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Show Home of the Mormon Miracle Pageant July 14 thru 16, 19 thru 23, 1983 30C 1 par copy 7th annual presentation Pageant opens tonight on T emple Hill by Bruce Jennings When the dusk settles gently down on Temple Hill tonight, the crowd that has assembled for the opening performance of the Mormon Miracle Pageant will cease its visiting, its coming and going and become quiet in anticipation. And then will come the sound of a drum roll. A Utah National Guard unit will advance the colors. The Pledge of Allegiance will be recited. Robert J. Scanncll will sing the National Anthem and Wm. J. Pratt will offer the invocation. Mr. Scannell, Boston, Mass., a professional musician, is now serving in the Utah LDS Mission. Mr. Pratt, Richfield, is a Regional Representative of the Quorum of the Twelve of the LDS Church. the opening cereFollowing monies, the first scene of the pageant will be performed for the i 7th consecutive year. For 15 of those years, Mackscne Rux has been the pageant's director. A few others have been associated with the production from its first performance at the Sanpete County fairgrounds. The next year it was moved to Temple Hill. rjr the post several, years attendance has topped off at around more than a million 120,000 overall. But everyone associated with the pageant hesitates to predict how many will attend this years eight performances. That's because flooding in Utah has received national publicity and Highway 89, the main access route from the north, is closed. However, other roads will be well patrolled and are adequate to handle the Kennard Sheriff traffic, Anderson said. Pageant general manager Morgan Dyreng said that more inquiries than usual have been received for information, but that these inquiries may not translate into attendance. About 400 people will be performing tonight. Although most are from the local area, several states are represented in the cast. Some of the young performers come to Sanpete to stay w ith grandparents or other relatives and have the eight-weeopportunity of participating in the rehearsals as well as the actual performances. k "There are always new people to break in every year," Mrs. Rux says, "but they're enthusiastic and committed. Always, the cast is a pleasure to work with. If the rehearsal season is six weeks long, preparations for the pageant are, of course, an affair, w ith stage settings to refurbish and new costumes and weaponry to construct. g "Thn pageant . Is JiJ3JOPcrativ project," Mr. Dyreng observed, with many hundreds, beside the cast and the production people, involved." Among the others who are involved are the Primary children whoclcan up the grounds, the adults and young people who place and remove the chairs, the officers who help with parking and enforce safety provisions, the people who staff the food and soft drink booths and prepare and serve the dinners, the omen w ho distribute the programs. w We could go on and Dyreng w hole-hearte- d on." Mr. said, "because this is a effort on the part of so many." drink The soft food and concessions will again be operated by the Ephraim and Sterling wards. The Manti Third and Fourth wards will serve their roast beef dinners each pageant night from 5 to 8 in their cultural hall. home-cooke- d That Sanpete Valley specialty, barbecued turkey and all the fixings, will be made available by the Manti First and Second wards. And Boy Scouts will prepare breakfasts each morning, except Sundays, following performances. The pageant is, of course, the attraction w hich brings thousands of people to the Sanpete Valley in And now many of them are element to their trip: another adding theyre holding family reunions at places like Manti City Park and Palisade, thus combining attendance at the pageant w ith a gathering cvf parents, children, brothers and sisters and grandparents. Often, after the pageant and the reunion, they journey on to Zions. the Grand Canyon or Yellow stone, or go their separate wavs, to meet again in Manti during another July. In other words, the pageant has become an institution, widely known and respected. mid-Jul- Highways crowded, but Manti easily accessible by Llnnle Findlay 'Mortal Moroni' statue as it was cast in Italy, will be dedicated Saturday. A place of meditation Unveiling Saturday for Mortal Moroni statue by Eleanor Madsen Saturday, July 16th at 5 p.m. the statue of the Mortal Moroni will be unveiled at the lawn west of the Manti Temple Hill, designating the home of the Mormon Miracle Pageant. The statue was set in place Wednesday, July 13 with a crowd of interested onlookers, witnessing its erection. Among the group was Dr. Avard Fairbanks, noted sculptor of the beautiful, bronze monument. statue was placed on a The nine-fobase of cement and oolite stone brought from the Manti quarry by Carl Bown and sons who did the stone work for the base. The bronze statue is the central point of a planned meditation garden featuring masonry benches and tables, planters, and appropriate landscaping. will for It be a place memories and for contemplation for meditation, said Jane Braith-waitpresident of the private corporation which has undertaken the project. Seed money for the project was provided by the family of the late R. Clair Anderson sometimes called e, non-prof- it the founding father of the Mormon from contribuMiracle Pageant tions made at the time of his death. The statue was cast by skilled workmen in Italy under the sculptors direction, and then upon completion was placed in storage in a warehouse on Temple Hill. The Book of Mormon refers to Moroni as an ancient Nephite warrior who deposited the plates containing the records of his people in the Hill Cumorah in New York state, and who later returned as an angel to show the location of the records to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Sanpete legend has it that Moroni, during his wanderings on the North American continent, dedicated the present Manti Temple Hill as the site of a temple. The statue is referred to as the Moroni to differentiate "mortal between the life of Moroni on earth and his as a warrior-historiaexistence as an angel. The dedicatory prayer for the unveiling of the statue will be given by Wilbur Braithwaite, a native of Manti. Mr. Braithwaite is presently president of the Utah Coachs post-mort- al Association and has coached basketball and tennis for over 30 years at Manti High School. He is chairman of the Activities Committee for Manti Utah Stake and is a Veteran of World War II where he was awarded a Purple Heart. Music for the dedication will be furnished by the combined choirs of Manti, Utah, Mt. Pleasant and Moroni Stakes under the direction of Professor Harry A. Dean and the Gunnison Choir with members of Richfield and Salina Stakes participating under the direction of Dr. Dwight H. Inouye of Gunnison Stake. will A number of speakers is which in the program participate under the direction of the Manti Utah Stake with President Lee R. Barton conducting. The large bronze Pioneer Families plaque will also be in place on the oolite shafts at that time. A copper box, especially made and containing the names of donors has been put inside the base. The public is invited to the dedication ceremony and are asked to bring their own chairs. Visitors coming to the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti, Utah, in 1983, should be aware that Highway 89 through Spanish Fork Canyon is still closed due to the giant mudslide that created the dam, making what we now call Thistle Lake. The Utah State Department of Transportation has assured us that as soon as it is feasible that highway will be opened again, but for the Pageant season, 1983, all traffic from the north will find it necessary to stay on Interstate IS, at least as far as Nephi. Traffic may then either follow State Highw ay 132 along the original pioneer route through Salt Creek Canyon to Manti, or continue south to Levan and take State Highway 28 to Gunnison, and then follow Highway 89 north from Gunnison to Manti. Traffic from the south will need to be on Highway 89 at least by the time travellers reach Salina or Gunnison. According to Sanpete County Sheriff Kennard Anderson, these highways will be adequate to handle Pageant traffic, but those coming to the Pageant may need to allow a little more time to reach Manti area. Busses will be routed to Levan and Gunnison, and Sheriff Anderson states that insofar as is practical and possible, bus travel is encouraged. Although most of the canyons in the Sanpete area arc closed because of numerous mudslides, so that camping in the mountains w ill not be possible, campgrounds are available in the valley for those w ho w ish these services. Beef and barbequed turkey dinners will be served each night of the Pageant in the two ward houses in Manti, and fast foods will be available near the Pageant site. May we again remind visitors that food, drinks or pets are not permitted on the Temple Grounds where the Pageant is held. Dates for the 1983 Mormon Miracle Pageant are July 14, 15, 16 and Nights are cool, so wraps arc advised. 19-2- Contract awarded on Manti sewer lagoons byPatMellor A bid S89.000 under the design engineers estimate made Interstate Construction the successful bidder on the construction of Manti City's sewer lagoon. Bids were opened on Friday, July 8 at Manti City Hall. Thurgood and Company, design engineers for the sewer project, had estimated construction of the lagoon phase would cost the city about $498,000. The Interstate bid was $409,000. The Salt Lake area construction firm which was awarded the bid will have 120 days to construct the lagoons after all formalities are observed and all contracts signed, which may take up to 30 days, according to Dave Thurgood, design engineer. Bids for the collection system through town will be opened on July 29 at Manti City Hall. Thurgood says the target date for of the entire sewer project is now set for May, 1984. completion Groundbreaking set for Ephraim Middle School Ground will be officially broken for the new Ephraim Middle School this Thursday, July 14 at 10 a.m. on the site at 600 South 100 East in Ephraim, according to Superintendent Scott Bean. The public is invited to attend. Valley Builders Construction of Gunnison has been awarded the contract for the school with a low bid of $2,219,000. The firm has 420 days from June 29, 1983, including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, to complete the project. Dr. Bean says the South Sanpete School District plans on being in the school year. building for the 1984-85 |