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Show WEEKLY REFLEX-DAV- IS NEWS JOURNAL, JULY 21, 1977 By ROSELYN KIRK Frank and Leona Adams, 813 East Gentile in Layton, like parades. For more years than either of them can remember, they have prepared their covered wagon, flat bed wagon and spring wagon and have dressed in pioneer costume provided an authentic pioneer unit in the Layton parade on July 4. BUT THIS year Frank and lena, both decided they didnt feel well enough to soak the old wooden wheels on the wagons and grease the axles so they would turn. 83, This year they gave up their plan of providing their pioneer unit for the parade. The wagons stayed locked in the barn behind their rock house and the authentic pioneer pieces, usually displayed on the wagons, stayed in their storing place. Maybe next year they would be taken out and readied for the parade. FRANK SAID each year, the city writes a letter, asking the Adams to participate in the parade. Although Mr. Adams wasnt able to march in the parade, he dressed in his buckskin jacket and tamped The rock house built by Frank and Leona Adams at 813 East Gentile Street in Layton is built from stones collected from all over the world. The house is named Mountain Home" reminiscent of an old rock pioneer house built in Kaysville by Leonas grandfather. ammunition into his 1812 rifle for a demonstration for the Davis County Clipper reporter and photographer. First he poured loose powder from the powder horn into the barrel of the front loading rifle and tamped down the powder. I always put in a double charge and give them their two shells full moneys worth. Mrs. Adams says she worries that sometime the old 50 caliber muzzle-loadinrifle might explode in his hand. muzzle-loadin- g g THE PATTERN each year has been for Mr. Adams to walk beside the wagons, as they are pulled by a truck, and reload and shoot at different locations along the parade route. The spring wagon came across the plains with pioneer ancestors. The parade, unit also includes an authentic pioneer plow, spinning wheel and dutch oven. Nieces and nephews of the Adams family are persuaded to dress in pioneer costume and ride in the wagons, demonstrating scenes from pioneer life. THE KIDS like to hear the musket shot off and usually follow along in the parade waiting for Frank to shoot, Mrs. Adams said. The 1812 muzzle loading war rifle, along with a pistol Mr. Adams grandfather brought across the plains, will be donated to the Layton Heritage Museum when that building is completed, Mr. Adams said. Many of the pioneer relics that the Adams possess come from their pioneer heritage. Leonas grandmother was the fourth wife of Christopher Layton, the pioneer who established the city which is now named after him. Franks grandfather Elias Adams, an earlier settler arrived in 1850. He followed an Indian trail along the base of the mountain and settled in the Layton area. IN ORDER to maintain a part of the pioneer heritage, The Adams built a rock house in Layton and called it Mountain Home after the old rock house in Kaysville, that had been built by Edward Phillips, Mrs. Adams grandfather. The Adams started to stockpile the rocks from their home in 1920 and built the house in 1938. Rocks for the structure have come from all over the world. Not only is the house built from rocks that the The stone fireplace in the living room of the Adams home is built from rocks the Adams collected over an 1 8 year period. The Indian grinding stone that Mr. Adams plans to donate to the Layton Heritage museum is in front of the fireplace. Adams collected, but the two fireplaces are constructed from stone, as are the walls in front of the house and on the west side of the driveway. THE ROCKS used in these structures came from all over the worlf Mrs. Adams said. Friends sent them from Europe and Jerusalem. One even came' from the Great Wall of China. Another came from the South Pole where it was sent by one of the explorers who went with Admiral Bird. The artifacts the Adams have collected over a 50 year period are placed on the livingroom fireplace for display. An iron kettle thought to be used by the Donner Party was found by Mr. Adams when herding sheep in the Nevada desert. An Indian battle weapon; a skull crusher is another valuable artifacts pointed out by Mr. Adams. !t was found on an old Indian battle field on the Bear River. THE LEATHER Indian jacket that Mr. Adams wears in the parade is a valuable possession also. It was made by Moroni and Amy Timbimboo, Shoshoni Indian friends of Mr. Adams, who lived on the Washakie Indian Reservation northwest of Plymouth. Mr. Adams had asked Timbimboo to make the jacket and use his imagination. The fringed jacket is beaded with such designs as a covered wagon, an Indian tepee and an airplane. The airplane was what Mr. Adams was best known for during the years he knew Timbimboo. He used to fly over the reservation and drop treats such as gum and newspapers to his friends there. He was quite a hero on the reservation, Mrs. Adams said. MR. ADAMS learned to fly when he enlisted in the First World War in 1918. He also served in the Second World War where he was stationed at Indian Springs, Nevada. There he trained 1,000 pilots to fly. Flying was a different matter after World War I than it is now, Mr. Adams said. I used to do aerobatic stunts over Layton. Now if any pilot did the same stunts, he would be grounded. When the Adams' son Luke was born in 1930, Frank admitted that he celebrated by flying seven overjhe Dee Hospi- tal in Ogden. HE WAS the first boy after three girls. I bad to do something to celebrate." Leona said she couldnt see the perform-.- , ance, but heard a great deal about it later. After World War I, Mr. Adams stayed in the Air Force Reserve, flying many hours each week so that he could keep his pilots license and Air Force Commission. When World War II was declared, he volunteered for active service again. FRANK AND Leona Adams both grew up in Layton. They were married in 1920, shortly after Mr. Adams returned from World War I. The morning in July, 57 years later, Leona Adams still showed her concern. Frank had tamped powder down into the barrel of the musket and braced it against his shoulder to fire into the trees behind their rock house. Everytime he shoots that old gun, I worry that it will explode in his hands. I hope the neighbors dont mind, its loud enough to wake the dead. Looking at Frank as he shot across the weathered fence into the trees that separate the Adams property from their neighbors, it was easy to believe that Frank Adams came from pioneer stock. PHOTOS BY FRED WRIGHT When they are not marching in parades, the Adams store their authentic pioneer wagon and their covered to be soaked and wagon in the barn behind their home. In order to make the wheels turn, the wheels have the axels greased. |