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Show Volume X Issue II THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 9 May 1, 2004 The Manassa Mauler By Sherman LeMoyne Hislop We offer some memories of the Valley since many who now live here weren’t alive when these past events took place. It is the intent to refresh some memories, and record and verify for future generations some history and lore of the Valley. This article is about a world renowned figure who once lived in the Valley—namely, Jack Dempsey. No attempt will be made to amplify on Dempsey’s well documented career beyond the Valley, but rather on some of the undocumented activities while he was a Valley citizen. Jack Dempsey came to the Valley as a teenager and worked for Ammon Allen. Ammon lived up the “South Lane” about one mile from the center of Huntsville. Dempsey worked for Allen for about a year on the Allen farm. Dempsey would help daily with the collection of milk from several farmers on the South Lane then take it to the railroad in Huntsville. There the milk was sent to a creamery in Ogden. Jack Dempsey had also started a fighting career in Ogden. He received anywhere from ten to one hundred dollars for each fight in any of the so called boxing arenas. Dempsey was obtaining a reputation as a fighter. By today’s standards, Jack Dempsey was not a huge fighter; he was only about 6’ tall and weighed about 180 lbs. But he was a tough fighter, typical of most fighters of the day. While Dempsey was working for Allen and developing as a fighter, he made friends with a young sports writer at the Ogden Standard Examiner, Al Warden. This became a lifetime friendship. Warden eventually became responsible for all the sports writing and became the sports editor for the Ogden Standard Examiner. Later in his life, when Jack Dempsey would visit Utah and Ogden, he invariably had a talk with Al Warden. Dempsey’s close Huntsville friend, who was the same age, was Ben Wood. Ben would later become a grocer and have a meat store in Huntsville across from the town square. Dempsey would seldom visit Utah without also going to Huntsville to visit his boyhood friend Ben Wood. Living conditions were not good. Most of the hired hands in the Valley slept in barns. In the wintertime the Valley would often have temperatures of under fifty degrees below zero. However, the barns were reasonably warm with the cows locked in for the night. Hired hands slept in lofts surrounded by hay and lots of wool quilts. After working for Ammon Allen for one year, Dempsey was still continuing as a local fighter. He went to work for John Colvin on the north side of the Middle Fork River, which was about 4 miles east of Eden, but only 2 miles north of Huntsville. There was a crossing over the river that made the Colvin’s residence closer to Huntsville. In the early 1900’s there was often a Saturday night dance in Huntsville. Young men would often go to the dance in a horse and buggy and take their dates. One such Saturday night, Dempsey bor- rowed Colvin’s horse and buggy for a date to the Huntsville dance. During the date, he and Ben Wood decided to have a buggy race. The streets in Huntsville were really quite wide, but ditches often crossed the streets for irrigation purposes. It was a bright moonlit night, and Ben Wood and Jack Dempsey raced down a street where an irrigation ditch crossed. Dempsey got too close to the edge of the road and one wheel of the buggy hit the edge of the culvert and broke. Replacing such items was a significant expense, and there was little money to pay for such repairs. Jack apologized to Colvin, but still he was immediately fired, and Dempsey moved back to Ogden. While living in Ogden, Dempsey continued his fighting and was gaining a national reputation. Dempsey was scheduled for a fight with Jack Johnson in Reno, Nevada. Johnson was 6’6” and 250 lbs. Johnson had been the world heavyweight champion, but because he was an African American, the attitude of the United States was antiJohnson. Jack Dempsey was about 19 or 20 years of age when his career blossomed, giving him the opportunity to fight Jack Johnson. Everyone assumed that Johnson would easily win. He was older, bigger, and much more experienced than Dempsey. He had MANASSA MAULER cont. on page 10 Historical Photo I believe this picture dates from around 1896 or 1897. There is only one person that has been identified and that is my mother who is sitting in the second row from the bottom, third from the right—Mette Marie Christen Winter, more commonly known as Mary. I’m guessing at the date as Mom looks like she might be six or seven years old, and she was born in 1889. The picture is a copy, not an original, and I have no idea how it came into my mother’s possession. I think she once told me that someone had made a copy and gave it to her, probably someone in Huntsville. So maybe someone will recognize the photo and tell us who all the people are; wouldn’t that be fun. The little boy on the front row, third from the right, may be Peter Winter, Cheryl Holmes’ father. - Gordon Madsen Photo courtesy of Gordon K. Madsen of Granada Hills, California. (formerly of Odgen Valley) Subscriptions available for out of area residents at $18.00 annually. 801-745-4000 2555 WOLF CREEK DR. Send payment with mailing address to: THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS EDEN STORE HOURS: MON. - SAT. 7 AM - 10 PM SUNDAY 7 AM - 9 PM P O BOX 130, EDEN UT 84310 Dreyers Grand Ice Cream 1.75 qt. 2 for $5.00 with coupon Limit 2 per coupon Expires 5/15/04 Twizzlers Bonus Bag Licorice 17.6 oz. Strawberry or Cherry 89 c with coupon Vern Iverson DDS Mike Crookston DDS Iverson Family Dentistry offers all phases of general dentistry to you and your family. Nitrous oxide, and stereo and video technology will make your visit to the dentist much more pleasant. Extended hours available. 2627 N. Highway 162, Eden 745-3882 Limit 3 per coupon Valley Market Expires 5/15/04 Fresh Deli Pizzas 16 inch Family Size $9.98 with coupon *FREE Movie Rental with Pizza Purchase Limit 2 per coupon Shasta 2 liters Expires 5/15/04 All flavors 48 c with coupon Limit 4 per coupon Expires 5/15/04 |