OCR Text |
Show Escalante News j r ir . . . ir:::.ii:r:Ti.' . By Marlene Haws 826-4859 Beryl Shurtz celebrated his 81st birthday on Feb. 8. Happy birthday to him. The family of Tom and Marilyn Jackson invited him for dinner and helped him blow out the candles on his cake. Neal Liston also celebrated his birthday on the 8th. When I talked with them, Alberta, his wife, had a cake all ready to put in the oven, just in case he decided to make a big deal out of it. Neal says a lot of water has gone under the bridge in those 87 years. Forest Service representatives, Ranger kevin Schulkoski and David Barondeau, presented plans at the last city council meeting for new facilities at both Upper and Lower Barker Reservoirs. Tables, parking, restrooms, fish cleaning stations, etc. The plan is posted at the city office and is open to comment or suggestion. We should all offer input, do you suppose they will build a special retreat for the bear too? The old high school buildings and the LDS North Ward Church have been owned by the city for a number of years now. The old church is now the community center, the senior citizen center, the offices for Turn-A-Bout and a chapel for the Baptist church. The high school shop and home ec rooms are now city offices andhe old original high school building is the city library and Care and Share facility. Makes one wonder how we got along before the new buildings were constructed. The old gymnasium has been used for a practice gym, a dance hall and a place for meetings of all kinds. But now the high school is taking it back, so the school will be responsible for scheduling, maintenance, etc. We are seeing lots of changes in our little town. Some good, some bad. Worst of all-our old traditions are slowly being taken away. An era is ending and we are not quite as unique as we used to be. Now to the younger people that doesn't mean much, but to we who are older, it brings a feeling of real sadness. Arden and MaeVonne Taylor liked their recent trip to Mexico so well, they turned around and went back again. On their way they picked up Melba and Arlis Brooks in Phoenix, Ariz. The ladies wanted to look at purses again and Arden could probably loan you some vanilla to cook with. More power to you guys. Go every chance you get. Elden Griffin went to Provo and brought his parents (LaVem and Mary Griffin) home. LaVern is doing so well since his heart surgery he surprised all of us, even his doctors! He says it speeds up the recovery period when so many people call, send cards, visit and show their love and concern in so many different ways. He really appreciated that. Mary hasn't been too well either, so hopefully they can recover together. She says they are glad to be back home out of the rain, fog and snow. Mary (Griffin) also said they saw Richard and Christine (Woolsey daughter of Haynes and Iola Woolsey) Tatman of Heber while they were at the hospital. Richard was there with a pinched nerve in his back. Ben Porter called while he was in town. He and his brother-in-law, Mait Baugh, Tropic, had been to Phoenix, Arizona to deliver two horses to their father-in-law, Blake Robinson. They drove, but I would say it was a "flying trip" because they went down and back all in one day! Ben has had some repair work done on his knee while he is spending the winter in Provo. That will give him something to concentrate on until spring comes and he can get back to Escalante! Stanley Haycock spent a few days in the hospital at Panguitch. He is home, with and oxygen tank and a new set of pills to take, but is doing better. The Sweethearts Valentine Party was a huge success with the hall filled to overflowing. The food was wonderful and the Ken Piatt family of Henrieville provided a lovely program of music and song. I wouldn't even begin to name names of people who were there from out of town. I will say that Wayne and Pat Banks, St. George, were here because Wayne was one of the speakers in the LDS First Ward the following day. Lois (Liston) Houston, Murray, was in town over the weekend. She brought Amy Wheeler along to keep her company. Amy is attending BYU in Provo. Carlyle Shurtz gets tired of the snow in Sandy every once in a while and comes down to check on his father. Beryl Shurtz. Looks like the least he could do is bring us a load of snow each time he comes! Jimmy and Rhonda Barney are the proud parents of a little 7 lb. baby boy. This makes the third, all boys. The Escalante grandparents are Gerald and Carol Barney and Ruth Lay. Norman and Ardis Christensen spent a few days in Tooele helping their son, Clyde Christensen, build a fireplace. They also spent one day in Ogden attending a horse show at the Golden Spike Arena. Ardis said they spent eight hours there and it seemed more like three. While there, they visited with Emmom Dodds, Grace, Idaho, who is the son of MaeVonne and Arden Taylor. He seemed to be doing well. Harriet and Phillip Priska just returned home from a little tour. In Las Vegas, Nevada they visited overnight with Phillip's brother and sister-in-law, Marty and Galey Priska of Tampa, Florida. From there they went to Phoenix, Ariz, where Harriet was able to attend an Arizona Button Society Exhibit. She is a "Button Lady" and an avid collector of buttons of all kinds. McKay and Rose Bailey have just returned from Mesa, Ariz, where they visited with daughter and son-in-law Natalie and Jerry Brian, sister and brother-in-law Sandra and Bob Porter and McKay's father Gail Bailey. They report that Gail is not very well and has his good and bad days, and probably will not be able to live alone any more. Natalie and Jerry had happier news. They are in the process of adopting a new baby. They have three of their own. Dana and Lisa Alvey came from Cedar City to spend the night with Rolain Alvey and to bring her a Valentine bouquet Our boys at the High School seem to have some kind of ailment. I think it might be called "Shear Fever". They are taking turns cutting cut-ting each others hair! I'd wager that some of their parents have never seen them with such bald heads. Not even when they were newborn. The night our basketball team played Panguitch I was there for a full quarter before I recognized my own grandson! Oh, well, it's only hair and it will grow back in. They could be doing other things that would be a lot worse and they will have something to laugh about in years to come. If it would make them play ball like they did that night we would volunteer to have a hair-cutting party for the whole team. We were really proud of them. |