THE BATTLE OF BEAR RIVER ON JAN. 29,1863....OR WAS IT A MASSACRE OF INDIANS BY THE U.S. ARMY

While the five kids of Alma and LaVon Harris Jones were alive, our Dad used to take us all for a little history trek. One such ride was on a dirt road known only to our Dad. Years later after they were both elevated to our real home, we put our thinking caps on and realized that our dear mother was a hard working Secretary for the local Juab School District, then had to come home and fix supper for  our tribe. Dad knew when she was about to split a vessel, and took us kids for a picnic, but don't remember anything other hard tack candy that had been rolling around in Dads Coat. Each year on our Dad's birthday or near it, we would head out to Utah, Idaho or Nevada to dig into the history our grandfather made taking food supplies to the outskirts of the Utah Territory. I had already did some trips in advance of our Jones Trek, and had a few surprises up my sleeve, and not sure how many went on this trek, but normally it was 20 to 30, and as soon as we left a place, the LDS Church would buy the place that we did archaeology digs on or the place we will take you on today.

Weston, Hal, Kent, Gary, Jaynette Jones                                                                             Feb. 3, 1999

The time for the Alma C. Jones trek is upon us. The dates are set for Mar. 13 & 14, 1999. We will collectively meet at the previously set place in Salt Lake City on March 13, 1999 at 0700 hours. We will then proceed to the Crossroads Cafe in Tremonton, Utah, where we will have breakfast. After that, we will head North, then take an Easterly cut-off just out of town. That will take us on a back road, heading toward Cache Valley. Along the way we will make two stops-both will be at cemetery's, one of which is hidden, and listed as the oldest in Utah. We will then keep going, then take another back road heading North. I don't know where we are going, other than from a foggy guess. We made it to Clarkston, Utah, and visit the grave of Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon. We will then wander back on the roads less traveled, upon which I will start shouting from memory The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. We are now in Preston, Idaho and at the site of the Bear River Battle, but if you knew all the stuff I knew, you would agree that the US Army slaughtered every Indian they came upon including men, women and children, which was about 400 from previous visits there. All family members were briefed that we could dig anywhere as directed, but not to touch any weapons or parts there of, so I could draw a map and list what we discovered. We had permission of the property owner, and although he said we could take anything we found, it was not ours to remove, especially since I knew that the Shoshone Indians were working to regain custody of the area. They are real Shoshone Natives, but when the Mormons came through, they called them "Blackfeet" only because they often didn't have shoes to wear. The Governor of the Utah Territory was asked to stop the Indians from stealing from homes their cattle and mail. Now remember, that it was first the Trappers that invaded the Indian lands, then the Mormons, and the Latter Day Saints liked their steaks, but the cows ate the Sego Lilies and roots the Indians relied on, so hope everybody understands the whys and what for's are. History books are written to make money, not necessarily to give you proper history lessons. Brother Brigham sent a note to Colonel Connor and he brought the US Army that was stationed at Fort Douglas, where the four Jones boys got their physical from Uncle Sam. The soldiers were considered Volunteers, but paid, and they were said to have a real itching to kill Indians, and that should have been the guys they wouldn't want. That was in 1863. I recall a previous visit to the Tragic site, and could see how they brought in their cannons and well prepared for their slaughter. That was the main purpose of the Trek, but we left that area and headed to Cache County and once in Logan, we decided between going to a movie; taking in a Temple Session where Wm. & Liz Jones were weded or do some bar hoping, or go to Cousin Dr. Richard Wm. Jones and have supper he cooked under ground. It was great, and went back to Weston's place where we had plenty of rooms and a nice warm swimming pool. We then could hear what sounded like Santa was coming but it was just us old folks snoring. Sunday morning came and we headed to Sardine Canyon(where Hal gets his Sardines from) which used to be called Hell's Canyon. We saw some of the Elk that migrate down for free hay, then took in the private ranch where the Clydesdale horses of the Budweiser church group of St. Louis kept part of their herd. We then went to Brigham City to have lunch there. We can eat at a local and famous restaurant, but if they are closed on Sunday, we could  pick up plenty of fruit that was left on the road and although they are all flattened by traffic, they are still tasty with white pepper on them. We will proceed toward Ogden and have a steak dinner built like the old west, or we can stop at Hill Air Force Museum and let Weston feed us a bullshit story about all the Sorites he flew over Nam while he wasn't there. I have no idea how many are going on this trip, so let me know a general number by March 1, 1999, so we can have a general idea of transportation and motel rooms. The Alma Coyn Jones Trek is open  to anybody, as long as the invited person keep the attributes and principles of Alma(in other words-no cussing dam it; no spitting, farting or arguments). I will enclose a stamped envelope, which you can mail back to me indicating the numbers of folks you did wanten ta brung, and if you have an extree mobile. 

                                                                             

                                                                                  

                                   

WHAT IN THE WORLD WOULD TEENAGERS DO FOR FUN IN THE 1930'S

Without TV or a handheld Gig-a-phone, what on earth did the young people of Rural Nephi do when the three Elementary schools were not in session. For boys, their was always playing marbles; grabbing a two by four and whittle it down in the shape of a Bat and play baseball, then go down Depot Street and watch the Adult Men play real baseball against other teams round about. And their always was a skit or play, especially more than a hundred written by Walter Ben Hare called "A Little Clodhopper".  He started to print them in 1918 and the actors only had one handbook to learn their lines. Then in 1933 a handbook titled "Humorous Monologues For Women" was passed around town. The adult men would join Service oriented clubs like the Jaycees; Lions; Rotary International and the Kiwanis club. If the ladies weren't working, then many of those clubs were like the Booklore Club; Federation of Women's Clubs and League of Women Voters. And many of those clubs were self assigned to prune the Rose Garden next to the National Guard Armory, at least not when the youngins were in the armory shooting their 22 rifles under the watchful care of Wally Fackrell. And in those days, most boys had paper routes to deliver the Daily Herald(at $1.60 a month); Deseret News or Tribune.When the Forrest Hotel shut down on the corner of 1st North and Main, it became a Nursing Home called the Colonial Manor, and I recall helping my father stucco some of the walls and visiting with some of the patients including my Uncle Ren Harris. In the 1930's my mother-LaVon Harris was in charge of a Recreation Club that was put into action by the US Department of Labor and one of the favorite pastime's was hiking Mt. Nebo, and we have one of the letters that was sent to LaVon after loosing her father after cutting down the logs at his sawmill to be used to build the DUP cabin at Nephi Pioneer Park. She was a secretary for A. E. Smith, and then went on to be the only Secretary for the Juab School District with four different Superintendents. Before the world changed, a lot of the service clubs ended including doing away with one of the great groups called the Boy Scouts of America.When Nephi and other cities were rural, we all had our duties to pitch and haul hay; clean the ditches and water crops. We were not given real money, but it was done in shares, so we would get a bucket of milk for milking the cows. When LaVon Harris Jones retired from the schools, she would read to the folks at the Nursing home and place the dates she read on the page and should be listed below. She then married Alma Jones of Upper Northenville, and the last photo will show what the Jones parents had to put up with!

                                                                                     

                                                                                 

                                                                                         

WHAT IS THE "MORMON" SECURITY PROGRAM?

If one was to guess what the Mormon Security Program is or was, their would be different views about it. One of the questions may be why we are still calling it "Mormon" when the LDS hi-archy now refer to that church as "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" and explains that it is called after He who's church it is. We bring it up today, as last week, we stumbled across a pamphlet with the title of What is the "Mormon" Security Program? The title didn't persuade me to question it, but looking at the color of the pages did. On the inside it shows the 12 page document was printed by the "Press of Zion's Printing and Publishing Company of Independence, Jackson County, Missouri and Printed in the U.S. A". I was intrigued with that, so had to do a little research. When the LDS restored their Apostolic Gospel, it was initially referred to as the "Church of Christ". That occurred on April 6, 1830 in New York and the Book of Mormon contains a record of the ancient inhabitants of this the American Continent. Back in the early days of that Church, their was a lot of hate mongers wanting to kill and burn the "Mormons" out of where they were. And even though America was founded on Religious Liberty and Freedom of Speech, their was brutal assaults against that church, and eventually they were driven out of various States and with the mob killings of Joseph Smith and his brother, their was little that the peace loving Church Members could do other than go west and they thought it was safe in Independence Missouri, as that was on the edge of America. But it wasn't long before the hatred and ire for the Mormons in that area wanted to defy what the American Constitution provided, and Missouri Governor Boggs, said Mormons were the enemies and gave an Expulsion order to leave that state or be killed by the Militia. So, once again, Mormons or the LDS people were killed; homes and houses of worship were burned. And it only took 138 years for Missouri to override the expulsion order saying the previous order was "Unconstitutional". Needless to say, the Zions Printing and Publishing Company was out of business. In the mid 1960's, this wanna be writer visited Independence, Missouri, while on a FFA trip to Kansas City, Missouri. Back then, I didn't know very much about the LDS church, but I found the people friendly, especially when our bus stopped at a red light. Walking along the sidewalk was Harry S. Truman, so I pulled the window down and yelled "Hello President Truman". The whole bus was happy when President Truman yelled back "Hello Kids" and waved to us. The former Presidents Security detail didn't even check to see if he had his gun loaded! If we check various places where the LDS church planted their roots, we find various city names or places that have similar names from the Bible or Book of Mormon. Such places are Enoch of Iron County; Nephi, Lehi, Benjamin in Utah County and they even had a store ran by the church called ZCMI, which stood for Zions Co-Coperative Mercantile Institution. Church official's sold their stores and it is now owned by Macy's. If we study what some of the LDS leaders have said, including a Conference talk by then Apostle Gordon B. Hinckley in Oct. 1968, who explains the "pure in heart" constitute Zion. So if history repeats itself and we live in one of those places settled by Mormon Pioneers, be careful as we may be Expulsed by our own so called leaders, who just may be as "Unrighteous as Hell". The Independence Press of Zions was re-opened in 1907 to print LDS Pamphlets and books for Missionaries' but stopped in 1951, as the LDS Church had their own press in Salt Lake and we checked phone books, and can't see any Boggs here. My thought is the "Mormon Security Plan" was replaced with the Church Welfare program, and not only taking care of their own, the LDS Church is known world wide for helping other nations and people when help is needed. The End.

IF YOU MISSED THE FUNERAL OF NEPHI'S MIKE CANNELL, WE HAVE THE PROGRAM.

 Mike Cannell was 60 years old in earth years, and his last rites were held yesterday at the LDS Church across the street from Vine Bluff Cemetery. I never met Mike, nor his family, but I had one of those unspoken urges to attend his Funeral. Although his full name is Michael Darwin Cannell, he was a "Mike" to me, and it appeared that is what the speakers called him as well. I was so moved by the Anderson Funeral Home listing on the Internet, I was intrigued to attend. And glad I did, as I felt that I had known both he and his wife from a long ago sphere. The computer showed a photo of Mike from years ago and a recent photo of him. If you stare at the countenance of his smile, you can see this man has an internal love of joy, regardless of health issues. Attending a funeral by chance is not the first time I have done that, as a few years ago, I traveled to Salt Lake to attend the funeral of the mother of "The Piano Boys". I was able to escape the crowd and do a short interview with the father, who told me how he and his family escaped Nazi Germany at the beginning of the war, and the only thing they made sure they escaped to America with, was the Family Piano, and it was the mother holding a grip on the boys to play it daily before they could attend football practice. Now back to Mike. I viewed several photos of Mike and his forever wife(Joye Hahne) and the photos showed the forever love they had for each other and the brother of his wife expressed how much love the Hahne's had for Mike. As the various family members entered the chapel area, Joye may have health issues as she was being pushed in a wheelchair. As she came near where I was standing, our eyes locked on each other, and I felt their was a certain connection that strangers have from ion's ago. Whoever put the funeral program together wrote of J.R.R. Tolkien who wrote the book "Lord of the Rings" and other notable quotes of Gandalf, one of which was "our journey on earth doesn't end at Death, it is just another path, and one in which we all must take." With a variety of hints, I reckoned that Mike's son-Alex was the pen master of putting the program together. Without thinking about it, I started to do a circling on the back of the program of the photo of Mike and Joye, and discovered my doodling kept placing heart shaped circle's around the two of them. I don't think God would permit it, but I would wager that these two lovebirds are one of those matches made in the pre-existence and they will be forever and ever. And if Alex can write quotes of his father and sign it as Mike 12:15 with "Mike is that he might have Joye", then I will put one of mine of "Nothing Lasts Forever, Except Forever, And My Love For You." Kent 21:14, and my headstone already shows "Son of Alma from the land of Nephi". Mike, without knowing you, you are now one of my Hero's, as is your Joye.         

                                                                                 

                                                                                     

MARK TWAIN HAD A KNACK EXPLAINING MOST POLITICANS

 

ONE NEED NOT WATCH ANY OF THE BIG MEDIA NEWS REPORTS OR READ THE PAPER.

1965 COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES FOR JUAB HIGH SCHOOL

It has been a lifetime since we were "Exercising" to be smarter. Kind of like "Practicing Attorneys" or "Practicing Surgeons". So how long before we all reach "The Challenge of Greatness"! Perhaps in our next sphere toward Exaltation! If true, at least two laid down their life's for a better world! Our Class was FAMILY! We had the best of us, just like a family. We were all different, but so are most families! And back then, most of us walked to school. Yup and some kids had to walk up hill both ways!!

                                                                                   

July 31, 1969-A NIGHT FOR REMEMBERING IN THE NEPHI FOURTH WARD

                                                                    HONOR NIGHT

 Tonight we will write about an MIA event. And for us older folks, our female teenagers were not Missing In Action during a terrible war that killed our teenage boys. It was an honor night to acknowledge the good deeds of the teenage girls in the LDS church. Many of the older gals have passed their test on earth, but a silent acknowledgement for what and how they did is well for the youth is well worth the effort they put forth to steer you right.

GO AND WE ALL MUST GO-SOMETIME, BUT WHILE WE ARE HERE, MAKE IT QUALITY TIME TO HELP OTHERS IN WORD OR DEED.

                                                                By James H. Jackelberry -cousin of Graneald Close Clucgh