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Show School SOUTHERN UTAH NEWS WEDNESDAY MAY 12, 1899 Kanab Heritage Counci! Essay winners 1st Place Winner Preston James Winchester Great Grandma Beckstead, B also known as Grandma was a survivor from her first breath. She came into this world weighing only 2 lbs, and could fit in the palm of your hand. She was so small that they had to feed her from an eye dropper. They had to give her alcohol in the eye dropper to circulate her blood. Grandma B never got to finish school, she had to drop out in the 7th grade. Both of her parents became very ill. She being the oldest was left with the responsibility of being the care giver. She also became the parent for her siblings. Grandma married Grandpa Jensen and had three children. Her youngest one was named Dale Rulon Jensen, which is my Grandpa today. When he was eight years of age, his father passed away. Leaving Grandma alone to raise the children. She later married Grandpa Beckstead. He also died at an early age. Grandma B was a very funny woman. She had a dry sense of humor. She was always cooking and can- ning food from the garden. Grandma B always had an apron on. She loved to visit with her neighbors (the ladies club). When Grandma got older she came down with a crippling dis- ease. The doctors said she would never walk and have to be in a wheel chair. Grandma showed them. After many months in the hospital and lots of pain and hard work Grandma showed them a thing or two. She was able to walk, but had difficulties. Grandma loved to go to a fast food restaurant named Artie Circle. She would always pick up the little old lady friends in the neighborhood and they would go to lunch every day. My Grandmas favorite show was the Lawrence Welk Show. She f p I it t always said when she died and goes to heaven the first thing she wants to do is dance with Lawrence Welk. My Grandma B was loved by all. I was seven when my great grandma died but I will never forget her or the times I shared with her. I learn more and more about her all the time and I am grateful for the legacy she has left me. Ive thought a lot about having to quit school at this age and give up my social life to take care of my family and I just cant comprehend it. My Great Grandma was a fighter from day one. She might have fitted in the palm of your hand, but she became a giant to our family and an example to us all. Grandma B thank you, and I love you. Youre my HERO 2nd Place Winner Chris DiMauro My Grandpa My grandpas name is Wallace Johnson. He was bom in Moab, Utah, and was the eighth ofnine children in his family. He had four brothers and four sisters. The day my grandpa was bom, April 27, 1923, there was a bank robbery in Moab. The night before two men came to their ranch house and asked to stay in their bam, and my grandpas dad hesitated because he felt something wasnt right. He did allow them to stay though. The next morning the two men were gone, along with some of his gunnysacks that had his name on them. Those two men used the gunnysacks to rob the bank. He was known for his honesty, so when he was questioned they didnt doubt what he said. They did eventually catch the bank robbers, and they ended up being prominent men from Monticello. When my grandpa was growing up they raised their own f Thank you businesses and individuals for your generousity and support of Fredonia High School DECA travel scholarships. We appreciate the opportunity to represent our school and community at DECA Nationals in Orlando, Florida. Honeys IGA Dennys Wigwam Sound Room Flying W Resources Honeymoon Trails Zions Bank Crazy Jug Motel Southern Utah News Easy Forms Nails By Shannon State Bank of Southern UT Glaziers Foodtown Natures Show Case Cedar Post Trading Mr. Pat Jensen Mr. LeRoy Judd Mr. & Mrs. Kim Mr. & Mrs. Kay Koons Prisbrey Ms. Phyllis Woefel food because of the Depression, but his favorite thing to do was cattle drives with his dad. His dad died when he was 17 years old. A few years later he went into the army and was a part of the convoy that was on their way for the final big attack on Japan. Before they arrived, the atomic bomb had already hit Japan to end the war. His convoy went ahead and went to Japan to occupy and rebuild. Now my grandpas favorite thing to do is to spend time with his sons and grandsons. He likes to take my cousin, Tyler, and I camping and fishing. When I go with him I have so much fun. He makes me feel like Im the most important person around when I am with him. He enjoys working on the dairy farm, and has taken me on the tractor with him. It is so much fun to be with my grandpa! 3rd Place Winner Joshua Sivley Great Uncle Ivan Jones Ivan Jones was 70 years old when he died in his home, October 28, 1998. He was bom October 18, 1928 in Las Vegas, Nevada to my great grandparents, Wallace and Eliza Jones. My moms mothers parents. My grandma is still alive and she is 8 years older than Ivan. Ivan was married for 50 years to Jane Leavitt and had three children, two sons and one daughter. When he died he had eleven grandchildren that he was very close to. All Ivans kids were bom in Overton and still, live there today. Ivan was the third generation of the Jones family to live in Overton. He was very important in the growth of Moapa Valley. He owned and operated a Chevron service station, the Overton Motel and Overton Motors. He developed many real estate developments in the valley including Overton Beach Resort, Town and Country Estate, other developments where people bought the land for their homes. His favorite occupation was working as a fishing guide on Lake Mead. Though he did not need a reason to go fishing at Lake Mead, he just loved to fish. It was an obsession and Aunt Jane was kind to let him fish almost every day he could get on the lake. If Ivan wasnt on the lake fishing, he was under it in scuba gear helping find and recover boats that had sunken during storms. One summer he helped recover 11 boats. He taught his sons how to dive so they could help in what was a pretty hard job. He learned to fly and bought his first plane. When he took his wife to see it, she became hysterical and said she would never Jo Smith, Rosalie Coleman and Joan Kirby of the Kanab Heritage Council presented certificates to the winners of the Heritage Council Essay Contest Pictured ( ): Smith, Coleman, Allison Mathis, Preston Winchester, Chris DiMauro, Josh Sivley and Kirby. Photo by Rory Brunner. -r get into something that looked like orange crates with canvas over it. His flying turned out to help others by rescuing people from the lake when they were lost or hurt. He grew up as a farmers son and had a lot of knowledge of how things grow. I remember one time when he was visiting my grandma and my mom and I went to buy a watermelon for lunch. As soon as we walked in the house with the watermelon, Uncle Ivan said, let me see that watermelon. He thumped it good and said, its too ripe, it will be sweet and mushy. I was amazed when we cut it open and he was exactly right about the watermelon. He then told us a story of when he was a kid and had to pick watermelons all night long, load them in a horse driven wagon and get them to the train by daylight. Thats why he knew how to pick a good watermelon. After loading the wagon with the melons, he would get in the wagon and sleep while the horse automatically took him and his load to the station. I thought this was a good story to hear from Uncle Ivan. There were so many people that loved my uncle. His funeral was so packed, they ran out of seats. Everybody loved Ivan because Ivan understood the meaning of friendship. He wasnt selective, he was a friend to everyone. No matter what someone did to him, he would always turn around, forgive them and be a friend. That is why he had so many friends. not pay their mortgage, so they piled the r mattresses on the top of the car, and moved on, as a part of the American history the Oakies. Just before they left, the bank that reclaimed their property discovered oil on it. They moved to Oroville, California, where his father got remarried. Hanley quit school in the 8th grade, mainly because he was embarrassed by his overalls and shoes redone with rubber tires. He worked at lumber mills in California in his teens. He was also a prize fighter in the lumber camps. Raw knuckle fighting is what they called it. Hanley was an adventurer, handsome, with flaming auburn hair, had a quick wit, and a crooked smile. (That explains my brothers auburn hair.) He finally worked his way to Santa Cruz, California on the Pacific Coast. My great grandmother, Dor- othy LaJunta Wilkins, was bom in Fresno, California on February 18, 1913. She was named LaJunta after a Indian princess in California that threw herself off a cliff. She never really liked her name. She was the youngest of 13 children and was a ministers daughter. Dorothy graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1926. She wanted to be a designer, but women didnt have much say back then. Dorothj' was part of the Santa Cruz crowd on the beach. She was 19 and engaged to Swen, who was going to Stanford and playing football, and they were scon to be married. While on the 4th Place Winner beach one day, Doe-Do- e Allison Mathis (Dorothys nickname) was sitand Hanley Dorothy ting there, and along comes My great grandfather, Hanley Hanley. He sat right next to her Noel Mathis, was bom in But- and said, Im going to marry ler, Oklahoma (Indian territory) you. Well, two weeks later she on December 7, 1909. He was the rich boy, Swen, back the 6th son of 7 boys bom on a gave his ring. ranch in Oklahoma. His mother On Easter Sunday, April 15, Elizabeth died at 27 giving birth 1933, Hanley and Dorothy to the 7th son. When Hanley Mathis were married. They was about 10, his father, James in the Santa Cruz area Mathis, lost the ranch in what stayed for two years and planned not to was called the dust bowl era. They had bad crops and could 11 See ESSAY, Page |