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Show Wednesday, November 8, 2006 A5 Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison VSlley Edition Heaven Us By Corrie Lynne Player Kindness can be catching Oh, how delightful is the impact of kindness on each of us! The other day, I was pushing my shopping cart along, lost in thought, when I felt a touch on my arm. I turned to see a woman I didn't know well, in fact, I couldn't remember her name, something that's not so unusual for me. I have a terrible memory for names. (I'm lucky I can remember my children's names— and my husband's.) I tried really hard, but I found myself looking blankly at her. "Her name, what's her name?" I said to myself frantically. "Sally? Kathy? Sandy? Sarah? Mandy? I think it starts with an S ... or does it end with a Y ... or...?" She smiled, the sort of a smile that lit up her eyes and beamed from her whole face. I couldn't help smiling back. We chatted for a moment, and then resumed our shopping. A glow grew in my heart and my step was lighter—just because she recognized me enough to get my attention and smiled. She didn't call me by name, so she may not have remembered mine, either. She could have gone on by, just like I do so often when I see somebody whose name I can't quite remember. What matters was her stopping me, smiling, and, in a moment, boosting my day! A few weeks ago I wrote about "random (and not so random) acts of kindness" in Sanpete County and asked you to tell me about your experiences. Your response has been heart-warming, making this a most enjoyable column for me to write. The following are just a few of the things you shared. A couple who moved to Gunnison not long ago told me that a pitcher-full of roses was left on their front door step. "But who could have left them? We don't know our neighbors very well. There were 18 roses, not a dozen, but 18! Can you imagine? And gorgeous, oh, they just took my breath away—just like red velvet." We talked about how much fun it was not to know exactly who gave them. "It makes you feel warm about everybody, doesn't it?" said her husband. A reader wrote that somebody in the car in front of her paid her entrance fee into Zions one day. Another reader wrote that she saw somebody hand several hundred-dollar bills to the checkout clerk and tell her to pay for the groceries of the woman behind him and to give her any change. The woman had two little children with her, was pregnant and the cart was full. The reader was in the parallel checkout line and witnessed the woman's puzzled then, dumfounded look when the clerk told her she didn't owe anything and handed her some cash. How much fun that man must have had to imagine what my reader saw! One of my daughters told me about just finishing up her grocery shopping and seeing a man pay for his own groceries, then tell the clerk that he would pay for the next five families in line. Wow, I wish I could do that, don't you? And how neat would it be to be one of those families? Really, more fun than winning the lottery. One of the "mom" discussion boards I belong to asked, "If you found $10, what would you do with it?" It was fun to see the answers and to think about exactly what I would do. At first, I thought about taking my grandkids for an ice cream cone or putting it into a "just for fun" fund (after trying to find who dropped it, of course). But, then I thought about the people I'd seen paying for somebody else's groceries and how I wished I could afford such largess. Suddenly, I realized that I didn't have to spend a lot to have the same kind of fun. If I found $10, I'd just pay for my groceries, then hand the clerk the money to apply to the person in line behind me! What would you_do if you found $10? Brass Tacks Quintet that will perform at Casino Star Theatre on November 30. Casino Star Theatre begins concert series GUNNISON—The Casino Star Theatre announces the beginning of its 2006-2007 live concert series with a performance by the Brass Tacks Quintet on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. The Brass Tacks are led by professional trumpeter Ian Murdock and will present Christmas, jazz and popular pieces at the concert. Each member of the quintet holds a music degree from a major university. The Brass Tacks have performed at the Park City Jazz Festival, Murray Arts in the Park, Brown Bag Concert Series, the Utah Performing Arts Tour, and the Utah Arts Festival. Tickets for Brass Tacks are available at the theatre box office, at Rasmussen's Ace Hardware, and from Lori Nay (435-5287136) or Diana Spencer (435979-2798). KAREN PRISBREY / MESSENGER PHOTO Since the groundbreaking In August, construction on the new Axtell Church is progressing, with the footings and concrete foundation now in place. One era hassetfa away... ... but Axtell Ward family is excited about new construction the building. The chapel was also refurbished with new wall paneling and carpeting. To furnish the new Relief Society room, sisters in the ward raised funds by collecting and selling antiques. In addition, the floor in the cultural hall was shored up, and the ceiling was raised to make room for a basketball By Karen Prisbrey Staff writer AXTELL—One era came to an end and a new one began as Axtell residents gathered the morning of Aug. 21 to break ground for a new meetinghouse for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With mixed emotions, resi- would be big enough to hold three wards. Bishop Quay Mecham talked about ihe records of the church being changed from hand written to computer. He also said, "Before the addition was made on the east side of the building I always sat on the back row by the big double doors and tried to get the birds to enter the building by giving them my sacrament bread." Bishop Marius Despain (See "Axtell church" on A6) ffMembers of the Axtell Ward consider \ them$elves;\one big, happy family, helping each Other through the good times and the bad, with lots offun in between.^ —Bishop Bruce King} dents listened as Gunnison Stake President Curtis Anderson acknowledged all "the good that has come from the community and the building that has served as the Axtell Ward's meetinghouse since 1912." The Encyclopedia of the LDS Church reports that in 1912 the Axtell Branch was large enough to become a ward and was assigned to the South Sanpete Stake with Peter Marlin Sorenson as the bishop. At that time, a new building was constructed to serve as both a school and church meeting place. The building was a portion of the building that was recently torn down to make way for construction of the new meetinghouse. Under the first bishop's direction, the Axtell Relief Society was started in August 1917 with Matilda Whitlock as the first president. Her counselor was Matilda Jensen and her secretary Johanna Olsen. This group of women helped get chairs and the first piano for the meetinghouse. In a stake conference held May 6, 1923, the Axtell Ward was reassigned from the South Sanpete Stake to the recently formed Gunnison Stake. By December 1930 church records showed that ward membership was 228, including 54 children. The bishop at the time was Orion G. Sorenson, and the total population of Axtell was 266. In the early 1930s, older students from Axtell were bused into Centerfield for school. A few years later the younger children followed. With the small, square building no longer being used for a school, the residents of the community began making structural changes to meet the needs of activities associated with the church. Following the addition of a cultural hall and kitchen to the west side of the structure in 1952, the building was dedicated as the Axtell Ward House of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1973 a major renovation and addition was completed. The bishops' office, Relief Society room and a classroom were added to the east side of backboard and net. It has been said that the boys in Axtell shot very flat baskets before the ceilKAREN PRISBREY / MESSENGER PHOTO ing was modified. The original The Axtell church (above) served Axtell circa 1912, around when ceiling was only 12 feet high. Prior to 1973, the cultural this picture was taken. hall didn't have a stage—it was just a big, open room. Sisters of the ward who worked with the youth putting on road shows ingeniously strung wire and dyed old bed sheets green and hung them to create a backstage area for the plays. As part of the renovation, a stage was added that also accommodated classrooms. Still later, outside of the KAREN PRISBREY / MESSENGER PHOTO building, the parking lot was The Axtell church prior to a major renovation in 1973, that ended paved with asphalt. A brick wall with many improvements and additions that served the comwas built around the property, munity until 2006. which included a covered patio, picnic tables and a barbecue pit. In October 2003, a Spanish Branch was organized in the Gunnison Valley and began meetings at the Axtell Ward building on Sunday afternoons. During the last sacrament meeting held in the old building on July 30, former bishops talked about some of the changes that had occurred during their leadership. Bishop Danny Boore recalled finding the old church steeple in a patch of weeds in Fayette. Volunteers pulled and dug weeds away from the steeple and later had it put back on top of the building. Boore said it would be sad to see the COURTESY OF CURTIS ANDERSOKl good old building torn down, but glorious because there Axtell-area youngsters wield shovels during groundbreaking for would be a new building that the new chapel in August. KAREN PRISBREY / MESSENGER PHOTO The Axtell church (above) just prior to its demolition. Many members of what a former bishop describes as "one big, happy family" in Axtell felt pangs of nostalgia when the chapel was demolished earlier this year. ' |