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Show City of Gram RlatrltG 04 years of growth with 2003 Surnrnorfost CLYDE E. WEEKS, JR. Times Correspondent With this year's 2003 Orem Family Summerfest- slated to be bigger and better than ever-some people look back into Orem's history and try to imagine what things were like over a century ago. Today's scene is vastly different here, from the June of 135 years ago, when there was no roads to clog, and on fireworks to send into the stratosphere. strato-sphere. With a handful of people here, eking out a meager existence on this dry and unforgiving 17-square-mile plateau, known as the Provo Beach, there was little sense of community, and even less reason to celebrate, much of anything. There were no refreshment stands in the city park, and no frosties or cold drinks, waiting to when the thirsts of celebrants.' It was about all the residents could do to haul enough water from the Provo River or Utah Lake to sustain their lives and propagate the crops they needed to grow in order to validate their homesteads. With the first part-time settlers, tackling the rattlesnakes and sagebrush sage-brush in Provo Bench back in 1861, it took 30 years, before the population of the community exceeded 450 people. By 1919 over 1,000 people resided on the Provo Bench and decided that it was time to make an incorporated town out of this aggregation of hardworking hard-working people who could see incorporation incorpo-ration as the means to obtain not only a culinary water system, but also, an electric railroad on which they could ship their fruit and produce, as well as ride, themselves, to the great metropolis metropo-lis of Salt Lake City. Now, that was something to celebrate! cele-brate! And celebrate, they did! On May Day and Pioneer day, each year, they gathered together in sporting events, dances and picnics. Their favorite site for these events ' was nearby Geneva Bathing Resort, located at 1600 North, just one mile west of the present Orem city limits. Horse racing, ball games, shooting matches and other games of athletic prowess were popular, as well as boating, boat-ing, bathing, and fishing. Sailboat racing rac-ing was an exciting sport which attracted large crowds. On September 15, 1929, on the division divi-sion of the Utah Stake of the LDS Church, the Sharon LDS Stake was organized in Orem, comprising the Edgemont, Grand View, Sharon, Timpanogos and Vineyard Wards with a total LDS membership of 3,022 people. peo-ple. Initiated at the time was an annual Sharon Stake Outing, held at the Geneva Resort, which would constitute what amounted to the community celebration cele-bration in Orem for the next decade. As described in the July 221, 1933 issue of The Voice of Sharon, predecessor predeces-sor to the Or em-Geneva Times: "A day of pleasure and enjoyments, planned for all members of the Sharon Stake and their friends, is the Fourth Annual Outing, which will be held at the Geneva Resort on beautiful Utah Lake, Friday, August 4th. The activities of the day will commence com-mence with a miniature parade at 10 a.m., and form this hour until the strains of 'Home Sweet Home'are played at midnight, bringing to a close the big dance, there will be something doing every minute. The General Committee includes B.M. Jolley, chairman, chair-man, and C. Wilford Larsen and Henry D. Taylor. In 1939 The Town of Orem took over the community celebration, designation designa-tion "Greater Orem Day" in observance of the town's twentieth year, as an incorporated community. The thrust of the celebration turned to showcasing the outstanding fruits and vegetables of the community in form of a community commu-nity fair to be held in early October. Also associated with the Orem community com-munity Fair was the selection of an Orem Queen. According to the rules, "A queen and two attendants will be selected from each of the ten wards. They must be unmarried, 15 years of age or older and must be able to ride a horse, as several events are being planned by the Orem Riding Club, which will include the queens. They need not own a horse of their own, as the riding club will furnish them for these events." Jessie L. Smith was chairman of the queen committee. Keith Boyer was chairman of the fruit and produce committee. 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