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Show Erdmann Electric Shop Kditor's note: This is another in a series of histories of businesses in Springville. Many citizens will remember Clarence Erdmann and his contribution to our community. On May 28, 1898 a son, Clarence Dewey Erdmann, was born to William C. and Augusta Erdmann. In 1901 an epidemic of Infantile Paralysis struck Clarence. He was very sick and was left paralyzed from his waist down. Clarence loved to take things apart and put them back together again, so when anyone had something that could not be fixed or was considered to be no good, they gave it to him to play with. When he was really young he spent all of his money on hand tools, such as screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, etc. Clarence went to school with the aid of neighborhood children. They pulled him along in a little red wagon. Then he got braces and crutches crut-ches but they were clumsy and he had to be helped up if he fell. By high school times these were discarded for a wheel chair with hand cranks and bicycle-like chains to run it. Later he learned to carry his weight with his arms by putting his hands on his feet in a squatting position. His arms did double duty and became strong as they moved him ahead one foot at a time. Mr. James French Wingate was Clarence's chemistry teacher in high school. Clarence loved doing experiments. His math teacher, Mr. Thomas H. Latimer, gave him problems pro-blems in advanced geometry and college trigonometry. Clarence also took a side class in printing and free hand drawing and architectural drawing, which he did very well. His first shop teacher was Mr. Ike Palmer, he taught him to respect and care for good tools, and how to get the most service from the tools on hand. Another special shop teacher was Mr. Wayne Johnson. Clarence's work was always the best to be expected ex-pected and he was proud to give him A plus on his projects. He took piano lessons from Mary Hill Whitney and played for Priesthood meetings in the original First Ward meeting house. As soon as he could, he subscribed to Popular Mechanics and Popular Science magazines. He studied these books from cover to cover, storing the information in his mind and using us-ing it whenever the opportunity presented itself. He soon began repairing many things for his and his mother's friends. It became apparent ap-parent that he needed his own transportation to get where he needed need-ed to go, so he made a series of little cars, each one a little better than the last. Clarence needed a shop! His first one was 7 ft. square with a slant roof, 42 ft. high in front and 3'2 ft. high in the back. He soon grew out of this when he began doing car motor repairs and motor cycle and bicycle repairs. Another shop was built. It had a door wide enough to take cars inside to work on them. Gasoline engines for washing machines were also his speciality. Clarence learned about radios and he had to build one! Parts were assembled and after much painstaking painstak-ing effort the job was completed. It was very cumbersome according to today's standards, had large dials, a big balkalite front, ear phones and large loud speakers and static. Another shop was needed! Clarence had become a dealer for "FADA" battery radios and other makes, he did repair work on all makes. At this early date there was no electricity in Mapleton. Clarence sold many of these sets to the people in Mapleton, he kept and repaired them and kept the batteries charged. charg-ed. When a power line was run to Mapleton, Clarence had all the work he could handle, wiring the houses. Affordable quality in a gas powered trimmer. GT-1000 egulai List $129.95 Dollar Savings 30.00 Orange Tog Pnce $99.95 Lightweight (oniv 10. 1 lbs . Nylon flocked muffler guard helps protect operator Tap-to-advance trimming head for non stop trimming 48 shaft for trimming harrj-to-reach areas. The first house was wired in 1916, for Mr. Fred Carter. Wiring had become his prime interest in-terest so another shop was needed. The large area of this shop was used for electrical supplies and his machinery, two of his special joys were his 14" Monarch steel lathe and his Buffalo press drill with the graduated pullies for running faster or slower. He was a true machinist, he repaired electrical motors of every make, from very small ones to large ones of several horse power, as well as repairing all kinds of appliances. ap-pliances. He kept his woodworking machinery at this shop and made several pieces of furniture. He also made several boats. Back in 1923 and 24, Clarence and Harlan Boyer contracted through Whitney and Reynolds to do the wiring wir-ing in all of the bunk houses for Bingham Copper Co. Because the wiring went faster than the building, they took a contract to do all the shingling on the buildings. Following the completion of this job, they went to the new construction site of the Columbia Coal Camps at Columbia, Utah and contracted the wiring of 25 single dwelling houses and the large rooming houses with kitchens and dining rooms and the bath house for foreign mine workers. Here too, they contracted and did all the shingling. It was such a cold winter that they had to warm the nails with a blow torch in order to handle them. At times there was so much snow that they had to go down through Salina Canyon to Richfield and then back to Springville. Clarence married Elen Paulsen in the Manti Temple September 23, 1928. They had seven children. When Glenn-Garry Resort was first built on the outskirts of Springville, Spr-ingville, Clarence did the wiring for the pools, dance hall and skating rink, he helped again when it was remodeled and became Park Ro-She. Ro-She. Clarence acquired the dealership for Hotpoint appliances about 1937. Another friend, Dave Friel was a salesman. The Hotpoint people required re-quired a display room, so he rented a building on Main Street that belonged belong-ed to Gideon and Katherine Wood. It was a large building and the front part was divided, the north side was used by Bill and Lula Peery for a barbershop and beauty parlor. The Erdmann Electric Shop was in the south front with the Hotpoint appliances. At the opening of this store, the newspaper man and salesman, Harrison Har-rison Conover or "Comeover" as Clarence affectionately called him, sold ads to most of the merchants in the town. Each one expressing congratulations con-gratulations and good wishes for prosperity for the new business. The ads took up a large part of that week's Springville Herald. Business was good, but nothing spectacular. It was a lot of work. Soon, appliances and supplies became hard to get. World War II began and things began to get tight, copper and wire were scarce and appliances ap-pliances were largely unavailable. It was time to close the store. Clarence always had good helpers, they were some of the finest young men Springville had to offer. Many of them were anxious to learn the wiring profession and Clarence was a good and willing teacher, he trained train-ed them well. If something was not quite right he always had them do it over. His reputation was such that City inspectors could say, "There's no problem if Erdmann is on the job!" He did work in so many stores, theaters, libraries, garages, service stations, fire stations, state road repair shops, banks and churches. When the Pioneer theater was built, which was the first outdoor movie theater in the Intermountain West, there were no instructions, plans, or Lay-A-Way Nov For FATHEHS IDA For the Homeowner. GT-160AE ZrGm r egulorList $149.95 Dollar Savings 15.00 Orange Tag Price $134.95 Electronic ignition Tap to advance trimming head for non stop trimming 48 shaft for trimming hard-to-reach areas ...the ONE that Patchwork clogging Saturday On Saturday, May 25, a clogging workshop will be held at the Springville High School. Classes will be provided for beginning to advanced ad-vanced doggers. Also, a special buck dancing class will be taught. Cost is $2.00 per person or $7.50 for a family. Tickets may be purchased from the Patchwork doggers or at the workshop. Registration will be from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m. on the 25th. The workshop will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue until 2:00 p.m. If you would like a Kentucky Fried Chicken box lunch and drink it can be ordered for $2.50 when you register. The Patchwork Clog Jamboree is being presented by Bert Martin, instructor for Patchwork Cloggers. Bert is a newcomer to Springville and has been married to his wife, Julie for almost a year. You can see them walking around town with their dogs. It's hard to miss Bert because he has a nice head of red hair. He has a new studio, formerly McVoy's on Main Street in Springville. He also has a studio in Salem. Bert has put all of his energies into clogging and one of his goals is to win at a national competition. com-petition. He also wishes to provide the area with some really fine teaching and entertainment. If anyone is interested in starting clogging, Bert can be reached at 489-3336 489-3336 or at the Patchwork studio in Springville. The Patchwork clogging groups have a busy summer planned. They will be attending several Utah competitions. The older Patchwork competition team will be going to a national competition in Silver Dollar City, Missouri, in June. Then in July, the Patchwork tour team, which includes a singing group, will be traveling to Idaho. They will be performing at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho Falls, and at the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone Park. specifications, it all came from his own knowledge of what would be needed. It has been truly said that he could shinney up a 2 by 4 faster than anyone could climb a ladder. He never asked anyone to help do anything that he himself was not willing to do, from digging a trench by hand to going into a sooty, dusty, cobwebby attic. He could bend a piece of conduit to fit perfectly into any place that it was needed. He had strong arms and was very apt at pulling wire through the conduit. Sometimes, when little children would mimick the way he walked, he would laugh at them and say, "What's the matter, can't you do it?" Then he would show them how and leave them trying to do it. All children loved him, and he loved them. Chief surgeon, Richard K. Hughes, who took care of Clarence before he died saidf' After reading the newspaper articles about Clarence, my reaction to them is that Clarence's life makes me feel very humble sort of like looking at a great mountain. His life story is probably the most remarkable one I know of first hand. It is an example of the greatest sort of courage and perseverance." uortisliop For professional or homeowner use. GT-200BE if 48" shaft for trimming hard-to reach areas Lightweight (only 11.1 lbs.) Finger dp throttle and stop stop switch 21 cc engine for heavy duty cutting power lasts! VISA wmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm Shown above are members of the Patchwork advanced cloggers. Cloggers shown above are from Cloggers, a new clogging group in Springville directed left, back: Kim Bird, Sharilee Jessee, Robb Johnson, by Bert Martin. The group will sponsor a Amy Banks and Judy Carter. Front: Rebecca Horton, clogging workshop this Saturday, May 25 at the Danny Johnson, Melanie Bird, Greg Bird, Shelly Springville High School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is open Johnson and Danny Bird, to anyone who would like to attend from beginners to Art City Days quilt show Art City Days will feature its annual Quilt Show at the Springville Museum of Art, Friday and Saturday, June 14-15 from 1 to 5:00 p.m. For further information contact con-tact chairman Hortense Harward, 489-4469. Historic home tour The afternoon of June 14 and 15, Friday and Saturday, will feature free guided bus tours of Springville's historic homes. Interested citizens can gather behind the Art Museum for hourly tours. Early pioneer homes, heritage trees, and sites of historic importance will be shown, and able guides will explain architecture, ar-chitecture, history and , lore associated with the sites. This ac-tivitiy ac-tivitiy will be held in conjunction with the Art City Days celebration. Bar lengths to 24 . Patented, anti-vibration system for easy handling. Diaphragm carburetor for Regular Price $179.95 Dollar Saving 20.00 Orange Tag Price $159.95 Page Eight - The Springville Herald - May 22, 1985 Art City Days will open with concert in the park "Doc" (Bryan) Tobler, award winning band director will lead the Springville Community Band in concert, Sunday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m. ah the Springville Civic Center. The theme for Art City Days is "The Utah Valley to hold Special show In conjunction with the Art City Days celebration and the Springville Museum of Art, the Utah Valley Artist Guild will sponsor a show and demonstrations in the Steed and Clyde galleries at the museum. Oils, watercolors, pastels, sculptures will be displayed. This will be a juried show with Brenda Harding selected outstanding in business Brenda Harding, a senior student from Springville High School, has been named the outstanding business student from that school in ceremonies conducted recently by the Timp Valley Chapter of Professional Secretaries International. In-ternational. She is one of ten winners selected from high schools and business colleges throughout the county. Each winner was given a personal tribute, a certificate of recognition for being the school's outstanding SKMLM sSSJ 50cc's of cord-cutting power CS-500EVL "W. W all-position use. Patented, automatic oiler for trouble-free barchain lubrication. Cuard Tip bar, low-kick chain, chain catcher, right & left hand guards, throttle control lockout for added operator protection. 03H22) ...the ONE that lasts! " "OUR SEEDS GROW" Q 1030 South State - Provo, Utah We service the power equipment we sell. All equipment comes assembled, tested and ready to use. Prices Effective thru Saturday, May 11, 1985 All Specials Subject to Supply on Hand Sounds of Summer", and Springville will have plenty of music throughout the week. The Springville Community Com-munity Band Concert will be the first activity for the Art City Days celebration. Artists Guild special prizes to be awarded. Art work should be taken to the Springville' Museum of Art on Wednesday, June 12 betseen 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. It will be juried and hung on June 13. Demonstrations will be held Saturday after the parade, June 15. business student, and a long-stemmed long-stemmed rose. The committee evaluated applicants on scholarship, secretarial and other work experience, ex-perience, honors or goals achieved, and participation in extracurricular activities. The awards were made during a PSI seminar held April 26 at the Provo Excelsior Hotel as a part of Secretaries Week activities in which tribute was paid to secretaries throughout the valley. Regular $364.99 Sale Price oo 1-year limited warranty." Grouped, finger-tip controls for convenience. "Guard Tip" is a registered trademark ot Omark Industries. "90-day limited warranty it used commercially. - p - p - r - v (o, 1 |