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Show Hurricane Pioneer Honored On 82nd Birth Anniversary HURRICANE, Utah, Oct. 13. James Jepson was honored Monday Mon-day evening at a party in honor of his 82nd birthday anniversary. The party was given by his daughters, daugh-ters, Mrs. Martha J. Hastings, and Mrs. Artie J. Reeve. Members Mem-bers of his family and intimate friends were present On Saturday evening he, with his wife, attended a. party where he recited, danced and called for quadrilles while he danced. Mr. Jepson is the present senior sen-ior member of the Zion Park stake high council. It was he who rescued the Hurricane canal company from ruin in 1902. At that time the canal had neither powder nor money. The builders build-ers had successfully brought the canal from Virgin City to the present site of the LaVerkin Hot Springs by the method of working work-ing n the canal during fche winter months, with the sumhiei reserved for planting and reaping. reap-ing. The canal had been under construction since 1893, the, weaker stock holders had long since fallen away, only nine remained. re-mained. The heavy blasting nes-essary nes-essary to bring the canal onto the flat seemed impossible to the impoverished nine men, so Mr. Jepson was chosen to go to Salt Lake City and present their dilemma di-lemma to the L. D. S. Church of which all nine were members. With a heavy lumber wagon and a poor team, Mr. Jepson made the ninety miles to Milford, the nearest railroad point. His sirv cerity sold a block of stock in the enterprise to the church. The eight-mile canal hung hundreds of feet above the Virgin river, winding its torturous course through nine tunnels, carried its first stream of water onto the Hurricane flat in August 1904. He is also credited with securing secur-ing an experiment farm for Hurricane. Hur-ricane. He is the father of fourteen children. His first wife, the late Lucinda Stratton, was the mother of eight, his present wife Grace Wright Gibson, the mother of j six. |