Show before and after tragic fire at johnson home Is 0 this house the old bush home pictured before it was remodeled at pi 1929 was completely destroy ed by fire as seen in the photo if at the right house was owned bi county commissioner merlin johnson but was formerly the bush ranch until sold to mr vo johnson a year ago MI e k w 4 T V WAIL VAV pioneer spirit colorful story behind building of old bush home in clover nobody knew how long the old bush home would be standing when my great grandfather rich ard nelson bush erected the first part of it about 1884 he took his tea team and went to Slag town which was a smelter village south of stockton near where youngs ranch now stands there he got the first four rooms and hauled them intact to the location of his home stead on top of the hill at clover just above lane previously he had lived in the location of the present milton atoo key farm then up to the alonzo farm and back again be fore finally deciding to get his home at Slag town and add on to it as the years went by on his way up from the flats with the house h his s team was a little skittish and agot got scared and bolted once bumping the corner comer of the house on another and put ting a dent in it which was there for many years at this old house two of grandpa and grandmas children were born they were ed win E bush and laurel bush Is green added onto in 1906 A few years later daniel D green grandmas brother and ad am walker added two more rooms on the south part of the house then in 1906 great grandpa got the house formerly owned by james and abbie lewis who had left clo ver the lewis s were converts from the south and their house stood about a quarter of a mile from ap grandpa s house near a large windmill which is still standing when this house was moved up next to the other part it was too high and for several years one had to step up when going into the new part of the house from the old in 1920 great grandfather grandfathers s son john W bush remodeled the home he and richard orr moved the lewis house away from the rest and lowered it so that it would all be level then they added a kit lat chen on the west and another room south h of it giving ohp house 7 ro ooma rooms s downstairs later on grand pa and dad kept adding to it and modernizing it until the house had 2 rooms upstairs complete bath inside plumbing new light fixtures and many other features sold to johnsons johnson s la in 1947 they finally bought it from grandpa bush in 1929 and in 19 37 divided it grandpa taking acres and father the rest of the 1000 acre farm it was in 1947 that the ranch was sold to merlin john son by that time david D bush had bought grandpas part and lived in his modern modem home nome where the old tanner property used to be the old house was home to near ly every member of the bush fam ily and with the exception of some of the very youngest I 1 think every one of grandpa bush s descend ants had stayed at the circle V ranch at one time or another all had been there many times both when they were youngsters and later on in life A family reunion was held there in 1920 on the birthdays of my grandparents grandpa celebrated his birthday on august 3rd and grandma on aug ath the entire family got to gether again in 1932 the 1920 re union was for the golden wed ding anniversary of the two old folks and the 1932 reunion was the last one held on the ranch any more because shortly after that grandmother and grandfather be came to aged to live on the farm any more and were taken to too ele and a nice home on south main ain provided for them this was right next door to their daughter mrs isgreen and many others of their family including daniel D bush and lorenzo L bush were near them even grass Is burned up grandfather died in 1936 and a while after that grandmother fell and broke her hip and was con fined to her bed until 1943 when she passed away but the old house still stood well built and comfortable it was the second home in rush valley to have inside plumbing it had a basement and electric water pump but today it is gone not even the thick green grass which grew all around is there for the heat burned it black the stately shade trees all around the yard where so many lawn parties were held are charred stumps even the fence is blackened and some of the met al poles partly melted the old bush home Is gone it s only a blackened charred spot in the landscape and the fine home that was there for so many years is now only fond remembrance in the minds of those people in rush galley As one old time resident put it I 1 cant ever remember looking up on that h hill ill and not seeing that big house J but now it is gone mrs alpha who has been the guest of mr and mrs leo johnson of Grants grantsville ville for the past six weeks returned to her I 1 ome in hurley burley idaho recently |