If I were a betting man, odds are that those reading this will not see a photo of themselves, but they may recognize somebody of the century old photos printed.

An apology first.  I know how to dig a post hole; milk a cow and pull weeds, but pretty dumb when it comes to computers; printers and scanners. I write my script first then see what happens with the photos, which come after. When the printer ran dry, it took a 50 Caliber cartridge to get the ink well out, along with a crescent wrench and left handed money wreck, so here goes. After 50 years of trying to figure out who these people were, and with not success, yesterday I donated several to the LDS church in the Historian's office. The contractual agreement is  they will download them and make them available to millions of people around the world, who may recognize them. It was agreed they would be shared with private ancestry companies so that non-LDS see them with no cost. Several photos are not shown when the printer gave up the ghost. The photo marked  No. 2  was taken by Alma Chase photography in Nephi, Utah. Number 2 shows the one on the right is from C.H. Bryan & Co. Photography of Nephi, Utah. No. 4 shows Fox and Symons Photo of SLC and we put the couple with a single lady as it appears both are the same woman, but years apart. Our general thought was the man was a General Authority of the LDS church. No. 5 was the back of a photo, which was a traveling photo shop out of Payson. The top lady in Photo No. 6 was taken in England where Wm. Jones went on a LDS Mission in the late 1800's and also where Wm. Fisher Tolley came from during the Pioneer trek to Utah. Same case with the bottom left photo in No. 7.  The child photo in No. 8 was taken at Alma Chase photography in Nephi, Utah, and we have some family members that believe the top left guy in the group is one of the Nephi Harris brothers of a hundred years ago. Top right pipe smoker was included in a letter from England to the Jones family in 1880's. No. 11 may have been the family of a son of Evan Harris of Nephi or a son of Wm. Fisher Tolley, who went to California at the turn of the century to build roads; homes and buildings. We have Tolley blog followers in California and Canada. No. 12 with the four men is one that may have been soldiers in World War I, as the leggings and boots appear to be that vintage; three of the four are smoking, and their is blood on the aprons, so they may have been butchers. No. 14 is a book showing a variety of names and dates of baptisms of 1837. This was "accidentally" taken from a Church of England parish and the LDS Church has committee to returning that to Great Britain, who are the correct owners. We have hundreds of other photos which date back to 1865, and attempting to establish who they are.

Many people outside of Juab County don't know how to pronouce Juab; Nephi or the family name of Memmott. Now how many Memmott's can you name!

Let's suppose you are a woman living in Nephi, Utah, USA-a population of three thousand or less, and its 1927. You marry the love of your life, and then something in the water you drink brings forth youngins. In fact, five kiddies were born to this stalwart couple. At the time, many of the men had farms, as Cleon or C.L. Memmott did, but he also worked to make sure other farmers knew how to repair their machinery. After thirteen years of bliss, the husband dies, which happened to Marion Pyper Memmott. Not only did she have five young children to take care of, but responsible for a special sister-Madeline, who lived on the corner of 5th North and Main in Nephi. Although she never showed stress, Marion buckled down and became the female version of true grit. While she raised great kids, she worked for the local ASCS(Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service). She somehow found time to go to college; help her parents; neighbors; devoted to her brothers and sisters; the elderly; sick; the hungry, and faithfully fulfilled many church callings. She passed away at 89, but remains one of those class women this writer will never forget. Not only was she a special lady, but a relative, as her grandmother was Martha Ann Jones, one of the original pioneers of Nephi. We have included a photo of Marion from the 1960's; then one from when she was in the Glee Club back in the 1920's(courtesy of "They Left A Record"). According to that book written by Sadie Greenhalgh-Emma Memmott was present when Brigham Young stopped in Nephi to extort women "their bodies were sacred and should be kept covered. The ladies all wore shawls in those days and he told them not to let any man get under their shawl with them". From the Times News of 1947, we found an article written by Marion's husband, then found a variety of funeral listing's showing the "Memmott brothers" frequently singing with their deep rich voices. Maurice was also a dairy farmer. There are at least two separate Nephi families of Memmott's but all good folks. Many of them were LDS Bishops including Dan and Maurice. Hopefully, Nephi, Utah always have a Memmott living close by.

What were you doing on Pearl Harbor day of Dec. 7, 1941, or what were the people of Juab County doing at Christmas back then. Well here is a little about what some were doing.

Yesterday, we made an entry about what Wm. Jones was doing at Christmas time of 1894. Today, we take you back  to 1941. The attached information is from the journal of  a son of Wm. Jones-Alma Jones, of Juab County, Utah. USA. His photo is also from way back when as well.

It is right darn close to Christmas, so what are we doing. What was Wm. Jones of Nortonville doing at Christmas time in 1894! Well, his diary doesn't show a lot of shopping at the mall.

Wm. Jones of Nortonville, Juab County, Utah, USA, was called on a LDS mission, just as he was in the middle of bring cattle off Mt. Nebo. As good Mormons do, he accepted the call, and told to go back to Wales and England, where his father came from at Pioneer time. They went without purse and script and told to seek food and shelter from the family members that stayed behind in 1847. Nowadays the LDS officials mainly call young people to serve, but in those days, they called everybody, even this Jones boy. He left his pregnant wife behind and hoped she could manage the farm with help from the other family and friends in Nortonville. We have a few excerpts from his journal but they are a little difficult to read, so I have may a sad attempt to type them out.

A blog reader wants to know if there was a town in Juab County called "Juab" and if there ever was a horse race track in Nephi. The answer is yes.

Some time ago, a blog reader sent this writer some questions, and asked if I could investigate it. As I had absolute proof of a couple of his concerns, I thought I would get a "round to it" when I made the time. It was only by accident that I was going through some of my historical boxes and found what appears to be a photo of the Juab County horse track race in Nephi, Utah and along with that will be my testament as a kid, having eyeball affirmation that I remember the track being located west of Nephi where the Ute Stampede is now held. Viewers could sit in the grandstand and watch the horses race around the oval track by the site of the maker of the first home in Nephi then by the baseball diamond then the final stretch. That was in the 1950's. The bog inquirer maintained that his 3rd great grandfather was Elmer Taylor, and introduced horse racing to Utah in the 1890s. The writer reported his family helped to settle Levan and thought there was a mile long track east of Juab, but wasn't sure there was a town by that name. Elmer had a son by the name of James, who was a "much in demand" jockey. I have found a post card photo in my family history documents which appear to be of the horse race track in front of the grandstand, now used for events, although the grandstand has been  modified since that photo was taken. There is no date on the postcard but it was among the same documents from the 1880 to 1920 era that I have. Additionally, one may see two separate horse drawn buggies nearby and Kentucky Derby hats on the women in the grandstand. As a kid in the 1950's, I also recall being invited to the Moss ranch in the town of Juab where in its heyday,  herds of buffalo would stop trains. I had never heard of a oval horse track on the east of Juab, which is east of Mills, but somebody from Levan may know.  As a side note, I also recall that in the 1940's Joe Garrett was instrumental in horse pulling contests in Juab County. So it was written, so shall it be written.

MyrnaLee Weight Tew wasn't just a great cook and maker of candy, she taught her family how to cook and after chores, all were rewarded with her cake, carmels or fudge.

MyrnaLee Weight Tew was laid to rest at the Springville Evergreen Cemetery on Dec. 11, 2015. I attended the funeral out of respect. Although my family and friends think I have a peculiar side to me for attending funerals, I always find them historically interesting, and it gives me an opportunity to devour fine foods, especially at Mormon funerals, which is the only place I have been able to find "Funeral Potatoes". In the hundreds of funerals I have attended(even for people I don't know) I often take notes to see if the funeral speakers come close describing the real lives of those that passed. At this funeral, the family accurately reported the good life of MyrnaLee and the stalwart woman she was and remains. She came from the old school where if you asked her, she was bold enough to proclaim she worked as a "housewife" being devoted to her husband, her children and her home, but also a prolific reader and seamstress. So why is this Nephi Jones boy writing about a person from Mapleton, Utah. Well, if you read me out, I will try to show evidence of a connection. Firstly, MyrnaLee has a daughter and three grandsons in Nephi; secondly, her husband-Dean, was from the Tew family and had ties with J. Ivan Tew, a man who was born in Springville, Utah during 1892, but became a much loved Nephi Bishop of the LDS church, and a respected building contractor and farmer. MyrnaLee is from Mapleton, an area surrounded with fact/and or legend of a man named Nephi, who after passing through Nephi, passed through the Mapleton area between 300-400 A.D. I have also been acquainted with an LDS historian who found deep wagon ruts in the nearby mountains that could have been caused by heavy loads of a metal being carried centuries before. In view from Mapleton, one can see the zig-zag road leading to the "Dream Mine" from 1864, when local Bishop John Koyle announced he had been visited by an "Ancient Nephite Messenger" and was able to solicit monies to search for "rooms full of gold". As I sat near the Evergreen cemetery, I was amazed by the green beauty of this "Evergreen" resting place. Even in the middle of winter, that picturesque site will be comforting to the family. As a wannabe historian, I could almost feel angelic people near by welcoming one of God's special daughters back to our home base. On my way back home, I stopped and picked up a paper called USA Today. The only thing that struck my interest was an article about "Hottest Tech Gifts" and their "guide to 2015's coolest technology for kids and grown ups, too". I thought how wrong they were, especially after reading and listening to what the family of MyrnaLee wrote and said. It sounds like the best thing to do is to lock up the technology and ride around downtown Mapleton, which still has open fields and irrigation ditches, sturdy homes and no hellions driving with road rage mentality. Or one could visit one of the Tew family members. MyrnaLee made sure that the kids had a football to throw or a Frisbee to toss. She didn't need a map to fish Fish Lake; loved card games; oil painting and wasn't just a prolific reader, but wanted to take the family and visit there. She was devoted to 4-H and her religion, being the Bishop's wife and serving a LDS Mission. After the funeral, I spoke to her brother, who confirmed by suspicious. The Utah County Weight family are all connected and I had come to know two of them, who were good honest men. So what does all this mean! Well, it means there may be a lot of pressure on three Jones boys of Nephi, who are grandchildren of MyrnaLee. If they try to climb the slippery slopes of life, they can't blame it on their DNA. They come from a noble combination of the Weight, Tew and Jones family, so they will have to accept responsibility for their own actions. The good thing is that MyrnaLee remains their grandmother, and perhaps, just perhaps, those young boys may have a new Guardian Angel assigned to help them over the stumbling blocks that are sure to come there way.

Norma Sherwood ......Part Two...

Sorry about that. I don't have computer access so have to go to Barnes and Noble which has a free wi-fi but not a good place to concentrate.  I am not sure where the photo's went, but I will try again. Although she was in love with who she married, she had a secret love and his photo is right where she can gaze at him everynight. If you don't know who he is, I ain't a gonna tell you. I guess I shouldn't have told Norma that her love passed away, and that is why Norma looks so dismayed in the one photo of me and her.  My mistake.

If you didn't make it to yesterday's 106th birthday party for Norma Sherwood of Nephi, Utah, she is still willing to take visitors is you can sing, dance or play a musical instrument

It is true, Norma Fereday Hannifin Sherwood is still tapping her left foot to good music and stays healthy as a fiddle-or a violin, which is her love of life, even at 106 years old. I attended her birthday party yesterday, but I found the interview tiring....not for her, but for this 68 year old timer. Her friends average about 95 years old and when I started to ask questions, I couldn't keep track of who was doing what when they first met Norma. I think it was her friend-Vera Paxman, who said she was teaching school in Orem when she first met Norma. It was quite a day, as it was Pearl Harbor day of Dec. 7, 1941. When  many of the others heard that, they all started to chime in and I couldn't keep up with the notes. I remember Vera as Mrs. Vaughn Paxman, and she gleefully announced she was just a youngin at the party, being only 96. Then piped in Norma's sister in law-Zelma Memmott. When I thought people didn't normally like their in laws, she grabbed Norma's hand and you could see fool proof love for each other. I got side trapped trying to figure out which Nephi Memmott she was from, and she settled that when she spoke of  Heber and Maurice Memmott. Now back to Norma. She is from the Fereday family who helped settle Piute County after parts of the Mormon Battalion were returning from the war with Mexico. Norma's first marriage produced two of the most beautiful daughters that anybody could ever ask for. That was Sheree and Diane. Diane teamed up with a Juab County Brough lad and Norma has a slew of family to visit. Norma gave me permission to make a copy of a couple of her photographs. Both of those beautiful daughters have now passed away, one from a tragic incident during surgery and the other with a painful cancer. Norma has lived in Piute County then in Fillmore, then her beautiful smile shined even greater when she teamed up with a young upstart from Levan, Utah. She married Elden Sherwood on July 2, 1957, and he brought in two sons to the marriage-Neil and Wesley. Elden was a happy camper to see Wesley follow up a career in law enforcement, but Wesley too has since passed. Norma and Elden was a great high class team. Elden retired as a big shot in the Utah High Highway patrol and became the Nephi Mayor, but also in the Ute Stampede Committee, high roller with the Boy Scouts then assisted Channel Two news as a weather observer. Norma followed in the same work and service being a reporter. She didn't want to talk about the times she worked for "those Salt Lake papers" but smiled at the times she was a Times News reporter. She has played the violin at so many funerals she couldn't keep track and even joined a traveling music group. Some folks knew Norma's husband as Elden,  but if you ever got a speeding ticket from him, his name was E.C. Sherwood, or so one of my brothers may have told me. If  my mobile scanner comes through, one photo should be of the exquisite daughters; another of a man holding a potato. If the writing doesn't come through, the top shows "This Lowly Potato Air-minded", while the bottom shows "Here's a Hot Potato, A La Piute County. Roy Fereday shows airplane-shaped spud. It doesn't look like a Mona Red or Levan Mangelson spud, but fun to consider. Another photo shows some of the family of daughter Diane. A note on the front identifies some of them, which include Chad and Lisa Brough; Mckayla Brough; Jason, Raquel Brough; Casey; Kade Brough-Camee; Nicole Brough; Austin; Kelton Brough Parker Brough. I recognize Chad as he is a frequent visitor to Norma, and I recognize Diane, who lovingly has her hand on Norma. I will also try to put on a photo from yesterdays party showing Thelma Memmott and Vera Paxman. The final picture is my version of the secret of living a quality life. That is the pristine water from Mt. Nebo.  It is too bad we can't keep all the water that submerges in the deep aquifers. That water is thought to drain down to the Juab County border by Nevada, where Las Vegas money mongers are attempting to take it. Funny thing, as all the time I have been in Las Vegas, I have never seen any body drink water there.