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Show former Dixieite To Write life's History :Mr. and Mrs. Frank D. Gil--lispie and small son, Pojger, ar-irired ar-irired Sunday night by bus from I-os Angeles for an indefinite stay at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Nel-son Empey, while Mrs. Empey oyrrrpletes her writing from dista-:ion dista-:ion the life of this former western west-ern cowboy, highway contractor and frontiersman, whose name is ?inked with much of the history of railroad, canal, highway, and dm construction in the western -states. Bom in Bountiful, Utah, February Febru-ary 7, 1857, he was the son of Pj'oert and Phoebe Dart Gillispie ar.d is a cousin of Mrs. Charles -5. Cottam of this city. Of the two days actual shooling in his life, one was in Sanpete and the other in old Eagle Valley, later known as Hebron. Since he was 70 he lias learned to write script, from r.is old McGuffy's speller, but through his more than 50 years of contracting and "dirt moving" as he speaks of it, he was unable to rr-ad a line of print or to write his own name. His exploits in early life won nim the name of "Tom. the Xianger", and "Ranger Kid" and according to those familiar with his history, his career has been intensely active and colorful. He v.-s a contractor with the Western Pacific when they built their r-oast lino railroad and was just peeking for a new contract when 7hf-y drove the golden spike in . -' Francisco. lie b'-e.-ime estranged from the T.D.S. faith of his youth but. was ---(onvert'-d in Klein, Colo, in 1913. "Music is his favorite hobby and though he plays no instrument, !h's'; who have heard him claim Vi" sings well for one of his years, I -ing now n'-ar age H2. JU- is employing Mrs. Jessie T-Jmpey to write his colorful bio-Taphy bio-Taphy under tlv caption "Can 'This T ?.!'" which he hopes to 1 av publi h"d in the near futur''. |