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Show First Trip To Basin Recounted By Couple Who Recently Celebrated Their 64th Wedding Anniversary By Lecta Horrocks NEOLA (Special) The long and useful life of Mrs. Peter Duncan Dun-can bears witness to the sturdy character of the people who pioneered pio-neered in our Uintah Basin. Peter Duncan, husband of great-great-grandmother Amanda, shares I in the honors bestowed upon his j wife. ' The couple moved to the Uintah j Basin from Woodland in 1909 and the story of their twelve-day trip with seven children, including a ! six-month old baby, team and wagon, is an epoch in local pio-! pio-! neer history. They began the journey early I in March, in order to be at their destination in time to plant their crops as soon as the ground could be prepared, and according to Mrs. Duncan's Memories, the trip is a far cry from the short drive by automobile today. "Over the mountain top," she said, "the snow was about 12 feet .deep and we had to make a roa(i for the horses. Further 0 snow became so soft that we harf to lay the horse blankets down to make a firm road for the team then pick the blankets UD repeat the performance over anrt over again. Every night we wou"d dig a bed in a snowdrift for the family, and cut pine boughs ' iZ mattresses." 1 After twelve days of' combatine the snow of the mountains and the mud of the lowlands, the tireH family eventually reached their destination, about two miles west of the present Neola townsite All the children who were old enough set to work to make a home on the eighty acre tract of ianrt which Mr. Duncan homesteaded The Indians were far fr0m friendly and the family had manv frightening experiences, but were undaunted and stayed on to cul tivate their ground until it be' came a productive farm The youngest son of the family Mc Neill, resides there at present. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan still re side in Neola, where they cele brated their sixty-fourth weddine anniversary, Jan. 28th. They have one hundred and twelve direct descendants, including ten chil dren, eight of whom are Iivine" thirty-five grandchildren; sixty seven great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. |