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Show Comment Free Press - Wednesday, June 27, 1990 - Page 2 The whole world wants the kind of freedom we enjoy It has been 214 years, and the American Revolution still goes on taking on a world-wid- e significance our nation's founding fathers probably never dreamed of. When Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, he put into words ideas that had been maturing in the minds of men for centuries. He succinctly capsulized principles that would redefine government "of the people, for the people and by the people" not just for the United States, but for the world. The Declaration of Independence holds a promise of equal treatment under the law for all men. And while our nation has not always lived up to the ideal - we continue to hold to that ideal and to work towards it. More than that, we have prospered under the precepts es - As we celebrate Independence Day 1990, we have added reasons to cherish our freedom, and to renew our will to maintain our style of government which has allowed us to remain free. We face renewed challenges daily to our freedom. From drugs to flag burning, we walk that narrow line between democracy and anarchy. How we respond to the challenges of today will determine our ability to remain free tomorrow. Continued enjoyment of our independence will depend on our will to remain independent. We must be as committed to the ideals of freedom as were those men who, 2 14 years ago, put their names to the document that the rest of the world now looks to for guidance and hope. poused in this most precious document to the point that other nations on earth want the kind of freedom we enjoy. Over the past year, we have seen the Communist governments of Eastern European nations founder and crumble, while their people demand freedom and a true voice in government We have seen the most powerful Communist nation be brought to the edge of political chaos because the people clamor for independence and sovereignty. China, the world's largest nation, trembled at the outburst of its own people demonstration in Tienanmen Square for a democratic government before repression crushed the frantic, hopeful voices. Given the sudden change in Eastern Europe, however, it can be assumed the tyrants of China are ruling on borrowed time. Grandmas have a right to be a big pain you better Let's talk. First of all, my trip to California was great, too short, but fun. My grandson got hitched and I had to be at the wedding. I mean, what s a wedding without grandma for believe it heaven's sake? Who would give little tidbits of advice? Who would tell the bride and groom where it's at? Who would dare say what to do, but grandmas. I've waited a long time for this time in my life when I could scold, brag, advise, and tell off, and I'm not going to be done out of my chance. That's why I had to be at the wedding. So, right now, I'm a big pain. Grandmas are like that. Anyway, the first thing I did when I got back home was call up for details on the Miss Lehi Pageant. Wow! Did I get an earful? According to all my sources, Dave Haws pulled off the Pageant of the Decade. "It was absolutely wonderful!" a close friend said. "It went so smoothly you'd think it had been produced by David 0 Selznick," said an impartial observer. "Wow. The Miss Lehi Pageant was awesome," a girl from American Fork told me. "Any one of the 12 girls could have been queen in other pageants I've seen," said a very knowledgeable lady. "You'll never see such figures and such gorgeous evening gowns," another lady said. She turned to her husband and asked, "Isn't that so, honey?" His eyes lit up like Christmas trees as he thought about it, and he nodded in agreement. Yes. Dave's Showboat theme was sent Lehi at important functions ' Suddenly, everything was put throughout the state for the rest of into the proper perspective. What's the year. What more could we ask? .really important? We knew then that all the trappings of a wedding Remember last week's column are just that - trappings, and that when I criticized Har dees commer-- . cial which mentioned Lehi in an uncomplimentary way? Well, I got a letter of apology. They told me they'd had no intent to insult Lehi at all...that a Lehi man had even written the script for the commercial.. .that they were very sorry if people were offended... Well, so okay. IH call off the dogs. You folks might not be so forgiving though. And Sheldon, next time you write spectacular, and Lehi can pride itself on another accomplishment. "It's the best pageant Fve ever seen," came from a judge who's seen her share. Each of the contestants prepared themselves to the max. They studied current events, they asked people to interview them, they dieted, they shopped till they dropped. A friend of mine was asked to help one of the contestants with her interview. My friend asked her about Nelson Mandela. The girl knew her stuff. In fact, one of the judges commented, "Gosh, th at girl could have told us the number of Nelson Mandela's hotel room if we'd asked her that." .w: And now, we have three lovely, personable, talented girls to repre are disappointment ' : a script for television, call me first. I can give you some very positive viewpoints about Lehi and its environs. By BETTY FOWLER spectacular. The contestants were Most politicans Last week when I was in California we were discussing wedding things: invitations, tuxedos, flowers, food, music, and other things. Everyonehad definite opinions and it was a lively debate. Then, I happened to glance at the Tracy newspaper. There was a story about a young man who was about to get married. He became ill the morning of his wedding. He thought he'd feel better in time to go to the church for the ceremony and wedding. He didn't. He went to the hospital instead. There, after a lot of tests, they found that he had leukemia, that he would need much hospitalization, radiation, and perhaps even a bone marrow transplant. While his bride-to-b-e wag waiting at the al? tar, he was being told what his future would really be like. This past week I had the opportunity of visiting the Senior Citizen luncheon where six or seven would be politicians were invited to come and explain their platform. I was very disappointed in the presentation of these office seekers. Frankly, the only concrete platform I could understand was the one offered by one of the men, that Senior Citizens over 60 be given free fishing and hunting licenses. I had a nice conversation with Mrs. Fox of Lehi. She is a very attractive lady and could possibly carry a lot of weight with her beauty and charm. I explained to Mrs. Fox there is a move underway in various parts of the state to increase property taxes. I invited this lovely lady to look over the 60 odd citizens congregated there whose ages, were between 65 and 95. These are the without good health, nothing is very I important. Thank goodness, our wedding went off without a hitch. J Be the good Lord willing, it will continue in happiness. Anyway, I'm planning to catch a g c falling ball and win a for some of Tuck-ett'- s HI settle prize raisin cookies. I enjoyed my visit very much, but home did look good to me. It's such a small world. While I iwas waiting to board my plane, who should walk toward me but Danny Rafiner, my Lehi neighbor. I could hardly believe my eyes. Danny had just finished a job in the San Francisco-Oaklan- d area, and f. was hoping to fly stand-b- y back to Utah. He made it. He and his son were seated in the only two empty ping-pon- . , seats on the jet What Danny doesn't know is that back at the airport, a man who had a ticket reservation and ar- rived late, made a scene because they wouldn't remove Dan and his son from the plane so the ticket-holdcould board. Ann witnessed the whole scene. She called me and said that the man was so physically and verbally abusive they should have called airport security. Whew! Dan, are you lucky? It's been an interesting week. people who will be hurt by increased property taxes. a license is very minor when I think of the enjoyment it brings. I get more than $9 worth of enjoyment from Utah's lovely scenery and good companionship. While. I don't have any more worries or" trials than the average person, I can sit in a boat on a lake and enjoy the sunshine and the wind helps to; clear my troubled mind. r;flSp now ; there is a controversy jover the tax on food. Sides are being chosen up and already the players are making themselves known. Educators are in the lead telling how the tax if taken off will hurt er r And, it's just beginning. There's the poetry reading gathering, all --the, parades and rodeos, left.. Oh.; am I glad I'm in Lehi for all the everyday goodies. ?: ........ ff( For good or ill, Utah remembers Joe Hill Joe Hill was a union organizer, a poet, a singer and songwriter. He is seen as a martyr to the labor movement. Here in Utah, he was a murderer. And 75 years ago, at the Utah State Penitentiary (then located on the current site of Sugar-hous- e Park), Joe Hill was executed. It is hard to imagine now the kind of publicity Joe Hill's case received something like that of Gary Gillmore, only more so. Because the labor movement picked Hill as a symbol, claimed he was being persecuted, and found support from all over the world to cry out for Hill's release. It didn't work. Utah authorities still pressed for Hill's execution. I've been getting a lot of Joe Hill publicity lately from the organizers of the upcoming commemoration of his execution - with activities running up until Nov. 19 - the 75th anniversary of the day the firing squad put an en d to Joe Hill's union organizing activities. Here is how the Joe Hill Organizing Committee tells the story: Joe Hill, a Swedish citizen, a union organizer, a "citizen of the world," a poet, and a drifter, had a knack for turning a phrase, His songs and ditties were adopted by the Industrial Workers of the World and sung as organizing tools. The I.W.W., also known as "The was a radical labor group and active in theearly 1900's strong through the nation. Joe Hill paused in his travels in Utah inl913,andin January of the next year he was accused of two murders during a Salt Lake City grocery store robbery. His trial and subsequent appeal drew national -- Wob-blies- ," The Editor's Column By MARC HADDOCK be more difficult than I thought. At the local library, I found some mention of Joe Hill in a couple of: reference books but nothing de- r finitive. At the BYU library, I found that all the Joe Hill books are in the Americana collection. And wouldn't you know it, there are two sides to this story, just like most stories. and international attention. The Joe Hill was indeed a labor orI. W. W. portrayed Joe Hill as a martyr at a time when labor ganizer for the union movement and a vicorganizing was a dangerous occutim of the Capitalist system tarpation. geted because of his politics and his v Look at the world in 1913 and revolutionary labor songs. youll see what I mean. The fairness and impartiality of The Czar still ruled Russia. his trial have been seriously quesMarx's ideas were untried, uncertioned and were the basis of inquirtain, and very popular among the ies from such notables as American poor and downtrodden. Federation of Labor President The goal of the more radical Samuel Gompers, Helen Keller and members of the labor movement President Woodrow Wilson. was much the same - and much protests, feared by the establishment. Despite world-widoutcries from labor organizations, Labor organizers didn't just suffer challenges by legal counsel and pleas in Utah. There were lynchings of by those opposed to the death penother labor leaders in many other alty, Joe Hill was executed by a parts of the country. I assume in firing squad at 7:42 a.m. on NoUtah, where labor has never been a -- e vember 19, 1915. Utahns have long ignored the importance of Joe Hill's execution and his role in the labor movement and have declined to acknowledge the serious legal questions about his trial. For better or worse, the state of Utah played an important role in the radical labor movement in 1915. Today, Joe Hill remains an international labor folk hero and martyr memorialized in song and - , story. Fd heard of Joe Hill before, chiefly from a song by Joan Baez. When I started receiving the Joe Hill publicity, I wanted to find out for myself. That turned out to popular movement, the feelings were even more intense. Joe Hill arrived in Utah 1913 to work in a mine in Park City. But . apparently, while Hill loved to write songs and organize labor, working was another matter. He stayed, however, and on the night of the murder, Hill and friend had left their sleeping quarters. In the course of the grocery store robbery, two men were killed, and one of the robbers was wounded. Vague descriptions of the fleeing robbers resembled Hill and his companion for the evening. (The companion was never charged.) That same night Hill turned up Last chance to win Mystery Personality test This will be your last chance to win free rodeo tickets for the Saturday night performance of the Lehi Roundup Rodeo. This week's clues are as follows: Mystery Personality 7: A cowboy who holds the record for the most money won in a single season of competition. He attended Utah Technical College at Provo and Weber State College in Ogden. He limited a winning season to competing in only 80 rodeos. He is a cowboy we can all be proud of because he has represented Utah well. Mystery Personality at a doctor's office with a bullet wound he claimed he received in a misunderstanding with a woman and her husband. The circumstantial evidence made up a lot of the state's case, and Hill was found guilty. He refused to name the woman, claiming he didn't want to cause trouble. At the same time, he used the courtroom as a soapbox for his radical union thought.. and sentence ; Hill's conviction was upheld in an appeal, where the courts felt that the "serious legal questions" mentioned above weren't serious enough. Hill's execution met all the legal requirements of the day. His body was taken to Wyoming (he had requested not to be buried in Utah) and cremated. Portions of the ashes were sent to every state in the union except Utah. This met the request in one of his last poems, "My Last Will." It reads like this: My will is easy to decide For there is nothing to divide My kin don't need to fuss and moan "Moss does not cling to a rolling if I could choose to ashes it reduce And let the merry breezes blow My dust to where some flowers grow. Perhaps some fading flower then Would come to life and bloom My body? - Oh I would , again This is my Last and Final Will. Good luck to All of you, Joe Hill Was he a murderer or a martyr? I guess it depends on who you are. But Joe Hill has had a profound effect on how the world views Utah. s 1 1 8: The last Mystery Personality is a giant in the business of rodeo. His experience as a contestant lost him a finger in the calf roping event. Our personality is married to a former Miss Rodeo America and she works at his side. He sells Wranglers and Justins at the Cowboy Corral. Put on your thinking caps, write your guess on a card, deposit the card in the box at Wasatch Bank y 6 p.m. Friday. You could win free seats at the final performance of the Rodeo this Saturday night.? ' stone.' 1 - the free fishing license I am in favor of it; yet the $9 1 pay for As for the education program. What is my personal stand on removing the tax from food? A state- - was Mystery personality Phil Gardenhire, rodeo sportscaster andnnouncer. 3 Mystery Personality was Ty Murray, youngest man title. to earn all-arou- B By TOM GRIFFITHS ment in Sunday's Deseret News by the democrats tell s the story. "We are for the removal of tax on food, but other taxes must be raised to care for the short fall." So, if the tax on food is removed, watch out for the increase in property taxes. As I think of these candidates for political office, there comes to my mind a quaint superstition they have in Ireland. They say when a man is born a little fairy comes down from Heaven to kiss him. If she kisses him on the forehead, he will grow up to become a great philosopher, or a scientist, or poet. If she kisses him on the mouth, he will be a great singer or orator; if she kisses him on the cheek he will be a man and probably become a great ?actori Ifheis kissed on the foot, an athlete or a dancer. I don't know, where the fairy . would kiss him to have him grow up to be a politician. There is one thing that politicians believe: "You can't fool all the people all the time-on- ce every four years is enough." Want to get to know Lehi better? The Lehi Chamber of Commerce r tours of is planning some local historical sites in and near Lehi, hosted by Richard Van Wagoner and sponsored by the Lehi Chamber of Commerce. VanWagoner is the author of d "Lehi: the traits of a Utah Town" and is the city's foremost historian. The first two tours will be held Saturday, July 7, beginning at 9 and 11:30 a m. Both tours will originate and end at Wines Park and . first-eve- recently-release- will be conducted on an bus. . The 9 a.m. tour will include the John Beck barn and home site, Central School, Centennial Hall (Lehi Tithing Barn), People's Bank, Utah Southern People's Co-oDepot, Lehi Roller Mill, Lehi Sugar Factory (and Mulliner's Mill), Historic Main Street, Meeting House and old Evansville. The first tour will return to Wines Park and will be served a complimentary luncheon served by Mel- -' lor Banquets. This group will then conclude the tour by visiting Hutch-ing- s Museum. The second tour will begin with a luncheon served at Wines Park at 11:30 a.m. and will visit the same , sites as the morning tour, ending with a tour of Hutchings Museum .fat 3 p.m. Cost of the July 7 tour will be $8 i discounts will per person. Half-pric- e ' be available with coupons in the Lehi Chamber of Commerce ad in this week's Lehi Free Press. Each coupon will be good for up to six people at $4 per person. To make reservations for the tour, contact Dave Westover at or Carl Wasatch Bank, Mellor at Mellor Banquets, 768-- . 4578. A second tour has boen scheduled for Saturday, July 21, to visit historical sites near Lehi. , 768-845- 4 a good-looki- Tours will help you get to know Lehi s history " gin browsing The tour will focus on historical people and events, such as Orrin Porter Rockwell, The Pony Express, the Wells Fargo Station and stage coach route to Fairfield and Camp Floyd. The sites of the tragic Indian massacres, Dorton's Station and others will be visited on the way to Fairfield. This tour will also be narrated by Richard VanWagoner. The tour will begin at Wines Park at 10 a.m. and will return by 3 p.m. A complimentary lunch will be served by Mellor Banquets. Price of this tour will be $10 per discount coupons person. Half-pric- e are also available for this tour at $5 for up to six persons. These coupons are also found in the Chamber oi commerce ad in this newspaper. For reservations, contact at the telephone Westover or Mellor Reservations for both tours will be limited to the first 50 persons on a first-cald basis. Further tours are planned for August to visit unique local businesses - some of which have worldwide influence. More details will be announced later. first-serve- l, fiefciSfat press ISSN No. 8750-466- 9 U.S.P.S.NO.30MW Published weekly by Newtah News Group 86 West Main Uhl, UUh(M(Ma .'.Si . j Telephone Numbers Advertising 6 Circulation. 756-76- 1 New..., Publiiher Editors. 3 . . ... Brett R. Beuant .Marc Haddock Betty Fowler Subscription price tlV per year Second class postage paid at Lehi. Utah HwliMMif 84MmiicinfaM PO T. tot Anwrfcan Port. Huh MM |