NEATH THE MAJESTIC HEART OF MT. NEBO STANDS OUR JUAB HIGH SCHOOL

When members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints(Mormons) arrived in the Nephi area of Juab County in Central Utah, they referred to the high three rocky mountain peaks to the north east and called it Mt. Nebo. In the days of Moses, a high mountain in Jordan was reported that Moses referred to that Middle East mountain peak as Mt. Nebo and considered it holy, so the same three peaks in view of Mona, Nephi and Levan was named the same. The high school was first built on "Track Street" in Nephi, and made strong and sturdy during the late 1800's, but local people didn't think a compulsory education of 7th grade was enough, as not all the students were farmers, so demanded the school official's to build it big enough for a high school, and it was and initially called Nephi High, with those students being placed on the second floor. Until 1932, it was referred to as Nephi High, then students and parents outside of Nephi, persuaded the Board of Trustees' to change it to Juab High, and asked the Class of 1928 to write the school song which was completed, and the words were written by Jim McCune, who was a gifted student, and later in life became an excellent Attorney and District Judge. We are not sure however, if he wrote "heart of Nebo" or "Guard of Nebo" as in doing research with a member of the Class of 28 and with a living daughter of Jim, it is still undecided, so if you sing the school song, sing it as you may. Although the builder of the newer high school promised my father it would last 100 years, school officials and local politicians' wanted to tear it down, and the taxpayers kept getting hit for more money, but the IQ level appears by some, as going down. That building still stands at the corner of Track Street and Main in Nephi. Here are a few pages from the Juab High School handbook of 1958.  I spent the entire morning trying to put these in order, so sorry, I have SAI(Stupid Artificial IQ).

                                                                                                        

THE 116TH HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY PARTY OF LAVON HARRIS WHO BECAME A JONES WAS HELD.

• On July 28,2026, the five kids of our mother celebrating her earthly birthday was the other day, and we had fun. We now believe, she was instrumental to keep each of us marching to the heart beat of herself, who went back to her professional work as a secretary and helped to keep her bosses to their work, but made sure each of us kids did house chores around and in the house. Every week, she would modify who did what and place in on the water tank that was heated by the kitchen stove. 
• Every morning, she was up early to cook breakfast for our Dad and us kids, as their wasn't enough money earned to purchase school food. But we found a clever way to get in free, and that was being one of the servers behind the chow line. After school, she would take turns with each child to make sure we were doing our lessons and we often sat by the kitchen stove while she was cooking great food. Pig grease was always the secret to making anything taste cook. LaVon was set upon being a secretary for insurance companies; working for A. E. Smith, who was the local County Agent; the Utah Poultry, then the Secretary for four different Juab School Superintendents. And to this day, teachers of yesteryear pay tribute to her with whatever they needed. But she also used Juab High Principal Clark Newell to chase me down racing my "low speed" Tote Gote. She started with Supt. Clyde Child; Ralph Menlove, then trained Clark Newell, as well as each of the newly elected School Board Members. Although her sons didn't appreciate her advice,  their would be a day in the future, that "even boys will have to know how to type in the future". She knew! I continued to type reports in college, then used the skill to type investigative reports in my career. My favorite home chore was ironing, and became proficient at it, and when I became the father of two young boys. I used my weekends to wash and iron their levi's for school, both inside and outside. The older we get the more we seem to appreciate and acknowledge what our parents had to do to get each of us kids to do only three essential things in life. First was to graduate from High School; second was to vote and third was to pray, and for me I found that "be careful what you pray for, as you just may get it" and it is one of those things that we shouldn't have prayed for. Thanks Mom from each of your five kids. I have often felt our Mother nearby, and it was a very comforting glow within, Often times when our parents pass to the next level of our test, we miss them dearly, but in our family, our folks had four boys in a row, which can be a headache to any mother, but then along comes a baby girl and our sister Jaynette, is a daughter of her mother, as she takes care of not only her own kids and their kids, but every where else from Idaho to Nevada, she keeps so busy, it makes me weary to watch her, and forces me to take a nap! Anyway, thanks Mom, as you and Dad hit it right with the kindness and refinement all parents should have. First Photo is of the sister of LaVon Harris, who died at a young age. Watch is thought to have been that of John Harris, who arrived in Nephi with Mormon Pioneer's. They came from the British Colony of Wales. Second photo is of marriage of LaVon and Alma and then of our family back when our sister sprang, and has kept sprinting to this day. And yes Mom, we have kept the promise to stick together, and our average age is now about 80, but we had a fun time with "Abby" who was our Waitress at the place all students would gather, below the steps of the Heber J. Grant Building on the Y. Campus.

                                                                                  

 

                                           Hal, Alma, Gary, Weston, Jaynette, LaVon and Kent

                                   All descendants of Mormon Pioneers coming to Nephi in 1850's

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GARY B. JONES, WHO STILL CALLS NEPHI HIS HOMETOWN.

Although he has lived in various places in the Alaskan Frontier, he still calls Nephi, Utah, his hometown. He and his siblings have always thought the small rural town of Nephi was the best place to have grown up in and we have saved a building spot for him, and a burial plot for him. As kids we were not supposed to talk of the word "dead" or Cancer, but only call it the C word, and that was pretty radical in the Nephi Jones Kin who arrived here by horse; handcarts and wagons. Our ancestors were pretty dam tough......oh sorry, I was supposed to spell it out so D A M tough. Of the five kids of Alma C. and LaVon Harris Jones, Gary, at an early age was self taught to be tough and could survive just fine sleeping with all of his animal friends in the barn, or racing with his Mutts in the Iditarod of  the 1,000 miles across the frozen tundra. And after running with and feeding each of the dogs with placed food along the trail, he would then take a relaxation trek climbing one of the tall mountains in Alaska. And he was mentally fit more than the rest of us, aceing high school; then both BYU and USU. He had a strong voice, and could be heard throughout any concert hall, and still has that varoom to it. Although Gary has always been one of God's children that would always greet any kid or adult and greet them if they were best friends. But in reality, the forest and the animals and plant life of the mystic of Alaska put him at ease. Although we all want to see him come to Nephi again, the city has outgrown itself too much, and he would not find solace here, but we long for a visit. I have traveled to Alaska to visit Gary B. and although I am not a friend of dogs, I found it relaxing to take care of his kennel while he raced. But living up their yonder is fit only for the bravest of all, as the 20 and 30 below zero never seemed fun for me. And the first time I visited, the flight was long with a plane change somewhere along the way. When I arrived, I told him I was starved and I would buy him a steak dinner. He said he would treat me to a great meal, but kept passing all the diners. He then pulled off the road under some trees. I tried to convince him that eating me wouldn't be his cup of tea, although when he was an Army Ranger during the Viet Nam Era, he was trained to live off the land, and grasshoppers and Beetles didn't taste that good to me. He then scared the Bejeebies out of me when he pulled a shotgun out of the trunk, and yup, he took down some Ptarmigans out of the tree tops, and they were better tasting than Ringneck Pheasant's, or the Pine Hens of Juab County. When I last spoke to Gary B., I told him that their are no "Bish Belliston" in Nephi anymore, and that all drivers have gone Whackos driving like the "Herd Instinct" of Dead Horse Point near Moab and told him a couple years ago I was nearly a victim of "locus en quo" speeders  by Doc Steele's  trying to kill me. Your sister told me it just may help to take down the sign off the back of my old Mazda truck which reads " ITS A HEMI"! I am not sure you can read it, but will try to put a letter of many years ago that Mom sent to you just before her transition. Happy Birthday on July 23 and here is one of your greatest books of all, if folks want to write you a letter and buy one, then you won't have to find that ass again and hitchhike back home. You did that once on a Tote Gote, so try an airplane this time!

        

                                                                                         
  

                                                                                  

HOW DOES ONE GET A PIG TO SING?

 

WHY, TO CRASH FROM THE DAZZLING HEIGHTS OF SUCCESS TO THE DARK RECESSES OF REJECTION IS INEXORABLY WOVEN INTO THE TAPESTRY OF LIFE'S STRUGGLE. WHAT DID YOU USED TO BE?        Photo credit of New Yorker.

                         

AT FUNERALS OR OTHER NOTABLE PLACES, AMERICANS PLACE THEIR RIGHT HAND OVER THEIR HEARTS. BUT IF YOU ARE A GREAT AND GLORIOUS LEADER, STANDING IN A  FORBIDDEN AREA, ONE MAY DROP THEIR HAND AS THEY JUST MAY FEEL THE NEED TO PUKE!

AT THE END OF WORLD WAR TWO, THE ALLIED FORCES WERE ACCEPTING THE SURRENDER OF THE NAZI  KILLERS  OF GERMANY AND WALKED AWAY FROM GENERAL JODL. SOUNDS AS NOBLE AS GENERAL PATTON. AND TO THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING AT THIS HISTORY PRESENTATION WANTING TO KNOW IF PIGS CAN SING, THE ANSWER IS I REALLY DON'T KNOW, AND NEITHER WILL I SHAKE THEIR FEET OR HUG THEM, LIKE MANY PEOPLE SEEMED TO HAVE DONE IN THE VOTING BOOTHS OF YESTER YEAR.

 

INTERESTING.....BUT SAD STATISTICS ABOUT THE VIET NAM WAR

1. This weekend in Nephi, Utah is always great, as we celebrate the Ute Stampede, a rodeo that has been a yearly celebration where families and friends get together. As two of my brothers pulled up where I had been watering our horse pasture, I  recognized the 9th Infantry patch on the hat of Hal Jones, who was a Medic on the front lines of the horrific killing spree that met the Allied forces in a swamp called Nam. I thought I would put off the rodeo celebration and gather some statistics from that war of wars. I had three brothers in the military during the Era of Viet Nam, and glad they all came home, and only Hal with sadness to be a victim of that upfront fighting. Hal was partially hit with an explosion when his medic partner was ordered to go in a Chu Chi tunnel that was a booby trap that killed his partner and partially hit Hal, who turned down a Purple Heart, as he only wanted to return home which he did and safely so. And he had a chance to travel to Washington D.C. to  see the Stats on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
2. There are 58,267 names now listed on the polished black wall, including those that were added in 2010.
3. The names are arranged in the order which they were taken from their families and within each date the names are alphabetized. 
4. The first known casualty was Richard Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass. He was killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III.
5. There ae 711 West Virginians on the Wall.
6. The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered for. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National forest. and in  the patriotic camaraderie typical of  Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.
7. The Buddies of Midvale, Utah were LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, and Tommy Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived near each other, and played ball on an adjacent sandlot. They all joined the military and traveled to Viet Nam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three were killed.
8. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968-245 deaths.
9. The most casualty deaths for a single month was May, 1968-245 Deaths.
10. For most Americans who read this will only see what the Viet Nam War created. To those who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, the survivor's and the Medics only see their faces, and hold them for that last shot of Morphine and their transition is felt. They feel the pain for ever. Remember, we too will pass, so never ever forget those who fought for our liberty. 

                          THERE ARE NO NOBLE WARS, JUST NOBLE WARRIORS.

GOD VS.THE DEVIL

                                                                              

                                                                               

A SHORT HISTORY OF NEPHI AND THE UTE STAMPEDE

Today's history lesson is a brief overview on the Utah City of Nephi, named after an individual that the LDS folks believe was directed by God to this the western part of the world. We have submitted information about Nephi's Centennial Jubilee of 1951. If you are now or may be a future leader of our area, we would encourage  all to seek out the book that I have used to explain the beginning of our County and Cities within Juab County. They didn't have hand held "Gigaphones" or "Retro Emulator's" to chat with each other and the many organizations you could join to play with the instruments' of the several marching bands or join the all female band called the "Dellu" or perhaps attend the Presbyterian Church located along Main Street on the west side at about half way between 2nd and 3th North. And since the rodeo of the Ute Stampede is around the corner, we thought about showing a page about it's beginning. I am not sure, but when it was named that, there was a big crowd of the "Ancient Ones", which we refer to as Indians, and they often came to Nephi to watch the Stampede. I don't remember Utes arriving, but several Navajos liked to be here for the good entertainment that is still here. When I was a kid, those Indians and the Cowboys would often camp out beneath the Cottonwood Trees that used to be lined up on the west side of the arena. They could wash up in the irrigation water nearby.