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Show oo JOSEPH W. JENKINS SAW THE SPIKE DRIVEN As the tracks were laid past Twenty -eighth street in 1869 th Ogden band brought forth its instru- ments, and with the Stars and Stripes flying in the breeze, serenaded the workers, according to a letter just received by President L. W. Shurtlift of the Ogden stake, from one of the pioneers who worked. on the road at itv time. The letter, from Joseph W, ! Jenkins of St Anthony. Idaho, is as follow B : "Dear Brother Just a few lines to you. I have read a lot about the Golden Spike celebration, and I am pleased to Inform you that I was one of tho few who were privileged to see the Golden Spike driven Into the tie at Promontory by President Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific railroad rail-road and another man, whose name I do not know, which event occurred on the 10th day of May. 1S69. We had j a trand time that day " I worked on four contracts on Bear river, east of Evanston, for Nowen from Salt Lake. The next contract was at the head of Echo can von, west of the Miller and Parsons tunnel. We finished this contract and moved down on a contract west Of the union station, in Ogden. In finishing fin-ishing this contract we went part Twenty eighth street When the track layers were laying the track over that street the Ogden band was out In full force, and the boys had the Stars and Stripes flying 'Over the land of the free and the home of the brave ' "After that contract, we moved on to the contract at Promontory and finished that one on the section near where the big fill was made if you know where that Is It was on the Promontory lower contract and joined the big fill "With all due respect to the track-1 layers who placed the ties and laid the rails, I would say that that task was a small part of the work com- j pared to the making of the grade "I worked seventeen years on the railroad after it was finished, riding out from and back to Ogden after we had finished that gTadlng. I lived in Ogden all those years. I know you j well, but you will not know me. 1 married James Wotherspoon's eldest! sister I came out to this country in 1 1868 and sent (or my relatives, the ! families of my father and mother, ten j in number, in the spring of M. "I was nearly seventeen years of age when I came here My parents were members of the Cburcn of Iat- I u-r-Day Saints befor.- 1 was born, and I I came out here to earn money so they could come hero to live. 1 came up ihe Snak. Paver valley many years ago to kill the unaki I and help build The big (tinals and to make 1' possible for white people to llvi up here. This hag all be don and now Idaho Is fast coming to the front, as did Utah "I hope you are well and wish you a good time when the Golden Splko jubilee is celebrated. "Ynvir brother in the Go-pel, (Slgnedf "JOSEPH W JENKINS. "St. Anthony. Idaho." |