Show i lr Vl Y Ys r p N s LILA GARDNER GALE Bluebell pioneer i Lila G Gale Tells History Of Basin Pioneers Mrs Mice Alice Delilah Gardner Gale who celebrated her birthday May 5 In a Vernal rest home tells a very Inter Inter- interesting esting story of the pioneers Including she and her hus- hus husband husband band who settled the town of Bluebell I Mrs Gale was born May 5 1872 In Salem Utah a daugh Baugh ter of Ira W and Alice Snow Gardner She married Elmer Gale November NovE 24 1892 in inthe inthe the ManU Manti Temple and anda a year later moved to Jensen When the Federal Govern Govern- Government Government ment opened the Uintah In- In Indian Indian dian Reservation to white settlers there was a wild rush Into this section Homestead Homestead- Homesteaders ers era came from different parts of the country to find homes bomes THE FIRST filings that were made on the land that comprises Bluebell and the vicinity were made by the following individuals Elmer Gale Leslie Goodrich Rhoda Rhoda- Goodrich Heber Powell George Spencer and Henry C Wathen All of the above came from Uintah County with exception of Geo Pow en ell who was from Price and Harry C Wathen from Holladay Holla- Holla Holladay day The first permanent set tiers to come to what is now called Bluebell were Elmer Gale wife Della Delia and two two- year old son Jesse They moved from Jensen Uintah County In a covered wagon drawn by a span of horses and arrived In Bluebell March 4 1907 THE FOLLOWING spring brought several more famil- famil les to the area Among them were the followIng Leslie Goodrich and wife Rhoda Goodrich Heber Powell and wife James Cook and wife Leonadis Lisonbee Robert Alexander John Ferrell Harry C Wathen and Roy These pioneers of Bluebell were Impressed with the grandeur of the blooming bluebells waving their heads among the sagebrush cedars and grass during the months of May and June This Im- Im Impression impression was so vivid that when they named the place Heber Powell suggested that It should be named Bluebell and all agreed These first settlers like all pioneers had many diffIculties difficulties to surmount There Thero was the clearing of the land plowIng and preparing it for crops But no doubt the most difficult ot of all was getting the water from the Lake Fork river to Irrigate the crops This required a great effort and took a long time to dig the ditch It was full two years before any Irrigation water reached The historical facts of this story are told by John K Them Them- ing one time secretary of the Farmers Farmer's Irrigation Com pany In the following words FOUR OR FIVE miles west of Altonah Dry Gulch No 11 is taken out of Lake Fork river This ditch is div div- divided divided Into classes and Class Clasa B comes out of 01 It fIve and one one- half miles mUes northwest of Blue Blue- Bluebell Bluebell bell coming down to one half mile straight west of Blue Blue- Bluebell Bluebell bell then continuing one mile mUe farther south Cl Class B 13 was just a plow furrow in 1908 1000 when water first came through it and there was hardly enough water to reach to the end of the ditch for culinary pu pus poses The plow furrow dItch had been made under the dir dir- direction of Heber Powell ed by Henry Allred Continued on P h Lila G Gale Bluebell History Continued from Page 4 In 1910 the Farmers Farmer's Irrigation Company was organized to water what was known as Alexander and near nearby nearby by Alexander was located between the present towns of Altonah and Bluebell THAT WATER that is uSEd in Bluebell is obtained from the Yellowstone river a branch of the Lake Fork river They also obtain some from the Payne Canal of Dry Gulch and the Class B Canal in Dry Gulch In 1945 1045 the Farmers Farmer's Irrigation Company was con con- consolidated I with willi the Dry Gulch Irrigation Company taking over th the name of the latter Like other settlements in America Bluebell has its In dian stories but here at this later date these stories all tend to show the friendliness of the Ole Indians rather than to show that they Were enem leg ies Mrs Lila Gale tells the following stories The Indians were our friends Mr Gale would be traveling around hunting his horses When he would come cometo cometo to a little or low place in the brush there he could see an Indian hiding He found out that they Were watching to see if he would steal or kill their cattle They watched and watched until they were satisfied that he would not take any of their cattle Then they said White man no take cattle ONE TIME I became very frightened My husband had gone one up in n the canyon and he did not get home until alter after dark There was not a aBoul soul Boul for miles around so there was not anyone to call I heard a loud coarse voice it seemed more than one I thought it must be drunken Indians so I locked the door and did not make a fire We had a large stove I took my little boy and crawled behind it and wrapped him up as it was cold weather I did not make any light My little boy said Mamme I told him No I did cUd not want to scare him or make him cry He knew there was was something unusual I told him to keep still until his Daddy came Mr Gale came soon afterward One cannot imagine how glad I was to hear his comin coming It was a mountain lion that I had heard It sounded so loud that I thought there were many voices My hus husband band heard it and saw its tracks They were the larg est cst lion tracks he had ever seen At another time three In came when my husband was after wood I 1 felt afraid THEY SAID No be fraid your man heap good No hurt you My little boy said Mam Mam- Mam Mamme me why dont don't those men w wash ash their faces clean One day when Fred Good rich and Jim Jim Powell were getting dinner two Indians rode up to their camp They were building houses on their homestead The Indians want ed to know why they were building houses on their land One of the men told them that the land belonged to them now They talked to the Indians about the land for a while and gave them some same dinner When the Indi Indi- Indiana ana ans left they said good bye you my friend The first school at Blue Blue- Bluebell Bluebell bell was held for about two months In in the fell fall of 1909 in what was known as Elmer Gales Gale's granary which has since been moved about one one- forth mile west of where it originally stood and remodeled for a home for Jesse Gale and family The re- re remaining re- re remaining school term tenn of 1909 was finished in a dirt roof log cabin which is now known as Gardner Good richs rich's granary At that time the school was known as Bluebell Pub Pub- Public lie lic School District No 10 Wasatch County Utah Effie Powell was the first school schoolteacher schoolteacher teacher and taught 29 stu stu- stu students dents from beginners to sixth grade The District School Board consisted of three members Henry Allred David Thompson and Milton Alexander BY THE FALL FALL of 1910 the main room of the Ward Meet Meet- Meeting ing House was completed and school from then on un til about December 1927 was held in the Ward house At Atthe Atthe the latter date school was held in the present Bluebell School House Like school the first Sun Sun- Sunday day School was held in Gales Gale's granary for a few months then it was held in W r home until the Ward Meeting House was ready for use in the fall of 1910 In 1939 a new chapel was begun but just a short time before It would have been completed it burned down The people did not give up however and start ed building all ov over r again nt at once This lovely new build big ing was completed In the spring pring of 1941 W p Merrell was the first Bishop in 1912 and he rc remained in that office for tor about twelve years Bishop Leslie B Goodrich was then ordained ss is Bishop Dishop of the Bluebell Ward In 1939 Bish- Bish Bishop Bishop op Bernard Winkler was chosen as Bishop and In 1948 1946 he was replaced by the present Bishop Gardner Goodrich The first store and Post PostOffice PostOffice Office was in one small room of Mr Levison Hancocks Hancock's home Mr Hancock became Post Master in about 1910 serving tile the people until about 1915 when Mary S Merrell was appointed Post Mistress She remained as such until March 1923 when John K g was given the post tion which he held until he moved in 1946 Hazel Good rich was then appointed Post PostMistress PostMistress Mistress THE FIRST MAIL came tri weekly and was carried by horseback from Roosevelt by David Thompson For many years the mail has been brought dally daily except Sunday from My Myton ton by truck The social life lite of the few settlers who wintered in Bluebell during those first years was very limited Mrs Lila Gale writes an interest Interest- Interesting Ing account of how they spent Christmas In 1908 Here it is in her own words My husband said lets let's go goto goto to the saw mill a while and I will work there So we got ready to go He worked there till the day of Christmas eve We started to go to Roosevelt When we reached the gulch an awful storm of snow came up The horses lust just sat back and would not face tace the storm at all so we camped In the cedars My husband raised the wagon tongue and prop prop- propped ped it up with the neck yoke took a canvas and put it over the tongue like a tent and making a bed we slept there The storm lasted all night Our little boy said Mamme will Santa come here in the storm Will he know where we are We told him yes he will come So his stocking was hung on the cedar tree and covered with snow In the he woke up and there in the snow on tree was a stocking full of at nuts and candy and nice toys lie was surely surprised THE SNOW WAS four feet deep that winter We be- be began began gan to think that we would be snowed in and thought it would be very hard to get out with a team and wagon There was no hay to be had We hauled straw from Roose Roose- Roosevelt velt to feed our team and two cows The rabbits sat on the snow and ate our our young fruit trees clear down to the ground Anyone would think the trees would have died but they out again and I andI there are still lovely apples appleson on them each fall Until the Word Ward House wa was finished the people rl in such stich plaCes as Mr Gales Gale's granary and Gardner Good richs granary Ever since Mr Gale plant ed potato peelings in the ing spring of 1907 and they grew and made lovely potatoes without any wat water r except rain it has been cen known that Bluebell was a good farming For a while Bluebell was hampered In an agricultural way due to the shortage of water Before Defore that time how ever this section wa wag one of the heaviest producers of grain hay and livestock in inthe inthe the Basin Now since since the Moon Lake Reservoir has been completed the farmers crops do not suffer so much because of lack of water In most years there Is enough water and consequently crops are better THE GALES have one son Jesse seven grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren Mr Gale died April II 11 1938 The past 10 years Mrs Gale has spent her time at a sisters Bisters home in Bluebell and ond at at her granddaughters and husband Phyllis and Danny Turner in Vernal |