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Show - ·-· Ill® FOCUS: CONVOCATION THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1996 THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• MONDAY, OCTOBER·7, 1996 J ~ .,... - FOCUS: CONVOCATION - ' .... - Il Il I SU's history ·will be addressed History of SU ver.y warm, dramatic Leavitt wijl discuss struggles and dedication of SU's founders Anne 0. Leavitt's book tells the hardships, triumphs that make up the history of SU. some extraordinary 'connections,' and Mrs. Leavitt, in recent years, has had an exceptional vantage point to CAMPUS EDITOR witness som e of those interactions," Johnson said. "She is married to Dixie Leavitt, who served for an extended A sneak preview of a book reviewing the first 100 years time in the Utah State Senate, and she is the mother of in the history of Southern Utah University will be Michael 0. Leavitt, the current governor of Utah. " offered Oct. 10 at a Convocation presentation at the Leavitt graduated with honors from SUU in 1982 with university. a degree in English and Spanish. Anne 0. Leavitt, who, as part of . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . .Her association with the the observation of the cen ten nial university began in 1948 when of the founding of suu, has been she enrolled as an entering com missioned to au thor a history LI.I freshman from Loa, Wayne of the institution, will speak at f • t County. O The completion of her degree the 11 a. m. Convocation to be held in the SUU Auditorium. was postponed by marriage to The Convocation is free, and Dixie Leavitt, SUU's 1950-5 1 the public is welcome to attend. student body president, and the "Considerable research has been subsequent raising of their six conducted by Mrs. Leavitt in her sons, the eldest being the current work on the history," Lana T. governor of the state. Johnson, director of lectures/ 10 lreCfOr O Leavitt has been very active ill special projects at suu, said. civic, religious, and community I• affairs, and she is in demand "That research begins with the earliest clays of the university and widely as a speaker. continues through each stage of She has addressed audiences its existence. Her findings throughou t the western United highlight many stories of struggle ....___________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___. States, including presentations and dedication; this should be a fascinating for the Brigham Young University's departm ent of presentation." conti nuing education. Her service includes work on the Utah Shakespearean Leavitt's book covering the 1897 to 1997 period is due to be published during the spring quarter of the 1996-97 Festival Board, the Utah Task Force on Higher Education, academic year. the Utah Endowment for the Humanities, and the Utah "The university and the local community have enjoyed D rug Abuse Task Force. By JIM ROBINSON ,r.:r~r findings h1·ghl.ight f gl many S Ones S rug e and dedication, this should be a fascina ting presentation,' said Lana h d• f nson, lectures 'special pro,·ects at suu. Old Sorrel helped to ]_)low the way to the founding of SUU When many of the horses gave up, one plowed through the snow drifts left by the historic blizzard On January 5, 1898, a group of m en, the first in a long line of the townsm en, had left Cedar City for a saw mill 35 miles away (near present-day Brian Head). Their present task was to cut logs necessary to supply the wood for the school's new building. The following excerpt from Anne 0. Leavitt's book that records the first 100 years of SUU'.s his tory, tells the story of the initial expedition: T he night of January 9, while the four exhausted men of the second party slept on the cabin floor before their woodslab fire, the 11 m en of the first party were not nearly so comfortable. Struggling all day through the historic blizzard, they had by nigh ~fall covered less than six miles. They pulled their wagons into the pine forest and dug through three to six feet of new snow t o carve caves to lay their bedding down in . They awakened under a thick blanket of snow, and found the loaded wagons deeply buried. It was clear they would have to abandon them. They piled their quilts and horse blankets onto the horses, under the harnesses, tied grub sacks onto the hames, then w ith each m an riding one horse and leading anot her, they s tarted single file toward home, Heber Jensen, with his unfailing sense of direction, in the lead. From that time forward the place was known as "The Wagons." As they climbed toward Mammoth Su m m it, there was not a trace of the road they had made. The howling winds struck with a force that formed loose snow into drifts 10 to 15 feet deep and 75 to 100 yards across. Their planned approach was for each man to take his turn at the front, riding one horse, leading another. He should push into the drifts until his horses gave out, then let the next team ""'~ step forward to head the line. It worked well as long as the horses could keep their heads above the snow. Each anim al could make about 200 yards progress, but when the loose snow fell in on t;hem, threatening to sm other them, they reared and vaulted and refused to breast the snow any longer. T he hazard was great, not only in the lack of progress, but when the panicky animals becam e unmanageable, plunging, backing, fighting to get out, there was the unthinkable danger that they would push the whole string off the high, icy dugways. It is at this point in the story that the heroic horse, "Old Sorrel," cam e t o the fore-a big, rangy, eight year old draft horse, called Sorrel because of his color. He was from a Percheron grandsire, strong and steady. Described as " long-legged, long-necked and long-faced," he weighed about 1600 pounds. Sorrel had been raised from a colt by the family of Lorenzo (Renz) Adam s. His react ion to this crisis was markedly different from the other horses. Sim Simkins later described the episode, " T ha t horse is the ~reatest trail blazer I' ve ever seen! He's almost human . We owe our lives to him . Renz didn't ride him; he guided him with the lines to the head of the file, and when Renz spoke calmly to him, he seemed to sense the crisis. " He would plunge against the whit e barriers, rearing up and pawing at them with his front feet, pushing and straining against them until they gave way. Then when the snow would slide ' in on him, he would rear again, sha ke the loose snow off his head, blow his nostrils free1 then pause for rest, sitting .down on his ha unches as a dog does. " After panting, heaving llis sides in and out in long quivering breaths, the while Renz talked to him just like he was ancther human being, he wo uld look around as if to say, 'Well, I' ll try it again, Brothers,' then he would rise and go at it once more. "How long could he keep that up, we wondered, as we anxiously watched, know ing our fate rested with him, for there was no retracing our steps, only the desperate hope of going ahead. Time and time again he got through drHts, the worst one over a hundred yards long! " It's hard to imagine the effort that animal put forth. Thanks to him, we're here." called the Branch Normal School building. T his chapter also includes letters that help describe the FOCUS EDITOR struggle that the people went through to acquire reimbursem ent from the state. "The story of this school is a warm and human Chapter three goes on to talk about the students, story. It is a dramatic story," said Anne 0 . Leavitt, the teachers and the equipment that was used in the school as well as the codes of conduct, and the who is wri ting the history of SUU's first 100 years. The book which is due to be published in the m emories of families and other individuals. Leavitt spring of 1997 for the university's ce11tennial also includes the proselyting efforts that were celebration, is divided up into two parts. made to get the people in the area to know that Part one will be a narrative chronology of the there was a school and to persuade them to send school that will include " m uch of the evolutionary their students. . Chapter four of the book tells of the events and struggle. It will intlude the story of the people of this place, the founding of the school, and the the attitudes of the people surrounding the change of the school from the Branch School Normal to political and economic struggles of each phase of the Branch Agricultural College in 1913. our history/ ' Leavitt said. Leavitt said that from the ti me the bill Part two, according to Leavitt; will was passed changing the school to the contain the departmental histories with Branch Agricultural College, there was photographs of the people, the evolution conflict throughout the town. In fact, of the disciplines, and stories of the many people believed that the school experiences of the uni versity's faculty and would onl y teach th ings li~e " hog staff. feeding." Leavitt added that the appendi x wi ll contain a list of the faculty and their years The chapter contin ues to describe the many obstacles that continued to plague at the university, enabling legislation for - the school such as World War I and the all the evolving stages of the univers ity, influenza epidem ics that swept th rough along with the name changes, a copy of the town causing the school to close "The Founders Speak," by Rhoda down for a time. Matheson Wood, and possibly a list of the However, the chapter also describes the university's graduates by year. prosperity that the school.enjoyed and the Wood's work, according to Leavitt, is a growth and changes that the good times collection of the first hand accounts of the brought. founding of the -university that Wood Chapters five and six continue to detail collected from many of the founders the events that led to the university before they died. becoming the College of Southern Utah In addition to the appendix, Leavitt said Three hundred adults attended the banquet at the dedication of the in 1953, to Southern Utah State College that the book would be filled with photographs, and will include biographies Branch Nor:nal School building on October 28, 1998. in 1969. More specifically, according to Leavitt, of the university presidents as well as chapter five talks about the university becoming a those of some of the faculty that have served here. T he chapter goes on to detail the building of Old four year liberal arts school and the break away Chapter one of the book is entitled "The Place Main and includes the lumbering expedition and from Utah State University, which, she said, was a and the People. " This chapter tells about the details of the building, said Leavitt. Then of struggle in itself. specialized talents and the resources that were course, the chapter would not have been complete The book doesn't end here however, there still available to the people who came to Cedar City to without the story of the Old Sorrel horse that has remains to be told the story of Southern Utah establish the institution. become such an integral part of the founding of University, but it is still in the works. Leavitt did Leavitt tells that the founders were a carefully this university which Leavitt said, is told mostly selected group, who had come to America after say that she will conclude the book with the from the stories of the fo unders. joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Leavitt said that chapter three includes the move Centennial Celebration and the retirement of Saints. They were a strong_group bound together President Gerald R. Sherratt. into the new building which, at the time, was By JO ANN LUNDGREEN by their shared fervor for the the religion they had embraced. · Leavitt adds that many of the people came from England and Wales. These people were refined and had been able to take advantage of many cultural opportunities because of their fortunate circumstances. Thus education was a primary concern to them. And therefore from them, Leavitt writes, flowed the rich cultural tradition that helped sustain them through extraordinary trials. Chapter two goes on to describe the founding of the university. Leavitt said that she has found some of the telegrams and letters from the legislature about legislation concerni ng the school and included some of them in her book. Old Main fire of '48 added to school's struggle The following is an excerpt from Anne 0 . Leavitt's book that records the first 100 years of SUU's history: On a w intry Sunday m orning, December 12, 1948, as Jack Walters and his father Roy, were returning with the newspapers Jack was to deliver to the homes on his route, they were startled to see sm oke pouring from a ventilator on the top of Old Main. They rushed to t he hom e of Eldro Rigby, manager of the college farm who lived less t han a block away, to sound the alarm. By the tim e they reached the Rigby hom e, flam es were visible on the roof. Mr. Rigby called t he fi re depart ment an d then called Edward Matheson, school custodian, who was first to reach the blaze. Mr. Matheson threw off all electrical switches to the building, but the fire was already blazing th rough the dry attic, where it had begun. Students, alerted, rushed to the scene, formed a human brigade up the steel fire escape and began to retrieve all that was possible of the precious books and artifact s, collected over the 50 year history of Old Main. For a time they worked in an orderly fashion, passing books carefully from one to the other. As the flam es began leaping t hrough the library itself, students snatched armloads of books and dropped them from the top floor to the ground below. Only m oments before the burning roof fell, the students left the building, to watch helplessly as the remaining treasure were consu.med by the inferno. It was tragic that this building, so beloved and cherished, should burn just a few weeks beyond the fiftieth anniversary of its dedication . The most dramatic mom ent occurred as the cupola containing the bell was consumed. With a plaintive clang, almost like a cry, the bell crashed ringing from floor to floor, fal ling finally to the ground. In approximately th ree hours, t he blaze was under control. Only t he ou ter walls re mained of the upper floor. As the depth of the tragedy sank into the cumulative consciousness of the community and the college, some things were im mediately clear. The art department, as well as the library, had been demolished. |
