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Show Home of The Mormon . Miracle Pageant 1993 Dates: July 8,9,10, Volume 107 Number 60 50 a copy 13-1- 7 Manti LDS Temple MANTI, UTAH 84642, THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 1993 1 Mormon Miracle Pageant rehearsals now underway BY BRUCE JENNINGS The Mormon Miracle Pageant will be starting on its third million in attendance this summer. Andpageantofficials arehop-in- g that stories of problems on MantisMain Street may nothave a negative affect on attendance. Any impediments to traffic movement on Main Street during the performances should he very minor, UDOT officials, In the meantime preparations for the 27th annual performances of the pageant are going ahead will, general manager Lee Barton said. Those preparations, of course, include food services and other facets of the production in cast addition to the rehearsals. have been double Following tryouts, the first rehearsals were held on June 1. The rehearsal will move toTemple Hill on July 5, with the first of two dress rehearsals. Performances are dated July 8 through 10 and again in July 13 through The romantic leads, Robert and Mary, will be played by 17. Ronald Hall is again serving as general director. His assistants are Helen Dyrengand Jane Braithwaite, associate directors, Don Olsen and Todd Jorgenson. The cast of around 300 again includes a mixture of veteran and new performers. Among the veterans are Richard Olsen, who will again play General Mormon, and Ned Madsen, who will be back as George Washington. Several of the principal roles Esther Chapman and Karen Bartholomew, as Mary, and Paul Allred and Chris Cox as Robert Todd Jorgenson will be the Prophet Joseph Smith and Jacob Parnell and Scott Dyreng will alternate as the Young Joseph. Renelle Smith and Shirley Frischknecht will have the Lucy Mack Smith role; Brigham Young will be played by Ivo Peterson and Ryan Evans. Jim Larsen and Heath Bateman will be CaptainMoroni. Wesley Thompson and Richard Anderson will appear as Zarahemnah. Tho principals and the dancers will have new costumes. icial The Proclamation was signed 0. Leavitt on in Thurs., May 27, his office at the State Capital The proclamation declares that Utah joins the rest of the nation in observing June as Turkey Lovers Month," by Gov. Michael a national campaign under the auspices of the National Turkey Federation of Reston, Virginia. Witnessing the signing and sharing information with the Governor about the importance of the turkey industry to the states economy were Cary G. Peterson, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Randy Parker of the Utah Department ofAgriculture. Industry leaders on hand were Tim Blackham, chairman ofthe board ofMoroni Feed Com-- . pany; Joseph C. Nielsen, president and chief executive officer of Moroni Feed Company; and Steven R. Jensen, president and chiefexecutive officer ofNorbest, Inc., the worlds largest turkey marketing cooperative. Others in attendance were State Senator Leonard member ofMoroni a Blackham, Feed Company board of directors; John B. Hall, senior vice president ofNorbest; Paul Reed, directorofmarketingforNorbest; and David Bailey, vice president, Moroni Feed CompanyProcess-in- g Division. Moroni Feed Company - te" . - 4 ? VV t w.vMttv.v oper- In the Proclamation Gov. Leavitt highlights the benefits of the turkey industry in Utah, including its contribution to the g of Utahs agricultural scene and as a mqjor provider of nutritional products for national and international consumers. well-bein- 24-pou- nd fro- zen Norbest turkey on the Governor's desk served as the centerpiece for the Proclamationsigning ceremony. will remember Manti In the 1850s Manti was a fortress city. It contained three forts with high walls, bastions and guard gates. The presence of the forts, the Little Fort, built of stone in 1852; the LogFort,builtin 1853, and the Big Fort that encompassed nine city blocks, around 36 acres all told,builtin 1854, tell us something of a sometimes embattled people struggling to survive in a sometimes harsh environment When Karen Barton, the reigning Miss Manti, sought a service project a requirement for her candidacy as Miss Utah she consulted with Bill Mickelson, Manti City Recorder and strong advocate of volunteer service programs; she also met with May Peterson, chairman of Sanpete Countys Centennial Commission, and sought suggestions from Albert Antrei, author of books and articles on Mantis early history. The outcome ofthis explora- pioneer story days, she had found Mormon settlement history study. old emAnd so this barked on a project that began simply enough as an idea: monuments built of huge oolite stone blocks, retrieved from the quarry that provided material for the temple, the tabernacle, and a hundred homes. The project involved getting the approval of the county, the city and church on placing markers at the sites of the forts, doing research on the forts by searching city records, old diaries and other documents, raising funds and getting those hunks of oolite from the quarry to the three locations. afas-cinati- 18-ye- ar Everyones been wonderful," she says. This project seemed to strike the right chord. History is the in thing. The Big Fort marker was dedicated last week. Karen explained the scope of the project, and other speakers added their comments. May Peterson paid tribute to pioneer values. Albert Antrei quoted from Edwin B. Firmage, A people who forget their past cut themselves free fi om continuity. We end up with Karens decision to under take a project that would involve tion: placing markers on the sites of Mantis three forts. The choice was right up Karens alley because, I' i ! from her ,v Governor Michael O. Leavitt, with Norbest cap, helps turkey industry officials designate June as From left, Steven R. "Turkey Lovers Month" In Utah with special proclamation and bright badges. G. Jensen, presidentCEO of Norbest, Inc.; Tim Blackham, chairman, Moroni Feed Company; Cary Leonard Blackham, Peterson, Utah Commissioner of Agriculture; Governor Leavitt; Senator Feed Moroni C. and Nielsen, presidentCEO, Feed Moroni member Joseph Company board; Company. I - I- 1 r- vW- - , Me 44T ' Enterprise Paving, Orem, was the low bidder with an offer of $72,493. The money will come In addition to approving the n out a sense of history and internal gyroscope to guide us in our own time. The result is a state of narcissism." Mayor Kent Larsen offered the dedicatory prayer. The bronze plaques on the three markers will each tell something about the forts and by inference, the role they played in pioneer settlements. The Big Fort monument has been mounted between the Manti City Building and Manti Library on tiie lawn. The Little Fort markers will be placed at the Bishops Storehouse, and the Log Fort marker will stand on the Sanpete Courthouse lawn. And what will Karen gain from her efforts? For one thing, I gained a new appreciation of our ancestors. They were a heroic people. You wonder ho wthey with-outa- were able to accomplish so much, build a temple and other buildings with stone taken from the mountains." Karen will attend Snow College this year on an academic scholarship and her English teacher will likely get some papers based upon some rock and log forts that were important in her hometowns history. ft ' 'r-- r$ m q JtaaS5' j 4 3 - - n fv School Board approves parking lot contract from South Sanpete School District building reserves. The lot will be hard surfaced and well drained. Sanpete County is participating in the project to the extent of allowing the district the use of a 30 foot wide strip of county land. In return, the county will get to use the lot for special occasions like the fair. forts vM 5: There'll be a new parking lot at Manti High School by July 30, which will provide about 100 additional stalls. They wont help out thi s y e ar with parki ng for the pageant, but they will be available in time for the fair. And theyll mean less student and facility parking on Fifth North. front of the Manti at the ceremony be placed. It marks the Karen Barton project season. n, PV dedicating the monument This is the first of three monuments that will location of the "Big Fort". ates turkey processing plants in Moroni and Salina. The two plants process some 72 million pounds of turkey products annually and employ 1,000 duringpeak AUtah-grow- If vt Karen Barton displays plaque that will be mounted on the oolite monument in Library. Albert Antrei (left) and Mayor Kent Larsen (right) were speakers 'Turkey Lovers' Month' declared by Governor In triumph for turkey lovers, June has been declared their month by the states highest off- 4 V a i U parking lot contract, the district took the following action at its A June meeting. Renewed Supt. Lewis - Mullins contract for another two years. Adopted thefollowingmeet-in- g schedule for the comingyear: July 14, 7:30 p.m. at district office in Manti; Aug. 11, 7:30 p.m., Gunnison Valley Elementary; (Continued on Page 6) 1 , AH vv . , w- - B $ eM'- The construction project on Manti's Main Street Is proceeding. We couldn't resist taking a picture of a break In the water line in front of our store, The Manti Messenger office. As might be expected, this kind of thing Is common In a project of this magnitude. Notice the numerous, "sidewalk engineers" giving helpful advice to Manti City crews repairing the break. |