150-year anniversary of the Golden Spike.
Brigham City residents and good friends, Annette and Brad Barber and Richard and Jill Grover said this was their first time attending the Ball and they enjoyed it.
“I loved the music,” Annette Barber said.
“The band was really good and just being here with friends,” Richard Grover said.
“Yeah, just being together is what made it fun,” Brad Barber said. “I think they ought to continue to do it.”
And for Jill Grover, it was more than just the music and good company, it was a feeling she couldn’t explain.
“It’s just a special feeling in here and I don’t know if it’s historic or what, but everyone’s in there on their best behavior and in their Sunday best,” Jill Grover said.
A series of events celebrating the transcontinental railroad will be held throughout the coming months in Box Elder County and around the state. A list of events will be listed in the News Journal on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
Brigham City Women’s Club officers and board members are (front) Beth Allen, corresponding secretary; Lynette Thomas, recording secretary, Margaret Pounder, president-elect; Yasmin Freed, president; (back) Sarah Yates, Mary Ellen Bischoff, Ardith Levinthal, board members; Carol Holman, GFWC state officert; Val Vellinga, treasurer; Marianne Breitenbeker, Oleta Hunter, board members, Joan Kimber, parliamentarian; Dora Hobbs, board member. Missing from the photo is Jacque Dinsmoor, vice president.
Two organizations unite to form new club
January 23, 2019 • Sarah Yates • Guest writer
Brigham City Women’s Club, recently created by combining two local century-old-plus women’s clubs, held its first official meeting on Thursday, January 10, at the Brigham City Community Center — a fitting location since both clubs were part of the community wide effort to build and equip the center dedicated in 1970.
Civic Improvement Club and Ladies Community Club board members began meeting together last spring with the goal of uniting the two local clubs into one larger and more effective organization. Both clubs have been affiliated with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs almost since their founding and shared GFWC goals of service, so their aims, bylaws and projects were similar in nature.
For example, both clubs followed the pattern of meetings focused on GFWC areas of study and service: fine arts, conservation, education, home life, international affairs and public issues. They often supported the same projects and co-sponsored such events as the annual Candidates Meeting.
The clubs met together socially for the Civic Improvement Club’s garden tea in June and then again in August for Ladies Community Club’s summer social, then in joint regular club meetings starting in September. A board was formed by alternating current officers and board members of the two clubs for installation in December.
Yasmin Freed, Civic Improvement Club president, was elected Brigham City Women’s Club president for 2019, with Margaret Pounder, Ladies Community Club president-elect, taking on that office for the newly formed club. Breaking away from program years beginning in September, Brigham City Women’s Club will operate on a calendar year with two-year terms of office starting in 2020.
As for programs and activities, each club dropped some of its traditional events and each club picked up some of the other group’s events and projects. The new club will continue goals and values of their original founders, and will celebrate their histories as the first two independent women’s clubs in the community.
Civic Improvement Club
After the first successful Peach Days celebration of 1904, local business men formed the Commercial Club to follow through on holding the event annually.
This forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution on February 13, 1906, as a Valentine’s Day gesture encouraging their “wives and sweethearts” to form an auxiliary with the purpose of encouraging local women to shop at home. A committee was formed and 13 ladies gathered to discuss the proposal. They liked the idea of an organization, but expressed doubts as to being just an auxiliary.
The local newspaper noted the committee had been hard at work making a house-to-house canvass in the homes of Commercial Club members to invite ladies to “a little social function” in the clubrooms on March 22, 1906. The next week’s edition reported that about 40 ladies had launched a ladies auxiliary.
This quickly blossomed into Civic Improvement Club, the first independent women’s organization in Brigham City, and it set about immediately doing civic improvement. With Mrs. Nels (Minnie) Jensen as president, the club’s first endeavor was to get cows off Main Street, clean it up, and interest people in keeping it clean. The following year, the club joined the Utah Federation of Women’s Clubs.
Civic Club -- as it was often designated -- played a large social role in the community. Within a couple of years they initiated the “Civic Ball”, an annual highlight of the social season, as well as the club’s main fundraiser.
But it was a continuing focus on community health and safety, plus a clean and attractive city which captured the most enthusiasm.
In 1914, a time when many city families still had cows and livestock on their property, outhouses were not uncommon, no garbage pickup, and flies were everywhere. The club promoted a citywide fly eradication program. This included eradication of fly breeding places, emphasis on city sanitation, plus weekly fly collection...which was wildly popular.
Local children were paid for each 100 flies collected, with a bonus free movie ticket. Kids lined up with jars and bags and tin cans full of flies. They used their ingenuity to create bigger and better fly traps, baited with everything from honey to fresh manure.
Civic Improvement Club’s first decade ended on a sad note, as 1916-1918 brought both World War I and the Spanish Flu epidemic. Club activities were suspended, refreshments eliminated, and extra effort directed to the Red Cross. Ladies gathered to knit scarves, stockings and bandages for the boys “over there”.
The club held its meetings in the homes of members except for special events. In 1920 they received an invitation to meet in the new Commercial Club rooms on the third floor of the First National Bank, accessible by an elevator.
This was great for the ladies, but it was also a boon for the Commercial Club. That first year the ladies bought new curtains for the club rooms and subsequent improvements included new drapes, kitchen remodeling including a new stove and double sink, plus adding various furnishings during the next 20 years.
Community health remained a concern of the club, which prepared maternity bundles, promoted hiring a school nurse, donated to the milk fund for Central and Lincoln schools and gave funds for the city playground.
As a new fundraiser, in 1926-27 the club held a home show. A newly remodeled house was furnished and the public invited to visit. It was a custom revived in the 1970s on a larger scale with several homes.
During the Depression, child nutrition remained a critical need: the school milk program was extended to include the junior high, the club supported health programs, donated to welfare projects, and funds were used to buy coal for needy families.
City cleanup and beautification programs were sponsored, prizes given for local gardens and flowers, blue spruce trees planted at Lincoln and Central schools, and a lilac hedge planted around the cemetery—a lasting legacy.
The club always sponsored a float in the Peach Days Parade, built by members through the years. Float costs ran into the double digits sometimes--like 13 dollars--all for materials since the work was all volunteer. In recent years, a commercial float has been rented, and the club continues to win sweepstakes.
Civic Improvement Club joined with the entire community early 1942 as Bushnell General Army Hospital opened and war wounded were brought in by the train car load.
Club meetings moved to evening as members responded to calls for workers in canneries, defense industries, the Army hospital, teaching school, volunteering with Red Cross and USO, welcoming families of patients into their homes, and taking over family responsibilities.
Club meetings moved to the War Memorial Home in 1951-52 and community projects continued.The club sponsored AFS students, Girls State delegates, Hugh O’Brian leadership awards, and scholarships.In 1968 it established the “Gracious Womanhood Award” at Box Elder High School, still among the four top awards, with its name changed to Civic Young Woman Award, which includes a scholarship.“Fly the Flag” was a project begun in the early 1960s. By 1964 the number of flags sold to the community had grown to 800.
Efforts were often in cooperation with other organizations, helping at “KO Polio” clinics, assisting the new YWCA furnish its building, and restoration of the Historic Depot. The club took on recycling as a project in 1991-92. Every other Saturday volunteers was on hand at the city shops to assist local residents. Hands-on projects have included hospital gowns for Operation Smile and hand puppets for the Fine Arts Center in recent years.
A Holiday Home Show was begun in 1971, and has continued to the present, as have the projects it has funded: books for the new ACYI school library, trees for the cemetery, tables for the Community Center, refurbishing the baby grand piano at Box Elder High School, etc.
Ladies Community Club
Ladies Community Club was originally named Kindergarten Club, born of an effort to foster public kindergarten in Brigham City. A 1915 newspaper story notes that Kindergarten Club held a meeting in the Presbyterian chapel to discuss bylaws for the new club, which was officially organized on October 7, 1915, with Mrs. H. C. Day as president. Almost immediately, it affiliated with the GFWC.
Programs were child-focused, including a Baby Week when mothers could bring babies for a free medical examination, speakers on pre-school education, exhibits of homemade toys, and sponsorship of school programs.
Playground Park was a result of a 1916 community-wide effort coordinated by the club, with a 1916 newspaper article noting, “..the barren square east of the courthouse is transformed into a beautiful park and playground.”
Club members joined in war efforts, plus relief programs during the Depression, especially child-centered health and nutrition projects. As another war brought the military hospital to the city, club members volunteered as individuals and in club efforts.
The child-centered focus continued through the years, with support of the children’s library, school books, trees in parks, and playground equipment, including a locomotive-shaped play structure at John Adams Park, and up to the present with a donation in 2018 for the splash pad in the same location.
The club’s longest-lasting project has been the Junior Peach Queen Pageant for five-year-old girls, which began in 1951 and continues to the present, with families now into a fourth generation of dressed-up little girls riding in the parade. For many years the club also organized the children’s parade.
A fundraising project that began in the late 1950s to about 1980 was a community calendar listing birthdays of subscribers.
By 1960, the Kindergarten Club name was confusing to some and the club’s goal of public kindergarten had been met. A former president related one humorous misunderstanding: the club invited an out-of-town expert on early childhood education to speak and she showed up with a flannelboard and little figures, all ready to address a group of five-year-olds!
The club’s name was officially changed to Ladies Community Club on August 13, 1960. During this period, the club met at the War Memorial Home, then was one of the many organizations who donated toward the Community Center, where the club met monthly after its completion in 1970. The club donated a piano to the center, one still in use for events.
Brigham City’s downtown had about ten clothing stores in the 1960s and 1970s, and for over ten years the club sponsored a spring fashion show with outfits modeled from each of the stores. This was a popular spring social highlight as well as a good fundraiser.
Community projects, still often youth-focused, continued through the years. In the mid-1980s, the club designed and ordered fringed jacquard-knit throws depicting the Box Elder County courthouse at the center and county scenes around the edges, a highly successful fundraiser that continued many years.
This helped fund recent club projects which can be seen throughout the city, such as the aeration fountains in the Pioneer Park Pond, benches at bus stops, a park fountain, and more. Hands-on projects included “no-no” bands for Operation Smile and “Burp and Book” kits for newborns at the local hospital.
For both clubs, there was always a social aspect: a time for women to get away from home, a time to gather over refreshments, to visit with one another, to build friendships, to share ideas and to work together on projects.
Brigham City Women’s Club plans to continue the legacy of its foremothers, the stalwart ladies who formed the two original organizations, as well as the spirit of service, hospitality and friendship.
It’s well-said in the new club’s mission statement: “The purpose of this club shall be to promote the moral, social and intellectual culture of its members and to promote the general prosperity and social welfare of the people of the community.”
January 23, 2019 • Sarah Yates • Guest writer
Brigham City Women’s Club, recently created by combining two local century-old-plus women’s clubs, held its first official meeting on Thursday, January 10, at the Brigham City Community Center — a fitting location since both clubs were part of the community wide effort to build and equip the center dedicated in 1970.
Civic Improvement Club and Ladies Community Club board members began meeting together last spring with the goal of uniting the two local clubs into one larger and more effective organization. Both clubs have been affiliated with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs almost since their founding and shared GFWC goals of service, so their aims, bylaws and projects were similar in nature.
For example, both clubs followed the pattern of meetings focused on GFWC areas of study and service: fine arts, conservation, education, home life, international affairs and public issues. They often supported the same projects and co-sponsored such events as the annual Candidates Meeting.
The clubs met together socially for the Civic Improvement Club’s garden tea in June and then again in August for Ladies Community Club’s summer social, then in joint regular club meetings starting in September. A board was formed by alternating current officers and board members of the two clubs for installation in December.
Yasmin Freed, Civic Improvement Club president, was elected Brigham City Women’s Club president for 2019, with Margaret Pounder, Ladies Community Club president-elect, taking on that office for the newly formed club. Breaking away from program years beginning in September, Brigham City Women’s Club will operate on a calendar year with two-year terms of office starting in 2020.
As for programs and activities, each club dropped some of its traditional events and each club picked up some of the other group’s events and projects. The new club will continue goals and values of their original founders, and will celebrate their histories as the first two independent women’s clubs in the community.
Civic Improvement Club
After the first successful Peach Days celebration of 1904, local business men formed the Commercial Club to follow through on holding the event annually.
This forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution on February 13, 1906, as a Valentine’s Day gesture encouraging their “wives and sweethearts” to form an auxiliary with the purpose of encouraging local women to shop at home. A committee was formed and 13 ladies gathered to discuss the proposal. They liked the idea of an organization, but expressed doubts as to being just an auxiliary.
The local newspaper noted the committee had been hard at work making a house-to-house canvass in the homes of Commercial Club members to invite ladies to “a little social function” in the clubrooms on March 22, 1906. The next week’s edition reported that about 40 ladies had launched a ladies auxiliary.
This quickly blossomed into Civic Improvement Club, the first independent women’s organization in Brigham City, and it set about immediately doing civic improvement. With Mrs. Nels (Minnie) Jensen as president, the club’s first endeavor was to get cows off Main Street, clean it up, and interest people in keeping it clean. The following year, the club joined the Utah Federation of Women’s Clubs.
Civic Club -- as it was often designated -- played a large social role in the community. Within a couple of years they initiated the “Civic Ball”, an annual highlight of the social season, as well as the club’s main fundraiser.
But it was a continuing focus on community health and safety, plus a clean and attractive city which captured the most enthusiasm.
In 1914, a time when many city families still had cows and livestock on their property, outhouses were not uncommon, no garbage pickup, and flies were everywhere. The club promoted a citywide fly eradication program. This included eradication of fly breeding places, emphasis on city sanitation, plus weekly fly collection...which was wildly popular.
Local children were paid for each 100 flies collected, with a bonus free movie ticket. Kids lined up with jars and bags and tin cans full of flies. They used their ingenuity to create bigger and better fly traps, baited with everything from honey to fresh manure.
Civic Improvement Club’s first decade ended on a sad note, as 1916-1918 brought both World War I and the Spanish Flu epidemic. Club activities were suspended, refreshments eliminated, and extra effort directed to the Red Cross. Ladies gathered to knit scarves, stockings and bandages for the boys “over there”.
The club held its meetings in the homes of members except for special events. In 1920 they received an invitation to meet in the new Commercial Club rooms on the third floor of the First National Bank, accessible by an elevator.
This was great for the ladies, but it was also a boon for the Commercial Club. That first year the ladies bought new curtains for the club rooms and subsequent improvements included new drapes, kitchen remodeling including a new stove and double sink, plus adding various furnishings during the next 20 years.
Community health remained a concern of the club, which prepared maternity bundles, promoted hiring a school nurse, donated to the milk fund for Central and Lincoln schools and gave funds for the city playground.
As a new fundraiser, in 1926-27 the club held a home show. A newly remodeled house was furnished and the public invited to visit. It was a custom revived in the 1970s on a larger scale with several homes.
During the Depression, child nutrition remained a critical need: the school milk program was extended to include the junior high, the club supported health programs, donated to welfare projects, and funds were used to buy coal for needy families.
City cleanup and beautification programs were sponsored, prizes given for local gardens and flowers, blue spruce trees planted at Lincoln and Central schools, and a lilac hedge planted around the cemetery—a lasting legacy.
The club always sponsored a float in the Peach Days Parade, built by members through the years. Float costs ran into the double digits sometimes--like 13 dollars--all for materials since the work was all volunteer. In recent years, a commercial float has been rented, and the club continues to win sweepstakes.
Civic Improvement Club joined with the entire community early 1942 as Bushnell General Army Hospital opened and war wounded were brought in by the train car load.
Club meetings moved to evening as members responded to calls for workers in canneries, defense industries, the Army hospital, teaching school, volunteering with Red Cross and USO, welcoming families of patients into their homes, and taking over family responsibilities.
Club meetings moved to the War Memorial Home in 1951-52 and community projects continued.The club sponsored AFS students, Girls State delegates, Hugh O’Brian leadership awards, and scholarships.In 1968 it established the “Gracious Womanhood Award” at Box Elder High School, still among the four top awards, with its name changed to Civic Young Woman Award, which includes a scholarship.“Fly the Flag” was a project begun in the early 1960s. By 1964 the number of flags sold to the community had grown to 800.
Efforts were often in cooperation with other organizations, helping at “KO Polio” clinics, assisting the new YWCA furnish its building, and restoration of the Historic Depot. The club took on recycling as a project in 1991-92. Every other Saturday volunteers was on hand at the city shops to assist local residents. Hands-on projects have included hospital gowns for Operation Smile and hand puppets for the Fine Arts Center in recent years.
A Holiday Home Show was begun in 1971, and has continued to the present, as have the projects it has funded: books for the new ACYI school library, trees for the cemetery, tables for the Community Center, refurbishing the baby grand piano at Box Elder High School, etc.
Ladies Community Club
Ladies Community Club was originally named Kindergarten Club, born of an effort to foster public kindergarten in Brigham City. A 1915 newspaper story notes that Kindergarten Club held a meeting in the Presbyterian chapel to discuss bylaws for the new club, which was officially organized on October 7, 1915, with Mrs. H. C. Day as president. Almost immediately, it affiliated with the GFWC.
Programs were child-focused, including a Baby Week when mothers could bring babies for a free medical examination, speakers on pre-school education, exhibits of homemade toys, and sponsorship of school programs.
Playground Park was a result of a 1916 community-wide effort coordinated by the club, with a 1916 newspaper article noting, “..the barren square east of the courthouse is transformed into a beautiful park and playground.”
Club members joined in war efforts, plus relief programs during the Depression, especially child-centered health and nutrition projects. As another war brought the military hospital to the city, club members volunteered as individuals and in club efforts.
The child-centered focus continued through the years, with support of the children’s library, school books, trees in parks, and playground equipment, including a locomotive-shaped play structure at John Adams Park, and up to the present with a donation in 2018 for the splash pad in the same location.
The club’s longest-lasting project has been the Junior Peach Queen Pageant for five-year-old girls, which began in 1951 and continues to the present, with families now into a fourth generation of dressed-up little girls riding in the parade. For many years the club also organized the children’s parade.
A fundraising project that began in the late 1950s to about 1980 was a community calendar listing birthdays of subscribers.
By 1960, the Kindergarten Club name was confusing to some and the club’s goal of public kindergarten had been met. A former president related one humorous misunderstanding: the club invited an out-of-town expert on early childhood education to speak and she showed up with a flannelboard and little figures, all ready to address a group of five-year-olds!
The club’s name was officially changed to Ladies Community Club on August 13, 1960. During this period, the club met at the War Memorial Home, then was one of the many organizations who donated toward the Community Center, where the club met monthly after its completion in 1970. The club donated a piano to the center, one still in use for events.
Brigham City’s downtown had about ten clothing stores in the 1960s and 1970s, and for over ten years the club sponsored a spring fashion show with outfits modeled from each of the stores. This was a popular spring social highlight as well as a good fundraiser.
Community projects, still often youth-focused, continued through the years. In the mid-1980s, the club designed and ordered fringed jacquard-knit throws depicting the Box Elder County courthouse at the center and county scenes around the edges, a highly successful fundraiser that continued many years.
This helped fund recent club projects which can be seen throughout the city, such as the aeration fountains in the Pioneer Park Pond, benches at bus stops, a park fountain, and more. Hands-on projects included “no-no” bands for Operation Smile and “Burp and Book” kits for newborns at the local hospital.
For both clubs, there was always a social aspect: a time for women to get away from home, a time to gather over refreshments, to visit with one another, to build friendships, to share ideas and to work together on projects.
Brigham City Women’s Club plans to continue the legacy of its foremothers, the stalwart ladies who formed the two original organizations, as well as the spirit of service, hospitality and friendship.
It’s well-said in the new club’s mission statement: “The purpose of this club shall be to promote the moral, social and intellectual culture of its members and to promote the general prosperity and social welfare of the people of the community.”
Beatles tribute band coming to Fine Arts Center stage
January 9, 2019 • Richard Carr • Staff writer
Strawberry Fields Band, a Beatles Tribute group, is next up on stage in the Brigham City Fine Arts Center’s Music in the City concert series.
The Strawberry Fields Band is a Utah-based ensemble, and should not to be confused with “Strawberry Fields,” a tribute band also making a name for itself in the New York area.
Dave Martin takes the role of John Lennon as lead vocalist and bass player, Bryan Hague is lead guitar and vocalist, and brothers Eric and Jeff Jensen round out the band with Jeff on rhythm guitar and vocals and Eric on drums.
“The Beatles are timeless. Kids of all ages really enjoy the music and vibe they continue to give” said Martin.
For Martin, the venture started six years ago when he organized an annual “Beatlemania” concert while working as a high school choir director. He brought a few musician friends in to back up the choir group and it was very successful. Three years ago, drummer Jay Lawrence invited him to help put together a full-fledged Beatles Tribute concert at the Viridian Center in West Valley City, Utah. The group gained popularity and eventually started playing all over the state of Utah.
In 2017, Martin took things one step further by also starting an annual “Beat ALS” benefit concert in honor of his friend, Chris Clark, who had recently been diagnosed with ALS ( amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.) The band has performed benefit concerts in April 2017 and May 2018 and hope to continue.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in 1960 and became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band in history, integral to pop music’s evolution into an art form and to the development of the counterculture of the 1960s.
The concert is sponsored by Excellence in the Community and is free to attend, but donations are welcome to cover venue costs. Seating is limited and it is recommended to obtain tickets prior to the doors opening. Tickets can be reserved by calling 435-723-0740, or online at bcfineartscenter.org.
Doors will open at 7 p.m. and ticket reservations will be honored through 7:20 p.m. at which time seats will be offered to those present.
Strawberry Fields Band, a Beatles Tribute group, is next up on stage in the Brigham City Fine Arts Center’s Music in the City concert series.
The Strawberry Fields Band is a Utah-based ensemble, and should not to be confused with “Strawberry Fields,” a tribute band also making a name for itself in the New York area.
Dave Martin takes the role of John Lennon as lead vocalist and bass player, Bryan Hague is lead guitar and vocalist, and brothers Eric and Jeff Jensen round out the band with Jeff on rhythm guitar and vocals and Eric on drums.
“The Beatles are timeless. Kids of all ages really enjoy the music and vibe they continue to give” said Martin.
For Martin, the venture started six years ago when he organized an annual “Beatlemania” concert while working as a high school choir director. He brought a few musician friends in to back up the choir group and it was very successful. Three years ago, drummer Jay Lawrence invited him to help put together a full-fledged Beatles Tribute concert at the Viridian Center in West Valley City, Utah. The group gained popularity and eventually started playing all over the state of Utah.
In 2017, Martin took things one step further by also starting an annual “Beat ALS” benefit concert in honor of his friend, Chris Clark, who had recently been diagnosed with ALS ( amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.) The band has performed benefit concerts in April 2017 and May 2018 and hope to continue.
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in 1960 and became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential music band in history, integral to pop music’s evolution into an art form and to the development of the counterculture of the 1960s.
The concert is sponsored by Excellence in the Community and is free to attend, but donations are welcome to cover venue costs. Seating is limited and it is recommended to obtain tickets prior to the doors opening. Tickets can be reserved by calling 435-723-0740, or online at bcfineartscenter.org.
Doors will open at 7 p.m. and ticket reservations will be honored through 7:20 p.m. at which time seats will be offered to those present.
Memorial lights up Bear River Cemetery
January 2, 2019 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
‘Twas the night before Christmas Eve and all through the cemetery candles twinkled on headstones leaving the community with a sense of mystery and gratitude.
Multiple generations of the Ramsdell family gathered at the Bear River Cemetery last Monday to do something special, a tribute paid toward the final resting place of the family patriarch who had passed away this year. The family lit hundreds of tea light candles, one per headstone to light up the evening.
Residents soon became aware of the glow and reached out to their neighbors to find out what was happening. Suddenly the cemetery, a place of peace and quiet during the evening hours, had drawn the attention of residents of Bear River City.
It was a mystery as no one seemed to know who had placed the candles, or why. But people gathered to witness the sight, walking or driving through the cemetery that evening.
The following morning Bear River City’s official Facebook page released a statement from one of the participating family members, making it clear that the city government was not responsible for the display, but had been contacted by someone who was part of the impromptu display. Brindee Bonanza said that altogether there were 11 family members, spanning four generations, who participated in lighting the 775 candles.
Almost immediately comments from residents began pouring in to Facebook posts with photographs of the scene.
Suzanne Welch wrote, “Thank you so much to the Ramsdell family. This is the first year without my husband and my kid’s dad. My family was honored that you recognized him. This was a beautiful gesture to so many Bear River City residents. Thank you so much.”
Jacci Nye said, “I saw them from my mom’s house on main Street. So pretty. Thank you to whom ever did it.”
“It was just beautiful, we loved the peaceful feeling that was there. Thank you so much for the wonderful experience of the lights and your love for the cemetery and those that are resting in peace!” wrote Merrilyn Nelson.
In response to the comments, Bonanza said, “We aren’t wanting any recognition, just wanting people to know that at such a sad place there is a little bit of joy this season. Our Papa is buried there and it’s our first year without him.”
Bonanza believes that they will continue this as an annual event since it was so well-received.
“Pretty much my whole family is buried there, but in February we lost my grandpa and it has been pretty hard on all of us him and my grandma were high school sweethearts. Christmas was one of my grandpa’s favorites so we wanted to make the cemetery beautiful at such a hard time for us as well as others.” said Bonanza, “I had read about it on another site where somebody had done it in another state and how beautiful it was so we decided what better way to spend some family time and spread some holiday light. We sure hope it made a difference it’s going to be an every year tradition for us.”
“Holy cow, the feedback was so heart warming just that people were going down and enjoying the lights after it got dark. And so much love came out of it we didn’t expect it to get that much attention but it did,” said Bonanza, “It was such a blessing to see the messages from others that have family buried down there and how thankful they were.”
Another family member who participated, Chels Grover, said, “We are very happy that we were able to lift so many people’s spirits by doing this! We have all read your messages, and I know it has helped myself with the sadness of losing my papa! Merry Christmas BRC.”
‘Twas the night before Christmas Eve and all through the cemetery candles twinkled on headstones leaving the community with a sense of mystery and gratitude.
Multiple generations of the Ramsdell family gathered at the Bear River Cemetery last Monday to do something special, a tribute paid toward the final resting place of the family patriarch who had passed away this year. The family lit hundreds of tea light candles, one per headstone to light up the evening.
Residents soon became aware of the glow and reached out to their neighbors to find out what was happening. Suddenly the cemetery, a place of peace and quiet during the evening hours, had drawn the attention of residents of Bear River City.
It was a mystery as no one seemed to know who had placed the candles, or why. But people gathered to witness the sight, walking or driving through the cemetery that evening.
The following morning Bear River City’s official Facebook page released a statement from one of the participating family members, making it clear that the city government was not responsible for the display, but had been contacted by someone who was part of the impromptu display. Brindee Bonanza said that altogether there were 11 family members, spanning four generations, who participated in lighting the 775 candles.
Almost immediately comments from residents began pouring in to Facebook posts with photographs of the scene.
Suzanne Welch wrote, “Thank you so much to the Ramsdell family. This is the first year without my husband and my kid’s dad. My family was honored that you recognized him. This was a beautiful gesture to so many Bear River City residents. Thank you so much.”
Jacci Nye said, “I saw them from my mom’s house on main Street. So pretty. Thank you to whom ever did it.”
“It was just beautiful, we loved the peaceful feeling that was there. Thank you so much for the wonderful experience of the lights and your love for the cemetery and those that are resting in peace!” wrote Merrilyn Nelson.
In response to the comments, Bonanza said, “We aren’t wanting any recognition, just wanting people to know that at such a sad place there is a little bit of joy this season. Our Papa is buried there and it’s our first year without him.”
Bonanza believes that they will continue this as an annual event since it was so well-received.
“Pretty much my whole family is buried there, but in February we lost my grandpa and it has been pretty hard on all of us him and my grandma were high school sweethearts. Christmas was one of my grandpa’s favorites so we wanted to make the cemetery beautiful at such a hard time for us as well as others.” said Bonanza, “I had read about it on another site where somebody had done it in another state and how beautiful it was so we decided what better way to spend some family time and spread some holiday light. We sure hope it made a difference it’s going to be an every year tradition for us.”
“Holy cow, the feedback was so heart warming just that people were going down and enjoying the lights after it got dark. And so much love came out of it we didn’t expect it to get that much attention but it did,” said Bonanza, “It was such a blessing to see the messages from others that have family buried down there and how thankful they were.”
Another family member who participated, Chels Grover, said, “We are very happy that we were able to lift so many people’s spirits by doing this! We have all read your messages, and I know it has helped myself with the sadness of losing my papa! Merry Christmas BRC.”
Leo’s Auto gifts a car to Brigham City woman
December 26, 2018 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
An 86-year-old Brigham City woman just got an unexpected holiday gift that came from an out-of-towner’s misfortune back in October.
Karma Huff was selected in a drawing Dec. 18 as the winner of a car from Leo’s Auto Service.
“You have got to be kidding me.” said a tearful Huff when she was informed of her win. “Do you know how old my car is? It’s almost 22 years old. I can’t believe it!”
At the beginning of October, the owners of Leo’s Auto Service announced a contest to give away a car to one of their customers this holiday season. The only requirement for an entry was to spend at least $1 in the shop. Using a scaled system, higher amounts spent earned more entries. The idea was to help someone out.
The giveaway car had been left by an out of town customer. The car’s engine had seized, and nstead of spending the money to repair the vehicle, the owner essentially walked away, abandoning the car despite multiple attempts to contact him.
Once the title had been legally acquired by Leo owners Kevin and Chad Noorda, they decided they could put in the labor and fund the needed replacement parts as an act of goodwill and appreciation for their customers, and that they could give the car away.
All in all, they put about $1,400 into parts, and provided the labor for free. They put in a used engine, gave it a tune up and replaced all the tires.
Customers seemed excited. Some people scheduled multiple appointments for oil changes or maintenance in order to get more entries. In total, 796 tickets were entered. The one that ended up getting pulled was a from an oil change on Oct. 2, the second day of the contest.
On Dec. 18, the Noordas couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome when they pulled out Huff’s name as the new owner of the 2009 Toyota Corolla.
Huff said of her previous, 22-year-old vehicle, “You know, I thought this car isn’t going to last me much longer, I know it isn’t”
Before giving all of the staff hugs and repeatedly thanking everyone, Huff said, “I’ve never won a thing before in my life. I’m 86 years old and I won a car.”
She spoke of how beautiful the car was, joking about its resale value when she passes.
Leo’s mechanics knew Huff’s old car well and said that it really was on its last legs. They loved seeing Huff be blown away by simple features like a working radio.
Leo’s Automotive shared the video of Huff being notified that she had won the vehicle, and her Huff’s family also shared the video on Facebook. Granddaughter Tiffanie Thorne commented, “So happy for her. She is so deserving of this! Sweetest human I dare say on this Earth. Love you Gram and so, so happy for you!!! Go cruise Main!”
“That’s the best “karma” you could ask for!!” Kathy Price also commented on the Facebook video. “This couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person!! Love you Karma!!”
An 86-year-old Brigham City woman just got an unexpected holiday gift that came from an out-of-towner’s misfortune back in October.
Karma Huff was selected in a drawing Dec. 18 as the winner of a car from Leo’s Auto Service.
“You have got to be kidding me.” said a tearful Huff when she was informed of her win. “Do you know how old my car is? It’s almost 22 years old. I can’t believe it!”
At the beginning of October, the owners of Leo’s Auto Service announced a contest to give away a car to one of their customers this holiday season. The only requirement for an entry was to spend at least $1 in the shop. Using a scaled system, higher amounts spent earned more entries. The idea was to help someone out.
The giveaway car had been left by an out of town customer. The car’s engine had seized, and nstead of spending the money to repair the vehicle, the owner essentially walked away, abandoning the car despite multiple attempts to contact him.
Once the title had been legally acquired by Leo owners Kevin and Chad Noorda, they decided they could put in the labor and fund the needed replacement parts as an act of goodwill and appreciation for their customers, and that they could give the car away.
All in all, they put about $1,400 into parts, and provided the labor for free. They put in a used engine, gave it a tune up and replaced all the tires.
Customers seemed excited. Some people scheduled multiple appointments for oil changes or maintenance in order to get more entries. In total, 796 tickets were entered. The one that ended up getting pulled was a from an oil change on Oct. 2, the second day of the contest.
On Dec. 18, the Noordas couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome when they pulled out Huff’s name as the new owner of the 2009 Toyota Corolla.
Huff said of her previous, 22-year-old vehicle, “You know, I thought this car isn’t going to last me much longer, I know it isn’t”
Before giving all of the staff hugs and repeatedly thanking everyone, Huff said, “I’ve never won a thing before in my life. I’m 86 years old and I won a car.”
She spoke of how beautiful the car was, joking about its resale value when she passes.
Leo’s mechanics knew Huff’s old car well and said that it really was on its last legs. They loved seeing Huff be blown away by simple features like a working radio.
Leo’s Automotive shared the video of Huff being notified that she had won the vehicle, and her Huff’s family also shared the video on Facebook. Granddaughter Tiffanie Thorne commented, “So happy for her. She is so deserving of this! Sweetest human I dare say on this Earth. Love you Gram and so, so happy for you!!! Go cruise Main!”
“That’s the best “karma” you could ask for!!” Kathy Price also commented on the Facebook video. “This couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person!! Love you Karma!!”
A Christmas wish a century in the making
Lucile Harrison, resident at Maple Springs Assisted Living fulfilled a goal in finally sitting on Santa’s lap for the first time.
December 19, 2018 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
Lucile Harrison, resident of Maple Springs, celebrated her 100th birthday last month and yet she is still excited to try new things to gain life experience.
Last Thursday, Harrison and many residents at Maple Springs Assisted Living took the time to celebrate the upcoming Christmas Holiday at their annual party where families from the community were invited to attend, meet Santa and mingle with the residents. Amber Rust of Two Color Photography was there to document a first for Harrison, as she laughed and sat upon Santas lap for the first time ever, crossing off an item on her bucket list.
“Lucile’s quick wit and great sense of humor keeps us on our toes. She told me she had never sat on Santa’s lap, so she wanted to get that crossed off her list! She is a real pleasure and we are happy to have her at Maple Springs,” said Mike Starn, Community Relations Director of Maple Springs.
Harrison had a big month in November as a new centenarian, she had a birthday party in her home town of Malad early in the month, and later on her actual birthday she celebrated at Maple Springs where she enjoys participating in the recreational activities and socialization.
Harrison has resided at Maple Springs for the past two years, following an injury from a fall, the staff members report that she is a valuable asset to the social dynamic and they enjoy the stories that she shares with them.
Harrison was born in ‘Sandridge’ Elkhorn, Idaho, where she spent her first 16 years living and working on the farm. She then moved to Malad and attended Malad High School, where she excelled at basketball for four years. After graduation, Harrison attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, where she continued her athletic pursuits on the basketball team for four years, earning her sweater as a junior. She majored in education and physical education, she was also a horseshoe champion and took 2nd place in ping pong. Harrison graduated in 1940 and began her career as a teacher in Holbrook, Idaho, at a small country school with only two teachers. They each taught four grades in one classroom. She later taught in Malad working with 5th graders the majority of her 40 year career.
During the war, Harrison took a leave of absence from teaching from 1942-1945 to contribute to the cause, during that time she worked in California as a riveter on bomber wings at the Lockheed Aircraft Plant.
She also worked at Ogden Supply Depot for a summer and then onto the Union Pacific Railroad as a ticket clerk when Bushnell Hospital was busy accepting patients from the Pacific for treatment and rehabilitation, she helped coordinate getting those soldiers to the medical treatment they needed in Brigham City.
After World War II ended Harrison resumed teaching. In total she connected with 1,100 students over her teaching years. She remains in touch with many of her students who still visit with her, and have been a delight to her.
Harrison retired in 1981, and although she hated to leave the field she had many projects for her family and the community which gained her focus. She worked diligently on genealogy and even compiled a book on family history that included several centuries of her family tree. She made a book for herself and for each of her siblings.
Harrison became active in the Malad Boot Scooters, a line dancing group, who performed for 10 years at veterans homes, senior centers, and care centers in Pocatello, Preston, Downey and Malad. This was a particularly fun hobby for her.
Her next project partnered with Mary Matthew, serving on the Malad Cemetery beautification committee, where she served for two years. Some of the projects included new trees, restrooms, a platform for the Memorial Day ceremony and a rose garden memorial at the entrance of the cemetery.
She also helped initiate a finance plan that allowed former residents to donate money for the beautification work in conjunction with the city and power company.
The final project she focused on before moving to Maple Springs, was was helping with the recreational activities at the Senior Center and helping with food distribution for the needy every month.
December 19, 2018 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
Lucile Harrison, resident of Maple Springs, celebrated her 100th birthday last month and yet she is still excited to try new things to gain life experience.
Last Thursday, Harrison and many residents at Maple Springs Assisted Living took the time to celebrate the upcoming Christmas Holiday at their annual party where families from the community were invited to attend, meet Santa and mingle with the residents. Amber Rust of Two Color Photography was there to document a first for Harrison, as she laughed and sat upon Santas lap for the first time ever, crossing off an item on her bucket list.
“Lucile’s quick wit and great sense of humor keeps us on our toes. She told me she had never sat on Santa’s lap, so she wanted to get that crossed off her list! She is a real pleasure and we are happy to have her at Maple Springs,” said Mike Starn, Community Relations Director of Maple Springs.
Harrison had a big month in November as a new centenarian, she had a birthday party in her home town of Malad early in the month, and later on her actual birthday she celebrated at Maple Springs where she enjoys participating in the recreational activities and socialization.
Harrison has resided at Maple Springs for the past two years, following an injury from a fall, the staff members report that she is a valuable asset to the social dynamic and they enjoy the stories that she shares with them.
Harrison was born in ‘Sandridge’ Elkhorn, Idaho, where she spent her first 16 years living and working on the farm. She then moved to Malad and attended Malad High School, where she excelled at basketball for four years. After graduation, Harrison attended the University of Idaho in Moscow, where she continued her athletic pursuits on the basketball team for four years, earning her sweater as a junior. She majored in education and physical education, she was also a horseshoe champion and took 2nd place in ping pong. Harrison graduated in 1940 and began her career as a teacher in Holbrook, Idaho, at a small country school with only two teachers. They each taught four grades in one classroom. She later taught in Malad working with 5th graders the majority of her 40 year career.
During the war, Harrison took a leave of absence from teaching from 1942-1945 to contribute to the cause, during that time she worked in California as a riveter on bomber wings at the Lockheed Aircraft Plant.
She also worked at Ogden Supply Depot for a summer and then onto the Union Pacific Railroad as a ticket clerk when Bushnell Hospital was busy accepting patients from the Pacific for treatment and rehabilitation, she helped coordinate getting those soldiers to the medical treatment they needed in Brigham City.
After World War II ended Harrison resumed teaching. In total she connected with 1,100 students over her teaching years. She remains in touch with many of her students who still visit with her, and have been a delight to her.
Harrison retired in 1981, and although she hated to leave the field she had many projects for her family and the community which gained her focus. She worked diligently on genealogy and even compiled a book on family history that included several centuries of her family tree. She made a book for herself and for each of her siblings.
Harrison became active in the Malad Boot Scooters, a line dancing group, who performed for 10 years at veterans homes, senior centers, and care centers in Pocatello, Preston, Downey and Malad. This was a particularly fun hobby for her.
Her next project partnered with Mary Matthew, serving on the Malad Cemetery beautification committee, where she served for two years. Some of the projects included new trees, restrooms, a platform for the Memorial Day ceremony and a rose garden memorial at the entrance of the cemetery.
She also helped initiate a finance plan that allowed former residents to donate money for the beautification work in conjunction with the city and power company.
The final project she focused on before moving to Maple Springs, was was helping with the recreational activities at the Senior Center and helping with food distribution for the needy every month.
Cooley Memorial Building from hospital to photography studio
December 2, 2018 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
A long-vacant building sees new life with addition of photographic studio and event space for public rental in the heart of Brigham City, at 40 North 100 East.
Amber Rust, lead photographer of Two Color Photography, and her husband, Thomas, have undertaken many home renovation projects over the past 15 years in their Brigham City home, however the scale of their latest endeavor has been at times overwhelming. Rust is primarily a newborn photographer whose office and studio are inside her home, and will remain there despite opening the doors to a new commercial studio venture.
Last December, one of Rust’s associate photographers, Ashlee Bostwick, approached with a real estate investment option. Bostwick found the leasing information for a vacant building on 100 East and 100 North in Brigham City and was inspired by the potential for the space. Both Rust and Bostwick have used rental space for photography sessions in other cities and recognized a need for a large open gathering space in Brigham City. Annually, the most frequently requested months for multigenerational family photos occur in the winter when families gather for holidays. Large, open interior spaces are difficult to come by, and often are less than ideal visually.
The building up for lease was formerly the Cooley Memorial Hospital, a non-emergent care facility that served the area mainly for tonsil removals, appendectomies and baby deliveries. The night before the walkthrough Rust had a dream about being surrounded with an overwhelming amount of debris, but a strong feeling that she should proceed. “The night before walking through the building I had a dream about walking through an old run down building with tons of confusing rooms and spaces with debris everywhere. In my dream I remember thinking there was a lot of work to be done on the building, but I knew I needed to be the one to do it,” said Rust.
On site, the two photographers were mesmerized by the amount of natural light pouring in—despite the dividing walls which broke the top floor up into small recovery rooms. Although the layout and building were different than her dream Rust felt like the similarities were overwhelming. By the time they made it to the delivery room and nursery, they were couldn’t deny the desire to breathe life into the building once again. The idea of using the delivery room as a newborn studio, Rust’s first photography love sealed the deal.
Rust was enamored with the viewing window where fathers used to get the first glance at their children, as they were not permitted in the labor and delivery room. That pane of glass was carefully removed and saved to become a display piece to honor the history of the building and the legacy of Dr. A.D. Cooley who had originally named the building for his late son. In the spirit of philanthropy, Dr. Cooley allowed some patients to pay off their medical debts with sweat equity for building improvements over the decades as a hospital, which only furthered the sense of communal investment.
During the drawn out waiting period between signing the lease on April 1, and beginning properly permitted demolition and construction there was a need for Bostwick to pull out of the project. Both Rust and Bostwick remain close friends and photography associates. Rust recognizes that she is in a different phase of life where her children are old enough and their financial stability allowed her to take more weighed risks, there is no animosity only empathy and understanding.
But, despite the partnership ending, Rust feels like there is no way to tell the story of the space without mentioning Bostwick’s contributions. She initially saw the diamond in the rough, and was a co-creator for the overall vision of the space. In the end, it became easier for Rust to make decisions on the fly once the partnership was dissolved, and there were many times when that immediacy became important.
Now, the Rusts have complete control of the studio now known as Cooley Collective Studios, a name chosen as a homage to the building’s past. And with that have had to face the obstacles that came along the way.
The renovation process was complicated and met with plenty of red tape and construction delays. Although there were some early missteps due to miscommunication, there has been a positive working environment with the city building inspector and various contractors who have been able to find work arounds for difficult, costly repairs that could potentially sink the project if a financially feasible solution could not be found. The input and education about codes and safety regulations has been invaluable, for that the Rusts are extremely grateful.
Cooley Collective Studios L.L.C. occupies the top floor of the building up a winding ramp that many have memories of attempting to climb while in labor. This is the most often repeated story when it comes to the old hospital. Rust has sought out input from the former patients, particularly those who were born at the hospital or who had given birth there during its operation from May of 1935 to July 20, 1976.
Rust put out a call for those patients and former staff of the hospital to come be a part of a photographic collage project, to show the faces of the community that have a deep connection with the building, scheduling two days for those interested in being part of the future collage piece to stop by and have their photo taken, she is planning one more day and will update both her website and the company Facebook page when that is scheduled. She has received emailed photographs from those who now live out of the area and can’t make it by in person.
Although Rust has called Brigham City home for the past fifteen years, she is somewhat envious of the connective ties that people feel with the space she has been painstakingly renovating. Some of the stories have brought joy, while others brought her to tears. Rust has been documenting not only the faces, many nameless unless they felt obliged to share their story.
Among the heartfelt tales there were memories of parents holding newborn babies up to the glass window so that the siblings could see their new addition, since children weren’t allowed in the maternal ward. Rust photographed the last baby born at Cooley, who was then transferred to Brigham City Community Hospital once both mother and baby were safe to transport. One woman told about her own delivery in the building to a young teen mother who gave her up for adoption, and with whom she has reconnected now using DNA advancements. Others told stories of an accident at Thiokol where burn victims were brought to Cooley, although it was beyond the trauma level that the hospital was capable of handling, they were able to stabilize the patients before transport. Another woman whose mother had attempted to get their life savings from under their mattress when their house caught fire was rushed to Cooley Memorial for emergency care before being transported to a larger hospital—the daughter was not allowed in due to the age rules on premises, she said her goodbyes to her mother at the ramp, unfortunately her mother passed away during transit. Visiting the studio to have her photo taken was the first time she had stepped foot back in the building. The daughter told Rust that she felt a great deal of peace and tranquility in the space, that she had not expected to feel.
Since 1935 the building has served many purposes; first a Hospital, then an addition and renovation happened, it was once home to the head start program, then the building was converted to apartments, a real estate investor purchased the space for residential improvement but it was soon re-zoned as commercial. There is a great deal of room for improvement and many vacant areas of the building still needing tenants, Rust is hoping that other creative types might see the space and recognize the possibilities, and become tenants as well.
For now, the Cooley Collective Studio is still considered temporary occupancy until the remaining updates and upgrades are fulfilled to bring the building up to code. But many of the most burdensome tasks have been completed. Resurfacing the roof, all new plumbing and electrical as well as what Rust explains to be a masterful job of figuring out the heating and cooling all had to be tackled to gain approval to take occupancy. Rust tried to keep all of the contractors local, but it took ten plumbers rejecting the project before finding someone up to the daunting task. The longest delay was a six-week wait was getting an exterior lift to the main floor of the building. ADA compliance states that the handicap accessible lift must service the main floor of a building, the adjacent floors above and below would then also qualify for occupancy.
Rust has tried to stay true to the space salvaging as many pieces of original character of the building as possible. Woodwork from the back has been saved, re-stained and mounted as a shiplap wall in the brick studio. The tiles were gathered by Rust’s youngest child as they popped off the wall, those will be incorporated into the updated design. Each of her five children have played a role in the remodel. Rust’s biggest fear was that by undertaking this monumental task task that her children would be neglected, but instead it has helped them grow together. They have been involved every step of the way and have a sense of ownership in the studio space. Rust’s daughter even bore her testimony in church about how the family has had to “overcome trials” in this renovation. Rust said that it may be an expensive way to learn that lesson, but she is glad that her children have been there through the entire process helping in the hard work. And despite not being particularly construction savvy the family, and friends, have done the majority of work themselves; excluding all labor efforts required by licensed professionals.
After countless walls coming down, and six months of chiseling plaster to reveal just enough exposed brick for the vision-board ambiance sought, the studio space is officially open for business. Rust is excited that the memory making has already begun on top of such a rich history. Rust said she entered the space to continue some work the other day and heard angelic music being sung as the City of Enoch filmed a music video on location, she felt immediate validation that this is was the right decision to open a space to allow people to use their artistry.
From the beginning she felt impressed to create a space that is welcoming to all: it will serve as an hourly rental space for photographers who do not have access to a formal studio which is particularly important in winter months, there are two shooting spaces available currently and a third under renovation; there are also several office spaces that will be available for monthly rental, as well as an hourly/daily rental for meetings or in-person sales; the space will soon have a kitchen for parties, as well.
Even with the huge investments they have already undertaken, there is much to be done. Rust has sought out the help of crowdfunding with a Kickstarter project. The way that Kickstarter works is all or nothing, if the goal of $5,000 is not met by the end of the month then Cooley Collective Studios will not receive the pledged funding. Although several people have vowed to pay privately if the funding is not met. Each pledge level has rewards which include having your name printed on an original tile which will go back into the building as part of the restoration, mini photo sessions at a discounted rate, or even the opportunity to host a dinner party complete with catering.
Rust jokes that they were lucky because there were only two trips to the urgent care required during construction, both involving stitches. It is clear that both Amber and Thomas Rust have put their blood, sweat and tears into the studio-- and clearly, a whole lot of heart, too.
A long-vacant building sees new life with addition of photographic studio and event space for public rental in the heart of Brigham City, at 40 North 100 East.
Amber Rust, lead photographer of Two Color Photography, and her husband, Thomas, have undertaken many home renovation projects over the past 15 years in their Brigham City home, however the scale of their latest endeavor has been at times overwhelming. Rust is primarily a newborn photographer whose office and studio are inside her home, and will remain there despite opening the doors to a new commercial studio venture.
Last December, one of Rust’s associate photographers, Ashlee Bostwick, approached with a real estate investment option. Bostwick found the leasing information for a vacant building on 100 East and 100 North in Brigham City and was inspired by the potential for the space. Both Rust and Bostwick have used rental space for photography sessions in other cities and recognized a need for a large open gathering space in Brigham City. Annually, the most frequently requested months for multigenerational family photos occur in the winter when families gather for holidays. Large, open interior spaces are difficult to come by, and often are less than ideal visually.
The building up for lease was formerly the Cooley Memorial Hospital, a non-emergent care facility that served the area mainly for tonsil removals, appendectomies and baby deliveries. The night before the walkthrough Rust had a dream about being surrounded with an overwhelming amount of debris, but a strong feeling that she should proceed. “The night before walking through the building I had a dream about walking through an old run down building with tons of confusing rooms and spaces with debris everywhere. In my dream I remember thinking there was a lot of work to be done on the building, but I knew I needed to be the one to do it,” said Rust.
On site, the two photographers were mesmerized by the amount of natural light pouring in—despite the dividing walls which broke the top floor up into small recovery rooms. Although the layout and building were different than her dream Rust felt like the similarities were overwhelming. By the time they made it to the delivery room and nursery, they were couldn’t deny the desire to breathe life into the building once again. The idea of using the delivery room as a newborn studio, Rust’s first photography love sealed the deal.
Rust was enamored with the viewing window where fathers used to get the first glance at their children, as they were not permitted in the labor and delivery room. That pane of glass was carefully removed and saved to become a display piece to honor the history of the building and the legacy of Dr. A.D. Cooley who had originally named the building for his late son. In the spirit of philanthropy, Dr. Cooley allowed some patients to pay off their medical debts with sweat equity for building improvements over the decades as a hospital, which only furthered the sense of communal investment.
During the drawn out waiting period between signing the lease on April 1, and beginning properly permitted demolition and construction there was a need for Bostwick to pull out of the project. Both Rust and Bostwick remain close friends and photography associates. Rust recognizes that she is in a different phase of life where her children are old enough and their financial stability allowed her to take more weighed risks, there is no animosity only empathy and understanding.
But, despite the partnership ending, Rust feels like there is no way to tell the story of the space without mentioning Bostwick’s contributions. She initially saw the diamond in the rough, and was a co-creator for the overall vision of the space. In the end, it became easier for Rust to make decisions on the fly once the partnership was dissolved, and there were many times when that immediacy became important.
Now, the Rusts have complete control of the studio now known as Cooley Collective Studios, a name chosen as a homage to the building’s past. And with that have had to face the obstacles that came along the way.
The renovation process was complicated and met with plenty of red tape and construction delays. Although there were some early missteps due to miscommunication, there has been a positive working environment with the city building inspector and various contractors who have been able to find work arounds for difficult, costly repairs that could potentially sink the project if a financially feasible solution could not be found. The input and education about codes and safety regulations has been invaluable, for that the Rusts are extremely grateful.
Cooley Collective Studios L.L.C. occupies the top floor of the building up a winding ramp that many have memories of attempting to climb while in labor. This is the most often repeated story when it comes to the old hospital. Rust has sought out input from the former patients, particularly those who were born at the hospital or who had given birth there during its operation from May of 1935 to July 20, 1976.
Rust put out a call for those patients and former staff of the hospital to come be a part of a photographic collage project, to show the faces of the community that have a deep connection with the building, scheduling two days for those interested in being part of the future collage piece to stop by and have their photo taken, she is planning one more day and will update both her website and the company Facebook page when that is scheduled. She has received emailed photographs from those who now live out of the area and can’t make it by in person.
Although Rust has called Brigham City home for the past fifteen years, she is somewhat envious of the connective ties that people feel with the space she has been painstakingly renovating. Some of the stories have brought joy, while others brought her to tears. Rust has been documenting not only the faces, many nameless unless they felt obliged to share their story.
Among the heartfelt tales there were memories of parents holding newborn babies up to the glass window so that the siblings could see their new addition, since children weren’t allowed in the maternal ward. Rust photographed the last baby born at Cooley, who was then transferred to Brigham City Community Hospital once both mother and baby were safe to transport. One woman told about her own delivery in the building to a young teen mother who gave her up for adoption, and with whom she has reconnected now using DNA advancements. Others told stories of an accident at Thiokol where burn victims were brought to Cooley, although it was beyond the trauma level that the hospital was capable of handling, they were able to stabilize the patients before transport. Another woman whose mother had attempted to get their life savings from under their mattress when their house caught fire was rushed to Cooley Memorial for emergency care before being transported to a larger hospital—the daughter was not allowed in due to the age rules on premises, she said her goodbyes to her mother at the ramp, unfortunately her mother passed away during transit. Visiting the studio to have her photo taken was the first time she had stepped foot back in the building. The daughter told Rust that she felt a great deal of peace and tranquility in the space, that she had not expected to feel.
Since 1935 the building has served many purposes; first a Hospital, then an addition and renovation happened, it was once home to the head start program, then the building was converted to apartments, a real estate investor purchased the space for residential improvement but it was soon re-zoned as commercial. There is a great deal of room for improvement and many vacant areas of the building still needing tenants, Rust is hoping that other creative types might see the space and recognize the possibilities, and become tenants as well.
For now, the Cooley Collective Studio is still considered temporary occupancy until the remaining updates and upgrades are fulfilled to bring the building up to code. But many of the most burdensome tasks have been completed. Resurfacing the roof, all new plumbing and electrical as well as what Rust explains to be a masterful job of figuring out the heating and cooling all had to be tackled to gain approval to take occupancy. Rust tried to keep all of the contractors local, but it took ten plumbers rejecting the project before finding someone up to the daunting task. The longest delay was a six-week wait was getting an exterior lift to the main floor of the building. ADA compliance states that the handicap accessible lift must service the main floor of a building, the adjacent floors above and below would then also qualify for occupancy.
Rust has tried to stay true to the space salvaging as many pieces of original character of the building as possible. Woodwork from the back has been saved, re-stained and mounted as a shiplap wall in the brick studio. The tiles were gathered by Rust’s youngest child as they popped off the wall, those will be incorporated into the updated design. Each of her five children have played a role in the remodel. Rust’s biggest fear was that by undertaking this monumental task task that her children would be neglected, but instead it has helped them grow together. They have been involved every step of the way and have a sense of ownership in the studio space. Rust’s daughter even bore her testimony in church about how the family has had to “overcome trials” in this renovation. Rust said that it may be an expensive way to learn that lesson, but she is glad that her children have been there through the entire process helping in the hard work. And despite not being particularly construction savvy the family, and friends, have done the majority of work themselves; excluding all labor efforts required by licensed professionals.
After countless walls coming down, and six months of chiseling plaster to reveal just enough exposed brick for the vision-board ambiance sought, the studio space is officially open for business. Rust is excited that the memory making has already begun on top of such a rich history. Rust said she entered the space to continue some work the other day and heard angelic music being sung as the City of Enoch filmed a music video on location, she felt immediate validation that this is was the right decision to open a space to allow people to use their artistry.
From the beginning she felt impressed to create a space that is welcoming to all: it will serve as an hourly rental space for photographers who do not have access to a formal studio which is particularly important in winter months, there are two shooting spaces available currently and a third under renovation; there are also several office spaces that will be available for monthly rental, as well as an hourly/daily rental for meetings or in-person sales; the space will soon have a kitchen for parties, as well.
Even with the huge investments they have already undertaken, there is much to be done. Rust has sought out the help of crowdfunding with a Kickstarter project. The way that Kickstarter works is all or nothing, if the goal of $5,000 is not met by the end of the month then Cooley Collective Studios will not receive the pledged funding. Although several people have vowed to pay privately if the funding is not met. Each pledge level has rewards which include having your name printed on an original tile which will go back into the building as part of the restoration, mini photo sessions at a discounted rate, or even the opportunity to host a dinner party complete with catering.
Rust jokes that they were lucky because there were only two trips to the urgent care required during construction, both involving stitches. It is clear that both Amber and Thomas Rust have put their blood, sweat and tears into the studio-- and clearly, a whole lot of heart, too.
Disney tradition
Richard and Linda Felt stand in the cul-de-sac in front of their home which has become a landmark noted by Christmas display enthusiasts.
More than four decades of decorations draw spectators annually for family’s passion project
November 28, 2018 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
The phrase “Christmas tradition” might bring a lot of things to mind, some think of putting on Christmas pajamas, going to family parties, caroling or gift exchanges. But, one Brigham City family’s annual task of setting up a yard full of handcrafted Disney characters on their front lawn, which has become a Christmas tradition for countless families to visit.
Richard and Linda Felt live at 629 Cottonwood Circle, but better known as the “Disney house” by people in the community.
For about 46 years now, the Felts have been adding to and putting up hand carved and painted Disney characters in front of their home for people to see.
“More people kept coming by,” Richard Felt said, “and so it became kind of a habit each year to add a new character until we filled up the yard.”
As their collection grew, more people began driving by.
“We’ve had so many people that have enjoyed them over the years,” Linda Felt said, “and there’s always a line of cars that will come clear through the cul-de-sac.”
With the Felt’s love for Disney, this long-standing Christmas tradition came about when Richard Felt was teaching a woodshop class at then-Box Elder Junior High School when a student brought in a Disney Christmas record album.
“It [the record] had Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck and Pluto,” Richard Felt said. “I borrowed their album and traced them and then I made those and put them on the porch.”
To get the look-alike characters identical to the originals’ shape, Richard Felt said he would use an opaque projector and project the original image of the character on the plywood board and then cut them out.
Then, he would paint them – giving each character a winter sweater and almost every character a Christmas caroling songbook titled, ‘Noel.’
About 90 different characters are on display outside their home, and the Felt’s say they don’t just do this for themselves, they do it as their Christmas card to the community.
“It’s not for us, it’s a lot of work for us and it’s getting harder as we’re getting older,” Linda Felt said, “but we do it for our friends and the community that we love.”
“My favorite part about doing this,” Richard Felt said, “is the reaction from kids and the people that come by.”
Richard Felt remembers one year he was shoveling the snow from his driveway when a family – who didn’t speak English – drove by with smiles on their faces.
“The nice thing about Disney is it goes across all languages,” Richard Felt said. “They enjoyed it just as much as anybody else.”
Every year after Halloween, the Felt’s said they instantly begin getting ready for the holiday season. For them, this tradition is their way of enjoying Christmas.
“We have so many wonderful, wonderful memories of setting up,” Linda Felt said. “Not just with our kids, and our grandkids, but we also have a great-grandson who helps us on occasion.”
Richard Felt said he’s never dealt with any copyright issues with The Walt Disney Company, but he does recount a time when a man called him from Provo and asked if he would build him Disney characters – he told the man no.
“First, the characters are copyrighted so I can’t make money from them, and second, I build them in a school shop, so I can’t make money using public facilities.”
The Felt’s said they hope to continue putting up the display for many years to come because of the joy it brings to their family and the community.
That’s all the reward you could want, is doing it so other people can enjoy it,” Linda Felt said.
The characters can be seen at the Felt’s home, 629 Cottonwood Circle, Brigham City, until Jan. 2.
More than four decades of decorations draw spectators annually for family’s passion project
November 28, 2018 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
The phrase “Christmas tradition” might bring a lot of things to mind, some think of putting on Christmas pajamas, going to family parties, caroling or gift exchanges. But, one Brigham City family’s annual task of setting up a yard full of handcrafted Disney characters on their front lawn, which has become a Christmas tradition for countless families to visit.
Richard and Linda Felt live at 629 Cottonwood Circle, but better known as the “Disney house” by people in the community.
For about 46 years now, the Felts have been adding to and putting up hand carved and painted Disney characters in front of their home for people to see.
“More people kept coming by,” Richard Felt said, “and so it became kind of a habit each year to add a new character until we filled up the yard.”
As their collection grew, more people began driving by.
“We’ve had so many people that have enjoyed them over the years,” Linda Felt said, “and there’s always a line of cars that will come clear through the cul-de-sac.”
With the Felt’s love for Disney, this long-standing Christmas tradition came about when Richard Felt was teaching a woodshop class at then-Box Elder Junior High School when a student brought in a Disney Christmas record album.
“It [the record] had Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck and Pluto,” Richard Felt said. “I borrowed their album and traced them and then I made those and put them on the porch.”
To get the look-alike characters identical to the originals’ shape, Richard Felt said he would use an opaque projector and project the original image of the character on the plywood board and then cut them out.
Then, he would paint them – giving each character a winter sweater and almost every character a Christmas caroling songbook titled, ‘Noel.’
About 90 different characters are on display outside their home, and the Felt’s say they don’t just do this for themselves, they do it as their Christmas card to the community.
“It’s not for us, it’s a lot of work for us and it’s getting harder as we’re getting older,” Linda Felt said, “but we do it for our friends and the community that we love.”
“My favorite part about doing this,” Richard Felt said, “is the reaction from kids and the people that come by.”
Richard Felt remembers one year he was shoveling the snow from his driveway when a family – who didn’t speak English – drove by with smiles on their faces.
“The nice thing about Disney is it goes across all languages,” Richard Felt said. “They enjoyed it just as much as anybody else.”
Every year after Halloween, the Felt’s said they instantly begin getting ready for the holiday season. For them, this tradition is their way of enjoying Christmas.
“We have so many wonderful, wonderful memories of setting up,” Linda Felt said. “Not just with our kids, and our grandkids, but we also have a great-grandson who helps us on occasion.”
Richard Felt said he’s never dealt with any copyright issues with The Walt Disney Company, but he does recount a time when a man called him from Provo and asked if he would build him Disney characters – he told the man no.
“First, the characters are copyrighted so I can’t make money from them, and second, I build them in a school shop, so I can’t make money using public facilities.”
The Felt’s said they hope to continue putting up the display for many years to come because of the joy it brings to their family and the community.
That’s all the reward you could want, is doing it so other people can enjoy it,” Linda Felt said.
The characters can be seen at the Felt’s home, 629 Cottonwood Circle, Brigham City, until Jan. 2.
Locally filmed movie set to air on Lifetime
November 21, 2018 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
The film production that turned the heat of summer into a winter wonderland in Brigham City will be airing on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. On Lifetime channel. With a working title of the Miracle of Music, residents expressed fear that it was not picked up for this holiday season; however, as with most things Hollywood related alterations were to be expected and a final title of “Jingle Belle” is what locals may want to search for to set their DVRs.
After an overwhelming response of area residents who sought involvement as extras for the production, the production will finally air to allow participants to see if their scenes made the final cut or ended up on the editing room floor. The extras were tasked with wearing coats, scarves and other winter apparel during the hot hours of filming, many of which took place overnight.
Clearly identifiable Brigham City storefronts and buildings have been spotted in the trailers and commercials leading up to the premier, which has generated a lot of buzz on social media. This also lead to some confusion, regarding the title change and the associated network.
Stars of the film Tatyana Ali and Cornelius Smith Jr. were in Brigham City for filming which took place in mid July along Main Street, with interior scenes in Idle Isle Cafe and a notable change to the Historic Box Elder County Courthouse lawn which became an ice skating rink.
Ali is most recognizable for her role as Ashley on the popular sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” while Smith is known for his role as Marcus Walker on “Scandal.” Also notably in the cast are two former child stars, Keshia Knight Pulliam and Tempest Bledsoe who portrayed Rudy and Vanessa Huxtable on “The Cosby Show.”
According toIMDB.com and trailers released by Lifetime the story follows Isabelle “Belle” (Ali) a Juilliard trained New York City based musician back to her hometown of “Masonville” where she has been tasked to write a song for the 15th anniversary Christmas Eve Pageant. When she arrives she finds that here high school sweetheart, Mike, (Smith) who is now a music teacher in their home town and director of the production. “Can Isabelle and Mike put the past behind them and reunite on stage for another showstopping duet?” questions Lifetime.
Box Elder County in conjunction with the Utah Film Commission have put together a day for special screenings of the movie at the Capitol Theatre, due to space limitations the seats will be awarded through a drawing. To enter for a chance at winning two free tickets email events@boxeldercounty.org with name and contact information. There will be three screenings on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 12 p.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. These screening tickets are reserved for contest winners only.
The film production that turned the heat of summer into a winter wonderland in Brigham City will be airing on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 6 p.m. On Lifetime channel. With a working title of the Miracle of Music, residents expressed fear that it was not picked up for this holiday season; however, as with most things Hollywood related alterations were to be expected and a final title of “Jingle Belle” is what locals may want to search for to set their DVRs.
After an overwhelming response of area residents who sought involvement as extras for the production, the production will finally air to allow participants to see if their scenes made the final cut or ended up on the editing room floor. The extras were tasked with wearing coats, scarves and other winter apparel during the hot hours of filming, many of which took place overnight.
Clearly identifiable Brigham City storefronts and buildings have been spotted in the trailers and commercials leading up to the premier, which has generated a lot of buzz on social media. This also lead to some confusion, regarding the title change and the associated network.
Stars of the film Tatyana Ali and Cornelius Smith Jr. were in Brigham City for filming which took place in mid July along Main Street, with interior scenes in Idle Isle Cafe and a notable change to the Historic Box Elder County Courthouse lawn which became an ice skating rink.
Ali is most recognizable for her role as Ashley on the popular sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” while Smith is known for his role as Marcus Walker on “Scandal.” Also notably in the cast are two former child stars, Keshia Knight Pulliam and Tempest Bledsoe who portrayed Rudy and Vanessa Huxtable on “The Cosby Show.”
According toIMDB.com and trailers released by Lifetime the story follows Isabelle “Belle” (Ali) a Juilliard trained New York City based musician back to her hometown of “Masonville” where she has been tasked to write a song for the 15th anniversary Christmas Eve Pageant. When she arrives she finds that here high school sweetheart, Mike, (Smith) who is now a music teacher in their home town and director of the production. “Can Isabelle and Mike put the past behind them and reunite on stage for another showstopping duet?” questions Lifetime.
Box Elder County in conjunction with the Utah Film Commission have put together a day for special screenings of the movie at the Capitol Theatre, due to space limitations the seats will be awarded through a drawing. To enter for a chance at winning two free tickets email events@boxeldercounty.org with name and contact information. There will be three screenings on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 12 p.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. These screening tickets are reserved for contest winners only.
The Davis home, 1319 North Kotter Drive, Brigham City.
Civic Improvement Club’s Holiday Home Show approaches
November 21, 2018 • Sarah Yates • Editor emeritus
This year’s Holiday Home Show on Saturday, December 1, features a simple 1885 home and an 1898 local mansion, two mid-century homes with special features inside, a patio home and four newly-built modern homes. They will be open to ticket-holders from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and may be a visited in any order.
Hosted by Civic Improvement Club, the annual home show is a fundraiser for the club’s scholarship program. Tickets are available at each location or in advance at Drewes Floral, 28 South Main, or Consignology at 95 South Main.
Carl and Darla Wheeler start decorating for Christmas early in the season. Really early. After all, they have not only their home at 997 Lombardy to dress up, but an entire village, actually, two or three villages.
A once-bedroom in their home is filled with a village of doll house size structures including not only homes but a store, greenhouse, doctor’s office, cafe, church, school and barn. Each tiny room is fully furnished, as well as decorated for the holidays with miniature wreaths, trees, garlands, gifts, cookies and candy made by Darla with FIMO craft clay. For an idea of scale, think wicker furniture woven with upholstery thread.
Darla makes the furnishings, and Carl is the guy who wires and keeps the lights on in each tiny room. If that’s not enough, open the closet door to that dollhouse village’s more miniature Christmas Village of its own!
Every room in their normal sized house is decorated, as well. Darla is a collector and carefully groups each type, so they are orderly, not cluttered. Right inside the living room door is a cabinet full of Frosty Friends figurines, starting with her first from 1980. There are Possible Dreams, Cherish Teddies and Coca Cola Santas, just to name a few. Atop the kitchen cabinets is a lighted original Snow Village.
Even the bedroom boasts everything from a holiday bedcover to various holiday singing and talking figures and toys. And, yes, occasionally one of them decides to burst into song in the night.
They’ve lived in the house since 1966 and enclosed their patio into a room in the early 1990s, a favorite room for relaxing by the TV and a place for Darla to make clay jewelry, ornaments, furniture and figurines…such as elves which “take on a personality of their own” as she works. She had a business called Darla’s Clay Crafts for 14 years, but it’s just for fun now.
Also located in the southwest part of Brigham City is the patio home of Glen and Christine Elgan at 936 West 1025 South, offering great one-story living just right for retirees. About 13 years old, the home was the model house for the subdivision.
As a visitor enters the living room, eyes immediately go to an intricate scroll saw wood clock on the mantle. It’s treasured by Christine, not just because of its beauty, but because it was made by her dad.
This couple has a blended family of 18 children and stepchildren, and 41 grandchildren at last count. There’s not enough mantle space for that many stockings, so they created a stocking tree. Two more “trees” grace the living room - one built to hold village houses which took up too much room, plus another which features tiers of nativity scenes. A larger olive wood nativity scene they purchased in Bethlehem last year has its own special location.
The Elgans like the warmth of wood, so a living room and master bedroom wall are faced with wood, and they love the warm wood of the kitchen cabinetry. The dining area opens onto a covered patio just right for viewing the sunset over the pasture to the west.
There are three bedrooms, but this couple uses one as an office, and another as a playroom for grandkids—who aren’t allowed in the sauna that takes up one wall. And that little room by the entry? It is a “man cave” for some of Glen’s guy belongings, plus a steel plated area to hold the magnets they’ve collected on their travels.
Drive on up to Mantua, then south to the three-story home of Trevor and Tami Jeppesen at 683 South 100 East. Acting as their own general contractors, they chose favorite features from various house plans, and were ready to move into their new home in August 2017.
A vaulted ceiling and window-filled wall of the living room provide just the right location for a flocked tree with natural touches of tiny log slabs, pine cones and faux fur ribbon set among white, silver and gold ornaments. They loved their leather couch and love seats, but not the dark brown color, so Tami literally painted them a soft camel. Geometric black and white pillows add a classy touch, and the gas fireplace a comfy one.
The main floor includes the living room and white country-style kitchen, dining area, master suite, office, laundry and mud room. A loft overlooking the living room is a game room for the five children, ages 5 to 15, with four bedrooms and a bath opening onto the area. Each of the kids will have their own theme tree: Legos, robots, soccer, etc.
In the basement are a second living room, kitchenette, two bedrooms, bath, gym, and a sports court for basketball and volleyball—a favorite spot for the neighbor kids, as well. Both the main floor and basement have outdoor access.
Tami makes designer signs as a business, so her home is filled with fun signs. They are made to order as Roxie Flair, primarily via the internet. She also loves greenery, so had to find places to put plants to make way for holiday decor which includes wreaths she made to adorn doors, backs of the kitchen bar stools, and many other locations.
A favorite spot to decorate for each season is a wall in the traffic area that goes from living room to kitchen, which is now covered with natural holiday materials including a crooked branch with hanging winter items. It all adds up to a great home for this active family.
November 14, 2018 • Sarah Yates • Editor Emeritus
It’s become a local tradition, and this year’s Civic Improvement Club’s Holiday Home Show will help usher in the season on Saturday, December 1, from 12 to 5 p.m. Eight homes ranging from an 1885 pioneer home to brand new homes, plus a business located in an historic home, will be open to visitors during those hours. Tickets are a $10 donation to the club’s scholarship fund. Homes can be visited in any order, with tickets available at each location or downtown at Drewes Floral, 28 South Main, or Consignology at 95 South Main.
Not only does the family of Dustin and Rachel Davis enjoy the modern convenience of their home at 1319 North Kotter Drive (a loop off Highland) but they have a wonderful panorama of the valley and mountains to the west of the hillside home they have lived in for a year and a half. They moved from Farmington to live in a quieter, more peaceful neighborhood and definitely found it.
Visitors are welcomed in a light, bright entry which opens onto an office on one side and the hallway to the master bedroom on the other, and leads into the great room with its magnificent view. One end is the living room, with a fireplace centered between built-in cabinets. Neutral furnishings are complemented by pops of gold, teal and green accent pillows and casual decor.
The other side is a white kitchen, featuring subway tile with a sparkling inlaid glass tile as the backdrop above the range. It’s not only efficient with its stainless steel appliances, but Rachel enjoys being part of the family as she prepares and cleans up after meals.
The walk-in pantry is a delight of textures and colors, since Rachel transfers most dry foods into clear containers. The dining area features a teardrop chandelier.
With five children ranging from age four to 16 in this family, the home has four bedrooms on the lower level, as well as a family room, game room and guest bedroom. It’s a walkout level, as well, to a beautifully landscaped yard terraced to provide play space on the steep hillside.
It’s a step into the past to visit the center-of-town pioneer era home of Lynette Reeder, 122 North 100 West. The small entryway offers a peek into a world of old-fashioned charm representing years of gradual change, but retaining its simple beginnings.
The home was built in 1885 for Lauritz and Mattie Berg, a plain Scandinavian adobe house. It was love at first sight when Lynette bought the home in 2005. The early pine floors remain throughout that original block, not stained but varnished to add their warmth to each room. Windows, woodwork, doors and original hardware reflect those early days, as well.
As with older homes, there were modifications as electricity, indoor plumbing and central heating were added, such as a bathroom and additional bedroom. Sometime during the craftsman period, doorways were arched and built-ins added, but they magnify the charm of the house. Lynette loves those, such as the mail slot and laundry chute.
She has furnished her home with a combination of family heirlooms, yard sale and thrift store buys, and castaways from friends and neighbors…such as a faux fireplace from the Moskowitz home. Some items have been cleaned or painted and treated, but retain their true nature as treasures from the past. Her walls are filled with family art including that of her mother, Coleen Bradford, as well as recent paintings of her own.
Walk through the pantry to a sunny glassed-in porch where Lynette loves to catch rays in the wintertime, and where she has the supplies to make her soap and lotion. Then head upstairs where there is a sewing room, guest room, bathroom and the best: a long toy room with a slanted roof, all of which her grandkids think is magical and want to stay forever.
Coming back into the modern era, Bryan and Jesenia Walker’s home high on the Perry hillside at 1867 South Maple Hills Drive (75 East) is a three-story house designed by the couple as a place to raise their four children, ages 5 to 13. They have lived in the home for two and one-half years, and love the neighborhood and their neighbors.
The main floor entry opens onto an office, then leads into the living area of a great room with a view of the close-by mountainside. White walls, a vaulted ceiling and plenty of windows create a light and airy look enhanced by comfy neutral furnishings near a warm gas fireplace.
Overlooking the living room is a loft, which is the upstairs common area onto which the four children’s bedrooms open, plus creating the ceiling of a modern kitchen with subway tile above the counter space. Cupboards and decor give the kitchen a combined country and craftsman atmosphere. A pot-filler faucet over the range, walk-in pantry, main floor laundry and central vacuum system help this busy mother with the housekeeping.
The main floor also houses the master bedroom and bath, while the finished basement has a large family room, home gym, a guest bedroom and bath. That level also is a walkout to the back yard, tiered into play areas.
Visitors will notice unusual and attractive lighting throughout the house. Jesenia has a degree in interior design with lighting as a speciality, and her parents have a lighting store, so she goes to a lighting market annually. Her design touches can be seen throughout the house, and she also uses her talents for demonstrations, weddings, home lighting and special events.
Homes which will be open for the show include those of Carl and Darla Wheeler, 997 Lombardy; Julie Anderson, 934 Grandview; Lynette Reeder, 122 North 100 West; Glen and Christine Elgan, 936 West 1025 South, Dustin and Rachel Davis.1319 North Kotter Drive (via Highland), and the Mermaid Birth Center (former Knudson home) at 48 South 100 East, all in Brigham City; Trevor and Tami Jeppesen, 683 S 100 East; Ron & Kerry Nelson, 137 East 400 South, both in Mantua; Bryan and Jesenia Walker, 1867 South Maple Hills (75 East) in Perry.
Civic Improvement Club’s Holiday Home Show approaches
November 21, 2018 • Sarah Yates • Editor emeritus
This year’s Holiday Home Show on Saturday, December 1, features a simple 1885 home and an 1898 local mansion, two mid-century homes with special features inside, a patio home and four newly-built modern homes. They will be open to ticket-holders from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and may be a visited in any order.
Hosted by Civic Improvement Club, the annual home show is a fundraiser for the club’s scholarship program. Tickets are available at each location or in advance at Drewes Floral, 28 South Main, or Consignology at 95 South Main.
Carl and Darla Wheeler start decorating for Christmas early in the season. Really early. After all, they have not only their home at 997 Lombardy to dress up, but an entire village, actually, two or three villages.
A once-bedroom in their home is filled with a village of doll house size structures including not only homes but a store, greenhouse, doctor’s office, cafe, church, school and barn. Each tiny room is fully furnished, as well as decorated for the holidays with miniature wreaths, trees, garlands, gifts, cookies and candy made by Darla with FIMO craft clay. For an idea of scale, think wicker furniture woven with upholstery thread.
Darla makes the furnishings, and Carl is the guy who wires and keeps the lights on in each tiny room. If that’s not enough, open the closet door to that dollhouse village’s more miniature Christmas Village of its own!
Every room in their normal sized house is decorated, as well. Darla is a collector and carefully groups each type, so they are orderly, not cluttered. Right inside the living room door is a cabinet full of Frosty Friends figurines, starting with her first from 1980. There are Possible Dreams, Cherish Teddies and Coca Cola Santas, just to name a few. Atop the kitchen cabinets is a lighted original Snow Village.
Even the bedroom boasts everything from a holiday bedcover to various holiday singing and talking figures and toys. And, yes, occasionally one of them decides to burst into song in the night.
They’ve lived in the house since 1966 and enclosed their patio into a room in the early 1990s, a favorite room for relaxing by the TV and a place for Darla to make clay jewelry, ornaments, furniture and figurines…such as elves which “take on a personality of their own” as she works. She had a business called Darla’s Clay Crafts for 14 years, but it’s just for fun now.
Also located in the southwest part of Brigham City is the patio home of Glen and Christine Elgan at 936 West 1025 South, offering great one-story living just right for retirees. About 13 years old, the home was the model house for the subdivision.
As a visitor enters the living room, eyes immediately go to an intricate scroll saw wood clock on the mantle. It’s treasured by Christine, not just because of its beauty, but because it was made by her dad.
This couple has a blended family of 18 children and stepchildren, and 41 grandchildren at last count. There’s not enough mantle space for that many stockings, so they created a stocking tree. Two more “trees” grace the living room - one built to hold village houses which took up too much room, plus another which features tiers of nativity scenes. A larger olive wood nativity scene they purchased in Bethlehem last year has its own special location.
The Elgans like the warmth of wood, so a living room and master bedroom wall are faced with wood, and they love the warm wood of the kitchen cabinetry. The dining area opens onto a covered patio just right for viewing the sunset over the pasture to the west.
There are three bedrooms, but this couple uses one as an office, and another as a playroom for grandkids—who aren’t allowed in the sauna that takes up one wall. And that little room by the entry? It is a “man cave” for some of Glen’s guy belongings, plus a steel plated area to hold the magnets they’ve collected on their travels.
Drive on up to Mantua, then south to the three-story home of Trevor and Tami Jeppesen at 683 South 100 East. Acting as their own general contractors, they chose favorite features from various house plans, and were ready to move into their new home in August 2017.
A vaulted ceiling and window-filled wall of the living room provide just the right location for a flocked tree with natural touches of tiny log slabs, pine cones and faux fur ribbon set among white, silver and gold ornaments. They loved their leather couch and love seats, but not the dark brown color, so Tami literally painted them a soft camel. Geometric black and white pillows add a classy touch, and the gas fireplace a comfy one.
The main floor includes the living room and white country-style kitchen, dining area, master suite, office, laundry and mud room. A loft overlooking the living room is a game room for the five children, ages 5 to 15, with four bedrooms and a bath opening onto the area. Each of the kids will have their own theme tree: Legos, robots, soccer, etc.
In the basement are a second living room, kitchenette, two bedrooms, bath, gym, and a sports court for basketball and volleyball—a favorite spot for the neighbor kids, as well. Both the main floor and basement have outdoor access.
Tami makes designer signs as a business, so her home is filled with fun signs. They are made to order as Roxie Flair, primarily via the internet. She also loves greenery, so had to find places to put plants to make way for holiday decor which includes wreaths she made to adorn doors, backs of the kitchen bar stools, and many other locations.
A favorite spot to decorate for each season is a wall in the traffic area that goes from living room to kitchen, which is now covered with natural holiday materials including a crooked branch with hanging winter items. It all adds up to a great home for this active family.
November 14, 2018 • Sarah Yates • Editor Emeritus
It’s become a local tradition, and this year’s Civic Improvement Club’s Holiday Home Show will help usher in the season on Saturday, December 1, from 12 to 5 p.m. Eight homes ranging from an 1885 pioneer home to brand new homes, plus a business located in an historic home, will be open to visitors during those hours. Tickets are a $10 donation to the club’s scholarship fund. Homes can be visited in any order, with tickets available at each location or downtown at Drewes Floral, 28 South Main, or Consignology at 95 South Main.
Not only does the family of Dustin and Rachel Davis enjoy the modern convenience of their home at 1319 North Kotter Drive (a loop off Highland) but they have a wonderful panorama of the valley and mountains to the west of the hillside home they have lived in for a year and a half. They moved from Farmington to live in a quieter, more peaceful neighborhood and definitely found it.
Visitors are welcomed in a light, bright entry which opens onto an office on one side and the hallway to the master bedroom on the other, and leads into the great room with its magnificent view. One end is the living room, with a fireplace centered between built-in cabinets. Neutral furnishings are complemented by pops of gold, teal and green accent pillows and casual decor.
The other side is a white kitchen, featuring subway tile with a sparkling inlaid glass tile as the backdrop above the range. It’s not only efficient with its stainless steel appliances, but Rachel enjoys being part of the family as she prepares and cleans up after meals.
The walk-in pantry is a delight of textures and colors, since Rachel transfers most dry foods into clear containers. The dining area features a teardrop chandelier.
With five children ranging from age four to 16 in this family, the home has four bedrooms on the lower level, as well as a family room, game room and guest bedroom. It’s a walkout level, as well, to a beautifully landscaped yard terraced to provide play space on the steep hillside.
It’s a step into the past to visit the center-of-town pioneer era home of Lynette Reeder, 122 North 100 West. The small entryway offers a peek into a world of old-fashioned charm representing years of gradual change, but retaining its simple beginnings.
The home was built in 1885 for Lauritz and Mattie Berg, a plain Scandinavian adobe house. It was love at first sight when Lynette bought the home in 2005. The early pine floors remain throughout that original block, not stained but varnished to add their warmth to each room. Windows, woodwork, doors and original hardware reflect those early days, as well.
As with older homes, there were modifications as electricity, indoor plumbing and central heating were added, such as a bathroom and additional bedroom. Sometime during the craftsman period, doorways were arched and built-ins added, but they magnify the charm of the house. Lynette loves those, such as the mail slot and laundry chute.
She has furnished her home with a combination of family heirlooms, yard sale and thrift store buys, and castaways from friends and neighbors…such as a faux fireplace from the Moskowitz home. Some items have been cleaned or painted and treated, but retain their true nature as treasures from the past. Her walls are filled with family art including that of her mother, Coleen Bradford, as well as recent paintings of her own.
Walk through the pantry to a sunny glassed-in porch where Lynette loves to catch rays in the wintertime, and where she has the supplies to make her soap and lotion. Then head upstairs where there is a sewing room, guest room, bathroom and the best: a long toy room with a slanted roof, all of which her grandkids think is magical and want to stay forever.
Coming back into the modern era, Bryan and Jesenia Walker’s home high on the Perry hillside at 1867 South Maple Hills Drive (75 East) is a three-story house designed by the couple as a place to raise their four children, ages 5 to 13. They have lived in the home for two and one-half years, and love the neighborhood and their neighbors.
The main floor entry opens onto an office, then leads into the living area of a great room with a view of the close-by mountainside. White walls, a vaulted ceiling and plenty of windows create a light and airy look enhanced by comfy neutral furnishings near a warm gas fireplace.
Overlooking the living room is a loft, which is the upstairs common area onto which the four children’s bedrooms open, plus creating the ceiling of a modern kitchen with subway tile above the counter space. Cupboards and decor give the kitchen a combined country and craftsman atmosphere. A pot-filler faucet over the range, walk-in pantry, main floor laundry and central vacuum system help this busy mother with the housekeeping.
The main floor also houses the master bedroom and bath, while the finished basement has a large family room, home gym, a guest bedroom and bath. That level also is a walkout to the back yard, tiered into play areas.
Visitors will notice unusual and attractive lighting throughout the house. Jesenia has a degree in interior design with lighting as a speciality, and her parents have a lighting store, so she goes to a lighting market annually. Her design touches can be seen throughout the house, and she also uses her talents for demonstrations, weddings, home lighting and special events.
Homes which will be open for the show include those of Carl and Darla Wheeler, 997 Lombardy; Julie Anderson, 934 Grandview; Lynette Reeder, 122 North 100 West; Glen and Christine Elgan, 936 West 1025 South, Dustin and Rachel Davis.1319 North Kotter Drive (via Highland), and the Mermaid Birth Center (former Knudson home) at 48 South 100 East, all in Brigham City; Trevor and Tami Jeppesen, 683 S 100 East; Ron & Kerry Nelson, 137 East 400 South, both in Mantua; Bryan and Jesenia Walker, 1867 South Maple Hills (75 East) in Perry.
The Reeder home, 122 North 100 West, Brigham City.
|
The Walker home, 1867 South Maple Hills (75 East), Perry.
|
|
|
|
Objects in photo may be smaller than they appear, this living area is part of one of the model displays at the Wheeler home.
|
Glen and Christine Elgan, 936 West 1025 South
|
Veteran’s Day honors military service
November 14, 2018 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
Donald “Donnie” Banks, Sergeant in the United States Army who worked as Military Police. Banks is now the Computer Network Architect for the Information Technology Department at Box Elder School District.
“I served 10 years from Jan 1991 to Jan 2001 as an 18 year old boy wanting to serve my country in the Gulf war. Unfortunately the war was over before I finished basic training, so I was sent to Korea instead. I was mainly stationed at Ft Campbell, KY with 101st Airborne Division, but served two tours to Korea, and deployed to Panama twice. While I was in the military I was Air Assault trained, customs certified, received 2 army achievement medals, an army Commendation medal, Joint Meritorious Unit award, 2 army good conduct medals, National Defense service medal, Humanitarian service medal, NCO Professional development ribbon, 2 overseas Service ribbons. I learned a lot from the military that shaped me into the person that I am today, I learned how to treat others, lead, take ownership of my responsibilities, and to be a man. I learned that there was more to life than just myself. I loved some of the things I was able to do that you don’t normally get to do in the civilian life like rappelling out of a helicopter, and all the different weapons I was able to shoot on a regular basis.”
Johnny Krey, Staff Sergeant for the United States Army National Guard, is now a janitor at Bear River High School.
Krey was drafted in 1966 to the U.S. Army, during the Vietnam War, he was sent to Korea where he served for 13 months. After returning home he got out of the Army and joined the National Guard where he continued to serve for 19 years, reaching the E6 rank of Staff Sergeant. In all he has 21 years of military service.
His time in the military taught him patience that he applies daily with students at BRHS. “I know that they are good people, and I like to encourage them to do good.” When students ask him about the prospect of joining the military he realizes that it is a deeply personal decision and tells them to investigate and research for themselves to find out if it is a good fit. Krey is proud that when his number was called he stood up and served his country.
Darrell Christensen served in the United States Army for three years, from 1966-1969. During that time he spent one year in Vietnam from 1967-1968, a tour for which he volunteered. He served as support for the 1st Air Calvary, supporting helicopters and gunships for nine months in An Khe. Christensen was not an infantry soldier, but was there to help support the continued missions. After An Khe he made a unit move and served an additional three months in Vietam before returning stateside. Following that he served out the remainder of his orders in California.
Christensen is a custodian at Bear River High School and is proud of his time in service. He said that it has been influential throughout his life. “It mold your personality,” Christensen said, “In the military you find out you can do things that you didn’t think that you can do.”
The lodge room where meetings are held, here the altar holding a Holy Bible is featured, the secretary’s desk is also illuminated in the background.
Mysterious happenings at the Masonic Lodge: haunted or historic?
In the lounge area the electricity was not working, Mike Nelson held a lighter to illuminate some of the large framed pieces of artwork that serve as ciphers to Masonic members.
October 31, 2018 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
The Corinne Masonic Lodge #5 has a storied past as one of the longest continually occupied Masonic Lodge in the United States, chartered in 1873, only four years after Corinne was founded. Age and rumor have led many residents to believe that the building could be haunted, along with personal experiences that cannot be explained.
The Masonic Lodge is nestled along the once booming Montana Street, where saloons, package stores and hotels were prevalent in the wild days of the newly established city. The Freemasons shared building space with the Odd Fellows until the teen years of the 1900s and have since allowed other businesses to rent space, the organization has continued to function in that location since the heyday of Corinne’s checkered past.
Throughout the years the rolls have held names of prominent, influential residents some of whom allegedly have a lingering presence in the space, although they have long been deceased. There are a few areas of the lodge that have had energy shifts that have not been able to be explained away.
Mike Nelson, a member and former Grand Master Mason, takes his personal experiences with possible paranormal activity with a healthy dose of skepticism. He logically tries to debunk any outside environmental factors that could be an influence on certain unusual happenings. The typical issues that occur are when lights shut off for no reason. Lighting in the building doesn’t always function properly, which is often dismissed due to old wiring. A door near the back staircase frequently opens despite members intentionally jamming it shut to prevent it from swinging open. Recently, Nelson was alone in the dimly lit lodge room and heard a slow creak as the door shifted on its hinges opening wider than he left it. Nelson looked for a cause but was not successful. The old building it could easily be the building settling, or even a shift in air pressure due to a door opening downstairs. And although he brushed it off, the feeling still lingered enough to be notable.
Nelson sometimes sends out a verbal greeting when he enters the building, recognizing that he may not be alone even though he is the only living person present. Nelson said it is actually kind of comforting to never feel fully alone in that space as he performs a number of general maintenance tasks and upkeep for the lodge. He doesn’t believe that there is anything malevolent about any presences that may be around the building.
Other local residents have felt or experienced moments that are cemented in their memories. Brigham City woman, Amanda Tea, had an unusual occurrence in the late 90s when she was doing homework downstairs while her mother and grandmother attended an Eastern Star meeting upstairs. Eastern Star is a co-ed appendant body to the Masons.
“I’d sit down on the main floor in the kitchen and do school work while they went to meetings upstairs. While downstairs, I’d hear people walking around in the main entrance even though the doors were locked and everyone was upstairs. Chairs would move, papers would fly off counters and you’d hear footsteps,” said Tea.
One evening she was wandering in the banquet room looking over the historical images and memorabilia before returning to her seat in the kitchen to finish her homework. Tea said, “Not even a minute later, I heard a noise from the other room. It sounded like heavy boots on the wooden floors.” Tea said that she assumed that the meeting was over and that someone had returned down the stairs. But when she walked back into the banquet area she found herself alone. “No one was there, but a few brochures that had been on a counter were now in the middle of the doorway leading to the stairs.”
There were brochures that had been on a counter spread out on the floor. Tea said she had no explanation for why they would be on the floor in that way as the air wasn’t on and there were no other people nearby. Tea said, “I put them back, went back into the kitchen and closed the door behind me. When the meeting was done and the members came downstairs, not one person had on any kind of heavy boot.”
Tea also shared a story that her mother had recounted about an evening when she was not feeling well during a meeting. Tea’s mother went downstairs, where she was alone, but soon felt the pressure of a hand on her shoulder which gave her a chill down her spine.
Upstairs there is a lounge area just outside of the lodge room where breaks are taken during meetings. This room holds many historic books and does not always have electrical lighting available. This area, along with a hall and powder room located to the north of this space were used in an independent film, many of the crew experienced similar claims: feeling a presence, hearing unexplained sounds or even physical pressure on their persons.
Some lodge members reference a specific deceased member when they feel anything paranormal, but of course there is no way to prove it. But, their best guesses are based on that member’s personality traits and his commitment to the Masons brotherhood.
Outside of possible paranormal experiences what take place within the walls of the lodge is cloaked in mystery-- but only for those who don’t ask. Sometimes referred to as a secret society, Masons often joke that there is more that they can talk about than what they can’t. Despite an overwhelming amount of symbolism, cipher and ritual Masons often hold events, and even open houses welcoming the public for tours, events and fundraisers.
The Masonic organization is often misunderstood. Most Freemasons argue that it is strictly a secular social club for men, while others find the organization to be spiritual in nature and would argue that it could be formally recognized as a religious entity. There certainly is religious influence. One of the requirements to gain membership, men must acknowledge the existence of a supreme being; although the organization dictate or influence what members religious beliefs should be beyond belief in God.
Even within the hierarchy of leadership within the Freemasons, there is civil disagreement about whether or not the secular organization crosses into a spiritual realm which could qualify as a religion. This argument is fueled by the incorporation of biblical text, ritual and service.
The main text that guides the Masons is the Holy Bible, used as a historical, secular guide. Through levels of study and advancement degrees are granted. Rituals for advancement, include stanzas which must be repeated word for word. Symbols and ciphers throughout the lodge directly refer to a higher power. A theme of a celestial guidance has direct impact on the Earth, with particular attention paid to the Sun is prevalent in Masonic themes. Even the lodge room is based on the structure of Solomon’s Temple from the Hebrew Bible, where direction plays a significant role in defining the leadership structure, not unlike Christian theology’s repeated reference to rising in the East.
Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest and largest fraternal organizations. Masons played important roles in the foundation of this country, and the governmental structure of our modern society. George Washington was a noted Mason, among other important notables during the American revolution and well beyond, including one-third of U.S. Presidents.
According to Utahgrandlodge.org, the overall goal is that of making good men better. “The mission of Freemasonry in Utah is to teach and perpetuate a way of life that promotes brotherhood, self-improvement through education, high moral standards, charitable action, and community involvement.”
Beyond the Masons cultural impact, through charity and service, the building itself is a monument to a simpler time. Although improvements have been made the lodge is host to a great many original embellishments like lighting fixtures, architectural details on the mason work outside, and furnishings including the altar still used today that were brought in by Alexander Topance in 1872 from Helena, Montana. Tribute is also paid to the Corinne Lodge’s founding father was Judge Edmund Pelton Johnson, who conferred 59 degrees, the largest number by any Master Mason in the jurisdiction, who went on to be elected Grand Master of Utah in 1876. After passing he was buried in Corinne. An opportunity to learn more about the building or the fraternal organization will take place at a fundraising dinner on Saturday, Nov. 10, from 4:30-8 p.m. Following their local tradition the Masons will be hosting a dinner of freshly delivered Oregon oysters, served fried, along with honey baked ham, fried green tomatoes, various salads, ice cream and homemade desserts. The dinner is a donation of $15 per person, the proceeds go directly to the restoration and renovation of the lodge building, 4055 Montana Street, Corinne.
The Corinne Masonic Lodge #5 has a storied past as one of the longest continually occupied Masonic Lodge in the United States, chartered in 1873, only four years after Corinne was founded. Age and rumor have led many residents to believe that the building could be haunted, along with personal experiences that cannot be explained.
The Masonic Lodge is nestled along the once booming Montana Street, where saloons, package stores and hotels were prevalent in the wild days of the newly established city. The Freemasons shared building space with the Odd Fellows until the teen years of the 1900s and have since allowed other businesses to rent space, the organization has continued to function in that location since the heyday of Corinne’s checkered past.
Throughout the years the rolls have held names of prominent, influential residents some of whom allegedly have a lingering presence in the space, although they have long been deceased. There are a few areas of the lodge that have had energy shifts that have not been able to be explained away.
Mike Nelson, a member and former Grand Master Mason, takes his personal experiences with possible paranormal activity with a healthy dose of skepticism. He logically tries to debunk any outside environmental factors that could be an influence on certain unusual happenings. The typical issues that occur are when lights shut off for no reason. Lighting in the building doesn’t always function properly, which is often dismissed due to old wiring. A door near the back staircase frequently opens despite members intentionally jamming it shut to prevent it from swinging open. Recently, Nelson was alone in the dimly lit lodge room and heard a slow creak as the door shifted on its hinges opening wider than he left it. Nelson looked for a cause but was not successful. The old building it could easily be the building settling, or even a shift in air pressure due to a door opening downstairs. And although he brushed it off, the feeling still lingered enough to be notable.
Nelson sometimes sends out a verbal greeting when he enters the building, recognizing that he may not be alone even though he is the only living person present. Nelson said it is actually kind of comforting to never feel fully alone in that space as he performs a number of general maintenance tasks and upkeep for the lodge. He doesn’t believe that there is anything malevolent about any presences that may be around the building.
Other local residents have felt or experienced moments that are cemented in their memories. Brigham City woman, Amanda Tea, had an unusual occurrence in the late 90s when she was doing homework downstairs while her mother and grandmother attended an Eastern Star meeting upstairs. Eastern Star is a co-ed appendant body to the Masons.
“I’d sit down on the main floor in the kitchen and do school work while they went to meetings upstairs. While downstairs, I’d hear people walking around in the main entrance even though the doors were locked and everyone was upstairs. Chairs would move, papers would fly off counters and you’d hear footsteps,” said Tea.
One evening she was wandering in the banquet room looking over the historical images and memorabilia before returning to her seat in the kitchen to finish her homework. Tea said, “Not even a minute later, I heard a noise from the other room. It sounded like heavy boots on the wooden floors.” Tea said that she assumed that the meeting was over and that someone had returned down the stairs. But when she walked back into the banquet area she found herself alone. “No one was there, but a few brochures that had been on a counter were now in the middle of the doorway leading to the stairs.”
There were brochures that had been on a counter spread out on the floor. Tea said she had no explanation for why they would be on the floor in that way as the air wasn’t on and there were no other people nearby. Tea said, “I put them back, went back into the kitchen and closed the door behind me. When the meeting was done and the members came downstairs, not one person had on any kind of heavy boot.”
Tea also shared a story that her mother had recounted about an evening when she was not feeling well during a meeting. Tea’s mother went downstairs, where she was alone, but soon felt the pressure of a hand on her shoulder which gave her a chill down her spine.
Upstairs there is a lounge area just outside of the lodge room where breaks are taken during meetings. This room holds many historic books and does not always have electrical lighting available. This area, along with a hall and powder room located to the north of this space were used in an independent film, many of the crew experienced similar claims: feeling a presence, hearing unexplained sounds or even physical pressure on their persons.
Some lodge members reference a specific deceased member when they feel anything paranormal, but of course there is no way to prove it. But, their best guesses are based on that member’s personality traits and his commitment to the Masons brotherhood.
Outside of possible paranormal experiences what take place within the walls of the lodge is cloaked in mystery-- but only for those who don’t ask. Sometimes referred to as a secret society, Masons often joke that there is more that they can talk about than what they can’t. Despite an overwhelming amount of symbolism, cipher and ritual Masons often hold events, and even open houses welcoming the public for tours, events and fundraisers.
The Masonic organization is often misunderstood. Most Freemasons argue that it is strictly a secular social club for men, while others find the organization to be spiritual in nature and would argue that it could be formally recognized as a religious entity. There certainly is religious influence. One of the requirements to gain membership, men must acknowledge the existence of a supreme being; although the organization dictate or influence what members religious beliefs should be beyond belief in God.
Even within the hierarchy of leadership within the Freemasons, there is civil disagreement about whether or not the secular organization crosses into a spiritual realm which could qualify as a religion. This argument is fueled by the incorporation of biblical text, ritual and service.
The main text that guides the Masons is the Holy Bible, used as a historical, secular guide. Through levels of study and advancement degrees are granted. Rituals for advancement, include stanzas which must be repeated word for word. Symbols and ciphers throughout the lodge directly refer to a higher power. A theme of a celestial guidance has direct impact on the Earth, with particular attention paid to the Sun is prevalent in Masonic themes. Even the lodge room is based on the structure of Solomon’s Temple from the Hebrew Bible, where direction plays a significant role in defining the leadership structure, not unlike Christian theology’s repeated reference to rising in the East.
Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest and largest fraternal organizations. Masons played important roles in the foundation of this country, and the governmental structure of our modern society. George Washington was a noted Mason, among other important notables during the American revolution and well beyond, including one-third of U.S. Presidents.
According to Utahgrandlodge.org, the overall goal is that of making good men better. “The mission of Freemasonry in Utah is to teach and perpetuate a way of life that promotes brotherhood, self-improvement through education, high moral standards, charitable action, and community involvement.”
Beyond the Masons cultural impact, through charity and service, the building itself is a monument to a simpler time. Although improvements have been made the lodge is host to a great many original embellishments like lighting fixtures, architectural details on the mason work outside, and furnishings including the altar still used today that were brought in by Alexander Topance in 1872 from Helena, Montana. Tribute is also paid to the Corinne Lodge’s founding father was Judge Edmund Pelton Johnson, who conferred 59 degrees, the largest number by any Master Mason in the jurisdiction, who went on to be elected Grand Master of Utah in 1876. After passing he was buried in Corinne. An opportunity to learn more about the building or the fraternal organization will take place at a fundraising dinner on Saturday, Nov. 10, from 4:30-8 p.m. Following their local tradition the Masons will be hosting a dinner of freshly delivered Oregon oysters, served fried, along with honey baked ham, fried green tomatoes, various salads, ice cream and homemade desserts. The dinner is a donation of $15 per person, the proceeds go directly to the restoration and renovation of the lodge building, 4055 Montana Street, Corinne.
Thurl Bailey to perform in Brigham City
October 24, 2018 • Nancy Browne • Staff writer
Some have said Thurl Bailey’s towering 7-foot height is miniscule compared to his talent as a singer and inspirational speaker.
Area residents will have the chance to experience it for themselves at his concert Nov. 15, at the Academy Conference Center in Brigham City, which will include a professionally catered dinner.
Tickets are $40 for those ages 10 and over and are going fast, according to event organizer Bob Cosgrove. There will be a meet and greet at 5 p.m. with dinner starting at 6 p.m. at the center that holds 250 people.
Cosgrove said he wants people to see this as a date night out and is planning similar concerts at the center with first-class talent “so that people come to know that these events are not just garage bands.”
He said his friendship with Bailey goes back 10 years, “and so I’m excited he’s coming up here to do this.”
Bailey said in an interview he will be choosing from original songs and from other contemporary artists that will touch an inspiring chord in listeners.
“The music I choose covers a broad scope that has meaning,” he said. “I want people to feel joy and inspiration from the lyrics and music that is attractive to all ages. Sometimes people come to my concerts out of curiosity because they know me as a basketball player.”
He played for both the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves from 1983 to 1999, after winning the 1983 NCAA championship under coach Jim Valvano at North Carolina State University.
He said even during his time playing ball he wrote or co-wrote music with friends. “My career always kept me quite busy but I always knew I would someday go into my first love, music.”
His first album, “Faith in your Heart,” released in 2000 was a best seller. His second album, “The Gift of Christmas,” released the following year, also experienced record sales. His latest released CD, entitled “I’m Not the Same,” is a selection of uplifting R & B tunes.
Among his many musical awards are the 2000 Pearl Awards of Best Contemporary Recording and Best New Artist of the Year.
Although Bailey also plays the trombone and tuba he said as he got older his love for singing outweighed everything else.
“I want to share my talent and maybe make somebody smile,” he said. At one concert that was in front of all men, I sang ‘Cats in the Cradle’ and everyone was just bawling. It just struck a chord.”
Just like he did on the basketball court, Bailey said his work as a singer, inspirational speaker and humanitarian, are all about inspiring people to become their best selves. “Most of us contemplate the purpose of life. We’re all really here to serve people.”
Bailey, who grew up as one of five kids in a stormy environment in Washington, D.C., eventually converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1995. He and his wife, Sindi, have three children.
This will be Bailey’s third performance in Brigham City in the last six or seven years, he said. The other two were at the Heritage Arts Festival and during Peach Days.
The Nov. 15 concert is the second of a new dinner concert series that will be scheduled at the Academy Conference Center. The first was last month with “A Toast to Bread.”
“The city reached out to me to do these concerts in an effort to breathe some life into the Academy Center,” said Cosgrove. “Idle Isle will cater the Thurl Bailey event, with five other restaurants rotating for other concerts.”
Drewes Floral owner Kelly Driscoll, who is working with Cosgrove on the series said, “We didn’t want the academy to sit idle, although it’s used weekly, but there is always room for more events. The city has really been trying to find new avenues for its use.”
The first concert in the series held earlier this month and featuring the band A Toast to Bread, sold out two shows. At the shows, about half of the attendees were from out of the area, according to Cosgrove.
As of press time, there were 48 tickets (out of 240) available for the show. Tickets can be purchased by calling Cosgrove at 435-720-3177, or at Drewes Floral & Gift, 28 S. Main St., Brigham City, or by calling Drewes at 435-723-8571.
Some have said Thurl Bailey’s towering 7-foot height is miniscule compared to his talent as a singer and inspirational speaker.
Area residents will have the chance to experience it for themselves at his concert Nov. 15, at the Academy Conference Center in Brigham City, which will include a professionally catered dinner.
Tickets are $40 for those ages 10 and over and are going fast, according to event organizer Bob Cosgrove. There will be a meet and greet at 5 p.m. with dinner starting at 6 p.m. at the center that holds 250 people.
Cosgrove said he wants people to see this as a date night out and is planning similar concerts at the center with first-class talent “so that people come to know that these events are not just garage bands.”
He said his friendship with Bailey goes back 10 years, “and so I’m excited he’s coming up here to do this.”
Bailey said in an interview he will be choosing from original songs and from other contemporary artists that will touch an inspiring chord in listeners.
“The music I choose covers a broad scope that has meaning,” he said. “I want people to feel joy and inspiration from the lyrics and music that is attractive to all ages. Sometimes people come to my concerts out of curiosity because they know me as a basketball player.”
He played for both the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves from 1983 to 1999, after winning the 1983 NCAA championship under coach Jim Valvano at North Carolina State University.
He said even during his time playing ball he wrote or co-wrote music with friends. “My career always kept me quite busy but I always knew I would someday go into my first love, music.”
His first album, “Faith in your Heart,” released in 2000 was a best seller. His second album, “The Gift of Christmas,” released the following year, also experienced record sales. His latest released CD, entitled “I’m Not the Same,” is a selection of uplifting R & B tunes.
Among his many musical awards are the 2000 Pearl Awards of Best Contemporary Recording and Best New Artist of the Year.
Although Bailey also plays the trombone and tuba he said as he got older his love for singing outweighed everything else.
“I want to share my talent and maybe make somebody smile,” he said. At one concert that was in front of all men, I sang ‘Cats in the Cradle’ and everyone was just bawling. It just struck a chord.”
Just like he did on the basketball court, Bailey said his work as a singer, inspirational speaker and humanitarian, are all about inspiring people to become their best selves. “Most of us contemplate the purpose of life. We’re all really here to serve people.”
Bailey, who grew up as one of five kids in a stormy environment in Washington, D.C., eventually converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1995. He and his wife, Sindi, have three children.
This will be Bailey’s third performance in Brigham City in the last six or seven years, he said. The other two were at the Heritage Arts Festival and during Peach Days.
The Nov. 15 concert is the second of a new dinner concert series that will be scheduled at the Academy Conference Center. The first was last month with “A Toast to Bread.”
“The city reached out to me to do these concerts in an effort to breathe some life into the Academy Center,” said Cosgrove. “Idle Isle will cater the Thurl Bailey event, with five other restaurants rotating for other concerts.”
Drewes Floral owner Kelly Driscoll, who is working with Cosgrove on the series said, “We didn’t want the academy to sit idle, although it’s used weekly, but there is always room for more events. The city has really been trying to find new avenues for its use.”
The first concert in the series held earlier this month and featuring the band A Toast to Bread, sold out two shows. At the shows, about half of the attendees were from out of the area, according to Cosgrove.
As of press time, there were 48 tickets (out of 240) available for the show. Tickets can be purchased by calling Cosgrove at 435-720-3177, or at Drewes Floral & Gift, 28 S. Main St., Brigham City, or by calling Drewes at 435-723-8571.
Trilobites, fossils, and artifacts displayed at BC Museum
October 24, 2018 • Hailey Hendricks • Staff writer
The largest trilobite collection a person can see publicly in the Western United States is located right here, in Brigham City, at the Box Elder Natural History Museum.
The museum has trilobites from every continent in the world except Antarctica, but this museum isn’t only for trilobite collections- it has fossils, fluorescent rocks, minerals and artifacts from abandoned mines.
“People come here from other places because they know we have this awesome museum,” said Kaia Landon, the museum coordinator, “and somehow people in Washington know this, but people in Brigham City do not unless they’ve come here with a special group.”
Landon said what makes the museum unique for locals is that the overall collections are worldwide, but yet, it has items that have been discovered not far from Brigham City that are rare finds.
The mineral, variscite is one of those things that Box Elder County has that’s not found many other places in the world.
“Variscite only comes from parts of Northern Utah and Central Utah, as well as Russia,” Landon said.
“Variscite is so valuable, that they put it in the crown jewels of the Russian Tsars,” said Ron Cefalo, the museum’s curator. “It’s a gem-quality mineral that’s really important.”
Finding fascination in the items the museum has to offer, Cefalo said he hopes that those who visit get to experience “what a great world we live in.”
“If you just look down and see what you can find, you will appreciate it,” Cefalo said. “I hope people really do get to see and appreciate the things in their county, country, and world.”
From getting to feel different textures of what a dinosaur may have felt like, to seeing rocks that glow under fluorescent lights, Landon said her goal for the museum is for people to come and be educated, while also making it interactive for kids.
“I hope that they [people] learn that there’s a lot of variation in the natural world and that there’s things worth exploring and that this is kinda just a taste of what you can see,” Landon said.
Cefalo said what once started out as Brigham City resident Lloyd Gunther’s collection of historical items, later turned into the beginning of the museum. He said Gunther’s donations used to be the main contribution, and now, they’re only a small fraction of what’s been collected.
“It’s gone from one man’s vision to many,” Cefalo said. “Over the years, the museum has grown in quantity and quality.”
Both, Cefalo and Landon hope to continue to collect items that will develop the history of the museum and can be enjoyed by the public for years to come.
The museum is free and open to the public Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Special tours can be made by appointment.
The largest trilobite collection a person can see publicly in the Western United States is located right here, in Brigham City, at the Box Elder Natural History Museum.
The museum has trilobites from every continent in the world except Antarctica, but this museum isn’t only for trilobite collections- it has fossils, fluorescent rocks, minerals and artifacts from abandoned mines.
“People come here from other places because they know we have this awesome museum,” said Kaia Landon, the museum coordinator, “and somehow people in Washington know this, but people in Brigham City do not unless they’ve come here with a special group.”
Landon said what makes the museum unique for locals is that the overall collections are worldwide, but yet, it has items that have been discovered not far from Brigham City that are rare finds.
The mineral, variscite is one of those things that Box Elder County has that’s not found many other places in the world.
“Variscite only comes from parts of Northern Utah and Central Utah, as well as Russia,” Landon said.
“Variscite is so valuable, that they put it in the crown jewels of the Russian Tsars,” said Ron Cefalo, the museum’s curator. “It’s a gem-quality mineral that’s really important.”
Finding fascination in the items the museum has to offer, Cefalo said he hopes that those who visit get to experience “what a great world we live in.”
“If you just look down and see what you can find, you will appreciate it,” Cefalo said. “I hope people really do get to see and appreciate the things in their county, country, and world.”
From getting to feel different textures of what a dinosaur may have felt like, to seeing rocks that glow under fluorescent lights, Landon said her goal for the museum is for people to come and be educated, while also making it interactive for kids.
“I hope that they [people] learn that there’s a lot of variation in the natural world and that there’s things worth exploring and that this is kinda just a taste of what you can see,” Landon said.
Cefalo said what once started out as Brigham City resident Lloyd Gunther’s collection of historical items, later turned into the beginning of the museum. He said Gunther’s donations used to be the main contribution, and now, they’re only a small fraction of what’s been collected.
“It’s gone from one man’s vision to many,” Cefalo said. “Over the years, the museum has grown in quantity and quality.”
Both, Cefalo and Landon hope to continue to collect items that will develop the history of the museum and can be enjoyed by the public for years to come.
The museum is free and open to the public Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Special tours can be made by appointment.
Domestic Violence Awareness events bring attention
Rylee Jorgensen, 8, and Kasen Jorgensen, 11, children of Amanda Poulsen, lead the walk down Main Street in Brigham City.
October 17, 2018 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
The crowd at the Domestic Violence Awareness and Candlelight vigil held at the Box Elder County Courthouse was small, due to a last minute rescheduling for weather, but spirited. Many with personal stories to tell, and others who have worked as a support system for those facing crisis conditions.
Amanda Poulsen had every reason to miss the Domestic Violence Awareness walk held in downtown Brigham City on Wednesday, she underwent a surgical procedure that morning, but nothing was going to stop her from giving her support to New Hope Crisis Center and raising awareness in the community for a cause near to her heart.
Poulsen is grateful for the services she received when she faced a crisis situation. Poulsen said, “New Hope offered a secure place for me and my children where we were fed, clothed, and out of danger. They offered many resources from therapy to life skills and personal development.”
“The aftermath of domestic violence is a hard thing to recover from. I took the first full year and a half out of the shelter starting over, building a new life for me and my children. We continued in therapy, slowly learned to trust again, and built a stronger love within the walls of our home.” Poulsen said, “With the services provided by New Hope, I was able to identify abusive behaviors. I learned the cycle of abuse and how to avoid being vulnerable to those types of relationships.”
Education, therapy and faith allowed Poulsen to move forward in life and in love. Poulsen said, “Because of their help, I can confidently say that 4 months ago I married a man who I fully trust to keep me safe and never put me in harms way.”
Her husband was at her side, along with her son and daughter at the walk held last week. Poulsen believes that by allowing her children to be involved in the outreach community efforts will enable them to be allies to those in need. “Keeping them involved reminds them that it’s okay to speak out against abuse of any kind, that they as well have a voice to be heard. It also keeps their hearts open to helping other people which is something I’ve been instilling in my children for many years,” said Poulsen.
October 17, 2018 • Loni Newby • Associate editor
The crowd at the Domestic Violence Awareness and Candlelight vigil held at the Box Elder County Courthouse was small, due to a last minute rescheduling for weather, but spirited. Many with personal stories to tell, and others who have worked as a support system for those facing crisis conditions.
Amanda Poulsen had every reason to miss the Domestic Violence Awareness walk held in downtown Brigham City on Wednesday, she underwent a surgical procedure that morning, but nothing was going to stop her from giving her support to New Hope Crisis Center and raising awareness in the community for a cause near to her heart.
Poulsen is grateful for the services she received when she faced a crisis situation. Poulsen said, “New Hope offered a secure place for me and my children where we were fed, clothed, and out of danger. They offered many resources from therapy to life skills and personal development.”
“The aftermath of domestic violence is a hard thing to recover from. I took the first full year and a half out of the shelter starting over, building a new life for me and my children. We continued in therapy, slowly learned to trust again, and built a stronger love within the walls of our home.” Poulsen said, “With the services provided by New Hope, I was able to identify abusive behaviors. I learned the cycle of abuse and how to avoid being vulnerable to those types of relationships.”
Education, therapy and faith allowed Poulsen to move forward in life and in love. Poulsen said, “Because of their help, I can confidently say that 4 months ago I married a man who I fully trust to keep me safe and never put me in harms way.”
Her husband was at her side, along with her son and daughter at the walk held last week. Poulsen believes that by allowing her children to be involved in the outreach community efforts will enable them to be allies to those in need. “Keeping them involved reminds them that it’s okay to speak out against abuse of any kind, that they as well have a voice to be heard. It also keeps their hearts open to helping other people which is something I’ve been instilling in my children for many years,” said Poulsen.